Hey, everyone! Like always, I'm starting the Book off with a prologue. It's a little bit longer than the other ones but I think it's a good introduction to one of the most important storylines I'll be getting into in Book 3. I'm really, really excited about this Book and I wanted to get the prologue out as fast as I could. I hope you all enjoy!
Prologue: Escape
Soi Fon, captain of Squad 2 and commander of the Stealth Force, stood rigidly with her hands clasped behind her back. Her breathing was calm and steady and her expression betrayed no emotion. Before her, Captain Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto sat in a thin, wooden chair and looked out over the ruins of the once grand Seireitei.
As the squads buried their dead and gathered those who still lived, the workers strived tirelessly to rebuild the sacked city. There was not a single person in Soul Society who had not lost someone they loved or knew. Below the grief and pain of their collective loss, a deep, powerful anger threatened to bubble towards the surface. The Soul Society wanted blood.
"You summoned me, sir?" said Soi Fon.
The old man did not look at her and nodded. "Yes. I wanted to go over a few things with you before you left."
"Of course, Captain Commander."
"Besides the need to capture our enemies, the reason I am sending you and your stealth troops to the other world is to scout it out. We have no idea of what that world is like or how it operates. In the event that Kurosaki and the Avatar are too difficult to capture, I am prepared to send a full-scale invasion into that world. We are unable to do so right now but it remains a possibility. For that reason, I want you to focus on reconnaissance and to report back what you learn."
"Yes, sir. Do I have your permission to use lethal force?"
"You do. Choose your team wisely. That world may be vastly different than our own. Think of it like a mission to the world of the living."
Soi Fon chuckled. "So Omaeda probably wouldn't be the best choice."
"Definitely not."
A hurried knock came at the door behind her.
"Come in," Yamamoto said.
A young, sweating Soul Reaper came dashing through the door and bowed down quickly.
"I'm very sorry to interrupt you, Captain Commander and Captain Soi Fon. I have urgent news."
"What is it?"
"It's- it's Kuchiki Rukia. She's escaped."
Rukia panted for breath and struggled with a mild limp through the rubble-infested streets of Seireitei. Her fall from the prison tower had been mostly successful but she had injured her ankle while doing it after landing awkwardly. Now she staggered down a mostly untouched road on her way to the Senkaimon.
The last few days and weeks had gone by so fast. She had spoken to Ichigo and found out he was in the other world and stuck there. After doing much research she had met with him again and explained how to return home. Then when he eventually did come back, she realized it was for the wrong reason and convinced him to go back only for him to get possessed by an evil demon spirit and destroy the Soul Society. And now they wanted to kill him.
"Why can't he ever just stay out of trouble?" she complained aloud.
It was him butting in that had led her to give him her Soul Reaper powers in the first place. He just didn't know how to mind his own business. It both infuriated and attracted her. She knew why he couldn't. Ichigo was bound by a promise to protect those he loved and he would never not live by that. She couldn't let him be captured and executed by vengeful Soul Reapers. She had to do something.
The Senkaimon was getting closer and her thoughts turned to how she would get through. There would no doubt be guards, maybe even high-ranking Soul Reapers and she didn't have her zanpakuto to fight them. She only hoped things would go her way. Behind her, a squad of Soul Reaper guards burst around a corner giving chase.
"Stop where you are!"
"You're not allowed to leave!"
"You won't get away from us!"
Rukia sighed. Poor souls. She didn't want to fight them but they could prove to be a problem. Her ankle was getting more painful every step and she was moving at a much slower pace. Curse my ankle. Hopefully Shunpo doesn't damage it too badly.
She leapt into the air and landed on the rooftops, shooting across the sky and leaving the guards behind. The Senkaimon was in sight. She hoped Renji and her brother would be alright. The Captain Commander would surely suspect them of freeing her and may detain them or worse, execute them too.
Rukia arrived at the Senkaimon and swore quietly as she came down to the street and hid behind a broken wall. There were five to ten Soul Reapers standing guard before the entrance. Tetsuzaemon Iba, the lieutenant of Squad 7 was there with them, his distinctive black hairstyle and shiny sunglasses making him stand out amongst his peers.
With no sword Rukia doubted she could take him on and win quickly without them alerting others to the situation. She needed a distraction of some sorts. As she was brainstorming, the distraction came.
"Oi Iba!" A cocky voice said.
