Ikkaku was having a nice time as he bathed in the sunlight over the roof of one of the buildings. After the fight between his captain and whacko from squad 10 things have settled down quite nicely. Captain Zaraki has mellowed down a bit but now his captain was itching to have another go at Kurosaki and it was the head captain's threat of severe actions that kept Captain Zaraki in check. That doesn't mean squad 11 got scot-free from the debacle. Instead of assigning them to fight and destroy hollows squad 11 was now doing manual jobs like patrolling the streets, checking building quality etc. This was driving his fellow squad members nuts and they all were itching for a fight. After the first attempt by the ryoka to enter Seireitei he knew in his guts that there was going to be a fight. He just needs a little luck to be in the right spot at the right time when the fight inevitably starts.
"How long are you going to stay up there Ikkaku?" Yumichika asked as he stood by his long time friend
"As long as we are doing this manual job I am taking some much-needed rest. I will need it before the fight." Ikkaku said as he continued to bath in the sun
"You are awfully sure that you are going to fight. I don't see how they are going to invade seireitei with the barrier in place." Yumichika said as he nodded at the gigantic walls and the protective dome that was surrounding seireitei.
"What the hell is that?" Yumichika points at the rapidly advancing ball of energy and not a moment later it began to grind into the barrier
"Ha, what did I tell ya Yumichika. It is starting." Ikkaku shouted as a grin settled on his face and he sat up looking eagerly at the energy dome. He was not disappointed as the ball of energy managed to pierce through the barrier of seireitei and it began to split off in mid-air. Ikkaku and Yumichika watched as a beam of light struck close to their position a few buildings away. They exchanged a grin and set off in the direction of the crash site eagerly. As they arrived near the crash site they saw two ryoka dusting themselves and climbing out of the crater arguing amongst themselves. One was in a shinigami garb and had orange hair for the soul king's sake. The other was well dressed for an outlaw and had the look of a wild boar or was it a pig, they couldn't agree on that.
"Well… well… well… look what we have here. Some lowly ryoka have graced us with their presence Yumichika. Didn't I say that I had a feeling we were gonna be lucky?" Ikkaku smirked at his comrade
"You are right Ikkaku. But let's not be ungrateful to our guests and welcome them properly." Yumichika said in a poised manner
Ikkaku and Yumichika jumped in front of Ichigo and Ganju who had set aside their arguing in favour of scrutinising the enemy they were facing.
"I will take on the girly looking one you deal with the bald one." Ganju murmured to Ichigo who didn't have a chance to react as Ganju threw several smoke bombs at Yumichika and ran away from there immediately. That made Yumichika chase after Ganju all the while coughing as he inhaled a lot of smoke.
Ichigo looked at the direction where Ganju ran with a look of concern but squared himself to face his own enemy. He placed his hand on his Zanpakuto on his back and pulled. The gigantic khyber knife came free of its bandages and Ichigo pointed it at Ikakku.
"Where is Rukia Kuchiki?" Ichigo asked with a frown
"So you are after the prisoner huh. If you want to know about Kuchiki you have to defeat me." Ikkaku shouted with a battle-hungry gaze
"Then I will beat it out of you myself." Ichigo gripped Zangetsu tightly in preparation for an attack
"In that case be ready to eat dirt you foolish ryoka." Ikkaku roared and to Ichigo's confusion and horror his opponent began to dance with ridiculous moves
"What the hell are you doing bald face?" Ichigo yelled at the ridiculous situation he found himself in
"This is my lucky dance ryoka and don't you dare call me bald or else I am going to rip you into tiny little pieces." Ikkaku shouted as he stopped his lucky dance and became serious
"What should I call then?" Ichigo asked
"I am Ikkaku Madarame, the third seat of squad 11." Ikkaku introduced himself as he moved straight for Ichigo with an overhead swing. Ichigo blocked Ikkaku's attempt and began to apply more force into his goant Zanpakuto.
"I am Ichigo Kurosaki and I will defeat you." Ichigo shouted as he pushed with all his strength and surprisingly that managed to blast away Ikkaku into the wall of a nearby building.
'Kurosaki? Is he related to Indra Kurosaki? But this guy is so different than Indra-san.' Ikkaku's mind was filled with questions but he pushed that away for the time being and decided to just enjoy the fight.
