Upon posting I'll have returned from my Midterm break. That's fitting since this chapter's got some angst my boi.
Part I
Usually when someone says they'll be back soon, they mean it. Uryuu had at least hoped Yoruichi meant it when she ran off to find Orikasa many hours ago.
Abarai groaned loudly, slumping against the wall in frustration. "We've been waiting here forever!"
"Quit your whining," Ganju snapped. "It hasn't been that long."
Uryuu would beg to differ. Through a tiny window in the corner he could see that the sun was setting, orange light seeping through. He'd go out to check for himself, but he had far more important things to be keeping an eye on.
The Quincy would be the first to admit (enthusiastically, in fact) that he was mistrustful of Shinigami at the best of times. He would also admit that there were some exceptions to this mistrust. Orikasa was one (mostly because she was human), Shiba was another because of his status as a traitor, Yoruichi was yet another because…well he wasn't really sure what she was yet.
That was beside the point, though. He didn't like Shinigami. He had his "exceptions". The girl lying unconscious in front of him was no "exception".
The Shinigami in their midst was an unknown variable, a supposed good Samaritan that "just happened" to stumble across Orikasa and Ganju in their time of need. Uryuu didn't like her. Uryuu didn't trust her, and he would be sure to keep a steady eye on her.
She seemed genuinely unconscious, at least, though she was starting to stir. Occasionally she would shift or sigh as if she were in the middle of a dream. Her hair (almost as irritatingly orange as Shiba's) was falling out of the careful way she had pinned it, probably to keep it out of the way while she worked. It looked so soft…
He was getting off topic, wasn't he?
So lost in his observations, Uryuu didn't realize that he was being stared back at by bleary grey eyes. He looked away as quickly as he could.
"She's waking up," he announced just loud enough for the others to hear. He moved away from the girl, telling himself that it was so Ganju could get a better look at her, and not because of his embarrassment at being caught staring. (She probably wouldn't remember. She didn't even look awake, yet.)
Ganju spoke to the girl, voice soft and low. Uryuu didn't pay much attention to the words he just leaned back and waited. He was startled upright when the girl let out a high-pitched gasp. He almost activated his bow right then and there.
"Woah, woah, take it easy," Ganju said. He had both hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her in the makeshift cot made up of several folded uniforms. When her breathing finally steadied the man placed a quarter sized pill in her shaky hand. She took it without a word looking equal parts dazed and confused.
"What happened?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
"You knocked yourself out is what happened," Ganju said with a shaky grin. "We got away from Kenpachi thanks to Rukia, and right now we're just waiting for Yoruichi to come back with her."
"Wait," Inoue said, shaking her head, "Yoruichi is here? Captain Yoruichi?"
Captain, huh? Interesting.
The Shinigami shook her head again, as if resigning herself. With that, the sleep fully left her eyes and she got a good look at where she was, eyes lingering on the two new faces. She lingered even longer on the one that was missing. She sucked in a steeling breath.
"We'll just have to trust her," Inoue said resolutely, a tight-lipped smile on her face.
Uryuu wasn't sure which "her" the Shinigami was talking about, but he still stowed away what he had seen then. She looked toward Uryuu and Abarai.
"You're Rukia's friends, aren't you?" Clasping her hands in front her the Shinigami said, "Let me guess… You're Renji," she said, pointing to Abarai who grinned in response, "and you're Ishida," pointing to the Quincy. "I suppose I should introduce myself," she said with a shy laugh. "I'm Orihime Inoue. You can call me Orihime."
Uryuu wouldn't, but took note of the offer, anyway. He cleared his throat.
"Now that our…guest is awake, we need to talk about our next course of action," he said plainly.
"Haven't you been paying attention?" Ganju asked gruffly. "We're waiting for Yoruichi to get back. She said she'd be here soon."
"Soon was at least three hours ago," Uryuu answered with crossed arms. "We can't wait here forever."
"We won't." Ganju was starting to sound angry. "Yoruichi's coming, and I'm not going out there to get separated again just because you're scared, Qui–!"
