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Previously:
"I'll pick up some extra groceries while we're out. Ichigo will probably join us for dinner since he's coming here right after school," she said and Urahara nodded.
"Don't be too long. I'd like to finish what we were…discussing this morning," he chimed and she blushed grinning.
"Absolutely."
At Karakura Grocery...
Risa followed as Ururu picked out the necessities and threw them into their basket. She yawned and was about to tell her young companion to hurry it up, when someone caught her eye. She turned in time to see a slender woman with long, dark blue hair turn into the next aisle. She frowned and set down her basket.
"Ururu, stay here, I'll be right back," she said and the girl nodded while looking at some vegetables.
Risa walked into the other aisle to see the woman had stopped walking halfway through. She took a step forward and she spoke.
"You shouldn't be here," she spoke softly.
Risa's eyes widened at the familiar voice. It felt as if everything had stopped. The dark haired woman turned to her slightly, a small, sad smile playing on her lips.
"You should go," she added.
"Kurai Homura?" Risa asked weakly.
Kurai Homura turned to her fully, her orange eyes burning like a flame.
"Get out of here Risa. Go now," she said firmly and Risa backed away.
"Go now," she snapped and Risa whirled around.
"Ururu, let's go we're leaving!" she called and turned the corner.
Her heart sank seeing the little girl lying on the floor. She ran over to her and knelt down as terror gripped her chest.
"Ururu?!" she called shaking her softly.
The little girl was trembling, her eyes wide with fright. Risa touched her gently.
"It's going to be okay Ururu," she whispered soothingly.
Kurai Homura appeared before them.
"Risa, get out of the store now. Take her and go," she hissed and Risa scooped Ururu up and ran for the exit.
She left the store and walked a bit away when the store exploded behind her. The impact sent her and others around her flying. She hit the ground and cried out holding Ururu protectively within her arms shielding her from the fallen debris as the store, or what was left of it, burned. Sound slowly returned to her ears as she heard screaming and yelling. Sirens were in the distance and she coughed harshly trying to regain her wits. She looked down at Ururu. The girl's eyes were closed tightly and she shook violently. Risa wiped the blood from her head as someone stepped over her.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" a young man asked.
She looked up at him dazed. He helped her to her feet.
"Are you and your daughter alright?" he asked and she cleared her throat and nodded.
"I-I think so," she choked out.
The man nodded.
"Just stand back, the ambulances are coming. You have a pretty nasty head injury there so just keep standing," he said kindly and she blinked, still in shock.
She watched as he moved onto the next person. He was a police officer, she noticed. She held Ururu tighter to her.
"Tell me what happened," she whispered and the little girl didn't even look at her.
Her wide eyes stared off into the flames. Risa cursed silently and looked up to see six tall figures standing in the flames. She knew one of them immediately.
"Ryo…" she trailed off.
Risa's eyes widened as he and his group disappeared within the flames. Risa held Ururu tighter and took off to the shop quickly.
The Urahara Shop...
Ichigo had just sat down with Orihime, Uryu and Chad around the table as Tessai brought in tea for them. School had let out early because of the explosion. He had gone to pick up his sisters, dropped them off at home, and headed to the shop with the group.
"Hm, I didn't hear of any explosion. Where was it?" Kisuke asked curiously.
"At Karakura grocery," Orihime said and Kisuke's eyes widened.
Before anyone could speak, he was on his feet; his spiritual pressure reaching out to find hers.
"Boss, Ururu and Risa are there!" Jinta yelled, showing panic on his face.
Orihime covered her mouth and Ichigo stood up as well. Thankfully, it didn't take long for his spiritual pressure to encircle hers. They all heard the front door open and Kisuke visibly relaxed. The door slid open and he tensed again.
"I need help," Risa whispered and all eyes widened.
"Ururu!" Jinta yelled, but stood back as Kisuke and Tessai moved forward.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Kisuke asked as she held Ururu to her protectively.
He could tell the young girl was not physically wounded besides a few cuts. Tessai took the young girl quickly and laid her down. He immediately set to it using his healing kido. Kisuke turned back to Risa.
"I'm fine, just a few cuts. It was Ryo. He and five others," she whispered as Orihime began healing her.
"Why would they blow up Karakura grocery?" Ichigo asked and Risa shook her head.
"He's so angry," she mumbled.
She had everyone's attention.
"I wasn't going to leave the store, but…" she trailed off.
"But what?" Uryu asked curiously.
