Several pairs of eyes watched the figure move back and forth, anxiety clear on her face as the rhythm continued on and on, over and over for several hours now.
"Karin, sweetie, he won't come back any faster if you wear a hole in the floor." Rangiku spoke up politely.
"I thought it was just a meeting, what could they possibly be doing?" Karin grumbled as she continued pacing within the Squad Ten Captain's office.
"He still has to officially be made a Royal Guard." Kadin shrugged, both he and his Lieutenant distracted from paperwork as the Substitute fretted about not getting to hear any news. She wanted to know what was going on, if there was any progress made in fighting back. "I have no idea how long that will take."
"Not to mention whatever that note was dad sent with him." Yuzu added. "He never did tell us what it was…"
The father being spoken of was currently off somewhere else, buying himself with repairs and the like. The only other people in the room, those who had yet to speak, were Rukia, Renji and Yoruichi, the werecat currently waiting on Ichigo for a report to send on to Kisuke and the others back in the World of the Living. Though she seemed calm, her cat tail was flicking back and forth impatiently, almost matching Karin's pace across the floor.
"Do you think Ichigo's causing a ruckus, maybe?" Renji smirked, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Not any more than the king's other guardians would." Rukia rolled her eyes. "They were quite something, weren't they?"
The red-head simply grimaced and went quiet. Some things were really better left forgotten.
Wood sliding across wood brought their attention up to the doors, where Isshin stood with a firm stance, a silver clad messenger of the Soul King's realm beside him and stepping inside. Everyone found themselves holding their breaths as they waited for news.
"There's going to be a Captains and Lieutenants meeting later." Isshin spoke first, aiming this at Kadin and Rangiku. The former nodded to show he understood. "This fellow will be joining all of you with some important news."
The messenger gave a slight bow as he was pointed to, remaining silent for the time being.
"I want to be in that meeting." Karin snapped defiantly.
"That's up to the Head Captain, missy." Her father argued.
"I don't care, this involves all of us and I've been a big target for the demons since we found out Toshiro was the Soul Prince and he came over for my birthday, I have as much right to know what's going on as any of the Captains and Lieutenants."
"She has a point." Kadin said. "If any of us deserve to know everything going on it's her. She was targeted directly by Dethmaiyn two years ago."
Yuzu flinched. She didn't particularly like the memory of that day, even if the only death was the death of her brother's human body, leading to his permanent Soul Reaper status, a beneficiary outcome to that explosion. He sister's attack was one of the worse ones.
"Even so, you know the final decision has to come from the Head Captain." Isshin sighed, putting a hand on Karin's shoulder.
"I'm a Substitute; the laws don't apply as heavily to me, just like with Ichigo." She grumbled.
"Ichigo was a special case because of what all he did, and the Head Captain still gave him orders…well, tried to. Ichigo only followed them if it involved Karakura Town."
Sighing, the black-haired teen flopped into the couch to wait, arms crossed impatiently.
Following this was a tense silence, the messenger staying off to the side to avoid being distracting and the guests talking quietly amongst themselves to pass them time while the Squad Ten pair did their work. Well, one of the Squad Ten pair. Rangiku eventually gave up and moved to chat with the others while Kadin sighed and continued his own work.
"When exactly is the meeting?" Rangiku questioned Isshin.
"In about thirty minutes." Isshin answered. "You and Captain Thane will make it just fine, don't worry."
"We'll head over in just a few minutes, Matsumoto." Kadin added, still working and not looking up.
"I still want to go." Karin huffed.
"A Hell Butterfly always comes to announce a meeting, and the Head Captain knows you stay here with us, so if he decides to let you go it'll say so."
Simply huffing one last time, Karin finally settled down to wait.
In the Soul King's Realm, Ichigo stood with Ruala, Toshiro and Ichibe in the meeting hall, everyone else cleared out save for a few commanders off to the side.
"Before I forget…" Ichigo dug into his uniform and pulled out his father's letter. "Here, dad wanted me to give you this."
Toshiro took it, a single brow rising in curiosity, and proceeded to open and read it right where he stood, skimming through the characters on the page to take in the main points. After he finished, he smirked slightly.
