Let The Blood Flow

A cold breeze lingered over the closed off town. A small gust of wind swept a sizeable dust cloud through the empty streets. A light covering of dirt covered the roads and paths hiding the dull black tar and the fading concrete.

A ring of metal wire, barbed wire, electric wire and all manner of dangers surrounded the whole town, ensuring nothing would be able to enter....And none would escape either.

A lone prisoner wandered about carrying a large stick with him. He whistled a tune he remembered from before his incarceration, a time mostly forgotten. He stopped at an intersection and looked both ways before laughing at his little joke.

"Ulquiorra Schiffer...Ha! He mustn't be that tough if he couldn't escape before they built those damn fences. He's probably lying in a ditch somewhere! All I have to do is smash his face in and bring him back, and then I'm out of here forever!"

"That won't happen." An expressionless voice whispered. It was barely audible, but the man heard it as clearly as if it were screamed in his face.

He raised the stick defensively and spun around, only to find nothing but a dust cloud. He cursed at his minds tricks and then continued on his patrol. He took only four steps when he suddenly felt paralysed.

"You misunderstand my actions. I never intended on leaving. I knew the cowardly dogs that run that prison would send out their puppets to fetch me. I let them construct a ring around me, it does not matter. I will not return to that accursed prison, even if I have to kill every single one of you in the process."

"Bastard!" the man snarled as blood dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin. He was surprised by the crimson drool and he looked down to see a milky white arm protruding from his chest, coated in life's soup. The arm suddenly retracted and the gaping hole left behind began to gush a torrent of red death. The prisoner dropped like a bag of sand and he did not breathe another breath, dying almost instantly.

Ulquiorra raised his hand up to his face and he glared at the meaty chunk in his grip. It was the heart of the dead man. The sadistic beast gave it a disgusted glance and then hurled it away. "You were an impure one...I hope there are some worthy among this group, I do not wish to slay them all..."

Meanwhile on the other side of the town, the Black cats held their meeting. Yoruichi sat on a padded chair as if it were a throne, looking down on her subjects. Soi Fon stood beside her, a careful eye scanning the area in case of a surprise attack.

"As you know, we're trapped in this hell-hole for a while. Ulquiorra is one tough son of a bitch and I doubt any of you really want to face him. That is why I propose we just sit this one out for a while, what do you think?"

Some of them nodded and muttered their agreements but one girl stood up with a concerned frown. It was a young girl with light green hair. Her large pink eyes darted about in a panic. "We'll be killed if we just sit here! You heard that creepy guy!"

"We won't be killed by a pathetic guard like him." Yoruichi reassured.

"But...He sliced that guy's head clean off with his bare hand!! He's just like Ulquiorra!! What if they join forces?!" The young girl was slapped by an aggressive blonde with a single fang sticking out of her mouth.

"Are you stupid?! He want's us to all kill each other! He couldn't care less about Ulquiorra."

"Hiyori's right, he just want's us to charge at Ulquiorra and get ourselves killed. Then they will take care of that bastard with their own forces." Soi Fon explained while looking to her master for approval.

"Thank you Soi Fon. You always had a sharp mind. That's why I have you as my bodyguard." Yoruichi giggled as Soi Fon blushed. "Don't let it get to you, stop being so serious!"

"Sorry." Soi Fon whispered.

"Ahem."

All heads turned on the intruder, a small woman with black hair. She looked incredibly nervous as she stood frozen in the doorway.

"Hey, it's that girl from the bus, Rukia." Soi Fon explained to the leader of their group and Yoruichi sighed as she weighed up the use of a new ally.

"What'cha want Kuchiki?"

Rukia cleared her throat and stared anxiously at the angry glares from the assembled prisoners.

"I...I want to join you guys..." She waited for a response.

The members began to chatter amongst themselves. Yoruichi however burst out laughing. Rukia giggled sheepishly as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"Why not? You're a girl aren't you?"

Rukia remained silent, causing another fit of laughter from the leader of the Black Cats.

"Aren't you sure?! Ha ha ha!!" Yoruichi calmed herself and sighed. "Just joking. Anyway, I like you Kuchiki. You're in!"

"Thank you." Rukia bowed.

"Don't do that! We're friends, not royalty. We look out for each other! It ain't easy being a woman in prison. Those guys salivate over you and constantly try to get a taste at every possible chance. Even the guards do it. That's why I started this group. We became our own army and we no longer take any shit from those dumbass meat-heads!" Yoruichi smiled and got off her chair. She walked through the small crowd and stopped in front of Rukia. She extended her hand and the two shook hands, formalising their alliance.

Rukia's mission was done, or at least she thought.

"Well, thanks for that, but I need to get going-" Ichigo was cut off as Yoruichi grabbed Rukia's chin in her dark hand and brought it up to her own.

"Not so fast. I want you to do something for me." Rukia nodded. "I want you...To give us all the dirt on those guard friends of yours!" Yoruichi's mouth curved up in a sinister smile and Rukia's heart stopped beating.

