|UBWR|

-Use Bleach When Required-

Juuni: Crash Landing

One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it.

- Proverb

"The cat talks."

"We've been over this," Sanae said with a sigh.

"But the cat…talks."

"Yes, the cat talks. Get over it."

Ichigo gave her an incredulous look. "How do you expect me to get over this exactly? The cat freakin' talks!"

Sanae whirled around to face him. "You were a boy that could see ghosts for your entire life. And then you found out about Shinigami and Hollows and all of this, but a talking cat is too ridiculous?"

Ichigo gripped onto her shoulders and shook her. "The. Cat. Talks."

Sanae rolled her eyes at him just as a blur of black darted in front of her vision, Ichigo suddenly let out an almighty howl as his hands dropped from her shoulders. The ginger was currently cradling his hand.

Yoruichi, smirking from the ground by Sanae's feet, glanced up at Ichigo. "The cat also scratches."

Ichigo looked down at Yoruichi, murderous. "You son of a—"

Orihime suddenly darted between the pair. "Kurosaki-kun! Yoruichi-san helped train Sado-kun and I! He's a really good kitty!"

Ichigo looked like he still wanted to throttle Yoruichi but sighed heavily and wandered off to chat to Chad, still cradling his wounded hand. "Did you really have to scratch him?" Sanae asked Yoruichi with an exasperated sigh.

Yoruichi rubbed her face with her paw. "I was bored."

X

There was light chatter between everyone before Urahara appeared with Tessai and clapped his hands. "Alright everyone! Here we go!"

Both Tessai and Urahara planted their hands on the ground as the Senkaimon gate appeared. The purple portal appeared before them as Sanae's breath got caught in her throat. This was it. She was about to return to Soul Society for the first time in almost three hundred years. She felt Yoruichi rub up against her leg, giving her some semblance of comfort.

"What is that?" Ishida asked.

Urahara stood up and tapped the white border with his knuckles. "This is a Senkaimon. Normally the only way in and out of Soul Society is with a Shinigami—since we're out of those this is the only way in." Urahara flashed a grin. "It was created by me, of course."

Yoruichi moved in front of them all. "It's also helpful because unlike the residents of Soul Society, you aren't souls," Yoruichi nodded her head to Ishida, Chad and Orihime. "This way, you can enter Soul Society without having to become souls."

"The catch is though," Urahara raised his finger into the air. "This gate can only be opened for four minutes. That's how long you have to run through the Dangai."

"Four minutes?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"If you would like to back out," Urahara said. "Now is the chance." His slate grey eyes flicked over to Sanae. She stood with her arms crossed, dressed in a long sleeved black shirt and denim jeans. Her hair tied up in a ponytail. Sanae shook her head discreetly at Urahara. She wasn't backing out now.

"Listen up," Yoruichi said. "Stay close together, and whatever you do, don't stop for anything! Otherwise you'll be caught in the current, understand?"

Sanae watched as Ichigo's friends nodded their heads meekly at the cats order. Yoruichi turned to Urahara and nodded to the shopkeeper. Both he and Tessai placed their hands against the border once more as a film disintegrated. "Let's go!" Yoruichi ordered as the group of six entered the Senkaimon.

Sanae didn't know how it happened, but she ended up running right next to Ichigo. The group was sprinting as fast as they could. Yoruichi was barely a few steps ahead of Sanae. The brunette let her gaze wonder to the restrictive currents every couple of seconds. It was strange to see them once more…it had been a long time. She heard the roaring of the current and the crunching of the bones under her feet.

Sanae heard the others' surprised gasps at seeing the current. "Don't let it touch you!" Yoruichi called out as they ran. "If you get caught in the restrictive current you'll be stuck here forever!"

It was a few moments later when Sanae heard the surprised yelp from Ishida behind her. She tossed a glance over her shoulder, seeing the Quincy's cape being stuck in the current. Before anyone else could help, Chad had ripped his cape off and tossed the Quincy over his shoulder.

"Idiot!" Yoruichi bellowed. "What's with that stupid getup?"

