Chapter 22: Distorted Equilibrium (Blessing in disguise)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner Quincy/Yhwach speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
When Ichigo saw the Captain of the 3rd Division getting pale, he tensed. Immediately, he turned around and looked at what the man had been staring at.
He paled as well. Nothing could have prepared him for the scene right in front of him and he felt a chill creeping into his spine. What he saw was something otherworldly. An indescribable spectacle of energies, colors and things he couldn't even name. It shocked him so much, his hands almost slipped from his ears. Before they could though, the deep and loud rumbling noise, still echoing across the clearing, attacked his eardrums again. It was so unpleasant, it made him grit his teeth.
A hand fell on his shoulders and he looked up to see Amagai nodding his head towards the large cliff behind him. Because of the noise, there was no way Ichigo was going to hear him, so the Captain simply mouthed his intentions.
'Follow me.'
Simple and short, the man's goal became clear to him almost instantly and so he followed him without any hesitation. Once the two of them got to the edge, they glanced down. A moment later, they both jumped down, only to land on a small platform growing out of the cliff's wall. Somewhat shielded from the worst effects of the noise, they released content sighs. The geometrically shaped rocky landscape steered some of the echoes away from them and allowed them to tentatively lower their hands.
"This is not good, Kurosaki!" Amagai yelled in an attempt to outshout the rumbling.
Ichigo, who was making sure his ears weren't bleeding, shouted back.
"Yeah, it's not!"
For some reason, though, Amagai shook his head.
"I don't think you understand! Anyway, prepare yourself! We may have to fight for our lives soon!"
Confusion settled on Ichigo's face as he tried to understand the Captain's words but, just when he was about to ask the man about it, the loud noise came to a sudden stop.
"…what now?"
In response to Ichigo's question, Amagai formed a frown and put a finger in front of his mouth.
"Shh! Keep your voice down." He whispered and then pointed to the edge of the cliff. Before Ichigo could react in any way, the man slowly started to climb up. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo followed after him. Once he crawled up and settled himself in a good position with a clear view on the phenomenon, he nudged the man.
Amagai ignored him only for a short moment.
"Listen up, Kurosaki. What I'm about to tell you is confidential, so keep it to yourself." He whispered in a formal tone and gave the teen an intense, but short, glance. Ichigo nodded.
"Dangai is under lockdown because there is a threat to the balance of the worlds. Gotei 13 investigated the matter but, in the process, lost the whole dispatch team. The cause of their deaths is currently unknown, though it's very likely something or somebody powerful attacked them."
As he listened to the man's words, Ichigo couldn't help but form a frown. He felt surprised but, at the same time, he did not. It was as if something clicked for him.
"Does it have something to do with these pocket spaces?" He asked in return.
"Yeah… anyway, the important thing is, we know nothing about the enemy. According to the Captain of the 12th Division, this threat has been created artificially and so somebody must be behind it. It isn't a simple accident." Amagai continued in a low voice, causing Ichigo to deepen his frown.
"Aizen?"
"No… well, we don't know for sure but his involvement is highly unlikely. No, this seems to be a doing of some third party. We…" Amagai trailed off right when the phenomenon they were both looking at began to slowly fade away. The colors and energies within it gradually lost their intensity and, instead, a translucent edge of a curved barrier smashed right through the very sky, only to spread and merge with the air. The action created a hole of some kind in the space itself and allowed Ichigo and Amagai to see silhouettes of several people walking towards them.
'That's trippy.'
Ichigo nodded in agreement. He glanced at the Captain of the 3rd Division to give him a questioning gaze. Amagai motioned him to lower his head.
"For now, keep your reiatsu as low as you can. If possible, we don't want to engage the enemy. Just keep an eye on the situation and observe everything." The man whispered and then pointed his index finger towards the far right.
"I'll move and observe the scene from there. If, for some reason, I'm forced to reveal myself, try to hold off from doing the same thing as much as you can. Use the element of surprise." He added and looked at the teen with a firm gaze.
Ichigo felt his breathing get a little bit faster. Nevertheless, he gave the Captain an affirmative nod.
"Got it."
…
When the strangers finally walked out from the tunnel and stood on the rocky land, Ichigo strained his ears to try and hear the conversation that was taking place in the distance. However, he soon realized that eavesdropping from such distance was impossible.
"…damn it." He muttered and squinted his eyes to at least try and examine the strangers visually.
'...two, three and four. Three males and one female.' He mentally counted and then turned his attention to each person. They were all wearing green shihakusho that varied in shades and sturdy-looking armor that seemed to be tied around their chests.
The first one was a large man that had a green hat with a veil that was covering most of his face attached to it. In his hands was a pair of large, thick clubs clearly made to bludgeon his opponent to death.
Second one was considerably smaller in frame and was also standing behind all the others, denying Ichigo a clear view on him. The few things the teen was able to notice were the man's extremely pale skin, from which the sunrays seemed to be reflecting, and a sword with an unusually thick blade that was tucked to his obi.
Third one was almost as large as the first one but with the difference in the tone of his skin, which was a lot darker. Same as the other two men, he too, was wearing a green hat. The weapons in his possession seemed to be a pair of chakram blades.
The fourth and final member of the group was a fairly tall woman with deep lavender, wavy hair. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to carry her weapon on a visible place and so Ichigo wasn't able to guess her possible fighting style.
'Smart.' The teen thought and ignored a bit of goosebumps forming on his forearms from the strange presence the group was giving off. They all felt…
'…odd.' Ichigo frowned and focused on his reiryoku. Amagai had told him to keep it as low as possible and the teen had done it. At the moment, if anyone tried to feel his reiatsu, they would only pick up a pressure that was almost as weak as the pressure of a regular, low-ranked shinigami, maybe even an academy student. Yet despite that, Ichigo didn't feel overwhelmed by the enemy's reiatsu.
In fact, he could barely feel anything at all. Only the strange sensation. Nothing else. It was as if the group stood behind a veil or a jammer of some kind that was only partially allowing their energy to spread to their surroundings.
'This is definitely not normal.' Ichigo thought while shaking his head.
'Old man Yhwach, Zangetsu… any input?' He mentally asked his inner spirits. Keeping his eyes glued to the group, he waited for the spirits to reply.
