Blood soaked rain

Tears everlasting

No end to my pain

A Predator Among Us

Chapter 46

Nothing but the Rain

"I reject!"

A loud voice cries out, a distant crash is uttered of stone exploding and a shockwave ripples the air. There had even been seismic pressure that shook the ground from the impact.

"That's great, Uryū!" Lily cheered with a bounce, the red haired sleek dressed fairy bouncing with jubilation. "You're getting quite the hang of it!"

Uryū winced at the compliment. He knew he was far from perfect.

He had been unaware of how difficult it could be, to struggle with a power similar yet foreign to himself. He had taken for granted the blood in his veins for awakening his own powers that are unique to his heritage. All he had to go by is how he saw Orihime use her powers in action.

He remembered every time she used it. To heal. To protect. To save a life. And to strike at evil.

Orihime…why did you have to die instead of me?

"It's odd, though," Ayame quietly says, her mostly covered head looking over at the young man's stoic expression. "It feels like you're limiting yourself in some way."

"It does look like you're holding back," Shun'ō states softly, the blonde effeminate spirit floating up to Uryū's face. "I know this must be difficult for you. Just know we're here for you and if you need help, anything at all, we'll be here."

Warm.

That is the feeling Uryū felt from the glow of reiatsu from the spirits of Shun Shun Rikka. It has been nearly five days since he had begun training to use them. Day and night he communed with them, spoke with them and they helped foster his abilities to meld with his.

"Are you alright?" Baigon asks, the large cheerful muscular spirit asking with a grin behind his jaw covering mask.

"I'm fine," He said briskly, adjusting his spectacles to wipe away the moisture in his eyes. "Just hard to see with the Sun out."

"But, there isn't any Sun out," Ayame points out, looking up at a dismal cloudy sky. "It's been stormy ever since those guys from the Royal Palace fought the Shinigami."

The other spirits looked at each other with a solemn understanding. Though Uryū has been adept in gaining the rudimentary basics of how to use their power, there had been something lacking in the process. A poignant feeling that had been starkly devoid of the use of their abilities.

Something Orihime had intuitively that Uryū didn't.

Staring off into the distance, Uryū found himself reminiscing on the last time he was around her. That soft voice, full of confidence and hope, so very much changed by what spurred her on in Hueco Mundo. Her reiatsu had been so bright, so powerful, so warm.

Warm, like the gentle rays of the morning Sun.

KRAK!

A sudden crash to his forehead broke him out of his daze, staggering him.

"Agh, what the-?!" He cried out, seeing the black and red masked spirit floating angrily in front of him.

"You got some nerve feeling sorry for yourself, you nerd!" Tsubaki yelled out, raising his diminutive fist up angrily at the young man.

"Tsubaki!" Shun'ō snapped at the angry spirit. "This isn't the time-!"

"When will it be, when we're dead?" Tsubaki asks incredulously, spinning around to jab a finger at Uryū. "I'm tired of keeping quiet. You had time to grieve, time to get this right, but I am done waiting. If you don't want to use us, might as well leave us so we can pass on to Sunshine on the other side!"

"No, it's not that I don't want to use you-"

"Sure looks that way," Tsubaki snarks, wrapping his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at the larger orbs. "You keep closing your heart, shutting us out. We don't work like your soulless bracelet and other fancy doodads. We either work together or not at all!"

"I am trying!" Uryū snaps back, gesturing at the distant mountain, pelted full of holes both too small to see and noticeably large ones. "I say the words, I have the focus, yet each time it feels like I'm not getting any closer to using these powers as efficiently as I can. If I go into battle with such flashy powers, I might as well be a sitting duck!"

"Those are excuses!" The aggressive spirit of Inoue snarled. "You're going to get us killed!"

"Do you think I want that?!" Uryū asks incredulously.

"It certainly seems like you got a death wish, pal!" Tsubaki yells, pointing a finger into Uryū's sore forehead.

Uryū grabs at the spirit, the red and black fairy flitting away from him.

"It takes more than skill to make use of us," He says, pointing to the rest of the spirits floating around him. "It takes guts, spine, and heart! Orihime had all of these, even while knowing she wasn't as skilled as you, as strong as macho man or as brave as Strawberry head."

