Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I only own Asuna.
I want to thank each and everyone who has followed and favorited this story. I thank all my silent readers as well.
MysticalNyla: I am glad that you find this story interesting and hope it will stay so for the rest.
It seemed moments had passed that everyone was on edge as they stared at the silver haired Captain who's grin only seemed to widen.
Ichigo was the first one to break the silence. "Alright. Who the hell is this?"
"Captain of Squad 3, Gin Ichimaru." Yoruichi answered.
"Oh, unacceptable…" Something flashed by, too fast for Asuna to see but her eyes widened when blood flew from Jidanbō's bare arm, leaving a deep gash.
"Jidanbō, no!" Ichigo yelled out as Asuna gripped the hilt of her sword tighter, her teeth griding.
"Unacceptable." Gin repeated while standing up straight. "Being the guardian of the gate doesn't mean you're supposed to open the gate."
How careless of me. I didn't think that someone of his caliber would show up. Even if these kids have gotten stronger, the strength of a captain is beyond their imagination. They cannot fight him; we must avoid that potentially disastrous situation at all costs. Yoruichi thought observing the current situation.
Jidanbō glanced up from his position, his eyes widening. "I defended the gate and lost. Once I lost, I had to open the gate. There was nothing else I could do." He explained. But Asuna could see that this didn't satisfy the Captain.
"What you're saying makes no sense." Gin started walking towards them. "A gatekeeper who loses isn't supposed to open the gate. When a gatekeeper loses, it means death." Gin grinned from behind his mass of silver hair.
Asuna moved forward but stopped when Ichigo beat her to it. Ichigo and Gin clashed against swords, before they both retreated. Ichigo skidded to a stop and pointed his sword at Gin. "You wanna tell me just what the hell you think you're doing?"
Asuna rolled her eyes as a certain black feline sweat dropped at this act, "Yes, Ichigo, what are you doing?!"
Ichigo ignored the cat and raised a eyebrow at Gin. "What's the big idea, showing up now and trying to butt in, you stupid friggin ass clown? Anyone who's pathetic enough to make an appearance in order to attack an unarmed man deserves to be killed."
"You're sure a funny kid," Gin observed. "And you're not scared of me?" Asuna raised a eyebrow.
"Hell no." Ichigo replied with a glare.
"Careful, boy! You must stop Ichigo! It is best we retreat for now." The black haired girl simply sighed as Ichigo again ignored the suggestion.
"Huh? Why? I'm only just getting started here! There is no way I'm gonna submit to this guy!"
Stepping forward, Asuna rubbed her temples. "Ichigo I suggest you listen to Yoruichi," this voice seemed to pike the Captain's attention and Gin cocked his head. "Please just listen."
Well isn't this a surprise. Hmm, I'm quite certain that a somewhat fellow Captain would be thrilled to hear this news. But none the less, this must be the Ichigo I've been hearing so much about.
Ichigo stared at her for a moment, her voice sounded so pleading and desperate but he shook his head. "Look, I'll be fine, so just let me finish this guy off!"
Gin hummed lightly under his breath, "You must be Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo's eyes widened at this and he turned towards the Captain. "You know about me? But how could you?"
"Just as I thought," Gin ignored his question. "How very predictable." He started walking away, leaving a slightly confused Ichigo.
"Huh?... Hey, where are you going? Hey, wait!"
"I don't like this," Asuna mumbled as she observed the Captain.
"All the more reason why I can't let you pass." He stopped a good distance away from them and held his sword out.
Ichigo raised a eyebrow. "So then why are you standing so far back, unless you're planning on throwing that dagger?" Asuna facepalmed.
"It's not a dagger. In fact, it's my Zanpakutō." Gin held the short blade in position as strong winds blew past everyone. "Impale him, Shinsō!" The tip of the released Zanpakutō shot itself toward Ichigo, who hurriedly defended himself using his own but was nonetheless forced into Jidanbō.
"Ichigo!" Asuna yelled as she watched him slam into Jidanbō, both of them flying backwards.
Yoruichi stared in horror at the closing door that quickly fell. "No, the gate!" Asuna stopped and turned, everything seemingly going slow motion.
On the other side, Gin's zanpakutō shrunk in size as its wielder withdrew it right before the gate closed. He waved goodbye, leaning his body sideways with a hand on the other hip. "Bye-bye now." And with that the gate slammed shut.