"I suppose I should welcome you, then, for your return to the Royal Families."
"Eh?" Ichigo snatched the letter away and skimmed it as well, doing so a little slower than the young king. "Wait, he actually went for it?"
"With a few conditions, of course, but I can talk those over with him later before we make it official. Let him know I'll send a reply when I can once you meet with him. Which means I'll need this." He took the letter back from the taller Reaper and folded it neatly before putting it away in his coat for later. "Now go, let the Head Captain know what's going to be happening tomorrow. Ruala will take you and Hyousube there before returning and we'll try to locate the entrance so when our reinforcements arrive we'll be ready to move out."
"And what are you doing when that time comes?" Ichigo crossed his arms, having heard from Karin about the argument with Senjumaru about his involvement in the war.
"I have to go; I'm the one breaking the seal." Toshiro smirked, knowing what the guardian was thinking. "I'll be down there tomorrow, but today I need to keep an ear out for any other reinforcements to change the plan any if needed." He glanced at Ruala. "And I have to help her with finding the entrance."
The petite guardian barely suppressed the frown on her face and the tensing of her muscles as she thought about what she would have to do later.
"I'm sure you can do it." Ichigo smiled kindly at her to hopefully ease the nervousness. "Well, guess we better get moving."
'Wait!' Myndræl shouted to Toshiro.
"Hold on." The young king paused them as they gripped Ruala's hands.
Curious, the trio watched as he closed his eyes for a mental conversation with his dragon. Once the report was given, Toshiro looked at them once more.
"It seems we have more dragons wanting to find their partners." He told them. "It's probably better to just fly with them down to the Soul Society. They can make it there fairly quickly."
"Alright then!" Ichibe laughed excitedly. "It will be a great honor to ride with dragons! How many will there be?"
"Five."
"Wow, guess they're willing to come out of the nest." Ichigo scratched his head, surprised by the number.
Toshiro chuckled a bit before walking away, Ruala following him since she was no longer needed for teleporting. Ichibe and Ichigo made their way outside, coming upon six large dragons, one clearly much older than the others and one very young. The Fire-Lightning Dragon Noxis was among them, being the young one. It was he who approached the two, along with Myndræl.
"Lord Myndræl already told us we'll be flying down." The Fire dragon said. "We can't wait to meet our partners."
"Don't expect to find them immediately." Ichibe replied sternly. The drake nodded before returning to the other four, Myndræl taking flight and leaving them be to go back to the Japanese branch.
"So, who all do we have here?" Ichigo crossed his arms as he stood before the towering creatures.
"I'm Noxis, a Fire-Lightning dragon." The crimson dragon stood proudly.
"Grendir, a Wind-Earth dragon." The dragon that spoke was a dark teal with sky blue along the edges of his scales, claws bright white. He had small wings of a brown color, same as the armored scales down his muzzle and spine, the spikes at his back jagged and random like stones in the ground. Amber eyes held a rather malicious look as the dragon stood mostly on his hind legs, clearly built for speed while still having the Earth trait of power.
"Hasyl. I'm a Wind-Lightning dragon." This dragon spoke in a rather uncaring tone, body lean as a Wind dragon should be but with large silvery wings that matched his silvery body, sky blue eyes looking away with a bored expression. There was a stripe of dark blue across his wings and his lower legs were of the same color, claws gray, with an icy blue at the bottom edge of the wing and coloring the fins on his tail. Yellow tiger-striped down his body with small spots of pink like sakura petals, the spines down his back electric blue.
"I am Laseiltha, a Flora-Water type dragon." The she-dragon had more manners than Hasyl, bowing spring green head down, pink eyes alight with secrets. Her belly was a contrasting purple from the green of her body, pink lining her scales and striped on the front of her legs. Her large wings faded to a darker forest green and there were dark blue fins down her spine and crowning her head as ears. She was the oldest of the group.
Ichigo turned to the final dragon and resisted the urge to shift away.