'I got nothing, Ichigo, though I must admit they are definitely weird. Even the hollow part of me agrees.' Zangetsu stated thoughtfully.
'I, too, don't have much to say. However, judging from their posture I think I can conclude that they all seem to be well-versed in the art of combat. It'd be best not to underestimate them.' Yhwach added after him.
Acknowledging the answers with a shallow sigh, the corners of Ichigo's mouth twitched and he formed an uneasy grimace. It was in a time like this that the teen was grateful for the additional voices within his mind, no matter how crazy that sounded. Opinions from different perspective were often priceless and, when one had limited access to his comrades, inner spirits were the best alternative.
With that said, Ichigo had no idea what to do. Amagai had stressed the importance of studying the enemy from afar but, at the moment, the teen felt like it was quite pointless. Because of the weird jamming, he had no way of sensing the particulars of the group's spiritual energies. Because of the distance between him and them, he had no way of seeing the details or hearing their conversation. Lastly, because of his own personality, he really disliked doing nothing when his enemy was in plain sight. He was itching for action.
Staying still, Ichigo soon lost sense of time. He had no way of knowing how much of it had passed when the group finally started to move but it must have been a lot, as his neck was already getting sore from all the peeking. While firmly keeping his eyes on the four moving strangers, he quickly gave it a rub.
'Where are they going?' He wondered and prepared to change his position in accordance to the group when, all of a sudden, they spread around the area.
"We know you are here! Come out, coward!"
In an instant, Ichigo ducked. He pressed himself against the cliff's wall and grimaced.
'…damn it, did they notice me?'
He took a few shallow breaths. The thoughts in his mind quickly became chaotic but he tried to keep himself calm. He thought back to the Captain of the 3rd Division and his words.
'I'm fairly sure that they noticed me and not Amagai-san. The guy can move like a ghost… damn!' He cursed and focused on his reiatsu in an attempt to lower it as much as possible.
"So you want to play hide and seek?!"
Ichigo ignored the shout and closed his eyes.
'I can't continue hiding like this. It'd be only a matter of seconds before they found me. The best thing I can do is to move fast and attack them first. That would allow Amagai-san to catch them unprepared. Probably. Possibly?' He thought, slowly becoming less and less sure of his plan, a thing that surprised even his own self. However, before he could even think about moving, a familiar voice answered the enemy's shouts.
"I don't think anyone came here to play, stranger."
Ichigo's eyes shot open and he swiftly turned around to glance above the edge of the cliff.
'…what the hell is he doing?!'
There, in a distance, not too far away from the teen and not too far away from the group, stood the Captain of the 3rd Division, looking not even in the slightest bit worried about the weaponry immediately pointed at his body. His arms were freely hanging and it didn't look like he was preparing himself for a fight.
From his position, Ichigo saw one of the strangers, the one with a veil covering his face, spit on the ground. It was followed with a disgusted snarl that was clearly directed at Amagai.
"...a Gotei shinigami!"
"I take it you don't like the Gotei 13?" Amagai loudly asked.
Ichigo felt like biting the hard rocks right in front of his face.
'What are you doing, Amagai-san…?'
The one who snarled gave Amagai a look so dirty, even Ichigo could feel it.
"Screw the Gotei! You're just a bunch of shinigami wannabes that are nothing in comparison with the original Divisions or with us, the-gah!"
Another member of the group punched the man in his stomach.
"Be quiet, you idiot!"
In that moment, a single thought seemingly occurred to both Amagai and Ichigo.
"Original Divisions?"
'Original Divisions?'
While the man with covered face was recovering from the punch, the only woman in the group took a step closer to Amagai, causing Ichigo to briefly stiffen and ready himself for the potential fight.
"You must be very young, Captain…?" She half-stated, half-asked.
"Captain Amagai Shūsuke. And yes, I've been appointed only recently." Amagai replied and clearly waited for the woman to introduce herself but she only smiled. Not in the nice way.
"And what are you doing here, Captain Amagai? You are a long way from your home, the Soul Society."
To Ichigo's ire and gradually increasing worry, Amagai visibly relaxed his posture and took one step closer to the group.
"Oh, you know, we couldn't help but notice there is a Valley of Screams entangled with Precipice World and so we wanted to investigate it. Imagine our surprise when the group who was sent to do that turned up dead."
The woman, along with the rest of the group, frowned at him.
"Precipice World?"
"You know, the Dangai… the thing that connects Soul Society with the Human World?"
Ichigo saw the woman's frown turn into a deep scowl.
"…so that's how they call it now. Such an honorable name for a place like that." She stated and, for a moment, went silent. As the rest of the group slowly moved around Amagai, the woman pinned the Captain with a long stare.
"You seem to be very calm, Captain. Surely, you realize the position you are in."
Amagai released a short chuckle.
"My position?"
The whole group formed dangerous grins. The woman nodded.
"Well, now that you saw us, we cannot let you go. There are 4 of us. Moreover, you are locked in here with us in a remote dimension without substantial back-up."
Ichigo gripped the hilt of his zanpakuto as soon as he saw the group reaching for their own weapons. Surprisingly, Amagai still appeared to be very calm.
"You are wrong about one thing, lady."
The woman narrowed her eyes.
"And that is?"
Amagai sighed and, with one hand, reached behind his back.
"I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me! Sever, Raika!" He exclaimed and released a burst of his energy so hot, it forced the group of strangers to jump away. Along with that, a sound similar to the sound of a trumpet echoed across the whole clearing.
'!' Ichigo almost immediately leaped from behind the cliff to join the fight but, a small rational part of his brain managed to hold him back.
'Calm down, Ichigo. Watch and analyze. Amagai-san is giving you a perfect chance to study your opponents.'
'He's also giving you a chance to study him too.' Zangetsu added right after Yhwach finished, causing Ichigo's brow to twitch.
From his position, hidden below the ground level, Ichigo tentatively watched as Amagai released a large fireball from the tip of his hook-shaped zanpakuto straight at one of the larger men, only to be forced to dodge a barrage of small projectiles. Right after he managed to do that, the Captain had to continually flash across the battlefield in order to evade a pair of chakram blades that seemed to follow each of his movements. With a flick of his zanpakuto, the man parried and repelled both of them as soon as they got too close to him but even then, he had no space to breathe. Reflexively, he managed to duck under a single arrow but in that instant, the ground beneath him caved in under the pressure of a punch that came from his left side. Flashing away, Amagai landed on both feet and faced the group with his sword already raised high.
