• • •
It's times like these that I really didn't mind being an insomniac. Of course, it did take a toll on your sleeping patterns, sometimes made your emotions surge to the surface much quicker, but it was something that a person got used to over time. I found not sleeping better than reliving the memories.
Although, strangely enough, lately I haven't been having the nightmares like I used to. They were still there, but they didn't occur as often. And even when they didn't pop up, I still woke up around the same time as usual; routines were difficult to break.
That's why it wasn't out of character for me to be up and still moving around my apartment around twelve in the morning.
Even if I didn't have any memories plaguing my dreams, I still probably wouldn't be able to sleep at all; we were leaving for the Soul Society in a few hours.
"I'll miss you, Momo~." I cooed at the fish as I watch it lazily swimming around in the tank. I couldn't leave him in that plastic bag, oh no. Needless to say, the next morning I went out and bought a nice sized tank for the poor little fish. Now he could happily swim around.
Grinning, I screwed open the cap to the fish food. I slowly dropped some in, watching as Momo swam up to the surface and began eating.
"I hope you're still alive when I get back," I mused, sadly staring at the fish. "I've heard that fish like you don't live very long."
"Nonsense! I'll take good care of him while you're gone!" Paku exclaimed, jumping up onto the table next to the tank as she stared at the fish as well. "As long as Momo's properly cared for he'll live a nice long life!"
"Thank you," I murmured, grinning at the panda plushie before turning back to Momo. "If you do live, I'll have to cave and buy you a friend; you look so lonely swimming around by yourself."
Silence echoed around us, only to be broken by my freshly polished nails clicking against the wood of the table that held Momo's fish tank. I sighed as I pushed myself to my feet.
"Something wrong, Jun-Sama?" Paku asked, tilting her head as she looked up at me.
"No, I'm just getting a bit restless." I explained, "I think I'm going to go out on a walk before heading over to Urahara's at one."
"Alright," The panda plushie nodded. "Do you need to be in your soul form now, or later?"
"Mm," I hummed, thinking. "Probably now will be best. I don't know if I'll be coming back here before heading over to Urahara's."
"Alright!" Paku nodded, climbing down from the table before running over to her things. I watched as she pulled a heart shaped patch out, grinning as she ran back to me.
Luckily for her, Urahara had invented an easier way to remove a gikongan from a plushie; hence why she had that patch in her plushie arms. All you had to do was slap the patch on her head and pop! the pill fell out. It was a much better way than having to reach down her throat.
I watched as Paku slapped the patch to her forehead, her bright green pill flying out of her mouth. Nimbly, I caught the pill. Grinning down at it, I popped it into my own mouth and swallowed.
"Take care of the apartment for me, okay?" I asked, minutely adjusting my Zanpakuto at my hip. "Remember to feed Momo and make sure he lives. I promise I'll come back safe and sound."
"That's all I need you to say," Paku looked at me with a sympathetic expression. It was weird seeing my face look so sad. Hell, it was weird period just looking at my body walking around on its own. Paku shook her head, causing my hair to shake and frame my face. With a sigh, she easily strode over to me and wrapped her arms around me in a comforting hug. "All I wanted to hear was your determination of coming home safely. Now I know you'll come back safe and sound."
"Thanks," I thickly murmured, hugging her back for a second before I shook my head and pushed her away. "There's no need for you to be all depressed. I'll be back before you know it..!"
Paku shakily smiled, before dabbing away the tears that had appeared in her eyes. "Fine, I trust you. Go; I'll take care of everything here."
I grinned as well, waving at her one last time before I turned and phased through my wall.
Soundlessly, my sandaled feet met the pavement outside of my apartment and I grinned. I threw my hands up in the air and stretched a bit, letting my feet carry me wherever they chose to.
Even though it was drastically early in the morning, it was still kind of warm. The slight breeze felt good against my exposed skin, though.
I really will miss this town while I'm away.
I had decided that during the last week that I had spent with all of my friends. They believed that I was going to visit some of my old family overseas; some still believed that's where I lived for a majority of my childhood. Then again, only a few of my friends knew that overseas translated to the Soul Society…
And then again, there was still the possibility that they wouldn't let me come back here, to Karakura Town. If we couldn't save Rukia, then they'd come after me and capture me as well. I don't think I've done anything drastic enough for them to execute too; they'd probably just label me as a traitor and throw me in a jail cell for the rest of my existence.
