AN: Again I'm really sorry about how long it took me to post this chapter :p.
Important Announcement to the Last Chapters of this story- So I've finally planned out the rest of the chapters for this story and I believe that this is (hopefully) the last I'll have to change what I had in mind. There is going to be about six more chapters until this story is over, two of which will be of course a huge fight with Yhwach again and the end of the war. There are also going to be two lemons in the next six chapters, which I really don't like to do because it takes me FOREVER to write lemons because I really won't post one unless I think it's good, but nonetheless I'm going to attempt to be ambitious and quickly write them while ending the story.
Kandraki- (for chapter 37) I'm glad you like my lemon, I worked really hard on that one in particular I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, it means a lot for you to say that.
Nixie the Bloody Pixie- Thank you so much for ALL of your reviews, it made my day when I saw that I had so many reviews thank you so much :). I'm glad you've liked the older chapters and I hope you get to see this because it meant a lot to me to see all of your reviews. I agree with hating all the Espada except for Grimmjow but I'd have to add Ulquiorra in there too, they're too cute for me to hate them :).
Warnings:
1.) Differences from Manga/Spoilers- See bottom AN for specifics and explanation.
2.) Plot Development pretty major at least in my opinion, it'll effect the next two or three chapters or so.
3.) Fluff- As always :)
Chapter 52: Old Faces
(13th Division the Next Day, 3rd Person POV)
Ichigo sighed as he walked down the busy hallways of the Thirteenth Division, running his fingers through his orange hair. He was making his way to the Fourth Division to go visit Mizuki to make sure she was doing alright. His friends were of doing all different things, the last he had seen of Uyru and Chad they were resting up while the last time he saw Orihime was while he was walking down one of the hallways and he had seen her trying to heal Rukia. He recalled how her injures hadn't been recovering right since she pushed herself too much and now Rukia was in the Fourth Division because of it the last he heard.
"Hey! Ichigo!" A familiar voice called out and the substitute soul reaper pause mid-stride as he glanced over his shoulder and saw a familiar blonde haired man in a Captain's haori. As Shinji ran up to him Ichigo received a wide toothy grin that showed his pearly whites as he got to the orange haired man. "Long time no see huh?"
Raising an eyebrow Ichigo turned to face the Captian. "Shinji? I guess it has. What are you doing here?" The orange haired man asked.
Shinji smirked at his question. "I was wonderin' if ya went to Mayuri yet about yer zanpakuto." The blonde Captain said and Ichigo shot him a confused look.
"No I haven't, everyone always tells me how he's busy so I figured he'd tell me if anything happened. Why? Should I have?" The orange haired substitute soul reaper explained.
With a scoff Shinji rolled his eyes. "Well I woulda if it was my zanpakuto. If ya wanted I could take ya ta Mayuri, bein' a Captain and all I can get ya right to Mayuri himself. Well, if ya ain't busy or anythin'." The blonde Captain offered and Ichigo hesitated momentarily.
Ichigo was going to go see Mizuki and see if she felt any better but at the same time Shinji seemed to think there was something Mayuri knew about his zanpakuto and he sighed. "Alright let's go, lead the way." He said almost dejectedly and the blonde haired Captain smiled widely.
(12th Division, 3rd Person POV)
"Hey! Mayuri!" The strange Captain of the Twelfth Division heard a cheery voice call out his name, sighing in annoyance as he put down whatever he was working on to look over his shoulder to see who had disturbed him during his work.
With a sigh the odd looking Captain turned away from his work as his third seat Akon continued on with his own work and his Captain's. "To what do I owe the pleasure of such an annoying distraction? Or have you done something of use and find another medallion from the Vandenreich, Hirako?" Mayuri asked in an annoyed way when he saw Shinji was the one who had called out through his quiet lab and disturbed the normally quiet work environment.
Shinji's smirk didn't fade as he and Ichigo walked up to the Captain. "Actually, I was wondering if you found out a way to fix my zanpakuto yet." Ichigo said as he cut off the blonde Captain from throwing an insult back at Mayuri and probably get them thrown out before they could even find out anything.
Mayuri raised an eyebrow at the substitute soul reaper before he sighed. "Well, yes I've found out a little. I'm just about positive that there's no way for me to fix it." The weird Captain explained as he gestured to Ichigo's zanpakuto on a nearby table.
