Hey everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus; the holidays were rather busy for the both of us. Anyways, I'd like to make a quick shout out to TheRealGoldenGamer, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. Chev and I were stunned that our story meant so much to someone other than us. -Airumel (1/29/13)
-Chapter 20-
Two figures sat on a rooftop in the Rukongai under the crushing shadow of the Seireitei's walls. The smaller figure, a brunette girl gazed down at the slowly clearing festival in the streets below. People bustled back and forth taking down decorations and food stalls. Lost in confusion, Zezuri allowed the memories of a few summer festivals from her early childhood vacations in Japan float to the front of her mind. She decided that she would rather feel homesick right now than think of her current situation.
Renji, too, was lost in his own thoughts. Gazing up at the now empty sky he wondered how he'd misread the situation so greatly. To put it simply, he felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Looking at the vast expanse of the dark sky above at least made him feel a little more insignificant.
A cold breeze blew. The wind was beginning to pick up, but neither one said a word.
Of course Zezuri wasn't into him like that; Renji's mind was on replay of the kiss. They had only known each other for a short while and he'd been impulsive, as usual. He'd been the one taking care of her, but he'd also been the one to forcefully bring her to the Sereitei. Additionally, he knew she liked that blue-haired arrancar left to rot in the prisons. So why did he feel like a kiss would help anything?
Renji let out a sigh taking a quick glance at the silent figure next to him. She took no notice as she sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof.
The silence was stifling. Renji wanted desperately for her to speak. To say anything. An angry outburst. Just something. But from the reaction he'd received earlier, the lieutenant wasn't sure if Zezuri would even want to talk to him again.
"Do you feel that?" She suddenly said, turning her head to the outskirts of the Seritei.
"Feel what?" He also turned his head to see what she was looking at, confused at the girl's sudden outburst.
"It feels familiar... and dangerous..." She began to stand and climbed to the highest point of the roof. "There is a hollow here!" She pointed in the distance.
"That's impossible!" He exclaimed, but then he could feel it too. "There is no way..." Renji was still in disbelief. "Well I guess the guard can take care of it." He reassured.
"No... It's too powerful! Renji, take me there!" She demanded.
At first Renji didn't know what to say, but he nodded in agreement. "Here, climb on my back. We can get there fast if I carry you." Zezuri had no time to hesitate and proceeded to do so.
They soon arrived at the gates leading to the Rukongai, and found everything in full chaos. Zezuri gazed up at the large hollow amidst a crowd clamoring in fear. No other shinigami were in sight.
"It's a menos!?" Renji's jaw dropped. "How did it get in here?"
"Aizen..." Zezuri murmured, but no one heard. "Everyone stand back!" She stepped forward, but Renji grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?!" He said, wondering if the girl was sane.
"I can do this, Renji!" She shook his arm away.
Renji looked his companion over with much concern; she wasn't as experienced of a fighter like he was.
The menos towered over them, casting a shadow like a tidal wave of doom. Zezuri shook visibly from the torrent of power coming off of the large hollow. Her vision blurred for a moment as it drew nearer. Shutting her eyes, Zezuri began to focus and regain her bearings. She sucked in a big breath of air before releasing it along with her fear. Blue energy began forming in her outstretched hands as she began to summon all the power she could muster. The wind began to pick up as large gusts of wind blew all around the two shinigami as the Zezuri's spiritual pressure grew.
Noticing someone was helping, or merely that the weather was getting bad; the people in the street sank to the ground. Renji took a step back; hoping the girl knew what she was doing.
In a sudden motion, Zezuri pointed her arms up towards the menos's masked face, despite the strain of the enormous amount of energy she had summoned trying to force her to the ground. With a yelp, she released the power. It shot towards the menos, resulting in a large explosion that lit the night sky like a burst of sunlight.
When the light faded, the sight left behind was stunning; having lost its head, the menos' large form swayed slightly before crashing to the ground. The resulting impact shook the ground. The crowd that had been silently cowering on the ground now scampered to their feet, running as fast as they could this way and that to avoid being crushed.
Zezuri wiped sweat from her brow, her vision was a bit foggy and her head pounding in pain.
"T-that was... crazy!" Renji rushed to her side, "But you did it! Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah... I'm fine." Zezuri trembled as her knees began to buckle.
"You just need some rest." He scooped her up just as her legs gave out.
A band of shinigami suddenly appeared out of a flash step a short distance in front of Renji.