"Wardin. Lightning Dragon." The dinosaur looking drake grinned maliciously, black eyes glinting in a bloodthirsty way. His thick hide was a sandy color with lighter yellow atop and burnt black below, forelimbs small as he stood on back legs only in a similar stance as a raptor, sandy wings tucked into his body. Electric blue strips ran all down his body and wings, wicked yellow spike on the end of his tail and horns on his nose. The dragon had spikes on almost every joint that didn't jab into his body, making him a walking weapon.
"Very nice to meet you all." Ichibe bowed to them. "It will be a pleasure to ride with you to the Soul Society."
"I'll be willing to carry you both." Laseiltha stepped forwards. Being the oldest, she was definitely the biggest and could definitely carry both of them without much difficulty.
The two guardians mounted and they all headed over to the edge, ignoring the Tenchuren. Each dragon opened their wings wide and dove downwards, Grendir using his power over wind to fly since his wings were anatomically too small to carry him.
Atop the palace, Myndræl watched them descend for a moment before resting his head on his paws.
'They have left.' He reported to his partner.
'Alright, thanks.' Toshiro responded. He was currently with Ruala as she stood before a full body mirror, staring into it with a sense of foreboding at the task she was to complete.
Also with them were Kirio, Tenjiro, Alicia and Kavain. All of them had been willing to offer their power to Ruala in order to locate the whereabouts of the demons hiding place, where her sister was. Kirio stepped forward and put a gentle hand on Ruala's shoulder as the girl continued to hesitate.
"Don't worry; we're all here to help." She told the girl with a kind smile.
Ruala nodded with a tiny jerk of her head before reaching out a hand and toughing the mirror with only the tips of her fingers. From where she made contact with the glass, a soft white light began to spread outwards across the surface, turning the reflective metal white as the magic seeped in. Closing her eyes, the guardian reached out with her mind for her unknown sister.
"If we're lucky we'll find them without her twin even noticing." Alicia whispered nervously as she moved from foot to foot, a little frightened to find out who this mysterious twin of Death was.
"We won't be that lucky." Tenjiro scoffed. "That twin of her is one nasty soul. The minute Ruala connects she'll be on the hunt."
"She'll come here?" Alicia flinched.
"She can't." Toshiro replied. "She's trapped in that realm. Only the demons and Dethmaiyn can get out as long as the seal is in place."
Kirio hushed them and they looked back at the mirror. The white had faded to show an eagle eye view of Japan, soaring over the lands as the guardian searched quickly for where her sister's presence faded into the Precipice World. If there was only one entrance, she would find it on her search to her sister. The scenery brushed past a town, Karakura Town, and for a moment Toshiro tensed as he wondered if this gate was truly in the town. But then the town flashed by and he relaxed a little. It was just nearby, not in it. It was better if the gate wasn't in the middle of human civilization.
The image flickered to black for a moment, a red light in the center, and Ruala went tense.
"She's been found." Kirio spoke in a quiet tone.
The search seemed to go faster, zooming into a specific spot in the forest where a large hill rose up, one side steep and rocky. A section of it seemed to hold a slight glow to it of Spiritual Pressure, barely perceived even by those with an immense amount of Spiritual Pressure.
"Memorize the location, quickly." Kirio demanded.
Ruala was clearly straining to do so, her hand shaking a bit as she rushed.
But then their view was pulled right to the cliff wall, into the shadows. The guardian gasped but could not pull away as she was forcefully pulled further and further in, speeding past ebony structures and hellish black flames. A faint scent of decay seemed to fill the room. The Fear was strong enough it was seeping through the connection.
There was a high pitched laughter, a sort of hysterical giggle that made them all involuntarily shudder. That was the voice of someone far over the edge. The giggle melded into a sort of song, a haunting melody that made the two Commanders back away with a fearful look in their eyes
"That's enough, Ruala, pull out." Toshiro stepped closer, making sure not to look at the mirror. He was afraid of what he'd see there.
"I…I can't." She whimpered, and it was true. Her hand seemed to be glued to the mirror by tendrils of darkness.