Ichigo gritted his teeth.
'I know he's a Captain… but I don't think he can win this alone.'
In turn, Zangetsu attacked him with merciless words.
'In that case, watch carefully because you just might be the one factor that will decide whether he'll die or not.'
Hearing that caused Ichigo to wince. He knew Zangetsu was right but the harsh reality managed to hit a nerve. The subject of life and death was for Ichigo a catalyst of an emotional storm and, soon enough, the teen felt blood rushing to his head. His grip on the hilt of his zanpakuto tightened and he began to hear a tubular noise that soon drowned out all the other sounds.
He held himself back for as long as he could but his inner turmoil gradually became too strong for him to handle. The swirling emotions took control of him and the tight, frail seal on his spiritual energy started to erode, allowing more and more reiryoku to pour out of him.
Knowing it was only a matter of time before it would alert the group of enemies of his existence, if they weren't already aware of it, Ichigo readied himself. He was able to watch the fight between the group of four and Amagai for over three minutes but once that time passed, he knew he couldn't do it anymore.
'Nevertheless, it was a good effort, Ichigo. I'm sure holding back for even such a short time allowed you to analyze more than you need.' Yhwach uttered with a hint of a smile. A second later, Ichigo leaped from his hiding spot and flashed above the battlefield with his zanpakuto raised over his head.
"Bleach their souls, Zangetsu! Getsuga Tenshō!" He exclaimed rapidly and released a large wave of black energy down at his enemies.
The crescent-shaped blast travelled fast and splashed against the rocky landscape with a thundering force. On impact, it split open the ground and forced every combatant to shield himself from the flying pieces of rock.
"Took you long enough, Kurosaki!"
Once he landed, Ichigo awarded the Captain of the 3rd Division with an extremely brief glance before swinging his swords once again.
"I had my orders to stand back!"
With precision, he knocked away the two chakram blades that aimed at his head and then used his smaller sword to block a fast-travelling arrow. Looking up, he and Amagai saw the group of their enemies closing in.
"Well, I'm glad you broke them." Amagai stated and used Shunpo to meet one of the opponents mid-way.
"I told you there were two of them!" Ichigo heard the only woman on the scene shout and then eyed the rest of the group.
'At least I managed to deal some damage with that Getsuga.' He noted and leaped to the right in order to avoid another arrow. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he saw a volley of small projectiles embed themselves into the rocks around him. Barely a split-second later, they all glowed and Ichigo grimaced.
'Crap.'
An explosion swallowed him before he even twitched. Despite that, he still forced his body to move and shoot through the blast like a juggernaut. Without stopping, he aimed his steps towards the one behind the explosion.
It was the pale guy and, when he saw Ichigo rushing at him, he paled even more. Hastily, he raised his sword but Ichigo was faster.
'Oh no you don't.' The teen thought and, ignoring the light burns on his knuckles, aimed the index finger of his left hand at the man's shoulder.
"Shō!"
The force behind the Kido spell rammed into the man, disrupting his balance and allowing the teen to cross the remaining distance without any hindrances. However, before his blade reached the man, something blunt hit him in the back with so much strength, it lifted him from the ground and blasted him forward.
"Gah!" Soaring across the battlefield, Ichigo felt an incredible pain spreading all over his backside.
'…damn it to hell, I'm so going to feel this later!' He thought through gritted teeth and tried to correct his body in order not to splatter on a large, immobile boulder that he was quickly getting closer to. Striking the ground with his larger blade, he pushed himself a bit higher and, when he finally reached the boulder, he quickly tumbled over it using his left hand. It was an awkward solution and he banged himself up while doing so but, in the end, it worked.
He landed on his knees but sprang back into action immediately after that. Intent on returning the favor to the one who blasted him, he scanned the area and, mid-Shunpo, located the man with huge clubs. Coating his blades with his reiryoku, Ichigo swung both his swords at the man and grinned when he saw him trying to block the strike with the clubs.
"What's so funny shin-?" The man tried to snarl only to get blasted away in the similar manner as Ichigo got only moments earlier.
Flashing away, to continue his attack, Ichigo widened his satisfied grin.
'Never try to block Zangetsu when he's brimming with energy.' He mentally advised his opponent and released the built up energy from both his swords at the same time.
"Getsuga T…huh?" Reflexively shouting the name of the ability, Ichigo came to a stop just before the blasts hit the target. A hint of confusion settled in his expression and he stared at the aftermath with a perplexed frown.
'What just happened? I'm sure I saw…' Before he could complete his thought, he was forced to lean sideways in order not to get his right shoulder pierced by an arrow. Giving the smokescreen one last glance, he turned around and flashed towards the owner of the arrow.
"Mue!"
Ichigo heard the shout not a moment too soon and so he was able to change the trajectory of his Shunpo and evade a continuous sequence of small detonations scattered between him and the woman just in time.
Yet an instant later, something sharp but thin sank into his left thigh and caused him to briefly lose his footing. With a tightened jaw, he managed to suppress the pain but was too late to correct his posture and so when the woman's face suddenly appeared right in front of him, he had no way of defending himself. Not too deep but not so shallow, the wound he instantly received ignited a bit of fire inside of him.
Very quickly, Ichigo literally rolled himself to the ground and, without warning, crashed into the woman's legs. Clearly not anticipating such a move, the woman lost her stability and involuntarily gave Ichigo a chance to deliver a heavy punch to her guts. Intent on continuing his assault, he got up and lifted his swords only to feel something coming at him from behind.
He twisted his body around to see the veil-faced man he had previously hit with his energy blasts running straight at him.
'What the hell? I was sure he was down for good!' He mentally shouted. In that moment, a large fissure of flames shot across the battlefield and stopped the veil-faced man in his tracks.
"Feels like you're all suddenly interested only in Kurosaki! Don't take your eyes off me!"
Mentally thanking the Captain of the 3rd Division for the intervention, Ichigo turned his attention back to the woman. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead just when he saw her backing away from him.
'I feel weird… too tired.' He thought and glanced at his surroundings. With a frown, he quickly tried to assess the situation.
'No good. They are trying to lock us in.' Feeling a familiar reiatsu right behind him, he quietly called out to the Captain.
