I just finished my semester so to celebrate, I decided to post this chapter. I am very sorry for making you wait.
Consider this an early Christmas present! Thank you for your patience.
-O-
Chapter 17:
Prisoner
"It's time," came the male voice, "We've finally been given the orders to act."
The curvaceous woman answered with a sigh. "I know."
-O-
Blue orbs continued to scan the empty street before her. She could have sworn that she had seen that blur again.
'I thought I saw it head towards the bridge,' the lily girl thought.
With a mournful sigh, she uttered, "Perhaps I am seeing things..."
She looked to the gloomy skies -finding its similarities to her mood oddly comforting. Sayuri noted two tiny smudges just over the top of the bridge, and speculated that they were most likely birds or planes. However, when the two objects did not move, she squinted her eyes in an attempt to make better sense of what she was observing. Her eyes strained to see black blobs with something red and something orange. Upon further inspection, she realized that the two smudges were gradually becoming larger.
The blue eyed adolescent finally realized that they were people as they descended from their position in the sky and proceeded to move towards her.
Before long, she found her wrists held behind her back in a strong grip. When she looked behind her, she found a man with odd black tattoos holding her prisoner.
"Do you have to be so rough on her Renji?" a woman, who was standing next to the man, scolded.
"She noticed us. It's better that I have captured her rather than risking her escaping from us ," the male, a red-head, remarked.
Sayuri could only stare. 'They are wearing the exact same black outfit as the two who saved me,' she observed with wide eyes.
The ginger-haired woman, who was rather voluptuous, verbalized, "I think you are scaring her Renji."
The man replied with a quick glare towards the woman.
"Our orders were to capture her," he stated and, turning his attention back to the gawking female, said, "Are you going to cooperate peacefully or is the use of force more preferable?"
Sayuri did not know why, but his haughty tone sparked a bit of anger within her. He was the type of person that she would bicker with. Bitingly, she retaliated, "As it would appear, you are already using force by restraining and threatening me."
The woman let would a small chuckle. "Don't mind him," the woman spoke, "He is a bit temperamental so ignore any of his rantings."
"Stop trying to befriend the enemy," the guy admonished, "Can't you feel the strange spiritual pressure surrounding her?"
The woman's smile immediately faded to make way for a frown. "I do. It is faint, but I feel it."
"Who are you people?" Sayuri choked out.
This year has truly been one for new experiences: first, it was hollows that craved and consumed souls and now, it is strange people in black outfits with weird abilities. Sayuri wondered what other secrets the universe possessed because it seemed to her that the universe was rather shocking and secretive.
With a small smile, the older female replied, "My name is Rangiku and this knucklehead is Renji. We are Soul Reapers from the Soul Society."
"Soul Reapers? Soul Society?" Sayuri muttered in confusion.
This time it was Renji who answered. "We are protectors of balance. We fight hollows who consume human souls, and you so happen to have residual spirit pressure that resembles that of a hollow."
"We were ordered her by our superiors to take you into custody so that the Soul Society may further investigate the recent happenings taking place within Hitamura," Rangiku clarified.
"I haven't done anything wrong to require you to imprison me," Sayuri reasoned, feeling Renji's tight grip bruising her wrists.
With a slightly menacing tone, Renji challenged, "Then would you care to explain why you have such a dark spiritual pressure lingering around you?"
Looking at her captors straight in the eye, Sayuri answered, "I was attacked by some giant black thing weeks ago. I was saved by two others that wore the exact same black outfit as you two. Perhaps this dark spiritual pressure you speak of was from that incident. Afterwards, I continuously saw other black figures roaming the city, and I attempted to avoid being noticed by them."
Rangiku and Renji looked at each other once she completed her story.
"Who were these two Soul Reapers that saved you?" asked the red-head.
Placing a thoughtful expression on her face, the blue-eyed teen answered, "It was a boy with orange hair and a short girl with black locks."