"Ganju, he has a point," Inoue said quietly. This shut Ganju up immediately, which was a good thing because based on his next words he and Uryuu may have had a problem. "From what I understand we don't have any way of contacting Cap…err, Yoruichi. If for any reason she couldn't come back to us safely, we'd never know. Staying at your station is important, but…" she trailed off.
Uryuu finished for her, "Staying for the sake of staying is just stupid."
Letting out a huff, Ganju said, "I guess you have a point there, four-eyes, but we need to at least give Yoruichi a chance to get here."
"We'd just be wasting time. Have you forgotten that the execution is in a mere three days?"
Ganju visibly flinched at the number, muttering, "Of course I haven't." Still, he wouldn't break Uryuu's gaze. For a moment Uryuu felt thankful that he wasn't stuck with him during that first section of the mission.
"…tomorrow." Abarai said this, more to himself than anything, but it still caught the attention of everyone in the room.
"What?" Uryuu asked.
"We can wait until tomorrow," Abarai said with much more conviction, "then we'll start moving. Yoruichi said she'd come back soon, right? So, if she doesn't come back by the end of the day then we know something happened, but until then…" Abarai looked at Uryuu, painfully perceptive, "let's be honest. You're tired, too."
Uryuu could see Abarai, roughed up, scuffed up, and in overall bad condition. Interrogation tended to do that to someone. For the first time Uryuu thought that he must not look much better.
"Then that settles it," Ganju said firmly. "We wait here until tomorrow." Uryuu wasn't happy with it, but he had no real arguments.
"I'll take the first watch," Inoue volunteered.
"You need to get more rest," Ganju countered.
"I've been resting," Inoue said with a wave of her hand. "I couldn't even sleep if I tried."
That won Ganju over in the end, and it was silently agreed that Inoue would take the first watch of the night. After that would be Ganju (he insisted), then Abarai, and then finally Uryuu.
During this negotiation Uryuu was combing through the food that Yoruichi had left behind. There were a few bags of shrimp chips, some very sugary canned drinks (that Ganju had to help Inoue open), and a couple of protein bars. It wasn't the most wholesome dinner, but at least there was enough to go around. He handed them out evenly and was a little surprised at Inoue's response to this.
"Thank you," she told him brightly.
He tried to say something about how he wasn't even the one to bring these but could only manage a quiet "you're welcome," as he placed the items into her small calloused hands. He made the mistake of taking another look at her kind face afterwards.
He was getting off topic again, wasn't he?
Part II
Rukia woke up slowly, practically dragging herself into consciousness. She wasn't sure where she was, who she was with, and she was in a considerable amount of pain. The fact that this was the second time she's experienced such a thing was starting to worry her.
She couldn't focus on that, though. She instead turned her mind to the sound of rustling leaves right outside, the low whistle of the wind. The room she was in was dim, but warm. Sunlight streamed through in fine lines, cascading over a stone floor.
"Hey, kid," a voice said, and Rukia nearly choked. She was wide awake now.
Looking down at her was a pair of golden eyes that she swore she recognized on a face that she had never seen in her life. Fragments of questions ran through Rukia's mind, but she just couldn't put them together. The woman continued.
"You're more stubborn than I first thought," she said with an easy smile. "You're awake and everything. Do you remember what happened?"
Rukia began shifting into a sitting position only to bite back a groan of pain at the effort. She settled herself back down.
"I'm starting to," Rukia whispered out. "Did you…" Save me? Heal me? "Who are you?"
The woman smirked. "What you don't recognize me? At least try and guess. You just might get it right."
She said this with a certain edge, as if she were issuing a challenge. Call Rukia paranoid, but she was on guard immediately, looking into the woman's large eyes, searching. That was the key, wasn't it? There was just something in those eyes.
"Yoruichi?!" Rukia yelled. The sound choked in her throat, and she brought her hand up to her chest, feeling a bandage over a wound that she didn't remember getting. God, she felt less like she was in a nasty fight and a lot more like she'd just gotten hit by a train.
"See?" Yoruichi said with a smile. "And you only needed one guess."
"You were a Shinigami this whole time," Rukia said, a little dazed.
"You didn't think I was just some cat, now, did you?" Yoruichi asked cheekily.
Rukia answered dryly, "Most cats don't talk."
"Or have significant Reiatsu!"
