Chapter 47: World Stops Making Sense


Chad took a deep breath, trying to estimate where he needed to go. After all, there was only one massive tower, and when he had asked a particularly terrified individual which way to Rukia, they had pointed towards the tower.

The problem, of course, was that even though he knew where to go, there was quite a large stretch of territory between him and his objective. He could only guess where the others were heading.

So, after fighting his way free from another brawl, he ducked into a park. Though calling it a park would be a joke, it was more like someone's personal park that had been left unused and uncared for, perhaps for decades. It would be better considered a small forest.

And here was where he was going to take a nap. He didn't know where the others were, and he wanted to, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had used up a lot of strength coming as far as he had, and currently, he could use a little shut-eye. Since this place seemed so abandoned, he doubted anyone would think to look here. Well, he might as well take that moment.

Though he admitted it was a bit cold. He wished he had brought some sort of survival gear, at least something to start a fire. But then again, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He would just have to suffer through it as he leaned back against a tree, looking up at the darkening sky.

Soon night would fall, and maybe after four hours of rest, he would be able to move a lot easier. After all, it's a lot easier to move in the dark, with lots of places to hide.

The only problem was that when it got dark, it would be hard to see the tower. He tried to make it easier for himself using his fist. He had cut a groove into a tree that pointed in the direction he should be going when he left. But with how maze-like the walls of this place were, it would only guarantee him a starting direction. Anything could happen along the way, and the fights tended to leave him a little disoriented, sometimes going in the wrong direction.

Letting out a deep breath, he looked up at the sky and got lost in his thoughts, remembering his grandfather and thinking about the bird that turned out to be a kid who he had saved. Who would have thought that situation would lead to this?

He would have continued to ponder such thoughts and drift off until he heard a snap of someone stepping on a branch. He was up in an instant, ready to defend himself, his eyes scanning the slowly darkening forest as his ears listened closely.

"Damn, this dress is going to be ripped to shreds," someone muttered in a familiar and friendly voice, at least to him.

Stepping into the shadows to make sure it was who he thought it was, he waited as the figure approached the clearing, their white dress making them easy to spot and recognize.

"Akita," he called, stepping out of the darkness, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Chad," she said, breathing heavily. "I'm glad to see you."

"Good to see you too," he said with a nod, before looking around. "Anyone else with you?"

Akita shook her head, indicating that she didn't land with Weiss, but they got separated in the fighting. However, she mentioned that Weiss had contact with Ichigo's party, so she knew they were still up and about.

"Well, that's good that we know what's going on to some extent," Chad said with a nod. "Do you know where we're going?"

She nodded her head and replied, "The big central tower is the most likely place she's located."

Chad agreed, "Hmm, then heading towards the central tower is the best plan, as I thought. It is a concern though how many people have not found this information."

Akita shrugged her shoulders and explained, "I think most people will come up with the same conclusion. At the very least, some of us will sneak through and overhear the Soul Reapers talking about the direction we're going in and make assumptions. At best, they'll capture people and interrogate them."

Chad nodded in agreement and gestured for her to sit as he resumed his position against a tree.

"So," he said, "do you have any Quincy tricks for getting to that tower a little bit quicker?"

She shook her head and replied, "No Quincy tricks. I can fly, but unfortunately, that technique is not known to me in this life."

"Right, the whole reincarnation thing," Chad acknowledged with a nod. "Have you tried any of those old tricks?"

She shrugged and said, "On and off. Sometimes when no one's looking, I've tried a few things while hunting hollows. But Quincy magic is not the same as the magic in my previous world."

"Hmm, unfortunate. Flying sounds cool," Chad mused as he leaned back.

She chuckled and responded, "It really is. Well, more like hovering, unless you have the proper tools for it."

"Proper tools?" Chad asked curiously. "I thought magic was magic."

"It is. It's just... well, magic tech, I guess, would be the correct term," she explained. "We used these little things called computation orbs that allowed us to channel magic and create more effective spells. You had to know a lot of math, but I was never very good at it. I just had so much raw power that I could overwhelm the formulas. We also needed certain tools to be able to fly. Americans used modified motorcycles, the British used autocannon brooms, the French had machines that looked like horses so they could be knights in shining armor. And in my particular home country of that life, Scandinavia, we used skis." She chuckled and continued, "I would say we were probably the most advanced when it came to flight technology on our side of the war. I've flown American bikes and the French and British ones aren't that different. If your engine gets knocked out, you'll slowly descend, which might save your life, but you become a bigger target. Skis make you a smaller target, so you're less likely to get shot."

Chad pondered for a moment and asked, "Hmm, what was the other side using? I want to get a vision in my mind of how combat might have worked."

Akita smiled before saying, "Boots, jet boots, and in some cases, strapped directly to the leg. I'll be honest, with how effective it made their mages, I would say they were probably somewhat more advanced in terms of speed than my own country. But for the most part, they were on par with us in close quarters combat, at least from what I experienced."

Chad nodded before saying, "So what you need is an orb to better control your magical power and some kind of flying machine to be able to move to places quickly. Do you have any idea how to build any of that?"

Akita laughed out loud before saying, "No, no idea. I mean, I have some basic maintenance knowledge for both of those equipment, but no way to actually build that stuff. It requires precise equipment to even construct some of the pieces, and all I could really do was clean and refit them. I got yelled at once because I dropped a crystal that got lost and was never found."

She shook her head and continued, "If I could build that stuff, it would probably be useful, but I just can't. So I'll use what I have access to."

