Chapter 10: At Hell's gate

1st layer of Hell

The Demented Plains

(Quincy and Shinigami Abilities weakened, Hollow and Togabito Abilities amplified)

"This is….. Hell?" repeated Ruby again in disbelief. Sure, most kids would learn up growing that Hell was a place bad people, evil people went to after they died, where the devil resided and blah, blah blah. Most kids would be scared about it when they were young, but gradually dismiss it as fiction as they grew older. Even so, even if she could somehow comprehend that she WAS in hell, why was it that it was her who was here, and not someone like Szayalaporro? Why, when she was the one with no way out, she was the one who was cut up, forced to eat her own flesh, forcibly injected with her tormentor's blood, was she the one to fall in hell? When all she wanted to do was go back to her family after enduring so much pain?

"What else does this place look like to you?" asked the man, pointing to the view on the outside. "But then, I do understand your confusion. Everyone who falls here is like that the first time. But you'll get over it soon enough…that's what I would've said, if I saw what I think I saw. Tell me, how DID you end up here?"

"…" She said nothing, simply observing the man. Now that she had calmed down a bit, she wanted to tread carefully. After her ordeal with Szayelaporro, she could never tell when something like that could repeat again. Her head throbbed lightly, but she chose to ignore it for the time being. Also, why was she feeling so…..irritated?

"What's wrong girl? Cat got your tongue?" he asked, raising his eyes. "I get it. Don't need to be so defensive you know. If I really wanted to kill you or harm you in any other way, I would've done it back when you were skewered full of holes" he assured, observing her defensive posture. "Now, going back to my question. How did you end up here? Normally, I wouldn't be that curious about it. But the way you arrived here was just weird, even for Hell's standards. So, tell me" he urged her on.

"…What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Just answer the question, will you? Depending on what you say, it might make a few things clear" he answered.

"…I fell into a garganta, and was carried around by its current. I saw a crack in space and I fell through after tearing through it" she said. When she said that, the man simply sighed heavily, nodding his head.

"Tch. That explains it" he said. "So, when I saw you arriving here as a hollow and not as a togabito, I wasn't mistaken. Your luck couldn't have been worse, girl"

"I don't understand" said Ruby.

"Sigh….this wont be easy, but…" he said, rubbing his temple. "Tell me girl, how much do you know about Hell? I assume you were in Hueco Mundo, seeing as how you're a vasto lorde and those aren't generally seen anywhere else"

"….I thought Hell was a fairy tale that moms would tell their kids to keep them in line" she admitted. "Though, I suppose I should've expected this. If there places like the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, which are places for souls to go to depending on what happens to them after they die, it does make sense Hell would also exist"

"I suppose that's natural" he agreed "Soul reapers like myself and Hollows from Hueco Mundo do often venture into the world of the living, so naturally it isn't strange that people would know more about places where such beings exist, such as Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. Hell, on the other hand, permits no one to leave its domain. So, most on the outside would see no real evidence of any beings from Hell to believe in its exitance. Other than soul reapers, it makes sense others may not believe in Hell's existence"

"You're a soul reaper…..?" she asked him slowly. She remembered Nel's words and her warning when facing soul reapers.

"Yes and no. I do have my powers, but in here, that might as well not matter. Here, everyone is the same, a togabito, a sinner, a resident of hell" he explained. Ruby continued to observe him in earnest, never loosening the grip on Crescent Rose. Her head throbbed again. "Sigh, before you do anything, let me tell you that you have nothing to fear from me once you understand the whole situation, so just hold your thoughts for a bit and allow me to finish" he said. Ruby said nothing, but signaled at him to continue.

"Anyways, as I was saying, once a human dies, they become a spirit knows as a Plus. If a Plus has any regrets or attachments that caused them to linger, it eventually degrades into a hollow. If the attachment or lingering feelings are strong enough, the hollow may even devour other hollows to become a menos, the final stage of which is a vasto lorde like yourself. That's why soul reapers like myself, make it our duty to send off spirits to the place where they belong, either by performing a Konso or Soul Burial on a Plus, or by slaying them when they become a hollow, purifying their sins committed as a hollow. In either case, the soul ends up in the Soul Society, which I admit isn't a utopia by any means, but still a better place to be compared to here or Hueco Mundo." He explained.

"I already know all this" she replied. Once again, she found herself being worked up. How strange, she told herself. Normally, she wasn't one to get this worked up over something like this. She just wrote it off as pent up frustration and bitterness from her time at Szayel's lair.

"Then, ask yourself this. A Soul Reaper's zanpakuto can purify the sins committed by a soul as a Hollow. So…..what happens when the Hollow dies by other means? Say, for example, because of another hollow or by other beings? Normally, hollows only attack other hollows to consume them. That's how menos are born after all. When a menos is killed by a zanpakuto, all the souls inside the menos get cleansed as well. But…..should a hollow be killed by any other means, the hollow dies without having its sins purified and thus respawns in Hueco Mundo. This is because though the hollow committed sins, it was its own instinct and empty heart that drove it to perform said acts"

"But that would mean that a hollow could get away committing sins under the pretense of being driven by its instincts!" asked Ruby. Her thoughts went back to Szayelaporro. So, in the end, the demented scientist gets a free pass after all that he's done? Ruby narrowed her eyes in anger.