"I saw Kurai Homura. She told me to leave with Ururu," she admitted and all eyes widened.
Uryu cleared his throat.
"As in Yamazaki's zanpakuto? I think you hit your head a bit too hard Risa. She—"
"—I know. It could have been a hallucination, but I'm very familiar with zanpakuto and their abilities. It was her and she told me to get out of the store. She was so adamant so I ran back to get Ururu. But when I got there she was lying on the floor staring off somewhere. She looked terrified and she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. I got out with her and no more than ten seconds later the store blew up. Ryo had to have released Kurai Homura," she spoke and no one breathed.
"Is she going to be okay?" she asked and the large man looked at her briefly.
"Her heart rate is extremely high. I'm trying to bring it down now," he spoke gruffly.
Risa shook her head.
"Something terrified her back there. Enough to paralyze her with fear. Maybe one of the people in Ryo's group," she spoke quietly.
"It seems we have to do a little investigating. I've never heard of anything like this. A zanpakuto reaching out to someone who is not its wielder," Kisuke said calmly, staring at the young girl being healed.
Ururu turned to him suddenly.
"He said he's going to hurt us," she whispered.
Kisuke looked at Risa and then at Ichigo.
"We need to meet with our zanpakuto right now," he said they nodded.
Underneath the Urahara Shop…
Tessai put up a barrier around them as they sat down, placing their swords in front of them.
"This may take a while Tessai," Kisuke said and the large man nodded.
"I will keep the three upstairs occupied," he said and walked off.
The three then closed their eyes and connected their swords.
The Zanpakuto Realm...
Ichigo opened his eyes and looked around. He had met Juuyaiba before, but never had he met the crimson princess, at least in this form. The princess was currently staring down his Hollow while Juuyaiba stood in the middle of them. She was intimidating to say the least.
"Glad you guys came," Juuyaiba said and Risa walked up to him.
"You had the dream didn't you? About the Hell demons?" he asked and her eyes widened.
Juuyaiba nodded.
"So it's really beginning," he muttered.
"I told you it would. Could have sworn I suggested this training session earlier too," the Hollow hissed.
Juuyaiba sighed and scratched his head.
"I know, I'm sorry," he spoke calmly.
"Don't apologize to that thing, Juuyaiba," Benihime snapped icily.
"If I'm a thing, what does that make him? He's like me, he just hides it behind that normal face," the Hollow cackled.
Benihime's red eyes burned through the Hollow's golden ones. Juuyaiba turned to the trio.
"We're going to start the training now," he spoke and the two behind him silently ended their argument to focus on their wielders.
"Those dreams are only the beginning. They will mentally break you if given the chance. You need to be trained in how to ignore your deepest darkest fears, because that's what demons play on," he continued.
"'What demons play on'? How sure are you that we're dealing with Hell demons?" Kisuke asked unsurely.
Juuyaiba shook his head.
"It's just a feeling we all have," he murmured.
"So you guys are training us on a feeling?" Ichigo asked perplexed.
Benihime walked up to him.
"Do you remember when someone you cared for deeply was in danger?" she asked and Ichigo's eyes widened.
Benihime carefully reached out and touched his chest, listening to his accelerated heart beat.
"Do you remember the sickening feeling in your stomach when you realized you were not enough to protect them?" she continued calmly, her red eyes boring through his wide brown ones.
"When you realized you would lose them because you just weren't enough? That is how we're all feeling right now. We don't want to lose our wielders and so we will train you to overcome your darkest fears even if that means subjecting you to them over and over again. There will be things you didn't even know you were afraid of in these trainings. By the end of it, you will be broken. That is the point. Break you down and then rebuild you into something stronger," she finished leaving everyone's eyes widened.
"Speak for yourself," the Hollow muttered crossing his arms defiantly.
Benihime moved back from Ichigo, standing by Juuyaiba once again. Juuyaiba stepped forward.
"Risa, step forward," he whispered.
Benihime motioned for Kisuke to step towards her.
Zangetsu appeared then, next to the Hollow.
"Finally decided to join us Zangetsu?" Juuyaiba muttered and the older man nodded slowly.
"I will supervise the training of Ichigo so that nothing goes amiss," he spoke stoically.
The Hollow rolled his eyes.
"Why would I hurt my King if I need him for what's coming?!" it snapped.
"You don't even know what's coming. We could be subjecting them to this for nothing," Zangetsu shot back calmly.
"You don't feel it? The dread?" Benihime asked him.