"I see," was all Rangiku stated.
"Regardless of your story, we were ordered by our Head Captain to take you into custody for interrogation," announced the tattooed man, "If you truly are innocent, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you are guilty, whether partly or wholly, you shall be judged and punished."
With a confident smirk, Sayuri proclaimed, "That is good news because I have nothing to hide."
A traditional Japanese door soon opened before them as soon as the statement left Sayuri's lips. Hiding her fear, the adolescent walked into the gateway of light and mystery and into what she deduced to be the Soul Society.
Sayuri was terrified, but knowing that these people hunted and even killed hollows and are now on a manhunt to locate Ulquiorra, she would deal with this fear to save her friend.
She would protect him no matter the cost.
-O-
"State your name at once," came the deep, booming voice.
It took everything in Sayuri's power to maintain her calm in the presence of such an intimidating old man.
"Sayuri Kimura."
The closed eyes of the balding man opened to scrutinize the sight before him. His eyes were cold and deadly. Though he may look like a grandfather, Sayuri knew that this man has never experienced the unconditional love of having grandchildren.
The young teen had to repress a sigh of relief when she saw the old man's eyes close once more.
He thundered, "So you are one of those responsible for all the recent troubles plaguing Hitamura recently."
His voice already sounded as though she was already condemned. Ignoring the anxiety and fear she felt deep in her chest at being surrounded by thirteen people whom she sensed possessed dangerous abilities, Sayuri declared, "I have done no such thing. If anyone is at fault here, it should be all of you."
"Mind your tongue human!" a man with what she deduced to be a black and white mask or face paint scolded.
The aged man before her, on the other hand, remained quiet. Instead of berating her for her bold statement, he merely asked, "Would you care to elaborate child?"
The black-haired young woman swallowed the lump that had worked up her throat. She was extremely nervous, but she had to continue on; she would not allow them to place the blame on someone that has not committed the crime, but she would definitely not allow them to have Ulquiorra.
With the most confident voice she could muster, Sayuri stated, "I had been told that the Soul Society and its Soul Reapers were meant to protect humans from the attacks of hollows. However, in my case, you have failed in that duty. I had nearly been killed, and was only saved once the bones in one of my legs had been completely crushed. You all did not protect me as you ought to have been. If the hollow that had come after me was taken care of before it had the chance to even harm me, this dark spiritual pressure around me that you are all so obsessed about may not even be there."
"This hollow was terminated weeks prior to the heavy spiritual pressure that occurred in the Hitamura ghettos. Thus, would you care to explain why that faint spiritual pressure surrounding you is the exact same spiritual pressure that was felt recently in the ghettos of Hitamura?" the old man questioned.
Sayuri frowned. She knew she had to think quickly. Within seconds, she claimed, "If you are all as informed about hollow activity in the world of the living as you all should be, you would realize that I attract hollows at an extensive rate. I had accidentally wandered to the Hitamura ghettos that day, and as a result, it is possible that the hollow that radiated this dark spiritual pressure was either near me or seeking me out. It is possible that it was during this close encounter that its spiritual pressure began to mingle with my own."
A woman with long black haired smiled at her kindly. "That is a very plausible scenario," she verbalized.
"How is it that you have managed to escape these hollows that have continuously gone after your soul then? For such a weak human, you sure have managed your survivable against supernatural beasts quite well," the same black and white faced man inputted.
Looking him straight in the eye, Sayuri merely responded with a, "Well, I do hope that I owe the credit to the Soul Society. It is your duty to deal with such problems, so I do believe that the most likely reason as to why I have managed to escape such attacks is through the intervention of your Soul Reapers. That is, unless you believe that there is some other force out there kind enough to save a human?"
Sayuri watched as her response evoked a few chuckles from several of the strangers, and a quiet glare from the masked man.
"You speak with eloquence," interrupted the old man, "However, I cannot help but wonder if it is simply a mask to disguise your lies and your guilt."
