Greetings my readers, it is I, Unknown entity328 with a new chapter! Deeply sorry I took so long with the update, I've been bidy with school and work. On top of that, I've numerous ideas for new fanfics that I couldn't concentrate. Good new is, because of these ideas, I'll have new stories to share soon. I hope you all will look forward to them. Especially since some of them will cover things I've never worked with before. With that said, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Fourteen: Questioning
Guiding Uryu and Orihime wasn't easy with everyone scattered about, but Toya was able to manage. It helped that he was constantly on the lookout for the spiritual pressures of squad members. Whenever he felt someone closing in, he directed them down a different path. What he was worried about was reaching their destination before any of the captains noticed. If even one of them catches him, it'll all be over before it even begins. He doesn't have to worry about his own captain, who's very understanding and almost always not feeling well.
It took until sundown, but Toya led them to what appeared to be an abandoned storage warehouse. The inside was also unassuming, broken shelves and bags of ingredients that obviously went bad. The ceiling was littered with holes of various sizes and the support beams show signs of warping. If one were to step inside, it wouldn't be impossible for the building to collapse on them.
Uryu's eyes scanned every nook and cranny of the inside as he and Orihime entered after Toya. He then watched as the squad thirteen lieutenant walked to the center of the room. He then crouched down and ran his fingers along the floor to clear some dust. He soon found what he was looking for and placed his hand flat on the floor. There was a click before Toya lifted up a tile that came loose.
"This way." Toya stepped aside, revealing that under the tile was a staircase leading downwards. He snapped his fingers and a trail of lights flickered on. "No one but myself knows about this entrance."
Uryu was still wary of the individual in front of him, but followed when Orihime started going down the stairs. Once the two were down, Toya followed and lowered the tile back to its previous position. They didn't have to go down far, for the bottom of the staircase was already visible. When they reached the bottom, they were now in a well lit room. There wasn't much to it with just a single desk, chair, and a few crates.
"Oh wow, this looks amazing!" Orihime exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with excitement of being in a secret room.
"Think of this as my secret base." Toya explained, giving Orihime a small smile upon seeing her looking around the place. He moved towards the crates and rummaged through one of them. "I built it twenty years ago when I was bored."
"You built something like this because you were bored?" Uryu sweatdropped, not even sure if the lieutenant was a threat anymore.
"It helps when I need to do something secretly." Toya shrugged, pulling out two neatly folded shihakusho. He looked over his shoulder to his two guests with a small smirk. "Sheltering you two for example."
"Did you really do all this by yourself?" Orihime asked excitedly, her eyes shimmering at the thought that she was in a secret base. She then looked around again with a look of wonder. "Wow, that must've been hard."
"Like you wouldn't believe." Toya nodded, handing each of them a shihakusho before going to the desk. "But it was worth it."
"What are these for?" Uryu asked, looking down at the shihakusho he was holding in confusion.
"To help you blend in." Toya replied, looking over some papers that were on the desk before finding what he was looking for. "You'll need to be inconspicuous to rescue Rukia." He reached into the folds of his shihakusho in search of something. "Of course, I already informed the other squads to be on the lookout for that."
"You what?" Uryu narrowed his eyes, dropping the shihakusho before forming his bow and drawing it back. "What's the point of all this then?"
"Calm down, Uryu!" Orihime exclaimed, frantically waving her hands in an attempt to calm the quincy. "I'm sure Toya had his reasons!"
"That I did." Toya nodded, not turning as he took some ink and a brush before writing on the paper. "I told them to question every squad member the following: their name, squad, rank, captain, lieutenant, and historical fact of the soul society." He set down the brush and picked up the papers he was writing on. "I assume you ryoka didn't bother to study the soul society well."
He received small sounds from the two as indications that he was right. The lieutenant didn't know whether to sigh at their stupidity or laugh at how far they got. One thing for sure, their luck is quickly running out. It's especially true if a captain gets involved in the fighting. In that case, Toya can only pray they get a captain like the laid-back captain Kyoraku or Toshiro. Those two will at least try to capture them alive to learn what their objective is. Then there's captain Unohana, she hardly leaves the squad four barracks, but she should be as safe as the previous two mentioned.