"We are getting surrounded."
"Yeah, I've noticed and I don't think we can afford that. They will tire us long before we can end this."
As the group of enemies appeared to be waiting for something, Ichigo quickly formed his reply.
"About that… we are clearly stronger, yet they manage to keep up. Something feel's wrong."
"…it sure does."
Ichigo felt like the Captain wanted to say more but a deafening noise forced them to cover their ears.
"What now?!" The teen yelled. A second later, a hole, similar to the one the group of four used for transport several minutes ago, formed once again.
Ichigo felt the color drain from his face just as Zangetsu reminded him a simple thing.
'Never ask a question you don't want an answer to.'
…
Soul Society
Chaos spread through the Seireitei like a wildfire, swallowing everything and everyone in its path with a fiery intensity. The lack of information about the phenomenon that had appeared in the sky caused the shinigami to fall into disarray. What was supposed to be the foundation of a powerful society was now just a group of confused soldiers that were only one step away from falling into a pandemonium.
Once he realized that, Yamamoto could only sigh in disappointment.
'So much for the mighty Gotei 13. We have a long way to go before we can even think about facing the future. Though the incident with Menos showed much potential, they still lack proper discipline.'
Turning away from the view on Seireitei, Yamamoto walked back inside the Captain of the 12th Division's laboratory. Most of the other Captains were busy taking care of their respective Divisions and so the Captain Commander expected to find Mayuri alone. To his surprise, he was wrong. There were already two other people inside the lab.
'I should have known.' He thought and briefly nodded to the two Captains. The one on the left returned the greeting with a cough while the other one simply tipped his hat.
"Good timing, Yama-jii. Seems like Captain Kurotsuchi discovered something."
Yamamoto immediately turned his attention to a busy scientist and called out to him.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, report."
The Captain of the 12th Division didn't answer for a while and the only thing Yamamoto heard during that time was a quiet but definitely annoyed murmur. But the Captain Commander waited patiently and, before long, Mayuri couldn't ignore him any longer.
"The more you interrupt me, the less work I can do, Commander."
"And I told you I wanted regular updates, Captain Kurotsuchi. Report." Yamamoto easily squashed the objection and pinned the scientist with a very serious gaze.
"…I believe I have found a way to retrieve Captain Amagai and the boy." Mayuri capitulated a moment later.
"Continue." Yamamoto said and ignored the frustration slowly building on Mayuri's face.
"I managed to isolate irregular bursts of reiatsu that seem to originate from the Valley of Screams. First one occurred hours ago but more are following right now. According to the records from the Shino' Academy, the reiryoku responsible for these bursts seems to belong to the boy. I don't know why he is releasing his energy but, right now, it is the best thing he could have done because I can use it as a beacon for my transmissions." Mayuri explained in one breath, clearly eager to return working on the issue. Once he was sure he understood the implications, Yamamoto motioned the scientist to do just that.
"How long before you can bring them back?"
Already facing the computer screen, Mayuri withheld his answer for a few seconds.
"Assuming they are both alive and capable of receiving communication? Well, I need to gather enough reiryoku to increase the power of the transmission, recalibrate it… and after that? I'd say I need one, maybe two more bursts."
…
Valley of Screams
Standing back to back, Ichigo and Amagai both stared at the now familiar phenomena with deep frowns. It took them just a moment to realize what was happening.
'Reinforcements.'
The two shinigami exchanged a brief glance. There was no need for further communication. Furthermore, they were both aware of the watchful stares coming from the enemies that were surrounding them.
"You were surprisingly good opponents, shinigami. I'll give you that. However, your end is inevitable, for he is coming."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes but otherwise kept himself in check. Neither he nor Amagai responded to the taunt and, instead, they both waited. With no other option left, it was the only thing they could do.
'…nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Such a nice situation I ended up in. Again.' Ichigo couldn't help but to think bitterly. A moment later, another thought entered his mind.
'At least the noise isn't as unbearable as before.'
Several seconds later, when a hole began to form in the very air at the center of the phenomena, Ichigo suddenly felt a chill creeping into his body. Goosebumps formed all over his arms and, subconsciously, he squeezed the hilts of his zanpakuto until his knuckles turned white.
He became wary.
Narrowing his eyes even further, Ichigo quickly grasped the situation. From experience he knew that if his body was instinctively reacting in such a way, then there was only one logical explanation for it. With that in mind, he reached out with his senses and tried to get the feel of the reiryoku leaking from the phenomena. It took him a moment but when he managed to do it, his expression grew grim. The reading was as hazy as it had been with the four opponents around him, yet it was clear enough for him to understand one thing.
'We need to find a way out of here. Fast.'
He gave Amagai another brief glance but didn't attempt to relay his thoughts to the man. He was fairly sure that the Captain already knew more than him. Still, he couldn't help but to utter at least something to relieve the stress.
"Any ideas, Captain?"
"You mean besides the obvious and try not to die…?" Amagai jokingly trailed off only to continue a moment later.
"Yeah, one or two. Just be ready to react as fast as possible."
Ichigo's grim expression turned sour.
'Well, that's not much information.' He thought but, despite that, replied positively.
"Got it."
The moment he said that, the whole scene went completely silent. For a second, he could hear even his own breath. Soon enough, though, another sound filled the air. The sound of footsteps. He turned his head towards the phenomena, only to see an unfamiliar man slowly walking towards him and Amagai.
"So, this is what shinigami sent here? A student and a…"
Ichigo saw the man trail off as soon as his eyes fell upon the Captain of the 3rd Division, an action that caused the teen to blink in confusion. He glanced at the Captain for an answer but Amagai too, seemed quite perplexed.
"… and an inexperienced Captain." The man finished in a thoughtful tone. While he seemed to be in some sort of a daze, Ichigo quickly looked him over.
'…slightly altered clothes? Check. Even weirder reiatsu? Check. A long black cape? Check. A scar on his face? Check. Yeah, this guy is definitely the leader.'
A look of ire briefly crossed Ichigo's face.
'Keep your humor for later, Zangetsu. This guy looks like trouble.' He mentally retorted to his zanpakuto spirit and, for a moment, tuned him out.
"Me? Inexperienced? Now that's something I don't hear often. Care to explain, mister…?" Amagai casually called out, causing the man to stop walking.
