Warning: I am not an archaeologist or a tomb raider. Please excuse any inaccuracies (if there are any) in the story. Also please take into consideration that I am merely taking a creative license.
And now they explore the tomb together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Fourteenth Day of the Fourth Month, Thirteenth Year of Kunshu's Reign
Megumi shivered involuntarily as the door swung open. The cold wind caught her off-guard. Noticing this, Toushirou stood closer to her. After checking that she was fine, his eyes flickered of hidden unease.
"Where to next?" Orihime inquired the group.
Rukia flashed her light around the room they entered. "There seems to be two pathways… My brother's booklet doesn't contain a map, so I can't be of much help."
Orihime began walking closer to one pathway when Megumi called out to her. "Inoue-san! Don't go over there alone." Before she could go back to the group again, her foot got caught on something firm and cold.
"Oof." Her arms slid against the stone floor roughly. "That hurt. What on earth was that?"
Megumi paused. Her hand shook - even though she willed it to stop. The underlying fear and disbelief reflected from her inability to shine the light properly towards Orihime as she had found something with her flashlight that she desperately hoped was not real. The light flickered. Her breaths turned shallow, focusing on the small dark round shadow that seemed to grow a centimeter every second.
Rukia took a step back, seeing what Megumi noticed. "I-Inoue… I think you should keep walking over to us and not look at what you fell over." She motioned for the female technologist to hurry.
Megumi immediately latched onto Toushirou's arm. Her electric blue eyes narrowed towards the location next to Orihime. Toushirou noticed her twitch a little. He calmly observed her strange behavior. "Megumi?" His eyes followed her line of sight before turning still. He was no longer relaxed.
"Kuchiki-san…? Why are you saying such scary things?" Orihime's voice became shaky as her legs felt too heavy from fear.
In the corner of Megumi's eye, she soon found the big shadow heading towards Orihime at an abnormally fast speed. "MOVE, INOUE-SAN!" Her heart thudded against her rib cage. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She wanted to push her out of the way, but her legs remained still - as heavy as lead. A sense of despair hovered over her.
Was it too late?
Those thoughts vanished when Toushirou pulled her behind him. Startled, her attention reverted back to Toushirou. He already had his katana out. The polish on the long blade comforted her, reminding her that she had his protection.
The seconds of comfort dissipated when Orihime turned her head in the direction that Megumi looked at previously and let out a high-pitched scream. "GO AWAY!" With the light on the shadow, everyone saw a ginormous fat creature that was reminiscent of a maggot jumping towards her with its round mouth open, ready to chew on its target with its sharp triangle shaped teeth.
Crack!
The creature flew backwards, squirting its unnaturally green guts onto the floor in the opposite direction of them. The glowing green blood pooled around the body. The creature continued to twitch.
Everyone froze as Ulquiorra picked up Orihime from the ground and kept his gun leveled with the grotesquely alive creature. She leaned against him for support, breathing steadily, despite her shock.
"Nice aim, Ulquiorra!" Ichigo called out to his work partner as he leveled his own gun, shining the flashlight to every possible location. "Where on earth did that creature come from?"
"I never thought that such a creature would be alive." Megumi murmured to Toushirou, who nodded in agreement.
"Do you know what that thing is, Meigetsu-san?" Rukia frowned at the creature that Ulquiorra shot a few more bullets at. It finally stopped moving.
"It's called Namami no Uji. We call it Namaji for short." Toushirou explained further. "According to the stories we heard of Kurotsuchi Mayuri, he had done considerable experiments on maggots and other creatures… Even on humans... However, one of the experiments that he did with non-humanoids ended in a disaster and he was never able to complete it."
"Namaji was a part of that experiment. In actuality, they were all considered to be failures, so there weren't a lot of details about that particular experiment unfortunately… Except for a few images, which is how I recognized Namaji. But… I do remember one document in particular about the Namaji. It was said that they were good at cleaning up messes." Megumi's finger tapped at her lips thoughtfully.
