~FIREFLY KNIGHTS~
Bleach Copyright Tite Kubo
Firefly Knights Copyright Illand Girl
'For those that need a Guardian.'
Chapter 13: The Climb Begins
Getting through the Senkaimon was one thing, but entering Soul Society was a bit less interesting. Namely because I was stuck watching Ichigo fight a giant and trying my best not to pout.
"Hey why do you look so upset Naomi?" Orihime asked. I puffed my cheeks, trying not to say anything.
"She's upset because Jidanbo picked Ichigo to battle instead of her." Uryu said while adjusting his glasses. I huffed, crossing my arms.
"He said I don't have any spiritual pressure." I couldn't help the whine that slipped into my voice as I listened to Ichigo fight.
"Don't be so childish. Being able to disguise your spiritual pressure is a major asset in a fight." Yoruichi scolded. I nodded, trying to see the bright side.
"Naomi just wanted to look cool in front of Ichigo." Chad said, seeing right through me. I tapped my foot impatiently.
"Hey Ichigo! You done yet?!" I shouted, blatantly ignoring Chad.
"Almost! Hang on a sec!" He shouted. I seethed through my teeth trying to think of anything else other than what Chad had said. Taking a deep breath through my nose, I caught a whiff of an odd smell.
Roses and apricots...
It was faint, but deep smelling. I couldn't describe it as anything other than bold. My body tensed at the scent.
Danger.
I looked around, not smelling it in any particular direction. It seemed to just be in the air. I looked over to see everyone gathering closely, waiting for the gate to open. However, as his fingers curled under the rim, the scent suddenly increased from the gap he created. I froze.
"Wait! Don't open it!" I shouted, but it was too late. The giant heaved, lifting the massive gate over his head.
Standing on the other side was a lone figure. The smell coming directly from him. His scent may not have been as powerful as Ichigo's, but it was heavier than anyone else here.
"Squad three captain... Gin Ichimaru..." Jidanbo said, his voice trembling as he spoke.
The scent increased suddenly.
"Watch out!" I shouted, and in the next second Jidanbo's arm crashed to the ground, cut clean from his body. How did he do that? It didn't smell like Gin had moved, and yet...
The gate fell onto the back of his shoulders as the giant struggled to stay standing. I rushed to the side of him, Ichigo in front of me as he protected the giant. Jidanbo's arm lay limply behind us as the giant used his shoulder to hold the gate open still. It seemed like he was stuck in place.
"Jee, being the guardian of the gate doesn't mean you can open it." Gin spoke, his voice humorous like the grin on his face. Jidanbo struggled, body shaking at the loss of blood.
"But I lost... I must... open the gate." Jidanbo said. Gin laughed, but it sounded meticulous and sarcastic.
"Don't you know? If you are defeated as a gate guardian, it means you die." He teased, his face not changing at all despite his words.
Ichigo growled, lunging for him. The captain tilted his gaze to look at the carrot top charging him, but otherwise made minimal effort to acknowledge him. They clashed swords, Gin parrying and pushing him away. Yoruichi was screeching behind us to retreat. It was difficult to decide whether to try and fight the captain or retreat and plan another entrance, but one look at Jidanbo told me we didn't have much time to think about it. That giant might be our only ticket out again if this guy was as strong as he smelled. Which meant protecting Jidanbo at all costs.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Butting in now when we're busy. What kind of guy attacks a wounded man?! I'll cut you down!" Ichigo shouted.
Well, he certainly has become talkative since training. I could hear Yoruichi's soul leaving his little cat body as Ichigo spoke.
Gin grinned wider.
"Well aren't you a funny kid. You sure you're not scared of me?" Gin asked, looking over to the rest of us.
"Ichigo! Retreat!" Yoruichi shouted. Ichigo made the mistake of looking over his shoulder at Yoruichi, and in that moment the scent of roses and apricots increased. I jumped in front of Ichigo, summoning my sword just in time to rebound a strike from Gin to the side of us.
"Pay attention!" I scolded, not taking my eyes off Gin as his sword deflected. "He can extend the length of his zanpakuto. You're not safe at a distance. It's how he cut Jidanbo's arm off."
"What? When did he-"
Gin laughed.
"Well aren't you a smart little thing." He mused. I took a breath through my nose, trying to keep calm and levelheaded as I took a step back, pushing Ichigo further towards the gate with my whole body.
"Ichigo," I said calmly, "we have to leave."
"What?! But we just got in-"
"If we don't leave, he'll kill us. His sword doesn't give us a safe distance. Fighting him along with protecting Jidanbo is not going to work in our favour." I said firmly. Ichigo huffed.