"What happened?" one asked looking at the damage caused by the menos, "We heard reports of a hollow in the first division, but where is it?"
Renji cleared his throat.
"Abarai fuku-taichou!" the group bowed briefly, "Did you take care of the menos?"
The lieutenant shook his head. There was no way he could have taken out the menos by himself tonight; he'd left his sword at the barracks as it would have been poor manners to show up with it to a festival.
"Uh... I-I did it..." Zezuri spoke softly.
The other shinigami looked at the exhausted girl, still dressed in her yukata from the festival. No gratitude showed in their expressions.
"Sorry to leave you with the mess guys," Renji assumed they were angry at the clean up job left in the wake.
"That girl is bad news, lieutenant Abarai!" One said after a moment's hesitation.
"I bet she brought that menos here! She destroyed it to fool us!" Accused another.
"How can you say such ridiculous things!?" He glared at the others. True, he had his doubts some moments about the girl's power, but he was convinced she was trying to do good with it.
"Everyone is going to die because of her! Just watch, when we all start trusting her, she'll betray all of the Seireitei to Aizen! He probably wanted us to take her in so he would have a spy!"
Despite the cruelty in his tone, Renji could not come up with a solid counter argument. Zezuri did pose a threat to the soul society; Aizen had obviously wanted the girl in the first place and from the sounds of things, he hadn't gotten what he'd wanted.
"You don't know her like I do!" was all he could retort with in the end. Frustrated and knowing he would only get himself into trouble, Renji sped off into the coming dawn carrying Zezuri's exhausted form.
Soon they were back at the barracks of the Sixth Division. Renji set the girl on her feet as they approached her room.
"Well, good night." Zezuri began to close the door, but Renji stopped it with his hand. "Oh, Renji?" She turned to look at him as his large build loomed over her.
"I just... Don't want to see you sad anymore. I'm going to protect you no matter what happens." He said, looking her in the eyes. "Don't be brooding over what they said all night." Renji paused searching for more words, "Get some sleep," was all he managed. With that, he turned and left, catching a smile from the brunette as she slid the door shut.
With a large yawn, Zezuri turned to her futon and crawled under the blanket feeling a little more comforted.
From the dark depths of second division's prison, Grimmjow had felt the menos' presence. In fact, he had even felt the tear in the dimensions forming for some day now. Since he had nothing better to do aside from sitting on the cold stone floor awaiting his doom and plotting his escape, he had focused on sensing spiritual presences in order to check on Zezuri. Yet, this plan had not worked as well as the Espada had planned.
For one, Zezuri's spiritual pressure was usually close to nil, as he knew from firsthand experience. To make matters worse, there were many strong shinigami milling about on the grounds far above.
Furthermore, his wounds were not healing very fast. The same properties that negated his attempted to break out were hindering his healing abilities. Under normal circumstances, a day or so would have been enough for him to recover from the cuts and bruises he'd obtained what felt like ages ago. The wounds had healed, but were currently scabbed over and the bruises had yet to fade away.
Based on these factors, Grimmjow wasn't sure that if he had the chance to escape he'd be able to make it. The darkness of the cell wasn't what bothered him; he was used to the never ending night of Hueco Mundo, but rather it was the total isolation. The only other beings he ever saw were the guards that came to toss a few stale rice cakes into his cell every so often. He longed to see his fraccion and the contrast of white sands under a black sky, but most of all, he oddly enough found himself longing to see the brunnette girl he'd somehow become attached to. He hadn't realized how much he liked her company until he'd lost her. Her hair, her protests, and the few rare smiles he'd seen; he missed them all.
As the Espada had lost track of time, he'd begun to lose hope of seeing anything outside of his cell again.
That hope had been rekindled a few days ago, or what he guessed was the span of a few days, when he had felt the start of a rift beginning between dimensions. At first, Grimmjow hadn't been sure of what he was sensing, but it had become apparent as more and more showed up. There were four now; three inside of the seireitei and one just outside. It seemed like someone was targeting the Second Division, as each portal had gotten successively closer.
Just who was behind this and what they were after was not clear. It was apparent that this was not the work of Aizen or another Espada as all of them could open a portal just outside of the Seireitei in a matter of seconds. Shinigami, as far as the arrancar knew, could do the same, and they would not be restricted to the outer bounds of this dimension.
Yet, the most puzzling aspect of the portals was that no one else seemed to notice their presence.
A prickling sensation crawled up Grimmjow's back as he sat in silence. He turned to look for whatever could be causing this disturbance. Behind him the air shimmered faintly for a second.
