Bleach Fanstory: A Bleached Honeymoon
By Michael Xu
Bleach and its characters are trademarks of Kubo Tite and Shuesha. I don't hold any claim on it apart from the OCs I create
This is the sequel to Bleach: After the War, and follows Ichigo and Rukia as they embark on their honeymoon/mission around the world.
Story so far: Ichigo and Rukia were ordered by Commander Unohana to exterminate hollows around the world, and they have used the mission as an excuse to go on a honeymoon. After accompanying Chad to visit his relatives in Okinawa and assisting Soifon and Yoruichi to exterminate a hollow menace in Beijing, the two of them headed south to Nanjing, where a large concentration of hollows was believed to exist. Ichigo and Rukia went by train, but before they reached the city the train was derailed by hollows. Ichigo and Rukia escaped from the wreckage and slaughtered hundreds of hollows in the vicinity, but in the midst of the battle their gigais, which controlled by Kon and Chappy, were abducted. Ichigo and Rukia chased after the kidnappers and followed them into Nanjing proper, where they bumped into Renji and Lisa, who were investigating an underground hollow cult. The four Shinigami managed to locate the warehouse that Kon and Chappy were in, but were confronted by a hollow called Hong Xiuqian, leader of the Taiping Rebellion. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Lisa chased Hong to a cemetery and managed to kill him, but in the aftermath Rukia and Renji stumbled upon gravestones bearing their names. It was then that they learned they, and countless others in Soul Society, had been among the victims of the Taiping Rebellion. With the threat in Nanjing resolved, Ichigo and Rukia bid Renji and Rukia farewell, and embarked on their next destination...
Chapter 5: Central Asia
After resting in a budget motel for a night, Ichigo and Rukia got their luggage ready and caught a taxi to get to the nearest airport. The night before, they had booked a flight from Nanjing that stopped over at the Tibetan capital Lhasa, before arriving at Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. From there they would head by foot to the vicinity of the Jureichi Rukia had located in her soul pager.
"Has your elbow healed yet?" Ichigo asked Rukia as they sat in the taxi.
"Mmm-hmm," Rukia nodded, bending her right arm a few times. "It's feeling much better now. Thank you for taking care of my gigai like that."
"It was nothing. I knew you couldn't heal the gigai by yourself with Kido, plus I learnt a lot about basic medical treatment during my training as a police officer."
"Well, I guess I'm glad Urahara made these gigais to function like human bodies then," Rukia smiled.
Half an hour later they arrived at Nanjing airport. Compared to the grand majesty of Beijing's, the high tech elegance of Tokyo's, or the small but colourful charm of Naha's, Nanjing's airport looked both big yet drab at the same time. Large crowds of people streamed through the front entrance. As Ichigo and Rukia got their luggage and walked into the terminal, they wondered if they had actually booked the correct flight. They stared at the departures noticeboard and tried to find their scheduled flight.
"A 10.00am flight to Lhasa," Ichigo said, scanning down the long list of flights. "Ah, found it! It's departing at gate 17." Rukia looked at her soul pager.
"It's already ten to nine," she said. "We don't have much time left." The two of them got through check in and then walked as quickly as possible to the waiting lounge for the flight. After twenty minutes of waiting, the gate opened and Ichigo and Rukia walked down the entryway and into the plane. Upon entering the economy cabin, Ichigo was surprised at how small the plane was. With only one corridor in between and at most a hundred seats in total, the Airbus A319 was indeed much smaller than the jumbo jets Ichigo and Rukia had flown on before. They squeezed into their seats, and within half an hour's time, the plane took off from the runway.
Five hours later, the Airbus A319 touched down at Lhasa's airport. After it docked at a gate, Ichigo and Rukia walked out to the main terminal, got their bags, and walked to the departures counter.
"Let's see, which one of these flights is marked on our ticket?" Ichigo glanced at the departure times listed on a large notice board.
"I think it's that one," Rukia pointed with her fingers. Ichigo saw the flight marked 'Lhasa-Tashkent' and looked at his ticket again.
"Indeed it is," he said. "And it leaves four hours from now."
"I suppose we could have a stroll around the city," Rukia suggested.
