Chapter 42, Gate opens… run.
Tanya had to admit that something wasn't right. She had exhausted all avenues to raise a legal challenge against the current orders by Central 46.
She had met with several captains at this point, engaging in conversations to point out the curiosities of the situation. Yet nothing seemed to be done to stop it.
She almost felt like she had gone insane. But thankfully, she had one thing going for her—after all, she was insane and the Soul Society was insane.
Central 46 had always been a bit standoffish, so the fact that they seemed to be ignoring the numerous questions about the situation was within the standard practice of the organization. They didn't want their orders to be questioned, it was that simple. The creation of temporary Soul Reapers, let alone substitute Soul Reapers, was a grave offense, apparently one that they were not going to let pass easily.
So, in order to get them to finally back down, more pressure needed to be brought upon them.
How Tanya was going to get her hands on that amount of political pressure, she didn't know. Although she theorized that if she was able to bring just a few more captains on her side, it was possible.
A problem, of course, was that it felt like captains were avoiding her. Even with the Fourth and Eleventh on her side, she still needed a few more, which meant she needed to have meetings with those captains.
However, for some reason, Kaname Tōsen seemed to be avoiding any attempt at a meeting with her. The Fifth division captain appeared to be extremely busy, and of course, the Tenth division's Tōshirō Hitsugaya was still stuck doing the paperwork she usually did.
Furthermore, the Thirteenth division captain had still not come out of whatever illness had taken hold of him.
For nearly a week, the situation had remained pretty much the same, and Tanya was starting to get concerned. Every passing day meant they were a day closer to Rukia's execution and whatever chaos that would unleash.
Yes, of course, she knew that the chaos resulting from the execution would probably take years or even decades to fully manifest, but it was definitely a fracture point, triggering something that would make people raise eyebrows and start looking at Central 46 as an overlord. That could be a problem, and not just an old, outdated way of controlling a powerful piece of security needed to maintain the balance of the worlds.
That being said, just because something would happen in the future didn't mean there wasn't a chance that it could happen faster than people believed. If any weakness showed up within the Soul Society, she imagined that it would create fracture points across the entirety of society.
And with the possibility that there were large concentrations of Communists somewhere out there, chances were that unrest would spring up, making the situation worse.
Shaking her head, she sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking across the coffee shop at the front door, hoping for something to change.
She had been going to the Fourth division's headquarters for the last week and helping out with healing. To do that, she needed to basically wait for a member of the Fourth's staff to come visit and bring her there and back.
House arrest sucked, and being under constant guard was even worse. But there was hope that something would change. She filed a petition to have the house arrest undone since they had not charged her with any crimes. If they weren't willing to charge her with any crime, there was no reason to hold her under house arrest. It was that simple, according to their own laws.
The question was, how long would they draw out the process? Theoretically, it should only take them a couple of days to read the petition and decide on the matter. Yet, it had been a week. The longer it went on, the more she was convinced that this was some sort of attack on the nobility. Why else were they trying to prevent her from taking up the defense of Rukia?
Then again, perhaps they were not. Perhaps it was just a misconception based on the fact that they were keeping her under house arrest. After all, they didn't know she planned to defend Rukia, right? Well, they might figure it out if they were paying attention to who she was contacting for assistance, but still.
Sighing, she shook her head and sipped her drink again. But were they really so angry at the nobles that they were going to execute a minor noble to make their point? What was the whole point of this? Why were they so intent on murdering a girl over being involved in an accident? Something just didn't add up. There must be something personal going on. Perhaps Rukia had spat on some old geezer's eggs when she was young.
She didn't know, but the whole situation had her curious, more cautious, and thinking deeply. If they could be this vengeful over something like that, how far were they willing to go?
Further than most, that was for sure. She shook her head, about to get up for another cup, when the bells above the door rang, drawing her eyes to whoever had entered.
The person who entered, though, was not someone she expected. Byakuya Kuchiki, the captain of the Sixth Division, looked around as Renji stood next to him.
The captain of the Sixth said something too low for Tanya to hear, and Renji walked over to the counter where one of the hired girls was working, brewing drinks for the customers.
Then, the captain of the Sixth did something even more odd. He walked directly down the pathway in the middle of the diner and stopped right in front of Tanya's booth, saying, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
Tanya raised an eyebrow but shook her head, saying, "Nope, completely free, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki," as she moved her hand to offer him the seat.
Byakuya Kuchiki sat down and remained there for a moment, seeming to mull over what he wanted to say. Finally, he said, "I am sorry about what happened in the World of the Living. Apparently, there were some sort of crossed wires, and Rukia made a mistake by wandering into where we were waiting, as dictated by our orders. I had to uphold them and remove said mistake."
"Crossed wires?" Tanya questioned before shaking her head and continuing, "Well, apparently Ichigo is dead, so it doesn't matter now. What matters is trying to save Rukia. I believe you have a plan for that."
Captain Kuchiki shook his head before saying, "The law is the law, and I uphold it. I have put in one letter at the urging of the captain of the Fourth, suggesting that there may be other ways to punish Rukia. But I have not received anything but a confirmation request that she be ready to be moved to the tower in the center of the Soul Society within the next few days."
Tanya shook her head before saying, "That seems weird. Why are they so intent on following the rules so strictly in this case?"
For a moment, a rather implacable expression held on the captain's face before he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it may be my fault."
Tanya raised an eyebrow before he continued, "An old disagreement may have affected the outcome of the case. Central 46 may have decided to punish me for something that happened a long time ago."
