Chapter 34: Tools to reach the Heavens (A stepping stone)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner spirit speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
The day following the dispute, Ichigo received an invitation to one of Aizen's rooms. He contemplated not going but, from the wording alone, he understood it was that kind of invitation he couldn't refuse. Because of that, he reluctantly walked numerous stairs that led to his destination with a frown etched on his face. Once he arrived to the entrance, he heard Aizen's voice.
"Come inside, Kurosaki."
Suppressing the urge to sigh deeply, Ichigo tightened his jaw and opened the doors. The first thing he noticed, was almost complete lack of light. The only illumination within the room came from the second thing he noticed, a large computer screen positioned in the center of the room. In front of it, Aizen sat on a couch that looked so comfortable, Ichigo had to stop himself from joining the man. Instead, he just walked near and stood next to it.
"You wanted to see me?"
Briefly looking away from the screen and at Ichigo, Aizen curved his mouth into a smile.
"No need to be so formal." He said and then turned his attention back to the screen.
"I wanted you to see this."
Ichigo glanced at the screen and realized it was showing a live transmission from Seireitei. Surprised and confused, he stared at it with a frown. Surely, Aizen didn't call him just to watch everyday life in Soul Society.
"See what, exactly?"
Aizen tapped the spot on the couch next to him but Ichigo politely shook his head, prompting the man to smile again.
"My gift to Gotei 13." Was all he said and Ichigo understood it as a sign to continue looking at the screen.
For a few minutes, nothing happened and the life in Seireitei passed in an ordinary way. Shinigami officers patrolled the area as usual. Nothing seemed out of normal. However, then he noticed a small, chaotic movements in the upper right corner of the screen. Slowly, several Academy students came into his view and he narrowed his eyes.
"What's wrong with them?" He asked after a brief observation. The students' steps looked uncertain but, because of the lack of focus, he couldn't tell the expression on their faces. Aizen raised one hand and placed a finger to his mouth.
"Shh, it should begin shortly."
Still confused, Ichigo looked at the live transmission again. The students moved slowly but only until the patrol noticed them. When it happened, the Shinigami officers seemed to call out to them and, for a moment, it looked like there was a conversation. Straining his ears as much as he could, Ichigo was unable to listen to it; the transmission offered barely any sound. But then, the Shinigami patrol took out their swords and assumed fighting stances, an action that only further increased Ichigo's confusion.
Then, almost as if on order, the students began to bend over and vomit an odd white substance. Breaking the rules of gravity, the substance didn't flow downwards but, instead, quickly made its way back to the students' faces and formed hollow masks on each of them.
"What the hell?!" Ichigo exclaimed and looked at Aizen in horror. But the man continued to smile. When the students roared and leaped towards the patrol, ready to kill them, Aizen spoke.
"Some days ago, around the time you came to Hueco Mundo, I had my subordinates take all of the students that used to regularly attend my calligraphy class and take them here, to Las Noches."
Staring at Aizen with horror and disgust, Ichigo tried not to look at the screen but the sound still entered his ears. A sound of a battle, desperation and determination.
"What did you do?!"
Aizen hummed to himself.
"Just to be clear, I hand-picked every student that attended my class. Every single one of them was… not a person. They were all vile, brutal and guilty creatures. It may have seemed different during the class, but that's only because of my influence. I picked them because I knew what kind of dark secrets they all held. That's why, after they got here, I infected all of them with a hollowfication virus." He explained casually, clearly not worried of the increasing reiatsu pouring out of Ichigo.
Vivid anger spread through Ichigo's veins as he had to physically hold himself from outright attacking Aizen, who simply continued to watch.
"…why? That's…" Words were failing Ichigo as he finally looked back at the screen, only to see the patrol starting to turn into hollows as well. Another patrol arrived and the process repeated itself. Every time they received an injury, the ordinary Shinigami began to turn into ones with hollow masks. Seeing that with his very own eyes, Ichigo was reaching boiling point fast.