"Okay, but we've got to make sure our luggage is safe." They requested their luggage be sent down to the loading bay of their flight. When that was done, they exited the airport and caught the next available taxi. The drive to the city centre took about half an hour. Once there, Ichigo and Rukia found a place to eat. When they were finished, they decided to kill time by visiting a nearby Buddhist temple, one of the few that the Chinese government had allowed to remain. It was a small, discrete sanctuary, bereft of decorations except for a small statue of the Buddha. There were several monks inside, praying, studying or welcoming visitors. One monk saw them enter and rushed over to greet them.
"Esteemed visitors, I so humbly welcome you to our temple!" he exclaimed in Mandarin. Ichigo, who knew how to speak it, was taken aback by his welcome.
"Uh, we're just ordinary travellers," he protested. The monk shook his head and laughed. When he addressed them again, he spoke in the common tongue of Soul Society.
"All of us here saw through your disguises from the moment the two of you entered the doorway," he said. "Are you not the legendary Kurosaki Ichigo, the protector of Heaven?" Ichigo and Rukia froze in shock.
"How, how do you know my name?" Ichigo asked. The monk grinned.
"Isn't it obvious? News of your deeds has spread throughout the world. Devout people from all religions have sensed the dramatic changes in Reiyoku in the past few weeks, and even now, the old scriptures are being rewritten, for many have proclaimed that you are the saviour in the prophecies."
"Well, what can I say? I'm astonished that I've become so well known. But I don't necessarily want the world to know what my true identity is, so even if you all know me, try to keep it a secret. It would be dangerous if ordinary people were to know the truth about the afterlife and the reincarnation cycle."
"I can promise you now that we shall keep this secret tightly to our chests," the monk said. "No one, especially not the government, will know about our meeting." Ichigo and Rukia thanked the monks for their hospitality. After a brief stroll around the city they decided to head back to the airport. Upon returning to the terminal they checked in to the departures lounge and underwent another screening check. Within an hour, they were back aboard another A319, this time bound for Tashkent. As the airbus rolled onto the runway and began its take-off, Ichigo and Rukia looked out of the window. They watched as the city of Lhasa, covered with snow on a cold winter evening, disappeared below them.
The Airbus crossed over the plateau of Tibet and the peaks of the Himalayan and then headed northwest over India and Pakistan. However, as the plane entered the airspace over Afghanistan, one of the engines suddenly blew up. In an instant the plane went haywire and began an abrupt descent. Ichigo and Rukia, like the other passengers on board, started panicking.
"What's going on?" Rukia asked. Ichigo peered out of his window to look.
"Holy crap, one of the engines has blown up!" he exclaimed. "There's no way this plane can remain stable now." He stared at Rukia, who was now visible concerned for her safety. Just then the voice of the pilot blurted from the PA system.
"Attention passengers, we have an emergency situation. Strap your seatbelts on firmly and pull out the oxygen masks as directed by the flight attendants," the voice said. "We are beginning emergency measures and will try to steer the plane to a safe landing. Please remain calm and try not to panic." Unfortunately the pilot's words were meaningless, because soon after the PA ended, the second engine of the plane blew up as well. With nothing propelling the plane, it immediately plunged downwards at a frightening speed. Everyone inside screamed in terror.
"We've got to stop this plane from crash landing," Ichigo said.
"How are we going to do that?" Rukia asked. She saw Ichigo take out his mod soul and immediately understood what to do. The two of them entered their Shinigami forms, leaving a terrified Kon and Chappy trapped in their gigais. They entered the cockpit and were shocked to discover the plane's windows had shattered, causing a howling wind to blow around. Ichigo checked the two pilots and sensed they were both died.
"This is bad," he said. "Rukia, wait here until I tell you to move. I'm going to try to halt the plane's descent." Ichigo jumped out of the cockpit window and climbed onto the nose of the plane. The fierce wind and snow battered against his face, but he pressed on until he got to the middle of the fuselage. Then in a quick flash he pulled out his Zanpakto and went Bankai. Wasting little time, he swung Zangetsu around in circles and extended the chain so that it wrapped completely around the body of the plane. Then exerting all of his Reiyoku into his sword, he jumped into the air and tried to 'pull' the plane up. It did little to stop the plane's descent. Running out of options and realizing the plane was perilously close to crashing into the ground. Ichigo quickly went back inside the cockpit again.
"What are we going to do Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "The plane's about to crash!
"I know that! Our only choice is to throw up as big a Kidou net as possible in order to cushion the plane's impact."