Ikkaku let loose a battle cry and rushed at Ichigo. Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks and they began to exchange blow after blow. Ikkaku gritted his teeth in frustration as he couldn't breach the guard of Ichigo. As Ikkaku caught one overhead slash from Ichigo with his sword he saw an opportunity and took it. Ikkaku flicked his wrist and slid his sword right under the guard of Ichigo but in the process he exposed himself. Thankfully both Ichigo and Ikkaku jumped away avoiding any serious injury. But after a little while, they realised they both became injured as blood began to drip over their eyes.
Ikkaku swiped his hand over his left brow to find blood on his hand which made him smile.
"Huh, look at that. You cut me." Ikkaku said impressed by the sportsmanship of his enemy. He took out an ointment from the hilt of his Zanpakuto and applied it above his eyebrow.
"Tell me something, who taught you to fight ryoka-boy?" Ikkaku asked curiously
"Kisuke Urahara." Ichigo answered with a lopsided smirk
Ikkaku's eyes widened at that proclamation. He was a little surprised that the former captain of squad 12 trained his opponent.
'Urahara is a captain class shinigami and a crafty bugger to boot. I can't treat any student of his easily.' Ikkaku thought and slowly he began to increase his reissue output
"In that case, there is no point in dragging this out. It will be very rude of me to kill a student of Urahara so easily." Ikkaku proclaimed and once again they engaged in a battle of sportsmanship.
Ikakku let Ichigo get the better hand in the fight and that made Ichigo lower his guard. Ikkaku used this moment to release the reaitsu that he was gathering to release his Zanpakuto.
"Extend, Hōzukimaru."
In a flash of smoke Hōzukimaru's shikai was activated and his sword grew into a naginata that managed punch a little into Ichigo's shoulder before the orange-haired teen could dodge completely.
Ichigo pressed his hand over his bleeding shoulder in pain. He observed the naginata that was now in Ikkaku's hand a little apprehensively.
"So this is the true form of your Zanpakuto?" Ichigo observed the Zanpakuto and he now knew that Ikkaku will have more reach with this weapon. But that also means he himself will be able to defeat Ikkaku so long as he attack in close quarters. Ichigo began to pump in more reitsu into Zangetsu and charged at Ikkaku.
As Ichigo expected Ikkaku kept him at bay with a series of jabs with his spear tip. Ichigo was not going to dance to Ikkaku's tune so he slid down through the ground and deflected the spear with Zangetsu which left Ikkaku wide open. 'This is my chance.' Ichigo thought as he went in for a slash aimed straight at Ikkaku's heart. But Ichigo's eyes widened as the naginata in Ikkaku's hand split up into a sansetsukon and one part of it smashed into Ichigo's cheek blowing him away from Ikkaku.
"Ha ha ha ha how's that Ichigo?" Ikkaku laughed as he began to attack with the sansetsukon that was now proving too much for Ichigo's defences. Each blow from the sansetsukon left a red mark on Ichigo's body and even with a large sword like Zangetsu was proving to be not enough to withstand the onslaught of Ikkaku.
Then out of nowhere, Ichigo found himself with a tunnel vision and he attacked with Zangetsu in instinct. There was a blinding flash of light and an explosion which left Ichigo dazed for a moment. As the smoke cleared he found Ikkaku lying prone bleeding on the ground with a large gash on his chest.
For a moment Ichigo stood there with a confused look but he was brought out of the stupor when Ikkaku's zanpakuto glowed a red colour and returned to being a regular sword. Ichigo carefully moved near Ikkaku but he found the bald Shinigami lying unconscious on the floor bleeding quite heavily. His eyes strayed from Ikkaku to the Zanpakuto that lay close to the shinigami. With a sigh, he took the zanpakuto and found the ointment hidden inside the hilt. He began to apply the ointment on his wounds from the battle. There were quite a few of them so it took some time to apply. After he was finished he was about to leave but something stopped him from leaving the injured shinigami.
'He was my enemy but do I really want to let this guy suffer or worse bleed to death?' Ichigo thought and it took him no time to come to a decision. He began to apply the leftover ointment on Ikkaku's wounds. Years of helping out in his dad's clinic have gifted Ichigo with a set of steady hands and that came to use as he carefully applied the ointment over the wounds of the defeated Shinigami.
Ikkaku woke up with a strange burning sensation all over his body. He blinked his eyes and he could vaguely see a blurry figure of someone close to him. He blinked a few times and saw a mop of orange hair. That immediately clued in who he was seeing and he tried to sit up quickly.