"Best we can do with what we have," Chad said with a nod before changing the subject. Looking out, he said, "I was going to get some rest for 4 to 5 hours and then try moving in the dark. Are you up for that?"

Akita nodded and took a seat next to Chad, leaning against the tree. "Yeah, I'm fine with that. I've been running around all day, and my feet are killing me. Should have grabbed some more comfortable shoes for this."

Chad looked at the white boots she was wearing and said, "They don't seem so bad."

She sighed and replied, "I haven't worn boots in a long time. Well, perhaps a lifetime would be the correct word. The fact of the matter is, I might know how to wear boots, but the boots are wearing on me." She lifted her legs onto a nearby root that had pushed through the surface of the ground as she started to untie her boots.

"A couple of hours off my feet will do me good and give my feet time to recover," she added.

Chad nodded and said, "Well, we could look around when we're making our escape. Perhaps there's a shoe shop around here where you can find something more comfortable."

Akita chuckled and replied, "Ha, well, this will be a little bit of a delinquent squad causing problems throughout the Soul Society. Fights, violence, and now thievery." She shook her head and continued, "My father is going to throw a fit."


"Okay, so far so good, Uryū," Orihime said as she emerged from behind the curtain, now dressed in a Soul Reaper's uniform. It didn't fit quite properly, but it would work, and she didn't think anyone would look twice at her.

"I don't know about that, Orihime," he replied as he stepped out from where he had been dressing, looking a bit scuffed up and annoyed. "Kind of wish I could keep the Quincy uniform on, but I guess we're just going to have to deal with what we have. We're too likely to be noticed in our normal clothing. This way, at least we'll be able to walk around this place without getting charged at by every Soul Reaper in the Soul Society."

"Exactly," she said with a smile, before adding, "Also, these uniforms are quite light and airy. With the summer heat we had to go through yesterday, it feels good to have something cooler to wear." She twirled around a little to demonstrate.

Uryū nodded, though he hated to admit it. "Well, at least we're not at war with these people. I mean, technically, this is a war crime."

"But they do it all the time in movies," she pointed out.

"And every time it's actually a war crime. But movies don't really care about the realities of legal systems set up for conflicts like that. They just sort of assume everyone's a violent brood and move on with it."

"Hmm, something to keep in mind," she said, thoughtfully. "Anyway, what's the plan? How are we going to get to the central tower from here?"

Uryū paused, then shrugged. "Walk, I guess. I mean, I don't think anyone's going to think twice about two Soul Reapers walking in the direction of the tower. It's not that out of the norm."

She nodded and moved to look out the door into the main courtyard they had snuck into. "I think it's safe to get moving. I don't see anyone looking about."

"Good. We better not waste time," he said as he stood on top of one of the washers, pushed a ceiling tile out of the way, and stuffed his Quincy uniform up there. It was mostly the cape and shoes he wore that stood out, so he had to stash them away. Some of the stuff still clung to him underneath the uniform, but he couldn't wear all of it underneath, so he had to do something with it.

Once that was safely hidden, he pushed the tile back into place and dropped down, saying, "Hopefully, we'll have time to grab it later. But at the very least, stashing it up there will make it harder for people to figure out that we've switched clothes."

She nodded in agreement, and they stepped outside, starting to move towards the tower. They walked at a normal pace, trying to appear unremarkable and not draw attention to themselves.

Moving with a calm pace, they almost fooled themselves into believing they belonged here and were not infiltrating the enemy's base. Hopefully, they would not run into any more problems.

As if summoned by that thought, a person yelled, "Hey, you two!" The pair of them looked over as the person came running in their direction, saying, "Didn't you hear? The captain of the Fourth has called us all back."

"Back to the main topic," Uryū was asked as he looked at the individual closely. "The invaders have gone missing, and we need more people at the Fourth Division to take care of the wounded from the Eleventh. So, all of us are being called back to help. By the way, are you new? I've never seen your face before."

The pair of Invaders exchanged a glance before she spoke up, saying, "Yeah, brand new! We just got assigned to the Fourth. We were just moving laundry over here for cleaning."

The individual nodded in understanding and said, "Well, that makes some sense. But still, you need to get out of here. The Eleventh Division is a mess, and being in the Twelfth's territory is not healthy, especially at this time of day with all this chaos going on."

"Really?" Uryū inquired, wanting to delve into the situation to gain a better understanding of what they were dealing with.

"Yeah, really," the individual replied with a nod before explaining, "You're more likely to get blown up over here than receive medical care. Trust me on that. Or you might end up being used in an experiment."

"In an experiment?" she said incredulously.

"Man, you must be new. You probably weren't even thinking about looking at the Twelfth if you don't even know about their reputation. Let's just say some people don't think the leader of the Twelfth values anyone who's not him as worth keeping alive. If you're not useful to him, you might become an experiment. You're in deep trouble."

"Why do I get the feeling that's the reason we got this job today?" Uryū improvised, realizing this was a perfect way to gain the individual's trust and extract information from him.

The individual nodded knowingly before saying, "Yeah, yeah, some assholes like to send over the newbies just to get them acquainted with the problems of the Twelfth." He shook his head again and added, "But that's a problem for another day. Right now, we need to get you out of here."

"We'll go, we'll go," he said, before asking, "By the way, were we supposed to go to the central tower to pick up something and bring it back here? Or is that no longer part of our objectives? Can you also tell us the fastest route from here to there?"