'So he knows that this is bullshit. He knows that this is probably due to noble meddling, and he's just letting it happen.
'Let's talk about two possible outcomes. One, he is rather callous and never cared for his sister, which is unlikely as why would you adopt a girl into your family if you didn't care for her in some capacity? Or two, he knows something worse could happen if he doesn't follow the laws. Maybe he has hope that they'll call it off at the last moment if he's respectful enough.'
That wasn't good. Well, it was good in the sense that if he was right and they were just trying to play chicken with him, get him to cause enough trouble to possibly be purged himself, there was a chance that if he stayed the course, Rukia would be released. But if they weren't and really were just going to execute Rukia because they had no care for her, well, that meant that what he was doing was for nothing and simply wasting time.
So, how best to handle this situation before Tanya? That was the question now laid by the captain of the Sixth.
Nodding her head, she said, "Well, that's not good. If they are being petty like that, I would be concerned about their thoughts being quite clear on this matter."
Nodding, he replied, "Within the legal case that the captain of the Eleventh is raising."
"Hmm," she voiced. It seemed weird that he was taking an active interest in Rukia's situation. He said nothing back as Renji arrived with a cup of tea and put it down in front of him. He nodded to the red-haired lieutenant before sipping it. "Mmm, this is quite excellent."
"I'll make sure Visha knows that you like that brand in the future," Tanya said before adding, "As for Captain Zaraki's interest in the situation, I think he simply is not a fan of a person being executed without a fair fight. That's what they're threatening her with, after all. But he did ask me to prepare a legal brief for him."
A hint of a smile played across the captain of the Sixth's face before he said, "Would you be willing to prepare a legal brief for me, simply implying that I am concerned about the legitimacy of this court's decision on this matter?"
"I can, though it's very likely that they won't see any more movement on that. We need to get more captains involved, ones who are not very active in this situation. The more captains we get involved in this, the more seriously they'll have to take this situation."
Captain Kuchiki nodded before saying, "Finding captains who would be willing to raise a question on this matter seems rather easy. I've heard you've quite a few friends amongst other divisions."
Tanya nodded before saying, "I do, but things just seem to be progressing at a rather slow rate. They seem to all be busy with one problem or another."
Captain Kuchiki nodded before saying, "Well, we are trying to do this legally. Perhaps I could be of help in this."
Tanya shook her head and said, "If you are correct and they are trying to punish you for something you did a long time ago, you getting involved to try and get more captains on our side is detrimental. It looks like a conspiracy. And if there's one thing Central 46 does not stand for, it's conspiracy."
The captain of the Sixth nodded his head in understanding before saying, "True, and I'm probably right in my assumption that I should just try and hope that the situation is resolved legally, correct?"
Tanya nodded before saying, "The best you can do is offer your opinion that the punishment is an overreaction to the crime and hope that enough other captains agree with you on their own after I've talked to them."
Captain Kuchiki took a sip of his drink before saying, "Well, then I leave this situation in your capable hands. I apologize for what was done to the 'accident.' He seemed to have been trained up rather well, and his style seems to remind me of a fight I saw years ago in an arena."
Tanya blinked. That kind of sounded like a threat.
Did he just imply that if Tanya didn't get Rukia off the hook, he would release information implying that Tanya had been involved in the training of Ichigo?
There's no way to prove it, but considering they were out to murder a little Reaper over simply creating another Soul Reaper in the World of the Living, it's not hard to see that they'd go full bore on any implications of assistance.
Trying not to show her fear, Tanya nodded her head and said, "The real shame, from what I saw of him, was that he was more than willing to work with the Soul Society. Central 46's orders were a real failure in my opinion on that. But he is gone, and we must now focus on the situation before us and minimize the losses."
Captain Kuchiki nodded his head before finishing his drink and getting up.
"Good luck, Miss Degurechaff. May your efforts be successful." Nodding, he turned and left, Renji quickly falling behind him before giving a thumbs up, leaving Tanya by herself as she contemplated the possibility that she may be hunted soon by agents of the Stealth Force.
Maybe she needed her sword back sooner rather than later.
"Of course you need your sword back," came the voice of Tasha from over her shoulder, a little bit muffled by the distance. "I am the better weapon, much better than that knife you still carry around all these years later."
Tanya covered her annoyed noise before sipping her coffee.
"Oh, don't be like that, Tanya," Tasha's voice said before adding, "you'll give yourself wrinkles with that annoyed face."
Tanya simply deepened her annoyed expression.
"Geez, okay, I get it. Now let's try this some other way. If Central 46 goes through with this, there's going to be a fight, and there's a good chance that when this fight happens, you'll be in the middle of it. The captain of the Sixth raising his division against Central 46, that could be a hell of a thing."
'That's not going to happen,' Tanya thought at her, mentally waving her hand off. 'He's completely under their control as far as I can see, not wanting to rock the boat.'
"Are you sure he's under control right now? Because the threat is there, and he believes there's a chance to prevent it. But what if they go through with it? Well, then the threat's no longer there, and he knows that they're willing to go this far in the future. So what point is there to him serving?"
'A reasonable concern,' Tanya nodded. 'However, the chance that he will go full rebel seems unlikely to me.'
"Okay, but what if it's not him? What if something else happens? Some other captain decides that this is a step too far? Maybe the captain of the Thirteenth, when he leaves seclusion in a couple of days. He's going to have to step out of it sooner or later."
'If that happens, then I will come get my sword because I will need it for protection. But I will not get it before then.'
"Well, come on, it's cold in the captain's office. He literally absorbs energy through his skin and just leaves everything colder."