Toushirou warned the group. "Don't let your guards down. For all we know, the mess that the document mentioned could have been about the messes left behind after the experiments, meaning bodies that were either dead or alive."
Megumi's eyebrows then furrowed in frustration. "Usually, the stated procedure was to destroy any traces of the failures from the experiments done by Kurotsuchi-san, but I'm starting to wonder how much of it was a lie and how little of it was the truth."
Toushirou pointed out. "It could be that Kurotsuchi Mayuri destroyed the information portion of the experiments, but kept the failures for himself in case they were useful for something in the future."
"Or…" Megumi's grip on his arm sleeve tightened. "Perhaps the experiments were actually a success to Kurotsuchi-san himself." The implications of her devastating thought forced a shiver down her spine. "Perhaps since they were a success, he had to keep it a secret from the rest of the Empire by claiming it to be a failure - in order to hide what he truly wanted to use them for."
"...To hide what he wanted to use them for. But what exactly did he want to use them for?" Orihime's voice quivered.
"I wish I knew. If we could find the main tomb room, we could probably find some clues... But if it really was just a failure, then that would be a relief though." Megumi sighed in frustration. "We need to proceed carefully from now on. So let's stick with our partners for safety concerns."
"Agreed." Rukia stood closer to Ichigo.
Orihime held onto Ulquiorra's arm as he examined the Namaji up close. "The inside of the Namaji appears to be harmless." His voice held a certainty. "The green liquid is essentially similar to the process of cremation." The moment he said that, the creature's body and guts dissipated into thin air, leaving no trace behind of its presence.
The orange-haired technologist's eyes narrowed. "If Kurotsuchi-san was such a genius, then why didn't he make the Namaji be able to recognize what the messes of the experiments are? Why did it try to attack me? Was I considered to be a mess or-"
"Inoue-san. We don't know yet. So why don't we move forward instead?" Megumi tiredly interrupted the overexcited female. The slight exasperation was obvious in her eyes.
Ichigo activated a bright glow stick and threw it into one of the pathways. He then used his flashlight to see the surroundings. "I don't think we should enter this one. Doesn't seem safe."
"What do you mean?" Rukia walked over to him.
"See for yourself." They all huddled around him to take a better look.
Megumi grimaced and hid her face in Toushirou's shoulder. He held her for a moment before she walked towards the other pathway. "Do they look familiar to you, Rukia-san? You once told me that you knew how the members who went with your brother looked like."
"They don't look familiar." She answered.
"In that case, let's go to the other one." After testing the hallway for any traps, Ichigo led everyone into the darkness. They steadied their flashlights as the scent of death began fading away. A gust of wind blew through them until they reached a dead end.
"Now what?" Orihime asked the two archaeologists.
"This…" Toushirou took a closer look at the brick wall. "These inscriptions… Megumi!"
"I see them. To think that we would find it here…" She pulled Orihime towards the wall. "Take pictures of these. This is amazing!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Rukia walked over to them.
"The War of Hueco Mundo..." Megumi traced the letters. "I can't read all of it completely, but I'll try to translate it."
"Go ahead." Toushirou pulled out a notebook and a pen. "I'm ready."
"For years, there were no signs of winning on both sides of the war. The land of Hueco Mundo remained stagnant with no ruling power, but that had all changed when the Twelfth Commander, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, succeeded in his experiments. With the strength of his power, Hueco Mundo returned to its former state as the land of white sand for not a single drop of blood and not a single scent of death remained. Now rejoice! For you have been chosen to be honored by his very presence… The ruler of Hueco Mundo and the living proof of his power!" Megumi's voice echoed in the hallway as all stayed silent.
"The living proof of his power? There's nothing here." Ichigo scratched the back of his head.
"It said for years, Hitsugaya-san… That contrasts with what we found from previous research." She tapped her lips again in a contemplative manner with her ungloved hand.
"Then the Namaji must be the living proof of his power." Toushirou put the notebook and pen back in his pocket. "It's probably also the reason for their win in the War of Hueco Mundo."
