Chapter 34
A Date With The Soukyoku
Kana awoke in a daze. She couldn't remember falling asleep in the first place, but judging from how her head pounded and her eyelids felt like they were sealed with cement, she guessed it wasn't a peaceful slumber. With much reluctance, she got up, stretching her arms and letting out a voracious yawn. Light pouring from a crack in the window of her Repentance Tower cell hit her face, causing her to shoot her hand over it and groan. It was morning alright, the last morning of her life if everything went the way Central 46 planned.
"Mornin', boys," she said drowsily, yawning again.
The silent, white-robed men standing guard on both sides of the room would have scared her half to death if she had forgotten they were there. They made their presence well know the previous night, having burst onto the scene after Soul Society discovered the Repentance Tower had been broken into. They subjected Kana to hours of interrogation, wanting to know the identities of the culprits and where they had gone. Kana frustrated them to no end; she chose not to sell out her Captain, her best friend—and also Vice-Captain—or her brother. Akira Akiyama she seriously debated on, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut about her too despite the woman breaking in there in the first place to kill her. Considering she was already slated for execution, Soul Society chose not to punish her but instead increased security around her tenfold. She had to admit that the idea of dozens of strangers watching her sleep didn't come as the greatest comfort to her.
"I wonder where he got off to," she said, thinking of Arashi and still recalling his strange words and behavior from hours ago. He happily admitted to killing members of the Tenth Division while also having no qualms about attacking his superiors. The last she saw of him, he vanished alongside Akira, which couldn't have been a good sign. She had already lost Heishiro and Akira; she had no desire to lose her only brother as well. There were many questions she needed to ask him, questions that would have to remain unanswered so long as she remained a prisoner there at the Repentance Tower.
She longingly stared at the still smoldering hole in the front gate made when Akira burst onto the scene and had to resist the urge to dash through it to freedom. She would never make it, not with so many people there tasked with ensuring she stayed put.
"Say," she said to a guard to her right, "where can I get some grub around here? This is usually the time where one of you dudes brings me my breakfast!"
The hooded man gave her no reply. In fact, he seemed to be going out of his way to not acknowledge her existence. Peeved, she turned to another guard on her right.
"What's with your buddy here, eh? I think he woke up on the wrong side of the pillow."
Again she was ignored, and again she curled her lips.
"Hey, I know my rights!" she bellowed, her declaration bouncing off the walls a number of times. No one so much as flinched. "The treatment I'm receiving here is unjust! I demand to speak with your leader!"
"Ain't many rights afforded to someone who's about to die."
Kana would have been happy that someone was finally answering her if that someone had been anyone but Captain Gin Ichimaru. Grinning from ear to ear, he climbed his way through the hole in the gate, attracting a few wary glances from the guards, though no one did anything to stop him. Like a snake, he slithered close, too close in her opinion, to Kana. The color drained from her skin.
"Yo. Rise and shine, Mitarashi," he said with a wave Kana felt was anything but cordial. She backed away from him, leading him to add, "Relax. Ain't nobody gonna touch you. The Soukyoku is gonna do plenty of that in a little bit, isn't it?"
Kana grew even paler. Having Gin of all people remind her of her upcoming execution made her sick to her stomach. According to her Captain, he was the man responsible for all her misfortunes, the reason she would cease to exist in due time. If so, she saw no traces of guilt on his beaming visage. It was the exact opposite; this was the happiest she could ever recall seeing him. She suddenly had an even stronger urge to vomit.
"You look like you have a lot on your mind," said Gin. "Why not take a walk to clear your thoughts?"
The suggestion was evidently mandatory. Two of the guards roughly dragged Kana to her feet, while another four attached red cords to the holes in the collar around neck. The act was thoroughly humiliating enough without the men pulling her along like a disobedient dog. The gate leading to the outside world opened, greeting her with more obnoxious sunlight. It made her headache ten times worse. She had no choice but to bear with it as she was repeatedly prodded in the back to get her moving.
"Okay, okay already! I get it!"
The guard jabbed at her even harder for her insolence.
"It's nearly showtime!" said Gin, prancing beside Kana and spreading his arms out as if to show how wide the bridge they were traversing was, the bridge that led to Soukyoku Hill.
Kana made an effort to walk as slow as possible, risking the chance of taking some more hits to her already sore and reddened back if it meant a delay in her execution. The giant halberd that would be her maker stood ominously in the distance. She hastily took her eyes off it and all around Soul Society instead. There were no signs of her Captain, Rangiku or even Arashi, all of whom promised to come back and rescue her. Had they changed their minds? Did they believe she wasn't worth the risk and opted the throw her away like a piece of trash? She shut her eyes tightly and strived to drive such vile thoughts away. She had to be patience; help would come. She simply needed to keep a clear head and wait a little longer…
Still, it was hard to do so with a man like Gin Ichimaru lurking so closely. She kept her attention glued to his back, waiting for him to finally bear his fangs and strike. He whirled around to her just then as if hearing her troubled thoughts.
"You…" he hissed.
"M-Me…" answered Kana anxiously. "I don't get it. Why are you here?"
"What's this? Is it so strange I'd wanna come check up on you? After all, we are friends."
Gin did nothing but gaze at her with those slits he called eyes for an uncomfortable period. Kana, feeling her skin crawl at being referred to as his 'friend', never craved to run and hide somewhere so badly in her entire life.
"If I'm not mistaken," said Gin in an assured tone, "you believe someone is going to come and rescue you, correct?"
Out of fear and pride, Kana chose not to indulge him with an answer, but her look of surprise was more than sufficient.
"It was quite lucky what happened with Rukia Kuchiki, eh?" he continued. Kana could have sworn she saw a forked tongue peek out from behind his teeth now and then. "Then again, perhaps drowning to death isn't what one would call a great escape."
