Getting Our Ass Kicked (Bleach Ichigo Quest) STORY ONLY THREAD

[Armoury]

[X] Compress

[x] Contract

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

I stood with the ground to one side and the sky to another… if anyone else had attempted to make that claim I would have called them a drunk and moved on, but I had been here before… probably.

I was fairly sure this was the place I went when Brand knocked me out. I had dismissed it as a hallucination to justify gaining a new power at the time, but here I was again. Hallucinations were rarely consistent enough for this. Not to say everything was exactly the same: the statue was gone, for starters.

Also, last time I was here, the sky had not been cut in half.

Half bright blue, the other half midnight black, I could see half of the sun and half of a moon split in twain in the sky. From the line that where they met, red rain fell… I did not want to have to go and find out whether that was just red water or blood, but I doubted I truly had a choice either, particularly because this city was unsettling under cover of night.

I made my way to the edge of the building, getting a run-up and jumping to the next, only to collide chest-first with the side of the other building, scrabbling to keep my grip… I should have been able to jump much further than that. I shook my head; weird city, weird affect on my powers. I had had dreams where I was a regular person, I'd just have to assume this was similar to those. I glanced around and saw an empty flagpole on the building… that could help.

I went over to the flagpole nearest to the edge of the building, grabbed the top, and pulled it back. The position was awkward, and trying to set my feet against a window-sill left me nearly horizontal by the time I managed to pull the flexible metal… and then I jumped.

The flag- pole launched me from the building I was on, aided by my jump. I cleared the gap easily, but landed roughly: apparently, the sides of buildings could be very uneven because of the windowsills. I lay on the… ground, I suppose, staring across the street for a long few seconds as my body filed its complaint against my plan.

Finally done, I forced myself to my feet once more. That would not work, given the distance I needed to travel; I needed my power as it was meant to be to make this work.

I took a deep breath; I had to feel this out, understand it. It was just like every other time I developed a power. I focussed inward… and saw nothing. Odd, I did not feel like an empty shell, but I could not sense myself in… myself, right that would make sense.

I turned my focus outward, and my self unfolded before me, just like always. I was already in here, so to draw upon my power, I needed to pull from outside myself, not within. I jumped across another gap and easily landed on the next building, a smile on my face; that felt more normal.

Finally, progress understood, I found myself standing before the curtain of red… it fell sideways from my perspective; one step and it would soak me, yet the ground was completely dry where I stood. I took a deep breath, and set foot in the rain-

---

I jolted awake, breathing heavily, only to curl up again as my arm filled with pain. It was covered in bandages and felt like it was being held in electrified acid.

I sucked shallows breaths through gritted teeth. The pain was understandable, I told myself; I could remember what I saw before I passed out. The fact that it hurt probably meant it was healing. I calmed myself down, gingerly moving my arm into the least painful position I could manage. I had a large, blocky bracelet on top of the bandages, so I rested my arm on that, and took a look around.

This was definitely not the room Kukaku had loaned me, not was it in Kukaku's house. The mattress was thin, and the walls made of hard stone, without the veneer of wooden flooring to be found. I tried to look with wanderers gaze… but nothing happened. I was only staring at a wall, nothing more.

There was a rattling sound at the door -the noise of keys moving in a lock- before it opened with a screeching noise that grated on my ears. The light streaming through the door obscured all but two features of the man at the door: he was a giant, and I could hear a crunching sound from him. He strode into the room, ducking under the doorframe, and stared at me.

He was fat.

"It's rude to stare." the flamboyantly dressed soul reaper pointed out, before grabbing a handful of… something from his bag, and shoved it into his mouth. I saw hints of rice and heard crunching. Plus the bag was nearly transparent, so I assumed it was greasy. The door slid closed behind him, locking once more. I continued to stare at the man; he was massive. Taller than Chad, and far… wider, plus he had a ridiculous purple frill around his neck. He was a lot to stare at, yet I could not feel his presence.

What interested me more were the lines I could see trailing from him. They were all faint, wrapped around his wrists and scattering out around him, dozens in number. A few, however, led out from his chest: thicker and brighter than the others One went straight through a nearby wall, shifting around more than the others. I could not see where they went. What kind of power of his would show lines like this? Or was it me?

He walked across the room, sat down in a chair, and stared down at me, still eating from his bag of unidentifiable food. The room was silent, but for the sound of crunching from a man who did not seem to even blink.

"Who are you?" I finally asked. The man finished chewing, before shrugging.

"That is not important right now," he lied… well he thought it was a lie. He leaned forward, looking into my eyes. "I think the issue right now is you, and how many laws you've broken."

I stiffened. Did they know about Rukia?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Playing dumb won't help," the man smirked. "You've got a pretty expressive face, after all. Plus you weren't very subtle before you wound up in here."

I winced, before trying to school my expression. The action drew a deep, snorting laugh out of the man in front of me, and I sighed.

"Heh," he wiped his nose, clearing a pile of crumbs from his face in the same motion. "What, you thought we wouldn't find out that you kidnapped a soul reaper?" he laughed even louder, and I glared at him… wait, kidnapped a soul reaper? "The best you did was avoid capture for a few days, despite all the wanted poster, Kimon."

He thought I was Kimon? Well, he was wrong, but how could I even explain that? I shuffled gingerly on my bed to face him, careful not to disturb my arm. He flicked a hand at me, crumbs flying over my face… gross.

"Don't bother fighting, Kimon; With those cuffs on a de-clawed kitten could take you down," He grabbed some more food and shoved it in his mouth, muffling his next sentence passes the food. "Eshcape if impoffibul."

I looked down at the bracelet… I clenched my fist… I still felt strong, but he was right that I could not use reishi. He sighed, resting his hand on his head as he leaned in to get close to me.

"Don' wurry, pal," He finally swallowed his food, and I wiped yet another wave of crumbs from my face. "You see, you've done some things that have a lot of people angry, but I believe in second chances, and the stuff they found in your lab was pretty impressive. I want to offer you a job."

I raised an eyebrow, unwilling to open my south with him this close… his breath was rancid.

"You work for me, and you'll have the protection of the Omaeda clan. A few decades work and we'll call it even, you can join the soul reapers, maybe even get as high as the fifth seat here with me as the lieutenant." He reached into his bag and pulled out of his treats from it: a fried rice cracker, I could finally see. He held it out to me, a greasy offering. I saw a glowing thread begin to form on his arm, reaching out to me. "What do you say?"

---

Well, the first thing is what you'll say about this Kimon mix-up: you could correct them, but you'll need a story that they believe if you don't want them to find out what happened with Rukia. Then you can figure out what to do about this… person.

[X] Go with it
+ Sure, you are Kimon
+ you would like a job which you totally will not just leave the second you have a chance to escape.

[X] Correction
-[X] New story
+ You are not Kimon.
+ You need to figure out a cover story.

[X] Full Correction
+ You are not Kimon.
+ Tell them everything.
+ Exit the web of lies early, surely they will not have you executed for that.

And for those of you that did not read it in discussion:

Intermediate Skills:

Spoiler: Self Skills

Influence Contraction 300/500 EXP: You separate your connection between yourself and the world, effectively removing the ability for the world to affect you and becoming an immovable object. Currently, this can be used to prevent effects that control you or directly affect you (as opposed to effects that do something that then affects you, like lighting a fire and then burning you with it, or cutting you with a blade), and will slightly reduce the severity of injuries you sustain. Your ability to affect the world while doing this is reduced by your ability to perceive it in turn, effectively capping all expressions of your skills at the level of your reikaku. While doing this you lose access to abilities in the Other skill tree.

Speed Trail 0/500 EXP: To move is to exert your power to change locations in the world, but with this skill, your reishi can gradually turn an area into your own territory, making movement easier. Any Reishi not used by Nemean Aspida or any other skill can be sent into the environment to claim it as your own. This does not currently increase your perception.

Manifest Raiment 0/500 EXP: Cloak yourself in a concentration of your power. While this skill is activated a glowing cloak begins to form around you. Should your Nemean Aspida be pierced, or not in use, the cloak will explode outward with equal force to negate the attack and injure the attacker and begins charging once more. You may choose how quickly this cloak charges, but all charging speed draws from the same flow of power as Nemean Aspida.

Spoiler: Other Skills

Spatial Compression 0/500 EXP: Space is a flexible thing. By filling an area with reishi and pressing in just the right way, you can momentarily cause space to shorten: just long enough to take a step. This technique takes a lot of effort, and cannot be used consecutively, but can transport you in a straight line to a nearby location you can see with speed rivalling flash step.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Correction
-[X] New story
--[x] "I am Ichigo Kurosaki, I died trying to send Kimon's teeth on separate vacations. Seems like I need to do the same to you for attempting to aid that schoolgirl grabbing psychopath." Use influence contraction and corrosion to try to get out of here unless someone comes in with something intelligent to say.

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

I glanced at my injured arm; I could not move it, much less use it in a fight… but this guy.

"Well, there are a few things you should know," I accepted the fried snack he offered to me, looking it over. "First, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki, not Kimon Geridis. If I were him I'd have punched my own smug teeth out already." The snack crackled as I crushed it with my good hand. "And I don't appreciate you offering an out to that kidnapping psychopath."

The soul reaper looked between me and the crumbs falling from my hands, an expression of rage growing on his face… right, soul reapers tend to be a sensitive lot, don't they? I couldn't risk this turning into a fight like this, which I should have remembered before being rude… the pain might have been affecting me a little.

I glanced at the cuff on my wrist, it was too tight to take off. I tried to weaken it… and nothing happened; my reishi flowed in, but seemed to just vanish without doing what it was meant to… was the cuff absorbing the power? I could work around that.

The soul reaper stood up, towering over my bed, I felt my reishi writhe within my grip, still flowing into the cuff… and I felt the cuff loosen ever so slightly. I began weakening the other cuff as well.

"You said that name was 'Kurosaki'?" the soul reaper growled, a hand resting on his sword. "Do you have any idea how much those cost?"

"You mean the snacks?" I asked. Weakening and corroding were slow; now that the effect was being worn away I could feel the cuffs. They were like ropes around my wrists, and I could not move my reishi properly with them on. They were growing weaker, but it was a slow process. I tried to pull at them; something clicked and they began to vanish faster. I held back as I felt them falling apart, stopping myself from destroying them… what was that? I felt odd, the heat of the room and the bandages on my skin felt… gone. Suddenly, every sensation appeared once more, leaving me dizzy with sensation.

"Of course I mean the snack!" The man yelled, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. I had forgotten about him. "Only one hundred of that variety are made each day!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't give them to innocent people you arrested." I scowled, forcing myself to my feet. My injured arm hung painful and limp at my side, but I ignored the sensation. I glared up at the man, despite not even reaching his shoulders. "Now can I talk to someone who doesn't plan on helping the guy who killed me!"

"You can pay for wasting that food!" The man looked angry, his sword beginning to peek out of its sheath, only for him to pause and turn to the door. I looked as well… I could feel someone out there, and they were powerful. I heard a rattling sound as the door was unlocked, bolt after bolt unsealing, and the door slid open.

I looked down a bit from where I expected to see their face.

"Omaeda," The woman was short but stared down at me as if I could fit in the palm of her hand. She wore a white coat over her uniform, and her black hair was done in two long tails. "Report to the interrogation unit; one day only."

"But captain, I-"

"Move," She glared at him, violence hanging in the air. "And take your disgusting garbage food with you."

"Y-Yes, Captain!" He saluted, scurrying out of the room.

The door closed behind him, leaving me alone with the woman… she had strings on her too, an almost uncountable number around her arms, one of which was moving quickly. I assumed the other end was attached to that 'Omaeda' person. But one stood out; around her throat, it flickered and sparked and ran off into nowhere, brighter and wilder than all the others. So these strings were my power, not his? Good to know.

"Sit down." She ordered… I did so. I could not help but notice that the string that should have gone to Omaeda had stopped moving so much. There was no way he had gone very far.

"What do you- Aah!" I gasped as she roughly grabbed my injured hand. She pulled out a key, and took the cuff from my wrist, before dropping my arm back down. I almost bit my tongue as it landed on the bed. She held the cuff in front of her face…

"You will remove the other one yourself." She said, packing the cuff into her back pocket. She figured out that I was doing that? Before I could consider that I felt her foot bury itself in my side. "Now!"

I wheezed but did as she said, feeding reishi into the almost-destroyed cuff. It fell from my arm, and the woman quickly snatched it up. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath -as deep as I could after being kicked- and forced my reishi back to normal, no corrosion.

When I opened my eyes once more the first thing I saw was the unmoving point of a sword. I froze.

"Answer the questions immediately," the woman said, glaring down the length of her weapon to my face. Without those cuffs, I could feel her power, and it was far beyond mine. I nodded as slightly as I could, and the sword moved away by a hairs-breadth.

"What is your name?" She barked.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Where are you from?"

"K-Karakura town."

"Where is Kimon Geridis?"

I paused, only for the sword point to move closer.

"I don't know!" The sword stopped. "Kukaku said that I arrived near her house in an explosion, but she mentioned a second projectile, and said it could have been Kimon."

"And how did you find yourself transported with his device?" The woman's eyes narrowed. "He left when under attack."

"He didn't… exactly mean to," I said, trying to think quickly, but words were falling from my mouth even faster. "He kidnapped a friend of mine; Tatsuki Arisawa, so I chased him down to his hideout. I broke his device and it blew up, killing us both." The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Then what was Kimon Geridis creating?" She asked, less rough this time.

"I'm not sure," the sword did not move forward this time, but a little twitch was enough to convince me to continue. "He captured some hollows and turned them into batteries, though." The soul reaper narrowed her eyes.

The sword moved away from my face, the woman stepping back. Her glare was still present, but at least slightly less pronounced.

"You are currently a suspect in an ongoing investigation," the woman finally said, as the door began to unlock behind her. "You will be moved to a more open holding cell, and will not be restrained as of now. Your full cooperation with any questioning is expected, and anything less will be used against you."

She stepped out of the room. The door closed. Everything was silent.

I collapsed back into the bed, only to gasp once more at the fresh burst of pain from my arm… What the hell was I going to do? Maybe I… I needed… to rest…

…

---

Oh, soul king; the rain was blood! I clamped my mouth shut and wiped my eyes clear.