"Why hasn't anyone discovered this yet? It's weird that many downplayed the war." Frustration lingered in her voice.
"We'll just be the first to dispute it then." Toushirou then pointed to the side wall. "Check this out." There were several aligned bricks that stuck out of the wall, but the one that he wanted her to see was smeared with something dark. "Shine the light here."
Megumi shined the light up above the stain. "It's… What do you think this is? I would say blood, but it doesn't look right… Almost gooey. But no one has been in here for a long time."
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Toushirou murmured to her.
"What?"
"We already scouted the town… The last time someone came here was Rukia's brother's group." He sniffed at the stain. "It smells metallic."
Unease flickered in her eyes. "It could be the stone though."
"True, but it looks too fresh." He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Then is there someone here with us?" Orihime interrupted the two. She inched a bit closer to them. "Please tell me that is not what you're saying."
Megumi answered her. "It's not for-"
"Uh… You guys?" Ichigo's strained voice called out to them. "You guys, I think you should turn around and find an exit..."
"Kurosaki-san, what on earth is wrong-" Megumi faced in his direction and immediately jumped back against the wall in shock. "Fuck. Was not expecting that." Her palms became sweaty and clammy as she harshly tugged at Toushirou's arm sleeve for his attention. When he raised his head, she pointed in the direction of the source of her shock.
Hundreds of people marched towards them, but their footsteps were too soft to hear. They had glowing green eyes, unnaturally silky black hair, and pale white skin, but what terrified Megumi the most was the uniform that they wore: a white under clothing, a black small sleeve, a black hakama, a white hakama-himo, a white foot pouch, and a waraji.
It was the uniform of the Shinigami soldiers.
A chill went down her spine. "Hitsugaya-san, is there no way out? There is no way in hell we can fight with those soldier zombies - even with two or three who can fight!" Turning back towards the dead-end, she traced the outlines of the wall desperately. "Knowing Kurotsuchi-san, those soldiers were part of the experiment that we read about last week!"
"Most likely." Toushirou agreed as he began tapping the blood-stained area with his fist. Ichigo shined the light for him. "Bring it closer, Kurosaki."
"Got it." Ichigo then kept the light steady.
Orihime tapped Megumi's back to alert her. "They're coming closer!"
"I know!" The thick outlines of bricks on the side walls and the dead-end reminded her vaguely of the image of Kurotsuchi Mayuri on the door that they first went through. "Think Megumi! Think! The cross! Center! Attachment… Horns…" She then kept her ear close to the wall, tapping each area, while Toushirou focused on the area with the unknown stain.
Crack!
Ulquiorra shot at one of the soldiers who were getting a bit too close for comfort to the group. The soldier flew backwards and landed on the other soldiers, stopping their march temporarily, as the red blood spilled out of the injured soldier's wound. "Well that answers your question on where that blood comes from, Meigetsu."
The sound of the gunshot caused a panic in Megumi's electric blue eyes. "Don't tell me that you shot at him!" The moment she said that, the body started to glow an orange light. "Fucking hell. I should have told-"
"Problem?" The lack of fear in his voice made her speechless.
She desperately pulled the arms of the people closest to the soldier towards the dead-end. "They have biological bombs in their bodies!" Her heart raced and she briefly wondered if they would survive the blast.
From the side, Toushirou pushed in a brick, opening a hidden pathway. "Hurry up and get in!"
"GET DOWN!" Ichigo cried out, pulling Rukia under him as the blast pushed them into the room further. Orihime screamed when she crashed into Ulquiorra.
"HITSUGAYA-SAN!" Megumi screeched out his name as he slammed his fist against the brick to close the door. As the door began closing, the extra force of the blast caught him off-guard, pushing him into the air.
The moment Megumi heard the other soldiers exploding, her eyes flickered into intense concentration and the pounding in her ears became stronger. She breathed hard and a burst of mental strength pushed her into calculating the exact spot that Toushirou would land. Her legs then gathered an enormous amount of energy as she willed them to move in half a second, managing to reach Toushirou and pulling him down towards her. As soon as the door closed, another extra force from an explosion hit them relentlessly and they ended up slamming against the wall harshly. Without giving them a chance to recover, the two fell unconscious.