"I don't think that's even possible." Before Rukia could object anymore, Ichigo grabbed her by the arms and jumped out of the cockpit. He charged reiatsu in his feet and flew downwards as fast as he could. They were less than half a mile above the ground now, and at the speed they were falling, they would hit it within twenty seconds' time, followed by the plane.
"Rukia, can you create four pillars in a square formation?" Ichigo asked.
"I can, but without the incantations I don't think I have enough Reiyoku to do them," Rukia replied.
"Don't worry, I'll lend you mine," Ichigo said. He infused Rukia with his own spirit energy. With a lot more power at her disposal, Rukia quickly cast Bakudo 73 Tozansho four times, firing each of the reverse pyramids at the ground, spaced two hundred yards from each other. With the pillars in place, Ichigo reached out his right palm and shouted "Bakudo 37, Tsuriboshi!" In an instant a gigantic yellow Kidou net, spanning more than four hundred yards diagonally across, wrapped around the four pillars. Then, just as the plane was about to fall on top of them, Ichigo Shunpo-ed Rukia away. They watched in anticipation as the aircraft landed nose first into the Kidou net. Like an oversized trampoline, the Kidou net completely reduced the plane's inertia and caused it to bounce upwards for a little bit. Seeing that the plane was now only a hundred feet above the ground, Ichigo and Rukia dissipated the Bakudo spells and allowed the plane to fall onto the flat desert surface. The chassis buckled and wings snapped in half, but overall the plane was intact.
"Alright, I think we've done enough to save the plane," Ichigo said. He and Rukia returned to the plane through the cockpit windows and found their way to Kon and Chappy.
"What took you guys so long? Man, I was damn freaked out for a while there," Kon said.
"Rukia-san shouldn't frighten Chappy like that, pyon!" Chappy exclaimed.
"Sorry about the mess we caused. There was nothing else we could do," Rukia sighed. She and Ichigo got out their soul gloves and released the mod souls from their gigais, re-entered their bodies again, and placed the mod souls back in their pockets. Then they calmly waited in their seats. The surviving hostesses managed to open the door hatch and allowed the shocked and stunned passengers to climb out. They emerged to find themselves stuck in the middle of a barren wasteland, with hills all around. As the hostesses began issuing distress signals and the other passengers huddled together in tears, Ichigo and Rukia decided to break away and head north from the wreckage. They walked for some distance, climbing up a small hill until they reached a spur. From there they could see a panoramic view of an enormous valley, stretching for miles in all directions. The howling wind and the pale moonlight made it almost impossible to see things clearly.
"How far do we have to walk to get to our destination?" Ichigo asked. Rukia pulled out her soul pager and squinted at the screen.
"Um, I think we've got more than a hundred miles to go," Rukia replied.
"Well, we certainly can't go very far in this weather. Let's try finding some shelter to stay out the night. The hail and wind might get worse before it gets better," Ichigo said. Rukia nodded. She followed Ichigo down the side of the hill until they reached a narrow path overlooking a river. The cliff face on one side of the pat was steep and the path itself was incredibly narrow. Almost blind in the dark, Ichigo and Rukia stumbled their way forward until Ichigo found a hole on the side of the road. The hole was the entrance to an abandoned dwelling cut into the mountain side. The roof of the dwelling was no more than ten feet high, and the floor was bare except for a worn out rug.
"Do we really have to sleep in this place?" Rukia asked.
"Seeing as the only other choice is to brave out the blizzard outside, it's the best option we have right now," Ichigo said. He placed a Kyomon upon the cave entrance, sealing it from the outside world. He turned around and saw that Rukia had already started a small fire using a bunch of sticks she had found inside.
"Are you cold?" he asked as he sat down beside her.
"What do you think? I'm wearing only a light dress and a jacket," Rukia said. "All of our belongings were lost in the plane crash."
"I know. There's nothing we can do about them. They weren't originally our possessions anyway, so we can survive without them," Ichigo said. He noticed Rukia had got out her soul pager. She dialled the number for Seireitei and waited for a response. A minute later she hung up in frustration.
"Any luck contacting Soul Society?" Ichigo asked.
"No, the connection's dead. I can't even pick up any signals of hollow activity anymore," Rukia sighed. She almost threw her pager to the ground in frustration.
"Well, it looks like we have to rely on ourselves for now," Ichigo said. For a long time they sat there beside the fire, trying to get what little warmth they could from it. After a while, Ichigo started to feel hungry, and wished he had brought some food along.