Well, if we had failed to save Rukia, then I guess that I'd deserve to be thrown into a cell and forced to rot away for the rest of my life.
But let's not think about that. We are going to save Rukia.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
"Kokawa?"
"Hm?" I questioned, looking to the side as I passed a familiar looking tall, looming shadow. His reiatsu was easy for me to sense, even if it was still a bit new to me. "What're you doing out so late, Chad?"
The tall Mexican merely grunted out a reply as he moved to walk beside me. "Couldn't sleep."
"Same here," I sighed. "But it's not like it's any different; I hardly ever sleep. Although, I didn't expect to find you out here."
Chad was silent for a few minutes, before he spoke again. "Moving's better than just sitting around..."
"I think so, too." I nodded, softly grinning as I looked up at the moon.
We continued to just walk; I don't think either of us bothered with knowing where we were going. But Chad's company was welcomed. He seemed to keep all of my thoughts about failure away.
"Chad, do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked, looking up at the giant walking beside me.
The male didn't respond, but continued to stare down at me. So, I took that as a sign to continue.
"Why are you going to Soul Society with us? Why risk your life to go and save Rukia? You two weren't exactly close…"
"…Ichigo wants to save her," Chad explained. "That's all the reason I need."
"You and Ichigo are really close, aren't you?" I softly asked.
Chad merely grunted in reply, causing me to smile.
"Well, it makes me happy that he has a friend like you." I spoke, smiling up at the giant. "Ichigo thinks very highly of you, too. I remember the whole parakeet incident…"
"You were there for that, weren't you?" Chad asked.
"Mhm," I nodded. "I was. But, that was back before you could see us in this form. Before your powers were awakened."
"Why are you going?" Chad asked, surprising me. I didn't take him as the talkative type. He seemed more like the strong, silent type.
"Why am I going?" I echoed his question, turning my gaze away from him to stare up at the moon once more. "Rukia is my best friend. She was my first friend, in fact. I'd easily risk my life to save her. She's helped me out countless times; many more times than she's aware of."
"So you feel indebted to her?" The giant beside me asked, looking down at me intensely.
"Slightly, but that's not the reason why I'm going to save her." I slowly said, shaking my head. "Friends help friends. Right?"
"Mm," Chad agreed, nodding his head. This caused his shaggy dark brown curls to bounce, making me smile a bit.
"So even if none of you guys went with me, I'd still go to the Soul Society by myself to help her." I spoke, running my fingers through my flat hair; I didn't see the point in teasing it. Who knew when I'd get to brush it again or even wash it? My fingers nimbly traced the tragus piercing on my left ear: it symbolized Rukia for me.
"That'd never happen…" Chad rumbled, moving his gaze to the moon as well as we continued to walk.
"Why would you think that?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion.
"Ichigo…" Chad simply stated, "He wouldn't let you go there alone."
"That may be a little bit true, but that'd never happen." I said, shaking my head. "Ichigo wants to save Rukia, too. He wants to go as well. I don't think he'd calmly stay here and wait while I left to go save her by myself."
"He'd go and help in any way he could." Chad agreed. "He cares too much about you to let you go by yourself."
I shot a skeptical look up to the giant Mexican that was still walking by my side. "We're barely considered good friends. I hated him when I first met him. After all, he was the one that had taken Rukia's powers."
"…Hated is past tense." Chad quietly observed.
I rolled my eyes, but I could feel my cheeks heat up. Chad was right; I had said hated, which is past tense. "Correct."
"So you are friends now." Chad nodded. If he wasn't so big, I swear I would have smacked him on the back of his head; if I could reach it, that is.
"Yes, we are friends." I admitted. "That's why I stopped calling him 'Kurosaki' a while ago. I do call him by his name now."
"He calls you by your first name as well." Chad pointed out.
"Mm," I nodded, got getting what he was trying to point out. "Everyone does. Well, in some form or the other."
"What does he call Orihime, then?"
"Um…" I hedged, racking my memory to try and remember. "Inoue-San?"
"Mm," Chad hummed. "Family name, not first."
"Well, he calls Tatsuki by her name." I pointed out, raising an eyebrow as I stared up at Chad. I had to defend my point.
"He's known her since they were little." Chad pointed out, negating my previous point.
Sighing, I crossed my arms. "I guess you have a point. But, I don't get what you're getting at. So what if he calls me by my first name?"
"Nothing," Chad murmured, lightly shaking his head.