"Stay down else you will worsen your injuries." Ichigo said as he pushed down Ikkaku
It was then that Ikkaku realised the burning sensation on his body was because of the ointment.
"You! What did you do?" Ikkaku snarled
"I applied your ointment on myself and on you." Ichigo said with a shrug
"You fool. I am your enemy and you are wasting your time on healing me?" Ikkaku shouted incredulously
"I am not here to kill anyone. I am here to save my friend, Rukia." Ichigo said as he stood up and secured Zangetsu over his shoulder
"You are crazy. How do you expect that to happen without treating your enemies as enemies you stupid strawberry." Ikkaku shouted
"What did you call me bald-face?" Ichigo developed a tick mark
"You heard me." Ikkaku smirked
"Whatever just tell me where Rukia is being held and I will be on my way." Ichigo said as his classic frown returned to his face
Ikkaku let out a sigh and decided to pass on the information since Ichigo defeated him in battle.
"Rukia Kuchiki is held in Senzaikyū. It is a prison that will absorb the reitsu of a spiritual being and weaken them for execution." Ikkaku answered
"Where is this prison located?" Ichigo asked
"It is the tallest tower in seireitei. You can see it from here." Ikkaku pointed at the giant tower that was pointing straight into the sky
"Thanks." Ichigo began to walk away from the downed form of Ikkaku
"Wait." Ikkaku called back "Are you the strongest in your group?" Ikkaku asked
"Hmm…. I think so." Ichigo answered as he paused
"Then you better watch out for my captain, Zaraki Kenpachi. He will track you down and fight you as you are the strongest of your group." Ikkaku warned
"Thanks for the heads up." Ichigo was about to run away but Ikkaku stopped him
"Do you have any family here in seireitei?" Ikkaku asked
"No. Why do you ask?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow
"Do you know anyone with the name of Indra Kurosaki?" Ikkaku asked
Ichigo froze hearing that name and a cold icy feeling passed through his body. Before he could ask anything he saw a group of Shinigami chasing Ganju who was running at the very front carrying a petite shinigami on his shoulder.
"Ichigo run if you want to live." Ganju screamed as he dragged Ichigo away with him as he passed by. Ichigo couldn't argue as a lot of screaming shinigami were after their blood. So he went along with Ganju and ran away but his mind was a mess of emotions.
After running circles around the chasing shinigami, they finally managed to throw them off the trail and hid inside a storage room. It was then that Ichigo noticed there was an additional guest among them.
"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo frowned at the petite looking shinigami
"I am Hanatarō Yamada of, the seventh seat of the fourth division." Hanatarō said with a troubled look as he nervously looked at Ganju and Ichigo
Ichigo turned to Ganju and hit him right over the head.
"Ow. What was that for Ichigo?" Ganju screamed
"What were you thinking by dragging a shinigami around with you?" Ichigo shouted as he pointed his finger at Hanatarō who flinched
"Hey, if it was not for me those thugs from the eleventh division would have killed this kid." Ganju defended himself
"Whatever. We have to leave Hanatarō here and find Rukia." Ichigo insisted and Ganju nodded. Together they began to plan out a route to take from their position but was interrupted by Hanatarō
"If you are going to save Rukia then I will help you. I know where she is held and I can take you there safely." Hanatarō in a moment of bravery offered his services
Both Ichigo and Ganju looked at Hanatarō incredulously.
"Why the hell would you want to help us save Rukia? Why would you betray your own comrades?" Ichigo asked suspiciously
"She is my friend and she had told me a lot about you and how much she enjoyed her stay in the human world with your family Ichigo-san." Hanatarō said even as he reeled under the intense scrutiny of Ichigo and Ganju
"How do you know Rukia?" Ichigo asked curiously relaxing his stance
"When Kuchiki-san was captured she was imprisoned in a holding cell of the sixth division. I was assigned as a janitor there and we became friends. She often talked about you Ichigo. She was also sad that she was the reason that your life drastically changed in the human world." Hanatarō shook his head sadly
"So you can lead us to Rukia and you have access to her prison cell?" Ichigo asked excitedly as his resolve to save Rukia all the more stronger.