"Ganryū. Just Ganryū." The man, Ganryū, replied. Immediately, the four people that had been fighting the teen and Amagai loudly protested.
"Sir! I thought we agreed to not give any information!"
Ganryū didn't even look at the one who yelled that. He just kept staring at Amagai with a mindful gaze.
"It doesn't really matter anymore. Whether the shinigami know our identity or not, their fate will still be the same." He stated in a strong tone and then formed a frightening smile that was clearly meant for Amagai.
"Moreover, why I should keep my name from ones that are as good as dead?"
The silence was deafening.
Ichigo felt the blood rushing to his head once again. Instantly, he looked at the Captain of the 3rd Division but the man returned his stare with a serious shrug.
"Keep calm, Kurosaki."
Ganryū kept staring at Amagai.
"What is your name, Captain?"
"…Shūsuke Amagai."
"I see, that's a good name." The leader of the enemy group muttered before taking one step closer to the Captain.
Ichigo felt a bit of sweat forming on his palms. Sensing a subtle movement, he looked down, at Amagai's hands, and saw the man tightening his grip on his zanpakuto.
"You seem inexperienced but there is also something interesting about you, Captain. I can see it in your eyes, feel it in your soul." Ganryū continued.
"Really? What would that be?"
Ichigo felt more sweat on his skin. Despite the lack of reiatsu in the air, the scene seemed to be getting incredibly intense.
"It's quite simple. I sense a thirst for revenge."
Almost faster than Ichigo could see, Amagai reached into his clothes and took out a second sword, a sword in a form of a tuning fork with the sides curving inward and the tip of the blades curving outward.
"You are mistaken."
Ichigo felt a chill running on his spine. The tone of Amagai's voice was unlike anything he had heard from him before. His voice wasn't loud. It wasn't quiet. It wasn't even strong. However, it was filled with so much emotion, the teen wasn't sure he could ever understand all of it.
In response to the Captain's action, the four enemies quickly raised their own weapons. Unlike them, though, Ganryū didn't seem to move an inch.
"On the contrary, I am quite sure of it. You can try to hide as much as you want but I've been living these past thousand years for nothing else but revenge. No, I'm definitely not mistaken. Now, lower your weapons, Shūsuke Amagai. There is nothing you will gain from fighting us. Instead, do the right thing and join us. Together we will punish those who have wronged you." He said calmly.
"Punish?" Amagai asked.
The man's frightening smile returned.
"Destroy. We will destroy the rotten shinigami of the Soul Society. They deserve nothing less for their inexcusable actions. Their very existence is unforgivable. Destruction and extermination is their inevitable fate and is with my hands that it will happen. What do you say, Shūsuke Amagai? Tell me you do not wish for the same. Tell me you do not seek vengeance. Tell me I am wrong."
Expecting the Captain to immediately decline the offer, Ichigo didn't even think about taking a confirming glance at him. However, when Amagai remained silent for more than just a few seconds, Ichigo couldn't help but to do it.
He froze.
'He can't be thinking about accepting it, can he?' He thought in disbelief and pinned the Captain with an intense glare in an attempt to get him look back. Without any success. For the time being, the man seemed to completely ignore him as well as everything around him.
'This guy…'
Ichigo felt his brow twitching in another hint of anger. Correspondingly, the spiritual energy contained within him began to slowly heat up.
"I see, so your aim is to completely annihilate the Soul Society. Good. That's very reassuring." Amagai suddenly said.
Ganryū looked at him with a confused frown.
"I don't think I understand." He stated.
"No. I didn't think you would."
Ichigo's brow twitched again. The Captain of the 3rd Division's behavior was getting more than just a bit weird and unreadable. Despite the intense glare Ichigo was pinning him with, the man continued to ignore him, which caused the teen to grow even angrier. And as his emotions started to spiral out of control, his concentration and focus began to decrease. Just by a thin thread, he was able to keep up with the conversation between Ganryū and Amagai.
"Well then, do you accept the offer, Shūsuke Amagai?"
"I..."
Ichigo's brow twitched for the third time and he knew it was the end. His breaking point was so close, he began to lose control of all the reiryoku within him which quickly started to affect his surroundings in form of a spiritual pressure.
A fraction of a second before he really lost it, he registered a smirk forming on Amagai's face as the man gave him a glance.
"…don't! NOW! KUROSAKI!"
Ichigo's reiryoku exploded in a blast so potent, the resulting shockwave forced the enemy to stand their ground in order not to get blown away.
"What is happening?!"
"Who did that?!"
With a grimace formed on his face, Ichigo only then registered what Amagai really said. His expression turning into one of confusion, he looked at the spot where the Captain had stood and blinked.
The man was nowhere to be seen.
However, that seemed to be the least of his problems. Once the shockwave died down, he sensed almost every enemy converging on his position.
'Not today!' He thought and tightened the grip on his zanpakuto. Putting his weight on his right foot, he strained his muscles and spun around while slicing the air around him with both of his swords.
"Getsuga Tenshō!" He exclaimed. From his position, a ring of mixed energy grew outwards and prevented anyone from getting close to him. It bought him just enough time to scan the scene for the positions of his opponents.
'…the leader doesn't seem to be moving at all. I-'
Just when he thought he felt an odd reiryoku, all of his thought went blank. A terrible, screeching noise assaulted his eardrums with such force, it physically hurled him away.
"Gah!"
"Got you!"
Before his body could crash anywhere, the Captain of the 3rd Division appeared in front of him and snatched him. In a bit of a daze, Ichigo saw the man saying something but he wasn't sure what it was. He wanted to speak too but then the Captain moved and Ichigo saw a bright light approaching him.
…
Soul Society – five minutes before that
With his eyes fixed on the computer screen, Yamamoto patiently waited for the warning label to pop up. The Captain of the 12th Division had explained to him that only after such a thing happened, he could finally start transmitting the message. Yamamoto knew the man had told him that only because he had expected him to nod and then leave but the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 had different plans. It had been a long time since he had actively participated on lesser missions of his subordinates and the millennia-old Captain realized he could no longer continue such routine.
He was well aware of the effects his presence had, though. Under his strict gaze, even the Gotei Captains experienced performance fluctuations. And Captain of the 12th Division, despite his endless arrogance and self-confidence, was no exception. While his mind remained as sharp as ever, having Yamamoto watch his every step made the man very unpleasant and snappy. It was very fortunate none of his subordinates, save for his Vice-Captain that only recently arrived, were in his vicinity.