"Ichigo, I'm scared," Rukia said. Ichigo looked into her eyes and saw she was crying.
"What's the matter Rukia?" he asked. He wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm scared of being alone, scared of being lost in a place like this. It brings back memories of those dark days when Hisana abandoned me, and I was forced to wander around Rukongai without a family, without a place to call home. For years I endured torment at the hands of strangers and all I could do was to survive. Even now the memories so painful that my mind hurts just recalling them!" She bowed her head and started sobbing. Ichigo grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned Rukia's face when she stopped crying.
"It's okay Rukia. I understand how you feel," he said. "I experienced the same sensation after my mother died. For weeks I walked the sewers and alleyways of Karakura Town, calling out her name in a vain attempt to find her, as if I thought that would bring her back to me. Even after the incident with Grand Fisher, I still feel as if I'm responsible for killing her. But ever since I met you, and Chad, and Ishida and Inoue, I've sort of found redemption for myself. It's the same with you. I know you were alone for a long time. Urahara found you when he was a baby didn't he?" Rukia nodded.
"He gave me to a couple who raised me for a while. But then they were killed by bandits and I was forced to run for my life."
"Well, I'll make sure you never experience that sort of thing again, Rukia," Ichigo smiled.
"Hold me tightly, Ichigo," Rukia said. They waited out the night in the cave, locked in each other's arms.
Early next morning, Ichigo got up and undid the Kyomon around the cave door. He walked outside and found the ground had been covered in three inches of snow. However, the sky was a crystal blue and the air felt extremely fresh. He went back inside the cave to check on Rukia, who was still asleep.
"Wake up Rukia," he whispered into her ears. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.
"Huh, what time is it?" she asked.
"I don't know, it's probably seven or eight o'clock. But the conditions outside are perfect. If we hurry, we can get to Tashkent within a day." Rukia was pleased at Ichigo's words and quickly got up and ready. They put out the smouldering fire and then left the cave. After walking for an hour down the mountain path, they stumbled upon a small Afghan hamlet. One of the locals there happened to know English, and after some effort Ichigo and Rukia managed to hitch a ride with a farmer who was planning to travel across the border into Uzbekistan.
They sat in the back of a rusty old van as it travelled along uneven roads and treacherous terrain until it reached the northern border. Then, after tense moment where a couple of border guards gave Ichigo and Rukia suspicious looks, the van was allowed to cross the border. It continued to travel across very dangerous and unsealed roads for some time, until it reached the outskirts of a major city. This city turned out to be Samarkand, the former capital of many central Asian empires. Ichigo and Rukia thanked the van driver after they got out near the main railway station. Before they entered the station, Rukia pulled out her soul pager and looked at it again.
"Ichigo, the Jureichi source is about two hundred miles northwest of here," she said. Ichigo glanced at a nearby wall mounted clock that pointed to quarter to two.
"If we catch a train now, we'll be able to get there before the sun goes down," he said. They looked at the departures noticeboard and found a train to a small hamlet not far from where the Jureichi was located. Ichigo secured two tickets after exchanging his Chinese yuan for the local currency. Then he and Rukia rushed towards the platforms and got on the train. Three hours later, the high speed train arrived at a place called Uchquduq. It was a small town, built in a similar fashion to Samarkand. Ichigo and Rukia withdrew some money and bought a few essential supplies at the local shops, before Ichigo managed to hire a second hand motorcycle.
"Are you sure can ride this thing?" Rukia asked.
"Of course I can. I've had extensive practice driving a motorbike when I was in the Japanese police force," Ichigo said. He put on his helmet and started up the engines. Once Rukia had put on her helmet and strapped herself firmly in the back, Ichigo sped off and headed west along a small road. They travelled through a vast desert, covered with sand dunes and sparse grasslands. This was the Kyzyl Kum, and little did Ichigo and Rukia know what they were getting themselves into. After more than an hour of driving through loose sand and kicking up a cloud of dust, the motorbike suddenly broke down, causing Ichigo and Rukia to tumble off and roll along the ground. They got up and tried to get as much sand off their clothes as possible.
"You did a wonderful job Ichigo," Rukia grumbled sarcastically. "Now we're stuck in a middle of a desert without transportation."
"Hey don't blame me for the bike suddenly breaking down. Those dealers must have conned me," Ichigo thought.