"Oh no. Rukia has been moved to Senzaikyū and I don't have access to that place. But I know where it is and I can lead you there in a safe route." Hanatarō said
"How?" Ganju asked before Ichigo could
"There are sewers under seireitei and they are spread out across the city. Only a few fourth division members use this network to transport medical supplies." Hanatarō suggested
Ichigo and Ganju agreed with the plan and together they followed Hanatarō into the sewers. As they began their journey Hanatarō began to explain in detail about how he met Rukia. Ganju was listening with rapt attention but Ichigo's mind was still stuck upon the revelation that his twin might be alive and well in Seireitei. In all the chaos that was his life he never thought of the possibility that his own late brother could have joined the thirteen court guard squads. But more than ever he needs to confirm whether Ikkaku was talking about the Indra he knew rather than some other stranger. The main reason that he doubted the identity of the Indra Ikkaku spoke about was because Rukia never mentioned this guy to him. In fact, Rukia knew about what happened to his twin brother and mother and why would she keep something like that from him if she knew.
"Hanatarō do you know anyone by the name of Indra Kurosaki?" Ichigo suddenly asked breaking the flow of Hanatarō's story mode which was filled with a lot of bullying and bullies
"I think so. I remember someone named Indra Kurosaki joining the 10th division quite recently. There are rumours floating around that he managed to defeat Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of 11th division." Hanatarō rubbed the back of his head nervously
"Can you describe how he looks?" Ichigo asked curiously
"Long dark hair and he is tall as you are Ichigo-san. He is pale white and has an oppressive aura around him which is scary. I have not seen him up close but the rumour is that he is really good looking and as powerful as a Captain. I am sorry I don't know much about him." Hanatarō apologized
"Why do you want to know about this guy Ichigo?" Ganju asked curiously
"I had a twin brother whose name was Indra Kurosaki and he died when we were really young. I think the shinigami that Ikkaku and Hanatarō speaks about is possibly my brother." Ichigo said as an excited look came over him
"Don't be so sure to celebrate Ichigo. Even if this shinigami is your brother it is also possible that he does not remember you. New souls that arrive in Soul Society loses all their memories during konso. We must first rescue your friend and then we can worry about your brother but don't keep your hopes too high." Ganju warned and they continued their journey while Ichigo was having an internal battle with himself
XXXXX
Indra walked in a sedate pace towards the Central 46. This was the agreed-upon time for him to meet up with the three traitorous captains. Seeing as an emergency session of the central 46 was called it was finally time to do away with the governing body of soul society. On the way, he met up with Kaname Tosen who was also due to the same destination.
"I see you are sharp as ever Kaname-san." Indra commented as he walked next to the blind captain
"A chance to suspense true justice to the corrupt and rotten structure of shinigami is a chance that I won't be late for." Tosen said as they neared the building.
"You seem to have a personal stake to get rid of this governing body Kaname-san. Why is that?" Indra prodded lightly to see whether the tough exterior of the blind shinigami would have cracks and he was not disappointed
"All the corrupt power-grabbing trash of soul society meets in this single place. Most importantly this is also the place where most of the noble families of seireitei meet, debate, and create laws. This has also been the chamber where criminals and mass murderers were set free. The barbaric laws of soul society were forged in this building. In soul society's history the central 46 has never fallen to enemy assault but today that is going to change." Tosen took a deep breath to calm himself after that rant
"I can see the two of you are getting along well." Aizen commented as he arrived with Gin closely following him
"I think this the start of a long and enduring friendship like ourselves captain Aizen." Gin smirked
"Focus on the matter at hand Gin. We are after all going to commit the greatest 'crime' in the recorded history of soul society." Tosen said and all of them took a moment to let that sink in
"There is no point in delaying the inevitable, shall we." Aizen said as he led the group to the entrance of the building
The guards stationed outside didn't even twitch as the four shinigami crossed the entrance as they were under Kyoka Suigetsu's influence. It was for the first time Indra was within the chambers of Central 46 and it was built as pompous as it could be to match the ego of the people that inhabit it. There was a series of stairs that were leading to the balcony of a giant done like structure. There was also a long hallway that had many rooms and even several sealed chambers. Just from the interior design of a small part Indra could guess that the meeting chamber was in circular shape with different levels to house the representatives of central 46.
Aizen moved closer to a large open door and entered the chamber in a measured pace. Indra and the others closely followed Aizen into the chamber and was greeted by the sight of different bickering men sitting around the chamber. Then the main door and entrance if the building became sealed shit and the session of Central 46 started.
"You see how ignorant they are Indra. Even now they are bickering amongst themselves and playing the game of greatest exploitation our world has ever seen." Aizen commented as he waited serenely for the starting of the session
One member of the governing body stood up and addressed the chamber.