'Sometimes, I wonder whether I was or wasn't still asleep when I approved of his Captain's promotion.' The Commander thought. He didn't dwell on it for long, though, as barely a second later, a loud beeping sound caught attention of everyone in the laboratory.
"Finally!" Mayuri exclaimed. Instantly, his demeanor changed and his movements became sharper than ever. He began pounding on the keyboard of his computer at such an unbelievable pace, Yamamoto had trouble following the movements of his fingers.
"…really interesting outburst of energy, the amount does not correspond to the archive entries…" Yamamoto heard the man muttering. Almost immediately, the stoic Vice-Captain, Nemu, took out something that looked like an electronic notebook.
"Understood, Mayuri-sama. I'm giving it a level C2 priority." She stated.
"…good, good. Now come here and… oho, another outburst of energy. A different source and an unusual composition. Unlike anything in my records."
"Level B4, Mayuri-sama?"
"Make it B3. Oh, quickly! Reconfigure the reiryoku flow! The inconsistency is causing mild vibrations… I knew it wasn't a good idea to manually gather it from multiple sources."
"Understood. I'm raising the priority of project Hephaestus-Amp to A2."
Completely out of loop and without any chance of understanding the conversation between the two, Yamamoto just stared at them with glassy eyes.
'Scientific mumbo-jumbo. It's like listening to that woman all over again.' He thought. Tuning the bizarre duo out, his attention was brought to a subtle motion behind him. Apparently, somebody already notified the other Captains of the situation. Yamamoto quickly counted them.
'Four. Not a surprising number.' He thought and then turned back to watch Mayuri and his Vice-Captain finishing their preparations.
Just then, as if suddenly remembering something, Mayuri froze in place.
"What is it?" Yamamoto asked, maybe a bit too grumpily.
"…why are you all here, exactly? I'm sure you realize Amagai and the boy will not just magically materialize in this laboratory but in Dangai, don't you? If you want to greet them, you should go to the Senkaimon gate." Mayuri replied without turning around to face him.
If only for a second, the laboratory fell silent.
Yamamoto's brow twitched.
"…uhm, next time, say that sooner, Captain Kurotsuchi. We don't really understand your science." Shunsui deadpanned. A moment later, he, along with the others, hurried outside. Only Yamamoto stayed behind, if only for a few more seconds.
"I don't know what game you are playing here, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, but I advise you not to do this again. Do not think for a second you have fooled me into thinking you simply forgot to say something." The Commander's quiet voice resonated with power as he pinned the Captain of the 12th Division's back with an intense glare. Opting not to face him, Mayuri shrugged.
"Why, Commander, everything I do is just for the sake of Soul Society."
Yamamoto's brow twitched again but he knew it was pointless to bicker with the man. Instead, he turned around and prepared to leave.
"Still, do not repeat this again. Senkaimon is still sealed and I need to notify the Kido Corps. Now I'll have to make haste." He stated and then, in a burst of speed, vanished.
Left alone with his Vice-Captain, Mayuri finally turned around and stared at the door with beads of sweat flowing down his brow. He took a deep breath.
"I hope it was worth it." He muttered and then glanced at Nemu.
"You did manage to activate it, right?"
"Yes, Mayuri-sama. As of now, project Hyperion is in full effect."
…
Yamamoto stared at the Senkaimon gate with an unreadable expression. He and the few other Captains had been waiting for it to glow for the past several minutes yet nothing seemed to be happening. Nobody complained, though. Since the phenomena in the sky vanished almost an hour ago, the day turned out to be beautiful. Clear sky, bright sun and a pleasant temperature were the ideal time for a person to spend his time outside.
Then it happened.
The Senkaimon gate glowed brightly and, a second later, spewed out a pair of tired-looking shinigami that seemed to be on their last legs. With one glance, Yamamoto noticed that neither of them seemed to be particularly injured, yet something was obviously wrong. Before either side could greet the other, or even before the Captains moved, both Amagai and Ichigo sank to the ground like a pair of heavy rocks. Their bodies were still falling when Yamamoto reacted.
"Retsu." He said and watched the Captain of the 4th Division acting fast. Quickly, she kneeled between Amagai and Ichigo and placed her hands, enveloped in green light, on both their chests. For a moment, nothing happened. Nobody spoke and nobody else moved. It was just Unohana moving her palms in small circles.
However, when both Amagai and Ichigo started to shake uncontrollably, several people cursed. The loudest one, though, was Isshin.
"Captain Unohana?!"
Sensing the distress in the man's reiatsu, Yamamoto raised his eyebrow. It had been a long time since he saw Isshin this worried. Maybe because of that, Unohana too, looked up and offer him a smile.
"Not to worry, Shiba-san. Neither Amagai-san nor young Kurosaki-san are in a life-threatening situation. As far as I can tell, they do not have any considerable external or internal injuries, they haven't been poisoned or hurt in any other way whatsoever." She said and then frowned.
"What you see here has quite a simple explanation."
The whole gathering, Yamamoto included, fell into deep silence. Not even he knew what the Captain of the 4th Division had in mind. Seeing the surprise and confusion on their faces, Unohana quickly continued.
"They are suffering from the after-effects of time distortion. Isane, hand me my zanpakuto. We need to transport them as soon as possible." She stated and, when nobody reacted, turned to her Vice-Captain. The tall, silver-haired woman quickly did as ordered.
"Time distortion? I see… Kurotsuchi did say the Valley of Screams was overlapping the Dangai. That means the flow of time most likely began to deform once they entered the Valley of Screams." Sui-Feng muttered with a thoughtful expression, catching the attention of the others.
"In that case, how much time has passed for them?" Isshin asked Unohana just as she released her zanpakuto and caused a large, one-eyed manta-ray-like creature to appear next to her. The Captain briefly turned to him.
"Until I make full examination, I cannot give a precise answer. Judging by their appearance and the state of their reiryoku, though, I estimate it was more than three days but less than two weeks." She made a short pause and then renewed her smile.
"I shall repeat myself, Shiba-san. Don't worry. The dilation wasn't extreme and I expect them to be back in full health in a day or two."
It was then that Yamamoto finally opened his mouth.