There were a few words spoken between the teens behind her. Sanae felt eyes on her as she turned her head to the side. Ichigo met her gaze for a moment before looking ahead. Sanae didn't have time to figure out why Ichigo had been staring at her before she felt a rumble under her feet.

"Hey, guys!" Ishida called out.

Sanae turned her head to look over her shoulder. All of a sudden, a bright yellow light pierced through the restrictive current. The mass of purple was speeding towards them. "Yoruichi!" Sanae exclaimed. "The cleaner is here!"

"The cleaner?" Ichigo questioned.

"It appears once every seven days—and it just so happened to be this day!" Yoruichi explained in annoyance. "Run faster! The cleaner is extremely fast and if we get caught it'll be all over!"

The command from the cat had them spurring on. Sanae pushed her legs harder as she slightly overtook Ichigo by an inch. She could hear Orihime and Chad sprinting behind her.

"It's no use!" Ishida cried out. "It's almost upon us!"

Yoruichi turned her head and nodded to Sanae. It was a signal for her to use a Kido spell to try and slow down the cleaner. It was impossible to defeat it; only an extremely powerful Shinigami would be able to do that. But a barrier spell that she had learnt from Tessai a long time ago should suffice. It was now the moment that she would be revealing to everyone that she was a Shinigami. As only Shinigami knew how to use Kido spells.

Sanae twisted around intent on performing her barrier spell, when Orihime beat her to it. The busty chestnut haired girl was already summoning her Shun Shun Rikka. Orihime's barrier extended as Yoruichi was in the midst of crying out that she shouldn't use it. The Dangai was lit up in a bright light as the cleaner slammed into Orihime's barrier. There was a moment of silence before everything exploded. The force of the blast pushed the group forwards and out of the Dangai.

Sanae didn't have time to brace herself for the fall to the ground. They had all shot out at lightening speed. The ground came rushing up to her as Sanae landed on her stomach. She felt something light slam into her back; she knew it had to be Yoruichi. The cat was splayed out on her back as Sanae coughed up dust from their fall. The group, groaning and moaning all pushed themselves up.

Sanae sat up, Yoruichi sliding down her back before the feline proceeded to berate Orihime for almost getting her Shun Shun Rikka killed. Sanae brushed herself down, and then pushed some stray hairs out of her face before she finally realized where she was. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Her sapphire blue eyes darting to and fro as she soaked in the sights. Sanae rose to her feet with the others.

"Where are we?" Ichigo asked, looking around. "Is this the Soul Society?"

"Yes." Yoruichi replied with a nod. "Where we are now is where all Souls come to when they arrive to Soul Society. The Seireitei is in the middle while Rukongai surrounds the outside."

"The Shinigami live in the Seireitei, don't they?" Orihime asked.

"Aa. Rukongai is split up into four districts, and then numbered. I believe we're in South Rukongai—"

"West." All heads turned to Sanae, who stood a few feet back. She realized her mistake as she quickly averted her gaze. Well, it was going to be clear to everyone now that she knew too much about Soul Society to just be a normal human anymore. Not that she was in the first place. Ishida was the only one not too surprised at her outburst, seeing as he knew she was a Shinigami anyway.

"We should keep moving," Yoruichi continued. "The Seireitei would have been notified of our arrival—Ichigo! Where are you going?"

The carrot top was currently sprinting towards the open area of the Seireitei. "I guess this is the Seire—whatever—it looks so different!"

"Idiot!" Yoruichi screeched. "You can't just run into the Seireitei!"

Ichigo paid Yoruichi no heed and jogged to the outskirts of Seireitei, which was until the great wall dropped down before him. Dust and rubble exploded into the air as Sanae, rolling her eyes, stood back with Yoruichi to watch the idiot teenager. "Do you think he died?" Sanae muttered to her feline companion.

"He's too stubborn to die."

With a smirk, Sanae looked back to the gate. Watching as Jidanbo dropped to the ground, his almighty axe in hand. Orihime, Chad and Ishida exclaimed their astonishment at the size of the Shinigami.

"He can't be human, it's not possible!" Ishida exclaimed.