Uryū visibly trembled at what was said. His eyes watered and his lips quivered.

"You can't…let her death be in vain, you jackass," Tsubaki trembled in the air, eyes watering himself, his own hands covering his masked visage as he kept shouting. "We're all that's left of her! You gotta make this count, okay?! Don't blow this shot she gave you!"

Uryū finally began to weep. As tears fell down his face, so too did drops from the sky fall upon him. Though the pouring rain soaked into his skin through his clothes, he felt the warmth of Inoue's reiatsu ebb from the six fairy spirits.

The love of Orihime seemed to wash over him. Each spirit had an encouragement about them, always there and always spurring him on regardless of his pain he locked away.

From afar, a man in a white suit watched his son cry while surrounded by the five spirits. He pulled a cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled smoke while looking over at the horizon, the distance being enamored by forest; with the highest peak being the Seireitei's structures.

We're almost ready, Isshin, He thought with a stoic expression, placing the cig back into his mouth as he cast a glance at Uryū as he attempted to get back to his training.

Our sons will do what we cannot, even if it means we have to give up our lives for them.

Shūhei looked up at the sky. He saw sheets of water draping over the Seireitei; a reaction more than likely from the disastrous conflict they just got through.

It felt like a welcome sight, compared to that bleak void he had to sit within. Coming to an accord with his Zanpakutō had been an ordeal, but, like his parting with the revived Kaname Tōsen, it came out eventually.

Though apologies are made, nothing could take back the pain wrought. The betrayal stung even now. Him going back with Aizen just made it worse; especially since he knew the next time he'd see him they would likely cross blades against.

"Yo, Shūhei," He turned, seeing a familiar blonde man walking up to him. Izuru Kira looked unfazed compared to himself. He had entered the Dangai like everyone else who had room to grow. He seemed to be the one who changed the least.

Or rather, he kept it better inside.

"Hey," Shūhei said quietly, his eyes drifting back up at the sky from the comfort of the tiled roofing shielding him.

Izuru joined him, looking forward rather than up. Nothing was said, nor needed to be said. Their respective mentors were both traitors and both have yet to return.

Though words had been shared to him and Rangiku, he felt as distant from his former Captain as ever.

Respectfully, neither one brought up each other's struggles. They just basked in the moment of solemn quiet, with only the noise of rainfall filling the air as it drenched the floor and grounds of the barracks they watched over.

In the distance, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi looked at his new Lieutenant sharing peace with a fellow comrade. He hasn't exchanged more than the rudimentary back and forth, to get a gist of his personality.

His conclusion? He told this to fellow Captain Komamura not long ago.

"I believe Izuru is the kind of man I need at my side. Though he shows no flare of art or excitement in what he does, I appreciate his candor. Death isn't something that should be celebrated. It's dark, cold and lonely. I may bring art to it but it's only how I view things. I cannot deny that if death happens to me or to a comrade it likely won't evoke any joy…only sadness.

"But I choose to be encouraged to behave more appropriately when he's under my wing. This is a serious time. There will be time for art, time for music and time for festivities. For now, there's only our duty to safeguard the Balance of the Three Realms, and protect the Soul Society from invaders. That's all."

"Ah, good to see you up and around," A familiar voice broke the Captain's daze. He looked over from his own balcony perch to the casual figure of Shinji Hirako.

Smiling his usual toothy grin, he waved at him as he joined his side. They had all been released a day ago from the 4th Division Barracks, cleared to resume active duty once more. Thankfully the process of extracting their own reiryoku hadn't been life threatening when it was halted so all they needed was a day to restore their strength.

Shinji joined Rose's side, observing the two Lieutenants with a raised brow.

"What's up? You want something from your Lieutenant?"

"No," Rose denies with a shake of his head, smiling gently. "I am leaving him be. Moreover, I am being inspired to write new lyrics for a new piece of music in this somber atmosphere."

"Sounds pretty sour," Shinji admits with a forward, draping his arms over the wet wood railing. "Might want to get a drink. It'll be the last time before we're thrown into the fire again."

"Nothing is stopping you, Shinji," Rose commented.