"Well, I guess I should explain before any misunderstandings happen." Toya finally said, turning to face the two with a small smile. "The reason I told them to be on the lookout is to help you blend in better."
"How exactly does that help us blend in?" Uryu questioned, retracting his bow and pushing up his glasses. His eyes were filled with skepticism as he appraised the squad thirteen lieutenant. "If anything, it'll make us stand out even more."
"Not if you have the right information." Toya pointed out, approaching Uryu and holding the papers. "Here, this should help you understand."
Skeptical, Uryu took the papers and skimmed through its contents with appraising eyes. As he read through it, the quincy could see that they were records of some kind. What surprised him was that it had his and Orihime's names on them. However, only their names were correct, everything else about them was clearly fabricated. It looked authentic enough to deceive most people, but not professionals.
"Everyone will be on the lookout for people who don't know anything." Toya explained, gaining Uryu's attention. The lieutenant then tapped on the papers in the quincy's hands with a finger. "All you two need to do is memorize this, and no one will suspect a thing for a while."
"So what you're saying is, if we answer the questions, the soul reapers will move on." Uryu surmised, once again looking at the papers. He cupped his chin as he let out a thoughtful hum.
"Precisely." Toya nodded, nudging his head towards the shihakusho the quincy dropped. "Just say you both are unseated officers in squad thirteen, and I'll be able to vouch for you." He pointed at his lieutenant's badge on his arm for them to see. "Our captain is Jushiro Ukitake, be sure to remember that."
"But what about the historical fact of the soul society?" Orihime asked, having a look of concern.
"It's all in the papers I handed Uryu, Orihime." Toya replied, moving to stand in front of the two. "Now it's time to start planning." He then stared blankly at them as he crossed his arms. "Speaking of which, you guys pretty much ruined my plans when you showed up." Uryu and Orihime's eyes widened at the accusation while Toya sighed and placed a hand to his temple. "I had everything planned out to rescue Rukia, but then you had to throw a monkey wrench in it."
"How did we ruin your plan?" Orihime asked, looking lost as to how their appearance could be a problem.
"You threw the entire seireitei into chaos." Toya replied, raising his arms in exasperation before lowering them. He began to pace back and forth as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Now everyone is on high alert, which gives me little to no wiggle room."
"What exactly was your plan?" Uryu asked, pushing up his glasses as he watched the lieutenant pace.
"That's not important now, there's no way to salvage it." Toya shook his head, stopping to face the two. "But I digress, we need to plan how we proceed from here on."
The planning took most of the day, and the sun was now setting. During that time, Toya tried his best to help Uryu and Orihime understand how the seireitei works. They also explained their own abilities. Toya was concerned when they said a part of Orihime's powers was damaged during their fight against Jirobo. Now was certainly not the time to weaken their fighting strength. Luckily, it was possible for Orihime to repair the damage using another one of her abilities.
The squad thirteen lieutenant was intrigued by Orihime's abilities. Not only can she heal others, but she can also create a type of shield. She couldn't show her offensive power, seeing how it was the one damaged. When she demonstrated her abilities, Toya couldn't shake the feeling there was more to them than what was shown. Her recovery seems to be more than simple healing.
It was decided that Uryu and Orihime will continue making their way towards Rukia. While they do that, Toya will find their friends and direct them in the right direction. He was sure to tell them about the repentance cell and where it is. Toya believed that Rukia was already transferred there from squad six.
'The only problem is being alone with them.' Toya thought as he ran through the many twists and turns of the seireitei. He glanced down at Raijinmaru, which Orihime returned, and tightened his grip. 'Even if I find them, there's still the possibility of them not trusting me, not to mention someone overhearing.'
He stopped running when he heard the sound of an explosion and the ground beneath him trembled slightly. He looked around for the source of the explosion to see smoke rising nearby. Without wasting any time, Toya flash stepped in the direction of the smoke. When he arrived, he found a large crater with squad members scattered everywhere.