"I would listen to the girl, she's got a nice head on her shoulders..." His grin became nastier, a glint in his squinted eyes allowed me to see the cogs in his brain at work. "...For now."
Gin was trying to goad Ichigo, and unfortunately it worked exactly how he wanted it to.
Ichigo jumped at him, raising his sword. The captain covered his blade with his haori so I couldn't see where he was aiming. Would he hit Jidanbo and lock us in? Ichigo and cut him down? Or me? I prepped myself, keeping my blade between us in defense.
"Pierce his flesh, Shinso!" His blade extended, aiming directly for Ichigo. Thankfully Ichigo had his sword to block, but what I hadn't thought of him doing was being able to push Ichigo directly into Jidanbo with enough force to knock them back.
Both of them went flying back from the gate and into a building.
"Ichigo!" I shouted but the scent of Gin rushed for me. I spun just in time to block a strike from the side, trying to move towards the falling gate, but Gin wouldn't let me. He laughed, our swords locked, as we both looked over to the group. I pressed into him, then quickly moved away to make a mad dash for the gate. Chad attempted to meet me halfway, calling my name, but the gate slammed shut before he could get to me. I ended up crashing into the stone trying not to be crushed by it.
I stared at the fallen gate for a few moments, stunned. Effectively, I was completely blocked off from everyone. My gaze turned to Gin, who was grinning down at me.
I was so fucked.
This was how I would die? On a mission to save Rukia fucking Kuchiki, without even managing to do anything of value? We'd been here for five minutes god dammit.
"Well then, it seems you're cut off from your little friends." Gin mused, squaring up to me. Immediately I squared up to him as well and tensed.
I was going to murder Ichigo the next time I saw him. My whole body was trembling as I desperately rushed through all the cues of my training to think up a plan of action.
"Stop thinking, allow instinct to take over."
Well, if there was ever a time to try...
I calmed myself, breathing out through my mouth. Gin's perpetual grin shallowed as he tilted his head to the side.
"Hm? Not going break down in tears, are you?" He taunted. I snorted, not wavering in my stance.
"Clouds the vision unfortunately." I said, breathing through my nose to inhale his scent.
He hummed, then vanished, his scent appearing beside me as I spun to block.
"Ah, pretty fast for a little thing." He teased, then immediately started a barrage of strikes. He was likely trying to move faster than me, but Kisuke had gotten me settled in being comfortable against faster strikes.
Besides, his scent gave him away.
I swung with a rebound, batting the sword away before he could overwhelm me. He showed his teeth as he chuckled, vanishing. He appeared twenty feet from me, hiding his blade again. I rushed towards him to eliminate the distance, dropping my blade at the last second. His blade shot into my left palm that was in front of my shoulder, my right hand aiming at his thigh where the rest of his zanpakuto shot out of.
Gin stood stock still, not moving an inch as he watched me. He looked down to where his pant leg was ripped open, and blood slowly leaked out. I had aimed for the inner thigh, effectively stabbing himself. It seemed I might've caught him in the femoral artery if he hadn't stopped the extension of his sword moments before it became a serious wound.
He laughed, his mouth closed and in a tight grin.
"Well well, aren't you just full of surprises." He said with as much amusement as he had previously. It was like I didn't stab him to kill him with his own weapon, and that should've terrified me honestly. A humorless laugh slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
"Only when I'm fighting for my life."
His blade ripped out of my palms. At the same time, I summoned my blade and we almost locked swords again. At the last moment, however, he stopped his attack and appeared beside me. I dodged, sliding away from him as Gin stopped. He chuckled, still looking the same as the start despite the blood dripping down his leg. I, however, was panting heavily.
He watched me, not moving a muscle as I caught my breath. It almost felt like he was waiting for me to steady.
"I see, and here I thought you didn't have an ounce of spiritual pressure, but you're just really good at hiding it, aren't you?" Gin said as he came at me again, this time with much more force. It rattled my tired arms.
I felt the pressure of the hollow at the back of my skull and forced my breathing to slow down. Gin took that opening, kicking me in the gut. The air left my body as I went flying, slamming into the ground. He was above me in an instant, his foot on my chest and his zanpakuto hovering above me.
"Tell you what. If you don't try and kill me, I might let you live," Gin laughed, leaning his weight onto my chest and not letting me move.
"Guess when you put it like that..." I grunted, really tempted to attack him, but the hollow's presence in the back of my mind had me laying back down in miserable defeat.
"Good girl," he said slowly, mockingly. "Though it would've been fun to see you try."