The fear that she felt had gradually vanished during her speech, and so, the blue eyed female found herself glaring at the geezer judging her. "The guilt should be placed on you for your lack of leadership to deploy your men, in a timely manner, to deal with hollows wreaking havoc in my world."
"Your tongue will one day ruin your life young lady," he prophesized with hints of anger lacing his voice.
Without feeling the least bit conscious of her words, Sayuri asserted, "Unlike you or the other hollows, I have no power to speak of. My words are my only weapons right now."
"Sayuri Kimura," he continued, "Your involvement in the recent mayhem within Hitamura shall be discussed, and your statements shall be taken into consideration. For now, you shall be imprisoned until the decision regarding your judgment is consummated."
The thundering echo of his staff on the hard floor felt too loud in her ears. As the sound faded into silence, so did her ephemeral courage. She watched as Rangiku and Renji entered the large room to escort her back to her cell. Once the sudden courage she had felt during the trial drained out of her, she felt the need to shiver under the scrutinizing gazes of the thirteen strangers.
Escorted by the same two Soul Reapers that had found her, she made her way out of the large gathering hall. Everywhere she went, Sayuri was faced with unfamiliar and distrusting expression as though she was the plague. She was too tired to bother glaring back at them, and so she settled on staring at the ground. It was better that she not she those hateful glances.
Ignorance truly is bliss.
"What the hell is she doing here?" a rather rough voice exclaimed.
It sounded so familiar, and so, pining for any sort of thing to remind her of her world, Sayuri brought her gaze up to look at the person who had spoken the question. Her dulling blue orbs clashed with vibrant brown eyes - his eyes.
"Ichi-Ichigo?" she stuttered confused. 'Is he really the same person who had saved me from the hollow on that rainy day?'
The muscular man simply nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention to her escorts. "What the hell is she doing here Renji?"
"She's on trial," the red-head simply stated.
"For what?" a woman with ebony locks pressed on. Sayuri had not noticed her standing behind Ichigo, most likely as a result of her petite form. Her eyes were unbelievable large that she could easily impersonate a child.
Rangiku was the one to speak this time, saying, "The captains believe that she may have something to do with the strong spiritual pressure centered in the ghettos."
"Her spiritual pressure is mingling with the same oppressive spiritual pressure that we felt at that location," Renji added.
"What will you guys do to her?" Ichigo asked, his brows furrowing a deep line on his forehead.
The tattooed man merely said, "Nothing yet. We will simply keep her in a cell until a verdict is reached."
"And if she's found guilty?"
"Let's hope it does not come to that," the older female commented with an obvious frown.
Sayuri watched the exchanged in silence. It was not like anything she said now would alter her predicament. She noted Ichigo's tightened fists, Rangiku and the shorter woman's frowns, and Renji's hard expression.
In a whisper and with his head brought low so that his short hair covered his eyes, Ichigo whispered thinly, "Are you guys planning to do the same thing you did to Rukia?"
The eyes of the shorter woman grew wide at his question. Renji also looked quite dumbfounded while Rangiku merely looked away in shame.
"I-Ichigo..." the black haired Soul Reaper voiced quietly.
"No Rukia," he interrupted, "What they almost did to you was wrong. It is even more despicable that they may end up doing the exact same thing to a human who had no prior knowledge or involvement with the Soul Society."
"Ichigo," Sayuri spoke for the first time during the exchange, "I will be fine."
"I'm sorry Ichigo, but we have to take her to her cell now," Renji said.
Ichigo did not reply and kept his expression hidden. As Sayuri felt her guards tug on her elbows, a sign to continue walking, she whispered, "Don't endanger yourself for a stranger Ichigo. I will be alright."
The young teen watched as Sayuri was escorted away.
"We're friends you idiot," he muttered to himself.
-O-
For Christmas, I would like reviews for presents. Hehe.
Thank you for reading! Have a fantastic holiday season.