Misa Arai's pale blue eyes scanned across the faces of her companions as they exited the Senkaimon. Already, things were not going according to plan. They had expected no resistance in their endeavor to "liberate" Emiko Nakajima from her clan's household. They certainly had not expected the Court Guard Squads to appear at the behest of Emiko's designated guardian. Perhaps most of all, she hadn't expected to pick up a former close friend during this adventure.
The look plastered across Renji's face plainly announced that he hadn't exactly been anticipating the events that had just transpired either. Hours earlier, things had been perfectly normal. Now, he found himself ushering two fugitives and a kidnapping victim through the World of the Living. He had surely been branded a traitor to the Soul Society by now. Retaining his rank as a lieutenant of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads would be completely out of the question. All this, for promises of answers to questions that hadn't existed until a few short hours ago.
Misa's eyes moved to Ayame, whose expression was still concealed by the pale yellow mask adorning the lower half of her face. Her brown eyes remained focused on the road ahead of them, as if she were expecting a surprise attack from the shadows at any moment. Despite the level of focus she portrayed, Ayame, too, seemed lost in thought. She had been far more prepared for the day's events than Renji had, but even so, she risked a war between Ryota and Soul Reaper in involving herself in this mess.
Emiko strolled quietly behind Ayame, her bright green eyes roaming this way and that, taking in the sights of the World of the Living. The young girl seemed much more carefree than the remainder of her company, and, in fact, seemed to be enjoying herself. Her eyes widened and a wide grin spread over her features as she watched a plump cat stroll along the top of a nearby fence. Emiko noticed Misa watching her, and flashed the blonde an enthusiastic smile. Despite the dour mood surrounding them, Misa found herself smiling back.
"Misa..." Renji inquired quietly, finally breaking the silence, "Where are we going?"
"We're here," Ayame stated, blatantly ignoring Renji's inquiries and not giving her sister a chance to respond to them.
Renji stared confusedly at the building in front of them. In a way, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised at where they had ended up. The proprietor of Urahara Shop was pretty well known for involving himself in some rather questionable activities. Even so, Kisuke Urahara risked quite the confrontation with the Soul Society over assisting in the kidnapping of a noble. Renji opened his mouth in preparation to ask another question, but suddenly stopped. He had known Ayame Arai for nearly forty years now. That was more than long enough to know that any questions he asked would only be met with a smart retort.
"Well now," an all-too-familiar voice mused from nearby, "Haven't seen that pretty face in a while."
"Kisuke," Misa mused with a small smile, "It's good to see you."
Kisuke Urahara stepped out from the door of his shop, his normal grin plastered across his face, "Everything's ready for you, but...," Urahara paused for a moment, nodding toward Renji, "you didn't tell me you were gonna have one more. Might take a bit to accommodate that."
"I know," Misa responded, frowning slightly, "We hadn't really... anticipated it ourselves. I hope it isn't an inconvenience."
"Of course not!" Urahara insisted, the Cheshire grin still playing across his lips, "I'll just need a little time to get a gigai prepared for him. I assume you want the, erm... non-traceable kind?"
"I think that's best," she nodded quietly.
"In the meantime," Urahara grinned, "We've got you all set up not far from here, house and all. It's a pretty nice setup if I say so myself. It's just waiting on you all."
She nodded again, "Thank you Kisuke. We appreciate the help."
"Oh, it's really no problem," he mused, "Besides, it's for a good cause. Jinta and Ururu can help you guys get situated. I'll get to work on getting Moocher-I mean, Lieutenant Abarai, something that won't draw attention."
It hadn't taken long at all for the girls to get situated into their gigais. Ayame now stood on the front step of the Urahara Shop, impatiently tapping her foot against the concrete. Next to her, Emiko let out a quiet yawn. Misa frowned quietly, absently tugging on the sleeve of her navy blue jacket as Renji paced back and forth, still waiting on Urahara to return with his finished gigai.
"It's taking too long," Ayame stated flatly, moving her wrist up to once again glance at her watch.
Misa bit her bottom lip for a moment, as if in thought. "Why don't you two go on ahead? Renji and I have some... catching up to do... anyway."
Ayame nodded before grabbing Emiko's hand and ousting her from her seated position on the sidewalk. After gathering their belongings, the two disappeared down the empty street, leaving Misa and Renji standing in silence in front of the darkened shop. Neither said anything for several moments. Instead, Misa continued absently fiddling with her jacket, while Renji continued to pace.
"I don't know where to start," she spoke softly, not making eye contact.
"Why did Byakuya Kuchiki tell the Soul Society that he killed you?" Renji inquired abruptly, causing Misa to sigh quietly.
"I told you I wanted to... was going to... kill that man."
"You were angry," Renji rebutted, "Everyone says things when they're angry."
"I wasn't just saying it," she responded, "I meant every word. I made no effort to hide it. I even told Captain Kuchiki what I was going to do. I wanted Genryusai Yamamoto to know what happened to Orochi Nakajima. I wanted everyone in Soul Society to know."
"Over an accident?" Renji's voice raised an octave.