I snorted.
"Likewise, I imagine it would've been a spectacle, your underlings watching their captain being stabbed with their own weapon." I said, looking up to his squinted eyes. Gin chuckled; footsteps could be heard.
"You're awfully smart-mouthed for someone who's been pinned. Careful now, I might just slip." He warned through a wide grin. I glanced at his sword, then grabbed onto his ankle.
"What? You? Squish me?" I scoffed, a wry smirk on my face. "I was squashed by a 250lb Mexican on my way here. You're lightweight in comparison."
Gin leaned onto me again, but his scent changed. I took the chance and summoned my sword to slice the underside of his leg at the same time his blade extended to stab my in the shoulder. His was faster, leaving a shallow cut before he jumped back to evade my swing.
I scrambled to my feet, putting my sword between us. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down, and imagined this was a sparring match with Kisuke.
Gin stood across from me as more people showed up. I turned, putting my back to the gate. In the off chance they happened to open it again I didn't want to stray too far from it. No doubt Ichigo would be trying to scale the walls to reach me.
Gin clicked his tongue as more soul reapers appeared behind us. He took his eyes off me to look, showing me just how little he thought of my abilities. Kinda rude if you asked me. When he turned back, his grin was smaller.
"And here I thought we'd have more fun." He teased, I scoffed.
"Send them away and let's go another round then." I shot back, almost hoping he would. Even if he got serious, odds were someone was going to rescue me from the other side of the gate...
Right?
"Captain Ichimaru!" A woman shouted as many people ran up to us. My gaze didn't leave Gin's, even as he sheathed his zanpakuto. I didn't trust it, especially since we were at a distance.
"Ah, so nice of you to join us, Lieutenant Matsumoto." Gin greeted a gorgeous woman. His voice taking on an almost genuinely cheery note as he spoke. The lieutenant stopped just behind him, frowning as more soul reapers arrived up. Deciding that fighting my way out would become futile at this point, I allowed my blade to vanish while the others focused on the captain. The lieutenant noticed the blood on the floor by Gin's foot, her eyes widening.
"Captain, you're injured?" She sounded surprised, then looked at me with wide eyes. I stood still, not saying anything as she sized me up.
"I didn't do it." I said dumbly, holding up my empty hands. Gin chuckled, finally turning away from me and looking to Matsumoto.
"I appear to have cut myself while trying to fight a defenceless woman. Silly me." He said, almost laughing. I snorted, a tiny smirk slipping into the corners of my mouth. In a different circumstance, I think I might like the guy.
Meanwhile, several soul reapers drew their swords at me, but I didn't move from my spot.
"Didn't you hear him? I'm a poor defenceless woman." I said, backing closer to the wall. If I had to fight my way out, I guess I'd go down swinging. That, or I could theoretically just use my hollow if I was going to die anyways. Although I had to only think of it as a last resort.
I was caught by one soul reaper who approached me without a weapon. My hands were tied behind my back, and I was brought towards Lieutenant Matsumoto.
"Bring her to the prison cells." Matsumoto said. I was roughly yanked to the side by a soul reaper but was stopped as Gin stepped in front of us. My face almost smacked into his chest as he stared down at me. Looking up, I saw the same grin that was always present on his face.
"Hang on now. I think this one should come with me. She did say we could have a little more fun." Gin spoke, lowering his head over top of mine. I refused to be cowed though and squared my shoulders.
"Captain Ichimaru. My captain has requested any Ryoka be taken to squad ten's cells, not squad three." She insisted, looking between me and the captain. I had a feeling these two knew each other, considering how she looked at the man.
"Oh? But we were just having some fun." Gin looked at her as he grabbed onto my shoulder, but I didn't flinch like he probably expected me to.
"What's going on here? Why is the Ryoka not taken care of Matsumoto?" A new voice, one that held authority, called out. I looked sideways at a... child? He couldn't have been older than twelve. What's more, he looked positively adorable as he scowled.
But he was wearing a white haori like Gin, who was also a captain.
"That's... a captain?" I asked without realizing it. Gin chuckled above me, still holding my shoulder. The little captain looked at us, scowling.
"Captain Hitsugaya! I apologize, but there has been a complication." Matsumoto stated, looking at us. Hitsugaya looked at me, then at the arm clasped on my shoulder. "Captain Ichimaru thinks the Ryoka shoulder go with him."
Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at Gin. I could tell even from an outsider perspective he didn't like the guy, which was a shame because Gin was pretty funny. The little captain walked closer, never taking his eyes off Gin.