A sharp pain shot through the side of Megumi's head, arm, and back. As she started to wake up, the ache in her body became more apparent to her.
"Who the hell are you?!" The voice sounded like Ichigo, but she could not be too sure. Feeling a bit groggy, she opened her eyes, finding a young woman with dark purple hair and a similar but slightly modified version of the Shinigami soldier's uniform.
"Who…?" Her throat felt parched from the earlier screaming.
"Drink this. It will help your throat feel better." The young woman tilted a test tube towards Megumi's mouth as she accepted it absentmindedly, swallowing the sweet green liquid. Her head felt so foggy.
"Oi, I'm talking to you-" Ichigo's voice got cut off by the sound of something being smacked. "Ow!"
"Ichigo, can't you see that she's helping us?" Annoyance lingered in Rukia's voice. "If she hadn't helped you earlier, than you would still be out like a light!"
"...Really?"
After those words, Megumi's body returned back to its original state. All the scrapes and dizziness she had earlier disappeared as if they were never there from the beginning. She sat up from her spot and immediately searched for Toushirou's whereabouts.
"Megumi, how do you feel?" She turned her head. Toushirou stood tall with no injuries as he gave her his hand. Relief that her work partner was okay pooled into her eyes.
She took his hand and stood up. "I'm feeling way better. It's as if I never felt pain from the start. How about you?"
He fixed the turquoise sash for his katana. "I'm fine. You were bleeding pretty hard, you know."
Startled at this new information, she touched her head and face. "Oh." Her blood was now on her hands. "I really am bleeding, but I don't feel any injury there."
"The Hojiku-Zai healed your wounds." The young woman answered her unsaid question.
"Was that the liquid that I just drank?" Megumi inquired.
The lady nodded in reply. "It was the last one I had. The rest were already given to everyone else."
"But why? Judging by your outfit, you must also be one of Kurotsuchi-san's experiments…" Megumi watched her contemplatively. "After all, it's impossible for anyone to still be alive."
"Unless she's a ghost." Orihime whispered to Ulquiorra. Her eyes sparkled with fascination.
Megumi sighed. "Inoue-san, I doubt she's a ghost since she's solid and a ghost isn't."
Orihime scratched the back of her head and laughed. "That's true…"
"Someone asked me to guide you to Mayuri-sama's main tomb. That is all." The mysterious woman motioned for everyone to follow her. Her hand cut in a straight line in front of her before a gust of wind entered the room. Everyone covered their eyes as they heard a strange tearing sound.
"What the hell is that?" Ichigo asked out loud.
"This is the only way to enter Mayuri-sama's tomb. Please follow me." She turned on her heel and walked into the black pathway casually.
Ulquiorra began walking towards the pathway, but Ichigo stopped him. "Oi, Ulquiorra! Don't you think it's dangerous to go in like that?"
"If she wanted us dead, then she would have killed us all while we were passed out." At those words, he followed her. Eventually, everyone else followed suit.
"Toushirou, did you see what she did earlier to make that hidden pathway come out like that? I wish I didn't close my eyes, so that I could have taken a better look." Megumi frowned to herself with disappointment.
He shook his head. "I didn't see it, but for now, let's concentrate at the task at hand."
"You're right." She sighed a little. When someone grabbed her arm, she glanced at them with a startled expression. "Inoue-san?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I just…" Orihime stared at the ground as if unsure as to why she was so nervous.
Megumi pat her hand reassuringly with a warm smile. "It's okay. Let's go together."
At that, Orihime's smile widened. "Okay!"
"Nee, Hitsugaya-san. There was no information about a female like her in the research done on Kurotsuchi-san, was there?" Megumi whispered to him.
"There was none. So I have no idea as to her identity or where she came about." He focused on the light coming out of the exit.