"Whatever. We're going to have to trudge all the way to our destination by foot," Rukia sighed. She and Ichigo started walking through the desert. As the sun sunk below the horizon, the temperature dropped dramatically, causing Rukia to shiver. She wished she had brought a woollen coat along. After what seemed like an endless amount of walking, the two of them climbed over a hill and found themselves staring at an incredible sight. Far ahead in the distance was the remnants of a once mighty inland lake, now consisting of mud flats as far as the eye could see. Nothing could be seen in these vast stretches of empty land, saved for the remnants of what must have been hundreds of thousands of skeletons.
"My god, this has to be the mother of all graveyards," Rukia said. "The Reiyoku gauge is off the charts! I've never seen so much spiritual activity before!" As Ichigo peered into the distance, he noticed something in the sky.
"Look at that Rukia!" he exclaimed, pointing with his fingers. Rukia gasped in astonishment. They were staring at an immense column of spirit energy, rising straight from the ground like a pillar and disappearing into the heavens. The column of energy, blue in colour, periodically spewed out jets of spirit energy that seemed to lance across the sky.
"I think those jets must have caused our plane to crash land," Rukia said. Ichigo nodded in reply. They walked for several miles towards the spiralling column. As they neared the region surrounding the vortex, Ichigo sensed numerous malevolent spirits coming towards them. He turned around and widened his eyes when he saw they had suddenly been ambushed by a horde of hollows. Most were the lowlife type, but a substantial number of them were gillians, and a few of them even appeared to resemble adjuchas.
"Shit, we're surrounded by hollows!" Ichigo swore. He pulled out his gikongan and gulped it down. Rukia quickly followed suit. As they entered their Shinigami forms, Ichigo ordered a terrified Kon and Chappy to stay close to them.
"Alright, I guess it's time for some hollow slaying," he grinned. Without speaking the command, he released his Shikai and started up Chouseki Hadou. At the same time, Rukia gathered her spirit energy and pointed her Zanpakto at the mass of hollows to Ichigo's rear.
"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" she shouted. A massive blast of ice shot out of her sword and froze hundreds of hollows in their tracks. With a second command of 'shatter', she caused all of the hollows to smash into infinitesimal pieces. At this moment, Ichigo finished charging the energy in his blade. He fired a solid blue beam of energy outward, and then coiled it around like a whip. The beam scythed through hundreds of hollows, ripping their masks to shreds. Within minutes, they had killed nearly a thousand hollows, but in the distance thousands more were gathering.
"Geez, this horde won't stop coming," Ichigo said. Just as he and Rukia were about to resume their slaughter of hollows, the heavens suddenly opened and a beam of golden light cast a shadow on the ground. A moment later two figures descended from a portal high in the sky, like a pair of angels. As they got closer to the ground Ichigo could see their faces clearly. It was Susanoo and his brother Tsukuyomi. They were dressed in matching overcoats that went down to their ankles, Susanoo's being blue, Tsukuyomi's black. As soon as they touched the ground Ichigo and Rukia got down on their knees and bowed.
"Susanoo-sama, Tsukuyomi-sama, it's an honour to meet you," Rukia bowed her head.
"You may dispense with the pleasantries," Susanoo said, ordering both of them to get up. "I want to know why the two of you have come here."
"What do you mean? Rukia and I were ordered by Commander Unohana to search for the major Jureichi spots across the world and kill as many hollows as possible," Ichigo explained. "I don't see why this place is any different."
"It seems the two of you do not know the significance of this location," Susanoo closed his eyes. "Very well, I shall explain it to you. The beacon of light you see in the distance is the Nexus. This is the spot where the climactic battle of the Quincy wars took place, where Commander Yamamoto and nine other captains sealed a tear in the dimensions, and where the Royal Key was used to create the King's Realm. Now it serves as the only location where Royal Guards like us can directly materialise in the real world. Powerful spiritual entities like you could disrupt the delicate balance of forces that is contained inside the Nexus, potentially causing it to collapse."
"So that's why the two of you appeared," Rukia said. "We apologize if we trespassed into forbidden territory, but unless Commander Unohana herself appeared we can't go back on our mission."
"Well, that's something you can tell to her once you return to Soul Society," Tsukuyomi said. "The safety of the nexus is greater than the order of the Commander General."