"Or that."
Looking at Yoruichi now, the real Yoruichi, Rukia could see that the woman had plenty of the stuff. Tightly packed Spiritual Pressure was wrapped around the woman, carefully contained, but just as intense as anyone she'd faced in recent memory. It made her think about just how little she knew about Yoruichi, or Kukaku for that matter.
"Where are we?" Rukia finally decided to ask.
"We're at a Hideout not even the Captain Commander knows about," Yoruichi said pridefully. "We're just under Sōkyoku Hill, right on the cliffside."
"Sōkyoku Hill?" Rukia gasped.
Yoruichi nodded solemnly. "The execution is going to take place right at the top of this hill in three days."
"Then I don't have time to be lying around," Rukia said. She levered herself out of bed, biting back any groans. By the time she was sitting up, she was panting, and feeling a little sweaty. She realized absently that Yoruichi had a hand at her back the whole time.
"Moving around should be good for you, but you don't want to over do it," Yoruichi said patiently. Then, a little harsher, "I know what you're thinking, so don't even try it."
Good, Rukia thought. Then she didn't have to explain herself.
"People are after me, I'm out of my league, I know all that already," Rukia said with frustration. "We're close. Why don't we just finish this now?"
"Maybe because you can't even sit up without tiring yourself out."
Rukia's jaw tightened. She said nothing.
Running a hand through her hair, Yoruichi continued, "You think you know what you're getting into, but you don't, Rukia."
"It's Captain Aizen, right?" Rukia asked quietly. "They increased security or something…"
"Captain Isshin Shiba is looking for you."
Rukia swallowed heavily.
Captain Isshin Shiba. Rukia remembers that name. (How could she ever forget?) She remembers his scruffy face, kind and just a little sad turning ruthless as he drove his Zanpakuto through her. She'd figured this one was coming.
"Do you see now?" Yoruichi asked. Rukia didn't meet her eyes for a moment. They narrowed, warningly, and with much hesitation, Rukia nodded. At that, Yoruichi let out a deep sigh.
"I still don't want to just sit around waiting," Rukia said quietly.
"Well," Yoruichi said, crossing her arms, "what do you want to do?"
Rukia thought for a moment, biting her lip. "You said we were on a cliffside, right? How did you get up here?"
Yoruichi's eyes widened, and she relaxed minutely. "I did that with Shunpo. It's a pretty useful technique. I could show you the basics, if you want."
After some hesitation, Rukia nodded resolutely. Yoruichi helped Rukia to her feet with a smile, and began to explain the basics.
Shunpo was a difficult technique, one that took decades to master. (Yoruichi was pretty eager to brag that she was one of the best at it.) Today, she would be teaching Rukia a more basic form of it, Hohō.
The idea was to put some Spiritual Energy at the base of your feet, just the right amount, and at just the right moment to propel yourself forward. All Shinigami do this, at least subconsciously, but if you can perfect it, you can move faster than the eye can see.
Rukia got to try this herself in the confines of this room, taking a few stumbling steps, trying to find the balance of power needed to go faster without faceplanting on the ground. This resulted in icy patches littering the floor, and a grinning Rukia.
She was able to take her practice outside of the room after that and onto the protected cliffside. The first thing Rukia did was take a deep breath of the clear morning air, enjoying the daylight. The second thing she did was try and see if she could run towards a nearby tree without hitting it.
It didn't quite work out at first, but she got better quickly.
By the time they were done Rukia was sweating, her wounds were aching, but she was at least twice as fast as before. It was then that Yoruichi called it off for the day.
"That's enough," Yoruichi said, looking up at the sky. "You need rest, and I need to make sure your friends don't think they've been abandoned."
Rukia was quickly shuffled inside, the covers tucked around her. Yoruichi left in a flash without so much as a goodbye. Rukia waited for a few moments after that, counting the seconds in her head.
When she decided she'd had enough, she shoved the covers off herself, opened the wide wooden door that led to the outside, and looked out. Before her was a swathe of trees on a deep incline. Slim paths were below. She could make it to one if she just tried, and she knew she had to try.
Ichigo was closer than ever before, and there was no way she was going to just sit there and wait for the execution date to arrive. Sending a silent apology to Yoruichi, Rukia jumped.