"There's more to it, naturally" explained the soul reaper "For example, if the hollow was just born and then killed, technically it committed no sins to end up here, but even in that case, the hollow would simply respawn in Hueco Mundo because only a Soul Reaper can send off a hollow. And also, hollows, though sentient, are driven only by their instinct. Just like how you cannot blame a lion or tiger, animals that are driven only by their instinct to survive, for hunting and killing prey to fulfil its hunger, hollows too, are similar. They are driven only by their instinct, their hunger that attacks their souls. And so, once killed, they are reborn in Hueco Mundo. Even if the hollow is a menos, which is made up of many different hollows, upon death, each individual soul is split up and then sent back to Hueco Mundo to begin as an individual hollow once more. But it's a whole different story when dealing with menos at vasto lorde level"

The soul reaper then looked back and forth, being on the lookout for any potential ambushes or attacks from the demons. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he continued.

"A vasto lorde like you, are hollows that have transcended their instincts, overcoming the hunger that drives a hollow. Vasto Lorde are also hollows that are more human than any other class of hollows. Meaning, their actions are no longer driven by their instincts and the sins they commit CAN be judged. A soul reaper's zanpakuto will STILL cleanse a vasto lorde of their previous sins as a hollow, but should the vasto lorde make a conscious choice to commit sins AFTER it has become a Vasto Lorde, straight down to hell it is. But, since a vasto lorde is an amalgamation of many thousands of individual souls, souls that didn't commit any of the sins of the dominant personality of the vasto lorde, those souls respawn in Hueco Mundo while the dominant soul of the vasto lorde is the one that's sent here" he explained, pointing his thumb towards the ground. "This applies to arrancar as well, since arrancars are also hollows that have evolved to develop human like reasoning and emotions. Also, I forgot to mention that if a hollow committed terrible sins as a human being, then too, is the hollow sent to hell. Any soul, for that matter that is capable of thinking and acting with human reasoning and logic, gets the same judgment upon death, be it a Shinigami, Quincy, hollow or a human soul. NO exceptions. For this is the only way to reach Hell, which is to die a sinner and respawn here as a togabito"

"Then…..what about me?" asked Ruby.

"Right. I am surprised as well. I never thought one could reach this place simply by falling into a Garganta or that there was a gateway to Hell in the Garganta. Though I'm sure there's more to it" he answered. "I could tell yours was a different case from the beginning. When you fell in, I observed you still were a hollow, and not a togabito. You weren't chained when you came it after all. It didn't take me long to speculate what happened. I probably would've been able to purify you and send you to the soul society if you hadn't died here and become a togabito. Now, you're no different than me or any other togabito trapped here"

"How can I go back…?" she asked.

"Go back? I just told you. Once you're chained here, there's no going anywhere" he said in a matter-of-factly manner. "In fact, I think its better you start thinking how to make the best of your situation"

"You expect me to just sit around and just accept that?! What did I do to ever deserve this?!" she retorted back, raising her voice. Why? She asked herself again. She wasn't normally this mad, especially to a stranger who didn't do anything to provoke her. Heck, if what he was saying was true, he had saved her. So why was she getting this worked up? "After everything I had to go through, all the torture, experimentation and humiliation, its not him but I who gets sent to hell?! TO HELL WITH THAT!" she roared, slamming her fist into the floor.

"Ah.." Her outburst was gone as soon as it had come, and though her face turned apologetic instantly, she couldn't shake off the feeling that it wasn't her but rather this place that was making her behave strangely. And oddly enough, the moment she'd let loose her reaitsu and anger, the man in front of her flinched.

"Calm down for a bit, girl" he said. It sounded more like an order than a request. "The reaitsu in this place promotes one to embrace their primal feelings and give in to negative emotions. And we don't want to alert them" he said, pointing outside. He then sighed deeply, getting up, looking around if anything changed. Once the coast was clear, he returned to his place.

"Look. From your outburst earlier, I can tell you've probably been through some less than pleasant experiences at the expense of someone else. I already had a hunch that might have been the case and to make things worse, instead of finding peace you got sent here. Since you mentioned torture and experimentation, I'll assume someone was responsible for that and you made a break for it when you got the chance. But instead of finding solace, you found yourself here. Am I right?" he asked. Ruby simply nodded.

"I won't ask you to tell me the whole story if you don't want to. And, I agree that its really screwed up that instead of finding peace after suffering, you end up here purely by bad luck. Look, I get it. But whether you like it or not, you're already here, and already one of the crowd. That won't change. The best thing you can do is to accept your current delirium and try to minimize your suffering. Luckily, you've landed here where I found you. Now I don't usually like to stick around others, but after looking at your case, I don't mind the company. At the very least, I can assure you that you wont have to suffer like those guys down there" he said, pointing to some of the other togabito some of which were hung and suspended on poles, being whipped, flayed, eaten, stabbed or tortured by the white humanoid like demons or occasionally the gigantic skull faced demons. Ruby averted her eyes from the sight. It reminded her too much of her own misery at Szayelaporro's hands and even though she couldn't hear them, she could almost feel their cries of agony and suffering.

"No" she said slowly. "I wont just stay here, doing nothing. I'm sure there has to be some way of getting out of here. No matter what it takes, no matter what I have to go through or what I have to see, I'll definitely find it!" she proclaimed defiantly. Her thoughts went back to her big-sis, Nel, Grimmjow, Lily and the others. Doing so gave her a renewed sense of determination. "I'm sure they're also waiting for me" she added, almost to herself. She then turned back to face the man. "I'm sorry Mr. Soul Reaper, I'm really grateful for your help and telling me these things. But I'll be leaving now. I hope we can meet again" she said, making a small bow.