The individual looked at him as if he were insane before replying, "No, no, that is not part of your schedule anymore. Come on, we have to go to the Fourth Division." He pointed to the west and said, "The fastest route is to head down that way until you reach a central corridor. That should take you directly to the Central Tower, though there's always a chance you might get lost. But that's beside the point. Follow me," he said, turning and walking in the direction that would lead them to the Fourth Division. She assumed he would lead them to a place where they could rest. She shared a glance with Uryū, who nodded, and they started following him, knowing that being part of a group would make it harder for people to notice them as a problem.

Clearing his throat, Uryū asked, "So, what have we heard about the invaders? Have they been caught?"

The Fourth Division officer shook his head before saying, "No, no, there's still a lot of chaos going on, so we don't know exactly what's happening. But from what I've been able to gather, the Eleventh Division is in shambles. They can never claim to be the best combat division again, as far as I'm concerned." He chuckled, then continued, "Unless somehow these people do the same to many other divisions, I think the quality of soldiers in the Eleventh has greatly declined since the days of the first Kenpachi."

"But from what I've heard, there are four to five groups running around. The Eleventh Division, of course, is in ruins, and this was done by three of these groups. It's believed that some rogue Soul Reaper and his girlfriend, along with some random street rats, are part of one group. We also have a random guy with a rifle running around, taking down several men to the point where they'll need extreme medical care. And there's some crazy chick dressed in white. Lastly, there's a giant with some mysterious power wandering around, beating the hell out of anyone who gets in his way. Those are the confirmed groups."

"What about the other two groups?" he asked, wondering what they knew about them and if they were on the lookout for them.

"We know nothing. We saw two other flares crash to the ground in the Eleventh District, but other than that, nothing. Some theorize that whoever these unknowns are, they were the ones who took out a member of the Seventh Division, who was found on top of a building. But other than that, we don't know anything about them, and that member of the Seventh Division hasn't spoken up yet, so we won't find out for some time."

"Has this Seventh member been moved to the Fourth Division for medical care?" she asked.

"Yep, one of the first people sent for medical care, as far as I know. Mainly because the Eleventh Division has a thing about not accepting medical care unless they really need it and have to be dragged there most of the time. And seeing as he wasn't with the Eleventh, this allowed him to be transferred over there as soon as possible."

"Hmm, I wonder what Tanya thinks of all this," she mused, which earned her an odd look from him. She quickly clarified, "Oh, I mean our friend Tanya who we got to know out in the field before! She seemed like she was someone who'd be really interested in all of this. She's a real super serious type."

She turned her head to look at Uryū, who raised an eyebrow. He then nodded his head in agreement and said, "Oh, I suppose Tanya would be pretty interested in how all of this is being handled." He paused for a moment before adding, "Do you know anyone like that?"

The individual shrugged before replying, "No idea. All I know is that there are reports of some members of the Fourth Division being kidnapped by the Invaders, so we're going to be bringing everyone there to make sure everyone's okay and we don't have any missing heads."

"Wouldn't the correct term be 'held hostage'?" he asked.

"Well, if it were a more professional man who had been kidnapped, I would agree. But this guy was a loose cannon, as far as I'm concerned. No, he's got the ability to heal, but when it comes to fighting, "kidnapped" is the correct term."

The two shrugged their shoulders as they looked at each other. She spoke up, saying, "Well, I guess you should take us there as quickly as possible then. It's been a long day, and it's only going to get longer if there are a lot of wounded. We need to help them as best we can."

"Yep," he said as they reached a crossroads. They could either turn right with him and head towards the medical facilities in the Fourth Division, or they could turn left and make their way towards the tower. Now, the main objective, of course, was Rukia, but there was no way to guarantee they would have the strength to break through the defenses. However, the left path offered a unique opportunity to run into Tanya and have someone on the inside who might be willing to help them, especially considering there were reports that she was in deep trouble. They shared a look before turning left. Yes, it would take longer to reach the central tower, but gaining an ally in Tanya made the most sense. After all, then they would have someone who actually had a handle on the society and could help them navigate their way around.


Weiss sighed as he found himself on a little overlook tower, not too far away from the main tower, about three or four blocks by his estimate. He had managed to escape the pair of individuals who had been sent after him as well as the girl, and he had recovered enough of his gear to continue his march. Sure, he had to engage in a running fight once or twice, heavily injuring a couple of idiots who came too close to him, but he made it to his destination.

This tower, though not the main one overlooking the entire Seireitei, provided a good view of the main entrance. It seemed to be the best place for a communication station, which was exactly what he was setting up. He left his rifle by a window facing the direction of the entrance, attaching a scope to it later so he could take a pot shot if needed to deter anyone trying to break through into the tower. But for now, he was working on running a wire up to the top of the tower, turning it into a giant receiver and transmitter.

With that setup, he should be able to get in contact with his brother-in-law, and with this vantage point, he could have a good view of anyone approaching the tower. Maybe he could even send them a message, using something other than radio and running around. He was pretty sure people would take interest in a paper airplane with a note, saying to come towards the tower from the north, that landed directly in front of them.

Ah, the neat tricks you could pull with magic. Like the magical RPG he had strapped to his back. Granted, it wasn't really a rocket-propelled grenade. It was a tube with an explosive charge, and the charge had been doubled in strength due to various magical spells engraved into it. The tube also had magical engravings for accuracy and piercing.

If need be, he could rain down fire on any target he needed to. He was saving it for the right moment, but he only had about four charges on him. Each charge would bring down hell, but it would be quite effective those four times. And if he used it, there was no way people wouldn't figure out where he was, and he would have to run. So, it would be his last resort before abandoning this place.