Zangetsu thought about it before answering.
"I feel something. I can't explain it. But it made me come here, so it must be what you're all feeling. I said I will help, I just don't understand why yet," he murmured.
Juuyaiba turned to his wielder.
"Please forgive me in advance," Juuyaiba whispered to her.
Risa frowned.
"For?" she asked unsurely.
Juuyaiba eyed her warily.
"For what I'm about to put you through," he muttered and all eyes widened as the spirits touched their wielders' heads and all eyes slipped closed.
Training...
Risa opened her eyes and frowned. She stood up and looked around. She was in her inner realm, a forest littered with green trees and shrubs; except no one was there. She was alone. She walked through the woods looking for them.
"Is this the training Juuyaiba?" she called, but got no answer.
She walked until she found her way out of the woods and to a hill overlooking what appeared to be her inner world.
"Peaceful isn't it? Let's change that," a deep voice purred in her ear and before she could react, she was knocked down and pinned to the ground.
She struggled and Ryo hit her hard across the face cutting into her cheek. She cried out and felt the body shiver above her. His body leaned down, pressing against her roughly.
"Yes, please scream. It only makes things better, more exciting," the distorted voice whispered.
Risa shut her mouth, but still struggled. Her limbs felt weak suddenly, like jell-o. She didn't even feel her spiritual pressure. She could hear static in the background. It sounded like voices. They were rushed and jumbled together. Where were they coming from?
"You're helpless. No one is coming to save you. You can't even save yourself. You're mine. All that's left to do is claim you," he hissed and her eyes widened.
She struggled as he ripped open her shihakusho. She managed to knock him off and tried to get up, but he tackled her.
"Get off! Stop!" she screamed and he cackled.
"Yes, scream louder! Call for him and let me bask in the fact that he's not coming for you!" Ryo spat.
His fingers hooked onto her panties and she struggled harder.
"Stop it, please! Stop!"
"Call for him!" the figure roared.
"Wake her up!"
"Why isn't she waking up?!"
"Beg him to come save you!" the demon hollered.
She shook her head quickly, blood dripping from her lip down her chin.
The demon wrapped a hand around her neck and she started gasping for air.
He bit down on her neck sinking his teeth into her skin and drawing blood. She gasped arching her back and tried to push him off, but she just couldn't.
"Are you afraid yet?" he asked.
"I know what will break you…" he trailed off as he began to remove his clothes.
End Training.
Juuyaiba removed his hand from Risa's head as her eyes snapped open. She blinked as the rain poured down on them in sheets. Then she looked around. Ichigo was awake along with Zangetsu and his Hollow. Benihime and Kisuke were still undergoing the training. She looked at Ichigo seeing his eyes were red and puffy.
"What did you learn?" she asked hoarsely.
"My greatest fear is uselessness. I saw my mom dying again. That was hard enough...but then I saw a future where I couldn't save my sisters either. I had to watch them die. Then all of you guys. All my friends. Everyone around me just started dying and I couldn't help them. I couldn't save anyone," he gritted his teeth trying to stay in control.
Then he looked at her.
"What did you learn?" he asked her weakly.
Risa thought about it for a moment.
"My greatest fear is helplessness. I couldn't save myself from what the demon subjected me too. I couldn't get away. I was weak," she whispered.
Ichigo swallowed and sat down next to her. They were both soaked to the bone, but neither was thinking about it.
"I'm sorry," Juuyaiba murmured.
Risa wiped at her eyes. She pointed to Kisuke.
"Don't you think it's time to wake them up?" she asked and Juuyaiba shook his head.
"She has not broken him yet," he spoke lowly.
Risa's eyes widened.
"So you're saying the only reason Ichigo and I am awake is because you broke us?" she asked.
Juuyaiba nodded. Ichigo chuckled bitterly.
"And we were only under for a few minutes at most. Kisuke's always showing off," he sighed and Risa smiled weakly.
Juuyaiba stared at them blankly. Zangetsu spoke up this time.
"A few minutes? Is that what it felt like?" he asked and Risa and Ichigo furrowed their eyebrows in confusion.
"Ichigo, you were in that training for eight hours," Zangetsu corrected the boy, making his eyes go wide.
"And Risa you were in for ten," Juuyaiba told her.
"Ten hours?!" she gasped.
Juuyaiba nodded.
"Once we located your deepest darkest fear we just kept replaying it until you both broke. We also gave the illusion that the demon was with you because that's who we all keep seeing when you two dream. We made a replica of him," he said calmly.
