Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I only own Asuna.
Sitting with her legs tucked behind her, her hands placed in her lap she observed the current situation as Ichigo leaned on his knees while he breathed heavily, beads of sweat on his face. Nobody spoke a word.
It seemed hours had passed and Ichigo was the only one who had yet to concentrate his spirit energy.
The door slid open and one of Ganju's henchmen stood in the doorway, an apron around him and grasping a spoon. "Excuse me Boss Man. I'm sorry to interupt what your doing but dinner is ready."
Ganju's ears perked up and he looked towards the group. "Hey guys listen up, why don't we take a break. Dinner is ready. I bet you guys are starving." He announced.
Uryū stared at him. "I suppose we could eat." He replied as Ganju stood up and approached them.
"You didn't get to eat in the Rukon District, did you? Well those guys over there," he rubbed his chin. "Don't know how to use their spirit energy so their not hungry. So why don't you four go and eat." Ganju suggested and Uryū glanced towards Ichigo.
"But what about-,"
"Nevermind about me," Ichigo announced as he breathed heavily. "Go on ahead and eat. I'll join you guys when I'm done." He finished as Uryū stared at him.
"Alright if your so sure, then I guess we will." Chad nodded in agreement and started walking towards the door. "Come on, let's go and eat Orihime, Asuna." Uryū turned his attention towards Orihime.
Orihime turned towards him. "Oh, Uryū. I'm not hungry at all yet, so I'll just hang out here for a while." Asuna stared in amusement, still unmoving from her position and watched as the girl's stomach protested. She waved her hands nervously. "Busted! I'm fibbing," she patted her stomach. "Maybe I am hungry. Oh this is embarrasing." She muttered but it seemed Ichigo's voice brought her out her funk.
"Orihime. Go on. Its okay, I'll be fine." The girl stared at him and sighed.
"I know that, its just that I want to stay and practice some more, besides I'm not really that hungry. Really-"
Ichigo sighed under his breath. "Orihime," his eyes softened slightly. "Please. Do it for me." This seemed to hit the girl hard as she stared at him.
She closed her eyes and smiled sweetly. "Okay. I'll do it," she rubbed her neck. "Just because your asking me so niceley." She laughed nervously before hurrying off when Uryū's voice reached her ears.
The door slid closed as the only occupants were Asuna, Ganju and Ichigo. Ganju was the only one aware of Asuna's presence as she sat next to him, her knees tucked against her chest.
"Ganju," the girl started catching the attention of the man sitting beside her. "You can go on ahead and eat, I'll help Ichigo."
He opened his mouth to protest but the girl merely stared at him with those grey eyes that reminded him of her father and nodded silently before standing up.
He glanced back at Ichigo a last time before walking out the door, sliding it close. She flickered her gaze back towards Ichigo as his groans and grunts reached her ears.
He's so dedicated. But his trying to hard, she thought as he breathed deeply, his eyes wide as the crystal ball rolled across the room. Standing up, she grabbed the crystal ball and approached him.
"Kurosaki," the boy blinked in surprise as he glanced up seeing Asuna smiling down at him. "Your trying to hard."
He stood tall as she handed the ball to him. "Asuna, what are you doing here? Why didn't you go with the others?" He questioned and she shrugged.
"I'm not hungry." No growl escaped her stomach as his eyes narrowed at her, a flashback running threw his mind when he remembered the single tear that rolled down her cheek. He blinked at her as she took the ball from him and stepped in front of him.
"Your trying to hard. It will never work if you try and force it." She stated as Ichigo he stared at her. "You must remain calm, you must stay calm." She closed her eyes and concentrated her spirit energy, a familiar blue dome surrounding her instantly and all the while, Ichigo noticed her relaxed and calm stance. The dome dissapeared and she opened her eyes and stared into his.
She handed the Reishūkaku ball to Ichigo. "Now you try." He sighed and stared at the ball, her words repearing over and over again in his head.
He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, keeping calm and relaxed as she instructed. Her eyes briefly widened when his spirit energy began to materliaze the perfect shape of the cannonball but her breath caught in her throat when it started to get out of hand and suddenly his spiritual energy exploded around the room, sending the girl stumbling back.
She didn't notice when Kūkaku ran into the room, staring wide-eyed at Ichigo. "You stupid idiot! Concentrate your spirit energy!" Ichigo's eyes widened a fraction and with determination, the ball began to shrink before forming into the familiar sized ball.
He glanced around, inspecting the ball and grinned. "I did it!" He yelled with a smile and glanced towards Asuna, his eyes widening slightly when she smiled brightly at him, throwing him a thumbs up but she seemed to drop his smile when the sphere began to falter.
"Eh?" With a blank look on his face Ichigo stares at Kukaku while the ball began to break and with one final crack the sphere, along with Ichigo, exploded. All that could be heard was his screams as his slightly smoking body is left twitching on the floor.