"Hey wait up girl! You have NO idea what it's like out ther -!" But before he could finish, the vasto lorde had already jumped down. The soul reaper rubbed his temples, sighing.

She could feel the foul air rush into her as she free fell towards the ground. She had no idea which direction she needed to be heading, but decided to figure things out once she hit the surface. Knowing how powerful her bala was the last time she used it, this time, she carefully adjusted the power and timing, by firing smaller, weaker balas one after the other to gradually slow down her descent. When she fired the first shot, she immediately came to thank her decision. The bala she fired was still stronger than what she had expected, even when she took into account that the reaitsu in this place affected her powers. Perhaps her being a togabito now was responsible for this?

Landing with a soft touch, she scanned her surroundings for any potential threats and for any helpful clues on where she could go. Straight ahead of her were a few withered trees, though the fact that trees even survived here in these conditions did strike her as odd, even if they were withered. Perhaps they were like the trees in Hueco Mundo? In the same direction, she could make out the same buildings…no, ruins to be precise, made of dull green or grey stone and metal. Hell had architecture? Not even Hueco Mundo had that, she reminded herself. She also noticed that the terrain itself was very uneven. Filled with ups and downs, little bumps, hills and depressions and valleys. To her right, as she followed along the cliffs, she could make out a lake of blood in the distance in which there were floating structures around the center. And to her right, the terrain descended into wider, flatter wastelands.

"Forward it is" she said to herself, going towards the buildings. Perhaps she would find some more clues there. No sooner had she gone a few paces, she saw those white humanoid beings again, this time in a much clearer view.

"!"

They had the most unsettling features she had ever seen in a human shaped object, and she was a resident of Hueco Mundo to boot. These 'demons' were like human mannequins but completely white from head to toe, with human like anatomy. They had absolutely no features to speak off whatsoever, except on their face. These things had two tiny 'mouths' that were stitched shut where eyes would normally be located, and a gigantic bright yellow eye with dark red sclera where a human mouth would normally be present, covering the entire lower half of the head. Ruby shuddered violently. These things had a variety of tools/weapons in their hands, such as swords, katanas, clubs, whips, daggers, fire tongs, gauntlets, hammers, nails, spiked maces, axes, scythes, spears, shields, scimitars, sai, chains, spiked clubs, bows and arrows and surprisingly, guns. There were about 40 of them scattered across her field of vision.

"Demons with guns?" was her first thought, rather than thinking about how she could cut through. Oh, how she'd love to examine those weapons, weapons that were made in Hell itself. The thought made her happy. She was glad that even in this messed up situation, her love for weapons never faded away. But still, she had no idea about these things, how fast or powerful they were, or how dangerous those weapons were. It was strange that these things had advanced weapons such as guns and yet primitive ones like spears and swords. If there were only 1 or 2 of them, she would've atleast considered engaging them. But with this big of a group, there was no way in hell she was going this way.

"Change of plans" she thought to herself, slowly turning back. Perhaps it would be better to check out those structures in the lake. If these things were on the ground, then the lake should be a safer place, right? None of them were looking at her direction, and so, before any of them could be alerted to her presence, she slowly turned back.

*SCHICK*

"!"

She didn't even want to look back. She knew that sound couldn't have been good. And yet, what choice did she have? She turned back, only to see the burning golden eye of one of the 'demons' looking straight at her, almost as if it was looking straight through her soul.

"Oh shi-!"

The one closest to her started running towards her. It was fast, as fast as a human sprinter, but still slower than her. However, the moment the nearest one noticed her, the rest of them followed suit. The ones with melee weapons pursued her with their weapons raised. The ones at the back that had projectile weapons took aim. But they were still way too slow to catch up to her, and she was confident she would lose them soon enough. She sprinted in the opposite direction, towards the bloody lake in hopes that she could jump over to the central structures and lose them over the red liquid lake.

*WHIZZZZ*

Something glowing buzzed past her, almost hitting the back of her face. Something glowing yellow. She peeked a look to see that the nearest demons slowed down, instead choosing to hurl energy blasts about as big as a clenched human fist using the two tiny mouths on their face, the stitches on them undone.

*WHOOSH!*

*SWISH!*

*WHIZZ!*

"They can fire energy blasts too now?!" she thought in disbelief. And that wasn't all. The blast itself was fast. Not as fast as her bala blasts but about as fast as a rocket. Nothing she couldn't dodge, but at that speed, if all of them were to start firing…

She picked up her pace. She as especially concerned about the ones with the guns. Those would fire much, much faster for her to perceive them, and there would be no way to dodge them either.

*BAAANG*

The spot in the ground in front of her cracked and splintered.

"Tch, no choice! I might have to fend off the nearest ones!" and so, she turned back, firing off consecutive balas at the approaching hoard. The one nearest to her, the one holding a scimitar, received the blast straight to its face, blowing it off. The next bala hit one of the demons in the back holding a chain. This one got hit in shoulder, blowing it clean off. The third bala whizzed past all of them without hitting any targets.