"If I do, I'll get scolded," Shinji clicked his tongue with a breathy sigh, his chin touching the wooden surface as he spread his sleeved arms out lazily across the railing. "Man this war is going to suck."

"True, it won't be something to look forward to," Rose admits with his eyes closed.

"Kensei seems hyped for it."

"Kensei is always looking for a fight, though," Rose counters with a rueful smirk.

"Yeah, him and Mashiro are built differently I guess," Shinji grins a bit, turning his leaning head to face Rose. "How about Love, Lisa and Hachi?"

"You haven't checked on them?" Rose asks with an arched brow.

"I'm not their babysitter," Shinji hand waves dismissively, standing more straight up while looking back at the pair of somber Lieutenants. "Nor am I their leader. Not ever since we threw our lot in with the Gotei 13."

"We all still look to you, Shinji," Rose insists, raising his own hand to place on Shinji's shoulder. "We've managed to get through the last hundred years because of your tireless work to help us master our own powers. No one will forget how you fought for us, not even Hiyori."

"She won't look me in the eyes right now," Shinji admits with a sad thin-lipped stare at Rose. "Kirio got possessed by a Hollow. That's why she acted so out of character when we fought her. Finding out must have been awful for her. That last bit of purity was just crushed and I can't do a thing for her."

"You can set an example and persevere, Shinji," Rose persists, squeezing Shinji's shoulder as he encourages his comrade. "No matter what, we are still comrades. We all lost things and can never return. Even though Ukitake is trying to mend things, restoring our ranks won't change the hundred years of exile and the death of our former lives."

Taking a breath, he released Shinji's shoulder and turned back to look up at the sky himself, solemnly and quietly saying, "But we have to endure, no matter what. It won't matter to anyone if we wallow or wail when the final battle comes. Victory has to be grasped or all of this, the quiet and the loud, the dull and the vibrant, the living and dead - all will cease to exist."

Shinji found himself chuckling.

"Man, Rose," He smiled at Rose with a turn, walking away from the man. "I guess I need to shape up, what with you giving me a great pep talk. I'll leave you to your rain with your Lieutenant."

"As you wish," Rose says with a calm smile, watching his comrade saunter off out of sight.

The clip-clop of Kisuke's wooden sandals are unmistakable within the Research Development Bureau. Various scientists walk up to the man, handing him clipboards with various readings, giving him the same level of respect as their own Captain.

He took it in stride. They recognized him as the previous Head of the Department so it's only natural that he holds the same weight. Though he knows it's only temporary, he finds some comfort in the way the oddities of the Division recognize him and still acts respectful.

A distinct whir coming from an elevated platform is what he's headed to, though. With an elliptical ring of metal with a smooth floor of glass beneath it, the machine hums with energy and soon to be active.

Mayuri, standing by a console, doesn't turn when Kisuke walks past to gaze at the instruments and walk around the platform.

"So, is it finished?" He asks.

"Must you pester me?" Mayuri grates out, waving a dismissive hand in his direction. "I've already told the Captain Commander it's nearly complete. The charge of energy is very precise and can't be overwhelmed less the machines will burst. If we are to enter the Reiōkyū we need this to be perfect."

"Can't you charge it faster?"

"I just explained why it can't be rushed!" Mayuri yells out, balling up a hand into a fist as he turns angrily at Kisuke.

Worse, he gapes at seeing him poke the ring with his cane.

"DON'T TOUCH!"

"Relax, buddy-"

Waving a fan over his face, Kisuke narrowly dodges a beam of reishi firing from his left hand, melting a hole through the adjacent wall. Fanning himself, he laughs at the vein throbbing expression his former lieutenant is giving him.

"Don't buddy me!" Mayuri sneered. "This is my project, not yours. Your assistance ended hours ago. Stop meddling and leave me to my work!"

"Alright alright, I'll see myself out," Kisuke said with his hands raised up; adding verbally as he lowered them. "By the way, I meant to ask. Have you seen Hiyori?"

"You mean the sulking brat?" Mayuri asked derisively, visibly deflating at hearing the question.

He pointed to Akon as he arrived at the pair with a cautious expression on his face - no doubt from the earlier shouting from the Captain.