However, by the time a third patrol arrived, this time larger in number and also in power, all of the Shinigami who turned started to behave differently. Their movements sketchy, before the third patrol managed to attack, they all just fell unconscious. Even their masks began to disappear.
"…what?"
Ichigo felt his head spinning and had to lean on the couch for support. He went from being absolutely livid to completely baffled in less time than that it would take Rukia to kick him in the shin.
"I may appear monstrous, Kurosaki, but I'm not a complete monster. Obviously, I can't call myself innocent, as that would be an insult to everyone's intelligence, but I'm also not a man without a plan. What you just witnessed was a multipurpose plan."
When Ichigo didn't react, Aizen continued.
"You see, by doing this, I demonstrated that I can do anything. Doing this, I created a chaos, a period of uncertainty that will force the Gotei to grow. Last but not least, I supplied the Gotei with a sample of a perfected and mostly harmless hollow pathogen and I'm sure Mayuri Kurotsuchi will not waste this opportunity to grab it for a study. Right now, you may think of this last reason as pointless but, in the long run, it is something that may help prevent a terrible future."
…
It was hard to tell time in Las Noches, but Ichigo was sure at least half a day must have passed since he walked out of Aizen's room with his head heavy and full of thoughts that were hard to deal with. What he had witnessed left an impression on him and he wasn't sure whether good or bad. It was his first time seeing Aizen for what he truly was, a scheming genius and a master manipulator. He tried to take Aizen's words as the truth but there was just so much coincidence that it was almost impossible to believe the man.
Ichigo thought it was nothing short of a miracle that nobody actually died during the attack of the hollowfied students, yet Aizen claimed it was all according to the plan. That he never intended to kill anyone with his strategy and that it was all for the purpose of helping the Gotei. Adamant about his intentions, Aizen rejected Ichigo's thoughts about it being a product of pure luck. Still, Ichigo was a stubborn person and convincing him proved to be much even for the former Captain. On the other hand, he didn't press further and let Ichigo go with just a simple request.
To wait and see.
Keeping it in mind, Ichigo found it hard to deal with everything at once and so he left to do one thing he could. To train. He sought out the spot where he had previously trained and prepared to train, only to be greeted with a sight of Nelliel already waiting for him. Not one to be known for his idiocy, Ichigo let go of the thought of telling her to leave and decided to train with her.
This time, however, their spar turned out to be less violent and they both kept from actually injuring each other. Their regeneration was fast but, depending on the severity of the wound, it bit off fair amount of energy that could be instead used to train longer. The spar eventually developed into something akin to a lesson and Ichigo realized he was, for once, quite enjoying himself.
All good things had to end, though, and after no more than an hour, during one of the pauses between spars, presence of a large spiritual pressure woke Ichigo from the moment of relax.
'I know this spiritual energy…' He thought with a frown and turned his attention towards the spot where it seemed to be coming from. Immediately, his frown turned into a scowl.
"Kurosaki Ichigo! Prepare for a rematch!"
A large figure of Espada number ten, Yammy, was closing in on him fast. Sword already drawn, the Arrancar was releasing quite a good amount of reiryoku, almost as if trying to scare him.
"I don't think Aizen-san would approve!" Nelliel stood up and threw an admonishing stare at Yammy, who raised one eyebrow at her before cackling menacingly.
"Why would he care? We were only told not to kill him. There was nothing about beating the shit out of him!"
Standing up as well, Ichigo put out an arm in front of Nelliel and sized up the Arrancar with a reluctant glare.
"I already told you I don't want to fight you."
Yammy laughed.
"Because you are scared? Bullshit! You just don't want to lose! Either way, you can't refuse! I still have to repay you for cutting off my arm!" He roared and raised his sword high above his head, only to bring it down on Ichigo with revenge.
Growling in indignation, Ichigo quickly put his zanpakuto up to block the strike. When the two blades met, he could feel his arms shaking under the weight of the blow.
"Now we're talking! Prepare for a beatdown, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
The two of them separated and then jumped at each other again. From the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw Nelliel resign and move to a respectable distance, away from the fight. However, he couldn't afford to look at her for long as Yammy's hand moved towards his head at frightening speed.