For a terrifying moment, Rukia was falling towards a path that was much too far away to be safe. She knew she needed to use the skills she had literally just learned, or she would hit the ground very, very hard. She concentrated some Reiryoku in her feet, and before she knew it, she was stumbling across, safe. Then she was tumbling over. She'd put too much in.
"Shit!" she yelled out. She was already going through the trees, tumbling down. She reached out a hand and grabbed for something, anything.
Rukia jerked to a stop. Her eyes opened slowly. She regretted this immediately.
Her feet were dangling over a sheer drop. There was no more path below her, just the concrete of the First Division and buildings so far away they looked like toys.
She scrambled back immediately, gripping the tree and pulling herself up until her feet meet solid ground again. She felt like collapsing in relief.
She'd say she couldn't believe she actually survived that, but she survived Kenpachi so there.
Speaking of that, she could feel her wounds throbbing. It was much too late to turn back, though. All she did was tuck her kimono tighter around her body and hope that she hadn't reopened anything. Then, she looked up.
She could see the tall white tower at the very heart of the Soul Society. It was where Ichigo was being held, and it was so close. She could even see the bridge that went right from the hill to the tower, and something about that made her gut twist.
Ichigo was there, at that very moment, with a perfect view of his execution site. She suddenly remembered the name the tower was given, "Repentance Cell" and finally understood why it was called that. She felt her fists clench despite herself.
Now wasn't the time to get angry. She'd save that for whatever battle she'd be facing. Now she just needed to figure out how to get to that cell as quickly as possible.
With a heavy gulp, she looked over the cliff once again, resisting the vertigo that overtook her. She leaned over and saw the sheer drop, but she noticed a whole lot more this second time around.
The cliff went inward from where she was, a gradual curve then going outwards until it connected to the ground smoothly. At the very bottom she could see a narrow path, leading up and curving around the hill.
Bingo!
She began to run.
Part III
Ichigo stared at Sōkyoku Hill, unmoving.
Oh, he'd seen it before, but he'd never been this close. Yesterday, he'd had the time to memorize the exact shape of the cliff face. Today, he decided to see if he could count every single tree on it. He's not sure what he'll do the next two, but he supposed it didn't matter.
Fuck this.
He'd rather listen to another one of Sentarō and Kiyone's arguments then think about the shape of the hill he was going to die on. He'd rather drag a drunken Captain Kyoraku back to his Division. He'd goddamn rather have Captain Unohana yell at him again!
Then again, it's not like he had much else to think about.
He tugged at the collar of his white kimono. Why did he suddenly feel like it was hard to breathe?
No, no, there's gotta be something else. You had a pretty good life, after all! Three hundred and twelve isn't a bad run. That's a lot more than most humans can brag about.
He accomplished a lot during those years. He became a Lieutenant, succeeding his Uncle. He basically ran the Thirteenth Squad all by himself for many years.
I wonder how Captain Ukitake's holding up? Last I heard, he was starting to come down with something, again. The Thirteenth may be peaceful, but the paperwork ain't any less. I usually do it all myself when he's sick. I wonder who's going to do it after…
No, no, that was no good. There had to be something else to think about, preferably something that wouldn't send him into a depression.
He'd met a lot of interesting people over the years, both in the Soul Society and out! That had to count for something!
When's the last time I've talked to them anyway? Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki… It's been way too long, that's for goddamn sure. We had some good times back at Shin'ō Academy, even if Tatsuki was mad at me for a lot of it. I never did find out why. I guess I'm never going to know now because…
Gods why was this so difficult?! Ichigo was starting to get pissed off, here! Couldn't he get one moment of peace, one moment of things being just alright, of him not feeling like shit?
What about his family? There had to be a silver lining there because at least he'd…he'd…
I'd get to see my mom again…maybe. That wouldn't be so bad, right? I could tell her everything that happened, all the things I've done, the places I've been, and I might even make her smile.