"Can I help you, Mister Urahara?" Akon asked.

"You've seen Hiyori? I've been meaning to check on her," Kisuke says with casual candor; like picking something up from the supermarket on the way home.

"Ah, yes," The horned man nodded, clearing his throat as he gestures to follow him.

Walking past a number of personnel, each one either too busy to look their way or in their own head to pay them any mind. With hub of activities being at a high, they didn't even notice Nemu bringing an armful of canisters with Crisol hoisting up some other equipment over his head.

"In here," The Officer stated, opening an office door that led into a storage room. Half empty and unlit, the dark chamber revealed Hiyori sitting down with her face buried into her knees with arms wrapped around her own legs.

"Hiyori," Kisuke says softly, walking into the room.

"Get out, Kisuke," Hiyori hoarsely whispered.

"Last time I checked, you didn't own this room," He chides.

"No, but it doesn't belong to you either," Hiyori grates out, her hands clawing into sleeves. Her coat was missing, her Shihakushō rustling with the pressure her knuckles wore on the material.

"I don't suppose it does," Kisuke admits with a sigh. "But, you know as well as I that everything in the Gotei isn't owned by anyone. We are merely providing a service to the rest of Soul Society and the Living World. Once our time is done, we forfeit all claims and possessions, leaving it all behind."

"This was her office, Kisuke," Hiyori grates out, her voice scratchy and muffled behind her arms and knees. "It's now just storage. A closet. My memories of her are like that of yesterday. I had loved working under such a kind and thoughtful Captain. I took for granted the time I had under her as a subordinate. I didn't know that when she left for the Royal Palace…I didn't think she could…or that it would be the last time I would see her."

"She fulfilled her duty to the Reiō as is expected of her," Kisuke says lightly. "Just like you did as a Lieutenant, both as hers and mine."

"I…don't want to do this anymore," Hiyori says shakily. "I can't take this. I keep messing up, getting people I care about hurt. What if Shinji is killed the next time I freeze, or I do something to get Hachigen or Lisa hurt? What-"

"Everything happens, regardless of what we want, Hiyori," Kisuke interrupts, her face coming up from her sleeves - face red and covered in tears with snot running from her nose - as she looks up at his gentle, solemn eyes looking down at her. "As much as I like to think I can solve the problems around me, I have become the catalyst to some of the worst things to occur in the last hundred years. The Hōgyoku is my fault. My failure to save you and the others from Hollowification is my burden to bear."

"How can you keep going on?" Hiyori asks. "It hurts so much. Every day I can't forget what's happened to us, because of Aizen. He made that thing by sinking his claws into Kirio's body. I almost got everyone killed because of my own weakness!"

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Hiyori," Kisuke remarks, placing a hand onto her head, rubbing it affectionately as he kneeled down to her level. "I wish I could have done better by you, as your Captain. You deserve better. I don't know what the future holds but I'll do whatever is in my power to keep you alive. I'll do that as your friend, Hiyori."

Her eyes welled up with more tears, eyes wincing as she began to cry. Grasping at his kosode she buried her face into it as he allowed her to let it all out. He stroked her head, consoling her as Akon left with a smile on his face.

The rain felt comforting. Strawberry locks became a tangerine orange within the downpour. His eyes closed as his face was raised up to relish the sensation. His body is covered by a black cloak, covering his Shihakushō and most of his person except his head.

Letting the raindrops pelt his skin gave him a sense of peace, even if it was bittersweet. The solitude of time he spent in the lonely world of his own soul had been maximized to a length of time far beyond what he had spent training before.

"Ichigo?" A voice came from behind him.

He knew who it was. The one he had tentatively opened his heart to. The one who showed him fondness, affection and compassion. A friend, a companion and ally.

Nelliel.

He turned his face away from the rain to face her. Her curvaceous physique is covered by an emerald furred suit of armor and padding. The mask upon her head is restored, no longer cracked as it was, and her face shone a composed yet gentle smile.

He had been grateful to her for training with him after what he had to deal with from Zangetsu; the truth has been harder to grasp than he thought. So many things made sense yet so many questions about what it all meant were pushed aside for the sake of gaining strength.

Not just in reiatsu or combat prowess, but of his own mind and spirit.