"Huh, these things are pretty weak!" she exclaimed in relief. But even so, fighting 40 of them at once would've been trouble. Her decision to run first had been the right one, for now they were thinned out. Plus, at this distance, the guns were very likely to miss almost always. They also didn't seem to be that intelligent either, for they made no effort to take cover from her attacks. One after the other, she continued to fire off balas at the approaching demons, felling them one after another.

"This is taking too long" she told herself. She stopped her balas after making sure the nearby ones were dead, and opened her mouth, charging up a crimson orb.

*BANG!*

A sharp pain shot through her throat, making her lose focus and throwing her off balance. She could feel the pull of gravity pulling her backwards, the crimson orb that was half charged now deforming and rapidly shifting. A violent explosion rocked the vicinity, the force of which sent her flying backwards, her body burnt from the explosion which was now spewing black smoke. Her ears were ringing, and her vision wavered. Her brain was trying to comprehend what just hit her. She could see the demons approaching closer and closer, some of them hurling the glowing yellow energy blasts at her. She scrambled about as fast as she could, trying to get back to her feet and making a run for it. If she had just a little bit of time, she could regenerate the damage. The first energy blast barely missed her head, but the second one went straight through her chest, ripping a hole clean through. She violently coughed blood, her body now making it harder and harder to get away.

A demon approached her, this one holding a hammer, its yellow eye locking with her own eyes. With no pause, warning or sign whatsoever, the demon swung down the hammer, right into her shoulder blade.

*WHACK!*

A piercing pain shot through her left shoulder, the wet sensation she got from the area practically announcing to her that her shoulder had been smashed with that one hit. She tried to desperately retaliate with a bala using her other hand, but instead a spear went through it instead, coming from another demon who had gotten close enough. Both of them continued to swing their weapons, with no pause whatsoever, despite knowing she couldn't even stand or retaliate.

*SMASH* *SQUELCH* *SPLAT* *WHACK* *BANG* *BOOM* *SMASH*

Red, red and red. She could no longer feel her slender limbs. A bloody mist hovered over her, bits and pieces of her vasto lorde flesh scattered about her. And yet, the fiends didn't stop. Instead, more joined in on the unholy carnage. Her legs had been smashed and minced into a fine paste. Her arms had been pierced, shot at, slashed and pounded. Her lower jaw had been smashed away too, now lying uselessly in a puddle of red. She couldn't even scream. Same as every other place in her body. That was when she had learnt the true horror of the reality in front of her. So, this was hell, she told herself. The sounds of the demons using their weapons in every way thinkable continued on. And yet, she still hadn't died. At this point, she was sure her body had been, for all reasons and purposes, minced, pasted and skewered apart. They had been so swift at it, they had given her no time to register the pain. The red continued to fill her vision, and before the red changed to black, she saw the bloodied edge of what she presumed was an axe slice between her eyes.

"ARRRHHHHHHGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

The vasto lorde awoke with a huge jolt, rubbing her torso all over with her hands, clasping them and going around to her back. She was breathing hard, taking laborious breaths, eyes wide open. She looked around, confused and absolutely petrified. She found the familiar face of the soul reaper from before, sitting down with his back against the wall and legs stretched in front of him in a comfortable manner. He had his right hand against his chin, resting his face looking away from her. His eyes though, were looking at her.

"This is the second time I've had to save you" he said simply. Ruby looked at him, her mind still not accustomed to her current status. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her heavily beating heart, looking at her surroundings in a composed manner. She was in the same cliff as before, with no sign of either the demons or the plains she had been in. Her body too, like before was completely intact. No sign of battle or injury from before. How impossible, she thought to herself. She knew she had instant regeneration, but even she couldn't regenerate lethal wounds. And yet, here she was, completely healed, with no sign of injury whatsoever. The chain on her hollow hole though, was still there, and luckily, Crescent Rose was also with her.

"You damn fool, this is why I told you to stay put here! If I hadn't been out there looking for you, you most certainly would've ended up as one of those guys, never to escape torture and torment!" he scolded her, pointing to the togabito hung by the poles that were being tortured in a variety of different ways.

Ruby looked down, guilt stricken and ashamed. "Sorry….and thank you" she muttered. The reaper simply sighed.

"Hmph, are you still set on finding a way out of here, even after what happened?" he asked.

"Yes. That much isn't enough to make me change my mind. I admit I was a bit careless this time. But I will definitely find a way out of here" she repeated.

"Even if I tell you that what you saw, and what you experienced are next to NOTHING compared to some of the real horrors out there? Even if I tell you that those things out there that made mince meat out of you that easily are the weakest types of enemies you'll encounter?" he asked her again.

"Even if I have to keep dying, I won't give up" she said adamantly. "And this time, I'll have you tell me everything you know about this place!" she said, narrowing her eyes at him. The two continued to look at each other in silence, before a small smile broke into the soul reaper's face.

"Well, if you're that determined, I won't try to stop you" he said. "But….you'll make me spill out my beans you say? You sure you up for it, kid?" he asked her.

"I'll….I'll find a way somehow!" she declared.

"Heh….quite the feisty and confident one aren't you? Well alright. I've decided that I'll take you on as my apprentice" he said confidently.

"Wh..what?" shed asked, confused.