"What is greater than my order?" came a voice from behind Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. They, along with Ichigo and Rukia, turned to look, their eyes widening in astonishment.
"Commander Unohana!" they exclaimed. Susanoo and Tsukuyomi were also surprised at her appearance, and turned around to face her.
"I did not expect you to come here, Retsu-san," Susanoo said.
"And why shouldn't I have come, Susanoo-kun?" Unohana asked with a smile. "This place is indeed off limits to normal Shinigami, but Kurosaki Ichigo is a captain of the Gotei 13, not to mention the Vice Commander of Soul Society's armed forces. He is of equal status to yourselves. Since I am now here, the two of you may return to the King's Realm. I shall sort this business out myself."
"Very well then. We will take our leave," Susanoo and Tsukuyomi bowed and stepped into the beam of light. Within moments they ascended into the sky and disappeared. After the light faded, Unohana turned her attention to Ichigo and Rukia.
"My, my, the two of you have caused quite a ruckus in the real world haven't you?" she asked, with a slight chuckle.
"Ah, sorry Unohana-san," Ichigo scratched his head. "We got ourselves into a lot of really bad situations didn't we Rukia?" Rukia nodded in agreement.
"No need to apologise," Unohana held up her hand. "It was I who gave you the order to exterminate the hollows as the Jureichi hot spots, so I should take the blame for what has happened." She observed the mass of dead hollow corpses scattered around them and sighed. "In hindsight, I should have known that two captain-level Shinigami wouldn't have been enough to eliminate all of the excess hollows that were causing trouble in the real world. Still, the two of you have exceeded my expectations, although not entirely in a positive way. I did not count on thousands of souls to show up in Rukongai all at once. It's going to take weeks for them to get sorted into individual districts." Unohana started to laugh, and after Ichigo and Rukia got the joke they laughed as well.
"Man, Rukia and I were so focused on slaying hollows that we forgot about us sending all of them to Rukongai," Ichigo said.
"I don't blame you for not knowing about it. After all, it's been a long time since the Soul Society dealt with monitoring the real world. We were all too focused in fighting Aizen's forces." Unohana paused for a moment, and then remembered what she was going to say. "Speaking of Aizen, I've just received a report from Captain Kurotsuchi saying he's made an astonishing discovering concerning Aizen's activities in the real world." Both Ichigo and Rukia were stunned at Unohana's words.
"Are you saying that Aizen had been doing something in the real world when he was still a captain?" Rukia asked. Unohana nodded.
"Almost certainly. Although I have no idea what he could have been up to. I think it might be a good idea for you to assist Captain Kurotsuchi in his investigations. He is currently in Poland, working alongside your nakama Ishida Uyru. In the report Mayuri said he could use a little help from someone who had experienced hollowfication first hand." Unohana glanced at Ichigo, who knew immediately what she was referring to.
"If it's something like that, then I'd be happy to help," he said. "But does that mean our initial assignment is finished?" Unohana nodded with a smile.
"But how are we going to get there from here? We lost all of our possessions in a plane crash and we've run out of money," Rukia said.
"No need to worry about those concerns," Unohana said. She muttered a Kidou incantation under her breath and then using her sword opened a Seireimon that resembled the one that Urahara had kept in his old shop.
"This Seireimon will transport you to the Seireimon stationed in Captain Kurotsuchi's headquarters. Please enter your gigais before entering, as the gate will materialise your physical bodies at that destination." Ichigo and Rukia quickly got into their gigais, and then on Unohana's signal they stepped through the portal. In a flash they were transported across space and time...
Sorry for the long delay again. My internet went down for a few days and I was having trouble finding inspiration. This chapter underwent a lot of revision and planning, as I had to mix in several signifigant plot revelations, whilst keeping the journey grounded in reality when Ichigo and Rukia are in their gigais. I eventually found the answer when I was trawling through history books and realized a lot of people must have died in central Asia due to countless barbarian invasions. Afghanistan and the former Soviet Republics around the Aral sea were also the perfect setting for Ichigo and Rukia to experience some genuine hardship and old fashioned adventuring, such as climbing up mountains and crossing a desert. Uzbekistan in particular had a number of historical and geographical features which suited the story, such as the city of Samarkand, the Kyzyl Kum desert, and the Aral sea depression.
Anyway, the next chapter will have some shocking plot developments and set up the second half of this story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and please send me as much feedback as possible! I appreciate it!