"How long before we can speak to them? We are in dire need of their report."
Very slowly, Unohana's smile faded and the turned to the Commander with an intense glare.
"As long as it takes, Commander. Not a moment less."
Taking her gaze head-on, Yamamoto quickly felt an urge to back down.
"…very well."
…
Following day
"If I knew what I was going to face first thing in the morning, I sure as hell wouldn't wake up so soon." Ichigo grumbled and, with a tired scoff, slid back under the blanket.
It was barely eight o'clock and the teen had already gone through several tedious visits that had sapped from him even the bit of energy he had managed to recover overnight, leaving him so drained, he wanted to do nothing else but sleep the whole day.
'I mean, I'm glad you took the time to explain things to me, Dad, but damn am I glad Unohana-san is the one in charge around here.' He thought. It was just a minute ago that an irritated Captain of the 4th Division ushered a flustered Shiba Isshin away from Ichigo's room.
However, now that he was finally alone, Ichigo found it incredibly difficult to fall back asleep. Too many thoughts ran through his mind. Under the hard, intense gaze of the Captain Commander, Ichigo had described his and Amagai's fight with the enemy, their enemies' appearances and characteristics and then, in return, he had listened to the bits and pieces of classified information that now swirled in his mind like currents of a restless wind.
"Though I feel like crap, I guess I should be glad for the time difference. I still have more than enough time…" Releasing a deep sigh, Ichigo almost jumped on the bed when a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind him.
"More than enough time for what exactly, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
"What the hell?!" He yelped and almost broke his neck in an attempt to turn around as fast as possible.
Giving him a slightly amused stare, a Captain of the 2nd Division walked around his bed and stopped only once she was directly in front of him.
With one hand on his chest, the teen took a deep breath.
"I hate when you stealthy guys do that." He muttered, annoyed. When the Captain didn't respond to that, he looked up and raised one eyebrow.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Captain Sui-Feng?"
Without missing a beat, Sui-Feng twisted her expression into a thoughtful frown.
"Amagai Shūsuke."
Ichigo blinked.
"I'm going to need more than that, I'm afraid."
For a few seconds, Sui-Feng simply stared at him. Then she began to pace around the room. Before she spoke, though, she took a small device from her pocket and placed it in the center of the room.
"The newest gadget from the 12th Division. Makes eavesdropping a lot harder." She explained. When she noticed Ichigo's curious gaze, she quickly continued.
"I don't want to use Kido. It would only alert Captain Unohana of my presence. Now then." Getting back to the teen's bed, Sui-Feng once again pinned him down with an intense stare.
"Because of the time difference, you seemed to have spent some time alone with Amagai Shūsuke. Did your opinion of him change?"
Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Ichigo felt a few memories popping up. He scrunched up his chin and gave the Captain an unsure look.
"I'm… not really sure. I'd say it only convinced me more of his split personality. If he wants to, he can be really friendly and chill. He even shared with me some stories of his time in Onmitsukidō. At the same time, though, he can act downright cold." He said after a while.
"Anything unusual?"
Ichigo hesitated. Seeing that, Sui-Feng leaned towards him.
"Yes?"
Briefly, Ichigo closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts.
"I'm not sure. The end of the fight is really hazy but I think I felt some weird reiryoku."
"How is that related to Amagai Shūsuke?"
Ichigo bit his lip.
"I think it belonged to him."
"…"
For a long moment, Sui-Feng simply stared at him with narrowed eyes. Wordlessly, she returned to pacing around the room but she never broke her eye-contact with him. Minutes later, when she seemingly decided on something, she stopped.
"Kurosaki… I may have an offer for you."
…
When a respectful member of the 4th Division came to check up on the teen an hour later, the Captain of the 2nd Division was already gone, though her presence still lingered in the room. But not in the form of reiryoku. Not in the form of reiatsu either.
"Your vitals are nicely going up, Kurosaki-san. I do detect some irregularities within your reiryoku but they are within the safe threshold, so you don't have to worry about it. It's probably just your mood." The medic said as politely as he could and, within the next few seconds, left the room.
One the door closed, Ichigo scoffed.
"If you heard what I have heard in the past few hours, your mood would be bad too."
He sighed and tried to calm down his swirling emotions.
'I seem to do that a lot these days.' He thought with a grimace.
Still in his bed, he stretched his sore muscles and then simply lay there, feeling little to no energy in his body. It wasn't long before his eyelids started to become heavier and heavier and, before he knew it, his consciousness began to fade away.
At the edge of falling asleep, he heard a curios voice within his mind.
'So… what are you going to do?'
Without any delay, he offered the curious zanpakuto spirit an honest answer.
'No idea.'
Even though his mind was still full of questions and filled with confusion, his body simply couldn't keep up with it. It needed rest and time to recover and, as per words of Captain of the 4th Division, sleep was the best healer and so he promptly fell asleep. However, as much as he hoped for it to clear his head of questions he didn't really want to think about, the reality was different.
Several hours later, once he woke up, his head felt even heavier than before. A slight throbbing in the right side, just above his brow ridge, made him groan in displeasure. He tried not to think about it but, as soon as his mind caught up with the fact that he was awake, his thoughts became so erratic and uncontrollable, it made him want to punch the gray ceiling above his head so much, his right arm twitched.
"…screw it. I need some fresh air."
Minutes later, after explaining that to a reluctant Vice-Captain of the 4th Division, Ichigo, back in his regular clothes, walked down the path that led out of the 4th Division compound with his eyes partially closed. All he wanted to do was just breathe in the cool air and relax his soul. Yet his mind was still unable to stop working. Among all the questions and doubts, one issue suddenly popped up. An issue he had never thought about before.
'I don't get it. Isn't the whole 'balance of the worlds' supposed to be the number one rule? An unshakeable system strong enough to withstand anything? But now it's hanging by a thread just because a single Valley of Screams may collide with Soul Society? A pocket dimension that should be a natural occurrence within Garganta?'
He walked past several crossroads but ignored all the turns and simply continued forward. Unable to solve the mystery of the question at hand, his mind momentarily went blank.
'…maybe I'm just overthinking it. If the balance really was fragile, it wouldn't have endured for so long already. Right?'
Despite not asking anybody in particular, he heard an answer only seconds later.
'Who knows…?'