"There has been repeated attempts by the 13th division and 6th division to interfere in the 20th district of Rukongai. The slave traders in the outer districts have been very cooperative with our agenda and they have been instrumental in securing resources we need. I say it is time that we impose more restrictive budgets on the gotel 13. They are getting too bold nowadays."
Another member stood up from the opposite end of the aisle and addressed the chamber.
"It is the opinion of the Tsunayashiro clan that mixing the rotten rabble from Rukongai has affected the gotel 13. It has put rebellious thoughts on several 'enlightened and liberal' shinigami to advocate for establishing 'peace' in Rukongai. This kind of thinking must be stopped else rebellious elements will drain the power of noble families."
Many of the representatives showed their support by clapping a few times on their desks.
Tosen slowly began to unsheathe his zanpakuto all the while the chamber continued to carelessly debate and plan to continue sucking the Rukongai dry.
"You said later that I have a personal stake in destroying these corrupt trash from this world. You are correct in that assessment Indra-san. When I was young I had a friend who helped me overcome my blindness. She was a talented shinigami but above all else she was just, compassionate and strong. The Tsunayashiro clan head murdered her and this entire farce of a chamber buried it all away. Her killer still roams free and I took a vow to teach them all the true might of Justice one day. This is why I took her zanpakuto as my own and I bided my time when her soul can truly rest easy."
With that said Tosen disappeared in a flash and Indra saw the representative from the Tsunayashiro clan get bisected into two parts from a single swing of Tosen's sword. For a moment there was silence and it was broken by the sound of two halves of the body fall on the floor. Aizen had removed the hypnosis of Kyoka Suigetsu just as Tosen moved and the entire chamber bore witness to the death of one of their colleague.
There was pandemonium as several representatives stood up in alarm. Others were frozen in shock and some were screaming at the four shinigami.
"Captain Tosen, Aizen, Ichimaru. What is the meaning of this?" several members shouted
"This is justice. This is the Justice that has been so far denied to the people who have unjustly suffered under the depravities of trash like you." Tosen calmly said and he began to cut down anyone that moved
"Shall we join in the fun…" Aizen smirked as he spun his zanpakuto in his hand and cut straight through the neck of a fleeing nobleman
"What about you Indra? Want to join on the fun?" Gin took out his own sword ready to deliver death
"Why not?" Indra shrugged and took out his own zanpakuto and began to cut down anyone that moved toward the exits on the northern side of the chamber.
It was a slaughter as the four captains drowned the chambers in blood. Screams of the members of central 46 echoed in the chambers. They pleaded and grovelled on their knees for mercy but there was none. The pristine white marbles of the chamber were stained with blood by the time Aizen and his subordinates were done with the governing body of seireitei. Surrounded by blood Aizen stepped forward on a raised platform and addressed his three accomplices.
"This is just the start. The corruption that has affected soul society is not originated from here. It starts from the Soul King and the rot must be cleared from the point of origin. It is my aim to bring the end of Soul King and remake the world into a more vibrant society. For this to happen we must tear down the old structures that support this corrupt world. The central 46 has fallen and the next to fall will be the gotei 13. After that, we destroy the noble families of soul society and finally the soul king himself. This is the start of the war, a war for a better and new world." Aizen proclaimed
"Mm… Captain, you need to work on your speeches a little more." Gin commented from the side-lines breaking the silence
"Don't you worry about that Gin. I am working on it and by the end, I will have a more concrete speech put together." Aizen commented lightly not at all bothered by Gin's antics
"There are still the aides left in the personal chambers and the hallways." Tosen reminded everyone
"Then let's not keep them waiting for their due rewards." Aizen smirked and walked over a sea of blood towards the exit.
What followed was a close repeat of the massacre in the chamber. Not a single person was spared in the slaughter that followed. From the lowest aides to the highest-ranking nobles every single one of them lay dead choking on their own blood within half an hour. After that part was done they met near the exit of the building.
"Tonight I will be 'dying' a tragic death. After that I will be here in central 46 waiting for the perfect timing." Aizen said and then turned to Gin
"You know how to handle our dear friend Hitsugaya. Ensure that he attacks you right in front of Momo." Aizen ordered looking at Gin
"Of course captain Aizen." Gin said with his usual smile
"Indra you stay close to Captain Hitsugaya. When the time comes you know what to do." Aizen said and Indra nodded showing his assent
"Tosen will be our mutual contact in the next few days. We won't be meeting each other until the day if the execution and I will further bring chaos in the ranks of hotel 13 with restrictive orders from central 46. Are there any questions? No. Let's get to it then."