Technically, his brother-in-law had two of them in his pack. He had stashed them there when he heard his brother was not going to give up on going. They could be useful, but unfortunately, it was unlikely that he would get his hands on them.

Taking a deep breath, feeling exhausted, he looked out the window. The sun was setting, the sky turning red, and pretty soon, night would come. Everyone would find their hiding spots. If he was lucky, he could find some way to contact a few people whose locations he didn't know. He should probably figure out where Tanya was. Was she in the highest tower as well? Hard to say. He had given his old friend, Wilibald Koenig, a radio so they could contact each other when they were out in the wilds and near his home. Maybe he should contact him and see what he could learn from Wilibald.

Messing with the machinery, getting nothing but static, he tried to use the signal of the old 305 message, but got nothing, at least nothing on the official radio channels. Shaking his head, he wondered if he should try spellcraft, but that would use a little bit of spiritual pressure and alert people to his location. He should only do that if he abandoned his tower and went somewhere where he could do it without being noticed.

About to let out a frustrated sigh, he heard the sound of feet, or rather paws, landing on the windowsill not too far from him.

"Oh, thank goodness I found one of you," came the voice of the cat, looking unperturbed as it sat on the windowsill.

"Oh, thank goodness the cat is here," he said with a shake of his head, before adding, "You know, I've known my wife for many years, and she's talked about you once or twice. I don't think she ever said you were a cat before."

The cat chuckled before saying, "Keeping secrets, is she?."

"Well, couples tend to not keep secrets from each other. That's how you know we have a healthy relationship," he replied.

The cat chuckled again before saying, "Still can't believe that's actually happening. She always seemed like someone who would never find someone for her. Glad to see that I was wrong about that."

He scratched his chin as he looked out the window at the facility of the central tower before asking, "Do you have any idea where the others are? Can you track them down, or are you just here for a quick little chat?"

"Actually, both. I've been able to track all of them down. I know the general direction they are going and can meet up with them when I feel it's necessary. Mostly, I've just been making sure that a few things are in place for what I need to get done," the cat replied.

He raised an eyebrow, which got the cat to simply shrug and say, "Well, I can't tell you these things yet. There's too much of a chance you might get caught and tortured for information."

He nodded in agreement before saying, "Alright then. Well, if you can't tell me what you have planned in the background, can you at least tell me if this plan is not going to end up going absolutely sideways?"

The cat shrugged and said, "Oh, we've already gone sideways. But that's the important part. Everything needs to go sideways for it to work."

"Huh, so this chaos is meant to cause as much harm and chaos as possible so people don't know what's going on. A favorite tactic of Tanya as well, that's hitting the heart of the enemy command structure to cause that chaos," he remarked.

The cat replied, "Ah, oh, that's a favorite tactic of Tanya. And there's a perfect place to actually cause that level of chaos right where you're standing."

"Oh?" he asked as the cat jumped down, walked across the floor, and then jumped up onto the windowsill. Looking over at the tower, the cat pointed its paw at an area several stories up and said, "That room is the lieutenant's office. During a chaotic situation, the lieutenants are called there to be given information. I don't know how many are inside at this moment, but if something were to happen to that room..."

"A direct attack on the Capitol building, causing some mayhem that leaves an even more chaotic situation going on," he finished the cat's thought. He looked at the tube before saying, "I can do that. I don't know what kind of casualties that would cause."

The cat chuckled before saying, "Knowing your wife's fireworks, it probably won't be that major, even with some massive spiritual pressure on the explosion. Everyone there is a lieutenant, the top of the top, the best of the best. You might cause some injuries, but no one will be down permanently."

"Hmmm, well then I think I'll just wait for the proper moment, but that means I'll have to abandon this tower," he said with annoyed contemplation. "And I just set up all the mechanics here to make it a significant command center."

"I could give you a better place," the cat said matter-of-factly. "It won't have as great of a view, but it will be undetectable and unfindable. By the way, do you have any more of those radios?" The cat looked down at one of the radios.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out another radio, putting it down next to the cat. "I don't know how you're going to carry it around, but yes, I do have one more."

"Wonderful," the cat said with a nod, picking up the radio in its mouth. "Wait till the night fully sets in, then hit the place. It will cause the most chaos, trust me on that."

"I'll trust you as far as I can throw you," he joked, as the cat rolled its eyes before jumping down off the windowsill onto a walkway below and wandering off, leaving him alone with his tube.

"I better start packing up," he said, getting to work.


Ichigo pushed the tile out of the way and looked up at the main center of the Soul Society's government or military force. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but either way, he was here, and at the top of that tower was Rukia. Pulling himself out, he reached down and helped Tatsuki come out next, with Ganju and Yamada quickly following. Stretching his back, he looked up and said, "Well, we're here. A little darker than I expected, but we've made it. Now what?"

Yamada shrugged before saying, "Your only option is to go up those stairs and try to make it past all the lieutenants that are stationed there, as well as any captains that show up. Then you have to break into the tower, and I guess from there, you have to make it back here."

Ichigo sighed and said, "Well, let's get going. We don't have much time." Tatsuki tapped Ichigo's shoulder and said, "Guys, we're not alone."

Turning in the direction she was looking, Ichigo quickly saw what she was talking about. A man was walking down the steps towards the group, a familiar man to Ichigo who immediately pulled his sword from his back.

"Renji!" he called out as the familiar Soul Reaper came to a stop, his own sword drawn and at his side.