Isane bashed her fists on the door to the clinic. The police were already searching the neighbourhood and it would only be a matter of time before they came through this street. She screamed for help and could hear running footsteps inside the house. The door was wrenched open and the father, Isshin answered. He stared at her, covered in blood and panting heavily. She looked like she'd been in a war and that was almost correct.

"You're that police woman...What's going on? I've been hearing sirens for the past ten minutes now!"

"I'll explain later just let me in!" Isane pushed her way in and studied herself in the light. She frowned at her torn, dirty and bloodied clothes. "I don't mean to impose, but could I have a shower?"

Isshin shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"Thanks. And could I also have a roll of bandages?" Isshin nodded and Isane thanked him again while she looked around.

"Upstairs." Isshin gave her directions. "Third door on the right."

Isane bowed and jogged up the stairs. She passed Ichigo's room and found it empty. She ignored it and headed into the shower.

Meanwhile, in the centre of the police search, two people strolled through the frenzied officers and approached the police chief.

The woman glanced over at her partner with a frown. "Don't screw this up Mabashi. Let me do the talking and then you can kill as many as you want after I give the signal."

"Fine! Stop nagging me you harpy!" Mabashi was slapped by the woman and his angered cry alerted the police to their presence.

"Freeze!" One of the policemen roared.

Yoshi chuckled while raising her hands. "Gentlemen, we mean you no harm. We have information on the suspect you are after."

"Really. How do you know?" The officer asked cautiously.

"I saw your standoff with her a while ago. I stayed in-doors to avoid a conflict but I watched on and saw that woman running away from that apartment building there."

"Which direction?" The officer was hooked on the bait now.

"She jumped out a back window and into the next street. She then jumped over a fence into the street after that." Yoshi explained with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Anything else?"

"Yes...I know where she is going!"

LATE NIGHT – NO MAN'S LAND

Rukia, finished dealing with her new allies made the dangerous trek to her home camp. She had told them a lot about the guards...Their names, their personalities, strengths and their involvement in the whole Cage incident a year ago.

Now she felt like she had betrayed her friends. It was impossible to shake the feeling that the information she just gave out would bring about the end of a few people.

Rukia shook her head and stopped thinking about loyalty and betrayal to focus on a more pressing issue. She was walking alone in the dead of night with many dangerous criminals on the loose. This was extremely dangerous. Anything could happen to her and she needed to be on her toes.

She walked hurriedly, with light footfalls to avoid making noise. She looked around frantically, keeping a constant eye out for the enemy.

In a few minutes time she passed around a corner and then she could see the bed and breakfast looming over the smaller buildings around it. It looked like a fortress compared to the surrounding structures, but it looked like this fortress was under attack...

Rukia froze and stared at the crowd gathering around the bed and breakfast. Her knees began to quiver and she fell over onto her hands and knees.

The crowd began throwing burning projectiles at the building and a trio of them were trying to force their way through the door.

Rukia couldn't hold it in. She didn't want to scream, but her body got ahead of her willpower and acted of its own accord. "ICHIGO!!!!"

Her anguished cry brought the attention of the prisoner army and one mans gaze felt different to the rest. It was fiercer, so monstrous that it physically hurt knowing he was looking at her. This man seemed to emanate a flaming aura, though that was just her imagination. It was just a dangerous person...A demon in the guise of a human.

That man wore a tattered white vest and had piercing, ice blue eyes and identically coloured hair. His grin made her shiver and the man began strolling towards her while his comrades continued to lay siege on the hotel.

Oh no! Run! Run! Move dammit, move!! Why can't I move?!

The man...He was the leader of the gang in the west...Grimmjow. The bloodthirsty brawler who sought fights to the death just for fun...A truly evil being.

As he came closer the air began to grow cold, such was his presence.

"G...Grimmjow?!" Rukia stammered fearfully.

"Don't think I've met you...What's your name?" He asked in a casual yet threatening tone.

"R...R-Rukia..." She murmured helplessly.

"Nice name. You look pretty fragile for a prisoner...What did you do? Hit and run or something?" He said the last question with a beaming smile, as if the mere thought of someone being intentionally run over was amusing.

"Neither...I...I'm innocent." Rukia whispered.

"Innocent?! The innocent don't wind up here little miss. You've done something wrong."

"No...I was part of the incident a while back; the perpetrators still have a grudge on me so they brought me back here!" She explained.

Grimmjow nodded. "I remember that. A bunch of my mates got shot down trying to run for it. So you were that girl everyone was going on about. You're famous around us prisoners you know."

"Uh-huh." Rukia nodded weakly while looking over Grimmjow's shoulder at the bed and breakfast.

"Don't bother. They'll be dead in a few seconds anyway." Grimmjow laughed menacingly and patted Rukia's shoulder. "Never mind. I'll be your new friend now!"

Those words hit her like a speeding truck...Especially since the hotel suddenly went up in flames as he said it. The timing was just a horrible coincidence, but Grimmjow's sickening smile was real. He knew as well as she did the nightmare that was about to unfold...the only difference between them was that he would be enjoying every second of it!

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