"You heard me, kid. I like your spirit, and I think you have potential. And I also believe that as an ex-soul reaper, no innocent soul should have to spend their time here when they did nothing to suffer for it. Call it one of our core principles if you'd like. Now obviously, you being a hollow and I being a soul reaper means I can't quite teach how the ways of a hollow. But the art of fighting is not limited by species, gender or race. That I CAN teach you. And I'd say you being the way you are right now, this weak, you wont last 5 minutes out there, but I believe with a little help you can change that" he explained.

"You think I'm weak?"

"By weak, I don't mean your strength, but rather the way you fight. I saw you fighting out there earlier. So sloppy. So inefficient. So….still. With moves like that, you wont even get past the 1st level of Hell, let alone the depths. Heck, you wont even make it past the guardian of this level" he said. "And that's where I can show you the ropes. You really have nothing to lose here, kid, and trust me. And you should be happy too. I've never willingly taken on students" he said. Ruby sat there, looking at herself. Her thoughts went back to the time she faced those….things. She was a vasto lorde, one of the strongest types of beings in Hueco Mundo. Said to rival even soul reaper captains. And yet, she was taken out that easily.

"If I take your training…..will I be able to find a way out of here?" she asked him.

"Before we even get to that, I can tell you that after I'm done with you, you'll have the necessary skills to travel through the many layers of hell, something that's a pre-requisite before you even think of escaping Hell. And yes, although I won't give you any assurances, it might be possible that you can find a way out, though I seriously advice against it" he said.

"But wait…..I thought you said there wasn't a way out once you were chained here!" she shot back.

"I didn't lie, there IS no sure way out of here. However, there is a rumor that there is something in the deepest layer of Hell that broke the unbreakable chains tethering the damned to this place, just once, during the many eons this realm has existed. In essence, something that could break the very rules of this place. If anything, that's your ticket out of here. But you sure as hell aren't going there if you can't even make it past the 1st layer" he explained.

"…..Fine, I'll do it" she said, looking at him. "Please teach me your ways"

"Perfect. Having settled that, I believe the time for proper introductions has been long due, don't you think?" he said.

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it!" she chirped. "I can't believe I didn't think of it, especially after you saved my life twice! But, I'm Ruby Rose and as you can tell, I'm a vasto lorde from Hueco Mundo. I landed here after falling through the garganta. I'll be looking forward for your guidance, master"

"Ruby, eh? Quite befitting the name of a hidden gem of a warrior. I'm Reiji Ouzumi, ex-Soul Reaper and the founding captain of the 5th division of the 13 court guard squads of the Soul Society. I've been a resident here ever since my death during the war with the Quincy" he said, introducing himself, turning over to show the back of his white coat that had the character for '5' in kanji stitched on. Not that she could read it, of course.

"Quincy?" she asked.

"A separate race like Hollows, Soul reapers and Togabito, Quincy are beings that have powers and reishi but are living beings like human beings, unlike us who are spiritual beings. Easily recognized by their light blue holy-like reishi with their primary weapons being bows and arrows made of pure reishi" he said, giving the short version. "Think of them as beings opposite to Hollows and Togabito. Nothing we need to be concerned about right now. We have more pressing matters"

"Hmm…alright. If you say so master" she said.

"Good. Let's get started then" he said, getting up and picking up a stick. He then let some reishi flow from his hands, making the tip of the stick glow with reishi and then began writing on the wall.

"Listen up kiddo. First thing you need to understand about this place is that though Hell is a place for sinners, who comes here and who gets to escape damnation isn't determined that easily. The rules that decide what's good or bad isn't as clear as black and white. In fact, nothing in this universe can simply be classified as 'bad' or 'good'. These sorts of things are always in a grey area, and always depend on the situation, context and perspective. Sure, there are times when a certain degree of generalization and classification is possible. But for the most part, its never that simple" he explained. Ruby listened to Reiji, nodding her head in understanding. Once again, her thoughts went back to Nel's words from their first meeting.

"Good, bad, that's a very narrow way of looking at anything. Remember this, Ruby. Nothing in our world can be simply classified as Good or Bad. Even heaven is not devoid of evil, nor is hell devoid of hope"

Those words couldn't have been truer, she thought to herself. Literally too, she reminded herself. She suffered so much at the hands of another arrancar at a place she considered her home, her paradise. And yet, she found a helping hand at a place where she expected to find none.

"Are you listening?" asked Reiji, snapping her thoughts back to his words.

"Ah….yes master!" she answered back. Dammit Ruby, don't be lost in thoughts now!

"As I was saying, because the sins that humans commit aren't equal, the punishment must also match the degree of sin. That is why Hell is divided into layers. But that brings to question. What IS considered a sin? Would something like killing another simply to defend yourself count as one? How about being forced to do something under duress? You cannot judge these situations and something like homicide and intentional murder under the same scales. That's why Hell's layers are structured in such a way that the top layer is for those souls that were really just unfortunate. Bad karma I'd say. That's where we are now. A soldier who is only defending their land and protects the weak but still took the lives of others who were also living beings. Or perhaps a blacksmith who forged weapons made for killing who never harmed a soul in their life and yet, it was their actions that led to the deaths of others. A scholar who brought the great gift of knowledge to humankind and yet, that same knowledge was used to kill and maim others, though they had no fault of their own. Or perhaps just a really unfortunate soul who was caught up in the schemes of others and aided others in killing or committing sins, completely ignorant and unaware of their own role in committing said sins. These are the sorts of cases you'll find here in this layer. That's why it's so peaceful here" This was just a lot of information to take in, and Ruby had several questions already.