"His name is Jidanbo, he is a Shinigami and was the perfect pick to guard the White Road gate." Yoruichi explained. "In the three hundred years that he has been guarding this gate. Only one person has been able to defeat him."

"How on earth are we supposed to defeat him?" Ishida exclaimed.

"We'll need to regroup and come up with a plan on how to att—Orihime! Chad! Where are you going?"

Sanae sighed in defeat as she watched Orihime and Chad running towards Jidanbo. It seemed like Ishida was the only one with a brain as he stayed behind and was calling out for the pair to return.

"They're all going to get themselves killed!" Yoruichi spat.

"Those three, probably," Sanae waved her hand in the direction of Orihime, Chad and Ishida. "Ichigo may survive this, assuming he doesn't do anything stupid."

Sanae felt Yoruichi jump up onto her shoulder. "Sanae! Stop standing around and go and protect them!" Sanae winced from the deep baritone voice bellowing into her ear as she gripped Yoruichi and flung her off.

"Relax, kitty. You think I'd be standing here if I didn't think that poor impersonation of a carrot couldn't defeat him?" Sanae teased as she wondered off in the direction of the impending battle.

X

During her conversation with Yoruichi, Jidanbo had erected a barrier of the ground, separating Ichigo from the rest. Sanae rolled her eyes at Ishida who was currently banging against it, bellowing at Ichigo. Orihime was the first to spot her as she tugged on Ishida's clock and pulled the irritated Quincy out of the way.

Sanae folded her arms over her chest. "Ichigo!" She called out to him. She didn't hear a reply but she knew he would be able to hear her. "Don't you dare die on me now. Not after Urahara and I put so much effort into your training!"

There was a pause as Sanae waited for a reply. "Didn't plan on it," came his muffled reply. Even though she couldn't see him, Sanae could hear the smirk in his voice. She gave a satisfied nod and then turned on her heel, marching back towards Yoruichi. As she did she could hear the fight between Ichigo and Jidanbo starting.

Yoruichi's tail was swishing from side to side threateningly as her golden eyes narrowed in on her. Sanae grinned. "Oh ye of such little faith."

"Don't even start with me," Yoruichi grumbled.

Sanae chuckled. "There's something you don't know about Ichigo."

"Oh?" Yoruichi said with a roll of her eyes. "And what's that?"

Sanae looked over her shoulder, just as the dust settled on their battle. "Ichigo doesn't know how to fail."

"Well, what do you know? Guess I was right after all," Sanae said with a smug smirk and folded arms. The black cat at her feet rolled her yellow eyes and then fixated them on the fallen giant with two broken axes.

"Look, and he's even opening the gate for us, how sweet."

"Sanae…" Yoruichi mumbled. The brown haired girl ignored the cat as she began to walk towards the group of teenagers who were watching Jidanbo open the gate with wide eyes.

"Sanae!" Yoruichi called out urgently. Sanae finally stopped and turned to face her.

"What?

"Do you feel that?" Yoruichi asked as she leapt up onto Sanae's shoulder. Sanae frowned down at the cat.

"Feel wha—" she stopped mid sentence, finally feeling the reitasu approaching them from beyond the gate. Sanae's stomach dropped as she began sprinting for the group. "Ichigo, get away from there now!"

The orange haired boy swirled around to look at her approaching but didn't pay her any heed. Instead Ichigo turned and faced his new opponent. "Who the hell is that?" Ichigo questioned.

Sanae skidded to a halt beside Chad as Yoruichi leapt down off her shoulder and padded up to be beside the Substitute Shinigami. "Ichimaru Gin. Captain of Squad Three."

Sanae's eyes widened in shock, Squad Three? She thought to herself. What the hell is a Captain doing all the way out here? As she thought of it, Gin unleashed his sword so quickly that to the untrained eye it was like nothing. The next moment, Jidanbo cried out in pain as his arm was cut deeply, blood pouring out and splashing onto the concrete ground. Gin stood there smiling.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo bellowed. "If anyone want's to attack an unarmed guy—they'll be killed by me!"