'Yes, but my sword being there protects you and me. If I have a weapon, they can accuse me of plotting to overthrow Central 46 with my attempts to free Rukia legally. As long as I follow the rules they set, we are protected from such situations and will not have as many issues.'
"Tanya, they're not playing by the rules," Tasha said. "They are trying to murder someone for a minor offense that they're claiming is a grave offense."
'They set the rules of the game, and we must play it, or they will have more opportunities to throw us in jail, and we'll meet the same fate as Rukia.'
"We could already be on the route to meet the same fate as Rukia. After all, they still have not lifted the house arrest."
'They've also not made a move to fully arrest me, which means I still have maneuvering room, and I will use that maneuvering room to succeed if I can.'
"And what if you can't? What if everything goes wrong? What if the whole world goes against you?"
'Now you're sounding like Being X, who's going to come out of the woodwork to torture me.'
"Perhaps he already has. Everything does seem a little bit weird, after all. Don't you think? Maybe he's making a move again."
Tanya shook her head at that and simply said, 'If Being X was making a move, he'd be more grandiose about it. He was always too concerned with proving his divinity to be playing games where I didn't know what was going on.'
"Hmm, well, if Being X isn't behind it, perhaps we should be looking to relatives."
Tanya blinked in confusion before saying, 'What do you mean?'
"What was it that Being X told you? That there are beings like him in this universe, but they will not know about you. Perhaps we are seeing the footprints of such a being."
Tanya immediately lowered the cup from her mouth and looked out across the diner with a bit of apprehension. The thought that something was moving like Being X but was not initially going after her was somehow even worse.
The war that Being X had targeted her in, he was trying to get her to convert, and so many people had died in that operation. It was a disgusting waste of life.
So what were the chances she would survive in a situation where she was not the target, where she was just another agent in the way for this being to use?
'I'm going to hope,' Tanya mentally said, 'that you're wrong on this because if you're right, well, I don't think we'll be living much longer in this life.'
"We'll be fine. You just need to get your sword."
Sighing, Tanya said, 'Alright, the moment I think there's actually a threat to my existence, I'll come get you, but not a moment sooner. Got it?'
"Eh, better than nothing, I guess."
"Why does it feel like we're being chased?" she moaned as she brushed off hollow blood from her uniform.
Hidenao shrugged before driving his blade deeper into the hollow that had shown up to block their way. With a bit of work, he was able to slice its neck, causing it to fall over dead and removing the final obstacle from their trip home.
They had been heading back to the center of the Soul Society for a few days now. Their extended trip to the outer reaches had been uneventful for the most part, helping a few people and winning some hearts and minds. They did what Tanya would do. But their trip back had been more than eventful. Almost every town they came across seemed to be having a small hollow attack, slowing down their path every step of the way. They had initially set out on their trip, believing they would be back by the 1st of the coming month, but at the current rate, it would be closer to the third unless they got a ride in one of the nearby towns.
Sighing, she kicked the beasts that had been blocking their way and said, "Well, at least there's one less of these monsters in the world. What do you think? Is there something drawing them to the Soul Society more than normal, or is this just a run of bad luck?"
Again, Hidenao shrugged his shoulders, not really giving an answer but pointing to his blade, implying that it didn't matter if it was a run of bad luck or if there were more monsters than normal. He was up to kill every single one of them, and to be fair, so was she.
Her hatred of hollows had only grown over the years, and with the increased skill that came along with it. Sliding her sword into her sheathe, she shrugged and finally said, "Well, I guess we got this mission done. At least we can move on with getting home."
Hidenao nodded, and quickly they moved on from where they had been killing these creatures, a small country road on the outskirts of some of the middle districts.
They moved quietly, not wanting to disturb any more creatures in the area. Sure, they were paid to kill hollows, but there were animals here. They were rare, but they did exist, and there was no need to fight animals when their job was to fight monsters.
Their journey had been eventful, to say the least, and there definitely seemed to be something up. It felt like every hollow they ran into had been given the go-ahead to cause mayhem.
Take, for instance, the hollows they had just killed. They had had a chance to attack a few normal individuals before commencing their attack on them, but they had passed up attacking those undefended individuals to target them. It was odd, almost implying that they were going out of their way to hunt Soul Reapers, which was never a good sign. And she could confirm that they were definitely after Soul Reapers.
As they continued down the road, they passed a wagon that had apparently had its wheel pop off due to a rock in the wrong place. Inside were a family of travelers who were struggling to try and fix it. Sighing, she stopped and looked at Hidenao, who nodded and went to work. He walked over there and used his brute strength to hold the wagon up so that the family could get to work putting the wheel back in place.
The work to get the wagon back into working order only took about half an hour, but it was a half an hour that was no longer in the plans for the day. As she watched the wagon pull off, the horses carrying it away, and waved to the little kids in the back, she turned to Hidenao and said, "We're not going to make it back in time today. Do you have a map? Do you know where the closest village is? We need at least a good place to sleep tonight, hopefully somewhere well defended and less likely to have a hollow attack."
Hidenao nodded his head before reaching into his satchel and pulling out a map of the region. He looked at it for a bit before nodding and signaling for them to follow him. They quickly moved down the road for another mile before turning off the main thoroughfare, walking for another half a mile until they reached what appeared to be an old shanty town but had a relatively good wall.
Layers of brickwork had been laid up on one side, and dirt on the other created a nice slope on the internal side, but a steep wall that anyone could shoot downwards from on the other. There was even a bit of a wooden palisade over the top of some areas, giving anyone who wanted to defend the place a bit more protection.