"Wait wait wait, master…..this is a peaceful layer?!" she exclaimed.

"That's why I told you earlier that you were a fool to venture out there not knowing anything about this place" he answered. "Compared to the other layers, this is certainly the most peaceful and yet you got your arse handed to you that easily. Now do you understand the depth of your ignorance?" Ruby gulped, and nodded.

"But but…..it just seems so unfair! Why is one sent to hell just because they got caught in a scheme devised by others?!" asked Ruby.

"AS I said, it isn't always like that. The way I described was a very, very simplified explanation of how things work. Everything really depends on the individual case. And with something like this, the way to determine who's deserving of Hell and who isn't is really tricky" he answered. "Though I was a captain doing nothing but defending my home from invaders, it is undeniable that I killed several others. Enemies though they may be, they were also fighting for their beliefs, just like us. No one is right or wrong in a war. And THAT's why war is so ugly. Take this to heart, Ruby. If you're planning to fight in a war, should the time ever come, be prepared to know what you are getting into and steel yourself for the consequences. As a soldier, you must be prepared to face hell, both figuratively and literally"

"…..I understand" she said simply.

"Anyways, apart from me, you'll find several others in this lair. Really, the sinners here are good at heart, just forced into wrong circumstances that makes them face punishment for their sins. For example, there's also this guy, a manslayer from the Edo Period of Japan who fought against the Tokugawa and paved the way for the Meiji Era. He was a master swordsman of unparallel skill. It is said that he regretted his role in the revolution so much, that he took an oath to never kill again and instead chose to save many many lives, more so than the ones he had taken. By nature, he was a very gentle soul. But the sins he committed could not simply be washed away that easily. And so, I'm sure he's probably here somewhere. I think he was called the Battousai or something. Doesn't matter, that was just an example. More importantly, there's one more thing" he said, looking at her. Ruby raised her eyes.

"Though I did mention there was no way out of Hell, the top layer sinners eventually DO find their way out. This is because of the nature of sins committed. The people in this layer and the next are really just people who are good at heart but just had bad luck and karma. The chains that binds such souls are not permanent. That is why, once they have suffered here enough, once they have been punished and have atoned for their sins here, the chains that hold them are broken, sending these souls away from hell to be reborn once again in the world of the living with a clean slate" he said. "Their sins, are not unforgivable after all"

"…hey wait a minute, master! That means, since I'm here in the 1st layer, I DO have a way out of here!" pointed out Ruby.

"Yes, but think about this. Yours is a very strange case, one I'm not even sure follows the rules of this place. And also, sinners only leave after paying for the bad karma they accumulated. You have none of that, from what I can tell atleast. And it normally takes centuries to millenia of suffering, being tortured, skewered, burned and all other sorts of punishment before you are deemed good enough to leave" he explained.

"Oh…"

"Any other questions?" he asked. Ruby nodded in the negative.

"Good. Let's proceed. So that was about the togabito. Because of their nature, the togabito of this layer simply want to repent for their sins and leave. That's why all the togabito you saw there are very docile, never attacking or protesting against the demons that condemn them. They WANT to repent for their sins, so they don't mind being punished for it. But that isn't the case with the other layers. The further down in hell you go, the worse the degree of sins committed becomes. At lower layers, the sins committed are basically considered unforgivable. Sins such as Rape, Torture for pleasure, sins committed purely to live out your fantasies or to comfort your way of living, sins that have no excuse whatsoever such as Pedophilia, committing serial murder, necrophilia, cannibalism….you get the picture" But the cheetah vasto lorde had a blank look in her face, especially during the later parts of his explanation.

"Wait hold on…..how old are you exactly, kid?" he asked her.

"Um…16 or 17 I think" she answered. Reiji facepalmed himself.

"Sigh….well, I'm not sure how much you 'know' of what I said, but don't think too much about them. Basically, some sins are so unforgivable, that those togabito aren't going anywhere. They are literally damned for eternity. And besides, if you're going to the lower layers, I'm sure you'll learn of them anyways" he said. "Just remember that the demons won't be your only problem in the lower layers"

"Are they as strong as the demons?" asked Ruby.

"They are comparable. You see, Hell works in a way so as to maximize the torment and pain inflicted on its inhabitants. The deeper you go, the tougher the togabito are made so that they can endure a lot of torture and punishment before dying and having it repeated over and over again. The demons are made even stronger and more resilient than the togabito of that layer so that the togabito could never have enough strength to overthrow the authorities of Hell. And of course, each layer is guarded by a monstrously strong Guardian. That way, a togabito of the lower layers cannot hope to ascend and reduce their pain and suffering by living in the upper layers. The same way, a togabito of the upper layers cant hope to end their sentence quicker by taking on the suffering of the lower layers. Understand?" he asked her. Ruby just titled her head, blinking her eyes.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I'll summarize everything towards the end, for now, just make sure to listen" said Reiji. "So that's about the togabito. Next come the Reaitsu of Hell itself. Tell me, when you first entered here, did you not feel a sudden change in the air? Surely after being in Hueco Mundo for almost your whole life, the air here must have felt very different"

"You're right, master! As I was falling through, the reaitsu felt so foul, so heavy. I even felt so worked up. Even now, I feel it. As if something inside my body is welling up. And now that I think about it" she said, rubbing her throbbing head "I do feel some faint whispers if I listen carefully"