"Rukia isn't dead!" proclaimed Kana. "S-She's…!"
Her sentence trailed off. She was as clueless concerning Rukia's fate as anyone. She was doing nothing more than her masking her guilt for what happened. It replayed in her mind over and over, Rukia and someone else near and dear to her being swept away by that torrent of water. It was all Arashi's fault, and being his flesh and blood, she felt it was her fault as well.
"You're right," stated Gin, snapping her back into reality. "Kuchiki ain't dead."
"W-What…?"
Kana dared to allow her spirits to raise at this news.
"You didn't hear the news? Well, since we're friends, I'll fill you in."
This seemed to be the real reason behind Gin randomly dropping by on her. As much as remaining in his presence was becoming intolerable, she was desperate for any information concerning Rukia.
"There's a rumor going around that Kuchiki and her dear brother were reunited for a short while," explained Gin, obstinately gazing over the winding bridge at nothing in particular.
Kana did not catch the true meaning in his words until recalling two far off but powerful spiritual pressures clashing hours ago. The walls of the Repentance Tower, designed to interfere with sensing energy, stopped her from determining who they belonged to…until now. At once, she searched around for a trace of Rukia. Whether it was due to her weakened state, another byproduct of the spirit reducing stone that made up the Repentance Tower, or something more sinister, she couldn't find her.
"Where is she?! Tell me where she is right now!"
"Who knows? Is that any way to talk to a Captain, little lady?" Gin smirked even wider; Kana's reaction seemed to be precisely what he hoped for. "Oh, well. It looks like you're gonna have to be executed all alone."
No matter what he claimed, Kana had a sinking suspicion the man before her knew far more than he let on.
"Haven't heard much for your Ryoka pals. Maybe they're dead like…"
"Why are you doing this?!" blurted Kana, on the verge of tears. She tugged at the bindings on wrists feverishly, craving to free herself and strangle the life out of Gin.
Gin waved his arms and gestured for everyone to stop, which they did.
"Maybe I just wanted to tease you a bit," replied Gin. He inched his face uncomfortably close to Kana's, who bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from screaming. "Just kidding! Lighten up, Mitarashi. I thought you of all people would know how to take a joke."
As he laughed, Kana's anger came to a boiling point. Perhaps feeling it, one of the guards holding her slackened his grip on her arm. Never had she reviled another being so much. Even from the first day she laid eyes on him, Kana hated Gin Ichimaru with every fiber in her being. He was the reason she was about to die. He was the reason Akira had become the person she was. And he was perhaps the reason her brother was now someone she could hardly recognize, someone she felt was growing farther and farther from her reach.
Yes, it all came back to Gin Ichimaru.
"Ain't you a trooper," said Gin, who thankfully gave Kana back her personal space. "You're still worrying out other people when you're about to be skewered? I guess that makes sense. Thinking about your pals dying just makes death scarier, don't it? You ain't gonna be there to see their last breath."
Kana didn't want to admit she was afraid, not in front of this man. However, her heart thumped painfully in her chest. All her friends really might have been dead as far as she knew, and they would all be dead on account of her. Along with Rukia's disappearance and the situation with Akira and her brother, her guilt was steadily growing too much for her to bear.
"Want me to save you?"
Gin's abrupt remark sent waves of surprise crashing upon Kana and the white-robed guards, all of them gasping simultaneously.
"W-What are you saying, Captain Ichimaru?!" asked one of them.
"What the hell are you saying?!" said Kana in spade.
"Well?" continued Gin as all focus glued itself on his sneering face. "If I really wanted to, I could free you just like that. I'd save Kuchiki and your Ryoka pals too if you want. I'm sure Akiyama and that troublesome brother of yours would appreciate it. After all, I'm sure they wouldn't want anything bad happening to one of their family."
The tension the guards felt increased; if Gin's treachery was true, they would have to face a Captain of the Gotei 13, a task they were hopelessly ill prepared for. It would be nothing more than wholesale slaughter.
Kana, meanwhile, felt the puzzle she was working on in her head break apart, scattering the pieces everywhere. It was clear to her that Gin was just screwing with her some more. Why would the man attempting to have her killed offer to rescue her right before it happened? Then again, maybe her Captain had been wrong about him. Perhaps Gin had nothing to do with the conspiracy concerning her capture and execution. Perhaps there was no conspiracy to begin with. She had wanted a way out, a way to escape her fate, and here was someone offering her just that. It didn't seem her Captain or the others were coming for her in the end, so maybe, just maybe…
But then again, it was Gin Ichimaru. Could he of all people be trusted? If he was really offering to save her and her friends, Kana knew there must have been something he wanted in return. Having this man holding a debt over her head was almost as frightening as facing the Soukyoku.
Even still, she wavered on what to do. She stared at Gin as if she had never seen him before, whereas he patiently waited for her answer.
Amidst her confusion, there was one thing she knew without question.
She didn't want to die.
"I…I…"
Gin slithered his way close to her again, put his hand atop her trembling head and casually said, "Just kidding."
It was over in an instant. All the hope festering within Kana like a disease was gone. She stood there frozen for what felt like an eternity. Of course Gin had been lying. She thought it stupid of her to believe him in the first place. She never hid her displeasure with the idea of being killed, and it was no doubt easy for the serpent crawling away from her to smell her desperation. He struck alright, just as she always knew he would. He sank his fangs into her right where it hurt the most.
"Bye bye, Mitarashi," he said cheerily, waving. "See ya at the Soukyoku. Maybe Kuchiki will join us after all if you're lucky."
As he went, Kana could not hold back her tears any longer. She already counted herself a broken woman before Gin's arrival.
Now, she was even less than that.