The city was, unsurprisingly, very red right now. I could see the unbloodied portion just a few steps back, but as much as I wanted to step out, wake up again, and pretend the inside of my mind was not a carnival show of horror, I kept myself from it. At least my arm did not hurt here.

As I adapted to the feeling of being showered in blood, the building shook… underneath the pounding sound of the rain I heard a deep roar in the distance. It sounded like it came from a few streets… well, up, I suppose, and further into this rainy area. I resisted the urge to sigh, which would have required me opening my mouth, and set off deeper into the blood rain.

I craned my neck to look in the direction I thought I heard the noise come from… crossing the street would be a completely different task since I needed to jump. Plus this blood was slippery. I looked around… there! A handhold.

I had climbed on… a surprising number of fire escapes in the last few months, now that I thought about it, but as I tried to guess the distance, it did not escape my notice that this would be the first one that was sideways at the time.

Was the roaring getting louder?

A shadow flew over the city; a blank dark spot in the sky. And it was heading my way! I ran, jumping from the edge of the building and letting myself fall down street after street as I heard raw destruction behind me. I heard another roar, further away than whatever destroyed those buildings. Freefall ended as I landed on another building; one road over and at least a dozen further down than when I started. I turned back to see what I had escaped.

It was formless and massive; a writhing black space where the world was not, instead, there were eyes and mouths. It had crashed through building after building, rubble raining down beneath it. Above it, crouched on an intact building, stood a scaly, bone-white monster with front-facing horns. The white monster sneered, a red ball forming between the tips of its horns. The black hole shifted, eyes and mouths swirling around a central point and disappearing… that white monster was gathering a lot of energy.

I dove into a nearby windowsill for cover as the red ball exploded! A ray of destruction descended upon the black mass, light surrounding it, only for a single massive mouth to open. The beam bent and folded, collapsing into its enormous maw.

I looked up… the white monster was gone! How? I tried to sense it, all that power had to be somewhere. My senses spread out through the city, through my city. I could only sense two things, aside from myself, and they were both in the same place. There, on the side of the void, was a small white speck, but it was growing fast! The void gained colour, becoming white. It recoiled, swirling away into a minuscule black dot, but the white parts remained, still where they were, siphoning into a single point.

The was a flash of blue light, and the white point went flying… right towards me! I ducked down into my cover as it approached, shaking the building with its collision.

"Ha!" I peeked from cover to see the source of the noise; it was me… well, not quite me; a pale, white version of me with a bleeding hole in his shoulder, and an enormous smile on his face. "Got another in you, Old Man?" The black point dove down, crushing the building in front of my pale doppelganger, who flipped back onto his feet. The hole in his torso was vanishing before my eyes. We spread out his arms as if to lavish in the pouring rain.

"You know full well the answer, beast," the dust kicked up by the black things landing vanished quickly in the rain, revealing the second form; an old man in a flowing black cloak and orange glasses. A glowing blue sword of energy rested in his hand, and he levelled it at the doppelganger. "As long as I draw breath, you will not…" He trailed off. "Win?"

He was looking at me.

"Come one, Old Man, this won't be fun if you forgot your medicine." Pale-me grinned, tossing a thumb over his shoulder, not seeing me, and unwilling to look away from his opponent. "Spot an interesting puddle?" I shook my head, standing up.

"Hi," I held up a hand in greeting. The doppelganger froze, turning slowly to look at me, his smile widening. "What are you two doing here?"

"The kid finally decided to inspect the stable, huh?" He ignored me entirely, but the other man did not, clearing his throat.

"My apologies, Ichigo," the sword in his hand vanished, his cloak settling around his shoulders instead of flapping in a nonexistent wind. "I am merely trying to contain this interloper."

"'Interloper'?" The pale thing snarled. "You're the one who doesn't belong here; at least I'm a part of the kid."

"I have been here as long as you. And unlike you, I am not corrupted, ********." The man turned back to the pale me… was I being ignored? And what the hell what that last word?

"Hey!" I clapped to get their attention again. "Someone tell me what's going one, and why you two are wrecking my mind."

"Your soul, actually." The cloaked man said… that did not reassure me, since I was fairly sure I had seen their fight eliminate half a dozen buildings.

"Shut it, old-timer," The pale me looked at me, cocking his head to the side… He said nothing, and the old man did not try to talk. "Seriously? This is all?" He finally said.

"What does that mean, sheet-boy!" I yelled… The pale thing said nothing, before laughing… and not stopping.

"Hehe, that's, ha, that's a good one," between one word and the next he stood in front of me. I felt a hand on my chest, right above my heart, and saw his eyes in piercing detail. Black edges, and golden pupils. "It means you're not enough, ye-"

"Get back!" the old man yelled. I jumped back at the same time as the white copy, as a line of blue arrows embedded themselves in the ground between where we once stood. The man in black appeared between us, sword in hand once more. "I already told you, monster, as long as-"

"I get it, you're very stubborn and don't like me," Pale drove into the old man, launching a flurry of punches that he struggled to hold off. "But I figured out the solution to 'as long as you draw breath.'"

They wove between each other, trying to land hit after hit, neither giving ground, and both seeming to ignore me. I clenched my fists.

---

Two beings fighting in the sideways city, and one observer. What do you do?

[X] Fight
-[X] White
-[X] Cloak
-[X] Both
+ This city is your soul, and their fight is messing it up.
+ Put a stop to this.
+ Pick which ones you try to take down

[X] Negotiate
+ They were willing to talk
+ surely you can negotiate something semi-peaceful here

[X] Look around.
+ Perhaps there is something in this place that will help you.
+ A bit of a long-shot though

 

[Armoury]

[X] Fight
-[X] Both

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Those two had run recklessly through my soul, doing nothing but fighting on another. Maybe this was recent, or maybe it had been happening for a long time. Either way, I refused to allow it! I glared at each of them, the world falling away and only their souls remaining… it was an odd sight.

Neither of them looked normal, by any stretch of the term: The man in the cloak looked misshapen, like a dough mold of a soul, while Pale was inconsistent, some parts looked hard and metallic, while others were spread out in a lattice… like a hollow. Both two stopped in their tracks as the technique activated, turning to look at me. Pale grinned, while Cloak frowned.

I did not give them time to respond: I channeled my power, launching myself at the hollow in a tackle so fast my vision blurred. Nemean Aspida activated, softening the blow as he collided with my shoulder, both of us flying with barely any control from my tackle.

I reached out and closed my hand around his shirt. The fabric ripped as Pale threw me away, just barely avoiding being hit by a partially charged burst of reishi. I hit the ground hard, bouncing from the impact, before twisting to landing on my feet.

"Very well, Ichigo," the old man -who I decided to call Cloak- nodded, holding up his sword toward the hollow. "I can teach you how to fight this monster."

"Screw that! You've both been messing this place up: the sky is bleeding!" I shouted, leveling an accusing finger back at him. "I'm taking you both down!" Pale laughed, wiping his chin.

"You've got a lot of confidence, kid," he cracked his knuckles. "Don't go dying on me after a promise like that!"

The air crackled and Pale was in front of me, fist raised. I twisted, feeling the power in his blow as it carved through the edge of Nemean Aspida. I pushed, feeling my reishi bubble as it began to chew away at my surroundings. Pale had already twisted, one hit flowing into the next, about to hit me, only to abandon the movement and dodge back as a blue arrow passed through where his head once occupied. He leaped away as a volley turned the space he left into a pincushion.

"Please reconsider, Ichigo," Cloak landed before me, sword held out. "The path you have chosen contains only hardship." I forced myself to my feet.

"You're more of a talker than the other guy," I conceded, charging a burst in my hand and looking for twitches in his soul. "But I won't negotiate with someone living in my head."

"Well said." There was another sound of static, and I felt Pale behind me. I tried to turn, but it was too late: his hand rammed into my back. As my feet began to leave the ground I saw a flash of red, and pain spread out across my back. I barely noticed as I hit the ground once, twice, before grabbing a flag-pole and spinning around to my feet.

Was that a burst?

No, I did not have time to wonder. I charged once more. White braced himself; I could see his reishi moving. He would attack from the left, so I twisted to the right, moving around his punch. A surge of blue arrows was headed his way, courtesy of the old man taking advantage of his distraction, so I ran past Pale towards Cloak, still in a shooting position as I moved into close range.

The blue energy in his hand was shifting, moving into sword form: too late! I wrapped a hand around it before an edge could form, wrapping it in the corrosive grip of Nemean Aspida. Blue particles flaked and fell away, only to shatter as I released a fully charged burst, erasing his weapon. I grabbed Cloak's shoulder, already forcing Reishi into him to reduce his durability. One quick spin and he flew over my shoulder, making the ground crack as I threw him into it. His response was quick, his entire soul recoiling as weakening suffused it. I jumped back as a bolt of blue energy shot upwards.

"Cero!"

I leaped away as the ground vanished where I once stood; a blood-red beam atomized everything in its path. The edges of Aspida, caught in its trail, vanished like dust in the wind. In the air, unable to dodge, a volley of arrows rained down on me, driving me to the floor. Pinned by my clothing, I scowled as Pale and Cloak got back to one another. This wasn't working: I could maybe handle one, but certainly not both, with the way I was fighting. They'd work together for just a few seconds to get me out of the way and then collapse into fighting each other again.

Nemean Aspida contracted, focussing on the glowing blue arrows and reducing them to nothing in seconds, letting me roll to my feet and look at the two once more. I needed them both in sight, or wanderers gaze wouldn't help me stop them, s I needed to try for some long-range fighting.

I slammed my hands onto the ground, pushing reishi through the building beneath our feet: a thin layer spread out from my touch, as much a part of me as my own hands in that moment. The two stopped as that layer spread beneath them, and I smirked: the reishi building in the ground beneath their feet popped, sending both of them flying as a low-power burst threw them into the air. Cloak flew further, but Pale landed on his feet: a smile was painted on his face even as the traces of reishi in his skin burned away.

Another crackling sound: but I knew where he was about to go. A wall of reishi rose at the speed of thought, pure, concentrated, Nemean Aspida. Pale stumbled as he passed through the obstacle, his speed disrupted and the front of his body covered in corrosive energy. I jumped back, abandoning my empowerment as a trio of arrows dug into the ground. Cloak had moved to the opposite building, firing from a distance, but as long as I could see him I could dodge him. Pale realized that, jumping from the side of the building to a lower street. I grit my teeth, but could not pursue while weaving between Cloaks attacks.

I felt the power gathering at the same time as Cloak. His volley stopped and he began running, while I channeled power to my legs, trying to flee to a different building. What the hell was Pale doing?!

"****************!!" I could hear, but could not understand his words. What I could understand was the destruction; the building beneath me vanished in a wave of black and red reishi, as did the buildings above me. Worse, it was catching up; I was too close! Suddenly, distance became nothing. I tripped, feeling my stomach heave as debris fell around me… I was safe, and far enough away to see the scale of devastation.

I could not sense Cloak's presence, and the column of buildings was still falling: one broken skyscraper falling into the next, and the next. Nothing was left but a void in the city, and even the rain had stopped for an instant. The broken buildings were not coated in red: lines of dull gray rubble in the blood-soaked world.

"That is your lesson," Pale said, standing next to me and looking over the sight. I forced myself to my feet, shaking off the nausea. He giggled. "You are not strong enough-" He vanished: no crackle of movement, just speed, and his foot buried itself in my side. "-to run this world." The world tumbled, Aspida cushioned my impacts with the ground. Pale was suddenly above me, and I felt fresh blood fill my mouth as his fists drove me down!

He stared down at me, sneering. I spat, glaring back up at him.

"It's my city," I growled. "It's literally me."

"Then you need to fight, Ichigo!" Pale shook his head. "Fight like your life depends on it, for once in your life!"

I opened my mouth, only for Pale to kick once more, knocking me away like trash.

"You haven't truly fought even once in your entire life. You play at fighting, with delinquents at school, or hollows, but it's just a play you put on!" He growled, teeth audibly grinding. "Nobody can say they are truly fighting when they spend the entire fight trying not to kill their enemy!"

I jumped, nausea finally gone, and punched. He caught my hand, only for a burst to break on contact.

"Bala," he sounded almost bored; a red light shone from his hand, meeting my burst and overwhelming it. My knees shook from the pain. Pale glared at me, my hand still in his grip, and covered in blood. "You could have killed me, if you focused that attack into a razor point it would have pierced my head, yet you insisted on trying to knock me away, bruise me at most."

His grip tightened, and the world flipped as he threw me into the ground. Concrete shattered beneath me, and the air in my lungs left in a pained groan. Pale released my hand, letting it fall to the ground.

"The thing that truly distinguished you and I is simple, Ichigo, and it is not that we have different power," Pale crouched down above me, a grin on his face. "It is instinct, plain and simple. The lack of hesitation, the skill to eviscerate your enemy at the first chance, is carried in your very soul. And it is honed only in true battle. I have done nothing but fight for months, Ichigo, while you have languished for a lifetime." He held a hand above my head, a red ball forming in his grasp, filling my vision. "I will not simply follow someone so weak they will do nothing but get us both killed."

"Cer-"

His hand vanished, the light vanished, he vanished, in a flash of blue light. I stood; to one side was a tower of blue energy, to the other was Cloak.

"You were hiding?" I asked. He nodded.

"Ichigo, I will ask once more," he held out his hand, palm facing upward. "Trust me, please. I will teach you the strength you need so that you will never drown sorrow again."

"What a load of garbage!" The pillar cracked, and shattered! Pale stood where the center once was: clothing torn, skin still burned from contact with my reishi, but unphased. "You've done nothing to help him your whole life! Even when things are bad, the most you do is agree to stop fighting and let me fix everything!"

"I have limi-"

"Screw 'em!" Pale swiped his hand, a scowl on his face. "When Ichigos' friend was killed, I'm the one who came out to help, only to be chained up by you in that stupid statue! When that overgrown pile of sewer hair was going to kill him, I'm the one who stopped him! If you had never interfered, he'd have never gotten the chance to-"

"I could not change it!" Cloak yelled, sword forming in his hands. A sad, frustrated expression fell onto his previously stoic features. "But I will not permit your psychopathic belief that domination is the true form of co-operation."