Indra returned back to squad 10 barracks quickly and took up his duties. Squad 10 was in charge of the north-western corner of seireitei and Indra was in charge of leading patrols. He had consciously taken up more duties to free Toshiro and Rangiku from official duties. Seeing as they were going to be busy from tonight he thought it would be the least that he could do for them. There is also the fact that the living world needs more shinigami patrols and that left all divisions in a state of disarray with the invasion. After assigning some shinigami patrols in the world of the living Indra personally led a team to patrol the North-Western sector of seireitei. Till late evening he oversaw strict patrols in the region by questioning some residents and even patrolling remote areas regularly. After the sunset, Indra returned back to his office while the assigning night shifts to some of his subordinates. By then rumours were floating around that the lieutenant of 6th division Renji Abarai and Ikkaku Madarame of 11th division had been defeated by an orange-haired ryoka.
This piece of news was a huge blow for the morale of regular shinigami. They were afraid that the ryoka were strong enough to defeat a seated officer and a lieutenant. Perhaps that was why Indra was immediately called into Captain Hitsugaya's office for a meeting.
XXXXX
Kurotsuchi Mayuri walked through seireitei with his daughter. While the average shinigami was leery of the creepy and cruel captain of the 12th division they were now positively blanching as they were greeted by the sight of a happy whistling Mayuri who had a spring in his step. Typically Mayuri was not paying any attention to those beings whom he considered inferior. In fact, his mind was occupied with the information he had gained from Ikkaku Madarame.
When he first heard that a group of ryoka had managed to infiltrate seireitei he was ecstatic. He was looking forward to an interesting test subject for years and fate had seen fit to deliver it to him. Now, all that he had to do was find the ryoka and begin experimentation right away. The only problem with that plan was that the thick-headed shinobi of other divisions were refusing to cooperate with him. The morons failed to understand that the ryoka were valuable research material. He was especially mad at that morons from 11th division and their thick-headed captain who evicted him from interrogating Ikkaku Madarame. But Mayuri was not the captain of R for nothing. He planted listening device discretely in the room and listened to the conversation between Ikkaku and Zaraki. It was from this conversation that he realised that the orange-haired ryoka boy might be a relative of Indra Kurosaki of 10th division. The moment he heard this piece of information he immediately started to dig into the family history of Ichigo Kurosaki. The 12th division agent that he had sent into Karakura town was extremely successful in obtaining all info regarding the Kurosaki family. All the agent had to do was set up a local server and hack into the local social security servers of the locality and the entire file of the Kurosaki family was amassed in digital format. The agent returned back to seireitei with full data and the mission ended within one hour. Mayuri was extremely pleased and he rewarded the agent by promising not to conduct any experiments on him for a year. He could see the spark of happiness in the eyes of the agent at the news.
Anyway that all happened hours ago and since then he had been preparing his division to set up a trap for the ryoka. Now that all preparations were ready he had one last piece of work to be done. This was why he and his 'daughter' Nemu visiting the 10th division.
"Captain Kurotsuchi I was not expecting you of all people to visit my division." Toshiro commented as he looked coldly at the eccentric captain of squad 12
"I was advised by the Head Captain that inter-division cooperation is necessary to stop the ryoka invasion. This has led me straight to you Captain Hitsugaya. As you know the 12th division is in charge of improving our defence from other spiritual realms and now the ryoka invasion has proven that we are vulnerable from the living world. It is imperative that we capture the ryoka to determine the way they invaded us and create suitable defences against such methods for the future." Mayuri tactically framed his words in such a way to appeal to the sense of duty that the young shinigami captain could stand behind
"How can we help you?" Toshiro asked with a sigh knowing that the freak was twisting his arm for something and going at it in a way that even Toshiro found himself not to protest as this was for the security of seireitei
"In my efforts to understand the ryoka and their objective in seireitei I came across a piece of information that may interest you, Captain Hitsugaya. It is something regarding your third seat officer Indra Kurosaki." Myuri said in his creepy voice and handed over the information his agent collected from the living world
Toshiro took the file handed over to him a little apprehensively and opened it. The first page had a photo of a small boy that looked remarkably similar to a younger version of Indra. Toshiro took a deep breath and began going through the file and he was relieved to see that the young Indra was listed as dead at a young age. That means Indra's arrival in soul society matched the time frame so that means Indra was not a traitor.