Ichigo looked at him a little shocked, narrowing his eyes at him. "What the hell are you talking about? The last time I was here to borrow my zanpakuto you didn't say anything about that!" The orange haired man said, a little angered how Mayuri didn't tell him about this the last time when he took his zanpakuto to meditate and talk to zanpakuto.
The dark haired Captain sighed as he rolled his eyes. "That's because I was still working on trying to fix it last time. Like I told you last time, it's impossible to fix a broken bankai." Mayuri said in a know it all tone.
Shinji raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Wait a sec, what about Komamura's bankai? I've seen his bankai break." The blonde haired man commented.
"And Renji's, he told me some of his bankai got broke in his fight with Byakuya when Rukia was going to be executed." Ichigo added in.
Mayuri sighed. "Komamura's bankai is meant to break when he's injured, like how a zanpakuto in shikai can break since it fixes itself as the soul reaper heals. However with Renji's bankai the segments that were broken never were fixed." Ichigo's eyes widened and he swore under his breath.
"So now what do we do?" Ichigo asked curiosly in a serious voice.
The weird Capain of the Twelfth Division sighed. "I'll could try to give it another try, but I doubt it would do anything." Ichigo opened his mouth to insist he try again when he noticed Mayuri place his hand to his ear for a moment before he looked over to Shinji. "Well they've finally arrived, we should go meet up with them." Mayuri said as his hand fell to his side and Ichigo noticed Shinji nod in understanding.
Raising an eyebrow at the Captain's Ichigo looked up at the two of them confused by what they were talking about. "Wait, who are you talking about?" The orange haired substitute soul reaper asked in a confused voice.
Shinji smirked over at him, showing off his pearly white teeth as Ichigo followed after him and Mayuri as they started to walk out of the lab. "The Royal Guard, come on we've got ta hurry up."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at them at the mention of the Royal Guard but none the less he followed after them as they walked outside.
(Outskirts of the Soul Society, 3rd Person POV)
Ichigo glanced around as he followed Mayuri and Shinji to the outskirts of the soul society that was heavilly wooded. Unsure of which Division they were in exactly Ichigo looked around the wooded area and noticed group of the other Captain's from the soul society. "About damn time that you guys got here, took you long enough." Kensei said in with a scoff as the three of them walked up to the group of Captain's. Ichigo could see how Sui Feng, Rose, Unohana, Komamura, Kyoraku, Toshiro and Ukitake were already there and he raised an eyebrow, wondering what they were all doing here.
Toshiro glanced over at them with an annoyed look. "Yeah, you almost missed the Royal Guards arrival." The white haired Captain said with a scowl of his own.
Shinji smirked as he blew off the annoyance from them and glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "Where's Yamamoto?" He asked curiously.
Ukitake smiled. "Don't sound so worried, he's in the Fourth Division still trying to recover." The white haired Captain explained.
Ichigo looked over at Shinji confused. "So I don't get it, so where is the Royal Guard normally?" He asked.
Shunsui chuckled, catching the substitute soul reaper's attention as he noticed the eye patch over the perverted Captain's eye as he stood around. "Usually the Royal Guard stay in the Soul King Palace, I guess Mizuki didn't tell you about that huh?" The Captain asked with a smile.
"It never really came up before." Ichigo said, having to wonder himself how the Royal Guard had come up so abruptly. "So is the Soul Palace in the soul society or not?" The orange haired man asked curiously and noticed how Kyoraku smirked as he tipped his straw hat down to cover his face in the shadows from the hat.
Abruptly there was a loud crash that rang through the area and all the Captain's along with Ichigo looked over to see a large pillar crash into the ground. "Ah, the Tenchuren has finally arrived." Kyoraku noted and Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he heard it and looked over to the pillar that had just arrived.
"So a whole Division fits in that thing?" Ichigo asked, confused that a whole Division could fit in such a small cramped pillar like object.
Shunsui chuckled at the statement. "The Royal Guard is made up of five members, they're all former Captains. Together, they're stronger than the entire Soul Society." He explained, ignoring the surprised look that came onto Ichigo's face.
As the doors to the pillars opened all the Captain's looked over as five soul reapers stepped out wearing Captain's haori's. "Hey!" The five obnoxious looking Captains called out and Ichigo felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance when he saw them. There was a large tall man that led them with a dark beared and a smile along with a plump woman with purple hair following behind. There was another man with hair that spiked out over his face and another man at his side that had an afro. Another more slender woman with dark hair with odd almost mechanical looking arms.