"And I refuse to allow you to claim that you can guide Ichigo when the only thing you've ever done is hold him back!" A red light began to form in Pale's hand once more… I had had enough.

"Shut up!" I shouted. The sword vanished, as did the red light. Both two looked confused but turned to me. "You're both wrong, and I don't care about your argument!"

"But he-"

"I said I don't give a damn!" I cut him off, before gesturing to the ruined buildings he had left. "Both of you did that, and I'm not letting you do it any longer."

They looked out… I saw a flicker of some emotion cross Pale's face, though Cloak was impassive once more. The rain was beginning to fall once more, and soon the rubble would just be one more shade of red.

"I'm putting a stop to this," I finally said. "So get in line or get out."

"We cannot leave."

"Then I guess I know which one you're both doing." I could feel it now: the city around me… the building beneath us rippled, and tendrils of glass and cement whipped out, wrapping around them. "This world is mine, so follow the rules."

The tendrils whirled, before flicking in opposite directions. Both two beings flying outside of the blood rain. Pale flew into the midnight, and cloak flew to the sun… I sighed, falling back into the building, but I was not done yet. The city rumbled, buildings vanishing, twisting, merging. A wall divided the city in two: a sign of my law.

"Neither of you is in charge," I said. I knew they could hear me, just as I could hear them. "You are both going to stay apart."

The city was silent, but for the growing sound of rain… Just me, staring at the split sun and moon. The sun did not hurt my eyes in here, and the bloody rain fell without clouds. It was strange.

"So you're claiming the throne?" Pale finally said… I could feel a smile in his voice, even though I did not understand why. "Alright, but watch your step, or I'll take it from you."

"This choice will only bring you sorrow, Ichigo." Cloak sighed, but I did not feel him contest it. "But… I will be here. When you are ready to break the cycle of your pain, I will always help."

I sighed. Those two were going to annoy me again way too soon.

---

You have unlocked the Self sub-power for 2000 EXP: Sun and Moon. Ichigo can access fundamental abilities from two non-mystic power sets, though he cannot train them with EXP. Choose the form of the Sun and Moon.

[X] Selenelion
+ Both the sun and moon rest on the horizon, ready to rise.
+ You must directly convince Pale and Cloak to let you access the power though.

[X] Cycle
+ You shift between the sun and the moon at periodic intervals, always having one, but never both.
+ You may use Cloak's power during the day, and Pale's during the night.

[X] Ritual
-[X] Sacrifice
+ You may access both the power of the sun and moon at once at all times.
+ However, you must give something in exchange. Write-in what you give up, the power received will be of equal value.

[X] Writhe
+ Both the sun and moon lie inactive at most times, but you may stir both.
+ To activate this power, you must be exposed to a particular… type of reishi.
+ The power of a hollow or Quincy far stronger than you will temporarily activate these powers.

---

Wakefulness came slowly, which was probably for the best: my arm still felt like it was on fire, and if anything was even worse now than I remembered. The first high I noticed was the fresher air, which tied into the second thing I noticed: bars, instead of a locked vault-door. The last thing I noticed was the floor; a wooden floor-board, not a cold stone finish.

I rubbed at my eyes as I forced myself to sit up… I was groggier than usual, and I suspected that I had been drugged to fall asleep. It should not have surprised me that Soi Fon had taken measures to ensure I would not know where I came from, or where I went. I sighed…

'Sweet digs, King.'

Oh… Oh no. They could do this now?

'This could be done before. We were simply too busy fighting one another.'

Just… shut up. I could hear footsteps approaching, and I needed to focus.

---

These footsteps are calm and quiet, and would not be audible in any circumstance but absolute silence. The owner's power is vast. Who has come to talk to Ichigo?

[X] Captain Kuchiki
+ Come to discuss his sister

[X] Captain Soi Fon
+ Come to discuss Kimon

[X] Captain Aizen
+ Come to Talk about your situation

[X] Captain Ukitake
+ Come to discuss his subordinate, among other things.

[X] Captain Kurotsuchi
+ Come to discuss research

 

[Armoury]

[X] Selenelion

[X] Captain Ukitake

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

The footsteps were minor, and I would have never heard them by themselves. What gave away the approaching person was not noise, but presence. Whoever was approaching, it felt like a physical weight on my shoulders; a raw power I had only experienced once or twice. The first thing I noticed when she walked around the corner was how lustrous her silver hair was. The second thing I noticed was that she was a he.

"Ha!" shut up!

"Hello," the young-looking man waved, smiling gently. "Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Umm… Yeah," I nodded. His attitude was entirely distinct from his power, and it was unsettling. At least Soifon had the attitude I expected… Though he did wear a white coat like her. Was that some sort of symbol for how strong he was? "Who are you?"

"I am captain Ukitake, but please, call me Jushiro. Do you mind if I take a seat?" I looked at the ground: hard floorboard, just like inside the cell. It looked uncomfortable. I nodded. Jushiro rummages through his sleeves before pulling out a fabric roll and laying it on the ground.

I tilted my head, and those threads I had seen on Omaeda and Soifon reappeared… Jushiro had almost no lines on his arms, unlike them: instead almost all of his lines connected to his chest. He also had more lines around his neck, three of them. I was still figuring out what those strings meant: I assumed they were relationships, and based on Omaeda and Soifon I assumed string from the chest meant a closer relationship. Perhaps the neck was meant to be even better? That sounded wrong.

"Don't ask us: whatever the hell you do we've had nothing to do with it." Pale's voice rang out… that was concerning, I had assumed that they were the reason my powers had appeared.

"Perhaps, but if so it was not intentional on my part, and I kept him from affecting you for most of your life."

"You suck!"

"You look distracted," I jolted at Jushiro's words. He was settled on the rug, looking slightly confused at my expression. "I hope I did not interrupt your train of thought."

"No… not mine," I scratched my head with my good hand. "So, why does a captain want to talk to me? I expected Soifon."

"Perhaps later," Jushiro shook his head slightly. "Captain Soifon will ensure she has extracted all the information she can on Kimon from you soon, I am here for a more personal reason." He trailed off… neither of us spoke for a few seconds. This place was truly quiet, wasn't it?

"Ahem." I coughed, just to interrupt the silence… finally, Jushiro sighed.

"My apologies, I was distracted," he bowed his head briefly. "I wanted to ask if you ever met a soul reaper who worked in your town: Rukia Kuchiki." They didn't know? Then Rukia probably didn't mention me… or he was trying to trick me. Damn, I had paused for too long.

"The short one with the shorter temper?" I asked. Jushiro stared at me for a second, before laughing. His voice was soft but filled with mirth as it drifted around the room. Suddenly it stopped, devolving into strained coughing. I held out a hand… hesitated, and put my hand back down as his twitching subsided.

"Yes, I suppose she would be," Jushiro smiled, as if the sight of him trying to heave his lungs from his body had not just happened. "It is good to hear she is well." I had never claimed she was well.

"You haven't heard from her?" I asked, curious at the idea. I had assumed Rukia had simply been lying to soul society, not avoiding them altogether.

"Heard from her and knowing she is well are two wildly different concepts," Jushiro frowned. "But no; she did not report anything for the first two months of her one-month assignment to your hometown, then we received reports of Kimon Geridis breaching the dangai, she was here for a day, and then she was sent away to run a rukongai census for her clan."

"She didn't strike me as the quiet type," I shrugged, thinking back to conversations with her. "She was pretty smug."

"Which is why I am worried; she was subdued and nervous, in her brief time back here." Jushiro sighed, leaning forward as I tried to imagine Rukia as nervous or subdued. The same girl who snuck her way into my school and threatened to kill me if I drew attention to her… Something was probably very wrong. "I do have a theory, though, if you'll hear it."

"Well," I paused… before shaking off my hesitation. "What is it?"

"I think that Rukia made a mistake, early in her assignment, and I think it had something to do with Kimon Geridis, and someone else," Jushiro said gently, though I felt that he was lying. He did not seem angry in any way I could see, but he whispered, forcing me to lean in closer. "I think that she is hiding her lie behind the confusion surrounding Kimon and his memory altering device, and I think you may know something about this, as someone close to the ground." I swallowed. This man, I looked in his eyes and knew; he already suspected many things. So this was for my benefit.

"And what would your… theory entail?" I asked, resisting the urge to wipe my forehead… when had I started sweating?

"Not much; Rukia is my subordinate, so I will try to help her because I trust that she did the right thing," Jushiro leaned back, a serious expression resting on his features. "Captain Kurotsuchi will be reporting on Kimon Geridis' memory altering technology later today, finally giving us a step to help sort fact from fiction. If you want… I suppose, if there is something you want to say, then I will take the opportunity to report what I can from you as well."

So this was his game? He suspected… I had no idea how much he suspected, but he was asking me to tell him what I wanted to. Part of me wondered if I could trust him. Was he just trying to trick me?

"If I had some… hypothetical questions, that might be hard to ask, would you keep them private?" I should not have talked. I should have left things be since my words were incriminating by themselves, but I talked anyway. Jushiro did not seem mad, and he held a hand to his chin in thought.

"Well, that's a tough one… I am a captain, so I shouldn't hide things like that…" he coughed into his palm again. Unlike last time, it sounded completely fake. "But my health is rather frail, and some questions can be quite stressful. If I had to answer them, I might very well have to spend the rest of the day in bed to recover, and I doubt I'd remember them tomorrow morning, thanks to my medication." Almost every single part of that statement was a lie…

"That smug, white-haired, bastard."

---

Smug indeed. Jushiro Ukitake is making an offering for you… will you take it?

[X] Give information
-[X] Write-in
+ Pick what you wish to tell him.

[X] Ask Questions
-[X] Write-in
+ What questions do you have
+ 5 questions max

[X] Say nothing
+ Sorry, Jushiro, but we really have no idea what is happening.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Plan: Actual Full Disclosure

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Soul society… well, at least this cell in this part of soul society, as well as Kukaku's house, had access to surprisingly strong artificial lighting. At least, given that I had seen no evidence of an electrical network of any kind, I thought it did. The sun had not risen, though the sky was starting to brighten. Seeing that though...

"How much time until your meeting?" I asked Jushiro.

The man chuckled. "Well, it's technically… already started?" He said nervously. "I was meant to get here about half an hour ago, but I was delayed by… circumstances."

"What kind of… no, nevermind." I had to wonder if he actually expected me to say anything at all, given the time he left himself to move… or was he lying? No, I could sense lies, so maybe he did it intentionally to make me trust him more… but why not just lie? He didn't know I'd know he lied.

No. Enough circular questions: this man was Rukia's captain, and I had yet to hear a single bad word about him. Hell, I hadn't even heard a bad word about him from Kukaku, who could have had every reason to hate him, and who I had once heard insult a floor-board. Then again, neither of them were open about their problems. Well, I was going to be different and trust this man, because I had no reason to distrust him, and because I believed that many of the people I knew would be happier if they were willing to trust their problems to others.

'That is exactly the point I have been trying to make, Ichigo,' one of my mental passengers piped up. I grit my teeth. 'Simply trust me with your problems, and I will help you overcome them.'

Trust and faith are different things, though; one needs to go both ways to be strong.

…

Alright… I'll discuss this some more with you later.

"Alright," I finally said to Jushiro. "But only because I need you to help Rukia, and I think you will help my friend too."

"Thank you," Jushiro bowed, which made me feel kind of nervous. "Please, tell me everything you can."

"Neither of us have time for that, if you are going to get to that meeting in time to do anything. I'll give you the basics," I paused… alright, so the basics... were? I thought it over for just a second… Yes, that would be enough. "Ruia was injured the night she met me, and committed a crime in order to save herself, me, my family, and one of my friends."

"A forbidden kido?" Jushiro raised an eyebrow. "Consorting with hollows?" From the look on his face… he probably knew this already, but I sighed. I had to say it anyway.

"A substitute soul reaper… my friend," Jushiro remained calm, and I sighed in relief. If that did not get him worked up then I was probably in the clear from here. "She was worried that if it were found out then the substitute would be killed, so the three of us have spent the last two months fighting hollows and trying to keep that secret." My tongue felt weird. I hadn't really ever explained all this to a stranger, and it was an odd sensation. "We met Kimon a couple of weeks ago after… well, there's not enough time to explain what happened before, but I was really exhausted and he asked me to help him. When I said no he tried to erase my memory of the event, and I barely escaped. Soon after that Rukia got her powers back properly but… alright, there isn't enough time to explain that either, but both her and Tatsuki were powerless for a day when Kimon kidnapped them. So a couple of friends and I went to save them, I fought Kimon, and destroyed one of his devices, killing us both and landing us here."

I took a deep breath; that was two months of my life, summarised briefly… I could have summarised the most important parts of an entire year before that in half the time. Jushiro merely nodded understandingly.

"So the conflicting reports from Rukia, Arisada, and Sado?" he asked.

"They were probably all lying out of fear that Tatsuki would be killed." I shrugged.

"That was the initial assumption, before we learned of the memory erasing technology," Jushiro scratched his neck, "As it stands a lieutenant was left in town to supervise them."

"Seems like overkill, Tatsuki and Chad are both strong, but neither of them have spiritual powers anymore, just a strong soul," I laughed as I realised what that meant. "Though I appreciate that they have a strong bodyguard."

"The unintentional service is not lost on me… but it is rather funny." Jushiro laughed along, and for just a few seconds I could forget the bars. "Is there anything you need though, just before I leave?

"I just… have a question, and I figure you probably know the answer better than anyone," I took a deep breath. "Do you think Rukia broke the rules to save me just because I look like Kaien Shiba?"

Jushiro paused. "Well… no. Not a chance, actually. She might manage to surprise me, or maybe the situation was unique, but I doubt she wouldn't have saved someone in your position who looked like anyone else," Jushiro sounded so sure of himself… it was reassuring. "Rukia tries to act like the nobles that adopted her, but she is a Rukongai child at her core: she lets her heart decide what to do, and I know she puts her duty above the rules that detail that duty. The noble families could stand to learn a bit more of that."

"That is…" I couldn't figure out how to say how I felt... "Thank you."

"She might have lost because you look like Kaien, though," Jushiro remarked. I froze… I remembered being weakened by my emotions once before. It was entirely possible Rukia was.

It was entirely possible this situation was my fault.