He ducked and slashed at his opponent at the same time. Keeping his reiatsu sharp, he could feel the edge of his blade cutting through Yammy's defense. He heard him grunt and, once he reached the spot behind him, he spun around just in time to deflect another blow.
There was a thin red line running across Yammy's stomach where he had cut him.
With his opponent's face pushed in his own, Ichigo vaulted over the Arrancar and slashed him on the shoulder while doing so. Another red line appeared on Yammy's body and the Arrancar's face twisted into an angry snarl. Just as Ichigo landed, he saw a large fist coming right at his skull and he hurriedly put up his zanpakuto to try and block it.
"Ghh." He grunted when the strength of the punch sent him skidding through the sand. Still, he didn't feel much pain and that fact kicked up his drive to fight. Shifting his weight, he flashed back to his opponent and planned to blitz past him but Yammy's large fist moving towards him prevented him from doing so. In an attempt to avoid crashing into it, Ichigo leaped in the air but Yammy moved with surprising speed and his arm brushed against Ichigo's feet.
Unable to remain in control of his flight, Ichigo knew he would soon fall face first in the sand. Quickly devising his next step, he let himself fall and then nimbly rolled to the side. Where his chest had just been, Yammy's large fist appeared.
'I don't recall him being this fast.'
The blow raised a curtain of sand and allowed Ichigo to get back on his feet, unseen. Immediately, he leaped in the air as his opponent didn't seem like the one who liked aerial battle. It was a good thing he did so as Yammy's elbow tore through the veil of sand and hit the air where he had just stood. Briefly observing the Arrancar from above, Ichigo felt tempted to use more of his arsenal than just his zanpakuto.
'No. He wants to beat the shit out of me so If I can do it instead and using as little power as possible, it should send a clear signal… though I guess I won't hold back if it doesn't work.'
"Get back here you little shit!"
Raising one eyebrow, Ichigo didn't need to hear more and flashed back to the ground, near the yelling Arrancar. This time, he made sure to see ahead and when he saw Yammy charging towards him with an intention of performing some sort of a lariat on him, he pushed his body to the limit. Using every bit of speed, he blitzed around him and, in a rapid succession, slashed him twice across his back. A pulsating red cross mark formed on the Arrancar's body and a bit of blood spurted from the wounds.
"Gah! You're dead!"
When Yammy shouted, Ichigo tried to back away but was taken by surprise when Yammy spun on the spot and backhanded him before he could even react.
'Shit!'
The pure physical force behind the surprise strike sent him flying through the air, until he crashed into the wall of a nearby oblique building. His body sank into the concrete and forced the breath out of his lungs. Gasping for it, Ichigo slid down and touched his head with his free hand.
'He still hits like a truck… but I'm okay… I'm okay.' He thought and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears.
"Eat this!"
The unfriendly voice roared across the battlefield and Ichigo quickly raised his head to see a red ball of energy forming in front of Yammy's opened mouth.
'Cero!'
Just as the rumbling noise of Cero filled the area, Ichigo acted fast. Whispering his release phrase, he swung his zanpakuto down and released a powerful blast of his own.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
The two strikes collided in mid-air and showered the sand with powerful, leaking reiryoku. The struggle for dominance was short and ended in Ichigo's favor. His Getsuga sliced through Yammy's Cero like a blade and hit the shocked Arrancar right in the face.
Ichigo, now with two swords in his grasp, waited until the smoke cleared. His instinct was telling him to move and finish the battle with one decisive strike, but he remained still. He fought Yammy for a reason and not for the kill. There wasn't any point in attacking further if his Getsuga did enough damage.
When the smoke from Getsuga hitting Yammy finally cleared up, Ichigo knew he did well in suppressing his instinct. Half of his opponent's body was scorched and the Arrancar was bent forward, breathing heavily. Blood poured out of a large gash on his chest and he seemed to be struggling to keep standing. But then he straightened his back and began punching the air in front of him while releasing small but fast pulses of red energy.
"I'm going to kill you Kurosaki!"