"I meant to ask, Captain Ichimaru. It's interesting that you happened to be waiting outside squad ten's barracks this morning. It's why you got here first, isn't it?" Hitsugaya said, standing only a few feet from us. I shifted, making Gin clench his hand on my shoulder.
"Is that so? My my, squad ten's captain must have a lot of time on his hands to people watch so languidly," Gin taunted back. "It's almost as if you too were waiting for something."
Hitsugaya scoffed, turning his gaze to me.
"You, what is your name?" he asked, although there wasn't much room to rebuke it.
"Naomi Sakurai, sir." I said politely, noticing the twitch in Gin's hand on my shoulder. If he hadn't been touching me, I wouldn't have been able to tell anything from his facial expression. I looked up at him, noticing him staring at me.
"Matsumoto, I trust you are capable of escorting the Ryoka to her cell?" Hitsugaya said, gaze turning to Gin's hand on my shoulder.
"Yes sir," she agreed, putting a hand on the other shoulder of mine. Gin didn't move, and so she added on. "Captain Ichimaru."
Slowly, Gin chuckled, then he let go entirely as he walked off. A small trail of blood followed him. Hitsugaya noticed, his eyes looking at me.
"He should stick to butter knives for a while." I said, not even getting a laugh out of the little captain. His brow just furrowed before Matsumoto escorted me away.
Squad ten's prison cell wasn't so bad. Arguably it seemed sort of nice with windows and was a spacious area.
"Do you guys normally keep outsiders in these cells?" I asked, surprising Matsumoto.
"No, they are for disciplinary action usually," she said after a while. When she untied my hands, I was surprised. But then I realized that she hadn't seen me holding my sword and likely didn't know it existed. As far as she knew, I really was weaponless.
So why didn't Gin tell her?
His behavior in general was weird, especially considering if what Hitsugaya said was true, he had been waiting for us.
"You will find that the captains of the Gotei 13 are not as unified as you might initially think."
Kisuke's words echoed in my head.
There was definitely a divide between Gin and Hitsugaya then. And what's more, someone knew we were coming for Rukia.
"So how did you stab the captain?" Matsumoto asked, a hint of curiosity in her neutral tone. I showed her my palms, pretending to show my empty hands, when in reality I was showing her how I did it.
"He wasn't lying. He really did stab himself." I insisted. Matsumoto's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anymore as she locked the door on me.
I was stuck in that cell for the rest of the day, but it was a good time to recover and settle down.
At least I wasn't dead, that was a good start. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on sensing Ichigo. His scent was there, but extremely faint. I wondered, briefly, what exactly happened to them. Yoruichi seemed to have a backup plan to enter the Seireitei, so I probably just needed to wait out their arrival.
The sun was rising before I saw anyone again that day. The prison cell was silent save for the odd whisper of people talking outside the room as they passed by. I ended up getting comfortable on a bench, waiting for something to happen. Waiting was a better choice than barging out at this point. Especially since I didn't exactly have a means to do it.
The door to the prison block finally opened. To my enjoyment the little captain walked inside. I sat up, looking at him curiously.
His teal eyes were cold, as was most of his demeanor, but damn was he not the cutest kid you'd ever seen? Extremely sharp looking too with his tanned skin and white hair. He smelled like winter, crisp and woody. It was a faint smell, but I could smell it, nonetheless.
"Naomi Sakurai, you will be escorted to meet the first division captain." he said neutrally. I nodded, standing to stretch a bit as he opened the prison doors. "Turn around."
I obeyed, feeling him step forward and tie my hands in place. When I turned back around, the little captain motioned for me to follow him. He barely came up to my jaw; was this how I looked next to Ichigo?
Once we were outside the prison cells, I could see soul reapers were around in an abundance. Many of them stared at the captain or myself when we walked past them.
"Keep up," Hitsugaya threw back over his shoulder when I straggled. It was hard, considering I was so distracted by the sights and people. Soul reapers really came in all shapes and sizes, huh?
"This place is huge," I muttered, noticing the mountain of staircases in front of us. "Say, little captain, how far do we have to walk?"
That was apparently not the right thing to say, as Hitsugaya glared at me.
"It's Captain Hitsugaya, Ryoka." He snapped, but I frowned down at him.
"Someone missed naptime," I snarked. Hitsugaya stopped walking and turned to face me, a clear warning in his eyes. "I told you my name and you insist I'm just 'Ryoka' whatever that is. So you're just a little captain to me."
"It's the title given to everyone who enters Soul Society without a soul reaper." He clarified. "You are an outsider who has stepped into a very dangerous situation, and I'm not convinced you're fully aware of that yet."