Ichigo couldn't help but wonder how they were supposed to be more powerful than the entire soul society combined. "We're here! We're here! No need to wet your pants the Zero Division's arrived finally!" The dark haired man with spiked hair called out obnoxiously as the five Royal Guard walked towards the group of Captains.
The orange haired substitute soul reaper heard Shinji sigh and give the Zero Division an unimpressed look. "Well, this isn't exactly how I expected this to happen." The blonde Captain commented with a scoff and Ichigo was about to agree when he suddenly saw someone hit Shinji on the back of the head.
Picking himself up off the ground he looked over and saw the plump purple haired woman smile over at him. "Long time no see Shinji! It's weird seeing you without Hiyori though, where is she?" The large woman commented with a smile.
"Who are you?" Shinji deadpanned before he thought for a moment. "Wait a second, Hiyori?"
"You really don't remember me Shinji? It's me Kirio!" She said and saw how Shinji's eyes went wide.
"Huh? Wow you sure look...different." Shinji commented as he looked the former Captain of the Twelfth Division up and down, choosing his words carefully.
"Oh, I don't look all that different!" Kirio insisted in a loud voice and Ichigo glanced away from them and noticed the obnoxious Royal Guard who called out their arrival walk over to Unohana.
"What the hell? I thought those healing techniques I taught you really stuck with you, I guess not based on how many soul reapers that died huh?" The dark haired man, Tenjiro asked as he stepped up to Unohana who's calm expression never changed.
However before Unohana had a chance to respond the large man with a beard smiled as his arm hooked around Tenjiro's shoulders as he smiled widely. "Well we all have a lot to talk about, we'll have plenty of time to talk later! It's really been a long time, huh?" Ichibei said in a loud and cheery voice.
Kyoraku smiled a little as he tipped up his hat to look up at Ichibei and the Royal Guard. "So you guys really haven't changed a bit huh? So why have you all come this time?" The long haired Captain asked curiously.
Ichibei looked over to Kyoraku before he looked past him and Ichigo raised an eyebrow when the bald man looked over at him with a smile. "You, you're Ichigo Kurosaki, right?" He asked and without an answer from the substitute soul reaper the tall man with a dark beard went on. "Well Kyoraku, on the orders of the Soul King we're here to help rebuild the Thirteen Divisions. But first we're going to take you to the Soul Palace, Kurosaki." The large man explained in a loud voice.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the statement when they all heard the dark haired woman from the Royal Guard speak up. "All the ones on the list are here, now the only one left is Kurosaki." Senjumaru said and everyone looked over to find her mechanical arms holding orbs of some sort and when Ichigo looked close he noticed Rukia, Renji and his broken zanpakuto in some of the pod like objects.
"Wait," Unohana said in a soft voice as she cut off the dark haired woman, Senjumaru looked over to her as the Captain gave her a serious look. "Rukia and Renji are too injured to leave the soul society in the condition's they're in, I can't allow you to take them." The soft spoken Captain said.
"That's the point," Tenjiro interrupted her as he looked down at her. "If they stay here they're gonna die 'cause you can't heal them." He said and everyone noticed how Unohana looked away once he said that and kept quiet.
"Wait a second," Ichigo said as he interrupted the Royal Guard and glanced up at them. "I'm not as injured as them, why do I have to go?" He asked in a confused way.
Ichibei looked over at him and nodded. "Exactly, you're comming with us for different reasons." He said, noticing how Ichigo looked over at him confused before looking off to the side for a moment and realized that his zanpakuto was going for a reason.
Ichigo glanced over to one of the orbs that held his broken zanpakuto before he looked back to the bald man with a beard. "So you think if I go with you guys then I can get my zanpakuto fixed?"
"Hm?" Ichibei asked before shaking his head. "Well no but there is a process you could try to refordge your sword into one that was like the original." The bald man explained and noticed Ichigo think hard for a moment.
After a moment a thought struck Ichigo as he looked back to the Royal Guard confused after he glanced to the orbs in Senjumaru's hands before glancing up at the former Captain. "Hold on a second, if you're going to take all of the injured that need to be healed then where's Mizuki?" He asked noticing how his girlfriend wasn't there.
