Hinamori's Apprentice

Chapter 41

"I don't like this, it's way too risky," Toushiro said.

"I know, but it's the only way," Momo replied, "Are Ichigo and Rangiku ready? After we pull this off, we'll need to get back to Kyr as soon as possible."

"Just be careful. I won't be able to distract him for long. Get the device and get out. If Mayuri catches you breaking into his lab…"

"You're forgetting, I'm a master of Kido, especially stealth Kido," Momo smiled.

"And Mayuri is a master of being a sadistic bastard, so make sure you don't get caught," Toushiro said.

"Why don't you close your eyes for a moment?" Momo said.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Fine…" Toushiro said, closing his eyes, "When can I open them?"

"You can open them… now!"

Toushiro opened his eyes, but to his surprise Momo was no longer there. "Momo? Where did you go?" he asked in confusion.

"I didn't go anywhere!" Momo's voice came from right in front of him. It was then that he noticed that the place where Momo had been standing was now slightly distorted and blurry.

"Impressed? It took a long time to perfect this spell," Momo said.

"That's amazing, but don't let your confidence make you careless," Toushiro warned.

"Don't worry, I have a few more precautionary measures, and if worst comes to worst, I can knock out any interference with Hakufuku," Momo said, "Now why don't you go and begin the diversion? The plan won't work if you don't keep Captain Kurotsuchi occupied."

"Very well," Toushiro nodded, "Good luck."

"Good luck to you too. We'll all need luck for this to work," Momo said with a small smile.

"So what now?" Rukia asked.

"Now, we wait. Captain Hitsugaya has requested that Captain Kurotsuchi come to Tenth Division headquarters to discuss spirit particles or something. It's all an act, so I don't know exactly what it is they'll be talking about," Rangiku explained, "Meanwhile, Momo will break into Twelfth Division to steal the teleportation device. After that, they'll meet up with us and we all get to where they're holding Kyr, by force if necessary. Then Kyr will teleport us all to the enemy fortress, and he guides us to Karin. Pretty simple, right?"

"I'm not sure I'd call it simple," Rukia said, "Who is Kyr again?"

"It's your fault for butting your head into this at the last minute," Ichigo said.

"Hey, I want to save your sister too, you know! When you started acting in a way that made it obvious from a mile away that you were planning something to rescue her, I couldn't just stay out! Besides, you're hopeless without me there to help you out," Rukia said stubbornly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ichigo said, smiling for the first time in days, "Thanks for that…"

"Don't get sappy with me," Rukia grumbled, "So when will they get here?"

"The Captain summoned Captain Kurotsuchi about half an hour ago, so hopefully they'll be here soon," Rangiku said.

"Half an hour? Shouldn't they be here already then? I can't imagine Captain Kurotsuchi being distracted for so long. Are they going to be alright?" Rukia asked.

"Oh sure, they'll be fine! Captain Kurotsuchi can't just deny a request for information, and Momo is an expert at stealth Kido. By the time they even notice the device is missing, we'll be long gone," Rangiku assured her.

"And you're positive that nobody will catch wind of what's really going on?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, of course!"

"Then what's that?"

They looked to where Rukia was pointing to see at least a dozen elite Onmytsukido operatives rushing towards them.

"Oh crap…" Ichigo muttered.

"Stay where you are! You're under arrest for conspiracy to steal class-A evidence!" one of them yelled.

Immediately, the three Shinigami turned and ran, their cover blown. As they did so, they soon ran into Momo and Toushiro, who were also running at top speed.

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo yelled.

"Everything was going as planned, but then Momo tripped the security system," Toushiro said.

"I was able to get past most of their security measures! It's not my fault! Besides, I got the device!" Momo said defensively, holding up the small silver cylinder.

"That's some good news, at least. Let's get to Kyr!" Rangiku said as they ran, changing course so that they were headed towards the Second Division prison area.

"They're going to be on high security now that we know we're up to something," Toushiro said.