Sanae knew that if Yoruichi had hands right now, she'd be throttling Ichigo. So now it was up to her to stop the idiot ginger before he really got himself killed. Sanae hurried to Ichigo's side just as he brandished his sword in front of himself. Sanae clamped her hand down onto his arm sharply.

"Ichigo, we need to retreat. You won't win this battle."

Ichigo turned his face to stare down at Sanae. "What the hell are you talking about? He's like the guys who took Rukia! If I start with him—"

"So you're Kurosaki Ichigo…"

Both Sanae and Ichigo faced Gin who remained nonchalant. The silver haired man's mouth pulled up into a smirk. "How do you know who I am?" Ichigo asked the Captain. Gin chuckled and then spun on his heel to walk away from them. Ichigo bristled, lowering his sword as he yelled out to him. "Where are you going? Wait!"

Sanae reached out and tugged on Ichigo's sleeve. "Stop, we need to go while we can."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ichigo replied with a frown.

Gin suddenly stopped a few meters away from the pair. "All the more reason why I can't let you pass."

Sanae readied her stance incase she needed to fight or flight. Ichigo himself had sensed something sinister from the Captain as he withdrew his Zanpakuto. "Why are you standing so far away?" Ichigo questioned. "Are you going to throw your sword?"

Gin's face angled to the side, his signature smirk glaring at them both. "Oh, this isn't a sword. It's my Zanpakuto."

All of a sudden, Gin twirled around, reitasu pouring from him as he skidded back. His back curled as he tucked his sword under his other arm. Wind, as if it was being sucked towards Gin, blew around Sanae and Ichigo. The former brought her hands up to shield her face.

"Ikorose, Shinsō."

"Ichigo!" Sanae exclaimed, throwing her arms out to try and shove the ginger out of the way. She didn't know what the Captain's Shikai was going to be, but considering he was a Captain, it wasn't going to be good. Sanae caught a glimpse of a bright white spear heading straight for them, but instead of Sanae pushing Ichigo out of the way she felt a hard shove to her chest. She was flung back; hitting the ground at the same time Gin's attack hit Ichigo. Luckily the Substitute Shinigami pulled his Zanpakuto close to his chest.

The power of Gin's attack sent Ichigo flying backwards, into Jidanbo and then the both of them were thrust backwards. Sanae lifted her head as she heard Yoruichi calling her name in a panic.

"Sanae! The gate!"

Sanae stared up in shock as the gate was suddenly falling back to the ground, and she was lying directly under it. She was suddenly grasped by her upper arm and flung forwards and onto her feet. Sanae nodded at Chad in thanks as she turned to watch Gin lean down as the gate was almost touching the ground.

"Bye bye!"

Sanae furrowed her brows. Ichimaru Gin, I'll remember him. Sanae turned her back on the gate and saw Chad, Orihime and Ishida grouped around Ichigo who was nursing the back of his head. His head suddenly jerked up, "Sanae?" he called out anxiously as the girl in question walked up to the group, Yoruichi by her side.

"I'm fine," she said with a sincere smile.

"You're both lucky to be unhurt," Yoruichi commented.

Ichigo's stare shifted to the gate behind them, he sighed. "I'm sorry, the gate closed because of me."

Yoruichi shook her head. "No, your opponent was Ichimaru Gin. It couldn't be helped."

Ichigo's head tilted down. He clenched his fist in front of his face as Sanae watched on. She knew that it would bug the hell out of Ichigo. He wanted to be strong, but Gin had swatted him away like a fly. The reality of it was—Ichigo still wasn't strong enough to take these captains on, and he was starting to see that. Ichigo huffed and stood back up. He grabbed his Zanpakuto and rested it against his shoulder. He faced Orihime.

"Inoue. Take care of him," he nodded to Jidanbo as the chestnut haired girl nodded in agreement.

Sanae adjusted her position on the roof of the Elders home. While Orihime had been healing Jidanbo, the villagers of the district had made themselves known. The elder even offering the group a place to stay for the night after realizing they meant no harm.

While everyone had been discussing their next move Sanae had slipped away and climbed onto the roof of the home. She sat with her legs tucked under herself as her eyes gazed across at the impenetrable wall. She had wished that the wall hadn't been so high, so that she could glimpse at her previous home once again. Who knew if they would actually be able to get into the Seireitei now?