"So, you did live and somehow got your powers back. I have many questions, but that can wait until after you're arrested. Do me the favor and surrender. It would be a favor to you. Too many people have been hurt so far, and you're not going to help Rukia with this," Renji said sternly.

Ichigo shook his head and said, "I'm not stopping, Renji. I've come too far to stop now. I'm going to fight my way through you or anyone else that gets in my way. They either let Rukia go and nullify this crime that they are throwing around, or I'll free her myself and take her back to the World of the Living."

"Hah, not happening. There are too many people between you and that goal, and you can't even defeat me. Last time, you got lucky. Soul Reapers of strong ability have limiters put on them when they go to the World of the Living. I'm five times the strength that I was when we last met, so there is no way you're defeating me," Renji responded confidently.

"Well, there are four of us," Ganju said defiantly.

"Bakudō # 1. Sai," Renji said, sending a wave of energy that locked all four individuals' arms behind their backs.

"What the hell is this shit?" Tatsuki said, struggling with the bindings. Ichigo didn't waste time, quickly breaking the spell since he had been through it once before, and getting his sword back up in a defensive posture.

"Focus on drawing as much energy into you as possible and rip through it," he called out. As the three others were forced to fight the spiritual bondage, he considered moving to try and free Tatsuki, but someone else had plans.

"No, you don't!" Renji called out, roaring, "Howl! Zabimaru!" He swung his blade unfurled, whipping out towards Ichigo and hitting his blade when he held it forward as a shield. Using his spiritual pressure to add a little bit more thickness to that shield, he was sent flying through a building.

"I've already taken three of you out of the action, just stay down," Renji taunted. He didn't get to finish that sentence as Ichigo came running back out of the building. He was hurt, that was for sure, and it reopened the wound above his eye again, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. Even with a little back pain going on right now, he was sure he could make up the difference if he could get close enough.

Of course, Renji was not going to make that easy. His whip-like blade came down just inches away from each of Ichigo's feet, causing him to stop. As the whipped blade came up, it nearly caught his chin, and only a lucky touch prevented that from being an issue.

"If you had just stayed in the World of the Living, none of this would be needed!" Renji yelled, returning his blade to his hand. He took a moment before whipping it out again. "The same goes with you taking her powers! If you hadn't stolen her power, she wouldn't be in this goddamn issue. But no, you had to do that! Now she's facing a death sentence, and it's all your fault! And if you had stayed away, Tanya might have been able to fix this. She finally got Central 46 to see some reason and hold an actual damn trial. But no, you had to break in and you had to screw everything up!"

Ichigo dodged the blade as it hit the ground to his right, then blocked the blade as it came free and whipped again, knocking it off to the left. This allowed him to bring it down again from above. Thankfully, Ichigo was able to block that as well with the shield spell before knocking it away. He noted that again, the blade was called back on the third time. At this he raised an eyebrow. Was that a pattern or just random? Three times he attacks, and both times after the third time, he pulls the weapon back. Did he lose control on the fourth time? Was it automatic, or was that just the way he operated? Interesting. He needed one more time to be sure.

"Listen, from what I'm hearing, the place was far too corrupt even for that plan to succeed. If they were just going to kill her for this level of crime, I think that whole thing would have been a kangaroo court," Ichigo said.

"What the hell is a kangaroo court!?" Renji called out, bringing his blade down to try and cut Ichigo.

This time he wasn't as successful dodging. The notable slash hit his shoulder, though he was able to deflect it and block it away, avoiding a deep wound.

"A rubber stamping of her murder. It would have just been a show to try and quell any concerns," Ichigo explained.

"You do not know that," Renji called, bringing his blade down from the side, but Ichigo blocked it.

"Yes, I don't know that, just as you don't know that your plan is going to work. All I know is that I have the ability to save Rukia, so I'm going to do it," Ichigo responded.

"If you can't defeat me, you can't save anyone. I don't care how sure you say you can do it," Renji said, bringing his blade up and whipping it from the left. Ichigo dodged it, watching carefully as the blade withdrew once again. Interesting. Definitely three for three. Ichigo was trying to come up with a plan. How successful that plan would be would depend on what happened, but he would give it a shot.

"Fine, Renji. If you're so sure that the only way Rukia can be saved is either by you stopping me or me doing exactly what I'm saying I'm going to do, then I'm going to continue what I'm going to do. You're going to stand in my way, and I'm going to defeat you!" Ichigo declared.

"Do it then. You don't have the power or capability," Renji retorted. He whipped out his blade, bringing it up and attempting to strike from the right. Ichigo dodged forward, cutting the distance between them in half. Renji saw what was going on and attempted to slice down from the top, but Ichigo blocked that with his sword over his head, taking a cut to his back as the blade whipped down behind him. But he kept moving, knocking the blade out of the way and continuing to move towards Renji, who attempted to stop him with a left curve on the strike. This time, Ichigo dodged up and over it, putting himself in position to cut Renji down as his blade was automatically pulled back into its inactive position.

He was preparing to strike when he saw what Renji was about to do. He could feel him running to move to the left. So instead of following through with the strike and leaving himself exposed, Ichigo brought the blade back closer to him. As Renji flash-stepped out of the position he was expecting to be, Ichigo was ready to block a solid hit from an unreleased sword.

"Nearly got me there," Renji said.

"Who said anything about nearly?" Ichigo responded, drawing energy into his blade at an accelerated rate. The weapon started to glow a light blue.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Renji said, realizing that Ichigo was about to unleash some sort of powerful attack at close range.