"We'll make it!" Ichigo said, "Now hurry up before they get wind of where we're going!"

They continued to run. They seemed to have lost their pursuers, as there was nobody following them anymore, but they did not slow down for an instant. They continued running until they were at the Second Division prison and interrogation center where Kyr was being held. They rushed into the building, rushing to the single guard administering the reception room.

"Hello, we'd like to see prisoner Kyr in cell C-138," Momo said nervously, trying to sound casual as she and the others panted.

"I'm sorry, but that prisoner is not available for visitation at the moment. If you'd like to make an appointment-"

"No time for that! Sorry about this, buddy," Ichigo said, knocking out the guard with a punch to the head. They immediately ran past the unconscious guard in the direction of the cell where Kyr was being held.

"You could have let me knock him out with Kido, you didn't have to give him a head injury," Momo said disapprovingly.

"Hey, you can take out the next guard we run into your way," Ichigo said.

This proved to not take long. They ran into several guards as they made their way towards Kyr's holding cell, and Momo and Ichigo would take turns knocking them out, Momo with Hakufuku, Ichigo with his fists.

"That's the eighth one so far," Ichigo said, "Next one is mine!"

"Don't you think it's strange? Only eight guards even so far into the prison? There should be hundreds working at this place," Momo said in concern.

"Don't complain about good luck," Rangiku said, "Besides, we're almost there."

Indeed, soon they reached the place where Kyr was held, they only needed to break down one more gate, and they'd be in the hall with the cell where Kyr was being kept captive. Hitsugaya drew his Zanpakuto to slice the heavy iron gate that blocked their way. As they ran through however, they found themselves facing a large number of Onmystukido guards in a circular formation.

"So you did come," one at the front said, "I'm sorry, but we cannot let you go any further."

They heard footsteps behind them, and soon more guards emerged, cutting off any chance of escape. Ichigo, Rukia, Momo, Toushiro, and Rangiku drew their swords, preparing to fight their way through.

"We moved the prisoner, you have no chance of reaching him. It would be best if you just surrendered right now," the nearest guard said. Before either side could make another move, however, a loud war-cry echoed through the chambers.

"Yow underestimate te Karekol waryor!" Kyr roared from behind the massed guards, tearing his way through their ranks before they could react. Broken chains hung from his wrists, and pure warrior instinct gleamed in his eyes.

The Shinigami hoping to rescue Karin immediately joined in the brawl, rushing to aid Kyr. The guards were numerous, but they were no match for the amassed talent, power, and determination held by Momo, Toushiro, Rangiku, Rukia, and Ichigo. Soon, all of the guards were lying defeated on the floor.

"Yow have te device?" Kyr asked.

"Indeed," Momo replied, holding up the object, "What do we need to do?"

"Just put yow hands on Kyrzk arm," Kyr said.

They all complied with his instructions, placing their hands on his arms. Momo handed the device to him.

"Yow ready?" Kyr asked. The others nodded. "Then Kyrzk begin now."

They all felt a strange feeling, as if they were falling, and there was a small flash of light. The next thing they knew, they were no longer in the dungeon-like prison, but at a gate leading into a massive, black dome.

"Welcome to te fortress of te Fourth Rising," Kyr said.

Karin sat in solitude inside her cell. It had been twenty-six hours since she had been forced to swallow the device which Usagi had told her would explode if she didn't cooperate. New chains had been put on her wrists, and her ankles were now connected by a length of chain that prevented her from running or kicking. It was truly miserable.

Karin did not show any sign of distress, however. Her eyes were closed as she sat in her usual meditative stance. This was not just mental discipline however. Today she planned to escape. She had already resolved that she would not give in to Usagi's demand that she allow him access to her soul for study, and if she just sat around, she'd only have about ten hours to live anyway. She had nothing to lose by doing this.

