Fight For Freedom II

Rukia ran through the streets, desperate to find Ichigo and the others. She ran full tilt and approached a corner. She bolted around the turn and ran straight into someone else. The impact threw her far back, landing in the gutter and sweeping up a cloud of dust.

The unfortunate person who hit her was also knocked over, though he got back up rather quickly.

"Rukia?" The person asked, his voice all too familiar.

"Ichigo!"

The two shared a brief time in each others arms before sounds of gunfire caught their attention. They crawled inside the nearest building and peeked out at a trio of armed guards fleeing from an enraged prisoner.

"Stay back!" the guards roared, lifting their rifles. The prisoner charged on, a handgun held in his scarred hands. "Fire! Kill him!"

The prisoner let off two rounds, killing one of the officers and wounding the other. The third guard let loose a spray of automatic fire, ending the life of the criminal. The guard then picked up his wounded friend and led him away.

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo whispered harshly. "What were all those explosions?"

"Oh, it was Isane. She drove a transporter through the gate and rescued me. We're getting out of here!"

Ichigo looked down and cursed. "That fool!"

Rukia cocked her head, confused at his outburst. "What's wrong?"

Ichigo blinked and stared at her. "Oh, it's just that crashing through the gates and making such a scene must have drawn the guards from all over the place. That must have been why those guards came past just then..." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ulquiorra's arrival would have brought enough attention from the guards, but Isane's little stunt is just going to make things worse."

"Not really. We set Ulquiorra free and managed to take down a lot of the guards. The rest are running for their lives. They are no longer interested in stopping us." Rukia explained how Isane had organised it.

"Clever..." Ichigo mused. "Isane is smarter than I thought..."

"Come on! Let's go! We can round up the others and get out of here!" Rukia lifted Ichigo up and they ran back into the street. It was a short run back to the petrol station but in that time Rukia was able to fill Ichigo in on Unohana's last stand and Ukitake's capture.

Ichigo bowed his head. "It's probably too late to save Ukitake. If Ulquiorra was released, then no doubt he would kill everyone, regardless of who they were..."

Rukia nodded sadly and they both fell silent until they were outside the petrol station. They charged through the front door and they collapsed in a heap at the feet of their friends.

Shunsui and Toshiro were overjoyed to see her again, especially Toshiro who was acting rather apologetic. Rukia gave them a quick update on their escape and then they prepared themselves for the journey home. Kyouraku chuckled as he patted Rukia on the back. "It's funny. Kiyone just went out to try and find you."

"She did?"

"Yeah! It's a surprise you didn't meet her." Kyouraku smirked. "I'm sure we'll find her on our way to the bus."

"I hope so." Rukia whispered. "I've seen enough death these last few days..."

Ichigo's expression darkened and he set his gaze on his beloved. "There's worse to come. We haven't escaped yet."

Everyone nodded at the grim realisation, but it did nothing to stop them. The group headed outside and began the trek to the prison transporter.


Isane stopped sobbing and wiped away the remaining tears that clogged her vision. She rubbed her sore eyes and sniffed loudly. The pain was terrible, but Unohana wouldn't want her to sit around moping. Unohana would want to see the case solved first. For now and until Kaien Shiba's arrest, there was no time for emotions.

She had to end this before any more tragedies befell her or those involved. The corrupt had to be taken down, then there would be time to grieve.

Isane took a deep breath and sighed. Her eyes were still watering, but the flow had been curbed enough for her to see more clearly. She looked out the window and saw a shadow approach the bus. There was a light knock on the door and then silence.

Is that Rukia?

Isane nervously crept towards the door, deliberately lowering herself so she could not be seen from outside.

The knocking came again and Isane slid up against the door and pressed her eye to the joint between the two doors. She peeked through the tiny gap and saw someone standing right outside, wearing a tattered reddish brown coat. She couldn't see anything more and so she slid back and sat up against the driver's seat.

Rukia wasn't wearing a coat...Or was she? I didn't take any notice! Dammit! There's only one way to be sure...

"Is that you Rukia?"

Once again there was silence outside, then all of a sudden the metal framed door squealed as something cut through it, creating a large gash in it. Isane screamed and crawled back against the wall, her hands fumbling around for a weapon.

The guns!

She got on all fours and crawled past the seats, trying to find the weapons she stashed on the bus.

Meanwhile, another devastating gash made the door fold inwards, though fortunately it wasn't enough for the assailant to get through.

Isane panted hyperventilated as she doubled her efforts in searching for a weapon. She checked under each seat and at last she found it, lying just three seats from the back.

The door creaked as it was kicked in and the heavy footsteps of the intruder were deafeningly loud. Isane rushed for the weapons but she was tackled before she could reach it. Her nose collided with the hard floor and drew blood. The bitter taste made her wince but worse still was the painful arm lock her foe had placed her in. Her arm was pinned up behind her back and bent past the comfortable limit. It felt like her arm was going to snap in half like a twig.

"Isane Kotetsu. Your little stun was quite costly wasn't it?"

Isane whimpered softly but gave no answer. "Answer me!" The attacker roared, yanking her arm out of more out of place.

Isane screamed as the pain became unbearable. She writhed about though it only made things worse.

Her attacker lifted her up and threw her onto a seat. She rolled onto her back and glared at silver haired guard...Kariya.

"I could kill you right now with the flick of a wrist." Kariya demonstrated by slicing the seat beside her in half. A twisted smile crossed Kariya's face. "Fortunately for you, I have a need for you right now."