Ichigo had only a fraction of a second to think. He contemplated using another Getsuga to blast the incoming blasts but didn't want to go overboard and accidentally kill the Arrancar. In the end, he simply flashed to the side. One of the blasts still touched his side and ate a piece of his skin, but he evaded the rest of them. Before Yammy could send another wave of attacks, Nelliel suddenly appeared behind him and hit him in the back of his head with her hand posing as a blade.
Instantly, Yammy lost his consciousness and toppled over.
In response, Ichigo showed Nelliel thumbs up and slowly sat down, to enjoy the moment of victory and to let himself heal. He glanced at his bleeding side and sighed.
"Well, that went better than-ow… expected?"
…
In a dimly lit room, Aizen stared at the only source of light in the room, a large screen similar to the one he had showed Ichigo, and watched as Yammy's large figure fell on the ground, soundly defeated. The image then moved to zoom on a satisfied Ichigo as he leaned back and stared at the sky.
A smile formed on Aizen's lips.
…
It came as a surprise to Ichigo, but once he walked away from the fight with Yammy, his body sent him several signs of having a serious fatigue. He was surprised because he thought he hadn't received that many blows or sustained that many wounds. However, once he reached his quarters, he fell face first on the bed and slept for so long, it was the sound of his stomach growling that woke him up.
"Can't complain much, though. I feel like a new person." He muttered through the pillow and rolled over, so that he lay on his back. There was much he wanted to think about but his stomach had different plans and began to growl so much, he had no other choice but to go eat.
It was when he was finishing his meal when he felt, rather than heard, somebody approaching him. He thanked the Arrancar that provided him with the dish and turned around before the newcomers could reach him. It was Aizen and the Séptima Espada, Zommari.
"Ah, there you are, Kurosaki." Aizen said. Ichigo moved his chair backwards so he could stand up but Aizen slightly waved his hand to stop him.
"Please don't. There is something I want to talk about with you."
Curious, Ichigo raised one eyebrow and when Aizen sat on a chair opposite of him, he glanced at Zommari, who remained standing.
"Well, I say talk but actually there is something I'd like you to do for me, Kurosaki."
Ichigo's brows slid towards each other and slowly formed a frown.
"I'm listening." He retorted, to which the corners of Aizen's mouth twitched upwards and created a small smile.
"Good. You've been my guest for a few days now but everyone who wants to live in Las Noches for an extended period of time has to bring something to the table. You have to contribute to overall welfare. With this in mind, I have a mission for you. You'd go with Zommari here, of course, as it is by no means a mission suited for you."
Listening carefully, Ichigo's frown deepened with each word Aizen uttered.
"Punishment then?"
Aizen chuckled but Ichigo felt it was fake.
"I'd like to call it a chance to prove yourself and to prove your new loyalty to Las Noches."
There wasn't anything else he could do, so Ichigo briefly nodded to force Aizen to speak further. Aizen didn't need much convincing and was clearly prepared for Ichigo to accept.
"There is something I'd like you to… borrow from Seireitei. I'm sure you know some things about Noble Clans from your time at the Academy?" Aizen asked, to which Ichigo nodded again.
"I know that their role in Soul Society's life is quite unclear."
Aizen's smile widened but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was a smile of somebody, who knew things. Dirty things, secrets. Seeing it made Ichigo mentally shudder.
"That couldn't be more right, Kurosaki. The Noble Clans are many things but one thing they aren't, is a blessing. They are nothing but a black spot. An appalling, ugly and vulgar thing of a past. Though the minor Noble Clans are nothing in comparison with the Four Great Noble Clans. They are the true, well, as Ulquiorra likes to say, trash. They are the remnants of the greatest sin ever committed but... that is for some other time." As he said that, Aizen's smile turned ugly and outright scary, causing Ichigo to subconsciously move away, till his back was firmly pressed against his chair. Aizen must have noticed it, because he quickly changed his expression and replaced it with a neutral gaze.