"I am, there's just no reason to cry about it. Besides, you're kinda giving me what I want." I admitted, waiting for him to lead us out again. He raised a brow.
"What is it that you want?" He asked. I grinned.
"To have a conversation with your boss. It's not like you guys have a hotline we can call and negotiate things with." I said, knowing full well that even if we did rescue Rukia, we'd have to go through all these guys eventually. So it was fitting that we had a conversation to at the very least try and negotiate her freedom.
That, or I was about to die alongside her.
Hitsugaya didn't say more to me. He instead remained quiet as we walked towards the first division. I wanted to ask him questions, but figured I'd pushed his buttons enough for now.
The walk went on forever, but I enjoyed looking around as much as I could. In hindsight I wondered why they never blindfolded me, but I imagined part of it was because he underestimated my abilities. People did have issues sensing my spiritual pressure after all.
"Well well well, we meet again, little Ryoka girl." I heard from the end of the hallway. Looking up I saw none other than Gin Ichimaru walking from the opposite direction. He had traded in his hakama for a fresh pair it seemed, a grin still plastered on his face.
"Hey there," I greeted over top of Hitsugaya's head. The little captain stood between us. "Got tired of trailing blood everywhere I see?"
Gin chuckled.
"It wouldn't do well to see a captain bleeding. Though you should take it as a trophy. I haven't been cut in quite a long time, little girl." Gin said with a glint of maliciousness. I stayed my ground.
"You've chosen your opponents wisely then."
Somehow, his grin became nastier. Before he could quip, or attack me, a black butterfly came fluttering from around the corner, and shortly after a small soul reaper crashed into the back of Gin. The little soul reaper fell to the floor while Gin didn't move.
"Ah, sorry I-" The soul reaper began, but his words died the moment he saw who was standing in front of him. Terror ran through his eyes then. "Captain Ichimaru! I apologize!"
The captain looked over his shoulder at the little guy, his nasty grin facing him. The scent of roses and apricots increased as the little soul reaper paled, folding to a bow. I noticed then, several items falling from the guy's Shihakusho. One of them being the same key Hitsugaya used to open my cell. In a flash, I moved around the two and knelt in front of the soul reaper.
"You okay?" I asked, noticing his breathing settled when I knelt next to him. He looked surprised, despite the scent of roses and apricots increasing the little guy seemed unaffected. He looked up at me, shocked.
"I'd help you up, but my hands are literally tied." I teased, resting on the ground.
"I-I-I apologize!" He exclaimed, jumping up. I stood as the boy looked winded all of a sudden. He reached to steady himself, touching me, then looked surprised.
"You- How are you doing that?" He asked, looking at me surprised. I tilted my head, confused.
"Doing what? Standing?" He looked in awe, staring at the two captains. His face paled once more, then as he bowed with apologies to the captains before letting go of me and bolting. The smell of apricots and roses died, making me look back over to see Gin walking away while Hitsugaya stared at me. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in thought.
We followed down the same path that Gin took, arriving in front of a massive door shortly after him. Inside were a bunch of rather unique smells, ranging from sweet to bitter. I wrinkled my nose at the overwhelming scents.
"The Ryoka, as requested, Captain Yamamoto." Hitsugaya said, stopping me to stand in front of everyone as he took his position in a lineup of white haori-wearing people.
The captains.
"This is the Ryoka that cut you up? You're going soft Ichimaru." A massive man said as he looked down at me. I turned to look at him, the scent of blood heavy in the air around him. Gin, who was standing much further down the line, chuckled.
"Ah, I just made a simple mistake. It can happen now and again." He said airily.
"How on earth did you let a little human girl cut you?" The creepiest looking one on my left stared, his teeth fully on display as his dark yellow eyes stared into me. "She doesn't even exhibit any evidence of spiritual pressure."
His scent was something sour, making my nose wrinkle as he stared straight through my soul.
"I assure you, she's sneakier than you'd think. I'd almost consider her a threat." Gin said calmly. I snorted, making Hitsugaya give me a warning look. Further down the lineup I saw that Byakuya guy who sliced into Ichigo. He ignored me, standing quietly with his eyes closed. Meanwhile the giant man closest to me was grinning wickedly.
"Well girl? Are you really as strong as Ichimaru claims?" He asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, feeling wary at his smell.
"Nah, I'm just a weak defenceless girl." I said with a hint of humour. Gin snickered while Byakuya finally looked at me. I stared him down, the corners of my mouth dropping as we made eye contact.