"What do you want from me?" Isane cried.

"I want you to get back in the drivers seat...And run down anyone and anything that moves!"

"What?"

"You did the same thing to my guards and it worked very well. Right now, the broken gate is the site of a mass escape. The prisoners are all headed there and they shall no doubt cause problems if they reached civilisation. I want you to run them down. Kill every last one of them and then I shall let you go."

"How can I trust you? You killed Unohana!"

Kariya chuckled. "I told you before right? I mean you no ill will. I will only use force to achieve my goals. That is all. Once those goals are achieved I have no need to further punish you."

"I won't do it!" Isane shrieked. "Do it yourself!"

"Fine then! But I have no further need for you!" Kariya raised a hand and prepared to deal the finishing blow but he was interrupted by a bloody hand that shot out of his chest. Kariya gazed down at the crimson eruption and the flattened palm which bunched into a fist. "Ulquiorra!" He rasped.

The injured demon yanked his arm out and watched with savage glee as he dropped to the floor. "Overconfidence was your downfall. You thought you had defeated me after dealing a mere flesh wound."

Isane was distracted by the gaping hole in his stomach, no doubt the 'flesh wound' he was talking about. The sight of it made her stomach heave and she used the distraction to crawl under the seat and hide.

"I am not interested in you right now. My opponent is Kariya and no-one else. If you wish I shall take my quarrel outside."

"Please..." Isane croaked, struggling to find the words she needed.

Ulquiorra grabbed Kariya's legs and dragged him outside. He then resumed his speech. Isane wasted no time and ran to the wheel, immediately starting the engine and driving off as fast as the cumbersome vehicle could manage after the numerous beatings it had taken. A strong breeze wafted in through the open doorway, spewing dust in her face.

Isane drove erratically and accidentally rammed into a small car parked by the side of the road. Isane stomped on the brake pedal and tried to get her breath back. Exhausted, she leaned her against the window and peered outside...

...To where her younger sister was standing.

Kiyone's eyes lit up at the sight of her sister and she ran onto the bus, immediately attacking her sister with hugs and soothing words.


Rukia stopped the group and cast her gaze on the unusual sight across the road. A prison transporter was parked on top of a small blue car.

"Is that...Isane? Why did she move?"

"Is that the bus? Come on, let's go!" Kyouraku pushed past her and ran off towards the safety of the armoured vehicle.

Rukia shrugged and followed, hand in hand with Ichigo. The gang reached the bus and found the two Kotetsu sisters catching up on their past experiences. They stopped briefly to greet everyone and then returned to their previous conversation.

"Well, this looks like it may last a while. Let's just get the hell out of here!" Kyouraku approached the wheel and fired up the engine. The deep roar made him chuckle. "I love that sound. I've missed it so much." When the beastly hunk of steel was ready to go he made it roll back off of the car and then set it back on the road.

They sped through the streets passing corpses of prisoners and guards alike. It seemed that a mass breakout was being attempted, though both sides were losing. It became more apparent the closer to the gate they got. Evidence of recent battles was all too prevalent and when at last the gates were in sight, they discovered something even worse.

"Oh crap..." Kyouraku frowned.

There was a three way war going on. The Black Cats were fighting against the Espada who were both fighting against a small cluster of guards. The prisoners had scavenged weapons from the dead guards and now a full fire fight was ensuing.

The prison transporter rumbled softly as it remained in place.

"What do we do now?" Shunsui groaned.

"Run them down." Ichigo snarled. Rukia backed away from him and her eyes narrowed. "The prisoners are as bad as the guards. They tried to kill us!"

Toshiro nodded. "Leave them. Make enough noise and they should scatter. If not...then they're road kill."

Rukia said nothing. She knew she was outvoted here. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, not wanting to see those she had once befriended get run down.

Kyouraku honked the horn and then thundered through the middle of the melee. Bullets struck the sides of the bus. And made a clattering noise, like steel rain.

"They think we're guards!" Ichigo roared over the racket. "Drive! Drive!" the window above his head exploded and rained glass all over him. He leaned over Rukia and caught the worst of it. "Everybody get down!" He yelled.

Toshiro picked up a rifle and returned fire, even to the disapproval of the other passengers.

"Get down! They'll shoot you!"

"Not if I shoot them first. I am still a guard and these prisoners must be stopped." Toshiro leaned out the broken window and unleashed a burst of fire.

"Get back inside before-"

'Splat'

The remnants of the window behind Toshiro's head suddenly turned bright red. His body flopped forward and toppled out of the window and into the street.

"TOSHIRO!" Kiyone cried out.

"GET DOWN!" Ichigo roared.

Kiyone ducked just as a spray of bullets carved through the window frame just above her. She remained crouched down and her older sister wrapped a protective arm around her as they both sobbed.

The bus burst through the already fractured gate and escaped into the world outside of No Man's Land. They had made it...They had escaped...Though things were still far from over...

Our heroes have escaped the war torn little town but the nightmare is not over yet. The evil mastermind, Kaien Shiba is yet to show his face and when he does, no doubt disaster shall strike. Meanwhile, who will win between Kariya and Ulquiorra? And will the other prisoners escape? Find out in the next action packed chapter!

Come on! You've got to review! Seventeen chapters and you can't think of anything to say? That's pathetic! If you're commited enough to read so far into a story you should writte a review, or at least that's what I think. The point is, REVIEW!