Ichigo realized that the Royal Guard probably would have no idea what he was talking about and he was about to explain more when he noticed the purple haired woman's ears pick up. "Mizuki? I haven't seen her since she was fourth seat, I should go congratulate her for making it to Lieutenant." The woman said in a peppy voice and Ichigo realized that they probably knew exactly what he was talking about.
The substitute soul reaper looked back up and saw the bald man nod to him. "Yes we're aware of her condition." Ichibei said.
Raising an eyebrow Ichigo expected him to go on and when he didn't he was confused. "So if you know she's injured then why isn't she here?" Ichigo asked, a little annoyed with having to repeat himself.
Tenjiro scoffed at his question as he looked over to the orange haired substitute soul reaper. "Have you even listened to what we've told you? You all in the Thirteen Divisions are in charge of protecting the Soul society and the Royal Guard protects the Soul King. You're little girlfriend's zanpakuto can kill the Soul King so that means that we can't take her with us, even if she doesn't have her sword it's too much of a risk. Besides, Unohana should be able to heal her fine, right?" He explained as he looked over to Unohana.
The dark haired woman nodded but Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Tenjiro and took a step forward. "That makes absolutely no sense, how do you expect me to go with you guys when the Vandenreich can show up any minute and attack the soul society? I'm going to stay here to protect Mizuki or she's coming with us." Ichigo said adamantly in an angered voice.
Unohana took a deep breath as the soft spoken Captain once again cut in. "Kurosaki I can heal Mizuki and make sure that nothing happens to her while you're gone." The dark haired woman assured him but Ichigo still hesitated, knowing that she had a point.
"Still though, I'm not leaving her here." Ichigo said, worried about Yhwach taking advantage of the situation to attack Mizuki while he was gone.
Kirio smiled as she thought of a solution. "Well then lets go see Mizuki, I'm sure that she'll be able to reassure you. Besides I haven't seen her in some time!" She said and Ichigo hesitated momentarily before letting out a sigh of annoyance.
(4th Division, 3rd Person POV)
The blonde haired Lieutenant let out a sigh as she lied in bed, trying not to move too much since the nurses had advised her not to. Mizuki was bored out of her mind, unable to even move without pain shooting through her body. This was how she spent most of her day, doing nothing but sit around bored trying to recover and the only reason she hadn't lost her mind from boredom was because Ichigo stopped by to see her often. She was grateful that Ichigo was sweet enough to spend time with her and help her through this but she was a little disappointed with herself that she couldn't return the favor.
However as a sigh came from the Lieutenant's lips she heard footsteps in the hallway that she overlooked as she figured that it was just another nurse or something. But the next moment the sound of the door knob twisting caught her attention and she looked over at the door as it opened. "Mizuki! Congradulations you're finally Lieutenant huh?" A loud voice suddenly called out as the door swung open.
Looking up Mizuki's green eyes widened when she saw the purple haired Royal Guard walk in with Ichigo after her. "Huh?" The blonde girl asked confused when she saw the former Captain and she sat up abruptly before she grimaced as she sat up too quickly and placed her hand on her stomach as she felt pain strike through her body where Yhwach had cut her. "Ow, what the hell are you doing Kirio?" Mizuki asked in a confused voice as she looked up to the two who had just walked into her room.
Ichigo frowned when he saw the look of pain was over Mizuki's face and he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright? Just take it easy." The orange haired man told her in a concerned way as he sat down next to her.
Mizuki shot him a smile to try to ease his worries. "I'm fine, I just always forget about it." She told him before she looked up at Kirio and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Soul Palace with the rest of the Royal Guard?" The injured Lieutenant asked curiously.
Kirio smiled as she nodded widely. "I'm here because the Royal Guard is going to help the soul society rebuild. Good job finally climbing the ranks, long time no see huh? But there is something more serious we need to discuss." She said in a cheerful tone before her voice turned a little more serious at the end.
"Oh, well thanks. What do you mean something more?" Mizuki asked in a confused tone and Ichigo frowned at the question and shot Kirio a bit of an annoyed look.
"These guys are going to take Renji and Rukia to the Soul Palace with them to heal them and they wanted me to come with them to get my zanpakuto back. They're insane, they think I'm just going to leave you here." Ichigo said with a scoff and Mizuki raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's not exactly like that." Kirio said as Mizuki looked over at her curiously. "Unohana will be able to heal you alright. Besides, unfortunately you're aware that your zanpakuto can hurt the Soul King and even though you don't have it we have to play it safe and make you stay here." She said before glancing over to Ichigo. "However it is very essential for Kurosaki to obtain his zanpakuto again and you should consider comming with us."