In the center of the crater was a teenager who was dark-skinned with pronounced cheek-bones and had wavy brown hair with bangs that hung over his eyes. He is a muscular and extremely tall man and appears to be much older than he actually is. He has a tattoo on his left shoulder which reads Amore e Morte and consists of a heart with a snake and angel wings around it. He wore a light colored sleeveless shirt with a dark red line going down the left shoulder and black pants. His right arm appeared to be covered in a black, red, and white armor with a shoulder extension.
Toya noted that some of the squad members scattered around were from squad thirteen. Most likely ones that thought they could handle the ryoka without back-up. Toya made a mental note to scold them once everything was over before he flash stepped into the teens line of sight. The teen stayed quiet as he stared at the new arrival as the squad members picked themselves up.
"Lieutenant Toya." A squad member said, gaining the lieutenant's attention as they stood at attention. "Many apologies, we thought we could take him."
"It's fine." Toya said, unsheathing his zanpakuto and held it with both hands as he pointed the tip of the blade at the teen. "I'll take it from here."
"You're a lieutenant?" The teen asked, his voice was so soft that Toya barely heard him.
"That's right." Toya nodded, narrowing his eyes and tightened his grip on his zanpakuto. "I'm Toya, lieutenant of squad thirteen, and your name?"
The teen remained silent, not even taking a fighting stance. He just stood there and Toya wondered if he'd ever get a response. "Yasutora… Sado… but everyone calls me Chad."
"Well then, Chad." Toya made a gesture with his head to signal the squad members to fall back. They were quick to follow the silent order because they didn't want to be caught in the crossfire. "Sorry to say that your little rampage stops here."
With that said, Toya brought his zanpakuto to the side and lunged towards Chad. The teen was surprised by the lieutenant's speed, but was able to jump back. Good thing he did, because he barely avoided being sliced in half when Toya swung at him. Chad reared his fist back and threw a punch towards Toya. Removing one hand from his zanpakuto's hilt, Toya parried the punch to the side.
Chad quickly rolled to the side when Toya lunged his blade forward. He reached to lightly touch his cheek and looked to see blood on his fingertips. Toya frowned when he saw that he only nicked his opponent. Chad reared his fist back again and thrust it forward. Toya's eyes widened in surprise when a huge blast of spiritual energy rocketed towards him.
"Bakudo #81: Danku!" Toya called out, creating a translucent barrier in the form of a large rectangular wall in front of him. He brought an arm up to shield his eyes when the blast hit the wall.
Cracks began to form in the wall as the blast exploded with great force. The force of the explosion picked up dust and debris, inhibiting everyone's vision. Seeing his opportunity, Toya flashstepped into the debris cloud. He reappeared behind Chad with their backs facing each other.
"Listen closely." Toya said softly, gaining Chad's attention as the lieutenant gathered spirit energy into his hands. "Rukia's being held in the repentance cell." If Chad was surprised by this sudden reveal of information, he didn't show it. "I'll make a bigger explosion, and you head there in the cover of the debris."
"Why are you telling me this?" Chad questioned, tensing as he knew if he made a wrong move, it'll be over for him.
"Believe it or not, I'm on your side." Toya replied, noticing the debris cloud was slowly starting to dissipate. "I don't have time to explain, just know that Uryu and Orihime are heading there now." Once he felt he gathered enough energy, Toya directed his palm directly towards the ground. "Hado #63: Raikoho!"
An orb of yellow lightning formed in the palm of Toya's hand and fired it downwards. When the concentration of energy struck the ground, it created a much larger explosion. Chad and Toya quickly jumped as far from the blast as they could. Chad looked in the direction Toya was in before running in the opposite direction. Toya dusted himself off as he waited for the debris cloud to dissipate.
"Lieutenant!" Toya looked over his shoulder to see the squad members from before approaching him. "Are you alright, sir?"
"I'm fine." Toya sheathed his zanpakuto as the last of the debris cleared away. He looked around to see that Chad successfully escaped. "Looks like the ryoka got away."
"We have to hurry after him!" A soul reaper declared, earning sounds of agreement from those around him.
"Contact squad four first." Toya said, earning looks of confusion as he walked away. "We need to tend to the incapacitated."