"Ikkaku? What are you doing here?" Iba replied.
Ikkaku walked into the square, his spear laid across his shoulders as he rested his arms on it as always. The sun reflected brilliantly off his head and his stride was lazy and slow. Behind him a small squadron of Soul Reapers followed. Iba and his men's attention was diverted away.
"It's Squad 11's turn to guard the Senkaimon," Ikkaku said loudly. "You guys can buzz off. We don't need you."
Iba crossed his arms. "Is that right? And is that how you address the President of the Shinigami Men's Association?"
"Oh shut up," Ikkaku drawled. "We all know you're a joke."
"What did you say, bastard?" Iba fumed.
"You heard me. What are you gonna do about it?"
Iba's hand went to his sword then he hesitated. "This is no time for a duel. Kuchiki Rukia is on the loose."
"So what? She's just one girl. They'll catch her. What, are ya scared?"
Iba laughed. "A duel it is then."
Ikkaku grinned. "Perfect. I was looking to burn off some energy."
They drew their weapons as their men formed a circle around them, several meters away from the Senkaimon gate. Rukia had been making her way around the square silently as the two men bickered. Suddenly she made a break for the gate, forming symbols with her hands as she did so.
"The fugitive!"
"Stop right there!"
Rukia pointed her right hand at the Soul Reapers as she ran.
"Hado number 33, Sokatsui!"
Blue fire came from her palm and blew away the guards. They toppled into Ikkaku and Iba as Rukia flung herself through the Senkaimon.
Uryu sighed and adjusted his glasses. Sometimes he felt like sitting in class in Karakura University was the biggest waste of time of his life. The professors droned on and on about irrelevant topics that were none of his concern. It's true that he cared about his studies but after learning about the other world, and Kurosaki's subsequent reappearance and then disappearance, he could think of nothing else.
Brushing his long bangs back behind his ear he glanced surreptitiously around at his classmates. None of them were people he knew from high school save for Mizuiro Kojima, Kurosaki and Keigo Asano's friend. They rarely talked; neither were particularly social but they'd give each other the occasional nod.
Uryu had distanced himself from his friends after high school ended. Kurosaki's initial disappearance had left their friend group feeling empty and lifeless even though everyone believed he was in Europe, everyone except Uryu of course. Chad and Orihime had joined him at the university along with Tatsuki and Chizuru. He knew that Orihime and Tatsuki always had lunch together with Chad and Mizuiro and wanted him to come but he rarely did.
He looked over at his left hand, his bow arm. The whole episode with Kurosaki didn't make total sense. He had pieced together some of it but there was still so much he didn't know. Uryu's eyebrows twitched as he sensed a shift in the reiatsu outside the building. He got to his feet and headed out of the lecture hall, Mizuiro glancing over at him as he did.
Outside he found Chad sitting beneath a tree in the courtyard. The big man nodded to him as he approached.
"You felt it too?" Uryu said.
"Yeah," Chad replied.
Behind them, Orihime scurried down some steps waving her arms.
"Do you guys feel that?" She called out.
"Yeah," Uryu said. "It's Kuchiki Rukia."
Above them, Rukia alighted on top of the school. Her prison robes were dirty and tattered and she came down to them slowly.
"Rukia!" Orihime ran over to give her a tight hug and Rukia groaned as a response. "Are you alright?" Orihime said concernedly.
Rukia coughed. "I barely made it through the Dangai. I need to tell you guys something."
Chad got off the bench he was sitting on and offered it to her. She thanked him and sat down with Orihime next to her. She activated Soten Kisshun and began healing Rukia as she spoke.
"You guys know that Ichigo came back the other day and visited here, right? Well the whole story you've believed up till now about him being in Europe is a lie. Uryu discovered this but basically there are two worlds and Ichigo was sent there by Urahara and Isshin. That's where he's been all this time. The Soul Society has many legends about that world but the main one is the Avatar. The Soul Society fears her and believes her to be their greatest enemy. Ichigo became friends with her and discovered that she's actually some sort of guardian or hero. After Ichigo came back and visited here, I convinced him to return to the other world where he was then possessed by a dark spirit. He and the Avatar came here to the Soul Society and fought, destroying it in the process and killing many, many people. Now the Soul Society is out for blood. They're planning on sending Soi Fon with a team of her stealth troops to kill or capture them. I've come to warn you. But we must hurry and get this message to Ichigo."