Ichigo scoffed at the last part of what she said, taking his hand off from Mizuki's shoulder as he narrowed his eyes at the Royal Guard a little. "You're crazy for thinking I'm just going to leave Mizuki here, you said it herself she doesn't have her zanpakuto and she's injured. I'm not going to let Yhwach get anywhere near her again." The orange haired man said in a serious voice.
"Ichigo?" He heard Mizuki ask to get his attention, placing her hand on her knee as he looked down at her and noticed her give him a small smile. "I think that Kirio has a point, you should go to the Soul Palace."
His brown eyes widened as he looked down at her. "What are you talking about? How could you possibly be okay with this?" Ichigo asked her in a surprised voice and she smiled up at him.
"Because this is really important, things are getting serious enough for the Royal Guard to step in. I shouldn't hold you back from getting your zanpakuto back." Mizuki explained to him in a calm logical voice, smiling up at him. "I'm not all that weak, I can still use kido if I had to besides once Unohana heals me I'll be fine." She assured him.
His shocked look began to fade to a worried one as Ichigo looked down at her, knowing how she was still weak and in pain from after her fight with Yhwach the other day. He frowned as he looked down at her, wanting nothing more than to protect her and see Mizuki get better. "Mizuki, I don't like this it sounds like a bad idea. Are you sure about this?" Ichigo asked seriously, wanting to make sure she wasn't scared or anything to stay here by herself.
Mizuki nodded. "Ichigo, you and I both need to get our zanpakuto back and this might just be how you can get yours back. It has to be worth a shot." The blonde Lieutenant assured him and she smiled up at him when she noticed the worry written all over his face. She could tell by the look in his brown eyes that he wasn't confident with leaving her behind when she was still in the hospital. "There's soul reapers everywhere here nothing's going to happen, besides it's not like the Vandenreich even needs me anymore. You said it yourself I was only useful for my zanpakuto, they don't have any reason to come after me."
Ichigo was a bit surprised when she insisted he go to the Soul Palace before his gaze softened down at her. Pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear and out of her face the orange haired man grasped onto his girlfriend's hand gently. "Just be careful while I'm gone, Mizuki? I'm not going to risk losing you again." He asked her softly and watched as she smiled, giving his hand a careful squeeze and nodded to him.
"I promise." The blonde haired Lieutenant told him firmly with a smile to comfort him since she could tell that he was worried. Ichigo managed to return her smile as he gently tipped her chin up with his free hand and leaned closer to her. Mizuki found herself forgetting Kirio was even there since the Captain was so quiet, grasping onto his shirt to pull him closer as her lips met his half way. They took their time as their lips moved softly against each other, knowing they were being separated once more and neither of them rushed to end the kiss. Sliding his tongue against her bottom lip he asked her for entrance which she was quick to give to him, parting her lips.
They contently explored each other's mouth Mizuki found it hard to hold back moaning as his lips caressed hers passionately. Finding it difficult to breathe they reluctantly pulled away from each other and the blonde haired Lieutenant smiled up at him. For a moment he forgot his worry about leaving her in the soul society injured and without her sword while he was gone when she smiled up at him as she usually did. Tilting her head up a little he made her eyes look up to his and he gave her a somewhat serious look. "I'll be back as soon as I can alright?" Ichigo said and she nodded.
"Just be careful." She told him in a bit of a worried tone.
"I will." He told her as he smiled down at her. "I love you." Ichigo told her as he pressed his lips against her forehead, whispering to her in a voice only she could hear.
Mizuki returned his smile. "I love you too, Ichigo." She told him as he got to his feet and the blonde haired recovering Lieutenant glanced over to the purple haired woman with a smile as she and Ichigo let go of each other's hand. "Take it easy on him alright?" Mizuki asked the Royal Guard half-jokingly.
Kirio chuckled at what she said. "Of course, don't worry about anything Mizuki. You just focus on getting better!" The purple haired woman said reassuringly and Mizuki smiled at the two of them as they made their way to the door.
"Bye guys." Mizuki said with a wave as they began walking out of the door and Ichigo shot her a worried look but she shot him a reassuring smile and he smiled back at the sight as he waved back to her. The blonde haired girl took a deep breath when she was alone again and couldn't help but feel a little worried about Ichigo before she closed her eyes and tried to push away the thought, telling herself that Ichigo would be fine.