"That's because of Hell's reishi. To put it in the most simplest terms, Hell's reishi is very…..negative in nature. Its not the term I would use, but it helps to explain. Even the reishi in this place is made so that it can inflict suffering on those that live in it. The reishi in hell forces empathy on all of its inhabitants. Meaning, you can and always will fell the pain and suffering of others, not just your own. 'You who have given in to sin, did it because you did not know what it felt like to be on the receiving end. And so, you shall learn of the pain you have inflicted'. Get my point?" said Reiji. "The closer you are, the stronger the empathic effect. That's why at this distance, where there is no one here suffering nearby, you don't feel anything more than a whisper. But the closer you get to a togabito undergoing pain and misery, you'll fell it too. And they will feel your pain and misery too. That is also what makes the togabito a huge hindrance in the lower layers. Because you'll also feel their twisted thoughts and emotions. I'll tell you here and now Ruby" he said. "If you fall prey to THAT, there's NO coming back to sanity. Understand?" Ruby nodded. And now she understood why Reiji flinched earlier when she yelled at him in her outburst. Her own fury, bitterness and frustration must have been felt by him when he felt her reaitsu spike during her outburst.

"But the empathic effect is just one aspect. As I mentioned, Hell's reishi is also very negative in nature. Think of it this way" he said, making a simple diagram next to his notes.

"Quincy have HIGH Positive Reishi. Shinigami have MODERATE Positive Reishi. Hollows have MODERATE Negative Reishi. Togabito and demons have HIGH Negative Reishi" he explained, adding this information to the drawing.

"Now, Hell has HIGH Negative reishi in nature. Meaning, it gives a HUGE boost to the abilities of Demons and Togabito's reishi pool. It gives a MODERATE boost to those of Hollow nature. And on the other hand, it MODERATELY reduces Shinigami abilities, and STRONGLY reduces Quincy abilities. Got that?" Ruby once again, nodded. She already grasped where he was going with the explanation. "That's why, since the reishi here complements your nature so well, you feel so worked up and invigorated. Its your hollow nature being strengthened by Hell's very atmosphere"

"And that's not all. As you go deeper, the reishi concentration only increases. In fact, the reishi in the final layer is just titanic. Nothing in any of the other dimensions even compares. That's why it would've been useless for you as you are now to even attempt to go further below. You wouldn't even be able to handle the strain the reishi put on you. Before you can even think of going down, you will need to gradually build resistance to reishi atmosphere and be able to withstand it. One silver living is that demons don't have feelings and emotions. It's their biggest weakness and strength. They can be mercilessly relentless and cruel when inflicting pain, but when you make short work of them, you won't feel the pain you inflict either"

"That would mean that my abilities are boosted here, considering I am a hollow" said Ruby. Huh, that explains why her balas were stronger than before, and also why she didn't feel anything when she blasted some of those demons!

"Not just that. You are also a togabito now. Half hollow, half togabito. I would say you get a REALLY STRONG boost in your abilities. As for me, though I would normally get a STRONG boost for being a togabito, I am also part Shinigami. So rather than a STRONG boost, I only get a MODERATE boost to my abilities" he explained.

"To summarize everything, Hell has layers, ordered by the depth of sin committed by its inhabitants. The deeper you go, the stronger the spiritual pressure, the natures of sins of the togabito, the demons and the bodies of the togabitos get. Hell's reishi also has an emphatic effect on its inhabitants that gets stronger the closer you are to the other being. This effect also increases as you go down below. Hell's reishi is highly negative in nature, meaning Quincy abilities are significantly weakened, Shinigami's by a moderate amount, Hollows get a slight boost and togabito/demons get a huge boost. Is that clear?" asked Reiji, pointing to the various notes and diagrams he had made to explain all this.

"Yes master! Though, I do have one thing I'm not clear about. You see, before I landed here, I was….'injected' with many spirit bugs that limited my reishi and prevented me from using my abilities. But now I can use them. Would you happen to know why?" she asked him. Reiji, rested his hand on his chin, thinking for a bit.

"I can't be completely sure, but it might be because of this place boosting your abilities. The reishi might have 'purified' your body. But even if that wasn't the case, it most certainly isn't a problem now. The moment you died here, your body was reconstructed and reborn anew as a hollow/togabito. Any foreign matter you had is most certainly gone" he explained. "Anything else?"

"Yes sir!" she asked again, raising her hands with a burst of energy "Why did those demons have guns? I can understand swords and such, but I was really surprised they had guns"

"Guns?" asked Reiji with a questioning look. "Ah, do you perhaps mean the pellet shooters? One of these things?" he said, showing her a pump action shotgun. Ruby's eyes immediately sparkled, her hands shaking in excitement.

"M…mas…master!" she shouted, standing up suddenly. "Can…can I…have a look? Please!" she said with her mouth open wide, puppy dog eyes shining with excitement.

"Huh, look at you, girly. One moment you were being made mince meat and now I see a hollow of all things with a goofy grin on her face. You see something new every day, even here in hell I suppose" he said "Well, only if you give it back. If you want one, you're going to have to take it yourself"

"Oh, I have one master!" she said, showing him Crescent Rose, unfolding it into its gun form. "Though I have no ammo for it here so I should probably just use it as a scythe" And ruby unfolded Crescent Rose into its scythe form.