"How odd… You would think that there would be something about her… She seems too special to be just another minor experiment." Megumi muttered under her breath.
"We're here." The mysterious lady strode towards a white marbled coffin. Everyone in the group hesitantly followed after her.
The room they entered in was fairly simple. White marbled flooring and walls created an image that they were currently inside of an empty white box. No signs of windows, ventilation, doors, and buttons were found when they first glanced around the room. Interestingly, not even a speck of dirt was left on the walls and floor. The coffin remained unmoving and silent in the middle of the room.
"It's so clean in here…" Orihime whispered to Megumi who nodded in agreement.
"Excuse me." Rukia turned her attention back to the woman. "I wanted to ask you earlier but I didn't get the chance to…"
"Yes?"
"Who was this someone that wanted you to guide us to Kurotsuchi-san's main tomb?" Rukia held onto her brother's booklet tightly. "Does it happen to be a dignified male who has long black hair?"
"I apologize, but I cannot answer that question." She bowed to the young heiress.
"What is your name?" Megumi called out to her.
Straightening her back again, she faced the young archaeologist. "My name is Nemu." Without waiting for further responses, she bowed to them again. "I will take my leave now, so please take your time exploring Mayuri-sama's tomb. I will come back when you are finished with your business with him."
"Wait-" Megumi ran over to her when a gust of wind surrounded Nemu. "Augh!" She tried to open her eyes, but the wind was too strong for her.
"Megumi!" Toushirou called out to her.
"I'm okay!" The wind finally subsided and Nemu had disappeared. "But she's gone. We could have probably learned more about Kurotsuchi-san from her..."
"Everyone!" Orihime motioned to the group. She leaned over the coffin, staring through the glass top. "You can see him… He looks so alive… Do you think his ghost is near us?"
"I don't think I would want to meet his ghost." Rukia murmured as she walked over to the tomb. "How was it even preserved like this? Everything looks so new and…" She touched the white marbled walls and parts of the stone floor. "It's so smooth as if polished daily."
Ichigo chuckled. "Maybe Kurotsuchi cleaned the place daily as a ghost."
"How does he look so alive?" Ulquiorra glanced down at the body with his usual frown.
Orihime tugged at his sleeve urgently. "Is it just me or do I see puffs of breath coming from him?"
Alarms rang in Megumi's mind. "Breath?" Toushirou joined her as they both ran over to the tomb. "You're right… This man... He's breathing!"
The man who should have been a corpse was breathing shallowly. "So this is Kurotsuchi Mayuri…" Toushirou muttered under his breath. A black cross was painted over the initial white paint layer covering Mayuri's face. On his chin, there was a long golden attachment, while his face was outlined by the golden frame. His shockingly blue hair looked more like horns that sloped down from the top of his head as it framed his face. Whenever he breathed through his mouth, they caught a glimpse of his very golden teeth.
"Was this guy seriously obsessed with gold?" Ichigo asked Megumi quietly.
"Ichigo." Rukia chided him.
"What! It's a serious question!" At first, the two challenged each other by glaring at one another, but in the next minute, they began tugging at each other's cheeks as if showing who was boss.
Orihime watched the two with envy until Ulquiorra tugged on her arm sleeve and pointed at the Twelfth Captain's unnaturally long fingernail. "Wow… He has such a long fingernail!"
"Enough." Toushirou glared at the two fighting. "We need to figure out how this mechanism works."
"Nee, Hitsugaya-san. I think I got something." Megumi stared at the materialized keyboard that appeared in front of her.
He searched the coffin. "What did you touch?"
"Honestly? I just touched the glass." She pointed to the glass top of the coffin. "But what are all these words on the glass that are appearing now… I can't read them. It's disappearing too quickly!"
"It said something along the lines of an amplifier. I couldn't see what that amplifier was used for..." Toushirou took a step closer. Megumi moved out of the way for him to take a better look. Orihime and Ulquiorra also backed away from the coffin with her. Rukia and Ichigo continued to stand next to Toushirou and the coffin.