As everyone checked on Ichigo and Jidanbō, Yoruichi simply sat there, staring at the wall before closing her eyes in silence and turned towards the group, Asuna silently following behind the black feline.
"Ichigo are you alright?" Orihime questioned.
He looked up but answered neither of them. "Look at the gate! That bastard…" The last part he said more to himself.
"Well, it seems that you're alright." Yoruichi stated.
Ichigo sighed mentally. "I'm sorry guys. It's my fault that the gate closed." Asuna stared down at him, a frown settled on her face.
"No, don't start blaming yourself. Your opponent was Gin Ichimaru. It couldn't be helped. You should just be glad that you were not hurt." Yoruichi said as Ichigo simply clutched his hands into fists.
He stood up and turned towards Orihime, "Would you do me a favor? Go over there and help Jidanbō, if you can." The girl in return nodded her head.
"Well that's odd," Asuna mumbled under her breath as villagers from the Rukon District seemed to come out of hiding.
"Well, looky what we got here." Ichigo said as he glanced around.
"They must have been hiding until now." Uryū added.
"But why?" Orihime questioned frowning. Murmurs and whispering was exchanged between the souls of the Rukon District. On their bodies were ragged yet somewhat decent robes and a few other accessories if wanted to add on.
"Well, obviously, we were frightening to them." Yoruichi answered. "Souls who come to the Soul Society illegally without a Soul Reaper escort are called Ryoka and are said to be the root cause of all kinds of trouble."
Ichigo rested Zangetsu on his shoulder. "They must think that we're their enemies." On cue, Uryū and Orihime prepared themselves if anyone dared attack.
Asuna sighed shaking her head as she sheathed her blade.
"Please stop; allow me to introduce myself." An elder man stepped out from the clump of souls as he calmly requested for the group to relax before politely bowing to them. "I am the elder of this area, which is known as the Rukon District. All of us witnessed the events that occurred just now, and we would like to welcome you as Jidanbō's true saviors."
Asuna stood aside with the group as more souls surrounded them, all intently watching as Orihime inspected the wound of Jidanbō.
The elder of the area spoke to most of the group above the people's voices, "This place is full of many Soul Reapers that are rotten and incorrigible. But Jidanbō , a native of the Rukon District, is not one of them. He's always been so kind to us."
"We all witnessed how you went against Gin Ichimaru in order to save Jidanbō. You must surely be a good person; we can see that." Another man added as he approached the group.
Ichigo merely scratched his face. "But still, what a terrible wound."
She placed both hands on her hips before turning to the rest of them. "Right, there's no need to worry; I should be able to heal Jidanbō's wounds!" A sudden uproar of amazed comments and murmurs broke out from the crowd. Ichigo was the most surprised of all.
"Huh? You're kidding me!" He leaned slightly forward with his arms crossed. "You really can heal that wound?"
"Sure. Just leave it to me!" As she stretched her arms out, Orihime called out the names of her healing Shun Shun Rikka. Asuna stared in wonderment as two small fairy's shot up in the sky before floating in front of Orihime.
"Could you lend me your powers?" Orihime asked in a sweet and polite manner.
"Of course we will! As your power, we are here awaiting your command. All you have to do it recite the spirit chant, remember?" Both spirit beings flew up as Orihime nodded.
"Right! Sōten Kisshun, I reject!" A barrier in the shape of a half oval covered Jidanbō's wound and began healing it.
"Wow, that's truly amazing. So, when exactly did you get that power?" Ichigo's question went unanswered as a childish voice was heard trying to get through the bunch.
"Excuse me, please let me through. Move it!" After finally making it in, the curly haired child spotted the person he was looking for. "Hey, over here! It's me! It's Yuichi! Don't you remember?"
Chad had to think about it before realizing that it really was him. "Yuichi Shibata?"
"Right! Yuichi the cockatiel! You remember now, don'tcha?"
Asuna sighed as she silently sat on the railing of a bridge, staring intently at the river below. A small breeze went by, sweeping her hair along with it before closing her eyes.
Chad and Yuichi had left somewhat to catch up and she didn't know where the rest of the group were but she could spot Ichigo sitting on a rooftop, staring intently at the Seireitei.
She sighed under her breath and silently flash stepped behind him. "You know," the orange haired boy jumped and turned around, relaxing when he saw who it was and sighed. "That was pretty brave for what you did for Jidanbō." She complemented him as she sat down next to him, her arms supporting her as she slightly leaned back.