"Accident?" Misa scoffed quietly, "Is that what you think it was? After what happened to us, after I saw every other person in my squad slaughtered... do you know what he was going to do? Yamamoto approved a proposition to continue to send Soul Reapers into the Void. An entire squad died in that place, Renji. They all died. And they were going to keep sending people in, as a new form of training."
"The Head Captain isn't that reckless. He wouldn't approve that."
Misa shot him a glare, her blue eyes narrowing in agitation, "I saw the papers, Renji. This wasn't random information from anonymous sources. I saw it with my own two eyes. I even confronted him about it. For that matter, I confronted the Head Captain about it. He confirmed it."
"What?" Renji retorted in disbelief, "But why would he-"
"Orochi Nakajima was a terrible man, Renji. There's no telling what went on in those negotiations... and it doesn't matter. One way or another, he got Yamamoto to approve it. He wanted to send Academy students into that place as the final... exam... before becoming full-fledged soul reapers. Veteran fighters died in that place, and they wanted to send in kids. I couldn't... I wasn't going to let that happen."
Renji frowned, eyes directed toward the ground, "I see."
"When I found out, I told Captain Kuchiki. I knew he wouldn't support it. I thought he could help."
"But he didn't?" Renji inquired, mild confusion in his voice.
"He did," Misa responded with a shrug, "I guess you could say he... helped by not helping... turning a blind eye . As far as I know, he didn't tell anyone what I'd told him... about killing Nakajima. He told Central 46 that he'd caught up with and pursued me after the murder. That wasn't a lie. And as far as I know... he never said I was dead, either. He told them he'd engaged me in battle and was victorious. That wasn't a lie either. He won. I fled."
"I...see."
Renji trailed off quietly, and Misa didn't continue speaking. Instead, she moved from her stationary position against the side of the shop, pacing slightly in front of the door and folding her arms under her chest. Several moments went by with neither speaking, before Renji broke the silence once again.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" she inquired softly, still looking away, "That I planned on slaughtering my... Captain?"
"We were friends," Renji responded quietly. Misa paused to look at him momentarily. Somehow, she had expected him to yell, "You know you could have told me Misa. You know I'd have done anything in my power to help."
"That's why," she responded, looking absently back at her sleeve, "I didn't tell you because... we were friends."
"That doesn't make any sense," Renji snapped back, annoyance reverberating in his voice.
"It is against the law to attack a Captain. To do so is treason. It is against the law to commit terrorist actions or attempt overthrow of the Soul Society. To do so is treason. It is against the law to commit murder. To do so... is treason..." she retorted quietly, causing Renji's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.
"I don't need you to quote laws at me, I know what they say."
"Then why are you asking?" she inquired, "Isn't it obvious why I didn't tell you? By killing Captain Nakajima, I openly committed several acts of treason against the Soul Society. Why would I want that for you? Why would I drag people I care about into that?"
"But you told Captain Kuchiki."
"You aren't the same... you and Captain Kuchiki are two very different types of people, Renji. I know you'd have been there... right in the middle of the fray. But why would I want you to be? Why would I want you to be branded a traitor to the Soul Society? Thrown from your post when you were so close to making lieutenant... why would I want you to completely annihilate your goals over my own desire for revenge?"
The red-headed soul reaper sighed frustratedly, realizing that continuing the discussion would get him nowhere fast.
"So what now?" he spoke up after several more minutes of silence, "What did I get myself into here?"
"When Orochi Nakajima died, the gateway into the Void died with him... or so I thought. But lately... I'm not so sure," she informed him, "The area around the portal has begun to wither and die... it looks like it's aged a thousand years in the span of less than one. Other gateways have also begun to form here in Karakura Town... once they open, we think they might lead into the Void. I'm not worried about the people here going in... I'm worried about what might come out."
"So why'd we kidnap the girl?" Renji inquired, his interest in the subject growing.
"We didn't," Misa responded, her blue eyes making contact with his, "A few months ago, she got in contact with my sister. Apparently, the Nakajima Clan had noticed the same thing we had regarding the portals. Sadao, the head of the household, re-opened Captain Nakajima's research... and... Emiko said he changed after that. She was so desperate to help him... to help us get rid of that thing once and for all. She's... she's a good kid. She's got a good heart."
"So why didn't she just leave? Why go through all the trouble of having herself kidnapped? That's likely to start a war between Ryota and soul reaper."
"She couldn't just leave," the blonde stated, "Sadao refused to let her leave the estate. It was almost like he knew what she was planning to do. This was the only thing we could do. She brought Orochi's research on the Void with her. She said Sadao told her the way to return to it is written in there. It's encrypted, of course. It's going to take time to decipher. That's why we fled to the World of the Living. It's why I contacted Urahara."
"And... how much about this does Urahara know?" Renji prodded.
Misa smiled forlornly, "It's Urahara. He probably knows more about it than any of us. He's... good at that."
Misa resumed her stationary position, leaning against the side of Urahara Shop. Renji, too, leaned against the side of the building, taking several minutes to absorb everything Misa had told him. Somehow, he knew there was so much more to it than that, but she didn't seem to be willing to share any other information at that moment. The silence resumed, only the sound of crickets disrupting it with sporadic chirping.
Inside Urahara Shop, the lights flashed on and several banging noises echoed out before the door flung open and Kisuke poked his head out, a coy grin spread across his face, "It's reeaaady!"