Sanae's eyes flicked up to the setting sun for a moment before dropping back down to the wall. If it weren't there, she'd be able to see the Academy from here. The place where her life had really began. She had been no more than a young girl when Shinigami had found her in her district and taken her to the Academy for training. There she had met her two closest friends. Ukitake and Kyoraku.

From the academy, further back she'd be able to see her old barracks, the place where she had felt most comfortable; other than being in Ukitake or Kyoraku's presence. As Sanae sat there, it really felt like she had never left. Time had moved so quickly for her. Over two hundred years had gone in the blink of an eye.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Sanae turned, glancing over her shoulder as she watched Ichigo clamber up onto the part of the roof she was sitting on. "Yoruichi was wondering where you had gone off to." Ichigo walked closer, he kept his brown gaze on Sanae as the girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, I'll go find him soon."

"Don't apologise to me," Ichigo groaned out as he sat down next to her, crossing his legs under his body. "Yoruichi's the one who's going to scratch your eyes out. I think he needed help with our next move—seeing as the most obvious one is out of the picture." Ichigo motioned to the giant wall that blocked their path.

Sanae looked back to the wall. For a while she could feel Ichigo's eyes on her. She knew that he would have questions. She hadn't missed his prying stares throughout meeting the district elder.

"If there's something you want to ask me, just do it," Sanae mumbled. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. Finally she looked over at him. He too was looking awkward as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You know things…about this place."

The corner of Sanae's mouth turned up slightly. "And?"

Ichigo met her gaze as he blinked rapidly a few times. "I just—uh. You don't have to tell me, I'm just curious…not about your past or anything just—"

"Ichigo," Sanae cut his rambling off quietly. The ginger turned back to look at her again. "It's pretty obvious about how I know all these things. But I meant what I said in your room—back when you were injured by the Menos Grande, you knowing who I am is dangerous, even me coming back here is stupid—but I don't want to let another innocent person die. I don't want to be wishing that I did something when I could've."

Ichigo was quiet. His brown eyes searched over her face for something, he was seeing if she was telling the truth. And he saw no lie in her eyes.

"You know, you don't have to be ashamed of who you are." Ichigo said with a smirk. "We're your friends—I'm your friend, and from where I sit…you're pretty brave coming back to this place. It couldn't have been an easy decision."

Sanae smiled at him, a gentle smile. "Surprisingly…it wasn't that hard." Ichigo nodded his head with an approving smile. He then patted his legs lightly and stood up. He looked back down at Sanae and reached his hand out for her. Sanae stared at it for a moment before grabbing onto it as he pulled her up and onto her feet.

"I meant what I said," he told her. "I've got your back, Sanae."

Sanae dropped her gaze to their still connected hands as she slowly pulled away from him. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Ichigo turned away from her and started to climb back down the roof. Sanae watched him go as she looked back at the wall one last time.

But do I have yours?

X

Sanae dropped down next to Ichigo as she followed him towards the Elders house. They were both silent as Ichigo reached the door and slid the wood open effortlessly. The pair stepped in and were met with five pairs of eyes. Sanae looked around awkwardly at everyone, finally her gaze landed on Yoruichi who sat at the back, a knowing look in her yellow eyes.

"Nice of you two to finally join us," Yoruichi hissed.

"Our bad," Ichigo waved his hand at her. "Kagawa got stuck up on the roof as she was too scared to come down."

Sanae's mouth dropped open in shock. "I did not!" She shoved the ginger playfully.

"Did so," he retorted with a childish grin. "Had to push her off."

Sanae faced him with a deadly glare as she planted her hands on her hips. "Let's head on back up and we'll see who can push the other one off first, shall we?"

Ichigo yawned. "Nah, don't really fancy that."

"Will you two stop bickering and just sit down?" Yoruichi snapped, her tail going rigid.