"How?" Uryu asked. "If he's in that other world we have no way of getting there."
"We must go to Urahara and Isshin and explain the situation. They can send us there."
"Well then, let's go," said Orihime.
Chad looked up. "Wait."
Rukia swore. "It's too late. They're here."
Above them, a gate opened in the sky and twenty Soul Reapers soldiers dropped in and surrounded them. Behind them came Kensei Muguruma, Izuru Kira, Tetsuzaemon Iba and Ikkaku Madarame. Rukia looked in surprise at the white haori Izuru was wearing that signified him as a captain.
"Izuru… captain?"
He nodded sternly. "By default. After Ichigo slaughtered my captain Rojuro Otoribashi, I was the logical choice. I wear this haori with pride. We're here to bring you back to your cell, Rukia. Please don't resist."
Kensei stepped forward and addressed the others. "I assume she's explained the situation to all of you. We're allies here, we don't have to fight. If you're willing, we can all go back to Seireitei and work through this together."
Orihime got to her feet. "Anyone who wants to hurt Ichigo is no ally of ours."
Kensei held up his hands. "I understand how you feel. But with all due respect, you don't know what Ichigo did to the Soul Society. He killed thousands. He's been rightly named a fugitive. Believe me, all I want is to talk to him peacefully and find out why but we need to find him first. Come with us. Please."
Chad raised his fists. "No."
Kensei sighed. "I didn't want to do this."
He raised his arm and the Soul Reaper's surrounding them began to move in. Izuru, Ikkaku and Iba all drew out their weapons. Rukia pulled Uryu close.
"You're the fastest of us. Get out of here and get to Urahara. Ichigo needs to know what's going on."
"What about you guys?"
"After you leave, we'll surrender. Kensei doesn't want to hurt us. We'll be fine."
Uryu nodded and leapt into the air, firing a quick round of arrows to scatter the Soul Reapers. He landed on the school and quickly began running between rooftops, jetting across the sky away from the scuffle.
"I got him!" Ikkaku yelled and dashed after him.
As soon as Uryu was out of sight, Rukia held up her hands.
"We surrender."
"We do?" said Orihime.
"I do," she replied. "Take me back, Kensei. Let Orihime and Chad go."
He hesitated. "Alright. They're free to go. But we'll be leaving a contingent of Soul Reapers in Karakura Town just in case."
Two Soul Reaper's grabbed Rukia's arms and placed cuffs on her wrists. Orihime stepped forward but Chad put his arm in front of her.
"Not now," he said quietly.
"We can't just let them take her!"
"Ichigo's sisters are still here. We need to protect them and tell them what's going on. They deserve to know."
Orihime gritted her teeth and then relented. "You're right."
Rukia was led away as Izuru eyed them suspiciously. Another gate opened and the Soul Reapers stepped through it, leaving Orihime and Chad alone in the courtyard.
Uryu swung down from a tree branch into the little square in front of Urahara's shop. He let his spirit bow dissipate and glanced around the square before heading inside. The little store was dark and empty of customers as usual. Jinta was manning the cash register and the red-haired boy looked disdainfully at him.
"What do you want, four eyes?"
Uryu ignored the insult. "I need to speak with Urahara."
"He's in the back. I'll call him for you. Hey, old geezer! You got a customer here!"
There was a rustling in the back as Urahara bustled forward, brushing the dust off his hat as he came out.
"Jinta, how many times have I told you not to call me old geezer when there's a cus- oh it's you."
"We need to talk," Uryu said.
Urahara gave his usual devious smile. "Do we now? What about?"
"I need you to send me to the other world. The Soul Society is trying to kill Ichigo and I have to warn him."
"Oh dear. You know I wish I could help you. But without the help of Isshin, you're stranded here."
"What's he got to do with it?"
"There must be two captain-level Shinigami using their powers together in order for the Kido to work." He glanced past Uryu's shoulder. "He could do actually."
Uryu whirled around. Ikkaku was standing in the entrance with his weapon in his hand. Uryu quickly activated his bow and aimed an arrow at the bald Soul Reaper.
"Don't take another step."
"Hold up," Ikkaku said. "I'm not here to capture you." He set down his weapon. "I'm here to help."
Urahara chuckled. "My, what an interesting development."
"Explain yourself," Uryu ordered.