Toshiro turned to the next page and he saw several photos of an orange-haired teenager named Ichigo Kurosaki. As he read the file he realised this was the twin brother of Indra and was now probably responsible for this invasion. There was not much information about the family but there were some references about two sisters and a dead mother in the report. He closed the file and gave it back to Mayuri with a sigh.
"What do you hope to accomplish with this intel? You know as well as I do that blood relations in the living world does not matter in seireitei." Toshiro said with a hard look
"Your third seat may not remember his family in the living world but the ryoka will surely remember his brother. I just need your third seat to set up a trap for the ryoka. I can approach the Head Captain with this mission if you doubt my intentions." Mayuri said with a smile that Toshiro found quite appalling
"I have no problem in loaning my third seat if it will lead to the capture of ryoka. Just keep in mind that if your plan endangers my subordinate there will be consequences." Toshiro said coldly and nodded briefly to Rangiku who was listening to the full conversation. She immediately left the office to track down Indra.
"Don't you worry captain Hitsugaya. Your third seat will be safe and back in your squad barracks before tomorrow morning." Mayuri said and at that exact moment, Rangiku returned with Indra in tow.
"Captain, how may I be of assistance?" Indra settled into his role showing no surprise to the presence captain kurotsuchi
"Here read this…" Mayuri handed over the file to Indra who casually flicked through the pages and then gave it back to Mayuri
"You suspect I have some involvement with my brother's invasion?" Indra asked with a raised eyebrow
"On the contrary, I am sure that you have no involvement at all. But this unexpected find will surely put a bad light on you and I am sure you don't want that." Mayuri smirked
"I am sure you have a solution to my dilemma Captain." Indra frowned at the 12th squad captain
"Your aid in capturing the ryoka will clear any doubts about your loyalty and will, in fact, earn praise. I know that you have a bone to pick up with Zaraki and I will even write a letter of recommendation if you manage to put down that madman." Mayuri offered and he was sure this was something that would pull the young shinigami to jump at the chance
"I will cooperate with you captain Kurotsuchi if my captain allows it. The last mission with inter-squad cooperation didn't end well for some of squad 10 members." Indra said as he turned to Toshiro who gave his permission for the mission to go ahead.
Mayuri smiled in satisfaction as his plan succeeded and now he could almost feel that he was close to getting his hands on his new test subjects.
XXXXXX
Indra stood on the roof of a building under the cover of darkness observing Uryu Ishida and Inoue Orihime. He was only ordered to step in if the ryoka was found to be Ichigo so he was comfortably staying far away from the action. Just as in the anime he observed the two teens get caught red-handed by Makizō Aramaki of 11th division. It was then the 12th division members came into the 'rescue' of Uryu and Orihime.
Indra watched as Mayuri blew up his own subordinates to test the powers of his potential test subjects. Indra observed the shield created by Orihime that saved Ishida, Aramaki and herself from harm. In a classic bad guy style, Myuri made his entrance creeping out just about everyone including Indra. He could hear Uryu ordering Aramaki to take Orihime and run from there. Indra was not going to stop that from happening but he had an interest in Inoue Orihime. But Uryu, on the other hand, was an interesting individual simply for the fact that he carried Quincy relics and he was curious to study it up close.
Indra scoffed as Mayuri's arm was blown off by Uryu's spirit arrow. The arm quickly regrew after the freak injected himself with some drug but it was truly appalling that this moron was given the position of captain. The fight that followed was the most foolish fight he had ever seen. Mayuri was just bringing shame to all spirit beings by his 'brilliant' tactics to disable a teenage Quincy. It was truly pathetic in his opinion as Mayuri used Nemu as a distraction to cut down Ishida. Even then the freak merely managed to graze the arm of Uryu and then began a long monologue by insulting the Quincy. Frankly, this freak was really testing Indra's patience by simply breathing at this point. Uryu himself was not that far off as he dramatically swore on his pride as a Quincy to kill Myuri.