Ichigo merely rubbed his neck and shrugged. "It was nothing." He muttered glancing at her as she opened her eyes before pressing her knees against her chest.
"I don't remember much of my past," she scoffed lightly drawing the attention of Ichigo. "I hardly remember anything. Kisuke found my in front of his shop, knocked out cold with no recollection of how I got there."
Ichigo's eyes widened as he stared intently at the girl as she spoke, having no idea what to say. "When I woke up, the only thing I remembered was my name and nothing else," her fists clenched tightly. "I was so confused, lost and that's when Kisuke decided to take me in, teaching me the things I've forgotten so that maybe one day, all my unanswered questions could finally be answered."
She sighed lightly and smiled. "Because somewhere beyond that gate, lies all my answers but I honestly don't know if I'm ready to face them." She laughed. "And this is why I have asked to come along because I honestly need to find out who I am before it kills me."
Moments passed as silence spread between the two, nobody uttering a word.
Since the short time period she's been here with us, she's been putting on this kind and caring persona for everyone, but on the inside this is hurting her more than I can imagine. She's putting her life on the line to help me save Rukia and that's enough for me.
As she went to stand up, Ichigo slowly turned towards her. "I'm sorry that happened to you," she stared at him surprised. "I never really thanked you for coming along to save Rukia and that act alone is good enough for me. I didn't expect you to tell me anything but I appreciate it. So," he stood up slightly and extended his hand. "It doesn't matter if your related to Rukia. I consider you as my friend."
He considers me his friend, she stared at him. Wow. I never really had a friend.
Her eyes skimmed slightly with tears as she smiled. "Th-that means a lot to me Ichigo. I promise," she threw a thumbs up. "I got your back." With that she flash stepped away, leaving a flabbergasted Soul Reaper behind.
Inside the Elder's home, the group of seven were discussing about what to do next. Asuna simply found herself leaning against the wall, listening intently.
"Are you serious? You really want us to give up trying to get pass the gate?" Ichigo said as he looked down on Yoruichi.
"No, I don't mean give up completely. Once the gate is open, it's only logical that the security on the other side will become that much tighter, which means that continuing with the same strategy is not necessarily the best approach." A diagram of the four gates surrounding the Soul Society was drawn for all to see, an 'X' written next to the Hakuto Gate.
"I have to agree with you on that." Uryū agreed.
Asuna slightly stepped forward. "So then, what about the other gates?"
"There won't be much difference than what we faced with this one." Yoruichi informed and Asuna nodded lightly.
"Well, in that case, what the hell are we gonna do?" Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, isn't it obvious? If we cannot use the gate, then naturally we must enter another way." Yoruichi turned to the old man. "Elder, do you know the whereabouts of Kūkaku Shiba?"
Kūkaku Shiba? Now where have I heard that name before?
The village elder's eyes widened at the request. "What? You can't be serious!"
Ignoring him, Yoruichi kept calm. "As you may know, she is someone who likes to change her place of residence; I haven't been able to find out where she currently lives."
The elder clenched his fist as his blood nearly boiled. "Kūkaku Shiba... Are you sure? Don't tell me you're planning to go through the wall like that!"
Orihime frowned as everyone stared at Yoruichi, Asuna the only one calm about the situation. "Uh, like what?" Orihime asked.
Asuna glanced around as she heard the sound of an upcoming stampede of hooves was heard closing in on them. They all straightened up at the sound.
"Huh? What's that noise?" Ichigo asked as Asuna now quickly stood next to him.
"Sounds like a stampede." Orihime answered for Ichigo.
On the other side, an animal came to an abrupt halt which threw their rider off, sending them flying through the traditional doors. A man dressed in white hakama pants and a matching sleeveless top with a red obi sash tumbled and fell to the floor. He got up in his beige sandals as he used his red finger-less gloved hand to rub his white and red bandana covered head. A pair of glasses blocked his eyes from the eight people watching him.
"Anyone know who this guy is?" Ichigo asked but nobody answered him as a brown boar came in wearing a red bow. "Huh!? Are you kidding? What in the – what's a boar doing here?!"
The unknown man sighed as he dusted off his gray vest with a golden ring design. "Well, well, well, thrown again by ol' Bonnie. There's gotta be another way to travel." He gave a two finger salute to the elder. "Hey, long time no see, old man!"
"Ganju, no! What are you doing here? I think you should go home!" The elder stated as he stared horrified at the man named Ganju.