Asuna hid a grin behind her fist as Kūkaku stomped on Ichigo's head. "What are you?! Friggiin' deaf or friggin' stupid? Remember I told you if you don't concentrate your gonna blow up." He groaned lightly.
"Yes. Yes you did." He confirmed as Kūkaku got up and huffed loudly. She turned to face Asuna, a serious look on the woman's face had the girl taking a step back, her eyes closing as her head fell.
"And don't play little miss innocent, Kuchiki. Your just as guilty," Kūkaku started as she jabbed her finger in Ichigo's direction before a slight smile spread on her lips. "But whatever you did, great job."
Everyone stared at surprise at the woman's sudden compliment and Asuna merely stared on. "Your not as bad as I thought, kid." And for the first time, Asuna felt relief wash threw her body at the woman's words.
Maybe things were still looking good for her, she just hoped it would be the same for whatever was behind that wall.
Orihime then glanced at the black feline sitting calmly on the floor, her eyes slightly wide. "Yoruichi, your back." Said feline walked into the room and approached Ichigo.
"So Ichigo has finally succeeded into forming a cannonball, has he?" The feline questioned as Ichigo laid snoring on the floor.
"What's wrong?" Ganju questioned as everyone frowned.
Yoruichi scoffed. "Heh. Nothings wrong with him," the cat informed sitting in front of Ichigo. "He's just sleeping it off. I need to rest of you to can and sit over there." Everyone continued to stare on. "We haven't got much time before we begin our mission. I'm going to tell you now what you can expect once we're inside the Seireitei. You must remember that-", Asuna's eyes widened when Yoruichi suddenly screamed out and everyone couldn't help but sweat drop when they saw Ichigo's hand wrapped tightly around Yoruichi's tail and it took all four of them to free the poor feline but by the time they freed the feline's tail, it was too late.
Everyone went on their own way as they left the room, leaving Ichigo to sleep it off and it wasn't much longer when it was time to finally leave.
Everyone was gathered at the launch pad of the Flower Crane Cannon. "Very well. Are we all here now?" asked Yoruichi as the feline merely looked upon the group.
Ichigo blinked as he glanced down at Yoruichi's disformed tail. "Hmm? What happened to your tail Yoruichi? It looks like one of those flexible toothbrushes." Ichigo pointed out as everyone stared at him wide eyed, their mouths hanging open.
"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?" Yoruichi asked with a red angry aura surrounding him.
(A/N: I will be refering to Yoruichi as a he from now on.)
Ichigo blinked simply as he stared at Yoruichi. "Uh… uh, no. Nothing. It's a perfectly wonderful, beautiful tail." Ichigo said with a pale look on his face.
"Don't you remember that you were the one who did that?" Uryū whispered in a low tone as Ichigo merely raised a eyebrow.
"Huh? I did?" Ichigo asked in a confused tone and Asuna sighed.
"After you created that cannonball, you fell asleep and grabbed Mr. Yoruichi's tail. It took the four of us to get you to let go, and by then it was too late." Uryū said while Yoruichi wasn't very happy about it.
"My tail. My pride and joy. Ruined." Sobbed Yoruichi before walking off.
"I highly recommend avoiding that subject from now on." Uryū admitted and the orange haired Reaper nodded.
"Yeah. Got it." Ichigo said while sweat-dropping.
"Hey, wait. Why isn't Ganju here with the rest of you?" asked Kūkaku questioned glancing around. Asuna stepped forward.
"Hmm? Last time I saw him, he was with Ichigo downstairs muttering some nonsense to himself." She informed and in the distance they heard Ganju's voice.
"Never fear! Ganju is here!" exclaimed Ganju as everyone turned towards him. "You should know, the hero is always the last one to make his entrance." He finished as Asuna raised a eyebrow at his choice of attire.
"Okay? But what's with that outfit?" asked Ichigo raising a eyebrow.
"Heh-heh. You like it, eh? This is my custom battle costume. It's pretty sweet, right? Save your breath because I'm not lending to you or your black haired friend, so don't even ask." Asuna crossed her arms over her chest, her grey eyes narrowed.
"Oh, I'm crushed to hear that." Ichigo said with sarcasm laced in his voice before moments passed and Ichigo finally took in what Ganju said. "Hey wait, what battle?! You're not coming!" exclaimed Ichigo. Asuna watched as Ganju stalked towards Ichigo, stopping in front of him, staring him down.
"My big brother was killed by a Soul Reaper!" exclaimed Ganju as everyone's eyes widened at this.
"Ganju, don't you dare." Said Kūkaku as she went to stand up from her position.
"Why don't you listen and let me talk for a change, sister." Ganju snapped and said woman blinked in surprise.