"Showing you my resolve to free Rukia," Ichigo said, drawing his blade downwards. It cut past Renji's sword and unleashed the energy, which smashed directly into Renji's sword, shattering it and sending bits of debris to cut him up. Renji staggered back against a nearby wall.

Renji stood there for a bit, coughing up blood, trying to get a handle on the situation before he finally settled his eyes on Ichigo. "I need to go." Holding the remnants of his sword in one hand, he got himself back up into a standing position and staggered over to Ichigo, grabbing at his chest. Ichigo didn't even bother stopping him from holding him by his shirt since he could tell that the fight was over.

"You promise to get Rukia free of this," Renji said, holding tight to Ichigo's shirt.

"It's already done, I just have to finish what I started," Ichigo said matter-of-factly.

"You better, or I'm going to kill you," Renji threatened before collapsing onto his side.

And with Renji out, the spell that was holding the three individuals imprisoned off to the side was released. "About damn time," Ganju said, walking over with Yamada.

Ichigo would have said something else before he realized he couldn't feel his feet.

"How much energy did he use on that attack anyways?" Yamada asked, looking down. He saw that there was quite a bit of blood at his feet, too. He then noticed a wound on his back.

Those questions would have to wait as he lost consciousness.

Tatsuki hurried over to Ichigo just as he collapsed, grabbing onto him to prevent him from falling too far. "Hold on, hold on! Are you okay?" she asked, before realizing that he was out cold.

"Well, this isn't good," she said, looking at the other two. "What do we do now?"

Yamada looked at Renji before saying, "No idea. The two of them pretty much beat the hell out of each other. I think we should probably go back to the sewers and find somewhere to recover."

"What about Renji?" Tatsuki asked, looking at the fallen Soul Reaper.

"I don't know if you felt that or not, but he's still releasing a lot of spiritual pressure. No doubt there are other Soul Reapers on their way. We should get out of here before they show up and call for Fourth Division medical aid," Yamada said.

"Nope, I don't think we need to worry about them not noticing us," Ganju said, pointing. "Here they come."

"Shit, I'll help lug this idiot into the sewer," Tatsuki said, getting Ganju to assist her in moving Ichigo. They quickly retreated through the open hatch, closing it after they were through. From there, the three of them worked to carry Ichigo down a bit of ways from where they had come up, into an off-shelter room that apparently existed for supply storage or something.

Carefully, they laid him out. "I'm going to search for supplies and bring out some medical equipment," Yamada said, quickly sewing up Ichigo's wounds and patching him up as best they could. Tatsuki took a moment to watch the door with Ganju as they waited for something to happen.

That "something" was the radio on Ganju's side turning on, and the voice of Weiss coming through. "Ganju, can you hear me?"

"Can you reach down to the side and pull the radio up?" Ganju asked. "Yeah, I can hear you, boss. What's up?"

"Chaos, chaos and screaming, but mainly just confusion. I've got myself a nice little lookout over the Central Division Tower. I wanted to know where you guys were. It seems you just missed some sort of chaos at the front gate and a lot of destruction over there."

"We had a fight over there. Ichigo beat a lieutenant, but he also got beat himself, though more from draining himself of energy in the fight than anything else."

"Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. I was thinking about causing a little bit of a distraction to let you guys sneak in there, but since you're taking a moment to recover, I'll hold off. Maybe I'll contact any of the others."

Ganju shook his head and replied, "No, no idea where the others are."

"Damn, I guess we'll have to depend on the cat then. They said they know where they are. I'm hoping they'll lead them towards our main objective, which is the Central Tower. Anyways, when you do make an attack on that Central Tower, let me know. I've got myself here a very good distraction that should keep them confused and unsure of what's going on until you're in."

"Will do. We'll keep you informed. For now, we're just going to lay low and try to recover for the next assault, probably in the morning."

"About 12 hours of rest," Weiss remarked, "Not bad. Must have been getting your asses kicked all day then, but hey, you're still around. That means we're winning and it's a fight you can walk away from. Over and out."

"Here's to that," Ganju said before adding, "Over and out."

"I can fight," came Ichigo's voice from behind them. Tatsuki immediately responded, "Oh no, that's enough." She already imagined the situation, assuming that Ichigo had pulled himself up from rest and was trying to get himself moving again. "It's only been 30 minutes, and he obviously needs more than that."

Ganju shook his head and said, "I got this." He then came into view, missing his shirt and with a sword in hand, but being dragged and half-conscious. Not paying much attention, as he should have, Ichigo was caught off guard as Ganju delivered a left hook to his face, knocking him out.

"God damn it, you people are going to kill him!" Tatsuki exclaimed. "You know what I said!" Ganju shrugged and replied, "He's a Shiba. The only way to make a Shiba realize they're not battle-worthy is to sucker punch them when they don't expect it. They can't defend themselves. Well, that's also just proof they need to take a break," he said with a chuckle before walking over and grabbing Ichigo's shoulders, dragging him back into his resting position.

"Huh... his dad's always doing shit like that too. I wonder if that's something he inherited from the Shiba clan," Tatsuki mused, earning an approving nod from Ganju.

"If so, then that's good. It's always good to hear that we're keeping up the old family traditions, even if it's under a new name," Ganju commented, patting her shoulder before standing up straight and moving back out into the tunnel where Yamada was sitting, watching the water go by.

"So, are you and Ichigo an item?" Ganju asked, causing Tatsuki to sputter for a moment before saying, "No, we're just childhood friends."