The guards saw them coming and immediately raised their spears, but as soon as they got a good look at them, they lowered them and nodded. One guard said, "Afternoon, Reapers. What business do you have in the town of Jindao?"
He was looking at Hidenao as he said that, but that was not going to work, so she spoke up.
"Just trying to find a place to rest for the evening," she said.
The guard gave her a look that didn't make her feel welcome before saying, "Is that so? Well, we aren't exactly stocked with a lot of resources. If you're wanting to stay in the town, you're going to have to show that you have the money to pay for your time here."
Muttering, she reached into a satchel and pulled out some local currency that she had picked up at the last town they visited, saying, "I believe this should be enough for an inn for two nights. We'll only need it for one, so we might spend some money at a local diner."
The guard eyed it but still gave her an odd look before finally saying, "Alright, open the gate," stepping to the side so the two of them could pass through. She gave a nod to him, and they entered into the town, getting a better look at the interior.
There were about seven main buildings. The closest to the entrance was what appeared to be a housing complex, followed by a diner with a hotel across from it. There was also a blacksmith, woodworking shop, and several other businesses she couldn't make out, but were probably good shops. Then there was what she guessed was the guardhouse/Town Hall.
She noted that the buildings had been designed so gates could be rolled out between the sections, creating a secondary wall in case something breached the first.
"Lot of bandit problems?" she asked, getting another look of annoyance from the man as she did.
"You could say that," he said with a shrug before continuing, "Some warlord out in the outer reaches has been getting a little bit too big for his britches down in the south. I've been trying to put in a call to have your people come down here and deal with it, but so far I've heard nothing. Considering you're coming from the wrong way, I have to assume you're not being assigned to deal with this situation."
She shook her head and said, "Afraid not."
"Well, that's to be expected," he said with a shake of his head before adding, "There have also been some hollow attacks. Any chance you'll help with that?"
She smiled as she said, "Of course. If a hollow attacks, we'll spring into action and destroy it. That's our job, after all."
"At least you're good for one thing," the guard said before waving them to continue on.
With a shrug, they moved into the main area, walking past a few more guards who were by a campfire, and into the second wall around the town center.
With a sigh, they moved over to the nearby hotel and rented two rooms. After all, they needed their own privacy. Once they had that all done, they moved over to the nearby diner and paid for some food.
Sighing, she sat across from Hidenao as they took a booth and relaxed, thinking about some food and ordering from the menu.
And then, as they waited, relaxing and just enjoying the time off their feet...
Even with the extra power boost of being soul reapers, walking for miles on end took a toll on their heels and feet. They had to be careful, especially since the preferred shoe of the uniform was nothing but a sandal.
Tanya saw that boots were her preferred choice for trips like this. Sandals were perfectly fine within the center of the Soul Society, but out here in the boonies where the roads were not very great, they had their limitations, especially when they got stuck in the mud.
And since most roads were dirt in nature, quite a lot of them would get stuck in the mud. She had a tendency to pack three extra pairs, and she was down to her last one simply because they had crossed one too many roads that were basically quicksand, causing her shoe to come right off her foot when she removed it.
When the food was delivered, she smiled at the happy waitress, thanked them, and was about to eat when she noticed that Hidenao was looking off to the right. Following his eyesight, she saw he was staring at a newspaper being held by another traveler.
Newspapers were uncommon this far out, but not impossible. However, she doubted that was the reason he was staring at it. The real reason became apparent as there were reports in the newspaper that a reaper was to be executed by the Soul Burner.
"Damn, that's harsh. Someone stepped in something," she said, and Hidenao nodded his head in agreement.
"They only pull out that Soul Burner thing when someone's really committed a crime," she said as she picked up her chopsticks and got to work eating.
Hidenao nodded and started eating himself, not saying anything, though one could tell he was wondering who had angered Central 46.
Thinking out loud, she said, "Must be someone who was a criminal and snuck out of their crimes by becoming a Soul Reaper. That's the only way I could see someone causing enough trouble to need complete elimination."
Hidenao nodded in agreement before she asked, "Maybe part of the Eleventh Division?" However, he shook his head in disagreement.
"Yeah, that would be too petty. Probably someone who got into one of the bigger divisions, like the Sixth or the Fifth. Or maybe even one of the top ones. Someone with a lot of power but not a lot of good impulse control."
Hidenao nodded again, and they continued to eat, wondering who had messed up to end up in that situation. They guessed they would find out when they got back to town and then to the Seireitei soon enough. But from the look of the newspaper, the news was only 3 or 4 days old, so the execution hadn't taken place yet.
Of course, papers could always be older than they appeared. Shrugging, she continued to eat, trying to gather as much energy as possible. They had a long day's walk ahead of them in the morning, and hopefully, they could find some way to speed it up. Maybe they should ask Tanya about that incident when they finally got home.
"Well, the training seems to have gone well," Kisuke Urahara mused as he looked out over the large cut in the dirt that had been created thanks to his pushing of Ichigo.
The cat nodded its head as it looked out across the underground training area. Over the last six days, they had managed to turn a relatively untrained Reaper into someone who should be able to do the necessary work. The real question, however, was whether they would be able to fight when needed.
Kisuke Urahara nodded his head before saying, "I think he'll do fine. I believe he has the killer instinct in him to get the job done, and he won't hold back when necessary. Plus, he's playing for all the marbles—all his friends will be there with him, everyone he wants to protect. If that doesn't inspire him to protect his friends, I don't know what else will."