"My brother… he was a brilliant man. He passed the Soul Reaper Academy entrance exam on his first try. At that time, his spiritual power was at 6th class. That's the same level as a lieutenant of the thirteen court guard squads. Then, he finished a six-year curriculum in one year, and he became a member of a squad. In just five years, he became a lieutenant, but he was betrayed by his comrades. His own Soul Reaper allies lead him to his grave. I was still just a kid back then, so I don't remember all the details of what happened, but there are two things I'll never forget. Faces, those two faces. The cruel face of that Soul Reaper as he dragged my brother's mangled body back home, and the face of my dear kind brother, happily giving thanks to that same Soul Reaper. Why did he do that? Why would my brother be so forgiving? To this day, I just don't know. But there's one thing I do know for certain. Somehow my brother never blamed the Soul Reapers, and he never hated them. But how?! Why didn't he hate the fiends who completely destroyed him?! Why did he continue believing in them to the bitter end?!" exclaimed Ganju yelling out his anger before he reached forward and grabbed Ichigo by his collar.
"Somehow, you two seem different than the other Soul Reapers. With everything you two experienced, that's what I think. I think that's what makes you two different, and I think if I go with you, I might discover something important. That's why I've decided I'm going to help you. I'm willing to go along with you into the heart of enemy territory and try to learn what being a Soul Reaper really means." Said Ganju as he let go of Ichigo's collar.
"Oh, Ganju…" Orihime trailed off as everyone stared at the man.
"Our Ganju…" Koganehiko said while crying
"Such a fine man you've become." Shiroganehiko said while crying
"Heh, well it sounds like you've got your mind up about this." Kūkaku stated chuckling.
Moments seemed to pass before Ichigo grabbed Ganju's shirt and hurled him forward. "You and me then." Ichigo said and Ganju smiled smugly.
"You and me." Ganju agreed
"Alright then, are you all ready for the cannonball?" asked Yoruichi and Asuna along with everyone nodded.
"Yes." They all said in unison.
"Hey, I just thought of something. Do you know how to make a cannonball?" Ichigo asked Yoruichi and Asuna almost laughed at the question.
"Actually, that's a good question. I guess I ought to give it a try." Said Yoruichi and everyone stared at Yoruichi.
"Don't tell me this is your first attempt." Uryū stated as Yoruichi jumped from the launch pad and approached them.
"Put that down on the floor Ichigo." Instructed Yoruichi.
Once he did, Yoruichi jumped onto the ball, and like Asuna's first time it happened in no time. Everyone besides Asuna stared wide eyed at the feline.
"Hmm, just as I suspected. The task was as natural as breathing in and out." Said Yoruichi as Orihime smiled.
"Wow Yoruichi! In one try you did something that took us forever to learn!" exclaimed Orihime as she clapped her hands, as Ichigo merely fell on his and knees.
"I can see it bothers you, but I don't know why you find it so surprising. You'll learn that there are many things that I can do that are far beyond your reach." Yoruichi said smirking.
"Hey, Ganju. Were you able to master it as well?" asked Kūkaku asked.
He nodded approaching her. "I think so." Ganju confessed.
"Then we'll use Flower Crane Cannon launch method number 2. Alright?" asked Kūkaku and he nodded.
"Very well."
"You better not chicken out and run away in the middle of the launch, you little brat." Said Kūkaku said as she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"I would never do that." Ganju confessed as Kūkaku grinned at him.
"Not afraid to lay your life on the line?" asked Kūkaku as Ganju simply shook his head.
"No! No way!" exclaimed Ganju and she stared at him before glancing over his shoulder.
"If you're all ready to go, then the final countdown begins now!" Yelled Kūkaku as she slammed her hand against the launcher, opening it. "Get inside everyone!" Everyone rushed inside the launcher, everyone in a circle form as they placed their palms on the crystal ball.
"The sun will be rising soon. That will be the signal to begin the launch ceremony." Informed Kūkuka. Asuna glanced around the group.
"Now listen, once we're inside the Sereitei, it's important that we stick together. If you should encounter any captains, don't fight them. Don't even think about it. Just run. Our goal is to save Rukia, do you understand? You must avoid taking any unnecessary risks." Everyone nodded their heads and listened on as Kūkaku started the incantation.
"Now is has begun! Pour your spirit energies into the center!" Yoruichi exclaimed as everyone all began pouring their energies into the center of the orb and created the cannonball and with that, Kūkaku yelled the last part and the group was blasted off in the sky.
As they were shot into the sky, everyone sighed in relief. "Somehow, I thought blast off would be more explosive." Ichigo exclaimed as Asune merely shook her head.
"That was only the start, you simpleton." Ganju informed as the cannonball shot towards the Seireitei with speed that had everyone yelling out. Ganju took out the rest of the incantation from inside his robes and huffed.
