Ganju and Orihime were given separate cells in the prison. As a result they were unable to communicate with each other beyond the occasional shout.
The clamps on their forearms sealed their reiatsu and prevented them from using their powers, so any plan they could have come up with would have been useless, but Ganju would have liked to have someone to talk to who was not a Shinigami guard.
Orihime had things a little easier in that regard. She struck up conversations with the guards whenever she could, sometimes to ask about what was going on outside, other times just to find out more about the Shinigami who guarded and maintained their prison. She quickly became a favorite of the guards and other staff and received preferential treatment and extra food.
No new prisoners had been brought in since their capture, which was both good news and bad news. On the one hand, it meant that Uryu and Toshiro had not been captured. On the other hand, it meant that Chad's injuries were especially severe since he had not been brought to the prison.
Orihime was unable to sleep from worry. She paced back and forth across her cell.
At dawn, the guards changed their shift.
Orihime clutched the bars tightly as the new guards came in.
"What's going on?" she asked excitedly. "Is Chad ok? What about Hanataro? Has anyone else been captured?"
"Slow down lady," one of the guards said. "Most of that stuff is above our paygrade."
"Only new thing since yesterday is that they moved up the Kuchiki execution to today," the other guard said.
"Today?" Orihime asked in horror.
The first guard walked over to Ganju's cell and banged on the bars.
"Hey! Get up you lazy bum!"
Not for the first time, Ganju wished his hands were free so he could cover his ears.
"What are you, deaf? I said get up!"
Ganju groaned. "I heard you. I heard you."
'What's the point of waking us up?' he wondered as he sat up. 'Stuck in these cells it's not like there's anything we can do.
The guard, satisfied that Ganju was up, turned to his partner. "I kind of wish I could be there for the execution. All the captains are supposed to be there, and they'll be releasing the sokyoku!"
"Forget about it," the other guard said. "We'll be lucky if …"
The guard's voice trailed off as they began to hear a rumbling noise from outside. The gurads looked at each other in confusion.
The rumbling got louder and they began to hear screams of terror from outside as well.
"What is that?"
"Better go check."
"But what about the prisoners?"
"They're not going anywhere. Come on."
The guards ran out of the room, leaving Ganju and Orihime alone.
Ganju stood up in response to the increasingly loud noises. "Whatever it is, it's getting closer."
Orihime looked at the small, barred window in the back of her cell. 'Is someone coming for us? Who could it be? Both Toshiro and Uryu are too smart to make so much noise like this.'
A crack appeared in the ceiling in the center of the room. Less than a second later the roof collapsed, spraying smoke and debris in all directions.
"Ahhh!" Ganju screamed. "We're all gonna die!"
Orihime stayed calm. Staring intently at the figures which were stepping out of the smoke.
"It can't be…" she whispered as the profile of Kenpachi Zaraki appeared before her.
Ganju continued to scream as he saw all of the Squad Eleven officers who had joined Zaraki.
Orihime gulped as she and Zaraki stared at each other for several seconds.
Finally Zaraki smiled. "Do it," he said.
Ikkaku Madarame stepped forward, drawing his blade. Orihime stepped back as he slashed through the bars of her cell.
"Orihime Inoue," Ikkaku said while standing with his sword outstretched in a pose that was almost a bow, "you are being rescued."
Yumichika smiled. "An aesthetic rescue for a beautiful damsel, Ikkaku.:
"Rescued?" Orihime asked in confusion. She looked back at Zaraki, and her eyes began to fill with tears at the sight of those standing at his sides.
"Chad! Uryu!"
She nearly knocked Uryu over while hugging them, but Chad kept the three friends upright.
"You're ok!" she said happily.
Chad and Uryu both nodded.
"I'm afraid we don't have much time," Uryu said. "We have to move quickly if we're going to save Rukia."
Zaraki huffed. "Fine by me."
"Wait!" Ganju yelled.
Zaraki and his subordinates turned to look at Ganju, who remained trapped behind the bars of his cell. They did not look happy to see him.
"Um, aren't you going to let me out too?" Ganju asked meekly.
"And why would we help a weakling like you?" Zaraki asked.
"Not to mention someone so ugly?" Yumichika added.
"Hey!" Ganju yelled frantically. "I'm with these guys! You can't just leave me behind!"
Uryu pushed his glasses up. "We seem to have forgotton about Ganju."
Chad stepped forward and walked over to Ganju's cell. He grabbed two of the bars with his bare hands and pulled them apart.