"Important thing is, the thing that I want is securely stashed away in the Shihōin compound. Before you leave, I'll show you the exact image of how it looks, so memorize it well. You'll learn what it is once you return. Now, you are probably wondering why you'll be going with Zommari. Zommari?" Aizen asked and Zommari immediately responded.
"My Sonído is the fastest out of every Espada."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes but Aizen continued.
"Moving fast is what I need you to do. This mission will require stealth. Anything else will only slow you down, therefore I will supply you with reiatsu-masking clothes, the kind of which I have mentioned to you once before."
Ichigo's expression went through a menacing phase but he managed to stay calm.
"These cloaks can mask your reiatsu output to a certain amount. They can also hide you from the plain sight for as long as you don't move and don't release spiritual energy. Perfect tools for this kind of mission. However, I am quite sure Kurotsuchi Mayuri added a new layer of security to Soul Society, so I expect the Gotei will know someone entered Seireitei as soon as you emerge from the Garganta."
Slightly tilting his head, Ichigo looked at Aizen with a funny thought in his mind.
"That is one risky plan, Aizen. I thought you planned everything to the very last detail."
Only after he spoke Ichigo realized he may have sounded too arrogant but, fortunately, Aizen took it with humor. The man chuckled and shortly nodded his head.
"True. Very true, Kurosaki. Though I have to ask you. What makes you think this mission being risky isn't my plan?"
…
For some reason, Ichigo thought travelling through Garganta would be the same as going through the Senkaimon. That he would just enter and then appear right in Seireitei. However, the second he stepped inside the Garganta he realized his mistake.
"Whoa."
The space within Garganta was hard to describe. It was a void of sorts Ichigo had never seen before. Uncertain range of colors glimmered all around, making it look like a world straight out of hallucinogen-induced dreams where nothing was real and everything was surreal. A turbulence of reishi was ever-present and made it hard to keep a grip on his spiritual sense.
"Freaky." He muttered and watched Zommari seemingly land on nothing but at closer inspection he noticed a pad made of spiritual particles below his feet that kept him afloat.
'Ah, so that's the way.'
Releasing a bit of his energy, Ichigo created an unstable underlay that turned solid once his feet touched it. Zommari didn't turn around to look at him, so Ichigo decided not to waste time and followed him. As he did so, his eyes nervously darted around. Whatever the Garganta was, it made him feel small and insignificant. Shuddering, he patted one of his pockets to make sure a small vial full of red liquid was securely hidden in it.
'I guess having an access to her blood means Yoruichi is still alive, just kept away from plain sight.'
He wasn't even sure why, but the realization made him sigh in relief. Was it guilt? Ichigo didn't know and he sure as hell didn't want to think about it during the mission. So much could go wrong with it and he didn't want to be the one who would make an error. With that in mind, he silently trailed after Zommari and mentally reminded himself the image of what he had to steal from Seireitei.
'Borrow.' He quickly corrected himself, appalled to hear himself saying it in Aizen's voice.
Several long minutes later, maybe even more than an hour, Ichigo saw Zommari slow down. The Arrancar slightly turned his head so he could glance at Ichigo and nodded to him.
"We're here. Prepare yourself."
With a gulp, Ichigo nodded in return. Quietly, he put a hood over his head and while Zommari opened the entrance to Seireitei he closed up his cloak, so that his whole body became concealed.
"Now."
The gate opened and both of them jumped through it.
Immediately, before Ichigo was able to absorb his surroundings and find out where exactly they landed, his ears were assaulted by a high-pitched sound of an alarm.
"Shit." He whispered nervously and motioned Zommari, who stood next to him, not to move an inch. It was a good thing he did so as only a few seconds later, a Shinigami patrol swept through their location. When the patrol passed the two of them without even a glance in their direction, Ichigo knew the cloaks truly were working. He waited for a few more seconds and when nobody else showed up, he looked at Zommari.
"Alright. I think I know where we are. If we move quickly, quietly and carefully, I think we can reach the Shihōin compound in just under an hour. Follow me." He whispered as quietly as he could and hoped the Arrancar heard him. To his relief, Zommari nodded.
"They know about us."