"Hey, hey, it's not all bad," Jushiro waved his hands, trying to reassure me… I wasn't sure if it was working. "So sure, Rukia got hurt, but there are ups and downs. The things you've said about her, the way you talk, I think she acted in the living world the same way she did before… well, let me put it this way: She was energetic, pushing you to do things, and enthusiastic about her job?" I nodded, and Jushiro smiled. "Then there you go, sounds like she was happy."

I thought it over… I couldn't just guess how people felt (yet, with the powers I kept picking up), but Jushiro could have been right. That made me feel a little better, except...

"Aah!" I flopped back down in my bed, hissing as my injured arm was jostled around. "Now I'm exhausted from questioning!"

"It was quite a question," Jushiro chuckled. "Though that could be a side-effect of the sedatives the second squad used for transport between cells. Or the stress of healing that arm. Or the difficult fight that got your arm injured. Or grogginess. You've been asleep for almost all of the last few days after all."

"'Few days'?!" I jolted up, only to have to stop as the motion disturbed my arm. I set my arm back down gently. "Kukaku must be worried. Can you tell her I'm okay?"

"Of course," Jushiro nodded, standing up and folding his floor mat. "I'll have to leave now though, if I want to get to-" He collapsed, hacking and wheezing. I raised a hand, paused, and put it back down as I remembered the bars. I simply sat in place, unable to help, and watched as the racking of his shoulders subsided.

"Are you sure you can make it to that meeting?" I asked, gesturing up and down at him as he wiped his chin. "Maybe you should sleep this off."

"I believe you and I have both slept enough recently," Jushiro stood up straight, putting his floor mat back away in the sleeve of his robes. "So if you need something to get you there faster, this might help." He pulled a book from his sleeve, and passed it through the bars. I stared at the hardcover book in my hands; it was a copy of the shiba infusion techniques, except…

"This is an older edition." I said; it wasn't an admonishment, but Jushiro acted like it was, bowing as he began to leave the room.

"Sorry about that, but the newer version isn't exactly published." He left the room, leaving me alone with a book. I opened it to the first page; the same title, slightly different handwriting, but one major difference.

'By: Kaien Shiba'

'These people are softening you up, King.'

Shut up.

'You trust too easily, one that has every reason to betray you."

… well, you're a real ray of sunshine.

"Could you please be seated?"

I sighed; these voices were getting irritating. Unwanted advice, irritating demands, disembodied commentary… wait.

"Which one of you said that?" I asked.

'Someone else said something?'

"I'm the only one here." A voice said from behind me. I whirled on the source! "Aah!"

The source stumbled backward, tripped, and hit his head on the wall… I wasn't startled anymore.

"Who are you?" I asked as he got to his feet. Black mid-length hair, a sash with a green section on the front, and droopy eyes… I could probably forget his face pretty quickly.

"Fourth division Officer Hanataro Yamada," he saluted, before looking between his hand and me, and hiding his hand behind his back. "I'm cleaning your room, and I just need you to sit on that chair over there for security reasons." He pointed to a chair in the middle of the room. I raised an eyebrow, looking between my arm and the bars.

"What part of this situation makes you think me sitting in a chair will help?" I asked, forcing myself to my feet nonetheless.

"Uhm… the part where I nee- have to wash- I mean, change your sheets." Yamada stuttered. He unlocked the door as soon as I was sitting, before entering and locking it behind himself, and grabbing the bedroll from the floor… 'Security.'

I looked out the window: the sky was brighter now, just by a bit, than when I last checked. If I was lucky, the window might even point to the sunrise: that probably looked nice. Though I hadn't seen enough living world sunrises to compare it.

"Uhm… Can you…" Yamada trailed off, before going back to cleaning. I sighed.

"What's the question, Yamada?" I said gently. Seeing him nervous was like watching a puppy: very awkward, when you suspected the puppy could be a person. There was a chance that the incident with Shrieker may have led to a period of uncertainty.

"What's it like… in the living world, I mean?" He seemed… eager.

"You've never been? Isn't patrolling the living world one of the main things soul reapers do."

"Well, yes, but the fourth division mostly heals and maintains the seireitei, so we don't do it as often. Plus I'm not a very reliable fighter so I…" He squirmed. "Well, I've never been, so I like to hear about it."

"It's… different. Food is a lot easier to get." I shrugged; I had thought I would have a bigger takeaway than the abundance of convenience stores, but I hadn't been here for very long. "The main thing is that the technology is better. It's hard to really explain how different that makes it."

"Do you prefer it?" Yamada asked. I paused… I did not actually need to think too hard about it, even with the friends I had here.

"Yes," I nodded firmly. "It's not perfect, but it's so much better."

"That sounds…" Yamada trailed off, before awkwardly returning to cleaning. I leaned back in my chair… I guess I was not exactly a great conversationalist.

"So how do you think-" I began, only for the building to erupt in noise. A loud, blaring sound that made Yamada jump and look around wildly. "What's going on?!" I shouted over the alarm.

"That's the intrusion alarm, but that's never gone off before…" Yamada looked confused. "Wait here!" He scurried over to the door, fumbling for his keys.

"Is that a joke?" I asked, too late; Yamada was already gone, leaving me with nothing around except an alarm… Yamada left the key in the door too.

With a sigh I stood up from the chair, trudging over to the door and grabbing the key. It was awkward, using my left hand for it, but not too hard. I looked at the key, before tossing the ring across the room.

The ring flew gracefully, landing and swirling on a hook just across the hallway from me. That would have been a lot more fun if someone had managed to catch it, because I was sure I couldn't do it again.

I kind of missed that game I used to play with Tatsuki. It was stupid and childish, just the two of us trying to one-up each other but Tatsuki took it pretty seriously, and I think I did too. She even had a name for it, though she'd probably forgotten just like him by now… I wondered how she was doing.

---

There was no way Tatsuki would ever be dethroned from the awesome-topper championship now!

Sure, Ichigo temporarily took the lead for his "one man charge through a fortress of traps to save her and Rukia from a mad scientist," but Tatsuki was about to be shot from a cannon, while inside a forcefield, to get through another, weirder forcefield, to save his stupid ass from ghost samurai prison. The throne was hers!

Tatsuki could hear Kukaku beginning to chant outside, and saw Reishi spiral and build underneath the Reishukaku. Her voice was muffled by an impressive thickness of steel, but Tatsuki could feel the power in the noise, like how she could hear it when Rukia chanted for kido. In her corner: Chad, Orihime, Yoruichi, and Ganju (for some reason… Tatsuki was convinced he hated Ichigo), and in the opposing corner, an army of soul reapers keeping Ichigo hidden somewhere they did not know the position of, in a giant city that could take days to travel across.

They were unstoppable!

---

The Ryoka have arrived; the unprecedented event of an invasion force piercing through the west side of the shakonmaku! Soul reapers are swarming like ants, trying to find where they landed. The most they know is that they landed in two groups, and which divisions they landed in. Yoruichi was separated from the rest of the force, so where does the remainder land?

[X] The third division

[X] The eleventh division

[X] The thirteenth division

Whose perspective would you like to view the following events from?

[X] Tatsuki

[X] Chad

[X] Orihime

[X] Ganju

 

[Armoury]

[X] The third division

[X] Ganju

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Ganju sighed in relief; they had landed -inside the seireitei- with barely a problem. It was almost too good to be true.

"What the hell was that?!" the angry one with black hair slapped the back of his head, almost knocking him off his feet. "We lost Yoruichi!" she sounded like Kukaku when she talked like that… except he actually had to listen to Kukaku!

"How is that my fault!" he yelled back, holding up a fist. If this girl wanted to throw down he could do that anytime, anywhere!

"You stuttered, right after telling us how important it was you did that kido perfectly!"

"I stuttered because you squealed the second we hit the barrier!"

"Hey!" the redhead jumped up, inserting herself into the conversation with a smile. "Tatsuki was just really excited because that was cool." She nodded… Ganju had to wonder if she fully grasped the situation as it happened.

"Orihime! Don't… Don't!" Ganju paused, seeing the blush on Arisawa's features as she tried to cover her friend's mouth… That Inoue girl might have been onto something.

"Really, you thought that was impressive, huh?" he leaned in, smiling in glee. "I suppose for someone who doesn't live a life as good as mine it would be… very well, I'll forgive you for squealing in delight." I nodded magnanimously, feeling glee as I saw her face turn red.

"Bastard!" she punched his stomach. It was not a heavy punch, and it barely had any wind-up at all, but it drove the air from Ganju's lungs and made him want to throw up. As he collapsed to his knees he smiled; He definitely won!

"That is enough." A single enormous hand, that could only belong to that behemoth who didn't talk much, grabbed Gabbed Ganju's shoulders, lifting him to his feet. He saw another shoulder on Arisawa's shoulder, turning both of them to face.

… Were those three there the whole time?

"Hi, there!" Inoue waved enthusiastically. "Nice weather, right?"

Two of the three soul reapers remained slack-jawed, staring at the quartet of invaders, but one shook off the surprise. He had soft features and a tasteful scarf… Ganju did not like him.

"With such beauties as you falling from the sky, I could never deny it," he tucked his hair behind his ear as his friends seemed to snap out of their stupor. Ganju took a step backward.

"Do not flirt with the enemy, Asuka," a blond soul reaper chided the first. Ganju could feel it: that one was definitely the strongest. He drew his blade and faced the group. "Surrender now, ryoka, or we will have to use force."

"Guys…" Ganju took another step back. These people were strong, probably high-ranking seated officers, with decades of experience and training. "I think we should run." The soul reapers tensed when he said that, making him flinch. Arisawa chuckled… no, she outright laughed.

"Aww, are you worried for us? That's nice, Ganju," she patted his head condescendingly, a mocking gleam in her eye. "But of course I'm armed," She punched her palm, and a strong wind ripped through the alley, rustling her hair in mad patterns. "Two more than I need for these guys." The third soul reaper growled at that, stomping forward. He was big and wore a heavy-looking helmet and goggles.

"Don't make jokes you can't back up, girl," he drew his blade as well. "The third division will not go easy on you just because you have a sense of humor! Sound with a blow; Fukinarase!" His blade warped and shifted before their eyes, a simple katana changing to something closer to an oversized cleaver with holes along the spine. Ganju grimaced at the sight; if he was moving straight to a sword release then the chances of victory were dwindling. Worse, the other two took it as a signal.

"Drown out; Uchikese!" the pretty-boy with the scarf shouted. His sword split down the middle into two prongs.

"Coil Upward; Makite Nobore!" the blond one held a scythe, with the edge facing outward. Ganju reached into his pouch to palm a smokescreen. It might be enough to let them escape.

"How did they do that?" Arisawa mumbled, just barely loud enough for Ganju to hear… She didn't even know what a Shikai was?! How did she expect to get more than two steps in here without even the most basic information? "Oh? Oh, well that's actually pretty cool. It would explain why Rukia kept talking about her sword like that too." She kept mumbling, insane rambling as far as Ganju could tell since no-one else was talking.

"Alright, guys!" Arisawa looked up, and her two friends looked at her. "That thing they did with their swords is called Shikai; it's a gimmicky rip-off soul reapers do, apparently."

"Gimmicky?!" The one in the scarf seemed angry. Ganju was more confused, she obviously didn't know about it before, so what did she just do?

"You!" Arisawa pointed at the blond with the scythe. "You're the strongest, right?"

"Indeed," The soul reaper bowed his head. "I am Riku Togakushi, the third seat of squad three."

"Sounds neat. I only ever met an unseated officer before," Arisawa strode forward, and Ganju had to look twice to confirm what he saw; feathers were growing from her, forming in layers above her clothes, until her gi looked to be made of nothing but feathers, stretching up her neck. She turned back to the others for a moment. "I'm gonna fight him. You two can pick whoever you want."

In a single moment, everything burst into action. Riku dashed forward, swinging his scythe at Arisawa's neck. The big guy in the helmet charged Sado with his cleaver raised. The boy in the scarf almost vanished in his speed, closing in on Inoue.

Ganju tried to run, but he did not have time. Everything moved too fast. Sado's arm changed color, Inoue's shrunk. Riku hit the wall with a pained cry and the sound of concrete breaking. Ganju heard the big man's helmet crack under Sado's fist and saw him go flying. The pretty boy's sword flew into a wall, the entire structure cracking as it sank in.

By the time Ganju had pulled out his smokescreen, it was all over. Blondie fell out of the wall, the big guy hit the ground unconscious, and Inoue had an arm wrapped around scarf-boy's neck from behind, dragging him to his knees with her newly reduced height. Arisawa confidently sauntered up, And Ganju heard the scarf guy croak in relief as Inoue loosened her grip to let him breathe.

"So, your name was Asuka, right?" Arisawa grinned, putting a hand on his shoulder. Ganju could see the fear in the experienced soul reaper's eyes; a man whose job involved slaying monsters, cowed by a feathery teenager. What kinds of monsters had Ganju let into this place? "Where can I find Ichigo Kurosaki?" Asuka wheezed, looking around the alleyway, but saw no-one coming.

"Who is that?" he finally asked.

"Well, you idiots arrested him when you mistook him for Kimon Geridis." Arisawa gestured around grandly, clearly referring to… everything around her in her statement of 'you idiots.' "We're here to get him back, and you're going to help us." The soul reapers arms flailed in the direction of his zanpakuto, but he was unable to reach it. Inoue budged about as much as a building would in a summer breeze, and he slumped in defeat, leaning back into her.

"If you're after Kimon Geridis," He said slowly, mulling his words over. "Then you'll find him in squad two's interrogation wing."

"Directions, Asuka," Inoue said, in the least emotional voice Ganju had ever heard from her. Asuka gurgled as Inoue's grip on his neck briefly tightened, before releasing and letting him gasp.

"I don't know," Asuka admitted, holding up his hands as if to ward his interrogators away. "Only members of squad two know where to find their holding cells. You'll find their division to the east."

Arisawa stared at him intently, searching his eyes for… something that Ganju was not sure he could see. Eventually, she nodded, and Ganju heard Asuka croak as Inoue reapplied pressure. His eyes widened, and he struggled, clawing at the arm around his neck, but those struggles quickly died down, his arms falling limp. Inoue held him for a few seconds more, and Arisawa flicked his nose… Arisawa nodded, and Inoue let go, gently placing him on the ground.