"That IS an interesting weapon" commented Reiji. "Show me your weapon, and I'll let you have a look at mine. Don't worry, I know my way around weapons. I just didn't know it was called a 'gun'. These didn't exist during my time after all" he said. And so, Ruby handed over Crescent Rose, while she observed every nook and cranny of the pump action.

"Whoa, there are no shells on this…how do you even fire with this?! Apart from that, it looks and works just like a regular shotgun!" she said, cocking it and aiming it at the distance.

"Don't be firing it off here, we don't want to attract the demons" said Reiji, handing over Crescent Rose to Ruby. And Ruby gave the shotgun back to Reiji. "And to answer your question, the 'gun' shoots your own reishi as pellets. Although, calling it pellets would be wrong" said Reiji. "It doesn't shoot out a projectile after all. When you fire the 'gun', whatever is in the line of sight of the gun is instantly shot at, with NO delay whatsoever. Each gun works differently, some can fire single pellets, some can fire a spread of pellets like this one, while some can fire a continuous volley of pellets. That's what makes those things so damn dangerous. Unlike an arrow that you can see and has a certain range, these things have none"

"Wait, that can't be master! Even bullets can curve, fly at a constant speed and given a proper enough distance, miss their target! They don't just fly in a straight line!" argued Ruby.

"That's what I thought too, kid. But trust me, even if it was flying as fast as a hollow's bala, there's no way I wouldn't be able to see it. After many observations, I have come to the conclusion that these 'guns' simply strike a target in front of them, in their line of sight, and deal damage instantly regardless of how far away you are from your target. To begin with, they don't even use these 'bullets' that you mentioned, but rather your reishi. These are weapons made in hell, not in the world of the living by Humans"

"But that would mean…..guns are way too overpowered in Hell!" said Ruby, partially excited and partially in dismay. "And master, why does Hell even have guns?"

"Its not that Hell has guns, its more about what the humans have made. Just like the humans, Hell too, adapts to its inhabitants. As the World of the Living evolves, sinners of that age bring with them information and knowledge of newer, deadlier weapons used to commit sin more effectively. And so, Hell adapts them into its own design as well, even better than the Humans." Explained the founder of the 5th division. "Which is also why, the first thing you should do, would be to find a way to modify that weapon of yours to suit Hell. I'm not sure who made it, but hmm….perhaps we can find someone here who knows the art of crafting weapons..?" he said to himself.

"Oh, I'm the one who made Crescent Rose master, I would never let anyone else modify her!" she said proudly. "I think I should be able to modify her with the different guns and other tools that those demons have. Till then, I guess I'll just use my claws, fangs and reishi"

"Well, colour me surprised! A weapon smith who actually knows the art of using the weapons they craft! I had a hunch you were a little special" he said, impressed. "Which brings us back to the demons. Now that you have a basic understanding of Hell, I think its time I start teaching you the art of battle. We'll acquire the tools and weapons you need on the way. Come along now" he said, calling her over.

"Yes master!" said Ruby enthusiastically, following him.

Sadly, I'll have to break it off here. I REALLY wanted to go on with the demon slaughter parts but the chapter was long enough already. And I basically just wanted to put this out and get it out of the way first. So yeah, this is how Hell works in my story. Since bleach cannon had only the movie which WASN'T CANNON, I had to build my own version. I DID take minor, minor references from the movie, but mostly only stuff like the chain and the names. Hope you like it, and hope it wasn't too confusing. And hope you liked the little Rurouni Kenshin easter egg, there's one more in the next chapter ;)

Also, guys, thanks a lot for the reviews and comments, I hope I continue to keep you interested and also hope I have keep improving as I go on. Feel free to leave suggestions/corrections should you have any, I really appreciate it. Sometimes I notice that I get email notifications for reviews but they don't show up on the site until much much later. So sorry if I missed answering some of your reviews, I'll answer them here.

Response to reviews:

NEGATARO: I missed answering back then, but yes, I plan to have the cast of RWBY come over and interact with the characters of the bleach world. But after Aizen arc though.

Just A Reader: To put it bluntly, yes. I'd say you are close to the answer, but there will of course be more to it. The silver eyes are important, I'll give you that.

Cyan-Snake: Haha yeah! I really wanted her to go Rip and Tear this chapter, but I also just wanted to get the whole concept of Hell out of the way first, so I can solely focus on the fighting the next chapter.

The-Killer40513: No, she isn't dead. She's just in Hell. The others are still back in Hueco Mundo

Greer123: Yup, she is! And oh boy, its just the beginning!

D'nnome: Yup, as mentioned in this chapter, its gone.

Firewyrm2: Yup I do! I will try to draw her as an arrancar at some point, once she does become one that is, which is soon.

Momentei: Thanks a lot! That was really what I was going for, build up a story that makes sense and connects things such that a crossover concept makes sense somehow.

fightingchampion: Yup she is! And her troubles are just beginning!

Z-Man153: Trust me, shounen troupes such as power of friendship and willpower are the last things you'll see in my story. I want to make a story that has been built up with logic, as much as possible. I will for sure NEVER rely on power of friendship or plot armor. That's why Ruby isn't going scoot free just because shes a main character. I have something else on her escape plan. Something you'll see, you would wish she never found.

TooBad69: No, I am taking almost no reference from the movie, save for a couple of things like the chains and the kushanada and the fact that the sinners are called Togabito. The rest of the stuff you see I've used my own version.