The cat nodded before saying, "We've gathered quite a motley crew for this operation. Two Quincy's, both training in the woods. I've stopped in on them, and I think they're improving. I'm not really sure how they improve their abilities, but they do seem to be able to fight longer than they did a week ago."
"I think they'll handle the situation well enough," Kisuke Urahara said as he looked at the cat, scratching behind its ear. "The Quincy boy should do fine; he's dedicated to getting revenge on the Reapers who beat the hell out of him for trying to help Rukia."
"The girl, not so much," Kisuke Urahara assumed, based on the fact that she was being separated.
"No, no, I think she might be more dangerous than she lets on. When they started their combat practice, I would have said she was probably behind her cousin, but now it's like she's on the same level, if not more. If I had to guess, I'd say she's fought before, but where, I don't know."
"Hmm, well, Quincys are strange ones. Maybe she's got some sort of genetic memory or something that we don't know about," Kisuke Urahara mused, as the cat shook its head.
"Possibly, but either way, I wouldn't want to be anyone who closes the distance with her, thinking that just because she's a Quincy, she couldn't handle close combat. If anything, getting within punching range just seems to make her angrier."
"Hmm, interesting. What about the other two, the Fullbringers?" Kisuke Urahara asked.
"Chad is a brawler who should be able to hold his own in a fight and do the job that he needs to do. Hopefully, everyone will stay together and be able to cover each other's weaknesses, and he can stay with the Quincy and keep them from getting into close combat."
"And Orihime?" Kisuke Urahara asked, looking at the cat.
"A definite group healer. Her abilities will be valuable if this thing goes longer than a couple of days because people are going to need some healing if the fighting gets harsh enough."
"A well-rounded team, then," he mused. "My only hope is that they are able to pull off this rescue with minimal casualties."
"What exactly is our plan if they do pull off the rescue?" the cat mused, causing Kisuke Urahara to stop and look at the cat.
"Well, what do you mean by that? Of course, the goal is for them to pull off the rescue, get Rukia, and bring her back to the World of the Living," Kisuke Urahara replied.
The deadpan stare said exactly the truth of the matter, so he continued, "Yes, I know there's a good chance that a certain captain of the Fifth will interfere with this in some way and make it more chaotic. He's after the Hōgyoku, and there's no way he's not going to attempt to get his hands on it if they're trying to rescue her. But we're sending six kids into a situation that they may or may not be able to pull off...crazier things have happened. There's some unknown variable that even I don't know about, so with any luck, they can pull it off and get Rukia out."
"And if they don't pull it off? If they're in combat with...Sosuke Aizen?" the cat questioned, confused. "Maybe he reveals his hand enough that the other captains realize something untoward is going on, and they step in to try and help the kids. After all, they're just kids. Why is the captain going after them with such ferocity?"
"And is there any other plan in case that doesn't work?" the cat inquired further.
Urahara smiled before saying, "Of course, but it's best to keep those plans as close to my chest as possible."
The Thundercat made a noise of annoyance before sighing and saying, "One more thing, Urahara. What the hell happened there?"
"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Urahara said, opening his fan and blowing air towards his face.
"You know what I'm talking about. How did that girl pull herself out of the pit with a zanpakuto? Even at best, she should have only come out of there with maybe Soul Reaper clothing," the cat pressed.
"She's known about Soul Reapers for about a month before this," Urahara explained with a hum. "Factor in that she was in close proximity to Rukia that whole time, spent her entire life in this little town which has quite a bit of spiritual energy flowing about, and also quite a bit of time around Ichigo. She has all the ingredients to pull it off."
"Yes, that's enough ingredients to make a Soul Reaper, but that's not enough to make a zanpakuto," the cat argued.
Urahara let out a sigh before nodding in agreement. "It must be the Hōgyoku in this case. I must assume that the Hōgyoku is responsible, at the very least, trying to understand how that item works is hard. It's still a bit preposterous I know, but it is supposed to basically allow a person to accomplish their goals if it is within their ability. Perhaps it had already started germinating the seeds for a zanpakuto because she knew that a sword was necessary. The question then becomes: how tied is that zanpakuto to her soul?"
"What do you mean?" the cat said, sitting up to listen closely.
"The zanpakuto are created through the use of an asauchi in some form or another. They usually take on aspects of their wielder. But they were originally soul material first. Ichigo's zanpakuto is, of course, based off of Rukia's, so there's a slight difference when it comes to bringing his back. The ability to reach it was just damaged," Urahara explained.
"Tatsuki never had a zanpakuto, which means for a zanpakuto to be created, an asauchi had to be used in its creation," the kitty commented.
"The Hōgyoku may have crystallized a part of her soul and severed it, using the spiritual energy of the area around her to fill in the gaps. In essence, her soul was cloned to start the seed that becomes the zanpakuto," Urahara explained.
"That's insane! Does it even work that way?" the cat exclaimed. Urahara nodded before admitting, "I have no idea. The only people who really know how these things work are up in the Zero Division. They're not speaking about these sorts of things simply to keep their secrets."
"I could be completely wrong. For all I know, when she was wishing she could help, the Hōgyoku found a nearby asauchi and shaped it into a sword-like form, then started growing it inside her. If we weren't in a situation where that item could be used for extreme evil, I would love to test it and find out exactly how it works. Of course, I would need to pass it by Central 46, and that would probably never happen," Urahara pondered.
"So should we be worried about all of this? I mean, Ichigo has trained, he's got his shikai, and can fight well enough. How is Tatsuki doing? Should she really be allowed on this mission?" the cat questioned.