"I HATE YOU!" she voiced at once, thrashing about and nearly knocking one of the guards off the bridge as he and the others pinned her to the ground. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! COME BACK, YOU COWARD! COME BACK AND JUST KILL ME RIGHT NOW!"
Gin didn't bother to glance back at her as her anguished cries resounded all throughout Soul Society.
#
Running with his tail in between his legs, as much as Sasune Ishida hated to admit it, was one of his specialties. He peered over his shoulder, smirking at making a successful escape. Not that anyone could hope to catch up with the likes of him in the first place. Turning down a corner and into an empty corridor, he snickered at his ingenuity.
"It hurts being this much of a dashing rogue! By the time the others figure out I'm gone, I'll already be halfway to the border to Mexico! I've just got to figure out which way is Mexico from here…"
Cackling like a mad man, he took his eyes off the path in front of him and slammed into something hard enough to send him spilling onto the ground in a broken mess.
"Did…did anyone get the number of that bus?" he groaned.
"They call me the Red-Haired Beast, Pretty Boy," said Konoka Mitsumi, crossing her arms and glowering down at him. He might have cowered in her presence like usual if he could feel any of his limbs. "Just what the hell do you think you're doin'?"
Sasune held out his hand, but Konoka didn't bother helping him, instead watching him writhe with a sadistic sort of glee.
"I'm glad I managed to find you in the nick of time!" he said, springing to his feet on his own and wrapping his arm around her. She leered at his hands like they were poisonous. "I feared something may have befallen you! I would have been eternally heartbroken! There isn't much time for us to talk! Listen! She might be following us even as we speak, and if she catches us…!"
"Save it." Konoka wrenched herself free from his grasp. "You ain't got nobody to blame for all of this but you. That Yachiru girl wouldn't be after you in the first place if you hadn't gone and said that Kenpachi dude, and I quote, was 'a big, hairy gorilla wearing rags he found off the street that smells like three week old dog poop.'"
"Well, it's true!" Sasune insisted.
"…You're an idiot."
"And you're devastatingly beautiful, but we don't have time to state facts!"
Konoka paused.
"…Just take the compliment," she muttered to herself.
"And besides," continued Sasune, now pacing about in the midst of his rambling, "that Kenpachi Zaraki guy was shooting me a bunch of dirty looks! Naturally, he was jealous of my sublime face! How could you blame him? He looks like someone ran a tractor over his face and then put it in reverse to make sure they finished the job!"
Konoka eyes moved back and forth with him as he continued to pace. "If you asked me, you deserved it. You have a habit of not shutting the hell up."
Sasune gasped dramatically, quite wounded by her sharp tongue. "H-How dare you, mademoiselle! If escaping the clutches of a raving lunatic and his hellspawn of a Vice-Captain after they've led us in circles all around Soul Society and managed to pick a fight with two more Captains and their Vice-Captains is wrong, then dammit, I don't want to be right!"
"Huh. How about that? I actually agree with you on somethin'."
Konona, for some reason thinking it was a good idea to go after Sasune in the wake of his sudden disappearance, didn't stick around long enough to discover the identies of the two Captains Sasune mentioned. The last she saw of them, Kenpachi Zaraki was about to take them both on by himself—he ordered everyone else there to go away, which most were more than happy to oblige—looking more crazed than ever. The Red-Haired Beast thought of herself as tough, yet even she didn't consider herself suicidal enough to take on guy like that. She honestly felt a little sorry for their enemies.
But only a little.
"Oh, that's right," she said. "Pretty Boy, come here."
"Yes? I live to…"
Without warning, Konoka drove her knee into Sasune's gut.
"W-Why…?!" he said in a high-pitched voice as he hunched over. His eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"For makin' me come all the way out to find your scrawny ass."
On the verge of puking, Sasune replied, "Y-You came to find me? That means you really do care!"
The mixture of agony and elation on his face induced Konoka, who was blushing slightly, to kick him in the jaw this time. The blood in his mouth didn't prevent Sasune from laughing affectionately.
"Watch it!" warned Konoka, feeling her face grown even hotter. "W-Why do I even bother with you?"
She left him to check if his teeth were still firmly in place while she surveyed the area. Things were quiet other than the wild fluctuations of spiritual pressure she attributed to Kenpachi Zaraki fighting those two Captains, and she presumed the others must have gotten somewhere since she couldn't sense them approaching.
"It was a good thing we got out of there when we could," remarked Sasune, staunching his mouth with his sleeve. "Then again, I'm getting my ass kicked anyway, so maybe it would've been better for me to fight those Shinigami after all."
"…I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that for your sake."
"Your kindness knows no bounds."
"Watch it," repeated Konoka, cracking her knuckles suggestively. Beating Sasune into submission was becoming less effective with each passing day. "I'm shocked you ran away and left your precious Orihime Inoue. You've done nothin' but drool over her like a dumbass ever since you two first met."
"Oh, is that jealousy I hear in your—okay, okay, I'm was just kidding!"
Sasune cowered behind a building before Konoka, snarling like a rabid dog, could snap his neck like a twig.
"Uryuu is still with her," he stated, only having the gall to peek his head out slightly, "so he'll take care of her for me. He might be a disrespecting, smartass, sorry excuse for a younger brother, but he can at least handle that much. I do, however, lament being such a coward that I could not remain by Miss Inoue's side and see to her safety myself! I simply pray my queen will find it in her heart to forgive me and that it is as big as her bosom!"
The drool Konoka mentioned before leaked out of the corners of Sasune's mouth as he imagined getting all up close and personal with Orihime's spoken of bosom. It took everything Konoka had and more to resist the urge to inflict him more body harm.
"What should we do now? I don't even know where the hell we are," she said.
Sasune broke himself away from his perverted fantasies long enough to reply, "Beats me. Trying to find a safe place to lie low and hide around here is like me checking out the adult magazine section at the convenience store: It's dangerous, tantalizing and you're going to get caught eventually."