"What gives? Look, I know it's been a while, but is that anyway to greet an old friend? I mean, what are your guests here gonna think?" He looked around at the occupants of the room, his eyes landing on the two that stood out the most. "What do we have here?" He took his shades off, showing an eyebrow with a strange design. "Would someone explain to me why there are stinkin' Soul Reapers here?"
"What did you just say?" Ichigo accused as his eyebrow twitched.
"Ichigo, don't do or say anything that'll cause any more trouble..." Yoruichi consolted.
Ganju walked up to Ichigo before patting his cheek. "What's the matter, your ears not working? What I said was: 'would someone explain to me why there are stinkin' Soul Reapers here'." He repeated in a mocking and childish tone.
"Huh?"
"Huh?" Ganju grabbed Ichigo's chin while pushing his cheeks up, making him pout. "Well, say something, ya sniffling dandelion!"
Ichigo's head throbbed and Asuna blinked as Ichigo sent Ganju flying back, the man quickly shooting back up holding his face. "Hey, just what're you trying to do?! Are you pickin' a fight with me?!"
"You started it, pig straddler!" Ichigo held a shaking fist up as his veins throbbed in pure anger. "You walked in and picked on us for no reason! What kind of a moron are you?!"
"Moron?!"
"Yeah!"
"Are you stupid!?"
"No, I'm not stupid!"
"I have a name, ya know!"
"I know, and I thought it was Stupid!"
Orihime held her face while she and the rest of them heard or watched the useless bickering between them. "What should we do about this? We've got to stop those two!"
"Quit a mess. This is just what I expected." The elder then took a sip of his tea.
"Come on! This is no time to sit there while drinking tea!" Uryū shouted while jutted a finger out at the fight going on. "Just tell us who the guy is!"
"Are you kidding me? You really don't know who I am?" Ganju said as he leaned on his wrist.
"No, I don't." Ganju turned to Asuna and raised a eyebrow.
"And you? What about you?" She shook her head and
Ganju smirked.
"Then that settles it. My given name is Ganju: the self-proclaimed Deep Red Bullet of the West Rukon, and self-proclaimed but universally acknowledged Boss Man of the West Rukon, and finally, the self-proclaimed #1 Soul Reaper Hater of West Rukon!" Each title had its own pose and subtitle. Asuna's eyes lightly widened.
"Self-proclaimed!?" Everyone questioned besides Asuna and Ichigo.
"You forgot self-proclaimed fool!" Ichigo accused as he flexed his wrist.
"Say what?" Ganju shot daggers at Ichigo.
"You heard me."
As a response, Ganju tackled him out of the residence before making a thud to the dirt ground. Everyone rushed outside to help Ichigo but they were stopped by other men. "Hold it right there! We won't let you get in the Boss Man's way."
"But look, if you really want to fight someone –."
"We will be happy to oblige you." Another finished.
"Ganju's henchmen." Asuna narrowed her eyes and sighed.
"What do we do now?" Orihime got in a fighting stance, ready to defend herself.
"See that?" Chad started as they glanced at the men. Asuna's eye twitched.
"They're all riding on boars." Everyone finished.
"Get out of here while you still can!" Meanwhile, Ganju stood over a fallen Ichigo as he jutted a finger at him. "Now listen, as long as long I'm alive, no Soul Reaper will ever be allowed to step one stickin' inside West Rukon –."
Having quite enough of his blabbering, Ichigo planted his foot square in Ganju's face while standing on one hand. His henchmen called out for him as flashing signs appeared over them. "Boss Man!"
"Shut up. Why don'tcha give it a rest?" Ichigo straightened up as he rubbed his slightly hurt cheek. "Look, if you wanna fight, then I'll fight you!"
Ganju tried to soothe his face from the painful hit Ichigo gave him. "Why you… You punched my ruggedly handsome face! Not once, but twice!"
"Actually, the second time around was a kick, you idiot!" Ichigo corrected.
"That's enough fighting, Ichigo!" Yoruichi stepped out of the house while standing near Orihime. "You should not be using up your strength in a meaningless brawl."
"Hey, don't forget he started the fight! If you want us to stop, then tell him." Ichigo said as he jutted a finger at Ganju.
The black cat clenched its sharp teeth as he glared at Ichigo. Getting all worked up over such a silly thing, the fool!