"If you say so." I warily replied, looking up at the giant and lightly smiling.
We continued to walk in a comfortable silence after that, just enjoying the other's presence. It was better than walking the abandoned streets of Karakura Town alone.
"Hey, you know what?" I asked, looking around. "We're pretty close to Urahara's shop now."
"That's where I was heading." Chad spoke, looking down at me.
"Haha, really?" I asked, nervously laughing. "I was just randomly walking around."
It was quite funny seeing Chad with a deadpan look on his face.
"Ah?" I questioned. "Do you hear that?"
"Whistling?" Chad asked, looking around for the source of the sound as well.
"Aha! Look, that's what it is!" I exclaimed, pointing to something flying through the air straight at us.
"What…is it?" The giant Mexican questioned, furrowing his eyebrows and taking a defensive stance.
"It's getting closer…" I murmured, watching as it took on the shape of a small orb. It looked kind of like paintball. "Wait! It's got Urahara's face on it! Dunk!"
I collapsed to the ground, and Chad followed suit. The ball soared right over our heads before meeting with the ground with a huge splat.
"It's a message?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow as I read the kanji that were now splattered all over the road that we were once standing on.
"In blood?" Chad questioned.
"It looks like it." I nodded, "Urahara's doing, I bet. C'mon, let's get closer so we can read it."
Chad nodded, and walked with me closer to the dark splatter mark on the road.
"'Please come to the front of Urahara Shoten immediately.'" I read, rolling my eyes. "Well, come on, Chad. We'll be the first ones there."
"…Wait…" Chad cautioned, "There's a PS message."
"Knowing Urahara, it'll probably be an insult for not liking his method of summoning us." I said, waving him off as I walked towards the shoten.
"'PS: If you thought this was 'like a dying message' or something common like that… you have no sense of humor.'" Chad read off in his monotone voice, causing me to crack up laughing.
"Yep, Urahara definitely sent that message." I managed to say though my laughter. "I can hear his voice reading that..!"
Chad grunted, shaking his head as he ran to catch up with me.
"Looks like we're the first ones here." I said, looking around. It was deserted near the entrance. "They're not inside either; I don't sense their reiatsu yet."
There was a small box sitting in front of the store, and Chad motioned for me to sit down.
"No thanks." I said, grinning at him. "You sit down; maybe then you'll be closer to my height."
Chad's lips twitched at my attempt at a joke, but nodded and sat down anyway. I stretched once more, before leaning on the shoten's entrance.
We were silent once again while we waited for the others. Dejectedly, I noticed that Chad was still just a bit taller than me, even when he was sitting down on that box. I sighed, trying not to get depressed over my height.
Let's look at the bright side about being short:
You can fit in small places.
And, um… What else good was there about being short?!
Oh, well. At least I'm taller than a couple of people. I'm taller than Rukia. And Hitsugaya-Taicho; though, he wouldn't be too happy if he knew I was glad about being taller than him. And there was also Yachiru.
I was distracted from my thoughts when I heard thudding footsteps. It sounded like people were running.
"…Hello..!" Ichigo wheezed, panting a bit from his run.
"You…You…both must be so…fast," Orihime breathed, "Sado-Kun, Jun-Chan..!"
"Yeah," Chad nodded, standing up. "Neither one of us could sleep."
"And since we couldn't sleep, we each decided to take a walk. We were lucky we ran into each other." I explained, "Then we got Urahara's notice around here."
"Around here?" Ichigo asked, still breathing deeply. He looked a bit confused.
Chad grunted once more, then jerked his thumb in the direction of the splattered message that Urahara had hurled at us not too long ago. Ichigo's jaw dropped as he stared at the message.
"Oh, yeah." Ichigo nodded, turning to glance back at us. "Where's Ishida? I heard he's coming as well…"
"Really?" I asked, bringing my hand up to mess with my hair because the wind had blown it. "I didn't know he was coming."
Ichigo seemed to hear the low sound of twinkling metal, because his eyes landed on my hand. His cinnamon hued eyes took in the cross charm hanging off of the bracelet dangling from my left hand. I immediately dropped my hand, letting the sleeve of my Shihakusho cover the bracelet.
"Ah, Ishida will come!" Orihime exclaimed, smiling. "Just wait a little bit longer."
"…He won't come." Chad eventually said.
"Sado-Kun!" Orihime scolded, turning to look up at the giant.