"…Right."
Konoka was too mystified by his comparison to say anything more.
"Soul Society appears to be in a state of disarray," he went on. "Judging from that psycho Zaraki guy and his men, it seems not everyone here wants us six feet in the nearest ditch. There's some kind of revolt going on. Luckily for us, a few of the Shinigami like Zaraki seem keen on taking out their own kind."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, we can use all this chaos to our advantage, my dear!"
"Call me that again and I'm rippin' your spine out through your ass," expressed Konoka without a hint of sarcasm.
"D-Duly noted." Sasune shrunk a bit more out of sight behind the tall building. "Look, I don't think anyone is paying us much attention anymore even with the fact we sprung out of jail. With the Shinigami busy fighting one another and that execution supposed to be happening today, I'd say we've got the perfect chance to sneak into that tower without drawing too much attention."
He thumbed toward the Repentance Tower. It was well within reach; Konoka estimated it would take her and Sasune about half an hour to make it there. Easy enough, she thought, but she placed her hands on her hips and had some lingering reservations.
"You wanna rescue Mitarashi then? Just the two of us?"
"Precisely, my…" Sasune fortunately caught himself at the last moment. "…adoring acquaintance!"
It wasn't much better in Konoka's opinion, but she let it slide.
"That's actually not a bad idea," she said, surprised at her own speech. That was now two things she and Sasune saw eye to eye on in a single day, making her think Hell must be freezing over. "I think you're forgettin' about somethin' though. What do we do if Mitarashi has like…a thousand guys guardin' her? The freaks we're up against have to know by now the reason we came all the way here was to try to save her. If we're gonna do this, we're better off tryin' to find Higuchi and the others and goin' in with the whole squad. Otherwise…"
"Bawk!" clucked Sasune loudly. He flapped his arms like a pair of wings and added, "Bawk, bawk, bawk!"
Konoka's eyelids narrowed. "…Don't you friggen' dare."
"Bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk!"
"Who the hell do you think you're callin' a chicken, you son of a…!"
Sasune began prancing around and dipping his head at invisible bird feed on the ground. Konoka's skin flushed the same color as her scarlet hair.
"You're telling me the Red-Haired Beast is scared?" said Sasune fearlessly. Konoka figured she must have hit him so hard, he forgot who he was messing with. "Are you really going to leave Chocolate Thunder to rescue Miss Mitarashi all alone? Don't you owe him one?"
"…Who the hell is Chocolate Thunder?"
Konoka answered her own question. There was only one person she had a debt to.
"Higuchi…"
"That's right!" Sasune proclaimed. "As we speak, my best buddy is probably scaling that tower and no doubt getting his ass handed to him by a bunch of Shinigami mooks! He's worthless without us, absolutely worthless! He needs us right now! I don't know about you, missy, but I plan on bailing his sorry butt out yet again! Are you with me?! The three of us are about to turn heads! We're gonna have these Shinigami so damn scared, their grandkids will be telling stories about us! Let us jump headfirst into the bosom of…"
"Stop saying bosom."
Sasune ignored her. "Let us jump headfirst into the bosom of danger! Let us claim our spot in history! Let us rescue Miss Mitarashi and just get the hell out of this awful place already! It sorta smells. If you're ready to crack some heads and makes these Shinigami forever curse the day they encountered the Red-Haired Beast of Hino, follow me! Follow me to glory!"
For a nanosecond, Konoka genuinely wanted to clap. "Wow. You know, Pretty Boy, you're pretty damn darin' when you wanna be. You've got me all fired up over here."
"Thank you, my dear."
While she didn't quite rip out his spine, Konoka settled on planting her foot right between Sasune's legs.
"Mayday! Mayday!" he squealed as he held his crotch and toppled over again. "Man down! Man down! The family jewels have been crushed!"
"Sorry," Konoka said without a shred of remorse. "I'm still workin' on all my anger issues. Jives says I'm getting better though."
"T-That's wonderful to hear!" said a teary-eyed Sasune, sounding less and less his gender. "I'm very proud of you!"
"Thanks."
Sensing sudden and approaching danger, the two shot their heads up. Whether it was friend or foe on the way, they weren't taking any chances. Konoka armed herself with her Fullbring, whereas Sasune fashioned a red bow with aid of his Sanrei Glow. The two glanced at one another and nodded; they would strike hard and fast the moment the opportunity presented itself.
"What the…?" said Ganju Shiba, stopping himself from lighting a bevy of fireworks and launching them at his would-be attackers. "Oh, it's just you guys."
"Don't scare us like that!" cried Mayu Shiba, armed with her brother's meat cleaver.
"Long time no see," said Konoka, sighing and returning her golden halberd to its normal form. "And here I thought I was finally about to get some action."
Lowering his bow, Sasune replied, "What, beating me up doesn't count as exercise anymore?"
He cringed, still feeling the lingering effects of Konoka assaulting his manhood.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked the Shiba siblings, though the unconscious, petite woman draped over Ganju's shoulder quickly garnered his attention. "Say, if you're gonna go around kidnapping women, at least tell me beforehand so I can join in on the fun!"
"I ain't kidnapped nobody!" argued Ganju. "In case you idiots haven't realized, this is one of the people you're supposed to be saving!"
Konoka's eyes broadened. "Rukia Kuchiki? Alright, you've got some explainin' to do."
"It's a long story, and I really ain't in the mood to tell it!"
"He's right. We really don't have time to sit around catching each other up on current events," said Sasune. "I don't know how you guys managed to get ahold of Miss Kuchiki, but that's at least one piece of the puzzle solved. Now we just have to figure out a way to spring Miss Mitarashi."