"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou" Ganju said as he took his first step out of his cell.
Zaraki spat in disgust.
"It is time."
Rukia closed her eyes and sighed.
'Today I die.'
She made no move to resist as her hands and neck were bound.
The faces of then men who were to escort her to her execution were veiled, and what little of their eyes she could see displayed no emotion.
As ukia stepped out of the repentance cell she was struck by the feeling of two enormous reiatsus. Even her captors stopped to look in the direction of the battle that must have been taking place at that moment.
'That's Byakuya,' she realized. 'But who is he fighting? I don't recognize him. It can't be Toshiro or any of his friends.'
Her brother's power flared higher than she had ever felt it go before, and his opponent suddenly weakened.
"Renji!"
Rukia cried out in horror as she finally recognized the other power.
"Why? Why were you fighting Byakuya?' Why did you do it?"
Another massive reiatsu appeared, this time much closer to her.
Rukia turned to see Captain Gin Ichimaru walking across the bridge. Cold sweat bathed her face as she observed the malicious grin on his face.
"Good morning. How are you today, Rukia dear," he asked in that creepy way of his.
"Gin Ichimaru," Rukia said under her breath.
"How rude," Gin said. "You know, you must always address me as Captain Ichimaru."
"I apologize," she replied in a defensive tone.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
"Well, I suppose there's no particular reason," he said nonchalantly, "just to tease you a little bit.
Rukia gritted her teeth in disgust. She'd hated Gin since before she had even joined the 13 Courth Guard Sqauds.
"By the way, Rukia," Gin said, "it seems he isn't actually dead yet. Renji, that is."
That caught Rukia off guard.
'It's true,' she thought. 'If I really concentrate I can still feel his reiatsu. But it's so weak!'
"But he will die soon," Gin said, the grin still plastered on hid face. "It's kind of pathetic. He loses to a child, then tried to save your life and ends up cut to pieces."
"Don't you dare talk about him that way!" Rukia yelled at him.
"So pointless, really," he said, shaking his head. "So many people are going to die just for trying to save you. "Your friends who got captured will be executed Renji will be dead in minutes. And the little one will be killed sooner or later."
Rukia glared at him, but she struggled to keep herself from shaking in fear.
"Knowing that this is all because they are trying to save you must make this all the more painful." He looked her in the eye. "Do you want me to save you?"
This finally got a reaction out of Rukia's captors, who took a step back in reflexive shock and whose eyes widened behind their veils.
Gin walked up to her. "I could rescue you from this execution right now and save your life, Renji's and … oh, what was his name? Toshiro?"
'Is he serious?' Rukia wondered. What could he have to gain by saving me?'
"Do you think I'm kidding?" he asked, putting his hand on her head. He bent down so that his face was inches from hers.
His grin widened even further. "I am."
Rukia felt as if her heart had stopped as he turned away. "I'm sure your brother will have something quite painful in store for that child after all the trouble he's caused."
'How could I let him do that to me? After I had accepted my fate, he was able to shake my resolve, to make me want to live again!'
She screamed in agony as she was once again escorted to her execution.
Rukia was place in front of the sokyoku stand, facing the giant spear which would soon end her life. She made no attempt to resist or flee.
It was not like she could get very far with so many captains and lieutenants there.
Captains Kyoraku and Unohana were there with their lieutenants. Both captains bore an expression of resigned sadness.
Captain Soi Fon scowled at Rukia, no doubt believing fully that her execution was entirely just.
The Head Captain had come to personally oversee the execution. His expression was stern, but without the anger of Soi Fon.
Rukia's brother, Byakuya, was the final captain present. His expression was completely blank, as if he could not care one way or another about his sister's fate.
He was also the only captain to not bring his lieutenant, Rukia realized. She remembered what Gin Ichimaru had told her about Renji and struggled to prevent tears from gilling her eyes.
"Ruckia Kuchiki," the Head Captain said, "it is time. Do you have any last requests before your execution?"
"Yes," Rukia said. "I have one."
She took a deep breath so that she could speak with confidence. "The ryoka. They are only here to rescue me. Once this sentence is carried out, they will have reason to remain and will not be of any threat. I ask that you allow them to return to the world of the living unharmed."
The Head Captain looked down as he considered the request. "Hmmmm…."
After what seemed like an eternity, he looked back at her. "Very well. Your request is granted. The ryoka will be allowed to return to their homes once your execution is complete."