Sanae huffed and glared at Ichigo one final time as she went to go and sit next to Orihime. As she was passing the ginger Ichigo was grinning down at her, knowing that he won their little argument. Sanae smiled sweetly at him and suddenly swiped his leg out from under him with her own foot. Ichigo barked out a yelp and hit the floor on his ass.

"Sanae…" Yoruichi sighed.

The girl in question held up her hands. "I was just helping him take a seat."

"Sit down, you child," Yoruichi berated her as Sanae folded her legs under her knees as she took a seat next to Orihime. Ichigo, begrudgingly picked himself up off the floor and shuffled on over to Yoruichi as he plopped down.

Sanae listened to Yoruichi talk about how the gates were out of the plan to infiltrate the Seireitei. Now she wanted to find someone called Shiba Kukaku. Sanae's ear pricked at the name. She recognized the last name, but not the first. The Elders reaction had Sanae wondering just who this person could be. He seemed shocked that Yoruichi would have even considered them an idea.

Before the Elder could inform them of Kukaku's location, Sanae felt a rumbling under her feet. Everyone else felt the same as they all looked around at each other, wondering what the hell was going on. Suddenly, a man came flying through the door. He was a burly man, dressed in a red and green shirt and trousers and a white bandana around his head. The man glanced up, his eyes skimming over the group before they settled on Ichigo. Sanae watched as his eyes narrowed.

"You!" He pointed at Ichigo. "You're a Shinigami!"

Ichigo crossed his arms and glared back at the man. "So what if I am?"

The intruder stormed up to Ichigo, stopping an inch before his face as the two continued their glowering at one another. "I am Ganju, and I am the man who hates Shinigami."

Ichigo snorted and rose. If the situation weren't so tense Sanae would've laughed at the fact that Ichigo towered over the man named Ganju by at least two heads. A few more words were spoken between the two before Ichigo punched Ganju in the face, making him fly back out of the room.

Sanae and Yoruichi both sighed in unison as Orihime, Ishida and Chad followed after Ichigo. They could both hear the brawl from inside as the feline stretched and angled her head to glance up at Sanae.

"Remind me again what we're doing here?" Yoruichi grumbled as Sanae yawned loudly.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Do you want me to go break it up?" Sanae asked the cat. Yoruichi shook her head.

"Let them be. If the idiot can't beat this fool then there's no hope for him to rescue Rukia." Sanae nodded in agreement. While the others were distracted outside Sanae felt it was now prime opportunity to ask Yoruichi about this Kukaku.

"I've never heard of Shiba Kukaku before. Are they in the same clan as Isshin?" Sanae asked.

"Mm," Yoruichi nodded her head. "Kukaku came around just before Kisuke and I left Soul Society. We had a few dealings with her in the past but I haven't had much contact with her in that time."

Sanae chuckled. "Well, if she's going to help us get into the Seireitei then I like her already."

"You say that now—but just wait," Yoruichi smirked over at the girl.

Sanae snorted. There was a silence between them for a moment. From outside the two heard something like an alarm clock ringing. They ignored it as Sanae spoke. "You know. If you really wanted us to go through the gates, I could've done it."

"And risk exposing yourself?" Yoruichi scoffed. "Not yet, Sanae. The best way for us to move around the Seireitei is by surprise. You announcing yourself to the Gotei Thirteen will cause chaos."

"Isn't that what we want?" Sanae questioned.

Yoruichi winked at her. "Not just yet."

A/N

Helloooooo! Yes it's me and i'm still alive. I took a much needed break to get my life and head in order so I am sorry for the long absence but I wanted to be in the right state of mind before I came back and posted stuff that I can be proud of. I understand that you'll probably have to go back and read a few chapters to remember what happened last time but hopefully my next update won't be as long as this one was. Again my bad!

Nixxon Mysterio - Sorry for my absence my friend! I love how much you loved the last chapter...it's probably my favourite chapter so far to date for this story. We didnt have much Sanae x Ichigo in this. There was that one moment but we won't be having some of those fluffy parts for a while. This is a slow burn after all whoops. Hope you're still around! I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner!

Guest - Thank you! Sorry it's taken me donkey's years to get this out!

DoesNotCompute - Wow thank you! A big compliment for this lil story!