"Guess we're headin' for that tower after all," said Konoka.
"Let's lock and load people!" announced Sasune with vigor. "Now that there are three of us…"
"There are four of us!" corrected Mayu.
"I'm not counting Miss Kuchiki obviously. She's in no fit state to fight."
"Not her!" said Mayu hotly. "What about me?!"
Sasune patted her on the head affectionately. "Aw, aren't you cute? The grownups are going to storm the enemy tower, okay? You're too little, so why don't you sit on the sidelines and drink from your juice box or fill in your coloring book or whatever it is you young whippersnappers do nowadays."
Ganju palmed his hand over his face and groaned. Konoka, meanwhile, shook her head. They knew Sasune screwed up the moment he opened his mouth, yet he only discovered so upon Mayu placing her hands on the ground and using Stone Wave to stick him waist deep into a pile of quicksand.
"Hey, what gives?!" he hollered, jerking about but unable to free himself. "Let me out of here, you demon child! Why are all the kids I'm bumping into so darn adorable and evil?!"
Konoka made no attempt to help him, turning away with her arms crossed and muttering, "Idiot…"
"My, you certainly aren't Mister Popularity at the moment, are you?"
The person that spoke was not amongst the four there, nor was it Rukia, who remained fast asleep. That honor belonged to the man standing atop a building high above them, peering down at them as if they were mere ants.
"You and I have a lot of common in that regard, Sasune Ishida," said Arashi Mitarashi. Beside him stood Akira Akiyama, looking disgruntled as always. The two Flashed Stepped their way closer to Sasune and the others, giving them a start.
"Arashi?" Mayu blinked. She recognized him on the spot, but at the same time, she felt like she was gazing at a total stranger. "What are you doing here? And why do you have her with you?! In case you've forgotten, she tried to kill us before!"
Akira smacked her lips at Mayu's accusatory finger pointing but otherwise ignored the girl.
"It's been a long time," said Konoka, flashing a glare Akira's way.
Akira returned it in full. "Oh, it's the Detention Girl."
The merely continued to glower at one another as if having some kind of silent but fierce discussion. Sasune's head moved from one and onto the other before he shrugged, unable to decipher whatever alien language they were speaking.
"And people say you're bad at making friends, Akira," said Arashi jokingly. She shot him a scathing glance that did nothing to erase his smirk.
"While I hate to interrupt this joyous reunion," started Sasune, looking rather severe as he gazed at Arashi, "I get the feeling these two aren't here just to catch up."
Arashi chuckled. "You all really should relax. We're friends, right, Mayu?"
Mayu swallowed hard and found herself unable to reply.
"I'm only here for Rukia. I need you all to hand her over," added Arashi in a tone of voice that suggested he thought his request was nothing out of the ordinary. "I told her not to do anything stupid after I helped her get out of that tower, but she's clearly hard of hearing. It looks like I'm just going to have to make sure she stays out of trouble personally."
He received a round of stunned silence and bewildered stares. He sighed.
"Perhaps you four didn't understand me clearly," he said calmly, though the others noted his statement dripping with agitation.
"We heard you loud and clear!" said Ganju. "We just don't have any intention of handing anyone over to the likes of you!"
Arashi's face wrinkled, and his smile was gone. "…Is that so? Despite your words, it is evident I'm really not making myself easy to understand. Hand over Rukia Kuchiki. This is not a request. Either give her to me or die. It's that simple."
The others remained lost for words, yet it was on account of Arashi exerting his spiritual pressure now. It was crushing, suffocating even. Mayu began to violently gag and foam at the mouth, feeling she would perish on the spot if her concentration slipped even a little. Ganju was quick to pull her close and shield her from it with his own body.
"Who the hell is this guy?!" said Konoka, who could not hide the drops of cold sweat racing down her face. "How come his energy is on the level of all those Captains we've bumped into?!"
"We're getting to the heart of the matter at last," remarked Sasune, chuckling feebly. "I was right about this guy; I know a scumbag when I see one."
"You've got a mirror at home then?"
Ganju snorted rather loudly, whereas Sasune felt his eyelid jerking uncontrollably. He thought this neither the time nor the place for Konoka to trample on his pride some more, but it also wasn't the time to chastise her, not when he felt his bones creaking in the face of Arashi's energy.
"These idiots aren't taking you seriously. This is a waste of time," said Akira, tossing away the cigarette she just finished smoking. She shook her head. "Just kill them already."
If it was a fight the two before him desired, Sasune was more than happy to grind their pasty faces into the dirt. He reformed his spirit bow and said, "As the boorish gorilla beside me said…"
"Hey!" barked Ganju.
"…we have no intention of handing Miss Mitarashi over to fiends like you!"
"Your words are meaningless," said Arashi coldly. "I'm not leaving without Rukia, and it seems you lot are intent on not leaving with your lives."
Akira smiled devilishly. Finally, they could drop any pretenses and proceed with the butchering. She unsheathed her Zanpakutou, prompting Konoka to summon her Maternal Gift. She would kill the redhead with the attitude problem first, then the ugly brute, followed by the skinny one that didn't know when to shut up. As for the little girl, Akira licked her lips and decided she would figure out how to skin her alive after she finished her friends.
"One moment, Akira."
Those words from Arashi were the very last thing she desired to hear. However, she became aware of what he was trying to draw her attention to, her mouth hanging open in shock.
"T-The Soukyoku…!" she breathed. The giant halberd resting on Soukyoku Hill suddenly rose high into the air, and the air swelled with its energy. It meant only one thing. "They're about to release it!"
"Yes. It seems my dear sister is about to be executed," said Arashi.
"Hey, did you hear that?" whispered Konoka. Sasune nodded. "Looks like we can scrap our plan of going to that tower."