"Ah, hmm, well, sorry for asking that. I was just trying to figure out how you got your powers, and the best answer I could come up with was that he shared his powers with you. And the best reason I could figure was that you were his girlfriend and refusing to not come with."

"No, that's not what happened. I'm a friend of Rukia. I just wanted to help," Tatsuki clarified.

"Ah, huh... okay. One other thing, are Ichigo and Rukia an item?"

"Why are you so curious about this, Ganju?" Tatsuki asked, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. "As far as I'm aware, they are not an item. Again, we're just good friends trying to help each other."

"Hmm, well, I'm just trying to figure this situation out. My encounters with Soul Reapers haven't been the friendliest. One of them literally killed my older brother, so excuse me for being a bit contemplative about exactly how the one good Soul Reaper got found."

"I thought you guys knew Tanya," Ganju asked.

"Nope, never met her. I only know about her via reputation and my brother-in-law, who kind of juggles between being scared of her and in admiration of her. Let me tell you, whatever Tanya did to him, fucked them up."

"Huh, well, I don't know anything about that. I just know that we're close to our goal, and we should get some rest. I guess one of us should stay up to keep an eye on the idiot and make sure he doesn't leave," Tatsuki suggested.

Ganju looked into the room and replied, "I just checked, and he's going to be out for a good 4 hours. If you want, I can take the second 4-hour shift of sleep. That way, I'll be the one who's drowsy in the morning."

Tatsuki nodded and said, "That sounds fine, although I think Yamada could probably take a couple of hours too."

"Ah, sure, we'll factor it in either way," Ganju agreed. He stretched and added, "I'm taking a nap. I'll be in there. Wake me up if the idiot wakes up."

"Will do," Tatsuki said with a wave.


Tanya yawned as she got up, noting that it was already 0800. A little later than she'd like to wake up, but it had been a long day. She slowly got up for the day, pulling on her clothing from the side of the bed. She slept like the dead, which technically she was, so that was pretty good. Sure, there was all kinds of chaos going on, but her position at the moment was alright. Hopefully, someone would allow her to do something today or at least find these idiots and get them arrested before they cause any more trouble. But well, what can you do?

Carefully, she made her way downstairs and poured herself a cup of coffee, looking annoyed at the doorway leading up to their room.

"Hmm, has Visha not returned?" she muttered to herself. Apparently, she had been on call all day because of the chaos, leaving her alone and fending for herself with the occasional person stopping in for a coffee. However, no one had come by since midnight.

She sipped her drink, went over to the front door and opened it, looking out and finding Grantz standing there.

"Grantz?" Tanya said, confused. He looked over at her before saying, "Oh, hey Tanya," yawning before continuing, "shit got real last night."

"What got real?" she asked, offering him to enter, which he did. She led him to the coffee area where she brewed the best coffee she could before handing it over to him. The man looked like he'd been through hell and was half-dead tired from lack of sleep.

"Renji got his ass kicked yesterday. The situation is almost worse than that because the captain's pretty pissed at him, and almost demanded he be sent to the prison next to Rukia," Grantz explained.

Tanya raised an eyebrow at that before saying, "On what grounds?"

"Dereliction of duty," Grantz replied, sipping his coffee. Tanya nodded in understanding. It made perfect sense to Tanya why the captain of the Sixth would do that. In order to make sure that everything that happened with Rukia was above board, he would have to be as above board as possible himself. That meant calling out failures in his own men and putting them up for trial if need be.

"He was almost sent to prison? What happened?" Tasha asked from over Tanya's shoulder, showing interest. Tanya quickly asked the same question.

"The other captains intervened, from what I hear. They told him that there was no reason to be that strict with him," Grantz explained.

"Hmm, interesting," Tanya said, contemplating the situation. "So, Renji got his ass kicked. Do we know who did it?" She figured in the back of her mind that it couldn't be Ichigo. She wondered who among this invading party would have the strength to take on a lieutenant. Or perhaps there were overwhelming odds that could explain it.

"Don't know. Renji hasn't woken up yet, and even though he's not been sent to the prison in the central tower, the captain of the Sixth has kept him separated from the others. He's locked away in a cell in the Sixth's division grounds with a couple of guards to make sure he doesn't go anywhere," Grantz replied. "I think that's a bit of an overreaction," Grantz said, "but he's the captain."

"He's also the captain with his sister currently arrested and facing a death penalty. He needs to appear as loyal and strict as possible to make sure that Central 46 does not come down too hard when they finally hear her case," Tanya pointed out, which seemed to get a nod from Grantz as he said, "That actually makes some sense."

"Nobility, high command, they're all great, but in reality, it's a show you have to put up with, otherwise you get in trouble," she shook her head before saying, "Anything else I need to know about? I just woke up myself."

"Yeah, the Captain General has declared a wartime status. All captains and lieutenants are allowed to use all their spiritual energy and carry swords at all times."

"Hmm, does this mean I get my sword back?" Tanya asked, amused.

Grantz shrugged before saying, "Anything is possible. Though considering your link to the invaders, they probably want you to keep your hands far away from that sword."

"Understandable," Tanya said with a nod before adding, "Though really, I'm not going to side with these invaders."

She shook her head before continuing, "Anyways, have any of them been captured or identified? Anything? I can't believe that this is going on for more than 24 hours and we still don't know anything about the invaders besides possibly being linked to Rukia."

Grantz frowned before saying, "I talked to Tanya Lerghen and Hidenao. They actually fought a female Quincy and something that I think you're going to find a bit interesting."