"You can't run from me, my other half, but if you're willing to try I love a good laugh." The haunting voice hissed in an echo before laughing once more. "I knew you would call one day in this war, the Dark Master predicted it and on his heart he swore."
Alicia let out a startled yelp and Toshiro found himself turning to look at the image on the surface of the glass.
He wished he hadn't.
The figure looked almost exactly like Ruala; long blonde hair, frail looking body and pale skin. But what made her terrifying was the blood red eye visible on her right, blood matted hair covering her left and hanging wild down to her waist, open wounds covering her body and still bleeding or leaking out pus. Her nails were several inches long and sharpened into claws and as she smiled they saw her sharpened teeth. She was the poster child of death itself, rotting away while still walking among the living.
"Th-Theda." Ruala squeaked in fear.
The now named twin smiled sadistically.
"Back from the light you crawl to me? Nay. What business have you in my land of decay?"
'She knows we're trying to locate her.' Toshiro scowled, ripping his gaze away and putting a hand on the guardian's shoulder as support, Kirio doing the same on the girl's other side.
"That's enough." Kirio snapped at the twin and the commanders darted a glance at her; they'd never seen her so serious and grave, a frown on her face and expression hard.
Theda looked towards her with disinterest, clearly more interested in teasing her sister.
"If you want the location of my home then fine. I don't mind a little excitement, it's about time." She grinned again, flashing her ivory fangs before letting out a hiss. "Let's have fun."
She released her sister from the hold, the others only realizing her hand had been pressed against Ruala's on the glass when she moved it back, and the darkness faded back to the reflective surface of the mirror, Ruala falling to her knees and letting out a shuddered breath, gasping in air as if she'd just been released from a stranglehold. Kirio and Toshiro both knelt down next to her, worried the dark twin had done something without them realizing it. Sofia appeared in a flash of light and rubbed her small head against her partner; she had been absorbed into the girl's soul so as to protect her from anything harmful that Theda could come up with. If the carrier of Hope was lost to Fear, there was no possible way to stop the demons.
"So…so, it's done?" Alicia shivered.
"We expected more of a fight but I should have known that twin of hers would welcome a search party." Tenjiro spat. "She's all for blood and gore, you heard her."
"I also heard her say Dethmaiyn predicted this action." Kavain added. "He knew we would figure out about Ruala's twin and search for them. Maybe that's what he's been waiting for these past two years."
"Then he must also know I'm the only one who can open that seal." Toshiro sighed, helping Ruala to her feet where Kirio led the exhausted girl out of the room, speaking softly to her. "From what I can tell he wants me to open those gates. It'll definitely be easier to send out an army if the demons don't have to crawl through shadows to get in and out, and there's a possibility Theda will be released as well.
"We have the location, so we can bide our time." Tenjiro stepped up to the King. "What do we do now, knowing our enemy is waiting for us to strike?"
"How well do you know this Death twin?" Toshiro replied with a question.
"The one who knows about her the most is Ichibe, since he's been here longer, but Kirio is a better judge of her character since she's practically Ruala's aunt with all her fussing. Either one of those two could tell you more than I could."
"It's best to know more before I break the seal, but we're still continuing with the original plan. Once our reinforcements arrive we're heading towards that site."
"Right."
The others started filing out. Toshiro glanced back one more time at the mirror, that frightening image of an undead Ruala stuck in his mind. Her laughter pierced through him and he shuddered again, Hyorinmaru rumbling calmingly to ease some of the discomfort. He definitely hoped to never meet her in person.
In the shadows of a long lost world, the Death twin laughed gleefully. This would be the best week of her un-life, the best time in all of her miserable existence.
She couldn't wait to meet the Ice King.
So the Twin of Death shows herself. The thing with her is as long as she's rhyming, she's just messing around, so when she's not she's severely pissed. Either one is bad for her victim, though, because either way she won't let you escape. There's more but that comes later. Sorry I've been so slow but my Beta and I had to find a new way to send documents back and forth because the site keep messing it up. We finally just went to email but it may take a bit for the next chapter since I need to get the edited ones on. Enjoy!
Beta'd by Writer of Craziness