The Espada blinked and the vision was gone. Sighing, Grimmjow closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
Hope was a cruel thing.
The bright morning light poured through the large windows of the Fourth Division. A young shinigami was struggling not to doze off in a chair he had pulled alongside a bed under the lone window of the room. As the dawn had crept in through the glass panes, Hanataro watched as it slowly crept over the lifeless form of his ward.
Racked with guilt for taking her outside, the young shinigami had convinced himself that Airi's comatose state was his fault. When the arrancar had fallen off the porch he had first panicked, the fearful corner of his mind sure it was a ploy for escape. Yet, when he went to help her up, all fears of that kind had subsided only to be replaced with the fear that she was really dead. While it was not the case, Hanataro was not sure if this was much better.
After carrying her lifeless body back into the division, the healer had made a run for his captain's quarters. His panic levels had only increased when he had found her room to be empty. Remembering that there was a festival and the captain was out enjoying it, he had forced himself to swallow his fear and sent a Hell Butterfly to find either the Captain or her lieutenant. It had taken all his nerve to sit and wait, knowing there was not anything he could do. Accustomed to being powerless in combat, Hanataro had found peace with himself when he had learned the healing arts. Now here he was powerless in something he felt strong in. He had sat in the chair, knees hugged up against his chest waiting fervently for help to come.
Only a few minutes passed before both Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu had arrived. Neither one spoke a word to their comrade as they rushed into the room and checked the arrancar's vitals.
"It seems she has fallen into a coma," confirmed the captain after a few minutes of using different healing spells.
Hanataro's expression betrayed his feelings. Isane gave her underling a sad smile, "It wasn't your fault, Hanataro."
Her words didn't make him feel any better. They had left Airi in his care and he had failed.
"Isane is right, Hanataro. You did all you could." She knelt down in front of him so their eyes were level. "You've been taking excellent care of her. It was only a matter of time before something like this was going to happen. You knew that, so please, don't punish yourself". Her gentle brown eyes held sorrow, but Hanataro knew it was all for him and none for the girl, whose fate seemed sealed now.
Silently, the captain swept out of the room, following Isane.
Hanging his head in defeat, Hanataro had listened as their footsteps faded away.
Coming back to the present, he looked up at the bed. Morning sunlight cascaded over Airi, yet it looked like a funeral scene. He had placed her on her back and folded her hands across her chest. The bright sunlight added to the effect, providing a natural spotlight that illuminated her blonde hair and made her skin look as pale as death. Only the gentle rise and fall of her chest gave any hint of life. Soon, that too would fade out. It was only a matter of time, the captain had said. Wasn't there something he could do? Anything? How could he be so helpless?
Frustrated and grieving, Hanataro decided to wait for a miracle.
Zezuri awoke after several hours of restless sleep. Since she had defeated the Menos, a few hours earlier, she had felt something amiss in the Soul Society. For a minute during her battle, she had the oddest feeling that her former classmate, Ichigo, was nearby. But why would that be? She hadn't seen him since Renji had brought her to the Seireitei. As she had during the battle, Zezuri shoved the thought to the back of her mind.
Exiting her room, Zezuri journeyed to the porch outside to find a warm, breezy afternoon. She must have slept for longer than she'd thought. The rays of the sun gave her strength, but the dark shadows stretching across the lawn only brought her fears back to the present. With Grimmjow's fate up in the air, Airi's non-existent reiatsu, as well as her own situation, worrying so much had made her very weak. Stuck by sudden despair, Zezuri put her head in her hands only to find she was unable to produce any more tears. She also felt terrible that Renji was trying so hard to help her, yet he never seemed to understand that he was trying to protect her from all the wrong things! She was safe, for the moment, but it would only be a matter of time; Aizen would attack soon. And deep down, Zezuri knew she would be at the heart of it.
Before she could think further, the 6th lieutenant appeared behind her. "Oh..." she turned her head to look up at him.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just sometimes it's hard to believe what has happened..." She paused looking at a bundle of black and white clothing Renji was holding; the uniform of a shinigami. Suddenly, her first thoughts of the day bubbled back to the front of her mind. "Has Ichigo always been a shinigami?" She asked suddenly.
The lieutenant blinked a few times, wondering where this question was coming from. "Well..." Renji's voice trailed off as he recalled the information, "That's kind of difficult to explain. I guess he has always had it in him, but it was a long time ago. Rukia was ordered to go the human world to exterminate hollows, but she got into trouble and had to give Ichigo some of her power and that-" Before Renji could finish his story, Captain Kuchiki was standing in front of them.