"Good chokehold, by the way." Arisawa nodded. Inoue shot up, suddenly taller again, and nodded. She looked back down at Asuka's unconscious form, too many emotions for Ganju to process flickering across her face. Tatsuki put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll wake up with a headache, but he'll be fine. We need to move now, before anyone else gets here."

Arisawa began walking, followed by her two friends. They were already talking about plans and what to do. Ganju looked around that alley… it was a wreck, with three high-ranking soul reapers out of commission.

"Wait for me!" he yelled, hurrying to catch up to the three. He did not want to be left alone around here.

---

The rescue ryoka have arrived! And they have their first lead: squad 2's interrogation wing. Now all they need is a plan.

[X] Straight-forward
+ As in, literally straight through everyone in your way
+ Ask where to find Ichigo as you go. You'll come across a squad 2 member sooner or later.

[X] Stealthy
+ try to avoid notice, and follow the flow of people to get to the interrogation wing.

[X] Classic move
+ Steal some uniforms and attempt to gather information.

[X] Write-in?

 

[Armoury]

[X] Classic move

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Ganju felt his heart pound as the sound of stampeding footsteps rushed past the building they were hiding in. The soul reapers searching for them spoke in a jumbled mess of shouts, of which he could occasionally make out the words 'ryoka,' 'third seat,' and 'attack.'

"Alright, Here's the plan," as the lastest patrol left earshot, Arisawa leaned forward, whisper-quiet. "I'm going to go out, grab a few soul reapers, and we're going to steal their uniforms. That should let us gather information and avoid at least a bit of attention." She stepped out towards the doors of the building.

"Wait!" Ganju whispered as loud as he dared. He sighed when the madwoman stopped and turned to face him; these people made him feel very terrified. "That's a terrible idea." Sadly, as scarily strong as these people turned out to be, he had to point out the obvious. "None of you knows anything about soul reapers; you have no chance of fitting in."

A look of realisation passed over Arisawa's face, and she looked down at the ground in thought. Ganju breathed a sigh of relief; he had prevented insanity today, and the universe was no doubt better off for it.

"Alright, new plan," Tatsuki sounded confident again, which faltered to Ganju's satisfaction. "Ganju, you know enough about soul reapers to blend in, so you gather information and then get back to us."

"What?!" Ganju jumped at the volume of his whisper, but when no soul reapers broke down the door he assumed it was not too bad... Where was Arisawa? "Damn it, she's going to get us all ki-"

"Stay here, Ganju," A single hand on his chest stopped him and glanced over to see Inoue, and the concerned expression on her face. "Tatsuki is more used to keeping hidden away, we'll just get her caught."

Ganju stared at the door… but Inoue was right; he could not sense Arisawa's presence, so she was either gone, good at hiding, or both. He relented and stepped back into his previous hiding spot.

"Who are you people?" Ganju finally asked the question that he had been wondering the first day he saw Kurosaki. "Your friend grows feathers, you shrink or something, and I have no idea what your arm did back there." He gestured between Inoue and Sado.

"Ooh! That's right!" Inoue perked up, turning to Sado. "We never got around to the explanation of what we trained, did we? Well, you didn't; Tatsuki and I talked last night in our room, but you never explained what you do!" Sado looked at Inoue, then Ganju, then his hand.

"I punch things," he held up his arm as if to show them. "When I focus, I can make that armour, and it helps me punch things better with reishi." Inoue nodded sagely…

"How does that even work?" Ganju asked in disbelief. Sado just shrugged; of course he would not know.

"Is that how you beat…" Inoue looked back and forth in the room. As if worried someone would overhear their private conversation she cupped a hand over her mouth. "That archer?" Sado nodded.

The door slammed open! Ganju scrambled to grab his knife, pointing it at the intruder.

"Put that away," Arisawa stepped around him, before throwing four unconscious soul reapers to the ground. "I've got your new change of clothes; this guy's about your size." She gestured down at one of them. Ganju crossed his arms.

"I never agreed to dress as a soul reaper." He pointed out, looking down at the man. Those robes were… ugly, he supposed.

"Do you have a better idea?" Arisawa raised an eyebrow in challenge.

…

Ganju began to disrobe the unconscious soul reaper, and the others moved in to help.

"So what do we do with these guys anyway?" Ganju asked, gesturing to the four unconscious bodies lying around the warehouse. "They'll wake up sooner or later."

"Well, ghosts don't need to eat if they don't use reishi, right?" Inoue asked… Ganju nodded hesitantly, not liking the question. Inoue held up a long spool of rope.

"You think they'll be found eventually?" Arisawa asked.

"Probably," Sado spoke up. "This warehouse has some perishable food in the front; someone will come by pretty soon." He held out the uniform to Ganju, who paused. When had he taken off most of the soul reaper's clothing? They were all working on it.

Ganju sighed, shuffling behind a set of crates to change. The clothes felt uncomfortable and entirely too shrouding. He moved carefully in instinct, watching where the fabric went out of habit built by prolonged exposure to fire hazards.

"Alright, any advice?" He asked the three as he got back, to see that the other three soul reapers had been disrobed, gagged, and tied up with the first. The three looked him over, and he straightened the shihakusho.

"You have the wrong knot." Inoue pointed out, striding up and redoing his waistband. Ganju felt his face heat up, only to feel a strong grip on the back of his head.

"Alright goofball, time to get to work," Arisawa said, dragging him to the entrance to the warehouse. "Try to figure out where we can find Ichigo, or at least one of those squad 2 guys who could, then come back and tell us what you learned." Ganju stumbled as she shoved him out of the door. He sighed, and set out; he could hear someone nearby.

That noise was a group of four soul reapers. They did not look too strong; Ganju thought he could almost certainly take the toughest of the group if he had his Shiba battle-suit on him. Of course, without that suit -and the dozens of fireworks hidden in its many pockets- he was limited to a Dao and some earth kido. So he needed to be subtle.

"Hey!" He shouted… no subtly yelled at the group, flagging them down as he approached. "Which team are you guys?!" The four gave him odd looks as he sprinted up to them before he hunched over and panted… the run was not particularly exhausting, but it helped with the image he wanted.

"Fox Squad 15," The strongest one said sternly, "And you are?"

"Oh thank the soul king, I've been running everywhere looking for you guys!" Ganju sighed in faux-relief. Fortunately, his nervous sweat could be mistaken for a side-effect of exhaustion. "I'm too new to have a team yet, so third seat Riku Tokakushi told me to tag along with you guys. He said it would be easy to find you… I don't think he was being completely honest." One of them, a girl with long black hair, giggled at that, and Ganju saw them all relax at the sound.

"Yes, third seat Togakushi quite enjoys playing those pranks on new members," she shook her head in exasperation. "I wish he'd listen when everyone tells him not to do it in emergencies, though."

"It was exhausting," Ganju scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Does he have a tell or something to let you know he's pulling a prank?"

"If you find it, everyone from the fourth seat to new recruits will petition to get you promoted." Another of the soul reapers piped in; he had soft features and sharp eyes. He had relaxed the least since Ganju arrived, which made him the main concern.

"Save jokes for off the clock, Officer Hitsoka." The first soul reaper reprimanded. Ganju assumed he was in charge, and he confirmed it with introductions. "Welcome to Fox squad fifteen. I am your commanding officer in the field, twelfth seat Ryota." He spoke precisely, not letting any room for misinterpretation slip through. He gestured to the girl. "This is officer Saki, on loan from the fourth division to provide support, she will take the rear-guard in combat." He gestured to the suspicious soul reaper and the fourth, who looked like he was about to faint from nerves when attention was brought to him. "These are officer Hitsoka and officer Kou." The nervous one nodded quickly, but the other one still looked at him oddly. "And you are?" Ganju stood up straight, bowing as deeply as he could… it made him feel angry to bow to a soul reaper.

"Unseated Officer Ganju Bashi, sir!" He shouted. Ryota huffed, turning away from him.

"No need to shout, officer Bashi," He turned and marched away, the other three immediately following after him, Ganju followed after a moment's hesitation. "We've been searching for intruders since the alarm was sounded, so consider yourself lucky you get to start fresh like this. Now keep your ears peeled."

They marched for a few minutes, with Ryota occasionally making them all stop and search the area or a building as if the intruders would be there when he was marching away from them.

"So," he whispered conspiratorially to the nervous soul reaper; Kou. "Why do you think the alarm went off early?" It was a genuine question too; he had entered soul society within the last hour, so if the alarm went off early then… well it could be very bad for him.

"Probably a w-warning," Kou whispered back. "Maybe someone had information on those ryoka who showed up and sounded the alarm early?" Ganju frowned… this had been planned yesterday morning, so the idea that information could leak that quickly was… disturbing. He would have to remind Kukaku to search the house for bugs again.

"Think it has anything to do with the prisoner from a few days back?" Ganju asked, seizing the opportunity to get to the subject that interested him.

"You mean the Geridis suspect?" Saki said loudly from the opposite side of Kou. The soul reaper stiffened, years visibly packing up and leaving his lifespan in shock. Saki giggled at his reaction, before turning to Ganju. "The timing is pretty suspect, but there are rumours he was moved to the temporary holding cells because he isn't actually Geridis. It could be an attack by the real Geridis if that's the case."

"He isn't-" Ganju took a deep breath, getting worked up about these people's mistakes would do him no good. "The temporary cells." He raised an eyebrow at Saki, ignoring how confused Kou looked.

"Over in the first division headquarters," Saki nodded. "They usually just have people there for a few days while they deliberate over actual punishments."

"You sure know a lot about the guy," Ganju commented; she was the perfect source of information, he just needed to keep her talking.

"Well, he was mentioned in the association newsletter with some… pictures." Saki blushed, and Hitsoka barked in laughter.

"Got another crush, Saki?" He grinned. Ganju cursed under his breath, as the conversation started to move away from where he wanted it "The woman's association is getting too involved if he's in the newsletter: he's a suspected criminal, not fuel for the latest gossip."

"Why would the association mention him in a newsletter?" Ganju asked, hoping to figure out where this 'first division headquarters' were.

"Well…" Kou swallowed nervously. "The soul reaper womens' association gets more budget the more people receive the newsletter… and that Geridis guy does grab a lot of attention."

"Kind of a boring lesson, Kou…" Hitsoka looked at Kou, before looking back at Ganju. "When did you say you graduated, Bashi?"

"Uhm… just last year?" Ganju swallowed, and Hitsoka stalked up to him.

"Funny you should say that," he hissed, hand resting on his zanpakuto. "I was running security that day, and I think I'd remember someone like you."

"W-well… I do remember you from that graduation," Ganju said defensively. The others had noticed the conversation, and Ganju was starting to feel nervous. "I thought you handled your job pretty well."

"Well, that's nice of you to say," Hitsoka smiled wickedly. "But I wasn't security, I was a graduate. Even gave a speech and everything… odd, that you'd just fall into a story like that." Ganju heard the metallic sound of a zanpakuto being drawn.

"You're being crazy, Hitsoka. I just have a bad memory is all," Ganju held up his hands, looking around at the other soul reapers. "Guys, a little help with this please?"

He only had the sliding sound of a sword being drawn as a warning, and he spun around, blocking Kou's strike! The previously nervous soul reaper had a manic look in his eyes, and he could see Saki and Ryota drawing their swords to the side as well.

"So you're just a Ryoka?" Kou asked gleefully, zanpakuto grinding against Ganju's sword. "That means we don't need to talk anymore!" The man was insane! And Ganju did not have a smokescreen to get away in!

"Damn it!" he traced a circle on the ground with his foot, before twisting his west, sending Kou's sword into the sand. He punched the insane soul reaper in the face, sending him reeling back. "Were you seriously trying to kill me?" He shouted.

"Bashi," Ryota said sternly, and Ganju looked over to see the team leader holding his sword in an aggressive stance. "Surrender now." Ganju eyed the four soul reapers… he could probably take any of them, maybe even two or three, despite how creepily bloodthirsty Kou was.

…

Screw it, he had enough! He spun on his heel, hand already moving in a small Seppa. The wall behind him collapsed into dust and he dove through the small hole.

"Get him!" Ryota bellowed. Ganju heard scrambling as the team tried jumping through the hole, but he didn't plan to wait for them to catch up. He began running back toward the warehouse he came from, where those overpowered monsters would be able to save him!

"I'm going to skin you!" Kou shouted, laughing maniacally. Ganju had to give his all to not scream, to not draw more attention. He waved his hand and another hole opened in the wall for him to dive through: he needed to be on the street he took previously, or else he could get lost in this nightmarish maze!

"He's over there!" Kitsoka shouted, pointing back at him. Kou must have dived through the hole first because Ganju could not see him, which he was grateful for. The remaining three held up their swords and charged, and Ganju ran!

They shouted, they told him to fight them, they called him a coward. Those things didn't matter to Ganju, what mattered was that they sounded like they were getting closer; the voices growing louder and louder above the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. He almost cried in relief when he saw the warehouse he came out of, banking hard right and bursting into the building. Tatsuki stook off to the side of the room, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Company!" Ganju said. "Right behind me!"

"Oh?" Tatsuki's eye lit up, and she cracked her knuckles. "For me? How nice."

Ganju ran behind a crate: he did not want to be there to see what he had just doomed those soul reapers to experience.

---

The ryoka rescue squad has acquired soul reaper uniforms to reduce the risk of being noticed, and now have information on Ichigo having been moved, so they will make their way toward Ichigo.

Ichigo, on the other hand, is very bored. What does he do to pass time?

[X] Read Infusion Kido
+ Jushiro did give him that book after all.

[X] Talk to spirits
-[X] which one?
+ Might as well figure out what the deal is here.

[X] Exercise
+ Sure it's a small space, but you can exercise

[X] Meditate
+ Not to talk to you inner spirits, just in the general pursuit of peace

 

[Armoury]

[X] Read Infusion Kido

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

'I learned the twenty-fifth infusion on a cold winter's day; the small particles of heated reishi were just the right size for warming up the air without managing to burn anything, and by setting a slow-release I was able to effectively create a heater for my room. Or course said heater had the unfortunate tendency to flood the room with my reishi, which made subsequent heaters leave dust all over it (as you could guess from the earlier mentioning of how environmental reishi effects small-scale. I had to periodically air out my room, losing the blessed warmth I once had, to reduce the reishi concentration of the area and save myself from piles upon piles of dust.'