Sasune was about to suggest they head for Soukyoku Hill instead when he became aware of the purple flower petals wafting around.
"What is…?"
One by one, Konoka, Ganju and Mayu collapsed around him. He could feel himself growing groggy too.
"T-Totally…not…cool…"
He got one last gander at Arashi's sadistic visage before the world around him swirled into nothingness.
"White Crawl," said Arashi, walking over to the now unconscious group and tearing Rukia away from them. "Very nice, Akira, though Binding Spells aren't usually your style."
"Shut up," she mumbled. "I was tired of talking." She pressed toward Sasune and the others as well, and a dangerous look glimmered in her eyes as she lifted her sword-bearing arm. "I'm going to finish them off."
"No," commanded Arashi at once. "Leave them. We don't have time." He faced Soukyoku Hill and added, "There is one more person we need to retrieve. Zaraki is making a mess of things like usual, but his constant need of fighting may prove to be an opportune distraction for us."
Akira opened her mouth to say something, but Arashi cut her off.
"We've already had this discussion more times than I can count. I know how you feel about Kana, but you need to cast aside any misgivings you have about her for the time being. You know what's at stake here."
She appeared volatile and ready to explode, but she managed to hold her tongue.
"Hold on, sister," said Arashi softly. "We're on our way."
#
For the feeblest of moments, Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya broke away from his deep thinking and could have sworn he sensed something was horribly wrong.
"Is something the matter, Captain?" asked Vice-Captain Rangiku Matsumoto, concern painting her alluring features.
Hitsugaya deliberated before answering, "…No. It's just my imagination." His blue eyes set themselves on the Soukyoku and the number of spiritual pressures gathering at it. "We're running out of time, Matsumoto."
Rangiku nodded. "Let's split up then. I can go back for Kana and try to stall as long as possible while you…"
"No. Unless you're planning on taking on the rest of the Gotei 13, there isn't a thing either one of us can do from here."
Rangiku was visibly upset though quickly regained the composure expected of a Vice-Captain. "U-Understood."
"I'm aware we promised Mitarashi we would rescue her," continued Hitsugaya. He could tell Rangiku would no doubt run off to save her best friend without thinking if he didn't speak up, "but the plan has changed. There's something we need to confirm first, and I'm going to need your help."
Standing in front of the winding path leading into Central 46's headquarters, Rangiku didn't have to bother asking what he had in mind.
"Yes, sir!"
The two strode off toward their destination. Hitsugaya needed answers, and what better people to ask than Soul Society's governing body? If there really was a conspiracy concerning, Central 46, Kana Mitarashi and Gin Ichimaru, he would stop at nothing to uncover it.
A figured stepped out from the shadows, curiously observing Hitsugaya and Rangiku as they departed.
#
There was no preventing it. No matter how sluggishly Kana moved, no matter how much she pleaded, and no matter how many times she got jabbed in the back, there was just no stopping it. Breathless, she found herself face-to-face with the Soukyoku at last. Saying it was big from this close up felt stupid. Saying it was intimidating felt even stupider. Nevertheless, Kana gazed up at the massive halberd and trembled at its sleeping spiritual pressure. She gulped. This was to be her executioner, a weapon that seemed fit to destroy all of Soul Society, not a single woman. No amount of begging would cause it to spare her, not that she could even open her shaking lips to form speech.
Needing to look at something else before she completely lost her grip on her sanity, Kana noted how many had come to watch the spectacle that was her death. It didn't surprise her. How many times had anyone seen the Soukyoku be put to use? It was only for the most vile of criminals, scum like her. Even so, it was strange to see so many Captains gathered in one place.
She identified the kind and caring face of Captain Retsu Unohana of the Fourth Division. At her side was the tall and quiet Isane Kotetsu, her Vice-Captain. Kana rather liked Isane whenever they did speak, which wasn't often. Like her Captain, Isane had this sort of 'big sister' feel about her. Out of all the people in the Gotei 13 who might do something to save her life, Kana figured them liable to do so, yet deep down inside, she knew it would be of no use to ask. Unohana was kind but firm; if it was Soul Society's will Kana die, no one, not even those from the Fourth Division, would object.
Kana's red eyes found themselves studying Captain Suì-Fēng of the Second Division. The woman was small and thin, an unassuming appearance that would no doubt fool those ignorant of her true power. Suì-Fēng caught Kana staring at her and scowled at her in turn. How many had been scrutinized by those fierce eyes? Kana hadn't a clue, but she looked away from the stern woman and onto her Vice-Captain.
The portly Maechiryo Ohmaeda, eating his way through a bag of chips and looking generally bored with the proceedings, always did contrast greatly with his Captain. Though he may have towered over her, it was no secret to the other members of the Gotei 13 that he was a lazy, arrogant and pompous Shinigami from a rich family. Unlike Isane Kotetsu or Retsu Unohana, Kana never liked this man much, finding him obnoxious beyond belief. Fortunately, she was in the Twelfth Division, meaning she and Ohmaeda never crossed paths much. They would never cross paths again now that she thought about it.
Next up was the handsome Captain Shunsui Kyouraku, wearing a tacky, pink coat over his white Captain's coat. It made him stick out like a sore thumb. He was Captain of the Eighth Division and quite the lecher in Kana's opinion. She usually didn't mind being ogled by men, but something about the way Kyouraku did it always made her apprehensive. He winked at her, smiling like he usually did, leaving Kana a bit awed he could be so relaxed. Did he not realize she was about to die, or did he just not care? Too scared to mull the prospect over, Kana moved onto his Vice-Captain.
She could glean little from Nanao Ise's usual calm and collected expression other than the bespectacled woman seemed nervous about something. Kana couldn't recall ever bumping into her, so she doubted Nanao was fretting over her survival, which honestly depressed her a bit more.