Risa stood up and whirled around pointing to Kisuke and Benihime.
"Take him out of his training now!" she demanded.
"We can't even if we wanted too. Only she can pull him out," Zangetsu spoke up.
"Then tell her to pull him out!"
"He's not been broken yet. He resists and so she must continue. Their minds work differently than ours. His fears will not be your fears. He's harder to break," Juuyaiba whispered.
Risa turned to Ichigo.
"If ten hours have passed since we started this, then your dad will be worried you're not home yet. Leave the realm. I'll stay here with him," she spoke calmly.
Ichigo nodded slowly and when Risa blinked he was gone. So were Zangetsu and the Hollow. Risa turned to look at Juuyaiba.
"Why did you show me my fear in that way?" she asked and Juuyaiba lowered his head.
"It was the quickest way to break you," he admitted.
"But it wasn't real?" she asked.
Juuyaiba shook his head quickly.
"None of it, I swear. None of that really happened," he swore to her.
"It felt real," she murmured and Juuyaiba nodded.
"That was the point. Tomorrow you will learn to fight back against the fear. When that is complete, those Hell demons won't be able to touch you."
Risa looked at Kisuke.
"What do you think is going on in his training?" she asked softly.
Juuyaiba shook his head.
"I don't know."
Three Hours Later...
Benihime opened her eyes and Risa and Juuyaiba stood up. The crimson princess took in a shaky breath and, in a startling display of affection, touched Kisuke's hair lovingly and pressed her lips to his forehead.
"I am so sorry," she whispered to the man, who still had his eyes closed.
"Open your eyes Kisuke," she whispered, pulling back.
Kisuke crinkled his eyebrows before opening his eyes slowly. He stared at his spirit, his expression blank. Then he smiled lazily.
"You are definitely my zanpakuto," he spoke calmly and Benihime closed her eyes.
Kisuke stood up and fixed his clothes. He turned to Risa.
"Ah, you're awake. Where's Ichigo? Did I take the longest?" he asked and Risa stared at him.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. Risa turned to Benihime.
"What did you do to him?!" she growled walking towards the princess.
Juuyaiba's eyes widened and he ran to grab his wielder. Benihime stepped back cautiously. She was not afraid, but knew her wielder would not allow her to strike back.
"Risa, stop!" Juuyaiba pleaded.
"What have you done?! What did you do to him in there?!" she roared.
Juuyaiba was confused, and he became even more confused when Benihime didn't defend herself.
"I don't understand! He's fine Risa!" Juuyaiba tried, holding her back tightly.
"Look at him Juuyaiba! Look at his eyes! At how haunted they are! She's shattered him! What the fuck did you do?!" she screamed.
"She did what was necessary Risa. Leave her be. She did well," Kisuke spoke up and all eyes fell on him.
He grinned.
"Now let's go. We'll see them later," he said aloofly and Risa stared at him.
"Kisuke..." she trailed off as he sighed and walked forward.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. Risa's eyes widened and her pulse began to race. She pulled back quickly and stepped away her mind reeling with the demon from her training. She shut her eyes and tried to calm down. From what she felt of his hand, it was warm. Nothing like Ryo's touch. Kisuke stared at her for a moment. She smoothed out her shirt and cleared her throat.
"I'm very capable of walking," she tried to sound playful, but it died on her lips.
Kisuke reached out again and she forced herself not to move away. He hesitantly touched her cheek and she closed her eyes feeling the cut Ryo left when he hit her. Kisuke frowned slightly.
"Maybe I should ask what happened in your training," he spoke, letting his hand drop from her cheek.
Risa opened her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair.
"I asked you first," she whispered and Kisuke eyed her.
She could tell he was thinking of a way out of it. Finally, he sighed softly.
"My biggest fear seems to be loneliness," he admitted and Risa's eyes widened.
Kisuke shrugged.
"At least that's what I took from my experience."
He waited for her to speak. Risa cleared her throat.
"Mine is helplessness," she spoke in a whisper.
"Helplessness?" he repeated.
Risa nodded.
"I fear being helpless. I couldn't help myself. That's my fear. At least...that's what I took from my experience," she managed to get out calmly.
Kisuke stared at her for a moment, before suddenly reaching out and grabbing her wrist. She cried out and yanked her wrist back stumbling away. Kisuke's eyes burned as he whirled around to Juuyaiba.
"What did you do?" he asked dangerously low.