"Uh oh, seems this little Ryoka isn't as distracted by your good looks, Captain Kuchiki." A man with a pink kimono said from beside him. He looked at me with gentle eyes and even from the distance I could smell a strong scent of sake and roses. Interesting combination.
"Surely the girl is no threat. She doesn't even exhibit any spiritual pressure, as Captain Kurotsuchi said." The man standing next to Gin spoke in a kind voice. He looked gentle, with glasses over soft brown eyes and wavy brown hair. He looked me in the eye, and I was surprised to realize the strongest scent in the room came from him.
He smelled good, like a men's cologne mixed with cinnamon. I had never smelt something quite like that before from a person, and as I looked at him, I couldn't help but tilt my head and stare.
"Something caught your eye?" Gin taunted from next to him, but I kept staring, somewhat enamoured. I almost liked his smell more than Ichigo's...
"Well, I'll be. The little Ryoka is smitten with our Captain Aizen." The man with the pink kimono said with a laugh. I ignored him, not at all bothered as Aizen smiled gently at me. I kept a blank face, inhaling deeply on reflex.
"Enough!"
The man at the other end of the line quieted everyone down. He was old, with a strong scent that reminded me of a campfire. The head captain by my wager, considering he was the only one that was sitting.
"You, young Ryoka girl. State your name." He demanded. I contemplated snarking at him but realized quickly I had really pushed some buttons lately and obeyed.
"Naomi Sakurai, sir." I said politely, dipping my head. He watched me carefully.
"What is your purpose here?" He asked, but then continued. "Why have you attacked a captain and attempted infiltrating the Seireitei?"
"To be completely fair, Gin Ichimaru attacked us first. He threatened us before we could say anything. More importantly, I am not the one to strike him. He cut himself." I clarified, squaring my shoulders to hide my nerves. I hated having this many eyes on me.
"As for why we are here. Forgive us, but it's not exactly easy to contact the afterlife. We wanted to get into contact with you about Rukia Kuchiki's execution."
The room went silent; Byakuya narrowed his eyes at me. I met his gaze without flinching.
"You have come all this way for Rukia Kuchiki?" the head captain asked. Yamamoto was it? I think that was what Hitsugaya said. I nodded to him, returning my attention.
"Yes, we understand that Rukia broke a law, and that she needs to be disciplined. However, my friends and I are willing to testify and plead for a leniency on her sentencing." I explained, doing my best to stay collected with all the stares. Kurotsuchi's gaze specifically made my skin crawl like the man was peeling layers of flesh from me with his eyes.
"I see," Yamamoto spoke, eyes still sharp and distrusting, "and if we were to hear you all out, would you ask your comrades to stand down and come in unarmed?"
That smelled like a trap if I ever saw one. I looked between all the captains and knew right then that this would never happen. My gaze fell to Aizen, then Gin, then to the head captain again.
"No."
"No?" Yamamoto challenged. I felt a shift in tone, and knew I had said the wrong thing, but I refused to be cowed.
"Respectfully head captain, I wasn't born yesterday, though I imagine it might seem like it for a man of your- erm- stature." I took a breath before continuing. "I also know that there may be a few grudges held for some of your men."
My gaze turned to Byakuya, and I noticed the scent of chili peppers as I frowned.
"So," Yamamoto began again. "You infiltrate the Seireitei, you demand negotiations, and when it is given to you, you reject them?"
It smelt like I was in a burning building. I fought the urge to cough.
"Arrogance," he seethed. I didn't react, watching him calmly. "Your friends and you shall perish for such audacity. You, a human child, are in no such position to make demands of the Gotei 13. And yet I have entertained this notion due to your efforts. I will commend the bravery and effort it took to enter Soul Society as a human but be under no illusion. What you have done in punishable by death."
I scoffed, my nose wrinkling further.
"Apparently rescuing a comrade is a sin around here." I snarked, not able to hold myself back. If the firing squad didn't kill me, this man's scent would.
"You dare speak up?" He snapped. I took a step forwards, the scent of a burning building smothering out as I did.
"Rukia Kuchiki only gave her powers over to protect innocent lives. She saved dozens of lives during her time in the world of the living, and yet instead of commending her bravery you condemn her to death. We come to rescue her, and somehow, we are commended on our bravery?" I snapped, fighting a snarl as I felt the hollow rise within me.
Deep breaths...
"I cannot believe the audacity of such a young soul. You, who is completely unaware of your stature in this room, dare to question how we, the Gotei thirteen, run our business." Yamamoto's gaze was smoldering. "You have no voice here. You are at the bottom of the totem, with no one beneath you. It is an embarrassment you make of yourself."