It was quite funny, to hear Zommari, who had quite a deep voice, trying to speak soft but Ichigo restrained from snorting. Instead, he shrugged.
"Not like we didn't expect them to." He whispered and then turned around. Peeking around a corner of a nearby wall, he heard, saw and felt nobody, so he stood up and turned towards the direction of the wanted location. In a shimmer of dim light, he flashed away with Zommari right at his heels.
As they moved through the Seireitei, unseen and unheard, Ichigo was very glad it was nighttime. While the cloaks clearly worked as intended, having the dark night cloaking them with its blackness relaxed his mind and body and allowed him to think and act with a mind that was as clear as a spring water.
His estimations were correct and they reached the large Shihōin compound in just under sixty minutes. When the guards standing at the entrance came into his sight, Ichigo stopped moving via Shunpo and motioned Zommari to stop using his high-speed movement as well. This close to the family that consisted of trained assassins, it was unwise to use any kind of spiritual energy. They needed to turn invisible at a moment's demand and using reiryoku delayed the effect. Ichigo went even further and decided words were unnecessary as well and so he just pointed a finger at the large wall in front of them and then at a tree behind them. It seemed Zommari understood, if his indignation was any sign.
Without wasting a second, Ichigo walked to the tree and started to climb it the usual human way with only his hands and feet. Even then, he stopped every few seconds to check whether the sound he was making caused any suspicion.
It didn't.
Step by step, Ichigo reached the top of the tree. He waited until Zommari was next to him and then jumped forward, over the wall of the compound. Again, using just the natural strength of his legs. He landed on a soft grass and watched as Zommari followed his lead a second later.
'Good. Now, I have to check.' He thought and made a motion with his hand that looked like he was pushing the air to the ground. Once again, he hoped Zommari understood. When he saw the Arrancar not moving, he nodded to himself and, from his other pocket, took out a small map of the Shihōin compound, courtesy of Aizen.
'I see, so we'll have to go through the residential area either way. That's… risky but I guess we have no choice.'
Still crouching, he began to walk in the nearest house direction. It was a killer for his knees but, so far, he was meticulous about being careful and he didn't want to get cocky. He still remembered his defeat at Yoruichi's hands and because of that, he held any member of the Shihōin clan in high regard.
Alarm was still going strong but it seemed like there was no panic, so Ichigo concluded the Gotei knew that somebody got through but they didn't know the identity of the invader. Which was good. Ichigo didn't want them to see him for more than one reason.
Before long, they moved through the house, stopping every-time the ground beneath their feet made even the tiniest noise. Thankfully, because it was long past midnight, only guards and few servants were still awake. It made things easier than he had hoped for and in barely twenty more minutes, they reached the heart of the compound, the Shihōin vault.
It was a large construct covered with intricate drawings and marks. Ichigo suspected they were all parts of Kido seals that were undoubtedly protecting the vault from being broken in. A stray ray of moonlight briefly fell on the vault and, cursing mentally, Ichigo took a fast step backwards. Because of the night, he almost didn't notice a translucent barrier surrounding the whole construct like a dome of inflated air.
'Holy… damn. One inch from blowing the whole mission up, good job Ichigo.'
Glancing at Zommari who watched him with curious gaze, Ichigo reached into his pocket and took out the small vial that was filled with Yoruichi's blood. Carefully, he undid the seal on top of it and tilted the vial so a small amount of blood landed on the palm of his other hand. He suppressed his disgust and smeared the blood all over his palm. After he was done, he raised his bloodied hand and cautiously placed it on the surface of the translucent barrier.
Without making any sound, the barrier popped like a balloon. Ichigo allowed himself a small sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet. Taking a few careful steps forward, he got close to the opening of the vault and looked it over until he found a small engraving. He placed the opening of the vial right next to it and then poured all of the remaining blood into the engraving. The whole construct began to flash in dim dark light.
'Uuuh… is that good?' Ichigo gulped and peeked above his shoulder at Zommari, but the Arrancar seemed confused. With no other choice but to wait, Ichigo watched his surroundings in case somebody unexpectedly showed up.
