Chapter 17: Into the Fire
Fortunately for the rescue team, their experience in the Dangai was not as intense as it could have been. The morbid passage's cleaner was not activated that day, and so the group was able to make it through at a brisk jog.
Their fall, on the other hand, was another matter. The five of them were ejected unceremoniously from the precipice world and landed on the dusty ground in a heap; each groaning at their injuries.
"Umph!" "Ah!" "Ow…" "Mreeeer!" "Unh…"
Chad's decision to stay at the back was, in hindsight, a poor decision, as he had landed on top and, given his much larger frame, was putting a lot of pressure on those beneath him. He was, however, the least injured and got up rather quickly, dusting himself off and helping the others to their feet.
"So…this is Soul Society?" Uryū said, casting a dubious eye at their surroundings, "I don't know what I was expecting, but this…"
"This is Rukongai," Yoruichi explained, gesturing at the drab buildings around them with a paw, "It is where souls first arrive here. It is also the poorest region of Soul Society."
"Poverty?!" the Quincy balked, "Isn't this supposed to be the afterlife? Aren't worldly things like that supposed to be meaningless?"
They should be…Rukia thought sadly.
"Don't be naïve, Ishida," Yoruichi admonished, her tail flicking in irritation, "You of all people should know that injustice is not something that can be stopped by death."
"…What's she talking about Ishida-kun?" Orihime asked tentatively.
"It's nothing," Uryū muttered hastily, "We should get going."
"Yes, we can't afford to waste time," Rukia agreed, "Soul Society is already aware of our arrival and may be sending forces this way to investigate."
The five of them set off towards the immense wall that marked Seireitei's separation from the rest of Soul Society.
Leaping deftly onto Rukia's shoulder, Yoruichi murmured quietly in her ear, "I trust that all the arrangements are in order…"
The petite shinigami's only outward sign of recognition was a slight nodding of her head.
"And you have the emergency signal as well?"
Another nod.
"Good. Let us hope things won't come to that."
Indeed, Rukia thought apprehensively, I don't know if I'm willing to-
But her chain of thought was interrupted, as Ishida exclaimed, "Wh-What in the world?!"
Standing before them was a positively gigantic man, hefting an axe that was nearly a quarter of his size.
"So…" the giant rumbled, "these are the fools who are foolish enough to try to enter without a p-…Rukia-dono!"
"Hello Jidanbō-san," she replied, smiling up at the man, who was at least six times her size, earning her incredulous looks from her three human companions.
"I had no idea it was you!" Jidanbō said, rubbing his head in embarrassment, "If I had-"
"No, no," Rukia waved off his apology, "I'm the one who forgot her pass. I was taking these rookies out for a training mission and it completely slipped my mind."
"So that's how it is…" the gatekeeper chuckled mightily, "Well, you'd better hurry up! I heard there was some kind of incursion in the area."
"Oh dear! We need to get to our posts then!" Rukia exclaimed, "Would you be so kind as to open the gate?"
"Right! Watch this rookies, ha ha!"
With one smooth motion, the titanic guardian dug his fingers under the colossal gate and lifted it over his head.
As Rukia hurried under it and onto the pristine city streets, the three humans were caught up in awe at the feat of strength before them.
"Don't just stand there gaping like carp!" Jidanbō rumbled good-naturedly, "I can't hold this up all day…"
"Hai!" the trio chorused, scurrying under the immense door. All of them jumped slightly as he set the door down with a dull 'boom' behind them.
"Arigato, Jidanbō-san," Rukia said, bowing hastily and shoving her companions along, "I'd prefer not to leave the intruders to these inexperienced recruits. I trust you'll be able to handle them nicely."
"Oho! You're right there, Rukia-dono!" the giant man chuckled proudly, puffing out his chest, "You all run along! It'd take an army to get passed me and beat my 300 year record!"
Waving them off, Jidanbō thought to himself, Rukia-dono's a great lady. She's in a noble family and yet she came from Rukongai like me. I'll bet a story like hers would show folks that you can really move up in this world…
Grinning, the colossal gatekeeper stretched turning to lift up the gate and confront anyone who dared cross him.
"Hey hey…you're a real rare sight ain'tcha, Jidanbō-san?" a smooth, mocking voice called out, "How long has it been since you were last called out, eh?"
The mere sound of the voice chilled the gargantuan man to his bones. As a cold sweat broke across his brow, he turned to face the one who had spoken.
"I…Ichi…maru-t-taicho! Wh-What brings you here?" the normally confident goliath stammered, his lip quivering at the sight of the menacing, silver-haired man.
"Why me?" Ichimaru Gin replied glibly, shrugging, "I was just out for a stroll. I like to see everybody at work; goin' about their days."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yes, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard West Gate closin'. I was sure that no one could make it passed you…with your spotless record after all…"
"No…it wasn't anything like that…" Jidanbō shook his head, smiling nervously and hoping against hope that the squint-eyed captain's ever-present grin would change, "It was just some folks who forgot their passes out on a training mission."
"I see…Anyone I'd know?"
"I…I don't know…Seireitei's a big place, y'know…"
"Aw, please? I'm curious…"
"Er…well…it was Kuchiki Rukia-dono and some new recruits. She just forgot their pass."
"New recruits, ya' say? Describe 'em for me. I sure do like hearin' about the up and comers."
If it was possible, Gin's usual smile widened.
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"What was that back there?!" Ishida demanded, as the group slowed their pace so as not to draw any undue attention. They had already passed a few patrols already and while many were in a hurry, none were running flat out.
"Jidanbō-san is a 'who,' not a 'what,' Ishida," Rukia said indignantly, shaking her head at the Quincy over her shoulder.