Kaien's edition of the infusion book was much longer than Kukaku's and filled with authorial notes. Those notes would range from anecdotes to examples, to just bragging about his brother's recent accomplishments. It made it slightly less boring to read, but it also ballooned out the length of the book. Twice as far in I had covered half as much content as I had form Kukaku's, and anecdotes could only save so much boredom. Too many of the things Kaien wrote about were so foreign I had no frame of reference for them; tea festivals most of all. Kaien's description of them varied between making them out as loud spectacles, and quietly refined ceremonies, often within the same sentence.

One thing he did have in one of his anecdotes was an interesting party trick, which seemed useful for training the motion of reishi needed for infusion. He would take a stone, a piece of wood, metal, or some other object, and then push a small amount of reishi into it. Then he would withdraw that reishi, then push it back in. Once he was comfortable with the motion he varied the speed he performed it, often reaching astonishing frequencies. The goal was to turn the target item to dust using the smallest amount of reishi possible, and the smaller the reishi used the more accurate and precisely timed to motion had to be. I could achieve a much faster, and even more efficient result by simply weakening a material, but that was a completely different skill.

It was too bad the inside of this cell lacked rocks, and I did not intend to tear it apart looking for material to destroy. The most I could do was move my reishi between manifestation and myself. It was difficult too: manifesting my reishi required visualisation of the process, and I could not think through it fast enough for the oscillation Kaien described. Trying to manifest reishi without that visualisation was exhausting.

It was easy to lose track of time in this cell, but I was fairly sure Hanataro had been gone for about three million years… well, alright, closer to thirty minutes. They were very boring minutes though, and he took my bedsheets. Suffice to say, sunrise was passed the good part, and on the wrong side of the building for me to see it anyway, and reading a textbook could only pass so much time.

Which is why I almost felt relief when a bright light rushed into the room from the window! I hurried to see it, boredom making light of how much the sudden motion hurt my arm.

It was quite the spectacle: a burning light in the center of the sky, held in place and pulsing as if it were punching through something. I had only a few seconds to stare at it before it detonated, sending two glowing streams in opposite directions, landing within the seireitei…

Which did not make sense. Hanataro ran out mentioning that the intruder alarm was going off, but that was a long time ago, and that looked like an assault from the outside. What was happening? I felt it. It was odd, not being able to sense the direction, and I attributed it to something the soul reapers had done, but the feeling was unmistakable.

My friends. Chad, Tatsuki, Inoue. They were here.

My stomach felt heavy: they were almost certainly here because of me, and what they were doing was dangerous. How did they even get here? I was fairly sure they had not died, or at least they better not have died this soon.

Damn it! What the hell were they thinking?! More importantly, what was I supposed to do?!

---

Those idiots are risking their lives with no idea that you aren't actually in danger. You need to do something!

[X] Jail-break
+ you'll just pop out, find them, convince them to leave, and then come back
+ nobody will notice in all the confusion, right?

[X] Call the Guard
+ Yell loudly until someone answers, and explain the situation to the soul reapers
+ This misunderstanding can all be sorted out if you talk it over, right?

[X] Find the guard
+ Leave your cell and find a guard to tell this to.
+ You value getting this done quickly more than staying in this cell.

[X] Write-in
+ Maybe there's a different solution?

For studying the Shiba clan techniques and practice methods, you gain the infusion student perk:

Infusion Student: All EXP put towards infusion is doubled until Infusion reaches 1500 EXP.

And for context on your wonderful friends, they are currently in the northern section of the third division.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Call the Guard, or try to, if they're not responding quick enough (about five minutes) then
-[X] Find the guard, inform them of events, and then rag on them for doing a terrible job as a guard.

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

No. I took a deep breath, forcing my panic down to the depths of my thoughts… I needed to tell someone about this, before something horribly wrong happened, either to my friends or to someone fighting them. I hurried to the bars of my prison… I could have just left to find someone, but I was trying to be hospitable about this.

"Hey!" I shouted down the hall… nothing. "I need to speak to someone! It's urgent!"

"Do not use that word lightly, sir." An even and accented voice rang out. I turned t9 the side, and what was once undeniably empty now held a very stern-looking man. He had silver hair, a thin black moustache, and a white… shoulder cover vest thing. I'm sure it had a proper name, but I sure as hell didn't know it. The white clothing was a good sign though.

"Are you a captain?" I asked, gesturing to his white… thing.

"Me?" he laid a hand on it, before looking back at me. "I am afraid I will likely never be a captain."

"I thought only captains wore white coats?"

"They do, indeed," The uniform structure of this place was a mess, probably because it was very loosely enforced. "But I am lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe, and you claim to have something urgent to say?"

"Are lieutenants a… high rank?" Rukia never actually explained the ranking system to me, but it seemed to have both numbers and titles involved, which was a weird decision. Sasakibe simply nodded. "Alright, good, I need to get a message out about the intruders."

"Which ones?" that got Sasakibe's attention. His eyes narrowed, drawing attention to his lack of pupils. "The ones that entered just now, or the ones that tripped the intruder alarm?"

"The ones with the light show," Sasakibe grunted, interest suddenly diminished… what was he thinking? "They are three of my friends from the living world. I have no idea how they got here, but they're probably here because I was arrested. I just need you to make sure they aren't hurt."

"Aren't hurt?" a look of irritation flickered over Sasakibe's face. "They have invaded the seireitei. That act alone has punished entire armies to death, ignoring that the only way for your living friends to be here involves working with Kimon Geridis."

'Oh, this bastard…' It was weird, to finally agree with the voice in my head.

"Okay, Lieutenant Sasakibe," I gripped the bar with my good hand and felt it bend and warp in my grip. "I am in this cell because you soul reapers made a mistake when you arrested me."

'Yes.'

"I am staying in this cell because I think you are fixing that mistake."

'I've been waiting for this.'

"And if you hurt my friends because they are trying to correct your mistake? There aren't enough passes through the cycle of life and death you could take to stop me." I twisted, and the metal bar snapped. And, Pale? I was not about to go on a rampage, so settle the hell down.

'I'll be waiting.' He vanished… that was rather concerning. Sasakibe did not respond, did not even twitch when the metal broke. He looked me up and down. His eyes settled on my bandaged arm, still limp at my side.

"Is that a threat?" he asked, voice perfectly even.

"That was a promise." I dropped the broken piece of metal in my hand, which clattered noisily on the floor. I could see my handprint in the steel. "Find a way to tell my friends that I'm fine. Bring them here so I can tell them and they'll believe it, or bring me to them, I don't care how you do it." Sasakibe said nothing, walking away… but paused at the door.

"I will recommend a course of action to head-commander Yamamoto." He took the last step, leaving the hall, and my sight.

'They will use this to control you, Ichigo.' Cloak spoke up, throwing his two cents into the mix.

If they wanted to control me they had plenty of ways of doing it, I snorted at the thought. Threatening my friends was the stupidest option they had. I took a deep breath again, forcing myself to calm down… I grabbed the piece of metal I had broken. I empowered it, and released it, then empowered it again. A repetitive motion, sapping away my emotions as it went.

"Well, look at the little bird; all ready to believe in the efficiency of bureaucracy," a toxic voice slithered through the cell. I turned to the source; on the other side of the bars stood a man with silver hair and a white coat. An impossibly wide grin split his face, obscuring his eyes and emotions. "Your friends would die of old age before these people could decide whether or not to kill them."

'Be wary of this one, Ichigo.'

'He's not worth fighting.'

For once, I agreed with both of the spirits… it was disconcerting.

"What is your point, captain?" I said slowly. The man felt like… the second before a knife slid into your body, but as a person.

"I'm just sayin' you'd get better results if you did it yourself." He lazily reached over to the hooks on the wall, grabbing the keys hanging on them with a single finger. He twirled them on his index finger idly, tilting his head in my direction. "And with supervision from a captain, ya could probably step out an'... stretch yer legs."

'Ignore him, king.'

"But," a single flick of his finger and the keys were hidden in a clenched fist. "I could get in trouble for that, so what can you do for me, Ichigo Kurosaki? Besides hiding a substitute soul reaper, of course."

I did not like him. His voice was like bubbling poison, and even the threads attached to him painted a bad picture. Most were wrapped around his fingers, with none at his chest. Several were attached to his neck, though all of them writhed and contorted.

If I were in my school I would have been able to figure out what all these threads meant within a day by observing connections that I already understood. Sadly I was trapped here, only occasionally glimpsing threads on strangers. They meant nothing to me but some theories. The most I could guess right now was that threads on the arms were subordinates, and threads at the chest were closer allies. Threads occasionally appeared and disappeared, so I assumed there was a range limit… I needed to get a handle on this.

"What's your name?" I asked. The man's smile deepened… well, he tilted his head, and suddenly it seemed wilder. It felt almost appropriate that I briefly thought his jaw would unhinge.

"Just call me Gin."

---

Captain Gin offers you a way to go out and search for your friends without burning too many bridges among the people you are trying to convince of your innocence, but he demands something in return… he leaves what that something is to you. What will you offer him?

[X] Nothing
+ Your distrust of him is immeasurable.
+ You will wait and hope your friends do not encounter anyone too strong for them.

[X] The Infusion book
+ The only physical item you currently have.
+ But it was a gift from Jushiro, and valuable to the Shiba clan.

[X] A favour
+ Ominous stuff.
+ Neither of your inner spirits agree with this idea.

[X] Write-in
+ What could he want?

 

[Armoury]

[X] Nothing

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

"Well, Gin," I spat his name, "I would rather not have your help."

"Oh?" he tilted his head, which was probably meant to be a look of interest from him. It just looked predatory. "Not interested in helping your friends, Ichigo?" he sounded amused… then again, I hadn't heard him sound any different since he arrived here.

"I can only tell they are here, not where they are," Which was probably a security measure put in place by the seireitei at some point, even if it had pros and cons. "Going out there won't accomplish anything, especially with you trying to make mischief."

"Interesting theory, I suppose the offer's off then," Gin put the keys back on the hook. "But here's something for free."

"Nothing you give me will be free," I said, almost in the same instant as the spirits said the same thing. Gin raised an eyebrow.

And the floor shook!

My knees bent as a sudden weight pressed down on me. I forced myself to stay stand, easily holding myself under the strain, and glared at Gin; he was the source of the weight. I could feel it crawling up my spine, and it made me feel sick.

"This is the level of strength your friends will face," Gin said gleefully, and the power vanished. He leaned against the wall, still smiling, and I said nothing. I refused to give him the satisfaction. "I received a message from a hell butterfly, which let me know that your friends crashed in the northern section of my district, and I can guess that as soon as they figure out where this cell is they'll run straight to you. That won't take them long."

"Get to the point." I bit out. He was trying to get me riled up and worried. I couldn't let him talk at his own pace.

"Right, you wouldn't understand the significance of that, would you?" Gin giggled as if he were telling a joke. "Between your friends and you, lies the territory of the single most malicious being in the seireitei. A man whose very existence is only tolerated for the value of his work. If your friends are half as interesting as you, captain Kurotsuchi will have them on an operating table by the end of the night."

Gin left without another word, and the cell seemed too quiet with his absence… I walked over to the window. Something… something about what he said worried me. Even though I knew he was speaking just to worry me. Even though I told myself his words did not matter… my hands were shaking.

'That is because he was not lying,' Cloak said, 'or if he was, he is very good at it.'

So my friends… how bad was it.

'I'm not a fan of the scientist types myself, but it isn't hopeless.'

Do you think my friends could fight against that?

'No. Not a chance. The sort of power that snake showed would be too much for you too,' Pale was straightforward, 'But you don't need to work alone; I can give you enough power to stand a chance. Hold nothing back, give everything to tear him apart, and you might just stand a chance.'

You want me to try and murder him?

'Yes… your choice.'

'You cannot fight power like that yet, Ichigo,' Cloak said, an offer on his lips. 'But trust me; do as I say and I can help you escape with your friends.'

And if I do not want to do as you say?

'If you will not trust me in this than I cannot help you, Ichigo.' Cloak sighed. 'Trust is the only thing we may have between one another.'

I looked out over the nearby buildings and tried to think. I hated these choices, and I had nothing but time to consider it. With or without their help, I needed to wait until this place was calmer to do anything. I'd be chased immediately if I went out before nightfall.

---

If Gin is to be believed your friends are in horrible danger. Your spirits both urge different courses of action. What will you do?

[X] Trust
+ Breaking out will surely just make the situation worse
+ You must trust that they can handle themselves and that the soul reapers are sending the message

[X] Devour and Tear
+ Pale offers strength to let you fight Kurotsuchi
+ He will withdraw it if you hold anything back

[X] Escape to safety
+ Cloak offers to help you escape if you follow his instructions
+ You will need to trust him completely

 

[Armoury]

[X] Trust

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

"Hmmm…" Tatsuki held up the piece of paper to the light, turned it around. No; even upside down, she could not make heads or tails of it.

"Seriously?" Ganju scoffed behind her, and she forced down a tiny bit of annoyance. "You had us almost break cover to get that thing and you can't even use it?"

"Our cover was fine!" Tatsuki snapped. "The building was empty, and they'll only realise we broke the lock when they check it." She crossed her arms.

"It's a map, kid, not rocket science," Ganju shook his head in mocking pity. Tatsuki resisted the urge to punch his stupid face. "Do people in the living world seriously not know how to read maps anymore?"

"Alright!" Tatsuki shoved the stupid map into his chest! "I don't recognise anything around here, okay! So you read the stupid thing!" she glared at him as he opened up the map… and turned it the other way around.

"Hmmm…" He scratched his head, before folding it back up and pointing back the way they had just come. "We go that way." He marched off.

Tatsuki looked to Orihime and Chad. Orihime shrugged and followed after Ganju. Chad also followed but… well, they had yet to find anyone his size; if he shrugged Tatsuki was legitimately worried his shihakusho would explode from his upper body. It made his every movement look rather stiff.

Fine, they weren't going to even try to defend her, just because they had yet to walk in anything other than a circle. She could defend herself verbally too!