"Look, not everyone in the Soul Society wants Ichigo dead, how about that? I know you're trying to send him a message. Let me help. I owe him one."
"You're not playing a trick?"
"He's not smart enough to," Urahara snickered.
"Shut up," Ikkaku retorted. "I'm not gonna bring you in. I heard Hat and Clogs here say you need another captain-level Shinigami. You got one right here."
Uryu slowly released his bow. "Alright. How does this work, Urahara?"
"Let's go downstairs," he replied.
On their way down to the training grounds beneath the shop, Urahara explained the Kido and the incantation to Ikkaku. He had a little trouble wrapping his head around it but Urahara sat him down and they spent a good amount of time working through it while Uryu waited. He grew more agitated with every minute that passed. He feared that the more time he wasted here, the more time Soi Fon had to get to the other world.
"Okay," Ikkaku said at last, "I think I got it."
"Are you sure? Remember if we mess this up, Uryu will likely die."
Ikkaku chuckled. "I do my best work under pressure."
"I'm assuming you're not the only Soul Reaper who's on Ichigo's side," Uryu said.
"Yeah, I'm not. There's more of us but we're trying to lay low. The Captain Commander's got it out for us."
"How many of you are there?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Squad 11 is totally on Ichigo's side. We want to find out what's really going on."
"You guys don't care about all the people he killed?"
"They were already dead. That's why they were in the Soul Society, right?"
"That's… morbid." Urahara blanched. "But also quite true."
"We don't care about the details. I don't know much about what's going on, I just want to help."
Uryu nodded. "Thank you. Your help is appreciated."
"You better get going, four eyes. Soi Fon is impatient as hell and she won't wait around for long."
The three of them approached the fake Senkaimon gate and Uryu stood before it with Urahara and Ikkaku on either side of him.
"Remember," Urahara said, "we can't control where you end up. You may arrive in a totally different spot to wherever Ichigo is. I don't know how they plan to send Captain Soi Fon there but I'm assuming they can't control her destination either. In any case, be careful. We don't know much about that world and less about its people."
Uryu nodded. "I understand. Until I get my bearings there, I won't go out looking for Kurosaki. We also don't know how that worlds feels about him." He turned to Ikkaku. "Help Rukia, if you can."
"I will."
"Alright, Ikkaku," Urahara said. "Let's begin the incantation. Don't mess up the timing."
Uryu took a deep breath and readied himself. He opted against wearing his white Quincy uniform so as not to draw attention to himself. Instead he hoped to steal some clothes as soon as he got there. Adjusting his glasses, he steeled himself as they finished chanting.
"Bakudo number 100: Sekai!"
Uryu felt himself sucked into the gate and was immediately bombarded on all sides by immense pressure. He strained to stay conscious as he was shot through black nothingness but he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth together. It felt like his journey would never end and he opened his mouth in a primal yell.
At last, the pressure began to subside and it felt like he was spit out of something. His hands and feet landed on something hard and he rolled to cushion his fall, eventually landing on his back. For a few minutes he just sat there, breathing and recovering his strength. Finally, he opened his eyes.
A clear, beautiful, blue sky was above him with vast, sprawling clouds and a bright, warm sun. All around him, he could hear the sounds of activity; machines chugging and huffing, the distant throb of conversation and countless animal noises he had never heard the likes of before.
Uryu sat up and his eyes opened wide with amazement. Before him was a ginormous city, an expansive metropolis that stretched as far as he could see and was surrounded by huge, stone walls. The city was coloured brilliantly by browns and greens and golds with vibrant, unique architecture and was teeming with life. It was a truly stunning view.
He sat atop one of the massive walls and he looked behind him to see an even larger city, this one far poorer and degraded with wood and mud instead of stone and greys and ugly browns instead of greens and golds. It smelt horrible and the people inside looked dirty and miserable.
Several people also atop the wall looked at him curiously as he stood to his feet and brushed himself off. He adjusted his glasses and walked towards them. A man dressed like a soldier came towards him.
"Hello, stranger. Not often we get denizens of the outer ring atop this wall."
"Where are we?" Uryu said. "What is this place?"
"Are you serious?"
"I'm- I'm a traveller," he lied awkwardly. "I've never been here before. I wanted to see the world."
The man looked at him suspiciously. "That's a flimsy story. Every traveller, hell, every person in the world has heard of Ba Sing Se."