"It's no big deal, Inoue." Chad reasoned. "Ishida… It's better if he doesn't come. Among us… he's the most complex. The more complex a person is, the weaker they are. That's who he is. So I think… he's the weakest among us. If he didn't come, maybe that would be better…"
We were silent for a few seconds as we stared up at Chad.
That was the longest I'd ever heard him speak. I mean, sure. He talked to me during our walk a little bit ago. But that didn't compare to how much he just said.
"…Who did you say won't come?" A voice asked, and we all turned to face the newcomer.
"Ishida?" We all questioned, turning to look at him.
Again, he was dressed in the white Quincy mantle. However, this time he added a cape. Spicing it up a little there, eh Ishida?
"Didn't I tell you? I can't forgive myself for losing to those Shinigami, so I had to train. Since I said that, then I won't stop until I win. For that, I'll go anywhere." Ishida stated as he walked over to us.
"…Ishida..!" Orihime beamed, shooting him her biggest smile as he joined our little circle. "Thank you!"
"You…You've misunderstood!" Ishida stuttered, "This has nothing to do with Kuchiki… Why can't you understand that?"
"It doesn't have to be about Kuchiki-San," Orihime shook her head, "It's the thought that counts, so I'm glad you're coming with us."
Ishida sighed, before smirking and turning towards Ichigo. "I also want you to see, Kurosaki! How strong I have become."
"…Ishida… You…" Ichigo began to say. "Did you walk all the way here wearing that weird clothing? You're very brave."
"...You?!" Ishida asked, outraged. "How can you say it's weird?!"
"Oh! Everyone is here! That's great!" Urahara exclaimed, smiling at all of us. "Next, come in and I'll explain to you guys how to go to the Soul Society. Please listen carefully. Otherwise, you guys might die before you arrive at Soul Society."
• • •
"This place looks the same as always." I mused, looking back behind me as I easily made my way down the ladder. After all, I don't see Urahara remodeling the huge desert training ground under his shop anytime soon. What else could you do to a desert?
"Huh?" Orihime asked, looking around in amazement after she climbed down after me. "This is amazing! I didn't know that there's such a large space underground! This is so cool! This seems like a secret underground base!"
"Really?" Ichigo asked with a blank expression on his face as Orihime happily clutched her hands together and looked around in awe. Chad and Ishida just uninterestedly looked around; they didn't express anything about the training area.
"You…Your reaction is so good!" Tessai cried, tears leaking from beneath his glasses as he bent down and took Orihime's hand in-between his two large ones. "I, Tessai, feel so touched!"
"Heh heh heh," Orihime sheepishly laughed, scratching the back of her head with her free hand as she smiled at the second giant man. "It's nothing!"
"Okay! Everybody!" Urahara called, trying to catch our attention. "Please look over here! We're about to go!"
Urahara snapped his fingers, summoning the doorway to the Soul Society that he'd spent the last seven days working on.
"Come, this is the door to the Soul Society. It's known as the Senkaimon [Tunnel World Gate]. Please listen carefully. I will now teach you the way to go through this door without dying." Urahara spoke, his gray eyes smoldering at us from the shadows casted by his hat. "Before that…"
Urahara steadied his cane, and with lightning quick moves he easily struck the back of Ichigo's head. Ichigo's soul came tumbling out while his body collapsed in a heap.
"Oh!" Orihime, Ishida, and Chad all cooed in surprise.
"He's been completely separated." Ishida noted, as they all bent down to look at Ichigo's discarded body. Chad was holding Ichigo's arms and sitting him up as Ishida and Orihime observed it.
"So, Kurosaki-Kun is no longer inside of Kurosaki-Kun?" Orihime asked, pointing at Ichigo's body and looking back and forth in-between it and Shinigami Ichigo.
"Of course not!" Ichigo exclaimed, scowling at his three friends that were ogling over his body. "Don't talk like I'm not here! Why are you guys freely touching my body?"
"That's right! That body will soon be temporarily mine!" Kon exclaimed, popping up from behind Shinigami Ichigo's shoulder and angrily waving his stuffed pat at us. "You guys should not just touch it!"
"Uwah!" Ichigo exclaimed, not expecting Kon to just randomly show up.
"Ah! But you can touch it, Inoue-San!" Kon exclaimed, happily waving as his eyes zeroed in on the auburn haired girl. His beady little eyes roamed over the other two guys before zeroing in on me as well. "And Jun-Kun is always welcomed to touch it, too~!"