"So what makes this direction better?" She asked the smug noble. "You've never been here and that map doesn't have street names."

"Well," Oh no, he was being sarcastic, Tatsuki wished she hadn't started anything. "The first division is near Sokyoku Hill."

"A-and... how do you know where that is?" Tatsuki bit her lip at the stutter. Stuttering never helped arguments.

"Shape." Ganju pointed into the distance, where Tatsuki could just barely make out a giant rock… She forgot about the argument entirely.

"How is it holding that shape?" she wondered. It had an enormous overhang, which should have broken apart long ago.

"It looks like an anvil." Orihime pointed out… Tatsuki tilted her head a little… yes, she supposed she could see that.

"I'll ask about it."

'I am not a tour guide, Regent.' A rough voice filled her head, the tengu apparently decided to interrupt before she could ask anything.

"But you are meant to help, correct?" Tatsuki muttered under her breath. She suspected that the tengu was not required to answer her questions, yet she had not failed to at least try so far.

'My task as your patron will always be to guide you to our mutual growth.' The tengu made a crooning sound which Tatsuki assumed was a sign of annoyance. 'It is a relationship at once more intimate than family, yet more formal than business. And it is a perversion of that relationship for you to treat me like a common book.'

"So will you answer the question?"

…

'The sokyoku is part of a bedtime story, said to be the greatest creation of Kikōō, the forge king. The light of his forge was said to breathe life into his works, from the mighty sword to the humble plough, all his work was unparalleled.' The tengu finally relented. 'When soul reapers settled here they most likely named the mountain for its shape. They were never a creative sort.'

"You have a real problem with soul reapers," Tatsuki remarked. "I've never heard you pass an opportunity to insult them." It was almost insulting, given her previous occupation.

'The soul reapers are a bastardization of the sacred traditions of regency,' the tengu spat, as if the words were poison on her tongue. 'What was once a noble ritual of unity between spirits was turned into a mass-produced show of isolationism in humans. They drove my ancestors from the land of the dead, forced them to live in the harsh environs of the living world for the last millennia.'

"Yeah, but they also maintained the balance between worlds." Tatsuki pointed out. "And they've probably changed since then, right?"

…

'You have another set of prying eyes to adjust.' The tengu pointed out, ending the conversation. Tatsuki looked up and saw a man wandering towards them. She strode forward to meet him; this would be her third covert conversation with another soul reaper since they arrived here. Hopefully, it would end more like the second than the first.

"What are you doing alone out here?!" she shouted. The lesson learned from attempt number two was that people were less curious about their motley crew when they were being accused of breaking rules.

"I-... What the hell do you mean by that?!" Tatsuki let herself relax at least a little; he wasn't asking about Chad and his incredibly ill-fitting outfit, which meant she had cleared huddle one.

"I mean that with Kimon around you can't afford to be alone," She crossed her arms condescendingly. Months of experience with Rukia gave her an excellent example to follow when trying to look down on someone taller than her. "What if you get caught?"

"'I get caught?'" He pointed to himself disbelievingly. "What about you? Most of you don't even have your zanpakuto!"

"We just prefer Hakuda, thank you." She sneered… admittedly, she was acting up some self-entitlement, but it was better than admitting they did not have zanpakuto. The man raised an eyebrow, before huffing in anger and stalking away. Tatsuki smirked, the sound of his footsteps growing further away was music to her ears.

Clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp, click.

Wait, 'click'?

'A trap, fool!'

Tatsuki's eyes widened as she saw the alley surrounding the man unfold. Dozens of tiny nozzles pushed out, and the man looked… confused. Scared. Tatsuki did not have time to think, she grit her teeth as she forced her reishi to jolt into motion. There was no build-up, one moment the alley was quiet, and then it was filled with the sound of roaring wind and her shouting in pain.

In that wind, she saw streams of green blasting from the wall, flowing and swirling, but pushed to the end of the alley, far from them. Wherever they touched, the stone walls hissed and bubbled.

'Idiot, you aren't ready for this!' The tengu shouted. She was right; Tatsuki could feel herself burning up from the strain of having simply created that wind without any time, but she could not stop. She could see the streams of vapour wavering, but they would last too long.

"Move, Idiot!" She shouted at the dumbass soul reaper, who was staring in stunned confusion at the acidic streams. He jolted at her voice and ran behind her, Tatsuki finally lessened the push of reishi through her body, from a gale to a light wind to keep the gas from spreading out to them. The soul reaper looked nervously between them.

"Y-You're the-"

"Ryoka! Thank you for visiting the twelfth division! My name is Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi." A voice crackled into existence, gleeful and excited. "I'm so sorry I was not able to greet you personally, but I have been quite busy for the last week with your friend Geridis' inventions."

"What is your problem?!" Tatsuki shouted out. She held up a hand at the others, keeping them from getting closer; no sense grouping up for another trap. "You nearly killed one of your people!"

"That waste of space? I assure you he deserved it," his voice seemed confused; as if the question itself was foreign to him. Why did his heart beat? Where was the person who mattered the least to him? Why did he endanger the life of that soul reaper "He set off one of the traps I set up for specimens such as yourself."

Tatsuki heard a grinding sound echo through the ground, shaking her bones. She grabbed the collar of the soul reaper and leapt to the side. A massive block slammed into the ground where she once stood. She felt the reverberations from the impact even as she landed, only to curse: it cut her off from the others! She could hear sounds on the other side of the door; trap after trap assailing her friends. She leapt above the wall!

"Tut-tut," Tatsuki slammed back to the ground. She rubbed her head and looked up… she could not see what stopped her. "I'm sure you wish to meet your friends again, but do not worry." Smaller grinding sounds rang out behind Tatsuki as one brick after another flipped, revealing a yellow underside. It was a dotted line. "If you would all follow the path laid out for you, you will find yourself reunited at lab 6, where an assistant will anesthetise you and prepare you for experimentation. I will arrive to begin proceedings at nightfall."

The air rumbled, and Tatsuki saw a flash of red and orange in the distance.

"The thirteenth division should really know better than to intrude on my borders during a crisis," Kurotsuchi said mockingly. "Do be careful to keep to the designated pathways, specimens." There was a crackle as the speaker cut off, leaving Tatsuki alone.

"Surrender, Ryoka!"

Almost alone.

The soul reaper was standing once more, sword drawn and pointed at Tatsuki… he was not a concern, as long as she did not ignore him.

"You think this is the time to fight me?" She asked. The soul reaper hesitated, sword lowering. She turned back to the wall, trying to examine it… it was too strong for her to destroy, and almost definitely too much for Orihime. Maybe Chad could do it? She did not see how thick it was, but she had seen chad destroy that fist statue.

Then again, if Chad destroyed the wall the rubble could seriously injure her, and the time it would take would give that Kurotsuchi guy time to surround them.

"Oi, Soul Reaper," She turned to the man, looking him up and down. "Do you have any ideas that might end with both of us getting out of here alive?"

The growing look of dread on his face was not reassuring.

---

Welcome to enemy territory; the landscape is rigged against you and the enemy has good reason to be confident. What will you do, now that you are separated?

[X] Wait
+ Chad will eventually be able to destroy the wall
+ You can plan once you regroup
+ Hopefully Chad has the same plan

[X] Continue ahead
+ The man said they would all be lead to lab 6
+ Once you are all back together you can work together to fight your way out

[X] Change perspective
+ Leave Tatsuki for now and swap to another perspective among the invaders
+ You'll still have to come back to Tatsuki soon, you can just choose to progress a different character through this event first.
+ Options are Orihime, Chad, Ganju, and Uryu

 

[Armoury]

[X] Different path

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

So, a creepy guy on a loudspeaker telling her what to do, a death-trap, some useless guy tagging along to annoy her… Was saving Ichigo really worth this nightmarish parody of high-school? Yes, obviously, but Tatsuki was not ever going to let him hear the end of this.

"Alright," Tatsuki looked the soul reaper up and down; he was not very impressive, but she needed every resource she could get, and if he was close enough to be caught in the traps he'd look for them. "What's your name, soul reaper?"

"My name?" Anger covered his face, and he pointed his sword at her. "My name is to be given to an honourable fighter, not some coward Ryoka impersonating a soul reaper!"

Tatsuki sighed. Rubbing the bridge of her nose in soothing circles. He was just being contrary now, but if it was a fight he wanted...

"Alright." She punched him in the face. He staggered back, sword clattering to the ground, and yelping in pain. "Now we've fought, honour and valour and whatever you care about, tell me your name."

He did not answer, still moaning in pain and hunched over… Apparently, Tatsuki had overestimated his durability. She patted him on the back.

"What was that for?!" He groaned out.

"You know what it was for," Tatsuki said gently, rubbing soothing circles… this was so much more awkward than when she had to do it in the karate club. "Just tell me your name."

"Makizo Aramaki," He straightened up, face bruised, but strength returning. "I'm a member of the eleventh division."

"Good, good," Tatsuki nodded guiding him down the alleyway. She did not want to stay in one place for too long around here. "Do you know your way around here?"

"Kind of," Aramaki prodded his cheek and winced. "The twelfth division tends to be one of the more heavily renovated, but I can mostly get around."

"Perfect, that means we have a mutual interest," Tatsuki stopped as they came to an intersection; in one direction, a set of yellow tiles, in another direction the looming shape of Sokyoku hill. The final exit went nowhere she was interested in. "You probably don't want to be here for very long, and I want to get over there." She pointed towards the hill.

"Sokyoku hill? How would that…" Aramaki looked at the hill, before looking at the ground, and seeing the lack of yellow tiles. "Wait, that way's a deathtrap!"

"And that is where you come in, Aramaki," Tatsuki reached down, feeling around at the floor tiles… there! "If you help me, we might both be able to make it out of here." She pulled up, and the grout around the tile cracked as she hefted it. She tested the weight, before throwing it gently down the path. It landed with a heavy thunk a few metres away, and Tatsuki paused… no trap yet. She reached down for another tile.

"Why do you still want to make it there?!" Aramaki shouted, pointing down the final branch of the path. "The shortest way out of squad twelve is there, that takes you right through the squad twelve." Tatsuki paused… before reaching back down for another tile.

"My friends and I are all trying to get there; it's the last meet-up point we have, and going around squad twelve could get me caught." She jumped onto the wreckage of the first tile, before throwing the second, making a second stepping stone. She jumped back immediately, but it seemed that that stone had not landed on a sensor either.

"Going through squad twelve will get you killed." Aramaki pointed out. "How is capture supposed to be anything like that?"

"Because if I'm caught I'll just be another liability," Tatsuki grabbed the third tile. "And I'm not going to let that happen."

"You could just-"

"Forget it, Aramaki," she bit out, finally done with the soul reaper. "You soul reapers arrested one of my best friends because you couldn't even tell he wasn't Kimon Geridis. I'm getting him back, so either help me out or try to leave by yourself." She tossed the third tile, not even bothering to hop along the first few. It soared through the air and shattered on the ground.

Click!

The alley around the tile filled with fire, lighting the world in red and white hues. Tatsuki glared at Aramaki, eyes not so much as flickering toward the fire… at least, not at first. But the fire continued to burn as if it would go forever. Tatsuki pushed gently, a soft wind blowing the heat away from them and further down the alley, and in response, the fire blasted even brighter! Her only consolation was the loosening in her chest as she realised that the fire had been choking her, even from this distance.

After what seemed like an eternity; at least a few minutes, the fire finally began to sputter and die. Tatsuki looked down the alleyway, where shimmers of heat rose from the ground along the entire length before the next turn. She pushed some more wind down the alley, forcibly cooling it, and grabbed another tile.

"What are you incompetents talking about, I just finished talki- oh!" The voice of Kurotsuchi returned, curiosity gleaming in his staticky tone. "One of the lab rats is trying to run through my maze? How intriguing."

"Hey, Doctor Disembodied, you wanna come out here instead of hiding in your lab coat?" Tatsuki yelled.

"Captain's coat, little woman," Tatsuki heard a flicker of annoyance in his tone… was he proud of that coat? "But we can play this game; I can analyse you and Kimon's technology at the same time. So go ahead, run the maze, I'll even put out a bowl of cheese at the end for you."

"Ryoka…" Aramaki took a step back, face twisting in fear. "Just go along the path; this is a captain." Tatsuki grit her teeth, turning inward toward her friend, looking for a solution.

'I am not your friend, Regent,' The tengu answered her call once more. 'But if you are willing to pay the price and able to work quickly, I may have a solution.'

Tatsuki grinned, she could work with that, anything would be enough.

'Our bond is almost settled, and you will soon freely feel the full weight of our contract,' the tengu sounded nervous, a foreign emotion from her. 'But, though it may hurt you, we two may be able to access that fully realised bond now'

And the catch?

'Your time would be limited, your body damaged, your life possibly even endangered, but you would fly, hopefully for long enough to escape this place.'

---

The tengu offers a solution in your bond, all the while, Mayuri observes, taking notes for his research.

Of course, other options do exist. It would take time, but you may be able to navigate this maze without help from your spirit, or perhaps you could, having seen the traps, try to leave and go around squad twelve despite the time loss, or a combination of ideas. Write-ins are welcome, and if you want to ditch Aramaki, then include that as a write-in, because he's sticking around by default.

[X] Shake hands and fly
-[X] Write-in the direction
+ gives Tatsuki early access to the Tengu's wing skill
+ Could be used to quickly skip most, if not all, of the twelfth division maze, or perhaps to leave the twelfth division entirely

[X] Not yet
-[X] Write-in the direction
+ Do not pull that card out just yet, instead travel normally
+ This takes time and exposes you more heavily to the traps, but if you can properly deal with those traps you will be less injured

[X] Write-in

 

[Armoury]

[X] Not yet
-[X] Towards Sokyoku Hill

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Tempting… but Tatsuki suspected she might need that trump card later. Tatsuki pushed out her reishi, soaking it into the atmosphere around her.

"I'm going to Sokyoku Hill," she said to Aramaki. "I'm meeting my friends there. You can either come with me or take your chances by yourself." Aramaki looked between her and the path out of squad twelve. He slumped as if time itself was setting into his bones, and aging them before her eyes.

"How close to you is the safest distance?" he finally asked, voice consistent with what Tatsuki thought she'd hear from someone right outside a room with an electric chair, a single phone, and a wet sponge.