Finally, and most prominently, stood the Captain of the First Division and the Captain-Commander of the entire Gotei 13: Genryuusai Shikiguni Yamamoto. The heavily scarred man had an even fiercer aspect to his face than Suì-Fēng as he met Kana's sight head on. Still, he did not appear angry with her. He was simply gazing at a criminal about to be punished. His Vice-Captain, Choujirou Sasakibe, was hardly noticeable beside him in comparison.
While there were many people present indeed, Kana also saw others were missing.
Gin Ichimaru snidely stated he would be there when Kana bit the dust, but she was relieved to find he was absent. Wherever he was, he could stay there as far as she was concerned.
Neither of his Vice-Captains were there either, specifically Akira. Her former friend would have been the first person she pegged there if only to confirm she was dead. She got a bad feeling about Akira's absence. Did it have anything to do with Gin's? Were the two still plotting even though the Soukyoku was about to finish the job they started?
Another Captain was missing. She had to think long and hard to remember Juushirou Ukitake, leader of the Thirteenth Division. Due to illness, the man wasn't seen often around the Seireitei, and Kana guessed he must have been too sick to get out of bed even now. Rukia served under him, and Kana hoped he was glad his subordinate wasn't here today.
Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai were not there either. Although they were the two that had dragged her back to Soul Society, she could not bring herself to hate them. It was hardly their fault she was about to die.
The most important people missing though were Toushirou Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, and her own brother, Arashi. All of them promised to save her before the end, and all of them were nowhere to be found when she needed them most. Perhaps they really had opted to abandon her. If so, she could find little fault with them as well. Why should they risk suffering Soul Society's wrath too? It was better this way, better that she be the sole one dying today.
And that was when the reality of the situation fully hit her. She was going to die. This was not some game or some sort of joke. Within minutes, the Soukyoku would eradicate her existence, and there wouldn't be anyone batting any eyelashes or weeping over her corpse, assuming there would even be a corpse left. She would be remembered only as a heinous criminal, a person that had broken one of Soul Society's oldest taboos.
She would just be some page in a history book, vilified for all eternity.
"Do you have any final words, Kana Mitarashi?"
Yamamoto's question made her heart jump. She nearly forgot he was there, which seemed impossible due to his overwhelming presence. She had many things to say that couldn't possibly be summed up by 'final words.' A part of her thought it prudent to inform everyone about Gin Ichimaru and how all of this was his doing, but without any proof, she knew she would only come off as a raving lunatic, desperate to say anything if it meant saving herself. She had more pride than that. Alongside the mysterious absence of her Captain, Rangiku and Arashi, Kana felt pure, unadulterated rage replacing her fear.
A white coat fluttered in the background. Byakuya Kuchiki had come after all. Kana felt it strange for the head of the Kuchiki Clan to arrive late for an event like this. She wasn't alone.
"What held you up, Byakuya?" inquired Kyouraku playfully.
The Sixth Division Captain merely glanced at his contemporary before taking his place amongst the audience. Kana may as well have been on another planet for as much mind Byakuya paid her. Suddenly, he did not come off as suave and as cool as Kana remembered him when she used to string posters of him up in her room.
"Kana Mitarashi," said Yamamoto in his commanding voice. "If there is anything else you would like to say before the end, please state so now."
All eyes fell upon her. The bitterness Kana felt intensified, and even though she understood it would be idiotic to say what was on her mind, she was going to die anyway, so she might as well give Yamamoto and the others something good to remember her by.
"Yes," she began with a grin. "I would like a double cheeseburger with extra fries and extra ketchup. Oh, and hold the pickles. Those are gross. Is there anyway I can swap out my drink for milkshake?"
Only Kyouraku had the gall to laugh, much to his Vice-Captain's dismay. Everyone else turned to Yamamoto, who was so enraged that Kana half near regretted making her joke. She feared he would kill her before the Soukyoku had its chance.
"That's insolent little…!" snarled Suì-Fēng.
"I didn't think this would be that interesting. She's got balls," said Ohmaeda, humored. He choked on his potato chips due to his Captain staring daggers at him from the corner of her eyes.
Isane frowned. "She's doing herself no favors. The Captain-Commander might have spared her friends if she asked, but now…"
"I doubt that, Isane," said Unohana, regarding Kana with much pity. "But it is not surprising to see her acting like this in light of her situation. The poor girl…"
Byakuya merely gave Kana the coldest scowl she had ever seen. It nearly made her crack, but she kept on smiling defiantly.
"Enough!" roared Yamamoto, slamming his wooden walking stick against the ground like a judge's gavel. He was ready to deliver the final sentence. "You have disgraced the Gotei 13 in more ways than one, Kana Mitarashi. Your time in the Repentance Tower has clearly been for naught. We gathered here to punish two, but instead, only one will face the Soukyoku's wrath." In a calm yet acute tone, he added, "Let the Soukyoku fall."
Kana gasped at the ground beneath her rousing. As if someone carved them out with steel, three concrete cubes shot upward. Her restraints melted away, and two of the cubes hovered above her arms. An invisible force pushed them outward. The third settled near her feet. Before she could question what was happening, she began to rise.
"Huh?! N-No way! I'm totally afraid of heights, you know!"
Suppressing a shriek of terror, she sat by as the cubes carried her up to the dead center of the H-shaped pillar behind her. It was as tall as the Soukyoku, and it didn't take much of her imagination to figure out how they worked together.
Things grew unsettlingly quiet as her mind raced on what was next.
Without warning, the Soukyoku literally roared to life. Flames wrapped themselves around the giant halberd, and this time, Kana couldn't stop herself from screaming. No one heard her over the continued roaring of the dancing, bright fire. The Soukyoku rose off the ground like an unseen individual were picking it up.