Flushing in irritation, Uryū continued, "No! That's not what I meant! I…that giant, that man, he was showing you a lot of respect. Just who are you in this place?"
Rukia was about to retort when, to her surprise, Chad spoke up.
"You don't have to answer that, Kuchiki-san. Ishida, you also have something you want to keep private. At least extend your nakama the same courtesy."
Properly chastised, Ishida clamped his mouth shut, looking away in embarrassment.
"Arigato, Chado…" Rukia smiled gratefully, "But…it's not exactly a secret…still, another time would probably be more appropriate."
"Indeed," Yoruichi agreed, "This is no time for idle chitchat. Anyway, I'll be leaving now…"
"What?!" the rest of the group reacted wildly, boggling at the woman in cat's form.
Yoruichi frowned. "Yes, I'm going to get Ichigo's zanpakuto. Should we need to fight our way out, he may need it. Surely you know all this…"
"Not really…" Orihime replied a bit sheepishly, "I must not have been paying attention."
"No, I'm sure you were, Inoue-san," Chad said, shaking his head, "Urahara-san must have forgotten to tell us."
Yoruichi rolled her eyes. You're too careless about these things Kisuke…
"Regardless, that is where I'm going and I intend to go alone…unless any of you think you can infiltrate one of the divisions and escape undetected…"
Taking all of their silence as acceptance, Yoruichi said, "Then I'll be off."
"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime called after her, as she hopped onto one of the nearby rooftops, "What about your disguise?"
Shaking her head at the uniform being offered, the cat woman replied, "I don't need it. If can infiltrate 12th Division much easier in this form. And if I need to change afterwards, I'm sure I can find something. If not, I'm comfortable enough with my body to go nude."
Too comfortable is more like it…More than one of them thought, recalling her shocking first transformation.
"Good luck," Yoruichi bid them, winking. With a flick of her tail, she was gone.
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"-and I think they had a cat too. But I should really get back ta' guarding my gate Ichimaru-taicho. There're some intruders in West Rukongai and they could try an' get passed me."
"By all means! Ya' shoulda' said somethin' if I was keepin' you for so long. Bye-bye!" the sinister captain waved a farewell, turning to go.
That was real odd…Jidanbō thought, scratching his head as he watched the captain go, I hope Rukia-dono's not in any trouble…
Unfortunately, he was too focused on this conundrum to notice Gin drawing his zanpakutō.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō," the grinning man said, not even bothering to look back.
Jidanbō was even more puzzled at the sword that had suddenly punctured his chest.
How did that get th-
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As the day wore on, Rukia led the group on a circuitous route through Soul Society, avoiding the main thoroughfares so as avoid most of the patrols, should they be discovered.
"Strong or not, if we become outnumbered, victory will be very slim indeed," she had told them.
Currently, the four of them were in a storeroom on an out-of-the-way street, taking a short break to replenish their strength with some food Tessai had packed for them.
"How much further do we have to go, Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked, standing up from the storage crate that had been serving as her seat and stretching.
Rukia finished her drink from their canteen and replied, "Several more miles at least until we reach the center of Seireitei, perhaps another mile on foot through main complex. I could probably make it there faster, but it's better if we stay together. Now let's get going. Ichigo is waiting."
Nodding, the other three packed up the remaining food; Chad slinging the bag over his shoulder, as Rukia stepped outside.
Orihime bounced on the balls of her feet, eager to get moving again.
"Tessai-san's cooking sure was good! Don't you think so, Ishida-kun?"
"Hmm? Oh, er…yes, it was alright, I suppose…" Ishida said, adjusting his glasses.
"You looked like you really enjoyed it! See? You even have a little bit on your lip there," she smiled, wiping the crumb away with her thumb before he could object.
"I-Inoue-san!" he spluttered, turning beet red, "There's no need for that!"
"But cleanliness is very important Ishida-kun," Orihime said in a mock serious voice, crossing her arms.
"That's not the p-" the Quincy broke off abruptly when Chad laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, "What is it Sado-kun?"
The tall teen pointed out the open door at their petite informal leader, who appeared to be in frozen in place, staring at something they couldn't see.
Joining her outside, they saw the object of her gaze: a lone shinigami.
The man before them seemed to radiate a combination of surprise, anger and betrayal.
"Rukia! What have you done?!"
"Renji..."
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Author's Note: Late again, I know. I've been having internet problems and the latest developments in the manga (i.e. Aizen's ridiculousness) have made me pause to think about the story's direction. I'll probably just continue with how I'd planned, but it'll be a while before any major problems crop up, so I'll just wait and see how Kubo explains himself.
Yes, I know that the gate around Soul Society probably shouldn't be down, but I'd already established earlier that it was down and that Rukia had spoken with Jidanbō. Also, I decided to translate the command phrase for Gin's zanpakutō because "shoot to kill" sounds a lot cooler than "ikorose." Oh, and I used miles instead of kilometers, mostly because I'm not entirely sure how far a kilometer is.
If anyone's upset that I killed Jidanbō…uh…deal with it? He probably won't be the last. Canon Bleach has very few "good guys" die outside of flashbacks and I aim to change that. Not out of any desire to see characters killed, but because it's ridiculous how few shinigami die when compared to hollows.
As for my, by now, regular manga/anime recommendations, I suggest you check out the anime "Xam'd: Lost Memories" and the manga "Psyren." Xam'd has a great art style, awesome theme, and almost made me cry. Psyren has a very similar art style and initial premise to Bleach, but the characters use psychic powers to fight, meaning that they actually have to think and plan to win their battles, which is a nice change from the usual shounen power ups.
By the by, my traffic counter is down. Is it site wide or just me? I've had ten reviews of this chapter, but ZERO hits!