Something's amiss at the Central 46
After Hanatoro got his very own 'possessed plushie', Kosuke went out for a short walk. (By walk I mean he used Shun-Po for less than 5 minutes.) It was because of this that he noticed something odd. There were no guards outside the Central 46. Normally this wouldn't catch his attention, but when he looked over the wall he saw…no guards at their posts! This concerned Kosuke to no end, and then it came.
The announcement that Rukia's execution had been changed again. Kosuke realized then and there that something was very, very wrong! He immediately used his fastest Shun-Po to get back to his squad.
"Guys, we got trouble!" he said when he reached his lab.
"What's wrong Kosuke?" asked Hanatoro.
"I passed by the Central 46 on my walk and something caught my attention."
"What was it?"
"I had this weird feeling that something wasn't right when I noticed that there were NO guards at their posts!" explained Kosuke.
"Did you check inside?" asked Hikari.
"Of course! After I saw no guards outside I looked over the wall and the entire thing was empty! Then that announcement came and I rushed back as fast as I could…"
"Announcement? What announcement?" asked Hanatoro, worried.
"Rukia's execution date has been changed again. She'll be killed around noon tomorrow!"
"I have to tell Ichigo-san!"
"Stay here Hanatoro!" barked Kosuke.
"But…!"
"Renji will tell them soon enough. I saw him walking in the general direction of the 'library'. He'll pass the message on to them."
"What do we do, Kosuke-san?" asked his squad.
"We have to keep a close watch on Central 46 until tomorrow. If guards show up at their post before the execution, then you can leave. If they don't then we know something is wrong. Understood?"
"Hai!"
"We'll keep watch in shifts. Daisuke, Kaze, you'll take first watch followed by Hikari and Hanatoro you'll take their shift three hours later and so on. If you see the guards return, then come straight back to me!" said Kosuke, sternly.
At their posts, Daisuke and Kaze were quietly talking.
"I hope that Kosuke's wrong about this…" said Daisuke.
"You and me both! Let's just hope that he was seriously mistaken about the guards!" replied Kaze.
Three hours later, Hikari and Hanatoro arrived to take over. Hanatoro couldn't help but ask, "Did the guards return yet?"
"Not one guard has come. Kosuke might be right about the Council…" said Daisuke.
"Well, at least we aren't cleaning the tunnels again!" joked Hikari.
The others quietly laughed as the watch continued. Hikari was starting to get worried. Kosuke wasn't joking when he said something was amiss! The watch passed without incident. After they finished their shift, Hanatoro went straight back to his friend.
"Kosuke, what will we do if no guards show up by morning?"
"Then we'll have no choice but to intervene in Rukia's death! Whatever's going on with the Council has something to do with Rukia, of that I'm sure…" replied Kosuke.
"Why are we going to intervene?!"
"Because if my suspicions are right, then the order to speed up her execution did not come from the Council. If that's the case, then Rukia will be spared."
"I don't know what to hope for…that you're right and Rukia is spared or that your wrong and you get into more trouble…" said Hanatoro.
"Hanatoro, you can sleep here if you want…" said Kosuke.
"Really? Will you wake me if something happens?"
"If I'm right then you're going with me to alert the captains. I'll wake you if the guards don't show up by the end of the next shift."
"Night."
"Oh, before I forget…"
"What is it Kosuke?"
"I wouldn't recommend rolling over on top of Kero. He tends to attack the person who did it…"
"Yikes…arigato for the warning."
Hanatoro went to sleep, and Kosuke took a quick cat-nap himself. When the third shift ended, Kosuke was concerned. Not one guard had come to watch the Central 46. He went and woke Hanatoro up, and they proceeded towards the Council chambers…