He heard a quiet clacking sound and turned his attention back to the vault. A small hole opened in the middle of it and Ichigo reached into the same pocket where he had kept the vial. Rummaging through it, he took out the last thing Aizen had given them, a single strand of Yoruichi's hair. While he wasn't sure why hair, it dawned on him that if the security so far needed blood, the last protection most likely needed to check for the identity in a different way. Not wanting to waste more time, he aimed for the hole and plunged the hair in it.
The hole closed up, the construct flashed one more time and then the vault opened.
Ichigo released a deep, strained sigh of relief. But his satisfaction lasted only until he noticed the contents of the vault.
'…that's not everything we were supposed to take. Where's the rest?' He thought. His brows forming a frown, the glanced at Zommari, who mimicked his expression but otherwise offered no help or advice. Disgruntled, Ichigo decisively reached for the inside of the vault and took out the treasure. He tapped the vault and it immediately closed up. After he took several steps backwards, the protective barrier reappeared.
For a moment, Ichigo weighed his options.
'Should we look for the rest? We still have some time before dawn but I have a feeling we won't find it. Maybe there is another vault Aizen didn't know about? Or… oh, shit!'
Just when he was reaching a conclusion, Ichigo heard quiet footsteps closing in on them and he scooted away, to the corner of the room and together with Zommari, they watched a fairly small figure enter the room.
"Nee-sama?"
Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise. He wasn't able to determinate whether the voice belonged to a male or female, but it definitely sounded young. Moreover, it asked for an older sister.
'Sister…. Yoruichi… her sibling?' Rapidly blinking, Ichigo quickly put two and two together.
The figure remained still for a moment and then, shocking Ichigo, it turned towards him, almost as if it was looking straight at him. Ichigo gulped.
"Nee-sama…?"
The voice suddenly sounded unsure and suspicious. Ichigo's mind charged into overdrive and he furiously tried to think of a plan. When the figure took a small step towards him, he acted.
With a flick of a wrist, he sent the empty vial flying through the air. When it hit the wall on his right, it smashed into pieces in a loud noise that caused the figure to jump towards the noise. Without wasting a second, Ichigo stood up and flashed through the empty corridor, until he landed on a small grass outside the house. He felt Zommari next to him. He didn't even bother looking at him and handed him one of the larger things he took from the vault. Then he whispered.
"Move. Quickly. Now!"
The Arrancar didn't need more and immediately left. Not even a second later, Ichigo could hear a swish of somebody else moving towards him and he quickly followed after Zommari. In one leap, he vaulted over the wall of the compound and then dashed as fast as he could towards the designated sport from where they were supposed to return to Hueco Mundo.
However, as much as he was pushing himself, he could still hear and feel somebody trailing after him.
'Shit!'
He was sure that the cloak was working and his reiatsu was masked but since he was using spiritual energy, it couldn't conceal him from plain sight. Still, the thought of somebody seeing him while he was using his fastest Shunpo baffled him.
'It's definitely not any Captain of the Gotei so who the hell can be this fast?!'
Something small hit him in the right calf and almost caused him to lose his balance. Whoever was pursuing him was definitely faster than him and was starting to gain on him. Ichigo felt he was starting to lose options. If he couldn't outrun his pursuer, there was only so much he could do but fight. Yet Ichigo didn't want to do that. Getting into a fight would only alert the others of his location and soon after that he would get swarmed by the Gotei and his odds of getting away would drop drastically. So, he did the only thing he thought of and slightly turned in mid-Shunpo.
"Hadō #1: Shō!"
A small amount of kinetic energy shot from his index finger but he didn't look at the results of his spell. Instead, he turned back and sped up even more. For a few moments, it seemed his action had some effect as his pursuer lost some of the distance he had gained on him. But it lasted only for so long.
When Ichigo saw Zommari waiting on him with an opened gate, he nodded to him to go. Just when he was about to head inside himself, his pursuer finally overtook him and landed between him and the Garganta gate.
"Stop immediately!"