"The way I see things, you and I are destined to fight; we don't have a choice in this matter." Ganju and Ichigo faced off against the other, ready to engage in their struggle. Ganju unsheathed a crimson handled, short and wide blade and held it up as it reflected on the moon's light.
The village's elder hurried outside. "Stop this fighting, Ganju! Can't you see this man and woman are good Soul Reapers?"
"That's enough! Look, Soul Reapers are Soul Reapers. To me, there is no good or bad."
"You're wrong, Ganju..." The elder whispered as Ganju scoffed.
"Now, get ready!" Ganju yelled as he sprinted towards Ichigo.
Uryū and Orihime noticed as they were worried for their friend. "Not good. How does Ichigo expect to handle him without his zanpakutō?"
Chad was already out the door and threw Zangetsu towards Ichigo, said boy catching it. "I got it; thanks, Chad!" The white cloth unraveled as the owner prepared himself.
"Very impressive; I was wondering when you'd use your zanpakutō. However..." Ganju swung his short sword as it collided with Ichigo's long blade. Sparks flew from the impact as both sides struggled with the other's force. "Don't think that you can win this just because you have the bigger weapon." He drew an invisible dust circle next to the sword, stomping on it to activate a sort of power used on it. It engulfed most of the long blade as Ganju forced it down, shocking Ichigo.
"Sink!" All that was left was a small portion of the wider end and the clothed handle.
"Huh? The ground is gone!" Ichigo said flabbergasted.
"It's like quicksand!"
"Just hang in there, Ichigo!" Asuna yelled as Ichigo was sent back a few yards or more away after being kicked by Ganju. Ichigo wiped his face off as he stood. "Using weird tricks won't help you win!"
Ganju held his weapon high before bringing it down upon Ichigo but said boy quickly grabbed Ganju's wrist and slammed his fist straight in the man's face. This caused him to loosen his hold on his weapon as he held his injured face in pain. Ichigo limply shook his hand while staring blankly at the burly man. "All I can say is that if that didn't drop you, then you are one tough warrior."
Ganju brought the fight up-close as they threw multiple punches and dodged or absorbed the hits. Ichigo took the big man's shirt and judo flipped him to the ground. He slid on his back for a good couple of seconds as Ichigo leaped in the air and landed a hard foot to the now empty space where Ganju was a second ago.
"What's the matter? It's not over yet." Right when Ganju was close to him, a large red clock on one of his henchmen went off, putting them all in a state of comical fear. Ganju attempted to skid to a halt but failed as he tripped and slid on his face before leaping back up with scratch marks on his face and a bloody nose. "What time is it, now?!"
"It's nine already, Boss Man!" The one wearing a pink kimono and the clock on his back said. "This is gonna be bad!"
"What, nine o' clock?" Ganju couldn't believe it. "Come on, we gotta go, Bonnie!" He used his fingers and blew them as a whistle.
"Hm?" Ichigo stood in pure confusion as a large boar jumped over his head, grazing a few of his orange hairs off. "Bonnie?"
Said boar landed in front of her rider but unintentionally blew him away. Ganju did multiple summersaults, a few flips in the air, and ended the performance with his chin sliding against the ground. He finally stopped a few yards or more away from everyone, a deep trail of gravel left behind him. "That's the way, Bonnie!" he smirked as he got up. "I can't play with you right now; come one and give me a ride out of here."
Bonnie dashed forward and struck Ganju so hard that he flew high up in the night sky. But the boar never stopped running as Ganju fell flat on his stomach on the animal's back. He managed to end up facing the wrong way.
Ichigo ran towards Ganju, his fist raised. "What? Hey, get back here!"
"Oh, I'm not running away! Just wait! I'll be back here again tomorrow, and we'll settle things once and for all! You just wait for me, Dandelion Head!" he shouted as he rode farther and farther away from the fight scene. "And try not to turn into fluff and blow away! Let's go, everyone!" he quickly added.
Ichigo temple throbbed in fury as he watched after Ganju. He jutted a finger out in the distance before yelling, "You stupid coward! How dare you –!" Without being able to finish, the rest of Ganju's posse hurried after their boss. Sadly for Ichigo, he was stomped all over and fell face down into the ground as the dust dispersed from everyone else's view. He quickly got up with an accusing finger still directed toward the direction Ganju went.
"That was weird," Orihime said as she and the others stood by their friend.
Uryū adjusted his glasses before laying a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "If you ask me, that was a disaster," he said as Ichigo growled. .
"I'm gonna kill that guy as soon as I find out who he is!"