In truth, Karin did not expect to live. By the time the tranquilizer Usagi had injected into her to keep her docile had worn off, twenty hours had already passed. Several more hours had passed before she had resolved on trying to escape, and now only ten more hours remained before the bomb Usagi had forced her to swallow would go off. She doubted that she'd be able to escape and get to Seireitei in that time. This did not make her desire to escape any less strong however. If she was going to die, it wasn't going to be as a prisoner. If nothing else, this would be a last act of defiance from her.

Karin had always been told that she had a stubborn personality, a fact that she tended to agree with. Others may have viewed it as a negative attribute, but Karin took pride in it, especially now, when her stubbornness was motivating her to make a defiant stand against her captors.

She had planned it all out in her head. When Usagi's servants came to give her food and water, she would take them by surprise and immobilize them. They were small creatures, and if she caught them by surprise she had a good chance of taking them out. The chains on her wrists and ankles were something of a handicap, but she was confident that she'd be able to at least overpower the two or three guards that usually came to her cell. She would try to find her Zanpakuto, but if she couldn't she would leave without it. She doubted that she'd be a match for any enemies she ran into on the way out anyway.

As she mentally prepared, she reflected on her past, both in life and after-life. She thought of her father, her mother, Ichigo and Yuzu, her friends, Toushiro, Rangiku, Momo… she felt grateful to all of them for making her existence happy. There had been difficult times for her, such as when her mother died or when she herself lost her mortal life, but overall she had a very happy life and afterlife. She regretted that the end may be near for her, but she did not let herself be consumed by angst. Whenever she began to feel nervous or scared, she would reflect on all of the people who helped her through life, and quickly calmed down.

Mid-way through thinking back to her training with Momo, Karin heard footsteps that she recognized as belonging to the small creatures Usagi kept as slaves. She did not begrudge the pathetic creatures, but she would not show mercy to them either. She kept her eyes closed, careful to not give any sign that she was about to attempt to break out. She listened carefully as they got closer and closer to her cell. There was a pause for a second, followed by a metallic click and a creak as the metal door was unlocked and opened.

Karin leapt into action immediately. Changing from a completely still state to one of frenzied motion took the creatures by surprise, and by the time they knew what hit them Karin had hit one in the gut with her chained-together fist and slammed herself against another one, knocking it down. She saw to her dismay that there were three more of them, much more than she had expected. The element of surprise lost, she braced herself as the three remaining creatures came at her with outstretched arms.

Karin ducked to avoid one of them, headbutting it in the chest. Though it knocked the creature back, armor it wore made the action rather painful for Karin. Another one grabbed at her wrists, in response to which Karin swung her arms to send it reeling backwards. Just as Karin was getting confident of her odds of escape, she saw one of the knocked over creatures getting up. In response, she instinctively aimed a kick at it. At the very moment she did so, she remembered to her horror that her ankles were shackled and connected by a short length of chain. Already in motion and too late to stop, Karin tripped and stumbled as the chain caused her one foot on the ground to be yanked forward.

Karin fell on her face, furious and humiliated that she had made such a mistake. She tried to right herself up, but the creatures, recovered from their blows, were already upon her. Two of them grabbed onto her arm, one of them onto her legs, and one onto her back. After briefly putting up a weak struggle, Karin lowered her head in defeat. She had failed to escape. She wouldn't get another chance, and now her death would be certain without even the comfort of knowing she was no longer Usagi's captive.

As tears threatened to form in her eyes however, she heard several clicks, and looked down to see, to her great surprise, that the shackles on her wrist had been taken off. She realized seconds later that the bindings on her ankles were also removed. She blinked in surprise.

"You… you're helping me?" she said in amazement as the creatures tossed the chains aside. In her stunned state, she vaguely realized that yet another creature was approaching from the dark passageway, this one holding out a long object.

"Denryu!" Karin gasped, taking her Zanpakuto from the creature, "But… why are you doing this?"

The creature gave a short grunt and pointed at its forehead where there was a scar visible from a recently healed wound. It was then that Karin recognized this as the same creature that she had healed after it had been struck by Usagi. She smiled at it and its companions.

"Thank you," she said, "Now come on, let's get out of this place!"