I took a deep breath, fighting back more snark.
"It's the problem with being at the bottom," I said, smelling summer and chocolates. A warm feeling, a confident feeling, spread through me as I eyed the head captain.
"The only thing we can do is climb."
Yamamoto's rage was rolling off him, but before he could say anything an alarm sounded.
"RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THE SEIREITEI HAS BEEN BREACHED!"
Yamamoto stared at me, the corners of my lips fighting back a smirk.
"The Ryoka?" The tall man said, a grin spreading across his face.
"I am afraid this meeting must be called to an end," Yamamoto said, regaining everyone's attention. "Return to your battle stations. Captain Aizen, please escort this Ryoka to her cell in your barracks."
I found it weird that they moved me, but then wondered if it was an attempt to get me lost and unsure how to contact my comrades. Honestly the fact that he hadn't cut me down on the spot was surprising.
I looked over my shoulder to see Aizen and Ichimaru speaking quietly. Hitsugaya looked over at them both before leaving with the other captains. Aizen turned and looked at me, a soft smile on his face.
"Come this way, Ryoka girl." Aizen said softly. I nodded, following quietly. We stepped outside, where a girl came bounding up to us.
"Captain Aizen!" she said cheerfully. Her gaze met mine, suspicion heavy in her eyes.
"Momo, this is Naomi Sakurai. She is our captive, but let's treat her with some respect, alright?" he said, smiling warmly down at the girl. I noticed a badge on her left arm, was she a lieutenant like Renji was for Byakuya? I remembered Ichigo mentioning it vaguely.
Momo turned to me, and out of respect I dipped my head to her. It seemed to ease some of the tension.
"I am Lieutenant Momo Hinamori." She said, standing tall. Aizen chuckled at her, and I noticed the doting look in his eyes reflected the admiration she held in hers. They were close, it would seem.
A crack, and a bright light shone above us. A ball of light really, and it hit some sort of barrier above the seireitei.
"What is that?!" Momo shouted. I stared, smelling chocolate and summer from the general air.
"Ichigo..." I whispered, wondering if it was our group.
"Whatever it is, the membrane should destroy it." Aizen said, watching with us.
"Just in case, we should clear the area." Momo said, directing several soul reapers out of the way. I continued to watch, biting my bottom lip.
It made impact and didn't break; the membrane vibrating before the ball of light broke through. It vanished, then rays of light broke off in several directions.
One of those is Ichigo. I thought, inhaling deeply to see which one. Hopefully no one landed by themselves. Our best chance of survival was to group up again...
Ichigo landed somewhere to the left of me, but I didn't get to take a good look as to where since Momo grabbed my arm.
"Let's go! We have to get you to your prison cell." She said, sounding firm. I hesitated, looking in the direction I had sensed Ichigo.
"Ms. Sakurai," Aizen said. I looked at him, only now noticing I was blatantly ignoring Momo pulling on my arm. "Please come quietly. I do not like to use unnecessary force."
I glanced in the direction of Ichigo again, frowned, then turned and obeyed.
I couldn't risk taking on a captain again. Gin, for reasons beyond me, had allowed me to live. Besides, this one was being quite kind. I didn't want to piss everyone off all at once.
I huffed, allowing Momo to drag me along while Aizen followed behind us.
When we arrived at the barracks of apparently the fifth division, I was escorted into a holding cell much like the one in the tenth. Aizen saw to my imprisonment, complimenting Momo on doing it well before sending her off to alert the division of the Ryoka.
I expected to be left alone, having assumed I would need to break out quietly to get away unseen. That apparently wasn't the case.
"You will remain here until your comrades are captured. As much as you seem wary to trust us, please do not hesitate to ask if you need anything." Captain Aizen said. I nodded to him, however, as he began to walk away, my stomach let out the most obnoxious of growls.
He stopped, looking back at me with surprise. My face turned bright red as I attempted to curl into a ball and hide the noises. To no avail.
"You are hungry?" He sounded confused. I nodded sheepishly.
"Starving actually." I admitted. He turned back and walked to the bars, looking at me curiously.
"Most spirits with such low spiritual pressure do not need food." He said, to which I bit my lip and tried to hide my embarrassment. To my surprise, he held out an apple to me. "Here, I always carry one in case I become hungry, but I feel you need it more."
It seemed suspiciously kind, especially to a prisoner. I felt like I shouldn't trust any of the captains, even though I liked Gin, Hitusgaya, and this Aizen. Their smells were interesting, and their persona's clashed.