"W-What's going on?!" asked Ohmaeda, who had dropped his bag of chips in astonishment.
"T-The halberd…!" stammered Suì-Fēng, just as wide-eyed.
"It's in flames!" exclaimed Isane, finishing her sentence. "It's changing shape!"
With another screech, the Soukyoku transformed into a fiery phoenix, its billowing wings extending as far as Kana's quivering eyes could see. Her fear was back alright, back in full force. Whatever this thing was would immolate her before she even had the chance to realize it.
"Kikou Oh," announced Yamamoto. "It is the true form of the Soukyoku. It shall impale the condemned, thereby ending the execution."
This was it. The Soukyoku's blazing eyes set themselves upon Kana. Her blood ran cold. She was tempted to shout, "Just get on with it already!" as the bird took its time in running through her, but at the same time, she was about to make a reversal on her 'no begging for her life' stance.
"S-Sorry, everyone," she hiccuped. Tears rolled down her pale face, and the only reason she had not bawled like a baby yet was because her thoughts steered themselves on the faces of her friends. "I…put you guys through so much trouble for nothing, absolutely nothing. You…won't have to worry about me anymore though."
She hoped Rangiku would not end up being too sad or drink too heavily thinking about her. Kana would have given anything in the world to hang out with her one last time. She always looked up to Rangiku, going so far as to dye her own hair blonde to match hers. They hung out whenever Kana had any free time, and she was the closest thing Kana ever had to an older sister. She would miss her dearly.
Hopefully, she hadn't driven her Captain too crazy during her years of service in the Tenth Division. Even now, she could picture his strict voice telling her to quit screwing around. She never thought it was that big of a deal skipping out on some paperwork and going to the sweets shop, heading to the bar with Rangiku during inspections, or joking around on important mission and nearly getting her squad mates killed until now.
"Oh man. I was a really crappy subordinate, wasn't I? Sorry, Captain…"
She had friends in the Human World too.
"U-Urahara…" she sniffled. "I was his best customer, the poor guy."
She knew his dusty, old shop didn't get much business. Though his quirkiness could grate at her nerves at times, she was forever grateful to Kisuke Urahara for helping her in her time of need. In fact, she knew she would have been long dead if it wasn't for him and his strange inventions.
Izumi Higuchi's laugh and voracious appetite came to her next. She had promised to cook Aaron's sister a big stack of blueberry pancakes the next time she saw her. Kana wished she had at least left the girl the recipe.
"She was really nice. I hope she's doing alright. Her mom was cool too…"
And then there was Sasune Ishida. Handsome, charming and funny. She would never again hear another eccentric quip of his or see him do something downright silly. He was the life of the party wherever he went, and she couldn't recall running into such an interesting character.
"I never thought I'd meet a Quincy. He wasn't anything like what I figured one would be from all the stories. He…didn't even care I was a Shinigami."
Then of course came memories of her family. Only Arashi was actually related to her, though Akira and even her adoptive father Heishiro might as well have been her flesh and blood too. She remembered rainy days at their rundown excuse for a home, eating whatever scraps of food Heishiro could find for them and water leaking in through the cracked ceiling. They always lived in squalor, but Kana never cared. She laughed alongside her makeshift family, now lamenting that she would never again share those simple times with them. Heishiro was dead, Akira would forever blame her for his death, and she no longer understood Arashi. Nevertheless, she wanted to thank them. She would have been lost a long time ago without them, lost to a world of sorrow and loneliness. No matter what had transpired, she counted herself the luckiest girl in the world to have met them.
There was one final person she couldn't help but think of. He was someone she could picture as clear as day, someone she could find no words to express how much it would hurt to never see again. She had only known him a short while in her long life as a Shinigami; it felt silly to have so many feeling about him.
"CT…"
Aaron Higuchi stole her Shinigami powers on accident and took her place destroying Hollows in a town called Hino. He did nothing but complain about this fact and never knew how to take a joke without getting upset, being as stiff as a board. He was plain in every way to Kana, being your typical teenager with no aspirations for the future. He was unathletic and panicked easy to boot, freaking out over simple things like high school sports festivals and his older sister picking on him. He could barly even swing his Zanpakutou or use Kidou without nearly killing himself. He had next to no redeeming qualities the more she thought about it, even being average when it came to looks, so why did she hold him in such high regard? Why did she yearn to see him over anyone else in the world at that moment? Crying even harder, she would give anything in the world to view his smiling visage one last time. He might not have been anything special, yet Aaron was someone important to Kana Mitarashi. He was someone that had changed her entire world.
She really could come up with nothing appropriate to say to him for everything he had done other than a very solemn, "Thank you, CT. Thank you for everything…"
She resigned herself to her fate at last. The Soukyoku's flames nipped at her skin, but she no longer care what it did. All her friends and all the wonderful moments she ever shared with them would give her strength.
The mighty phoenix cawed once more. It backed away, letting Kana know everything would be over soon. It wasn't much, but she took some solace in Rukia not being here.
"She's smart. She always was, unlike me. She'll find a way to make it."
Dying alone was painful, but Kana smiled thinly at her friend being safe and sound somewhere.
She closed her eyes and waited. And waited. And waited. Death never came for her, however.
"What's the big idea, stupid bird thing?" she whispered. "Just do it already!"
Her protests still weren't enough to will the Soukyoku into action. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened her eyes.
It wasn't for a lack of trying that the flaming phoenix wasn't doing its job. She wouldn't have believed it if she weren't there to witness it herself. With her mouth hanging open as far as her muscles would allow it, she stared in wonderment at the orange-haired Shinigami keeping the Soukyoku at bay with a lone Zanpakutou as tall as he was.
"Hey!" he enthusiastically declared. "Are you the girl Higuchi is here for?"
Kana nodded.
I really gotta stop hallucinating already…
END