(Heuco Mondo, 3rd Person POV)
"Your majesty?" Yhwach heard a subordinate ask to catch his attention, the dark haired man looked from the window to the sandy landscape of Heuco Mondo over his shoulder to his subordinate. Kneeling to the ground a few feet behind him the soldier kept their face down, not daring to look their Leader in the eye without permission.
"Yes?" He asked, a bit annoyed that the subordinate was disturbing him while he was thinking about his plans for war.
The subordinate kneeling before him nodded at the permission to speak. "Forgive me for disturbing you your majesty. But I've just been given news that Ichigo Kurosaki reitsu is no longer being felt in the soul society and we suspect that he's gone somewhere else."
Yhwach looked over to his subordinate seriously as he took in the information and pondered over it silently for a few moments. As he turned to face the open window again the subordinate managed to gain the courage to raise his eyes and look at the leader whose back was facing him. "You've done well. You may leave." He said, no longer feeling annoyed with his subordinate since he had at least come with some useful information.
The subordinate was quick to jump to their feet and respectfully saluted his leader before they quickly ran out, shutting the door quietly to give Yhwach no reason to want to kill him on the spot.
As the door shut behind the subordinate Yhwach sighed as he glanced out to Heuco Mondo and frowned, thinking to himself there was only a few days left.
(4th Division Later that Night, 3rd Person POV)
Mizuki sighed, closing her green eyes after a moment as she lied down on the bed wondering if she should try to get some sleep seeing as it was dark outside. The only light in the room was basically from the moonlight outside, the last nurse that had come in had turned off the lights. She felt so annoyed with boredom and with her injuries she couldn't sit up without threatening to open her healing wounds. The blonde haired girl was about to attempt to sleep as she wondered what Ichigo was doing with the Royal Guard when she heard a knock at the door.
Glancing up at the door she reminded herself to not try to sit up as the door opened softly. A familiar light haired man stepped inside as he flicked on the lights as he smiled over to the Lieutenant, closing the door behind him. "I'm sorry for bothering you Lieutenant Yasuko, I didn't come in when you were trying to sleep right?" Hidetomo asked as he walked inside the hospital room and sat down in the seat next to her.
Mizuki smiled at the question. "It's not a problem I was just bored. Good to see you again, feeling better numbskull?" The blonde said jokingly and the sixth seat laughed nervously.
"I'm sorry for being so reckless Lieutenant, yes I feel a lot better thanks for asking." Hidetomo said politely and she sighed at his apology.
"Don't be sorry, I was actually surprised. I wish I could say I was proud though, that was brave but incredibly stupid." The blonde girl told him and he laughed, glancing away from his Lieutenant.
The blonde haired sixth seat looked back to his Lieutenant, a slightly nervous smile on his face. "I won't do it again, I promise."
Mizuki glanced up at him and nodded at him. "Good, don't let it happen again." The Lieutenant told him.
However when the sixth seat glanced down at his Lieutenant he was quick to glance down at his feet away from her, not used to seeing his Lieutenant this injured or in the hospital which made him a bit nervous. "Captain Ukitake wanted me to apologize on his behalf, he's been really busy with work at the moment. He was really sorry that he couldn't come, he's just really busy." Hidetomo informed her with a small laugh.
Hidetomo noticed how the Lieutenant nodded, he raised an eyebrow at her when she stared up at the ceiling above her. "Tell him it's fine, I understand." The sixth's seat looked at her confused when he noticed how she seemed to be thinking a lot and how she wasn't as talkative as she usually would. The blonde haired girl glanced up at him and noticed her subordinate trying to say something, looking hesitant and she gave him a confused look. "What's wrong?" Mizuki asked him to show him he could go on.
The light haired man seemed a bit hesitant as he glanced down at his lap. "I'm sorry Lieutenant Yasuko, I don't mean to pry into your personal business being your subordinate and all but…you seem a little quieter than you usually are. Forgive me for asking such a personal question but a-are you worried about something? Maybe Kurosaki?" Hidetomo explained himself, a bit nervous to ask her such a personal question when she was his superior even though he had worked under her for some time.
Mizuki frowned a little at his question, placing her arms under her head as she sighed. "Hidetomo, you're too sorry all the time." She said before she glanced up at the ceiling. "I'm not that worried about Ichigo, I know that he's strong enough to protect himself and he's only going to get stronger with the Royal Guard." The blonde Lieutenant explained and Hidetomo frowned and nodded in understanding.