Well, she'd smile until she realized you left your sisters alone. You said you'd look after them, that they were your responsibility, and sure maybe you haven't been too good at that lately, but at least they knew you were there, and now…now…
Ichigo didn't realize he was crying, not at first, anyway. He felt something wet on his hand and thought there might have been some kind of leak in the tower. Then they kept coming and coming, and he realized that someone was sobbing and no one else was even here and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
He shouldn't be crying. He accepted this, his punishment, the moment that Tatsuki came for him in the World of the Living. Then why couldn't he stop crying?
That was it, wasn't it? That was the real kicker. He still didn't want to die.
Ichigo held his head in his hands, gripping tightly on his hair as he let himself fall apart, and all he could think of was how much of a coward he was.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Ichigo!"
A sob caught itself in his throat. His heart pounded, and he stifled any sounds he was making, rubbing his face clean with his sleeve. The voice was muffled. Who even was that?
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Ichigo, are you in there?"
He heard the voice clearer this time, and he almost laughed hysterically. Of course, it was her. Who else would it be?
"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to break down the door, okay, so stand back!"
Ichigo did the only thing he could. He put on a smile, shaky but genuine, and he sucked in a big breath. He hoped he didn't sound like he'd just been crying his eyes out when he yelled, as loud as he could:
"RUKIA!"
Part IV
Her name, garbled and muffled from the other side of a solid stone door, was easily the best thing Rukia had heard since this whole crazy mission began. Rukia was breaking into a grin, pumping her fist in the air in victory, the works!
"I'm here!" she said. She unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "Now stand back."
Rukia briefly thought over how she would do this. Theoretically, a bit of ice followed by a solid blow should do it, but she'd never tried this on stone, before.
Well, now was as good a time to try as any.
"Dance! Sode no Shira–!"
"Sorry, but I need to stop you there."
The name caught in Rukia's throat as she whipped around to see who it was, though she could already hazard a guess.
There, looking grim, and about as happy about this as Rukia felt was Captain Shiba flanked by another Captain with white flowing hair and pale skin.
Rukia activated her Shikai then, cool air billowing out from her as she stared down the Captains. Captain Shiba just sighed tiredly, unsheathing his own Zanpakuto.
"Burn, Engetsu."
The second those words were uttered all Rukia could feel was heat surrounding her, completely overwhelming her. It wasn't quite like Tatsuki's Reiatsu, which reminded Rukia of a raging furnace. This was like she had stood too close to the eruption of a geyser. It was powerful, a force of nature. Rukia had to take a moment to get her bearings.
"Isshin, let's not be too hasty," the other Captain said pacifyingly. He laid a hand on Captain Shiba's arm, a hand that was quickly brushed off.
"You know why I have to do this, Ukitake."
The other Captain silenced at this, withdrawing his hand completely. He never agreed, not so much as nodding. He just stepped back, accepting. At least Rukia knew she'd only be fighting one of them.
Rukia wasted no time after that. She turned her sword and with a swift stab into the ground she yelled, "White Tree!" She sent a trail of ice right at Captain Shiba, knowing that if she caught so much as a toe she could–
He was right in front of her. When did he even move?
(She knew what this was. This was Shunpo, just like she'd been warned.)
Rukia brought up her blade to block, back to the stone door. She was already buckling under his weight, weakened from her last fight. She had to finish this quickly.
Using her Hohō she sprung left, and then above the man, kicking off his head to get out of the corner she had stuck herself in.
"Your reaction time's gotten better," he commented idly. It may have been encouraging if he wasn't trying to kill her.
"I had some help," Rukia said with a smile.
"I'm sure you did."
Behind him Rukia could hear Ichigo. He was pounding on the door desperately and yelling out words that she couldn't parse. There was maybe even a Kidō Spell or two mixed in there, but it did nothing.
"To be honest," the Captain continued, a humorless smile on his face, turning his blade in his hands, "I don't like fighting young people. You all have so much potential. You take each loss so personally. You just haven't learned that sometimes, losing just happens. So, I'm going to make this quick, for both our sakes."
Captain Shiba raised his Zanpakuto over his head, a cold look in his eye.
"Getsuga Tensh–!"
He cut himself off. He tried to lower his blade, but couldn't, and Rukia didn't need long to figure out why. Yoruichi was standing behind him, holding tight onto a piece of cloth lassoed around his blade.