Uryu strode past him. "Not this traveller."
Alright, that's it! Tell me what you thought! Like I said, I'm super excited to get this book going but it's going to take a while to get the next chapter up. I have to plan out the whole book with all the story arcs and character arcs so that's going to take a little while but I've been working with a routine towards certain goals so I'm sure it'll go smoothly and I'll be able to post soon.
As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!
(Replying to comments down below)
Comment from Silverfenics: pls make it so that this story has Ichigo/Asami/Korra in the future!
and awesome chapter but its kinda wierd how weak Ichigo Vasto Lorde/Ressurection was compared to normal
Reply: We've talked about your questions privately so I'll just say thank for you reading and I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Comment from 1: Great chapter hope to see volume 3
Reply: Thanks! Volume 3 starts right here!
Comment from Raximus: The situation has reach the eye of the typhoon. So many questions remain. So many things Gotai 13 is unaware of.(insert evil laugh)
Reply: Yessir haha and things are only gonna get crazier
Comment from Just Phatom: At first you followed the story of avatar but now shits about to go off the rails with the soul society coming
Reply: Hahaha so true
Comment from anoyak111: I love this chapter. Ichigo is going to have more hardships. I hope with soi fon squad they have their on personality and characteristics not just nameless fodder.
Reply: Thank you! And thank you for coming back to read every time. I totally agree and I want to deliver that. I'm thinking it'll be a mix of known soul reapers and some oc's who aren't just fodder like you say
Comment from Guest Isa: Epic conclusion. But once more Soul Society jumps the gun...What about Kenpachi and Ikakku, surely they're not gonna let one of their favorite "sparring" partners bite the dust. I felt Ichigo has more allies in Soul Society than shown. More to the point, I feel Byakuya would've been far more subtle. But that could just be me.
Also, are we gonna see Orihime, Chad and Uryu join the story alongside Rukia? Eventually.
For example, what will Orihime's reaction be?
Good story, I hope you see it through to the finish!
Reply: Thanks! And don't worry Ikkaku's in this chapter and we establish that he and Kenpachi are totally against what the Soul Society is doing. And yes Ichigo totally has more allies but they have to be quiet about it. There's just been a tragedy and people are hurting. He could've been, for sure but I think with the intensity of the situation, he had to be more engaged.
Well you got your answer in this prologue to that question hahaha, I'm gonna be doing more with Orihime and Chad but Uryu especially will have a big role in this book
Thanks again!
Comment from BrokenLifeCycle: Classic Seireitei. Always jumping the gun thinking they are always in the right for being the thugs chosen to maintain their precious "balance" and never hearing the full story while omitting and removing the details to support their narrative. They're like a bunch of sensitive snowflakes who lash out whenever something upsets their bubble of status quo.
How many times has this mindset led them to digging themselves into a hole?
Let's not forget the real idiots who pushed Ichigo into this mess in the first place: Urahara and Isshin. Most likely Urahara was the one who concocted this idea in the first place seeing he's that scientist who would sacrifice other lives to fix his fuck-ups or just to sate his curiosity.
But for Isshin to agree with the idea and send his own son into another world without warning?! Fucked. Up. Piss-poor "father". And he has the gall to call Ichigo a failure? For failing in a mission he didn't inform Ichigo about and didn't elaborate the second time around? The only failure here is Isshin himself for needlessly endangering his son.
I'm more disturbed by Isshin's fixation to this "mission" over Ichigo's health!
The kid's been alone in a COMA for thousands of years, suffered from mental TRAUMA as a result from it, had to struggle through the recovery away from familiar people and environments for an unhealthy amount of time, and suffered through the possibility that he'll never see anything familiar again. And when he's finally clawed his way back home, the first thing he's hit with is his own father showering him with disdain and shame for failing something beyond his knowledge nor control.
I'm surprised Ichigo didn't become disillusioned like Vietnam war veterans! I'm also surprised Ichigo didn't get majorly changed after all he's been through! I'm talking about long-term PTSD here! Is he even fully recovered yet? Like, his soul is borked after Vaatu basically raped it and now he's going to be hunted down by former friends and allies!
He's still a teenager, damnit!
Reply: Whoa, gotta say I love this passion! And I agree, Ichigo's been through a lot and he's shown a lot of strength so far. He's made mistakes obviously but who can blame him? Like you say he's still a teenager. Thanks for reading!