"I'm just enjoying a moment of peace while I can," Ichigo said softly, smiling back at Nelliel.

"At least you remembered to wear a coat before you went out," She says, trodding across the damp grass to place a hand on his face. "You don't want to catch a cold, now do you?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Ichigo insisted, raising a hand to grasp hers.

He didn't pull away, though, just relishing the contact of intimacy. Even now as his eyes looked into hers they both felt they could exchange so much without saying anything at all.

"You cut your hair?" Nel asks with a tilt of her head, noticing the back of his head is devoid of the long locks.

"It was in the way," Ichigo replied, smiling again as he looked away. "I don't want to have any hindrance when I go to Aaroniero."

"You're not going to your death, are you?"

The question loomed in the air as the rain kept falling. It punctuated the silence held afterwards as a sense of uncertainty.

Where a disregard for danger, or a promise of victory is made in advance like he had before, he knew better than that. This time could be the last time he would pick up a sword.

"I'll make sure everyone doesn't die for nothing," Ichigo says with a firm glint in his eyes as he stares into Nelliel's. "That's a promise."

Nel smiled, her eyes shedding tears that mingled with the rain falling over her face. Lips pressed against one another as the two embraced, everything around them becoming still. Warmth shared between the two midst the cool drops soaking themselves.

For a moment, comfort and a small amount of happiness is achieved.

Yet, they did part.

Separating the kiss, Ichigo and Nelliel stepped away from the courtyard. They remained close enough to be shoulder to shoulder but hands didn't intertwine this time.

They lingered to themselves, near their own weapons.

The time for comfort and relief is past. It's now time to get going.

Evaporating in a blur, their outlines barely left a trace as they left the Seireitei's structures behind them. Villages comprising the Rukongai past their feet, dirt roads covered in mud barely tapped as they sped along. Each time they were barely there, an echo of sound from shudders of fast movement techniques being used.

Arriving over a damp hill, Ichigo and Nelliel arrived in front of a house of stylish proportions. Two massive arms erect on either side of a bright colored narrow house, with a massive pillar jutting from the back of the structure.

With an umbrella raised by a pair of squinty eyes mustache muscled men in black regalia, a smaller woman is speaking to an older man in Shinigami uniform with a loose Haori wrapped around one shoulder into a gray pauldron of sorts.

Isshin turned to look, smiling broadly as Ichigo and Nelliel walked calmly up to him.

"Ichigo! I didn't sense you coming!" Isshin exclaimed with a grin, waving at the pair as they approached. "You got that cloak from Kisuke?"

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded, "I got a better handle of controlling my Reiatsu, but if we're going to be discreet I shouldn't be sensed at all if we're going to the Palace."

"Good," Isshin nodded, thumbing over to the shorter woman with bandages wrapped over her head and a stump for a right arm. "Kūkaku here told me you're familiar with the process so I won't bore you with anything she has to blab about-!"

WHAM!

Isshin shrieked as he doubled over in pain, clutching his crotch as Kukaku began to kick him in the sides and back repeatedly.

"Ow! Ow! Stop! Please!" Isshin begged between kicks.

Kukaku picked him up by the collar, pointing at his face while bulging white eyes blanked out with fury as she spoke in a grated tone

"What I say is important for your survival, Isshin! I don't care if you have the attention span of a squirrel! If you want to make it up there, you're going to listen to what I have to say! Do you understand me?"

"Y-Yes, Kū-"

"That's Ma'am to you!"

"YES, MA'AM!"

"Good," Kūkaku said with a deflating sigh.

Throughout the whole exchange, Ichigo's mins reeled. It was almost like watching a mirror image of his own violent exchanges with his dad. They almost seemed like brother and sister, given the behavior of informal air between them.

Then again, she seems to treat everyone that way, if he remembers the last time correctly.

Turning to Ichigo, she walked his way, causing the orange haired Shinigami to visibly twitch. Raising a hand, he felt himself flinch.

Grasping his head, he felt his forehead touch hers gently as she whispers in the rain.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo. I heard what had happened from your father," She says.

A well of emotion threatened to get to the surface. Ichigo's eyes glistened but didn't break. Instead he pulled back and stared stoically at her with a mask of coolness over his face.

