Chapter 29:

Meeting Chad

"That's your cue." Heather stated nonchalantly. "On it." the brown-haired man jumped down in front of the young man called 'Chad'. He stood up and greeted the stranger, "I'm Captain Shunsui Kyōraku of the Eighth Division. Pleased to meet you." Sado inquired, "Captain…of the Eighth Division?" "Yes, pleased to meet you." the captain repeated kindly before noticing the petals were still falling around him. "Huh? Nanao! Heather! Enough with the petals!" Kyōraku called to the women above him. "I never touched the stuff!" Heather retorted. The brown-haired man cooed, "Nanao, that's enough! Tell her it's enough, my sweet!" Heather smacked the basket of flowers up out of the lieutenant's hands and over the rail, which fell on top of Kyōraku. The young woman cheered in delight, "Hey, it worked!" Sado just stood there blankly and remarked, "Sorry but I don't have time for your comedy routine. I'm just passing through." The captain unburied himself from the petals and asked, "Aw, can't you play a little longer? Sheesh, nobody's any fun nowadays."

As Kyōraku stood up, the young man said, "I'm in a hurry, please step aside. You don't seem like a bad guy…I don't want this to end in a fight." "Oh, I don't want to fight either but I can't let you pass." the captain commented then asked, "Might I convince you to retreat?" "I can't do that." Sado replied. "I see then it can't be helped." Kyōraku stated as he sat down with sake and drinking saucers that he had on hand, "Let's have a drink! Like friends!" The boy gave him a look, "Huh?" "You know if you won't retreat then maybe you could just stay here. Don't worry, it will all be over soon. The others are on the move even now. This unpleasantness will soon be finished." the brown-haired man responded warmly as he poured himself some sake, "Until then…have a drink with me." Sado questioned with concern in his voice, "The others? Ichigo and the rest…are being attacked by the other captains?" Kyōraku made a disappointed face, "Uh-oh. I may have said too much." "This changes things." the boy stated then ordered the older man, "Mr. Kyōraku, please move—now." The captain looked bored and asked before taking a sip of his sake, "And if I say no?" Sado began to ready his attack and declared, "Then I'll move you!" The young man aimed the attack at the captain who simply moved his hand in a swatting motion obliterating the assault. Kyōraku still looked unimpressed, "Uh-oh. Things are getting…complicated."

Sado continued to send attacks at the brown-haired man but it was futile, he simply kept dodging them. "Stop making it look so easy!" Heather yelled at her captain and the Eighth Division Lieutenant just shook her head. The boy looked exasperated, he wasting too much energy on pointless attacks. He did not understand how Kyōraku was dodging them so well. Heather directed her yelling to Sado, "Hey, Chad! I hope you know that Ichigo won't think any less of you if you retreated to fight another day and stop putting yourself in the hole!" The young man panted, "How do you know Ichigo?" "Heather, do you think that's such a good idea?" Kyōraku looked up at her. "Shun, I know you have to, but I'm sure you don't want him hurt either." she recognized the captain's situation and continued, "He's still just a little guy after all." "Thanks for the advice," Sado thanked them sincerely yet continued stubbornly, "But I can't."

"Don't do it." Kyōraku warned but the boy aimed and fired another attack. The captain used Shunpo and was behind Sado in an instant. "You should know…there are two types of moves—one that cannot be performed at all once your limit has been reached while the other can be performed beyond your limit at the cost of your life force." Kyōraku put the tip of his index and middle finger on the young fighter's back, "Your move is obviously the latter kind." Sado was sent flying and skid across the ground. The captain explained, "And right now, you're way beyond your limit. Here's some friendly advice—leave. If you keep this up, you'll die." The boy attempted to stand.

Kyōraku grimaced, "Oh. My, my…why do you insist on fighting? What is your purpose? Why did you come here? That one up there won't tell me a thing." He shot Heather a dirty look. "Hey!" the young woman exclaimed. Sado got up onto one knee and clarified, "My purpose is to save Rukia Kuchiki." "That's it? Really?" the captain questioned as he looked at Heather again. She just shrugged indifferently. Kyōraku turned back to Sado and went on, "Rukia? She went missing in your world only this spring. You couldn't have known her for very long. A thin friendship. Hard to believe it's worth risking your life for." The young man slowly stood up and panted, "You're right. I hardly know her. Maybe I wouldn't risk my life for her. But Ichigo wants to save her. Ichigo is putting his life on the line. That's reason enough for me to do the same. That's all the reason I need." Heather looked to Ise, "What did I just say? Is he really that…" The lieutenant shrugged, "That's his decision." Heather slouched over and sighed overdramatically like Emily typically does, "I tried…" "Oh. Well your resolve seems very strong. It would be disrespectful for me to try and talk you out of it." the Eighth Division Captain reached for his weapons, "Alright, then I suppose I'll have to kill you." Sado charged at the captain, powering up his final attack. Within a blink of an eye, Kyōraku slashed his opponent across the chest. "Sorry," the older man apologized as the boy fell to the ground.

Lieutenant Ise and Heather were overlooking the damage to the surrounding area on a nearby rooftop. The woman with the faded hair color was catching her breath. She still was not used to using Shunpo. "Oh—" Heather took a deep breath, "—by the way—there's someone here to see you—" "What?" Ise turned to look at the young woman when she saw the messenger appear. The man spoke, "I'm sorry to bother you, Lieutenant, but I have a message—" Heather interjected, still breathing heavily, "Yeah—top secret—concerning Aizen's death." "And you couldn't of told use earlier?" the lieutenant exclaimed. The messenger looked more than bewildered. "I told you," the taller woman caught her breath, "I'm not supposed to reveal everything, even the important stuff. It doesn't matter, whatever Emily and I do would put us at fault from here on out. Either we screw this up, or we let the plot run its natural course as accurately as possible." "You should do what's for the greater good." Ise accused. Heather sighed, wanting nothing more than to tell her the truth, "Then we might get someone else killed. Then where would it stop?"

The messenger had left before the two even noticed. The taller woman added, "By the way, Chad isn't dead." "What was that?" Kyōraku called to the two as he walked over to the boy, "Oh, you're right." "Of course I'm right." Heather laughed softly. Lieutenant Ise shook her head again. The situation was getting way too overwhelming.