Rukia now allowed herself to cry, this time in relief rather than sadness. "Thank you so much, head captain," she said with a genuine smile.
"Release the sokyoku seal!" the Head Captain ordered.
As the binds on the spear disappeared, Rukia's own bonds dissolved as well. In their place, three stone cubes appeared before her, magically binding her hands and feet to match their movements.
She rose into the air with the stones until she was level with the stand's middle beam.
As she reached the top, the sokyoku flared with a bright orange flame that was larger and brighter than any fire she had ever seen.
The spear rose and pointed itself at Rukia. As she watched in fear, the fire coalesced into a solid shape, that of a gigantic bird of fire.
"The sentenced will now be carried out!" the Head Captain declared.
The fear gradually left Rukia's eyes. 'I am not afraid,' she thought to herself. 'I have lived a good life.'
'I was blessed to be able to meet Renji and all the others, by my adoption by Byakuya, by Kaien's guidance, and then by meeting Toshiro and his friends.'
'This is not suffering. This is not pain. I have no regrets, because my heart leaves nothing behind' she thought.
The sokyoku let out a loud, birdlike screech, and the bird of fire began to accelerate towards her. She closed her eyes in acceptance.
Several of the captains and lieutenants looked away.
A loud, sudden roar caused them to look up again.
The sokyoku had not reached Rukia.
Lying in its path was the head of a large dragon of flowing blue ice and water. The dragon's body wrapped itself around the stand many times, and its head was pushing back against the head of the sokyoku.
"What …. What's going on?" Rukia asked in fear.
On the ground, the gathered captains and lieutenants were just as dumbfounded.
"It stopped the spear!" Soi Fon yelled in shock. "But the sokyoku has the power of a million zanpakutos!"
Rukia turned her head to and fro, frantically attempting to find the source of the mysterious dragon, but its body had wrapped itself around the stand so many times she could not see where it ended.
"Nanao," Kyoraku asked his lieutenant, "isn't that – "
"Yes," she confirmed. "It matches the description of the zanpakuto power the ryoka used to defeat Zaraki."
Kyoraku lowered his hat. "So the ryoka were the ones to save the day after all."
The sokyoku pulled back and screeched. The dragon roared in response.
As the two giant monsters accelerated towards each other again, a rope rose up from the ground and wrapped itself around the sokyoku's neck. The rope then continued on and embedded itself in the ground, holding the sokyoku in place.
The Shinigami assembled turned to see Captain Jushiro Ukitake and his subordinates approach carrying a large seal.
"About time you showed up," Kyoraku said, leaping to join Ukitake by the seal.
Ukitake's response was cut off as the dragon collided with the sokyoku. The giant bird was unable to defend itself while tied down and was frozen solid by the dragon's attack.
With the attack, the dragon disappeared. For several seconds the sokyoku hung alone in the air, a magnificent ice sculpture of a giant bird of prey. Then the sculpture shattered, breaking into thousands of tiny particles of water, ice, snow and mist which rained down upon the Shinigami.
The lieutenants shielded their faces from the spray of the sokyoku's destruction. Even Kyoraku and Ukitake, who had intended to destroy the sokyoku themselves, could not believe their eyes.
They had little time to compose themselves before another startling event began to occur.
Rukia's eyes grew even wider as ice began to cover the stone cubes which bound her to the stand. Soon the ice began to spread across the stand itself.
"This can't be happening," she whispered in fear.
In a matter of seconds, the entire stand was completely enveloped in a thick layer of ice.
Immediately afterwards, the ice shattered.
Rukia screamed in terror as the stand crumpled, causing her to fall.
This time, even the captains covered their eyes to shield themselves from the smoke and falling debris caused by the stand's collapse.
When they opened their eyes, there was nothing but broken pieces of wood and ice where the massive structure had stood seconds before.
"The stand is completely destroyed!" Soi Fon's lieutenant Omaeda yelled. "There's nothing left!"
Soi Fon scanned the debris for any sign of Rukia, who could not have possibly survived the collapse. "Where's her damn body?"
She noticed Byakuya turning around to look behind them. Slowly, she followed suit. Her eyes widened at what she saw.
A small figure stood about 25 meters behind them. He wore a large brown cape over Shinigami robes. His hair was spiky and completely white. With one hand he sheathed a long sword on his back. And in his other hand, he held Rukia close to him.
Rukia looked down in shock and wonder at the small figure next to her.
"Toshiro!"