The Captain swung behind him, blade passing right through where Yoruichi was a second ago. She moved away faster than Rukia could keep track of and landed right between her and Captain Shiba, facing him. The Captain's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Yo…Yoruichi?" he gasped out. "But…" he was glancing quickly between Rukia and Yoruichi, barely able to figure out what he was seeing.
Yoruichi wasn't paying attention to him, though. She was looking over her shoulder, glaring right at Rukia behind her. Rukia felt a shiver go down her spine.
Yoruichi raised her leg in what Rukia was sure were the beginnings of a roundhouse kick, but Rukia never saw the follow through (or at least never remembered). She blacked out upon impact.
Part V
Rukia didn't wake up in a strange place with strange people, in pain, for once. She woke up being carried away to the Hideout, slung over Yoruichi's shoulder, face pressed against the woman's bright orange jacket, wind whistling by her ears.
She started struggling immediately.
"Put me down!" Rukia yelled in Yoruichi's ear. The woman flinched away with a grimace at the noise but kept a tight grip.
"That's funny!" Yoruichi said with a phony smile. "You think I'm just going to 'put you down' after a stunt like that!" She scoffed. "I'm not letting you out of my sight for a minute."
Rukia kept kicking. She was so close before! Hell, her and Yoruichi probably could have taken on that Captain together. Instead, she was getting stuck on Yoruichi's version of a timeout.
Yoruichi didn't let Rukia down when they got to the clearing of the Hideout. She didn't even let her down on the cot when they walked inside. She instead brought Rukia in further, kicking aside a shelf on the far wall. Rukia had to twist her body to see, but no, Yoruichi wasn't just kicking things out of frustration.
In the wall was a mysterious entryway, right where the bookshelf was. Yoruichi ducked into it, and once they were fully inside, Rukia got a good look at the place, and it looked awfully familiar.
"This looks just like the training room under Auntie's house," Rukia said, mouth agape. She bit back a groan when Yoruichi dropped her very suddenly onto the sandy floor.
"The design of that training room was based off this one," Yoruichi explained snappily. She stared down at Rukia, not offering so much as a hand.
Rukia shrunk under the scrutiny, righting herself into a sitting position without a word.
"Do you know what you did?" Yoruichi asked quietly.
"Yeah," Rukia spat out. "I went to rescue my friend, like we've been planning." Maybe she'd gotten tired of sticking to the plan and waiting, after a while. Maybe she'd gotten sick of weaving through the Soul Society and ducking into sewers and closets every few seconds. Maybe she just wanted to do something!
"No," Yoruichi said. She was rubbing her temples, utterly frustrated. "Nothing about that was in the plan. You went there alone and injured with no plan other than to bust in and bust out."
"Hey! I was just–!"
Yoruichi raised her hand, silencing. The words settled in Rukia's gut like a stone.
"Your friends were waiting for me," Yoruichi said. "They were waiting in the First Division for me to come back and for some reason I was too busy to do that. I'm not even sure if I can try and go back anymore, not without you trying to escape again! They probably think you're dead by now, and let's not even think about what's going through poor Ichigo's head!"
Rukia stayed silent, staring at the floor, but she could feel herself grow colder with every word. She had acted first and thought later. She knew that.
Now she was thinking. She was thinking about just how right Yoruichi was.
"I…I'm…" She tried to say "sorry", but it was like something was blocking her throat.
Yoruichi let out a deep sigh.
"Listen," the woman started, "I get it. I know what happened with Madarame, Tatsuki, and Kenpachi. You've been fighting on your own for a while, so what you did probably felt right. I think you know, now, that it wasn't."
"I'm sorry," she finally managed. Yoruichi said nothing, just helped Rukia all the way up and watched as she dusted herself off.
"Your wounds haven't reopened, have they?" she asked.
"I don't think so," Rukia answered truthfully. She was sore, but it seemed like everything was holding up, a miracle, considering.
"Good, you're going to need your strength, for this next bit." As Yoruichi said this she turned, walking deeper into the grounds, silently inviting Rukia to follow.
The place was startlingly similar, but not everything was the same. The terrain that she had familiarized herself with so much was different. Rocks and mountains were in different places, and she noticed several strange lakes and streams.