Juuyaiba wouldn't meet his eyes.
"I did exactly what I had to," he mumbled.
Risa calmed down slightly and tried to free her mind of the training.
"You just startled me. I'm fine—"
"—no you're not fine. I touched you and you shrank back from me. What did you do?" he asked Juuyaiba again.
Risa took in a deep breath and walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her lips to his back. She could feel him tense slightly; his heart beat strong and powerful beneath her hands. Then he relaxed.
"I watched you die," he whispered.
Risa froze, but didn't speak. She allowed him to get his bearings. He needed to let it out. He made a gesture with his hand.
"Over and over again. For hours I just...I watched you die in these different ways. And…you were screaming for me to help you, to save you and…every time I tried…I'd always be just a second too late…" he choked out trying to steady his voice.
Risa could feel his heart beat accelerate. Kisuke shuddered.
"All you wanted me to do was help you and I continuously failed again and again. But I knew it was the training. I knew it and so I kept going through the motions and kept it together. But then..." he trailed off and she worked her way around so she was facing him.
Her eyes widened seeing the familiar look in his eyes. It was the same look she carried with her since that day he left until the day they met again.
The look of the lost.
Kisuke blinked as if coming out of a daze.
"Then it stopped. And the last time I tried to save you, you didn't die right away. You spoke to me, and told me things. And then you died in my arms. But you didn't fade. You just lied there. And we sat there for hours. Nothing else happened. I sat there by myself for so long that I started to believe that it was real, that I was never going to get out..." he trailed off.
"And I finally broke," he finished with a shrug and weary smile.
Risa's grip around him tightened.
"Your turn," he spoke softly and Risa sighed.
Benihime and Juuyaiba stood off to the side watching quietly. Risa didn't want to tell him, but he had shared his fear with her and so she swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Uh…hm…well I was in the woods of what I thought was my inner realm. I was sitting on a hill when Ryo appeared. He managed to get me down on the ground and held me there," she started and could already feel Kisuke's body tense.
She managed to hold his gaze.
"He just held me down. I couldn't move. My limbs weren't working right. I struggled, but he enjoyed it. He told me to keep struggling. I tried to scream, but he liked that too. He told me to call for you. He said you wouldn't come," she murmured.
Kisuke didn't realize he was holding his breath. His body was ridged. Risa's eyes lowered from his then, unable to look at him any longer.
"He told me to call for you and I refused. He hit me and I still refused. And then..." she trailed off staring at the ground dazedly.
Kisuke lifted his hands and gently touched her cheeks. Her body stiffened slightly, but she refused to move and she refused to let him go.
"And then?" he repeated staring at her.
Risa looked up at him and smiled halfheartedly. She gave him a small shrug.
"I broke," she whispered.
Kisuke's eyes widened and his hands dropped from her cheeks.
"It wasn't real. I'm perfectly—Kisuke!" she yelled shocked as the shopkeeper appeared before Juuyaiba.
Benihime gasped feeling her spiritual pressure skyrocket.
"Juuyaiba, remove us from the realm!" she cried and Juuyaiba closed his eyes quickly.
Exit Zanpakuto Realm.
Risa's eyes snapped open and she stood up. Kisuke was already standing. His spiritual pressure was going crazy. She stepped up and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"Stop, just calm down, please!" she begged and she could feel his spiritual pressure calming slowly.
Soon it was like he had never released it. Risa loosened her grip and looked up at him. He was staring off towards another part of the training area.
"Kisuke, look at me," she whispered, but he didn't.
She tugged on his haori, but he still stared off into the training area.
"Kisuke, please look at me," she pleaded.
Tessai came downstairs then.
"It's good to see you two awake. Breakfast is ready," he said gruffly and released the barrier and headed back upstairs.
Risa had forgotten around fifteen hours passed. It was the next day. She was about to turn back to Kisuke when he started walking towards the exit.
"Kisuke!" she called to him, but he headed upstairs, ignoring her.
She winced. She had called for him and he had not answered...just like Ryo had said. She headed towards the exit when he appeared before her. She almost screamed, but it caught in her throat when she realized it was him.
"How could you forgive him after he let that happen to you?" he asked firmly.
She could tell he was furious. She was just happy he came back. She smiled against her wishes and his eyes widened.
"You came back..." she whispered and he raised an eyebrow.
"To yell at you," he tried and her smile grew.
"I called for you and you came back," she said and he could feel her relief.