"Is that really a priority right now?" A female soul reaper inquired.
"It is if we want a chance to catch the ryoka." Toya replied, looping an unconscious soul reaper's arm over his shoulders and lifting him up. "The sooner they can get back out there, the sooner we can end all this."
Once all the unconscious squad members were transported to the squad four barracks, Toya made a beeline back to his own barracks. He was both mentally and physically exhausted when it was only a few hours since the ryoka appeared. Nothing about the day went as planned, not at all. First, the ryoka invaded the seireitei, spreading chaos and panic. Secondly, Toya had to devise a new plan to help get Uryu and Orihime to Rukia. Third, he had to clean up the piles of unconscious bodies Chad left behind. Lastly, no matter where he looked, Toya couldn't find Ichigo anywhere.
"Honestly," Toya muttered irritably, walking down the halls of the squad thirteen barracks. "How hard can it be to find a carrot top with a giant sword?"
Toya stopped walking when he noticed that a hell butterfly was flying towards him. Raising a finger for it to perch on, Toya listened to the message. It was a notice for all lieutenants to gather for another meeting. He frowned at the message, seeing how it wasn't long since the first meeting. He watched the hell butterfly fly away since it completed its task.
Having nothing better to do, Toya hurried over with a series of flash steps. As he made his way over, the lieutenant contemplated what to do next. If he didn't think carefully, the chances of him getting caught would spontaneously increase. The last thing Toya needed was to have suspicion directed at him. It was already a miracle none of the captains questioned why Ichigo was still alive when he supposedly killed him.
Once he arrived at the meeting, Toya noted that all the other lieutenants were there. Standing just outside was squad four third seat, Yasochika Iemura. Assuming he was there to report the current situation, Toya moved to stand beside Rangiku.
"Here is the latest situation report." Yasochika declared, reaching into the folds of his shihakusho and pulling a folded paper. He unfolded it and began to read out what was written. "Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa, both of squad eleven, have apparently withdrawn from the frontlines effective immediately."
"Hold on," Toya interrupted, gaining the attention of Yasochika and the other lieutenants. "Those two are some of squad eleven's best fighters." He frowned as he processed what he just heard. "How could they have been defeated so easily?"
"I'm not sure." Yasochika shook his head before returning to the report in his hands. "It's reported that both high ranking officers have sustained serious injuries."
'The only person who could've fought them is…' Toya's frown deepened as he quickly narrowed down who could have stood a chance against Ikakku and Yumichika. 'Did he get stronger in such a short amount of time?'
"A detailed damage assessment for the entire squad is currently underway." Yasochika continued, oblivious to Toya's contemplation. "But at the moment, all we have to go on are unconfirmed preliminary reports of the day's action." Yasochika paused to take a breath before reading the rest of the report. "Which would seem to indicate that squad eleven was almost completely annihilated."
"What?" Izuru questioned, disbelief clear in his voice as he heard the report. "That's impossible!"
"Not squad eleven." Momo said, a fist over her mouth as she couldn't believe that the strongest squad was wiped out so easily.
"How could a handful of ryoka have done so much damage in just a few hours?" Shuhei wondered, finding it hard to believe such a short amount of time has passed, and yet they suffered so much damage.
"Heh, that squad's pathetic." Marechiyo Omaeda, lieutenant of squad two, scoffed as he used his pinky to pick his nose.
'You have little room to talk.' Toya narrowed his eyes at the squad two lieutenant's direction.
"Three of the ryoka have been positively identified." Yasochika continued, unfolding the rest of the paper to complete the report. "And two of these are known to have taken a member of squad four hostage."
Toya looked in Renji's direction and saw that his friend seemed deep in thought. He frowned and hoped that he wasn't thinking of doing anything reckless. But this was Renji, he was definitely going to do something reckless.
"Intelligence indicates that this group is heading this way." Toya turned his attention back to Yasochika to hear the rest of what he had to say. "However, since a short time ago, we've been unable to detect their spiritual pressure, so their whereabouts are now unknown."
"Obviously, our intelligence leaves something to be desired." Nanao said, pushing up her glasses.