"These are the directions for the next stage of the launch. The first stage of Flower Crane Cannon number two was just the blast off itself with the initial directional setting. Now we go to the secondary spell, which controls acceleration and axis adjustment. This'll help with the precision guidance. Right, so stay out of my way if you wanna land safely." Informed Ganju snapped.
"Alright, I will." said Ichigo and everyone stared at Ganju as he explained what was to come.
"Now there's just one more thing I have to explain to you all. In order to enter the Sereitei successfully, we have to stabilize this cannonball. That requires keeping the spirit energy output from each one of us at a constant level, and to do that, keep your hands on the crystal in the center so you'll be able to see how much energy the others are releasing, and simply adjust your energy release accordingly. One mistake, and that's it. We'll all die." Asuna gulped lightly.
Everyone agreed as Ganju started chanting. Keeping her calm and relaxing persona, Asuna composed her energy and focused.
"Ichigo, I think you're releasing too much energy." Orihime confessed as she shook slightly.
"You really think I am? Alright, I'll back off." Ichigo admitted and took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Ichigo, you've gotta lower it a little bit more." Uryū admitted.
"What? Are you kidding me? But I already lowered my output by almost half." He yelled in annoyance.
"Ichigo." Chad warned as Asuna simply stared on, Ichigo's spiritual energy not affecting her in a bit.
"Alright, alright! I'm working on it!" Ichigo yelled as he tried again.
"Would you shut up?! You and your big mouth made me repeat the same line twice!" Ganju snapped as he turned to face Ichigo.
"Don't blame me just because you can't remember your stupid little chant!" Ichigo snapped back as Ganju growled.
"That 'stupid little chant' might just save your precious life if you could just shut your big yap!" Ganju exclaimed before the two of them started banging foreheads.
Asuna sighed under her breath and huffed before yelling, "Cut it out! Both of you! We can't argue at a time like this! We're in big danger here!" Everyone stared at her in surprise.
"She's right. Stop this. You're going to upset the balance of the spirit energy." Said Uryū said but the two continued two argue.
"Hey look, what's that?" Chad questioned as he glanced behind. Everyone else besides Ganju and Ichigo glanced back and Asuna smiled lightly when she saw they were finally approaching the Seireitei.
"It's the Sereitei." Ganju confirmed and everyone prepared themselves.
"We're going to crash!" exclaimed Uryū and Yoruichi quickly snapped.
"The only way to survive this is for you to pour in all the spirit energy you've got!" exclaimed Yoruichi and everyone nodded their heads and poured in everything the had.
The cannonball impacted with the membrane, sparks surrounded them. Asuna's eyebrows pushed together and she grinded her teeth.
"Push through!" Ichigo yelled and that's what happened. The cannonball exploded once everyone was inside the Seireitei as they all but floated in the air.
"What's going on? We blasted through the shield, but we're not falling to the ground. We're just floating here!" Ichigo stated confused.
"Don't get separated! The cannonball was destroyed by the shield, but its residual energy will still hold us up until it dissolves." Yoruichi informed them.
"And what happens then?" Asuna questioned lightly as she simply floated next to Chad.
"It will coalesce into a whirlpool, and then vanish. We must stick together because anyone who gets separated will get blown away by the explosion!" And
as if on cue, the whirlpool was starting up.
"What's going on?" Asuna questioned.
"We're in the whirlpool!" exclaimed Yoruichi as Asuna simply watched on as everyone drifted away. She didn't pay attention to what was happening and simply stared at the Seireiti below.
"Grab the person closest to you and hold on tight! Then don't let go no matter what!" exclaimed Yoruichi bringing Asuna out her thoughts. A hand grasped her shoulder and she glanced up seeing that the arm belonged to Chad.
"Thanks." She mumbled and he nodded before he went to grab Orihime, throwing her over his shoulder. Chad reached towards Uryū but they were to far apart, Asuna's eyes widened and before setting them into determination but Chad seemed to think the same thing.
The two of them shared a glance and nodded before Chad let go of Orihime. Asuna shot towards Uryū as he shot out the whirpool.
Said boy's eyes widened as he stared at her. "What the hell are you doing?" He questioned as Chad hurled the boy into Orihime.
"Chad! Asuna!" Was the last thing Asuna heard when both she and Chad were blasted off in an unknown direction.
Everyone's eyes widened. "Chad, Asuna!" He muttered and Yoruichi glanced at the boy.
"No need to worry. I'm certain that they'll both survive the blast. If not for Chad, Asuna would most likely think of a plan." Yoruichi informed as Ichigo merely grinded his teeth.
Please be safe.
And as Asuna and Chad were hurdling closer to the ground, Chad's arm quickly transformed. "Close your eyes. This might get ugly." He informed and the girl nodded closing her eyes and with a blinding light, they impacted against the ground.