"Inoue-san, are you disappointed that he wasn't a ghost?" Megumi leaned against the wall with an amused expression.
Orihime faced her, pouting to herself in utter disappointment. "Yes." Her pout dissipated as a grin graced her lips. "But Cifer-san noticed how long of a fingernail he had! It's so weird! I wonder if he used it for something important. Do you know?"
Ulquiorra stood next to Orihime with a neutral look. The two of them blocked her from seeing the coffin. "I didn't know that he had a long fingernail. I'll take a look after Hitsugaya-san is done examining the information shown on the glass. If we're lucky, it could have a lot of the answers to our questions."
"What the-" Ichigo sounded exasperated.
From the crack in between Ulquiorra and Orihime, Megumi spotted a large spherical device with an X-shaped lid, instead of the coffin. "Hey, what happened to the coffin, Toushirou?"
Before he could answer his coworker, Ichigo let out a short war cry. Everyone turned to see what he was fighting against. Goosebumps immediately appeared on Megumi's skin. The Namaji had crawled from behind the sphere device and tried to attack Ichigo, but before it could even reach him, Ichigo had pulled out a dagger and slashed at it. The maggot-like creature flew into the device, letting its blood and guts slide out of its body. The creature continued to twitch until Ichigo sliced at it once more, moving it away from the device. The green blood and guts quickly dissipated into nothing, while the creature's body soon followed after. "Where the hell did that come from?!"
"I think it was stuck in the area that the device was stored in…" Rukia pointed out. "So when we released this spherical device, we also released the stuck Namaji."
"I hate those damn things. They're disgusting." Ichigo shook off the guts from his dagger, noting with pleasure that the guts were disappearing without much effort on his part.
The spherical device sparked. At first, Megumi thought that it was just her imagination, but the device sparked for the second time. "Get out of the way! It's going to explode!" She yelled.
The moment they turned to see the device, it glowed a white light, consuming them in seconds. Ichigo let out a surprised cry and Rukia covered her face with her arm. Toushirou's eyes widened in shock, unwilling to believe that he was going to die here. Ulquiorra let out a grunt as he pulled Orihime towards him to protect her, but the light consumed her as well.
Megumi crouched down against the wall. When the light touched her skin, a tingling sensation crawled inside of her blood, slowly burning as if her body was on fire. All she could remember were the screams that she heard around her until she noted that she herself was screaming as well. A sense of heaviness settled inside of her as she slumped down against the soothingly cold stone floor. Her nerves became sensitive to every movement as though someone was tearing apart her body in a sadistic manner. Her breath turned shallow and her pupils dilated. Beads of sweat trickled down her face. As the light faded away, she watched the others twitching in pain dispassionately.
In the next minute, the pain disappeared as though it was never there from the start. Confusion lingered in her mind when she hesitantly sat up from her spot and yet, there was no more pain. She pushed herself up from the ground and checked the others. Orihime and Ulquiorra were still squirming in pain, along with the other three who collapsed in front of the spherical device.
"Tsk. Tsk. To come into my room like the maggots that you are." A taunting voice interrupted her thoughts. "Not even worth experimenting on." A shiver went down her spine. Afraid of what she might see, she shut her eyes, but the voice continued. "Onna. Either you face me or I'll have to kill you."
Knowing full well of this terrifying man's reputation, she turned her heel to face him. A shockingly similar figure as the breathing corpse or body stood. It was as if Kurotsuchi Mayuri stood before her. "How…?"
"Hn. A brainless fool." Megumi was about to correct him, but he waved his arm as if moving on. "Doesn't matter. You will have to do."
"Are you going to possess me?" She was very serious when asking this. After all, who would want to be possessed by a mad scientist?
"As if I would need to possess you." That was when she noticed his figure flickering.
"You're a hologram, but how…?" Her electric blue eyes widened.
"I'm a genius." He sniffed in disgust at her.