"I am here not to feel better, but because I need to be," He says coolly, his eyes staring back at her face. "Is the Cannon ready, Miss Kūkaku?"

Nodding, her face resumed its own professional expression of rigid affirmation, "Yes, it is. Though it's more accurate to say our own Tenchūren is ready. Everyone else is waiting for you."

Isshin grunted as he stood back up, eyeing the woman as she was led by her two servants into the house.

Past the deceivingly larger interior, the four followed the Shiba Clan Chief into the front facet of the massive pillar. In its spacious interior is a number of individuals Ichigo recognized.

"About time you showed up," Kirinji Tenjirō says.

The Guardsman took up the most space on a black seat with legs spread out with his long arms resting on two others. His spear leaned against himself beneath the crook of his right arm, his mouth currently holding a wooden pipe he's puffing smoke from.

He eyed Ichigo with a leery gaze that Ichigo didn't like.

"I thought you'd be bigger, Kurosaki," Kirinji said with a grunt of disdain. "Let's hope Retsu wasn't mistaken about you."

"Unohana? You know her?" Ichigo asked.

"I taught her everything she knows about Kaido," Kirinji says with a twisted grin. "Those were the days."

"Pay him no mind," Kūkaku says from the front right of Ichigo, her servants standing outside of the pillar's entrance. "This guy is our ticket to getting into the Royal Palace the old fashioned way. I couldn't care less what this bastard wants, he's only here because he promised to be a good boy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be a real saint, Miss Shiba Chief," Kirinji waved halfheartedly as he closed his eyes and jutted his face away. "Don't worry, my boss won't be happy to see me, regardless of how I come back."

"We'll be keeping an eye on you," A young voice said from the side, surprising Ichigo. The white haired Captain looked over and gave a nod to Ichigo. "Good to see you're here, Ichigo."

"Thanks," Ichigo responds briskly.

"Hi Nelliel! I'm glad you are coming along too!~"

Rangiku says with a smile and wave, her breasts pressing against the shorter, younger man much to his chagrin.

"Thank you," Nel said with a smile, then raised a brow. "Are you here as an escort?"

"Captain Commander wanted someone who could mediate the mission on an official level so it remains a Gotei operation," Toshirō explains with his arms folded across his chest. "Naturally, I volunteered as I felt qualified to handle anything thrown at us when we arrived."

"And naturally I couldn't leave my Captain to go all by himself to the Reiōkyū!" Rangiku says, giggling as she smothers the younger man with her breasts.

"Get off me! Those things are dangerous!" He yelled.

"My breasts?" She asks with owlish blinks.

"Need I remind you how you almost gave me a concussion with those the first time we met?!" Toshirō snapped with indignation.

"Did I?" Rangiku tapped her chin, looking up at the tall hollow ceiling of the pillar. "That was such a long time ago."

"I haven't forgotten," Toshirō says with a twitching grimace as he turns away from her, eyeing her jiggling chest with anger.

"Speaking of forgetting," Kūkaku says, turning on her heel and grasping something outside the door.

"Owowowowowowowowwwww!" Isshin hollered, being yanked in by the ear, by Kūkaku.

"Oh," Rangiku says, her eyes wide as Toshirō's. The pair of the 10th Division were stunned, the reaction causing Isshin to visibly cringe and begin to sweat.

"H-Hi guys," Isshin says sheepishly with a raised hand.

"Cap…uh," Rangiku began, only to falter as she glanced at Toshirō who narrowed his eyes on Isshin's.

"M-My how you've grown, haha!" Isshin nervously chuckled.

"You've grown old, Captain," Toshirō says coolly.

An arrow of metaphorical age slammed into Isshin, making him stagger from the blow. Turning to Rangiku and asking with tears in his eyes, "Rangiku, I haven't gotten old, have I?"

Rangiku shrugs with a smile, "Yes, Captain, you have."

Another arrow of 'Definitely Old' slammed into him from the back, beinging him to his knees.

"Urk…this…is the worst," Isshin grimaced as he clenched his face as he balled himself on his haunches while holding his own head in anguish. "My own subordinates think I'm a decrepit washout! This day couldn't get any worse!"