"It's time for your training." Byakuya addressed Zezuri matter-of-factly.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" She jumped to her feet. Today she would be with Captain Unohana for the rest of the week.
"Almost? Seems that you did forget!" Renji laughed, but his captain looked at them impatiently. "Er, you'd better change first." He thrust the uniform he'd been holding at Zezuri, who grabbed it as she dashed back to her room to change.
Praying she'd put everything on correctly, Zezuri burst out of her room. Not bothering to shut the door behind her, she ran as fast as she could to meet with Renji on the porch.
The effect of the uniform on the girl caught Renji off guard as he couldn't help but think for a brief second about how different she looked compared to how he'd seen her last night in the yukata. Shoving the thought down, he came back to the moment. "Let's get going!" He said hurriedly.
It was only a short distance to travel from the Sixth Divison to the Fourth by flash-step. The two arrived at the front gates in an instant and walked up to the front porch where Captain Unohana and Isane where waiting for them.
"It would be best not to worry her; do not tell Zezuri about Airi's condition." The captain whispered as she gave a welcoming smile and waved to Zezuri and Renji.
Isane nodded quietly.
"Sorry, I'm late." Zezuri bowed apologetically. "How is Airi?"
"Your friend is getting lots of care and attention here." Unohana smiled.
"Well, I made a deal; I can't see them until I'm done, so I'm ready." Zezuri said, determined.
"Renji, you are welcome to watch." Isane said.
"Actually Captain Kuchiki is expecting me back. There's plenty of work waiting for me. See ya!" He turned to leave but looked back. "Good luck!" He shouted over his shoulder to the brunette and vanished.
"Kisuke!" yelled a tall woman as she exited a large portal. "Where is that guy?" she sighed before yelling louder, "We've got a problem!"
"You don't have to yell, I'm right here." The blond owner of Urahara Shoten had been standing on the other side of the construct. It was his job to make sure it did not collapse after all. One did not build a stable portal in a week after all.
Seeing the grave expression on his best friend's face, his usual grin faded. "What it is, Yoruichi?"
"They aren't in the same place. I only sense one presence in the cell and I can't tell you which one."
"Do you know where the other is?" Urahara asked; the goal of this was to rescue both girls.
"She was around the Sixth not too long ago, but I don't think she'll be there long. I also got the sense she was being guarded. By Abarai-kun, I would assume."
This complicated things. The shopkeeper was silent for a moment.
Yoruichi flipped her hair over her shoulder restlessly. She knew Kisuke was excellent at making plans, after all that was one of her main reasons for recommending him for that fateful promotion a century ago. But could he think any slower!? Time was of the essence here! She began to tap her foot impatiently.
"Do you think you could create enough of a distraction?" Urahara spoke softly.
"What? Speak up!" And here was one of the factors that had made others hesitant to promote him.
"If we cause a distraction and have our fastest member run in and grab her, it just might work."
The ex-captain of Second Division gave a hearty laugh, "Ah, Kisuke, I love your plans." Noticing his baffled expression, she elaborated, "If you, me, Hirako, or any of the others, so much as set foot in the Seireitei, we'd probably give several captains a heart attack."
"Well...?" he asked cautiously, "Do you think it'll work?"
"WHAT?! Are you crazy! Of course it will! I wasn't the head of the Stealth Division for nothing!"
The smile returned to Urahara's face. He treasured the moments when he could bring back the 'old' Yoruichi. If she felt confident, there was no way they could fail!
Grimmjow was in the middle of a nap when the disruption arrived.
"Well, this is a problem," said a voice from behind the Espada, jolting him out of his sleep.
Jumping to his feet, Grimmjow whirled around to face the intruder. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" he hissed.
The intruder was human by looks, but strangely not giving off any reaistu.
"Woah! Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you!"
"Then answer my questions!"
"I will, just keep your voice down," the intruder looked out into the dim hallways nervously, "My name is Kensei, I'm here to rescue two girls that were kidnapped by Aizen".
At this information, Grimmjow's eyebrows shot up.
"Do you know them?"
The Espada's mind worked quickly, seeing how he could use this situation to his advantage; this man had somehow come into his cell, he must have a way out, "And if I do?"
"Can you tell me where they are?"
A grin crept onto Grimmjow's face, "What's in it for me?"
Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a comment/review/etc. Hopefully, we'll be getting back on a more regular track with the updates. -Airumel