After a moment the blonde sixth seat looked up and smiled to his Lieutenant lying in the hospital bed before him as he finally thought of something to hopefully make her feel beter. "You know Lieutenant, just as I was leaving the Division the Captain informed me that the Royal Guard sent word that they along with Kurosaki and the others arrived safely." Hidetomo told her in an upbeat hopeful way.
Mizuki looked over at him and noticed how the look on his face reminded her of how all of her subordinates looked. She smiled at the familiar look as her green eyes glanced up past her glasses to the ceiling. "Good, thanks for telling me Hidetomo." Mizuki told him.
Mustering up some courage the sixth seat pushed on. "Well, then if you aren't worried about Kurosaki then...may I ask what you are worried about, Lieutenant Yasuko?" Hidetomo asked curiously.
The blonde Lieutenant stared up at the ceiling in thought for a few moments, frowning. "I'm not as much worried about Ichigo as much as I am with Yhwach." Mizuki said in a soft voice and Hidetomo tensed as he understood what she was trying to tell him, his expression turning serious as he nodded.
(Soul King Palace, 3rd Person POV)
Quiet footsteps echoed off of walls, making them sound louder as two footsteps echoed as they walked up the stairway. The orange haired substitute soul reaper looked to his side and saw Ichibei who was leading him into the Soul King Palace and he found impatience eating at him as he walked up the long starcase. Glancing up Ichigo saw the end of the stairs comming up and looked on interest, wondering what the Soul Palace would look like.
The two of them made it to the top of the stairs, their feet meeting solid ground as the area immediately opened up at the end of the stairs. Ichibei stepped up to the landing before Ichigo and the large bald man looked over to the substitute soul reaper and smiled over to the younger man. "Well, welcome to the Soul King Palace, Kurosaki." Ichibei told him with a wide grin as he saw Ichigo look out to the vast space in front of him in curiosity.
His chocolate brown eyes took in the rows of tall circular pillars that lined a sort of path forward. Ichigo could see that above the pillars there were discs suspended in mid air with a few buildings on each. Looking up farther still above the few discs was a cylinder like building above all the rest that peaked the orange haired man's interest. "What are those?" Ichigo asked the older man as they paused at the top of the stairs.
Ichibei smiled over to him. "The five discs floation are the Royal Guard's Headquarters, each member of the Royal Guard is given one of them and each one is a different city." The man with a beard pointed up to the cylinder like building that was floating above the others. "That is the Greater Soul King Palace thought, it's the actual Palace where the Soul King lives."
Ichigo looked over to the older man and nodded. "So Renji and Rukia are in one of the city's aren't they?" He asked, remembering how Senjumaru had taken them and his zanpakuto off somewhere while Ichibei showed him around.
With a nod the cheery man smiled wider. "Yes, they are in Tenjiro's City being healed, don't worry they'll be finished in no time." Ichibei explained in an upbeat voice.
Calmly the orange haired man glanced over the floating discs in the distance, the strange area only reminding him that he wasn't in the soul society anymore. For a moment his eyes narrowed as he knew that Mizuki was in the Soul Society and he wanted to just do whatever he had to here so he could go back. With a sigh the orange haired man took a step forward and didn't glance over to Ichibei as he stepped towards the floating discs. "Well? What are we waiting for?" Ichigo asked and Ichibei nodded as he stared to lead Ichigo to one of the cities.
AN: So yeah the only plot spoilers are for Ichigo going to the Soul King Palace and the Royal Guard's arrival. Next time I'll try to actually update on time and everything, I doubt I will but I'll try. Please Review and let me know what you think!
Chapter 53 Preview:
"Oh! Just one more thing!" The purple haired slender woman called out as the three of them made their way to the door to walk on to the next phase of their training. Kirio's slim face suddenly turned serious as she looked over to the three of them seriously once they turned to face her. "You three should be careful when going to the next Captain."
The three of them were a bit taken back by her sudden mood swing and unable to know what to say to that for a moment. Renji looked a little worried by the statement but noticed how Rukia and Ichigo weren't sure what to say and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, well thanks I guess." He said and Kirio smiled, her mood suddenly swinging back to normal.
"Alright, bye guys!" Kirio said joyfully.