"You two are my dad's subordinates?" Ichigo asks with a point of his finger.

"Regrettably, yes," Toshirō says tersely. "He was lazy. Strong, but lazy."

"He always shoved all the work on me!" Rangiku adds.

"I did most of the work, Rangiku," Toshirō corrects with a visible twitch of his eyes. "Now you barely do any of the work at all."

"Only because you'd turn me into a workhorse if I let you," Rangiku stuck her tongue out at Toshirō as she counters.

"There isn't an industrious bone in your body," Toshirō replied with a dry expression.

"I guess the Division has been in good hands since I left it," Isshin says, standing back up while brandishing a genuine smile to the pair. "I'm proud of you two."

Both blushed at the compliment. Toshirō tried to cough, looking away while trying to maintain his dignity while Rangiku smiled widely and looked giddy with glee.

Clapping her hands together, Kūkaku brought everyone's attention back to her.

"Alright, listen up," She begins to debrief with a serious air. "No one has to do anything for you to get up there. However, this is a replica of the Tenchūren, not the real thing. It's taken me three days to make this but I'm not going to lie, there is a chance it won't be able to make a return trip. So you'll have to find a way back on your own.

"You all need to keep your reiatsu subdued as you go through the trip. You may have a Guard giving you a pass through the barriers, but if you're given away, you might get shot down. In order to prevent that," Kūkaku says, pulling out a number of black cloaks similar to what Ichigo's wearing. "Put those on."

"Probably should have given us these while we waited," Rangiku grumbled as she hoisted it up and around herself.

"And another thing," Kūkaku says, pointing a finger to all of them. "Survive!"

"Gee, never thought of that one," Isshin says with pouty lips.

A hammer fist to the head brought Isshin flat to the floor again, wincing in pain from the clenched fist of Kūkaku.

"We don't plan on failing, Miss Kūkaku," Nelliel says, bringing attention to her. She smiles with subdued confidence, her eyes radiant in the gleaming hope she possessed. "We're going to win."

"That's right," Ichigo affirms with a nod. "We'll see this through."

"Tch," Kirinji gave a half-hearted noise as his eyes leered at them. "Let's hope you keep that up. Where we're going, hope is in short supply."

Exiting the pillar, a seamless part of the wall closes, leaving no trace of its retraction from before. Kūkaku raises a hand, muttering a chant as light of her Reiatsu coats her palm.

"Good luck!" She slams her palm into the ground.

The ring around the pillar exploded with brilliant golden light. The cylinder-shaped structure shoots off the ground, launching into the sky, parting the dismal clouds to unveil a Sunny sky behind it.

"Hey!" A distant voice cried out, bringing the woman's attention to a man in green and white baggy clothes running her way. Soaked from the rain, he looked up at the trails of smoke the pillar left, he grimaced and turned to glare at Kūkaku.

"Don't give me that look," She said, a twist of her lips came with narrow eyes. "You're not qualified for what your cousin has to do."

"Qualified?!" Ganju Shiba growled out, stomping forward with a hand pressed against his own chest. "It's not a scholarship from an Academy, Sis! This is the end of the World we're talking about! He needs all the help he can get!"

"And we'll give it to him," Kūkaku says with a firm tone. "But not there. Soul Society will need our help, and soon."

"What makes you say that?" Ganju asks with a derisive wave of his hand. "They won against the Royal Guard, right? It should be over!"

"There's more than one asset for the Reiō to use, and we both know it," She says back to him, walking away from the launch site, into the house. "Come with me, Ganju. We have to get ready if we're going to be fit for the coming fight."

"Tch, must be losing my mind, going to save Shinigami," Ganju grumbles under his breath as he joins his sister inside.

All the while a distant light gleamed in the horizon over Soul Society.

A/N: Here you go, a slower Chapter for a change. I feel like I could have added more, even showed what we all probably see of Ichigo's training but I want to hold off on that in the event it becomes relevant. I especially enjoyed giving some emotional weight to side characters who often don't get too much time to be alone and really soak in what's happened.

As for what comes next, I might have a brief aside back to Aaroniero or some other place. You'll see, things are about to come to a head.

See you all in the next update!