"You know, now that I think about it," Iba said, gaining everyone's attention as he crossed his arms. "It's been a while since our fourth seat has reported back in." He lowered his head down in thought. "We better send someone to check on the west-20 region. Who knows, he may have been defeated too."
"Are you serious?" Rangiku questioned, chiming in for the first time since the meeting started. "Isn't the fourth seat of your squad Jirobo, the wind scythe?"
"That's right." Iba nodded, turning to face Rangiku.
"There's no need to send someone to check on him." Toya said, once again gaining the attention of the room. "While I was roaming the seireitei, I encountered Jirobo." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "When I got there, he was already defeated, and the ryoka were nowhere to be found."
He deliberately withheld information about Uryu and Orihime. It wouldn't do them any good if anyone knew about them. Since only three ryoka were identified, two of which are probably Ichigo and Chad, they were safe for now. What Toya needed to do now was divert as much attention away from them as long as possible.
"First Jidanbo, now his brother?" Shuhei muttered, frowning as he processed this new information. "Can they both really have been defeated?"
"What the hell is going on here?" Izuru wondered, trying to make sense of how so many high ranking officers were defeated in a short amount of time.
"One more thing." Yasochika called out, looking in Toya's direction. "Lieutenant Toya, you have been summoned before the captains."
"Me?" Toya questioned, a look of confusion on his face. "Why?"
"I don't know." Yasochika shook his head, folding up the paper and stuffing it into the folds of his shihakusho. "All I know is that they have some questions for you."
'This could be bad.' Toya curled his hands into tight fists as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. 'Could they be on to me?'
Giving nothing more than a nod, Toya dismissed himself from the meeting. He slowly trudged his way to the captains meeting hall, anxious of what might happen. A myriad of thoughts went through his mind as to why he was being summoned. He just hopes that they don't discover that he deliberately let Chad go and hid Uryu and Orihime. The latter might not be the case, since he was careful when guiding them.
Another thought that crossed Toya's mind is that they might question how Ichigo is alive. From his report to Byakuya, he killed Ichigo before returning. But now that Ichigo was in the seireitei, that report could be called into question. That severely limited the lieutenant's options of getting out of this situation.
The best Toya can do is feign ignorance, and insist that he killed Ichigo. However, since he was heading towards a room full of captains, feigning ignorance might not work. It's especially true since the head captain will be there. The last thing he wanted was to have the strongest soul reaper of the soul society as an enemy. If he wasn't careful, Toya could find himself dead before he realizes it. As he approached the doors to the squad one barracks, Toya took a deep breath. What he needed to do was stay calm. As long as he didn't say or do anything suspicious, he should be fine.
"This is Toya of squad thirteen!" Toya called out, standing straight and tall. "I'm here in response to the captains' summons!"
The doors began to open, allowing Toya entrance into the barracks and he stepped inside. Once inside, he almost collapsed when an immense pressure suddenly weighed down on him. He broke into a cold sweat as he continued inside. The closer he got, the heavier the pressure weighing down on him became. When it felt like he was going to be crushed, the pressure vanished as he approached another set of doors.
The doors opened, and Toya was hesitant to step inside. If he did, then there would be no escape if something went wrong. However, it'll be even more suspicious if he prolonged the inevitable. Swallowing down his anxiousness, Toya stepped inside. Waiting for him were the captains of the thirteen court guard squads. He noted that Jushiro wasn't there, which made him slightly relieved.
"Lieutenant Toya." Toya stood at attention when the head captain, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, slammed his cane onto the floor. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." The old captain opened his squinted shut eyes slightly. "Now, let the questioning begin."
Now it's time for Review Corner, where I reply to your reviews and answer any question I can answer without giving too many spoilers.
Dr1zzy: You're very welcome, hope that you enjoyed reading this latest chapter. Sorry for the long wait.
Shadow Knight1121: Happy to hear that you thought the previous chapter was great. That I am, thank you for your concern. I'm glad you liked Toya's interaction with Uryu and Orihime. I hope you liked his interaction with Chad, albeit a little brief.
That's it for Review Corner, I now bid you all a fond farewell and hope to see you all again soon!