Ichigo mentally cursed and hit the brakes. Then he noticed the person's appearance and felt surprise spreading through him.
'Mini-Yoruichi?'
In front of him stood a young, dark-skinned person with black hair tied into a thick ponytail. The person looked exactly like a smaller version of Yoruichi, hence the Mini-Yoruichi comparison. Now, Ichigo had no doubts about the person being Yoruchi's sibling, the similarity was way too striking for anything else. The only thing he was unsure of was the person's gender.
"Who are you and how did you get Nee-sama's blood?! Did you kill her?!"
The person was shaking in anger and Ichigo couldn't find any fault in that. If somebody showed up with the blood of his sister, he would murder them on the spot. In light of that, he realized he was quite lucky he wasn't being attacked, yet. He kept his head lowered, so that the hood would keep his face concealed, and shook his head. He didn't dare to use his voice.
"Show yourself and surrender! As the twenty-third head of the Shihōin Clan, I vow to keep you alive until your hearing. Resist and you'll die by my hands!"
The loud exclamation rang in Ichigo's ears and made him click his tongue. If nobody noticed the furious chase through the Seireitei, they must have heard this person's voice. As if listening to him, several strong spiritual signatures popped up from a distance.
'Damn it!' He cursed. There was no way he was going to surrender and he also didn't want to fight but it seemed the person in front of him wasn't going to let him pass without it. He remained still for a few seconds and let the cloak do its job and turn him invisible.
"Your tricks are useless. You aren't fast enough."
Ichigo wanted to snort but he didn't. Instead, he raised his index finger while making sure his cloak didn't move and broke the invisibility. He took a short breath and released a burst of reiryoku through the finger in form of another Hadō #1: Shō. The spell immediately broke his invisibility but it also took the person in front of him by surprise and pushed it out of the way. Instantly, Ichigo took the chance and leapt into the Garganta gate that seemed to be getting smaller. As he passed through, he could feel a hand on his head pulling the hood off.
There was a loud gasp coming from behind him and then the gate closed completely.
End of Chapter 34.
This was a bit shorter chapter (next one will be as well) but I think enough things happened in it that you will pardon me its length.
You think what Aizen did with those students was odd and came out of nowhere? Ichigo and everyone else is probably thinking it was just a pointless act of cruelty but, in reality, it was him giving a helping hand. Actually, most of the things that happened in this chapter could be summarized with the punchline of the chapter's subtitle: A stepping stone.
To reviewers:
MugetsuIchigo - yes, I kind of wanted to do this kind of dialogue ever since the beginning of the story, when Ichigo used to call others trash quite a lot. Ulquiorra's nihilism is a interesting topic and... well, all in due time. If you think that's what Aizen wanted to retrieve then you'll have to guess more, heh. I won't comment the other thing for now.
Ztassassin555 - I noticed that Zangetsu's absence seems to be bothering you guys so I'll tell you that Zangetsu will come back at the end of chapter 37 but, boy oh boy, will he return with a bang!
The Last Kenpachi - nope once again.
Fanficlover2017 - the bit about Zangetsu I already mentioned but the second part of the question? Well, this whole arc isn't called "Enlightenment arc" for nothing. Yoruichi is currently imprisoned in Las Noches. I paired Ichigo with both of them in my previous Bleach story so this time, I'm going for something else. Also, I did mention that romance will play only small role in this fic. It'll come but only if it's relevant.
Dinner - indeed, irony is not lost on this one. And yes, you guessed Aizen's intentions perfectly. I like Nel as well. Hmm, to be fair, I won't really be focusing on Tosen. He will be mentioned from time to time but in the future, his backstory will play a bigger role. And thank you.
Scarease, Guest and all of the above mentioned as well as other readers, thank you for reading this chapter.
Next chapter will be very interesting and will focus on the reason behind Ichigo's current mission, more important information, one surprise that I hope you won't see coming and more. Things are moving slowly but surely and I hope you'll stay for the ride.
Next chapter:
Chapter 35 - Four pillars of Deceit (Voice of Reality) - will be posted 15/16th March!
Until next time.