Kisuke Urahara sighed before nodding his head and saying, "I tried to hold her back, but she insisted. I gave her an opportunity, and she trained right next to Ichigo this entire time. Yes, she hasn't achieved her shikai yet, but she seems more than willing to go through the necessary training. And let's be honest here, fighting in the Soul Society may just trigger that release quicker. It really comes down to having bodies in the field. The more people on this operation, the better chance it has of succeeding. She's shown herself to be capable of fighting."
"I don't like that," the cat said, shaking her head. "It feels like we're using them as disposable bodies."
Kisuke Urahara nodded before saying, "Yeah, it's not a great option, but considering the number of people going, it's the best option we have. Plus, she has a good head on her shoulders. Ichigo is likely to do something stupid and get himself noticed right away. That girl is more likely to take note of the fact that they're all wearing the same uniform and blend in to gather information."
"Hmm, do you think she can pass as a member of the Second Division? Maybe I should talk to her when I have the chance," the cat suggested.
"Probably should," Kisuke Urahara agreed with a nod. "Under your tutelage, she should be able to accomplish quite a bit. Right now, she makes a good partner for you to train against. When I take a break, Ichigo seems obsessed with getting strong enough to accomplish the mission, and she needs someone stronger to fight against, so it works out. Not to mention that training manual Ichigo's father brought by."
"Anything of interest I should know about in there? I haven't had a chance to read it yet."
Kisuke Urahara shrugged before saying, "Well, for one, it focuses on building up spiritual power quite a bit through exercise. Unfortunately, Tatsuki took that too hard, which is also fortunate."
"How so?" the cat inquired.
"Well, she tried to exercise a little too hard in a real body and sprained her arm. That cleared her schedule, which may have been conflicting with her trip to the Soul Society, unless she was going to take part in some national karate event. But now she can't," Urahara explained.
"Oh, that sucks for her," the cat sympathized.
Kisuke Urahara nodded before saying, "But, again, it opens up her availability and gives her the chance to help Ichigo, Rukia, and all the others, so it all works out."
"I hope it does work out," the cat said, shaking its head. "This plan is dangerous. Even with the small number we originally estimated, adding this many people gives us more manpower on the field, but it also makes us a bigger target to track. Are you sure we shouldn't bring along someone who hasn't even reached their shikai?"
"Hmm, of course I'm not sure," Urahara responded. "But you'll be the commander once you're in the Soul Society, and you'll have to figure out a way in. If you feel she isn't capable enough to fight in the Soul Society, you can sideline her once you're in there. Simply state that the method you're going to use would require a smaller number, and mention that you'll come back to bring her in during the second round of transportation or something."
The cat pondered for a moment and said, "That's not a bad option, though I do wonder if it can even be pulled off. They've pushed themselves to the point of going on this mission, and I don't think they'll give up if I tell them not to come."
"Exactly the problem I've been facing with her. She's pushed herself enough that telling her no at this point would be counterproductive," Urahara admitted.
The cat nodded before asking, "So, what time do we send these kids out on the mission?"
"I'm thinking midnight. You can go round them up, and we'll all meet at the gateway. I hope they can pull this off," Urahara replied.
"Midnight? Will they have had enough rest?" the cat inquired.
Last week, Ichigo Kurosaki had probably undergone one of the most intensive training sessions he had ever experienced. But now that it was over and he had a moment to rest before the invasion of the Soul Society, he had to admit he was still on edge about the whole thing.
He wasn't backing down. No, that wasn't his style. He was just worried about Tatsuki, who had somehow gotten involved in this.
That was not something he had ever expected to happen. He had been under the assumption that he would be training alone, and then boom, one of his oldest friends crawled out of a pit that had been right next to him, possibly going through some of the same horrid experiences he had been going through.
Why did she even get involved? She had made it quite clear over the last week that Rukia was a friend, and she wanted to help. That was fine, but he really thought he should be the one taking responsibility here. It was his fault that Rukia was in trouble, and he needed to be the one to get her out of trouble. But hadn't Hat and Clogs raised a good point that every hand would be helpful, and he would be facing nearly an army of Soul Reapers?
So gradually, he had helped train Tatsuki the best he could, filling her in on everything he knew about Soul Reaper stuff and how it worked, including the shikai. She hadn't figured out how to unleash hers yet.
They had focused a lot on the close-quarters spells that Tanya had attempted to teach him, and Tatsuki had worked herself to the bone over the weekend, literally breaking her arm to some extent while trying to get herself ready for this mission.
That annoyed him to some degree as well because he knew she had been planning to take part in the national karate league tournament. Now, instead, she was going to be risking her life with him to rescue a friend.
One good thing was that at least he would have a friend on this mission. Yeah, he was more than willing to go alone, but having some help would not be the worst option, even if it did feel like a corny anime trope. Friends meant people you could count on, and where he was going, he definitely needed people he could count on.
That being said, he was trying to get himself in the right mindset to say goodnight to his sisters and bid them farewell, just in case he didn't come back.
He didn't like the notion of just saying goodnight and leaving it at that. If he never came back, that would probably not be a good situation to leave as their last memories of their brother. But he also didn't want to worry the girls.
It was a hard thing to do, but he had to do it. So, taking a breath, he got up from his bed and stepped out of his room, walking across the hallway to give a knock on the girls' room and say, "Goodnight, Karin, Yuzu."
"Night, Ichigo," Yuzu said, sounding a bit confused as to why he was going out of his way to say goodnight.
With that handled, he sighed and took a few steps down the stairs, shaking his head as he made his way towards the front of the doctor's office. However, he was stopped before he made it all the way, as a light came on in the kitchen.