She laughed nervously. "Of course… Never doubted that…"
He groaned in exasperation, wishing that it was someone else instead. Megumi felt highly insulted. "Onna, since you were the first to recover, Yami no Kage will belong to you."
Disbelief colored her voice. "What kind of deci-"
"Go to the Reiatsu Amplifier and you will find a button. Press the red button and it will give you a box. Open the box and wear the necklace. It will be useful in your next trip to the tomb in Arashi Rikujou." The hologram motioned to her to hurry up and follow his directions. A bit miffed at his attitude, she stomped over to the spherical device that she guessed was the Reiatsu Amplifier and slammed her hand on the red button. "Don't treat my invention like that, you single-celled organism!" Her eyebrow twitched.
A deprecating shadow covered her face as she chuckled to herself evilly. She looked up at him with a sweet smile and said in a high-pitched girly voice, "So a single-celled organism, huh? Do you want to see what a single-celled organism can do, Kurotsuchi-san?" She outlined the blue button with her finger. "I wonder what this blue button does."
If it was possible for a hologram to sweat, Kurotsuchi Mayuri would be in that position. "Onna, I'm warning you… Don't press that button… In fact, stay far far away from that amplifier unless you want your friends to be in pain again! Because if I disappear, then they will stay in pain until death!"
She glanced at Rukia and then smiled sweetly at the hologram. "Then tell me everything about Kuchiki Byakuya. After all, since you're such a genius, I'm sure you can remember if you met him or not." Her hand twitched as it hovered over the button. "Let's just say that I am just as patient as Zaraki Kenpachi is when he finds someone he wants to fight. In other words, I have no patience."
Mayuri's eyebrow twitched before he sighed. "Of course, I remember Kuchiki Byakuya. That man asked me to allow you brats to enter my domain and to make you all go to the tomb in Arashi Rikujou with the necklace."
Megumi opened the small box and just as he said, there was a necklace inside. It was in the shape of an obsidian black sphere with a single eye in the middle of it. "What exactly is Reiatsu? Is that where your special power comes from?"
He chortled out loud at her question. "You're asking the wrong questions, onna. Come back again when you know what questions to ask me."
"What do you mean?"
"Hn… Your little friends should be feeling better now. Go check on them. But first, put on the necklace." The genius scientist stared down at her, pressuring her to follow his directions.
Annoyed at his insistence, she hurriedly snapped the necklace around her neck. "Happy?"
"Pleasantly."
She rolled her eyes before checking on everyone. "Are you okay, Rukia-san?"
Rukia grabbed Megumi's arm while massaging the side of her head. "It was so cold… I felt like my fingers and bones were going to break if I tried to move. And then when I moved..." She gave a short groan and with Megumi's help, she sat up, breathing hard. Sweat formed on the side of her face. "I never want to go through that again…"
From behind them, Ichigo groaned as he sat up. "What the hell… I feel like I just went through a torture session. So much stabbing. My body… Augh…"
Ulquiorra grunted, helping up Orihime who had tear stains on her face. She wiped her eyes with her hand. "I'm okay, Cifer-san. The pain stopped hurting a while ago…" She rubbed her arms, her legs, and stomach. "It was an odd sensation. I thought that someone was kicking me everywhere." She looked up at Ulquiorra. "What about you?"
"It felt like something was going to rip through my back and my head." Orihime winced at his answer.
Megumi ran over to Toushirou. "How are you feeling?"
"..." In an unusual fashion, he held her closer to him as if craving for warmth. "...Cold…"
"Hitsugaya-san?" His eyes were glazed and worry permeated her mind. She held him closer, rubbing his back to warm him up a little. "Hitsugaya-san?" She called out to him a few times, hoping that he would snap out of his condition.
"How odd. He should be relatively back to normal by now." Mayuri's hologram walked over to the two. Ichigo and Rukia jumped back in surprise and shock. Orihime grabbed onto the calm Ulquiorra as she stared at the hologram in absolute horror.