Surprised that the one replying to him wasn't his usual inner spirit, Ichigo stopped walking and raised both his eyebrows. There was something in the spirit's voice that caught his attention.
'Old man?'
'…if you want to worry, Ichigo, I suggest you remember your thoughts from earlier.'
Ichigo blinked. It wasn't every day that one of his inner spirits tried to divert his attention from something in such an obvious way. It was too transparent. Too suspicious. Unbecoming of a spirit that prided himself in his subtle speech. However, before he could voice his opinion, he involuntarily travelled back in time to see himself lying on his back, filled with melancholy, and he stiffened.
His Quincy spirit was acting odd but he was definitely right. Ichigo really had enough other worries.
'…if I don't solve this Bakkōtō problem soon, things might get messy. Rurichiyo can't stay in the Human World forever.'
That thought renewed the flame in his soul and he felt his energy returning to him. There was no time for pointless thinking. No time to think about the bigger picture. If he just stood there and pondered about such things, his new little sister's fate could became unpredictable.
Maybe even same as…
"…"
The flame turned into a fire. There was no way in hell he would allow that. He would do anything and everything in his power to prevent that from happening. He was not going to face that pain again. Not in this lifetime.
"…here…"
He blinked. He didn't recognize the voice the wind barely carried to his ears. Only then he realized he ended up in a completely different area of Seireitei than he wanted to go to. Right in front of him, in a distance, he saw two men facing each other. Behind them, there was a fairly tall wall, similar to the one Kuchiki compound was surrounded with. However, Ichigo was sure he was nowhere near that part of Seireitei. Barely able to hear more, he walked a bit closer to the two men.
"...second time I saw you here, at the Kasumiōji compound, Kibune-san."
Ichigo froze. Then he looked at his surroundings again.
'Kasumiōji compound? This? Now if that's not a coincidence… no, wait, I know who this guy is. That's the Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division. Kara… Kira Izuru. He was there, on the Sokyoku Hill. Amagai-san has also mentioned him before.' He thought in surprise and took another step closer.
'But what is he doing here? And who is that other guy? I don't think I recognize him.'
The man Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division was talking to had red brown hair, wore glasses and a standard shinigami uniform. They were details that didn't help Ichigo in identifying him in the slightest. There was one small difference, though. Under the uniform, the man seemed to be wearing some kind of fluffy purple sweater. Combined with the calm expression he faced the angry Vice-Captain with, Ichigo could think of only one thing.
'Some kind of high-ranking officer?'
"Now, now, Kira-san, you make it sound like I was somebody suspicious. I was just visiting an old friend, nothing else." The man said.
"And who that friend might be, Kibune-san? The same one you sent a message to a few days ago?" The Vice-Captain asked and Ichigo, despite the distance between them, noticed a change in the other man's demeanor.
"If you want, you could try talking to him. If you can, that is."
"What do you mean by that?"
The man formed an almost imperceptible smile.
"I mean, it's hard to get audition with Kumoi-san."
"Kumoi-san as in Gyōkaku Kumoi-san?"
Ichigo's whole being twitched at that. Very slowly, he tuned the Vice-Captain out and focused all of his attention at the other man. His hands inched towards his sword.
'This guy… I need to speak with him.'
End of chapter 22.
What did I say? I managed to publish another chapter in exactly one month! Such a satisfying feeling.
Anyway, we are moving forward by a large margin. Quite large, actually. There were bits and pieces but, I'll let you find them by yourselves. By the way, did you enjoy the little banter between Nemu and Mayuri? Because I certainly did. Mayuri is fun to write. And boy does he have many projects. Moreover, Ichigo and Amagai are lucky Ichigo had that little angry moment when he decided to destroy his surroundings. Thanks to our creepy scientist, it was what helped them get out.
I understand there are people who do not enjoy seeing me use plot from anime filler but, it just fits so well into the story I'm making, I had to include them. Implications that they have on the story are really something I just couldn't ignore. The Noble Clans, Bakkoto, balance of the worlds... these will play a role in the later parts of the story or at least will have some impact on it.
There are about 2 more chapter about this mixed arc. One is being written, second is being outlined... okay, maybe 2 and a half.
By the way, I'm really getting worried manga may end before I can finish this story, which sucks. It sucks because Kubo will probably reveal important things about Bleach world before I can do it and then my revelations (I had to think about them really hard) won't cause you to go "OOOOHHH!". I know it sounds really shallow, to write because you want to shock your readers but... well, yeah.
Onto the reviews:
*InflatedChimp - I mistook her for Nozomi, sry about that and yeah, that's partly the reason why I didn't want to include her. Memories of her vanish. I may have thought about a plot device to keep her alive but... nah. It simply wouldn't work.
*Gacsam - pointy or inverted?
*Kragh50 - prepare to be entertained!
*Dinner - sometimes, a short review makes more sense than the longer one :). Yamamoto's thoughts will remain a secret for now. Personally, I like Amagai.
*GriffonSpade - hmm, if you could specify what are you talking about, I could give a good answer. (I think I know what you are talking about but, just to be sure, I'd like to hear it from you. You know... to avoid spoilering). About the title... ack, my bad. I'll try to remember it and change it.
*PredatorPuck - 3? Very good.
*Kyo_no_Kitsune - yep and yep. Know thy enemy is from Sun Tzu's Art of War.
*Guest - I guess. I tried to keep her emotions in character but, well, hearing about Urahara getting his ass beaten made her too happy. If by leech you mean that thing from Fade to Black then yes, I'm not planning on using it.
*Harbinger_Of_Kaos - when Urahara isn't trying, it's when he actually helps Ichigo. Amagai... I like Amagai. Yep, Mayuri needed it.
*MugetsuIchigo - I actually planned for a similar scene when Ichigo returned from VoS but decided not to write it. It would break the atmosphere too much.
*Hazza25 - thank you, I try :)
*Darke13 - nope. That may happen in Hueco Mundo but VoS is a different place with different laws. Mayuri and his science to the rescue!
*Alex - bankai? Not for a long time. But, until then, it will be compensated!
*Lilyzinha - too many consecutive reviews for me not to mention you! Thank you.
That's all for now, folks. Thanks everyone for the support (reviewers, followers, favouriters... is that even a word?). I don't know when the next chapter comes, but I'll try it'll be before Christmas!