He realized it then. He took her cheeks in his hands and leaned in so that their foreheads were touching.
"I'll always come back for you," he whispered and she closed the gap between them.
His lips were warm against hers. His touch was gentle and hesitant and for the first time in a while, she felt safe.
A Few Hours Later...
Kisuke had Tessai strengthen the barriers and set up traps around the house. By night, he found himself checking in on everyone and then headed to his room. He walked into Ururu's room and saw Risa lying with her. Jinta had his bed on the floor. The young boy was already asleep. Kisuke carefully walked over to the two and sat down on the bed. Ururu's eyes shifted from Risa to Kisuke.
"She's doing better. She's stopped shaking and she doesn't have that look in her eyes anymore," Risa whispered combing her fingers through the girl's hair.
Kisuke nodded.
"That's good. That's progress," he murmured holding out his hand.
Ururu took it and held it tightly without hesitation. He smiled at her warmly.
"I'm going to contact the Soul Society tomorrow morning to see if any of this has reached them yet. Perhaps they could offer some assistance. I think we've waited long enough," he shared with her and she nodded.
"That sounds like a good idea. I'm going to stay with her for a little longer. I'll be in soon," she whispered and he nodded and stood up, exiting quietly.
Risa turned back to Ururu and smiled.
"You...should go be with him," she whispered and Risa's eyes widened.
"Ururu—"
"—you're going to need each other...for what's coming," she whispered and before Risa could process her words, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Risa stared wide eyed at the young girl and then sat up. She thought about her words for a moment before standing and exiting the room. She walked into her room and saw Kisuke lying in bed. His arm was covering his eyes lazily. He wasn't asleep, she could tell. She walked further in and he smiled lightly, though didn't move.
"That was fast," he mused and then gasped suddenly as her spiritual pressure encircled his.
He removed his arm from his eyes and sat up staring at her. She slowly walked over to him, her eyes never breaking contact with his.
"Risa—" he started, but was cut off as she straddled his lap.
His hands held her in place as he stared at her.
"Are you alright?" he asked her softly.
Risa nodded slowly lowering her lips to his in a deep lingering kiss. Kisuke returned it hungrily. He was about to reach for her shirt, when there was a knock at the door. In a flash she was off of him, sitting beside him blushing slightly. Kisuke chuckled as Tessai opened the door. The large man looked more serious than usual.
"The Soul Society has contacted us. They want us in the main room now," he said and Kisuke's eyes widened slightly.
He looked at Risa, whose eyes were also wide. Then they stood and headed to the main room. Ichigo and his group were already there sitting, having returned to his shop upon request. The Head Captain stood in front of the screen with all the Captains and their Lieutenants behind him. Risa could immediately tell something was wrong, but before she could speak, the Head Captain spoke up.
"Have you been experiencing night terrors?" the Head Captain asked quickly.
Kisuke nodded.
"I'm not sure about the others, but I have," he spoke calmly.
"Some of the Captain's here have been experiencing these night terrors and they seem to be warnings coming from Yamazaki and his group," he spoke and Kisuke nodded.
"We have a possible solution, but there is a problem. That's why we contacted you," he said and Kisuke raised an eyebrow.
"Go on," he spoke already not liking where this was going.
"Someone claims to know how to stop them," he spoke and Kisuke's eyes widened.
Ichigo shot up.
"Who is it?!" he asked quickly.
"Sosuke Aizen."
Everyone's eyes widened. Risa felt the dread build up within her. She knew what was coming next.
"He said he would reveal everything he knows about the group and why they're really here."
Kisuke gritted his teeth, but hid it well. He knew where this was going as well.
"But not to you right?" he asked trying to control his anger.
Yamamoto shook his head.
"He says that he will only speak to Risa Inari," he spoke softly.
Risa closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them all eyes were on her.
"Why only Risa?" Ichigo asked confused.
"Apparently, she's the only one he doesn't want to see rot, in his words," Yamamoto spoke and Risa winced.
"It may be our only chance at finding out how to stop this potentially greater threat," he added and Risa sighed.
Kisuke hated when she sighed like that. A sigh of defeat.
"Well we were coming tomorrow anyway," she whispered.
"We have put up extra barriers around the Soul Society for precaution. We will have the guards be expecting you," he said and the screen went blank.
Risa scratched her head. Tomorrow would be a long day.
Let me know how you liked the chapter! Were you guys surprised that Aizen is back in it?! I would love to hear from you guys! Please review and let me know! More to come soon!