"Kon…Kon!" Ichigo exclaimed, turning his head to glare at the stuffed lion plushie. "Why are you here?!"
I grinned as I watched the dumbstruck looks pass over Orihime and Ishida's faces; I would have loved to see how bad they freaked out once they heard Yoruichi talk. But, then again, she was at least a real live cat. Or should I say he?
"Ah? You're asking me why?" Kon asked. "Of course I'm going with you! You want to leave me behind?! As the man, Kon, I will go through all difficulties and reach the Soul Society… AH!"
"Pft!" I laughed, trying to contain myself. It was priceless..!
Chad had this dream like look on his face as he walked over towards Kon and grabbed his head. Slowly turning him around, Chad brought them up face to face. Kon's screams were hilarious.
"Wh-why are you here?!" Kon wailed, "N-N-Noooo~!"
"Okay, look over here! I'm starting the explanation of this door!" Urahara yelled, wildly waving his arms around to get our attention once more. Once we were all staring at him, he nodded. "Usually this door is made by adding reishihenkankon [spirit particle conversion machine] to the top of the Senkaimon."
"Reishihenkankon?" Ichigo questioned, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Yes," Urahara nodded. "As you already know, Soul Society is the world of the souls… In order to go in there, you have to be a soul. But, as you all know, the only two who can move around as souls are Kurosaki-San and Jun-Kun, who are both Shinigami. For others, even if their souls are separated from their bodies, they're still chained by the chain of fate. Not to mention go to the Soul Society, it's even hard to move. That's why there's a need for reishihenkankon! This thing changes the 'kishi,' which makes up things in the living world into 'reishi,' which is the main component of souls!"
"…So it means we don't have to separate the souls, we just have to go through this door." Ishida phrased, looking back and forth between the modified Senkaimon gate that Urahara constructed and Urahara himself.
"Right!" Urahara nodded, pointing his finger up in the air. "You guys can go to the Soul Society with your original form!"
"Okay, I got it." Ichigo nodded. "Then let's go in. Oh shit!"
"Now is the important topic~!" Urahara sang as he stabbed Ichigo in the side with the bottom of his cane.
I giggled at the strawberry's pain while Orihime lightly fussed about it. Ichigo merely staggered over to one of the oversized rocks and leaned against it, rubbing his sore side.
"That's right!" Urahara continued, "There's no problem with going through this door. Reishihenkankon won't bring pain; as long as you go forward, you can go to the Soul Society. The problem is 'time.' The time allowed to go through the Senkaimon to the Soul Society is only four minutes!"
"…Four minutes?" We collectively gasped.
"Once the time is up, the door will close, and you guys will be forever locked inside the Dangai [precipice/parsing world]. Plus, inside the 'Dangai,' in order to prevent enemies such as Hollows, it's filled with a current called the Kouryuu [wrestling flow], which can stop souls from moving. Just one foot caught by it and the chance of leaving the 'Dangai' in time is almost impossible."
"Then…" Orihime trailed off, "What should we do?"
"Just walk forward." Another voice joined in our conversation. A deep, throaty voice at that.
"…Yoruichi-San!" Orihime exclaimed, looking down at the black cat as it made its way towards our small group.
"Didn't I tell you? The heart and soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks. Only those that can do it may follow me." Yoruichi stated, casually striding over to the Senkaimon.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, taking a step forwards so he was in front of our group. "Those who chose to gather here have made the decision and are determined to follow it!"
"You should know very well, boy. If you lose, then you will never return." Yoruichi ominously stated, turning her head to stare up at us with her gleaming golden eyes.
"Of course, we just have to win!" Ichigo said, his eyes brimming with determination.
"Well said." Yoruichi nodded.
We were soon blinded by a bright light; not exactly white, but it had light blue tints to it. Urahara and Tessai were beginning to open the Senkaimon.
"Are you ready?" Urahara asked, tilting his head to look at us. "The moment it's opened, you guys will dash in there."
"Got it," I said, lightly resting my hand on the hilt of Ankoku-Tatsu; I could feel her excitement. She was determined to save Rukia, too.
Ichigo nodded from beside me. "…Kon! Please take care of my family."
"Let's go!" Urahara exclaimed, as a gust of wind whipped through the area, lightly tousling his pale blonde hair.
Without any second doubts, we all ran towards the Senkaimon.