Indra sat up in attention as Uryu removed the Sanrei glove. He watched in fascination that Uryu's spiritual pressure skyrocketed easily surpassing Myuri in spiritual pressure alone. A strange armour covered Uryu and from the feel, he was getting this form was truly powerful but unsustainable and chaotic. Frankly, he had no idea how Uryu was even managing to hold this form intact and attack Myuri at the same time. He observed that the rate of absorption of spirit particles have tremendously increased in this form. It was a testament to Uryu's skill and brilliance that he managed to land a direct hit on Mayuri even though the attack lacked any killing intent. Mayuri survived the initial attack and activated his bankai while Uryu just stood there allowing his enemy to activate a higher form.
Indra watched with a bored look as Mayuri's freakish bankai spilt poison gas around the area. Indra moved a little back just in case but unfortunately, Uryu was not so lucky. The young Quincy inhaled a lot of poison and he sealed his fate. But Uryu had the last laugh as he created a strong reishi arrow and destroyed the bankai along with blowing a hole through Myuri. The 12th division captain stood there with a giant hole through his body for some time but ultimately escaped from the area by turning himself into a liquid. It was now that he decided to step into the show.
Indra stood up from his position and unleashed a good portion of his spiritual pressure into the area. That immediately caused Uryu to look in his direction. Indra raised his hand and gathered his spirit energy.
"Hadou 58: Orchid Sky (Tenran)"
A large tornado blast was fired from his arm that blew away all poison gas from the area. The force of the blast had pushed Uryu a few feet back and Indra flickered opposite to Uryu in a relaxed manner.
"You swore on your pride as a Quincy to kill Myuri Kurotsuchi and yet you did not, why?" Indra asked curiously
"I don't know. Who are you?" Ishida asked as he tightened his grip on his bow
"You are near death. You should take the antidote." Indra said as he looked pointedly at Nemu who was lying on the floor bleeding quite heavily.
Indra flash stepped close to her and began to apply healing kido. Nemu took out the antidote from behind her lieutenant badge and handed it over to Indra. He threw the bottle to Ishida who captured it with surprise but quickly took the antidote.
Uryu pointed his bow straight at Indra who was healing Nemu.
"Who are you and what is your intention here?" Uryu asked making Indra sigh as he stood up to face the Quincy
"My name is Indra Kurosaki and my intention is to capture you of course." Indra said as he drew his Zanpakuto from its sheath
"Kurosaki? Do you really think that you can succeed where your captain failed?" Uryu chalked up the name as a strange coincidence and gathered more spirit particles
"That moron is not my captain and you should never compare me to that fool who is a disgrace to all spiritual beings." Indra said as his eyes flashed for a moment and that was all the warning Uryu got as a kido binding bound him quickly
"Bakudou 61: Six Rods of Light Prison (Rikujōkōrō)"
Six yellow beams of light slammed into Uryu's midsection holding him in place. But Uryu by that point had released the huge arrow that he amassed straight for Indra.
Indra gave a simple flick of his Zanpakuto that deflected the arrow away from him. The giant arrow fell far back and a blinding explosion shook the ground under the force of the explosion.
"That's impossible." Uryu whispered as his eyes widened in disbelief
"Let me educate you on something. In a battle between two spiritual beings, the amount of spirit energy one possess decides the victor. Your capacity to absorb spirit energy is impressive but the fact is that you don't have the capacity to hold it in you." Indra walked closer to the struggling Quincy who was weakening faster
"That means the difference between our power is worlds away from each other my Quincy friend." Indra said as his blade flashed in the dark and Uryu's bow fell to the ground in two pieces. The armour that was protecting Uryu faded away into reishi particles and Uryu fell unconscious.
"Will you be alright?" Indra asked as he cast a sidelong look at Nemu who sat up and pushed herself up against the wall
"Other squad members will be arriving. I will be fine." Nemu said with a nod
Indra nodded and disappeared with Uryu over his shoulder. A few quick flash steps saw that he reach the squad 10 barracks. Toshiro and Rangiku were right across the holding cells and Indra approached them with Uryu.
"So you captured one ryoka. Where is captain Kurotsuchi?" Toshiro asked as several shinigami took Uryu and put him inside a holding cell
"The Quincy did a number on the captain. I doubt we will be seeing much of Captain Kurotsuchi anytime soon." Indra said with a shrug
"We can interrogate him later captain. Let him have some sleep for the time being." Rangiku for once became the voice of reason and Toshiro dropped all inquiries for the day
Later that night Indra lay comfortably on his bed and slowly sleep claimed him. If he was a little more aware he would have seen a black cat sitting on his window looking curiously at his sleeping form.