By the time R had reached the captains' meeting room with Ichigo and his friends, she had already come up with the perfect reasoning which would hopefully prevent her from being locked away in this place. Or killed. Or both. At the door of the solemn meeting room, she had to stop. She fell to her knees and had to be helped up by Ichigo and Sado. Orihime, being the dear girl she was, kept asking R if she was okay. R proceeded to explain why she felt claustrophobic.
"You can't handle the reiatsu. Just take a deep breath and push your reiatsu against theirs." Ichigo ordered her, interrupting her.
"No," R felt annoyed. Reiatsu was not even a proper word! "I can't 'push' it, Ichigo, The energy from the captains is foreign, so my body repels it. But—"
"It's stronger than she is, and that's why she feels unable to breathe. Much less *push*." R looked at Ishida in silent awe as he finished her explanation for her. "Kurosaki, is there a limit to the denseness of your brain?" Ishida seemed to honestly enjoy making Ichigo confused.
"Uhhhhh." Ichigo scratched his head as Ishida rolled his eyes. "No hang on—"
"Kurosaki Ichigo." The voice which called out was not that of the old man in the animation. This voice was dangerous. It dripped with lava, deep and ferocious. It held millennium of wisdom and battle. "I hear you have brought this ryoka woman here to explain something to us. Get on with it, the captains don't have all day."
"Uh, hai, jii san." Ichigo approached the center of the room with the rest. R, from the corner of her eyes, saw the characteristic flinch of the Captain of the 10th squad, Hitsugaya Toushiro, upon hearing Ichigo address the Sou taichou with something equivalent to grandfather. She smiled slightly. Ichigo continued, "This woman is not part of my group, but I have spoken to her, and she is harmless. She is lost, and so we want to request for safe passage for her to get back to the real world."
R stared at Ichigo, amazed that he could put things so simply to the Sou taichou, without a grain of fear in his eyes or stance.
"There is no way she could have entered Soul Society without a Senkaimon or gotten into our heavily guarded Sereitei without an insider helping her," huffed the ever-suspicious Soi Fon taichou of the 2nd squad. "I do not think we should take this lightly, especially in view of the recent events involving Aizen—"
"Come now, Soi Fon taichou," this honey voice belonged to Kyouraku taichou of the 8th squad. "Let's not get too carried away. Aizen escaped via negacion less than 2 days ago. Why would he have planted such an obvious spy or troublemaker? Let us hear from the lady herself how she got here." He looked at her encouragingly, expectantly.
Everyone's eyes were on her. R cleared her throat. "I came here through my mirror," she started. Someone snorted. She guessed that it was Zaraki taichou. "I live in Tokyo. I don't know how exactly I ended up here." She sighed. Repeating herself again. She was getting tired of protocol. She was going to keep talking, and screw them if they didn't believe it. "So, I have heard of this myth before, that sitting in front of a mirror by candlelight and peeling an apple, alone, will cause supernatural forces to show you your exact future in the reflection of the mirror. I did not actively try it, but I happened to be peeling an apple in my room in Tokyo, where I was playing Bleach anime on my computer. And—"
"Bleach anime? What is that? And what does that have to do with you entering Sereitei? Onna, make yourself clear and precise! Do not waste our time!" Yamamoto sou taichou was getting impatient.
"Dakara, I was trying to explain the relevance and would've finished sooner if you did not interrupt me, sou taichou," she retorted. She felt Soi Fon taichou bristle at this remark. "y apologies. I do not mean to be rude. But to continue, Bleach anime is the animated version of you guys. It's sort of like a cartoon. But it's your story. I can name every one of you here, because I know about you all from the show and the manga. I know about Aizen, Gin, and Tosen. I know how everyone is going to make their moves from this point forth."
"How could that even be possible!" Upon hearing the kind voice, she turned around to see Ukitake taichou of the 13th squad looking very concerned. He had long silky white hair and dark shadows under his eyes. It was worrying to see him so sickly. He continued, "If we were to follow what you are saying, you have powers to discern the future!"
R blinked. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all, Ukitake taichou," She replied, confused. Ukitake taichou's eyes widened at her knowledge of his name. "I'm saying that everyone in here, Ichigo and his friends from the World of Living, Shinigami from Soul Society, and Hollows and Arrancars from Hueco Mundo— they are all products of one man's imagination. But that is valid only in my world. When I came through that mirror, however, it may be that I did not enter a fictional world, but one in a different dimension." She paused, recalling the eerie vibration that had compelled her to step through the mirror. "I am very sensitive to energy, which may be the reason why this place opened up to me. But now I am thinking, what if Bleach isn't fiction? Maybe in another dimension, or universe, all of this is happening. Perhaps we are from different realities. What if everything that was put to paper in one world gets created in another place and time?"
"You are damn right it is all happening." Hitsugaya taichou looked up at her, his turquoise eyes burning. Pain was still there, even in his voice, as he almost trembled trying control it. "Because too many have suffered. I do not know about the feasibility of alternate universes. All I can hear is you mentioning Hueco Mundo, and that means you know what will probably happen next. If that is the case, we will need you to create an advantage for us in the coming war."
"Hnh. Of course. Battle is the only thing that would go on in the minds of these cretins," murmured the heavily face-painted Kurotsuchi taichou of the 12th squad. "If you were to ask me, I think experimenting on her would be more beneficial for the security and the protection of Gotei 13 in the long run. This woman has managed to sneak into a world which is animated in hers. What is this if nothing short of fascinating? How about it, onna? Work for me, I would love to experiment on you and find out what you're made of. See, the reishi concentration here should've already made you explode, but here you are, standing." He smirked at her, intensely creepy, intensely perverse, until Ishida stepped in front of her and raised his voice.
"You shall do no such thing, you disgraceful bastard! Not what you did to my sensei!" R, who'd been frozen by the manic look in Kurotsuchi taichou's eyes, turned to Ishida, his face turning red in anger, his fists balled up. What a righteous young man he was, to not want what happened to his sensei to happen to others. Even complete strangers.
"Quincy. It appears that you have some more anger issues left after the battle. How say you we revive our fight? If I win, give me both the girls for my experiments, eh?" Kurotsuchi taichou mocked Ishida and laughed.
"Kurotsuchi taichou." The voice gave her the chills. "In your excitement to further your scientific research, do not forget that our pride as Shinigami lies in our ability to protect human beings. You will not abuse your position for unwarranted experimentation." R turned to look at the owner of the deeply chilling voice. Kuchiki Byakuya of the 6th squad was staring Kurotsuchi taichou down with a glare. He now turned to her, his steely grey eyes fixed on her. R blushed. He was a really handsome man. However, his face was empty. His expression was stone.
"That will be enough." Yamamoto sou taichou cleared his throat. "Kurosaki Ichigo. I understand your concerns, but we will not be letting this woman go with you yet. We will investigate further on her motives on entering Sereitei, and her means of doing so."