"Why don't I get a 'good night'?" his dad asked with a smile, pointing to the chair that had been pulled out.
"Well, I was assuming I would get past you without having to do that, but I guess you deserve a good night," Ichigo said, moving over to the indicated seat and taking it.
His dad nodded before saying, "So tonight's the night you launch an attack on the Soul Society, I assume."
"Well, I'd like to think of it as a rescue operation, but yes, I guess 'attack' would be the correct term."
His dad nodded again, then reached over to the fridge and pulled something out. "If I had my abilities, I'd go in there with you to help you rescue your little friend. Unfortunately, I can't really do much ever since coming to this world. I've just been too depowered to take up my blade."
"But I can do one thing a father should do before his son goes out on a night of combat. It's an old ritual, and I don't exactly have the correct drink, but I should do it."
With that, he pulled out a beer bottle, popped the cap, and slid it across to Ichigo.
"You're going into combat, so you don't need to be absolutely plastered. Just take a sip."
Ichigo Kurosaki chuckled at that and said, "Not exactly how I expected to have my first sip of alcohol," before bringing the bottle to his lips.
After only taking a sip, he slid it back across the table to his father, who grabbed it and said, "I know what you're going into is dangerous, and there's no guarantee that you'll come home. But do your sisters a favor and don't just disappear on them. Someone has to look after them after I'm too old to do the job."
Ichigo nodded his head and said, "I'll come back, Dad, and I'm bringing Rukia with me if I can help it."
"Good. She'd make a wonderful wife for you."
"Ah, she's just a friend, Dad."
"Ha! That's what they all say in the beginning," he said, sipping his alcohol before adding, "Just make sure to come home safe. That's all that matters."
"I will, Dad," Ichigo said, getting up and putting the chair back under the table. He nodded to his father, and they shared one last moment of understanding before Ichigo stepped out of the kitchen, down the hall, and out through the front door into the street.
From there, he walked the mile or so down the road to Urahara's Candy Shop. Walking up, Ichigo Kurosaki saw no one out front and waited there for a moment, wondering where Tatsuki was.
Earlier today, Ichigo Kurosaki had seen her with some other friends watching the fireworks display for the end of the year, so presumably she shouldn't be that far behind, unless, of course, she decided she wasn't coming.
It wasn't impossible. She was still behind him when it came to using the sword. When the sword didn't work, she tended to rely on her karate moves.
But those thoughts were quickly put aside as Ichigo Kurosaki saw her approaching. However, she was not alone. To her left was Orihime Inoue, who was coming up with her, leaving Ichigo Kurosaki very confused.
"What are you doing here, Orihime?" he asked, and she stopped and waved.
"Well, I'm coming along after all. Rukia is my friend as well," she said with a shrug, which caused Ichigo to look at Tatsuki.
"Hey, don't look at me. Urahara offered the chance for them to join before I even forced my way into this."
"Hmm," he finally settled on after a few minutes of annoyance at the fact that more of his friends were getting involved in this situation.
"Hey, Ichigo," came a voice to his right, causing him to turn and see Chad walking up.
Tilting his head, he said, "Okay, okay, three of my friends. Is there anyone else you would like to join this party?" he said, looking up at the sky, being facetious.
"I think we will be joining you as well," came a voice from his left, causing him to let out a loud sigh before turning and seeing two individuals he had not been expecting in some of the most ridiculous costumes he had not prepared for.
First up was Uryū Ishida, wearing a white suit with a cloak over his shoulders, looking very full of himself. That was to be expected; he seemed to be a bit full of himself most of the time. But to his immediate right was Akita Ishida, who was wearing a more formal dress reaching just above her calves and loosely hanging indicating she had plenty ability to run, all in white, with her own cloak, looking a bit annoyed but happy.
"We're not going to a dance, you know," he said, shaking his head as the pair approached.
"Quiet, you! These are professional Quincy uniforms," Uryū said, shaking his fist at him, causing Ichigo to sigh again.
"He's got a bit of a point, cousin," Akita said with a shake of her head. "These are a bit too formal."
"Of course they're formal. What better way to show that we're Quincy than by making it as clear as possible that we are Quincy."
"That may be true, but standing out a little bit too much might make us easy targets," Akita said, blinking, then giving the dress a little twirl before letting out an annoyed sigh.
"Well, it's too late to change the plan now. We're here," Uryū said, fixing his collar before asking, "So, how exactly are we getting into the Soul Society?"
Ichigo gave a shrug before saying, "I am kind of depending on Kisuke to get us in. I'm sure he's got a plan."
"He always has a plan," the cat said, appearing on the roof above them, sitting there in contemplation before hopping down.
"Six kids going into the Soul Society. Three more, and you can make a fellowship."
"Haha, Lord of the Rings reference. I got that," Chad said, getting some annoyed looks before apologizing, "Sorry."
Ichigo said, "Alright, so how are we going to get into the Soul Society?"
The cat kicked its back leg against the door, making enough noise to apparently alert someone inside. A moment later, Kisuke opened it and said, "Oh, they're here, all right. Follow me, kids. This one's going to be a bit of a doozy," he said, leading the way in and opening the trap door to the basement first.
With some quick arrangement, the group made its way down the ladder, with the girls first down before the others, for obvious reasons. Everyone soon arrived in the well-lit underground space underneath the candy shop.
Once everyone was in position, Urahara walked to the edge of a nearby area and tapped on a pile of rocks that seemed to arrange themselves into a form of a gateway.