I stepped forward, taking the apple slowly from his hands. My fingers brushed his, but he didn't move as I took it away. Standing like this, the bars were all that separated us. I looked up at Aizen to see him studying me with unveiled curiosity.
"I see. You do not possess low spiritual pressure. You're just good at concealing it." He said, leaning closer. Despite the safety of the bars, I felt like he was looming over me. I looked up at him, feeling weirdly nervous.
"How do you do it?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested. I bit my cheek.
"Respectfully sir, I haven't done anything," I confessed. "It seems like people are just incapable of sensing it."
"Interesting," Aizen mused, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought. Cinnamon and cologne intensified around me and felt as though I was being washed in the scent itself. "Do you know why some beings cannot be detected?"
As he asked, I shook my head, taking a bite of the apple while he continued.
"There are only three reasons. One is because someone is not skilled enough to sense it, another being that the person being sensed is so skilled at concealing their spiritual pressure that it is almost undetectable to others surrounding them. Of course, these are skill-based abilities. However, the last reason is simply because the spiritual pressure is so immense one cannot- shall we say- see the forest from the trees." He explained. I listened quietly, curious why he was saying all of this. Was he implying that I either had immense spiritual pressure or was incredibly adept at hiding it?
"Of course, I would like to say I am confident in my abilities to sense spiritual pressure, and it would appear you are not adept to controlling your own. Which begs the question of if your spiritual pressure is truly so immense that even I cannot sense it." He mused, though there was a lilt of humour in his tone.
"Probably not," I said after swallowing another piece of the apple. "Captain Ichimaru went easy on me, and I was winded. Though I appreciate the insinuation."
"Hmm, even so," he smiled again, but the look in his eye had a darker gleam. "You're an interesting one, aren't you?"
The corners of my lips tugged down. Aizen noticed.
"You disagree?" he asked, raising a brow. I bit my cheek. His scent was so strong up close it was making me dizzy.
"Gin said the same thing. But...It's not about what you are, it's about what people believe you to be. I could be fascinating, but if people find me boring, I'm left alone. Something only has value if someone values it." I said, thinking of the simple human life I had been living up until returning to Karakura. How ironic, that my life had seemingly always been something else entirely.
Aizen's face became gentle as he smiled down at me. His glasses reflected a glare though, blocking my view of his eyes once more.
"'Something only has value if someone values it.'" Aizen repeated, his voice lowering. "And what about you?"
"I think the fact that we're still talking speaks volumes, sir."
Aizen chuckled.
Evidently, whatever I had said to Aizen seemed to be the right thing to say. His smile turned dark, his eyes narrowing slightly. He looked like he had given me some sort of approval.
"Interesting words, Naomi Sakurai," Aizen said as he pulled his zanpakuto out of its scabbard. I hesitated, taking a step back. "Let me show you my power as a sign of good will."
He held his zanpakuto with the hilt pointed to the sky, the scent of cologne and cinnamon drowning me.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
Sometimes I write what comes out of Nao's mouth and think "How have you not died? Oh yeah, it's your story." Though I think Little Nao doesn't understand at all the absolute danger she's about to be in. Well, makes for some interesting storytime huh? Realistically, most of bleach has some serious plot devices, and I'm gunna lean heavily on that fact going forward. Especially considering Ichigo literally tells people he'll kill them so freaking much in the manga.
Oh, also, I tried so hard to find out what a Kansai dialect sounds like comparatively to a western accent and couldn't figure it out. So... Gin sounds like his english dub self unless someone can tell me what it would sound like in english.
Oh also, going forwards, I will be focusing on the Dub voices for every character, as much as some people prefer sub. I just- I grew up watching the dub, it's the voices I know. Kyle did the BEST job voicing Aizen. That is a beautiful voice ngl. He can sell me on him being a god. lol So if I mention things that don't suit the sub, that's why. Also, will be leaning on the anime sans filler for description as I know the manga is a bit different and much more bloody. And trust me, shits going to get gorey soon (it's half the reason for the M rating) but again I grew up with the anime.
Thank you Laur-Machine, for the incredibly fast review. Yeah between Rukia and Naomi Isshin will have a daughter for each day of the week soon haha. (Ichigo absolutely not thinking about kissing Nao is my favourite trope ngl). Well we shall see if people stay in character, these captains have such big and differing personas so we shall see. And considering a good chunk of SS is now going to be original script with a few canon moments... I better get it right.
I'm curious, who's everyone's fav character? I loved Toshiro growing up, but now I'm such an Ulquiorra simp oml.
Cheers,
Iland Girl