"Hm?" Mayuri scanned the faces of everyone. "Ah, such children. I suppose you are right to be scared in my presence." He gave another long laughter before taking a closer look at Toushirou.
"What's wrong with him?" Megumi frowned and locked eyes with the hologram. Her rose pink hair feathered down her face, softening the seriousness and frustration on her face.
He rolled his eyes at her. "Calm, child. He's not dying."
She sighed and looked up at him once more. "Then tell me what the hell is wrong with him."
Mayuri muttered a few things under his breath. His eyes widened in surprise. "He should have been born in my time. How fascinating. I would have loved to experiment on him." He grinned, showing off his bright golden teeth.
"What are you talking about?"
"Quiet, onna." He continued to grin and chuckle under his breath. "This boy. He's a genius. It's a shame that no one else can appreciate his strength and power at the moment, except for me."
"What…?" Megumi stared at him in disbelief.
Mayuri then began checking on everyone else one-by-one, murmuring to himself on how it was such a disappointment that it was not time for his body to be released to the land of the living and how he was so lucky to have found so many great specimens. "Two... No, three powerful beings… A fascinating power… A rarity..." Disappointment then lingered in his facial expression for a couple of minutes. He finally threw his hands up in the air. "Nemu!"
Once again, a gust of wind blew in the room, causing everyone to close their eyes, except for Toushirou. In seconds, Nemu appeared in the spot that she was last seen. The wind calmed down and faded away. "Yes, Mayuri-sama."
"Take them back to where they belong." Mayuri watched them once more with a dispassionate gaze as though he was done being mesmerized by his new discoveries.
"Wait! You still haven't answered my question! What's wrong with Hitsugaya-san? Why do you call him a genius? What does this stupid necklace have to do with the tomb in Arashi Rikujou? How did Kuchiki Byakuya know that we would eventually come to this tomb in advance?!" Megumi cried out in frustration.
"Onna." His exasperated tone took on a new level of expressing his annoyance. "I told you that you're asking the wrong questions."
The gust of wind began to pick up around the group. "That's just bullshit! There must have been at least one question that you could have answered!" Megumi angrily said. She held Toushirou protectively.
"I suppose I can reward you for your great efforts." The sarcasm was strong in Mayuri's voice before turning serious in his next set of words. "The future is the past and the past is the future. You will find the answers to your questions during your journey in time… So do not stop your pursuit at the final tomb because there is more in store for the ambitious seekers."
"Have a good rest of the trip." Nemu then bowed to them as the wind finally swirled around them like a tornado.
Everyone shut their eyes, holding onto the closest person they could find, and braced themselves for the strong wind. In seconds, the strong gust dissipated. The warm sunlight and the gentle yet cool wind blew against them instead.
"What…?" Rukia gaped at the scenery. "We're back…"
"The dead-end." Ichigo muttered.
They had somehow ended up once more in the dead-end area of the non-golden leaf pathway.
"How did we get back here?" Orihime cried out in disbelief. "Was it all a dream?!"
"I don't think it was a dream…" Megumi whispered as she touched the necklace around her neck. After a few seconds of tense silence, Toushirou finally groaned when his eyes cleared up. "How are you feeling now, Toushirou?"
"Terrible." His throat sounded parched. "I'll be better once we head back to the hostel."
"Then that's what we'll do." She tiredly smiled at him. Turning to the others, she said, "Let's head back now, shall we?"
Once everyone nodded in agreement, Ichigo and Ulquiorra helped Toushirou on his feet, supporting him as they began walking back. Meanwhile, Rukia stabilized Ichigo's balance by holding onto his arm.
"Meigetsu-san?" Orihime called out to Megumi during their walk.
She faced the female technologist. "Yes?"
"Do you think we'll have fewer problems in our next trip?"
"..." Megumi furrowed her eyebrows. "I honestly don't know, but I hope we won't have as many."
Orihime nodded. "Me too."
"Well..." Megumi gave her a small smile. "For now, let's just hope for the best."
Thank you to everyone who story alerted my story: Kgvision and RageGoat.
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