"Why are we here?" Rukia asked, rushing to keep in step with Yoruichi.
Glancing over her shoulder she answered, "Believe it or not, you weren't just going to lie down and rest. We don't have that kind of time to waste."
Rukia's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You've unlocked your full Shikai, right?" Yoruichi asked suddenly.
"Yeah," Rukia answered, a little confused, "yesterday while I was fighting Kenpachi."
Yoruichi nodded. "That's good," she said. "That means you're advancing quickly. Then there might be a chance…" She trailed off.
"A chance at what?"
Yoruichi stopped in front of what almost looked like a training dummy. It was just a little too oddly shaped to be practical and had no targets. There were just some strange markings that Rukia couldn't decipher. Yoruichi put a hand on its misshapen shoulder.
"Before I go any further, I have to ask you something." Yoruichi said this quietly, reaching into her jacket. She pulled out a familiar looking white mask, severely cracked at the temple. It was a mask that Rukia was sure she had ditched yesterday. "Do you know what this is?"
Rukia held her tongue. The look Yoruichi gave her was intense and completely unforgiving, and somewhere in her heart Rukia knew that there would be dire consequences if she answered this one wrong. The problem was, she had no idea what answer would be right. She just had to hope that the truth would be good enough.
She started cautiously, "Orihime found a mask just like this on me after I fought Tatsuki…and…"
And I think my Zanpakuto is turning into a Hollow.
No, she couldn't say that. She didn't even know how that made any sense. For all she knew Yoruichi would burst out laughing if she said that.
Yoruichi studied Rukia all the while, looking carefully and then looking away. Rukia wasn't sure what she saw, but the woman said nothing more on the matter.
"Then I only have one other thing to ask. Do you know what Bankai is?"
No. The confusion was evident on Rukia's face.
Yoruichi continued, "This is the next step in your Zanpakuto's evolution. It isn't the final step, but for many it's a crucial one.
"Normally, developing your Bankai can take decades or even centuries of training and bargaining with your Zanpakuto, but with this," she patted the mannequin beside her, "you can get it done in three days."
"Three days?" Rukia said, then she took a step back, a bit confused. "Why don't all Shinigami do this?" She pretty sure most of the Shinigami she'd fought so far didn't have something like that. At least one of them would have shown it to her, by now.
"This method doesn't work very often," Yoruichi admitted. "The only other person who's used it successfully was the one who made it. It's a bit too," she struggled to find the word for a moment, "volatile for mass use."
Volatile, huh. Nothing about that sounded good.
"So, how does it work?" asked Rukia.
"You run it through with your Zanpakuto," Yoruichi said with a shrug. "Your Zanpakuto's spirit manifests for three days, and during that time it's all up to you."
Rukia did not like the sound of that at all. Sode no Shirayuki was difficult to deal with on a good day!
Then again, things hadn't been so bad lately. Maybe they had a chance? She just had to ask two questions before she could decide.
"What happens if I don't get Bankai?"
Yoruichi grimaced. "Your growth as a Shinigami will be stunted. You will never reach Bankai no matter how hard you try. Knowing this, do you still want to give it a shot? No one will blame you if you don't."
"That depends," Rukia said firmly. "As I am now, will I be able to defeat Captain Shiba?"
Yoruichi let out a heavy groan. "Ideally you wouldn't have to, but honestly… I'm surprised you've made it as far as you have."
Rukia took her answer with a wince. It wasn't like she hadn't expected that it. At least it made her next decision easy.
"Okay," she said. "I'll do the training. I'll get my Bankai."
This chapter is surprisingly loaded considering it's not nearly the longest I've posted (or will post). I'm the type that likes to leave interpretations to the audience and tries to only clarify lore related bits, but I'm going to clarify one little bit that lies somewhere in between.
Rukia is getting more aggressive as the story continues, and this will be a trend from here on out. It's as much due to her experiences as it is due to the influences of Sode and her inner Hollow, and I just think that should be mentioned before we go forward.
If you'd rather I shut the fuck up and not specify these kinds of things feel free to tell me, I'll listen. If you want me to drop little nuggets like this more often also tell me because your comments give me life.