"Ohh," Tanya leaned in conspiratorially, interested. She had already figured out the first most likely being Akita Ishida.

"The other was wearing a uniform that sounds a lot like the 203rd," Grantz revealed.

Tanya tilted her head before saying, "A new member of the 203rd has arrived? That's unexpected. Who is it? Male? Female? Do we have any information at all?"

Grantz shrugged before saying, "Male, older. Don't know who it is. Wasn't there, and no one there could identify them."

"Hmm," Tanya leaned back, trying to figure out who this unknown male would be. She accounted for all the ones she knew about. Weiss was off living a happy life out in the wilderness, Grantz was here, Neumann was in the First Division, and Koenig was out in the wilderness too, probably doing his best to hunt hollows. Though they could really use them here.

Really, there was no one else she could think of that might be a member of the 203rd.

Shaking her head, she said, "Hopefully, they are captured without incident, and we can find out who this mysterious member of the 203rd is."

"Hopefully," Grantz said, leaning in and drinking his coffee.

Tanya leaned back, looking out the window, noticing that patrols seemed to be heavier as the Soul Society went on wartime status. "I just hope those idiots turn themselves in soon," Tanya said, shaking her head. "The longer they're out there causing trouble, the worse this situation is going to get. And no matter what agents they found who aid them in their cause, they're not going to be able to defeat a captain. When the captain steps in, they lose. It's that simple."

"True, well I guess if they're fast enough to get up to the tower, free Rukia, and get out before the captain gets there, they could win technically," Grantz said, which Tanya granted was possible but not in her likely assessment.

"True, but to do that, you would need to have some sort of massive distraction to keep the captains away from Central, and you're not going to find one of those easily. More likely, the invaders are going to assault the tower and immediately be rebuffed. After all, if they had the ability to attack the tower last night after they defeated Renji, they obviously did not have that ability and were forced back. Even if they gather up all their members, I'm not sure they would gain enough power to do it. And if the Captain General steps in, I don't even want to think about that possibility."

She'd never seen him in action, of course, but yeah, she figured anyone who had been the Captain General that long must have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Grantz nodded in agreement as he sat there drinking his coffee before adding, "Oh, one more thing. Apparently, Visha was involved in a fight with a guy who could punch through walls or something."

"Is she alright?" Tanya asked less on instinct and more out of concern.

"Yeah, yeah, she's alright. It's just that he escaped her, and she's been annoyed. That's why she hasn't been over here since leaving yesterday. She's trying to hunt the guy down. He disappeared just after they left the Eleventh District, and she figures he'll appear sooner or later. She plans to be the one to bring him in, sort of as recompense for letting him get away the first time and for how many people he injured. Seems like the big gun of the group."

"Hmm, well, when you see her, tell her good luck. I'll be rooting for her," Tanya said.

"Will do," Grantz said with a nod.


'Damn it, why did she oversleep? It's already 10:00 a.m., and I'm going to be late for the meeting,' Hinamori mentally thought as she ran up the stairs, ignoring the destruction from the ground below. She had really left a lot of debris everywhere. Well, Renji and the person he fought... the whole place was shattered pretty much.

Sighing, she decided not to take the stairs all the way and opted to take the shortcut, figuring it would get her up there faster and leave less time to think about how much damage Renji had left in his wake with whatever mad crusade he'd been on last night.

Letting out a deep breath, she jumped from one roof to another, making her way up until she reached the desired floor. There, she took a moment to catch her breath and then brushed off her clothing, happy she made it on time. The meeting was at 10:30 a.m., and on the dot, she'd be there. She was the lieutenant of the Fifth Division; she had to be prompt. Smiling, she started running again, heading across the courtyard towards the lieutenants' meeting area. But as she did so, something felt off. Something in the air didn't feel right. She thought she heard something drop. Stopping, she turned to look up at the First Division Tower and immediately had her world turned upside down.

There, pinned against the wall, was her captain, Aizen. His own sword driven through his chest, a smaller blade embedded in his heart. Blood was leaking down the wall and pooling two stories beneath him, creating a macabre and disgusting scene that anyone with eyes could see. And yet, apparently, she was the first one to see it.

And considering last night she had just spent several hours talking and being with her captain, she did not take this very well. She screamed bloody murder at the sight and fell to her knees. 'Who would do this?' was exactly what echoed in her head as pain, terror, and anger built up inside of her.

Last night, Renji had nearly been killed fighting an invader. This morning, an invader apparently killed her captain. One of the nicest captains in the entire Soul Society. Nothing made sense. Looking up at the body, all she could see was the captain's glasses reflecting on his body, the sword in his chest, and the knife— not even a Soul Reaper's weapon—left embedded in his heart. A piece of evidence left as a calling card to taunt the Soul Society, she thought. To tell them that they didn't need special weapons to kill captains. They could do it with blunt force and some random, insignificant knife.

Looking up, she memorized every detail of the weapon, hoping that she was right and there was a calling card. Maybe she could track down who was responsible and deal with them herself. And as she sat there, she heard the other lieutenants arrive and start making their own comments, but the world had stopped making sense.


Writers note: Oh man I hope this is not too close to canon, or is it now? I guess that's for the readers to decide. I think it's not but well you shall see. I do think I have some tricks coming down the road that will get people surprised but we'll see. We. Will. See.

Please comment, review, and generally enjoy yourselves…


Edited by: Delta, Coltsguy

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reivews
Naedine-Daki:... already have lot art guy working for me
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4Alucard: understandbale
kazikamikaze24: well here new chapter
Gallerian: what no?