"Let's do this quick and dirty so we can get you all on your way. The only way in and out of the Soul Society is a senkaimon. Unfortunately, as you might be aware, the Soul Society has full control of said gateway, which means there's no way in normally. Still, there are other ways in, if you have the genius to pull it off.
"This is a Dangai, a gateway that goes between the World of the Living and the Soul Society. It's not as stable and probably won't last very long. You probably have 15 minutes to make it through, and you will need to run to do it. There are things in there that, well, shouldn't be a problem this time of week, but they could have always changed the schedule, so move fast, move quickly, and get through as fast as possible."
Uryū raised his hand to ask a question, and Urahara pointed at him.
"It's great if this gateway can get us through to the Soul Society, but where exactly will we be coming out?"
"No idea. That's a bit of a problem with these gateways. There's no way to be sure exactly where you'd come out. I believe this one will pop you out close to the central districts, and that's good enough. You can get through the central districts quickly enough that you can start rescuing Rukia pretty soon. But if you're out in the outer districts, it doesn't matter. From what I understand, the cat has a backup plan already in motion. Someone she plans to have you all meet."
"Because inside there's friends, allies we can call upon in the Soul Society. If we all work together, we can probably reach them within a few hours of arrival. From there, we'll need to do a little bit of training to see if we can pull this off. But once that's accomplished, we can get into the Soul Society easy enough, I believe."
Akita raised her hand and said, "Does that make the cat the leader of the operation?"
"Yes," Kisuke said with a smile. "Yep, the cat is the leader. Once you're inside, listen to her, and you should come out all right. If you don't, well, whatever happens to you probably was deserved, especially when the cat decides to slash you with her claws for not listening."
"It's a cat. Why are we following the directions of a cat?" Uryū said, getting a shrug from everybody else. They had all come to accept the wackiness of this situation.
"Cat speaks, cat can train us, cat will show us allies. I really have no problem with this at this point," Chad said with a shrug.
"Also, does anyone really believe that this cat is actually a cat?" Tatsuki said as she raised her hand. "Like, we've seen Ichigo leave his body, which means it's possible for a person, as a soul, to leave their body, right? Doesn't that mean that this cat could be some person inside a small fake body?"
That got a glance from the cat, who said, "Creative, but no. I'm a cat, maybe more, but I am in the form of a cat."
"Yeah, that's totally not suspicious or anything," Orihime said, agreeing with her friend.
Shaking his head, Urahara did something and activated the portal before saying, "Well, we've all had our fun little bit of a discussion about the cat and our plans. It's about time for you all to get your butts running. The Soul Society awaits, and Rukia needs rescuing. So, are you going to stand here and not do a thing, or are you going to get moving?"
He really didn't need to be so terse about it, but there wasn't much else to say. Everyone was here, and we needed to do this. So, freeing myself from my body through the use of the Soul Candy, I stepped away and told Kon not to do anything stupid.
Tatsuki did the same, though I wasn't aware of where she'd gotten her Soul Candy, and simply told the body to follow Kon.
And with that, the six of us followed the cat into the portal at a run, hoping to get through it as fast as possible.
Stretching his arms and cracking his back, Kon felt good to be in a proper body. "So, we're good to leave, right? I mean, we don't need to be here. How long will they be gone?"
The candy store owner shrugged his shoulders and said, "They could be gone for days, they could be gone for minutes. This thing's a little bit unstable. They might end up going back in time three years for all I know, and they've been in hiding this whole time, waiting to pop out and take over their lives."
"That's really unstable. Are you sure that's the safest thing you could have gotten them through?"
The candy shop owner smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's the safest way- well, the safest way that we can get through. They'll be fine. They just need to keep running. As for you, too, you're good. Don't do anything stupid. You can stay the night. If they're not back by morning, you can go back to Ichigo's house. Just don't do anything his father would beat you up over. Got it?"
"Got it."
"As for you," he pointed to Tatsuki's body, "I've heard about the stupidity you got up to while in Tanya's body. Don't continue that."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tatsuki's body said with a shake of the head.
"Yeah, just don't continue your whole 'boyfriend schtick' thing when you're in someone else's body. Please, you don't have to do anything. Just stay out of the limelight."
"Besides, you're supposed to be at home healing. So just go home, get into bed, lie down, let your arm heal, get plenty of rest and wait for them to return. You understand, missy?" he said, the last part sounding like he was talking to a disobedient child, and the reaction was somewhat fitting.
Sighing on the side of annoyance, Tatsuki's body finally said, "Fine, I won't do anything crazy. I just hope she has access to the Internet. I have to manage Tanya's stocks."
"Hold on," I said finally. "Are you the soul that Ichigo has been complaining about? The one who may have been responsible for the Hollow storm a week ago?"
"I wouldn't say I was responsible for that, but yes, I am. That's all. Want to hang out?"
The smile she gave Kon immediately made him realize that he should not hang out with her. But it took a lot of mental strength and consideration to come to that decision, almost too much for him.
Writers note: FUCK YEAH another chapter out! And we're getting into real shit as changes start colaide butter start flying and adventures go off rails.
Please comment, review, and generally enjoy yourselves…
Edited by: L, Guardsman Pius, Colt
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Reviews
setokayba2n:i'm sure he thinking somthing like that
Kixtia: hmmm true
Eedura: have another
4Alucard: thank you
TalonScythe: no double dipping here
: i give the peaple what they want
evilstatistic19: here to it!
AnimeFan13579: hmm should thought of that
Carlos Andres Araya: no idea what doing :P
FoulerGlint60: he always is!
LegendaryMob: understandable
NashiraCJ: hope you enjoy your read!