"A few steps back, probably," Tatsuki began to move her reishi, feeling as the wind picked up around her. Her reishi had been sluggish ever since her contract was formed, but it could build up to amazing heights. "Try to keep to the eye of the storm."

She spun on her heel -the fire-swept hallway was finally cool enough not to burn her- and started walking. She could feel Aramaki hopping to keep near her. As soon as she stepped closer her forehead broke out in a sweat; the heat was still enough to get to her, but she refused to give that Kurotsuchi any more time than she already did by choosing to walk.

The winds were finally strong enough, swirling around in the large alley, and Tatsuki pushed them downward. The tiles on the floor did not move, so she continued, always applying pressure, always watching for a sign of danger.

That sign came just a few minutes later when Tatsuki saw a single tile rock in the wind… She stomped the ground in, breaking the tile beneath her foot, and grabbed a single piece of it. She threw it lightly, letting it catch in the wind around her, where she guided it around herself, swinging back and forth, before bringing it down hard. It smashed into the loose tile, and Tatsuki heard a series of pht's fill the air.

Tiny spots shot around in her vortex, clanging and pinging from the walls. Tatsuki focussed on one, and it swirled closer until it fell harmlessly to the ground; a single thin metal needle, gleaming and wet. Tatsuki assumed it was covered in some kind of sedative… She tossed it up as hard as she could, watching it fly.

At roof-height it bounced back down, repelled by the same invisible barrier Tatsuki had hit when she tried to jump to her friends. She considered trying to break it, before dismissing the idea; even weakened, Rukia could conjure up a powerful barrier, if this captain was better than Rukia, then Tatsuki did not want to risk wasting energy breaking through. The needle fell back into her twister, joining the others in a fast dance around her.

She continued, trap after trap to see and stop. Most were activated by the storm filled with metal projectiles around her, she leapt over the pit traps, she jammed the electric floor with the needles, she questioned the sanity of a man who installed a lava-pool as a trap in his compound, and with Aramaki's advice, she navigated through the compound. Still, she moved ever onward, unwilling to be stopped by one insane man and his district of death.

What slowed her down most of all was a dead end.

"This should be an open street, right out of this place..." Aramaki muttered. Tatsuki walked up to the wall, placing a hand on it. The tiles around it were clean, with no signs of wear from people walking.

"This is new." As soon as she spoke, her feet vibrated from an earth trembling thud! Just like what she felt when she was separated from her friends.

"It's a trap!" Aramaki shouted, drawing his sword. Tatsuki grit her teeth and held up her hands, ready for whatever came for her… She did not hear or see anything… except a sweet scent.

"Damn it!" She bent her storm, pushing the wind in the hallway as far back as it could go, and almost immediately felt her head clear. "Gas!"

"But we're sealed in!" Aramaki shouted. Tatsuki growled; he was right. No way out, and even she could only keep the gas away for so long. Every exit was blocked off.

'There is no way but forward.' The tengu remarked, Tatsuki nodded… But what could she do?

Unless…

She stole some of the wind that held back the gas, wrapping it around her arm. One deep breath in... hold for four… One deep breath out… She needed to be calm and focused; she filled the wind with reishi, forcing it to move harder, faster, rougher, in a tighter area.

She pressed her fist against the wall, drilling wind pressing to the solid stone. Tatsuki could see the stone beginning to crumble; chips and flakes wearing away as her wind did the work of decades in moments… but it was not enough. She would run out of reishi before she made any meaningful progress.

'Unless you had something within the wind to break the wall…'

That might work, but Tatsuki had used those meddle needles to jam the electric floor. She didn't have anything left!

'Then make something!' a patch of feathers sprouted on the back of Tatsuki's palm… She stared; could they be strong enough.

The tengu was silent.

Tatsuki grabbed the feathers and pulled, a shout tearing through her throat at the sensation. It was like being skinned and set on fire all at once, but she had something. She released the feathers into the wind, pushing them, swirling them, and watching as they bore down on the wall. Through the pain, she could not help but grin as her hand sank into the crumbling stone. She closed her eyes, and another patch appeared on her arm. One deep breath… and pull!

Pull!

PULL!!

Finally, one final push and her hand broke through the wall, her arm sunk almost as deep as her shoulder and covered in blood. Her eyes watered from the pain, but she couldn't stop yet. She pulled, hands and feathers alike tearing the wall apart, making the hole bigger. She noticed a second set of hands joining her, even as the feathery storm cut at Aramaki's arm.

"Hurry up!" she shouted to Aramaki, climbing through. She heard Aramaki behind her and finally relaxed. The storm she had been maintaining for nearly an hour slipped from her exhausted grasp, leaving her feeling like she had run a marathon. She sighed in relief. "How much further?" She asked. She wanted to fall over and never get up again, but she forced herself to move, to get further from the hole in the wall that would soon begin leaking whatever gas Kurotsuchi had decided to use.

"This is border territory now; Kurotsuchi isn't allowed free reign over the buildings, or else squad two finds out and rebuild them," Aramaki smiled. "I'm going to live!"

Tatsuki felt every cell of her body wince… he just had to say it.

She felt someone else approaching, finally close enough for direction to stand out in the seireitei's freaky reikaku interference field. She sighed: whoever this was they had less power than her, but they also hadn't just spent the last hour trodding through a death-trap and were stronger than any other soul reaper she had come across.

And they were between them and Sokyoku Hill.

---

A strong presence approaches, certainly not strong enough to be a captain, but stronger than anyone else you have fought so far. Tatsuki has used a lot of energy getting through the maze but has only sustained superficial damage to her arm. How do you want to approach this?

[X] Stand and Fight
+ Honour, pride, whatever you call it, you will fight
+ Introduce yourself, then battle

[X] Try to Ambush
+ If your control is greater than their Rekaku, you can ambush them
+ If successful, gain the upper hand in combat, but you will not find out who you are fighting until after you attack.

[X] Run
+ You can sense their presence, and even though they are close, you can try to run away.
+ You just need to go around them and flee into second division territory.
+ You will have to ditch Aramaki to have a chance.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Run

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

"Aramaki, do you feel that?" Tatsuki asked. The soul reaper nodded, a wide-eyed look on his face. "Good, run away from it, and stay out of squad twelve."

"What are you gonna do?" Aramaki asked, trying to put on a brave face. Tatsuki couldn't help but notice he was already stepping away from her.

"What do you think?" Tatsuki set her shoulder, bent her legs… and sprinted in the opposite direction. "Exactly the same thing, blockhead!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Deep breaths, straight back, she needed to keep to proper form, or else she'd exhaust herself, and she had already lost so much of her power navigating those traps. She could not sense how far away her pursuer was, just the direction and that they were getting closer. She needed to try and get around whoever was chasing her, without being pushed back into squad twelve, despite not being entirely sure where the border was. In a way it was vindicating, to know that little eight-year-old Tatsuki was right when she claimed tag was training for her epic chase scene.

Her mind was beginning to race almost as fast as her feet; she needed a plan. Even if she got to sokyoku hill her pursuer could still follow her if she did not put enough distance between them. If that happened she wouldn't be able to wait for her friends and would need to charge to Ichigo with an enemy at her back. The plan, fortunately, was simple enough; break Ichigo out, and then improvise based on whatever new thing he could do after being left unsupervised for a week.

She started to curve around, slowly moving towards sokyoku hill. She could still sense her pursuer, but she needed to start doing this now, or risk veering into squad twelve, at which point there would be no outrunning anyone. If she was moving at this speed, and her opponent was changing direction… then she could probably figure out how far away they were if she had a calculator.

Tatsuki stopped, jumping back as a black blur slammed into the ground… the signature she could sense in the distance faded away; a diversion. She pushed some wind toward the dust cloud, blowing it away. If this person could create diversions then Tatsuki could only trust her own eyes.

The obscuring dust cleared, finally revealing… Tatsuki paused. Who looked at the modest design of the soul reaper shihakusho, and decided that it needed a pencil skirt?

"Tatsuki Arisawa; investigative suspect in the Geridis rebellion case," the woman droned, staring at Tatsuki. She lifted her hands, holding them up in an open-handed position. "I have been tasked with your silent capture. Please submit to capture quietly, to minimize damage prior to testing."

"Like hell I'll-" The woman vanished, barely a puff of dust in her wake. "Let you!" Tatsuki felt a hand on her arm, then legs around her torso; an arm-lock! She jumped sideways, ready to slam the woman on her back into the wall.

She hit the wall hard, feeling concrete break from the impact, but she could barely hear it over the deafening pop she felt in her shoulder. She slipped out of the woman's grasp, and the sensation finally caught up; her shoulder screamed in pain, and heer arm hung limply at her side; dislocated in an instant.

No, force the pain down, focus, build up a-

Tatsuki whirled, leg lashing out at seemingly empty space. The woman appeared in her path, and Tatsuki'sl leg buried itself in her ribs. She felt them crack under the blow, and the woman went flying away. Tatsuki's arm flung around with the motion, bringing tears to her eyes. She didn't have the time to reset and sling it.

The woman was on her again, face flat and unresponsive despite Tatsuki certainty that her ribs were broken. She had abandoned whatever fast movement technique she was using; she had realised it was too predictable that quickly? Tatsuki charged in as well.

Tatsuki knocked the woman's wrist away. Tried to bury her knee in the woman's body. Was blocked by the woman's free hand. She leapt away, the knee of her borrowed shihakusho tearing as the woman's fist closed around it. The woman did not pursue, looking between her wrist and the scrap of fabric in her hand.

"That was hakuda," she remarked. Tatsuki scowled; was it that obvious? She had tried to change how she fought, but she could not afford to hold back like this. That woman was trying to take her apart, and if Tatsuki a single move back she was worried she would succeed… Then again, even if hakuda was obvious it was familiar to her; she could afford to split attention when she used it.

The unseeable ball of wind behind her burst into motion, curving around her and driving into the woman's sternum. Tatsuki saw her feet leave the ground for just an instant before the wind did its job and sent her hurtling into the distance.

That sort of distance meant nothing to someone who moved at that speed; it was nowhere near enough to escape. But it was enough time for Tatsuki to grab her limp wrist. She bit down on the shoulder of her shihakusho, held her dislocated arm in front of her, and pulled.

Her arm cracked back into its socket at the same moment that Tatsuki felt her teeth shear through the fabric between them. She spat the black fabric out and shrugged her arm back through its sleeve. Shihakusho were hardly perfect for what she wanted, but the overlapping fabric at the front could be used as a makeshift sling.

Down one arm, and the woman was already back in sight, flickering closer and closer. Tatsuki grit her teeth. She could handle her up close, she was sure of it, but every surprise the woman pulled out had a chance of getting her, and she was already down an arm.

---

The woman is upon Tatsuki once more, combining devastating grappling with formidable speed, but Tatsuki feels confident she can hold her own, even down an arm and exhausted by the maze. Still, there are certainly some moves that could change the fight in her favour. Can you think of a battle plan?

[X] Gale style
+ Start using the new style to it's fullest
+ requires more focus to start with, putting you at a disadvantage, but once you can build up the wind it gives a huge advantage.

[X] Tropical event
+ Keep your distance, avoiding a direct engagement while you build up a proper storm around you
+ This will take time, but once it is done you will be at the peak of your power

[X] All-Out Offensive
+ Take the woman apart with your bare hands.
+ Has you at your strongest a the beginning, but does not allow you to escalate as well

[X] Fly
+ That barrier is gone… take the Tengu's offer and simply fly away.
+ Expect injuries as a side-effect, but the woman does not appear able to fly

[X] Write-in
+ Go nuts if you want.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Tropical event

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Tatsuki cursed under her breath; she had finally found someone to trade punches with, and she was caught off-guard enough to get her shoulder popped. She was sure she could win if she could use her arm, but she couldn't do that, which meant she had to fight like a regent.

She pushed, letting her reishi fill the air and agitate it. The tengu had claimed she would grow more powerful in harsher winds, but she had not been able to train anything truly strong near Karakura town. Subtlety was a pain in the ass, and now she was going in blind.

The woman was upon her, hands flashing out in attempt after attempt to grab Tatsuki, and forcing her to backpedal to avoid that grasp. If she was caught she could lose her other arm, or maybe even a leg… but she was being pushed back towards squad twelve! There! The woman was good, but not perfect; her moves had a fluctuating pattern, with another gap coming right… Now!

Tatsuki lashed out, knocking the woman's hand away at the wrist and stepping in close; suicide against a grappler like this, but her feet were rooted, and both her arms knocked away. One twisting motion would have Tatsuki behind her, and then it would not matter how far she was driven back. Except the woman jumped back, not even trying to capitalise on the close distance. She landed just a step away, arms held out wide… She knew what Tatsuki was trying.

Fine, Tatsuki ran at an angle, trying to use the space to get around the woman, and the woman backstepped to keep between her and any possible escape route. Tatsuki bounced from the wall, shooting in the opposite direction while the woman kept on her, but now she was the one losing ground. She had to weaken her defence to cut off escape, and her offence was easier to fight off on the move.

All the while Tatsuki bled reishi into the air. She could feel the woman moving, could feel herself blocking. Her blood pounding in her ears sounded like howling wind. Another attack, Tatsuki could advance again. She stopped bouncing around the walls, almost gently knocking away the woman's attacks before stepping in and forcing her back. Knock step knock knock knock step knock knock step grab!

The woman shook, but Tatsuki did not let go, her grip on the woman's wrist was unyielding, despite the unbelievable strength the woman had. Tatsuki's clothes whipped in the wind that held her in place.

"What is your name?" Tatsuki asked, stepping and twisting to avoid the woman's futile attempt to grab her wrist. She almost paused at the question, seeming to consider it; her grabs became less focussed, more casual; almost an afterthought for a brief moment.

"Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi." She finally said. Tatsuki felt her cheeks ache as she smiled. Whatever smile she had right then, she doubted it was nice.

"You're good," Tatsuki admitted, before twisting around, knocking her back into the woman, and pulling. "But I can't stop now!"

Nemu flew off Tatsuki's shoulder, concrete crunching as she hit the ground and bounced back up. Tatsuki finally lost her grip and Nemu landed back on her feet, only for Tatsuki's foot to beat into her stomach. She soared through the air, still landing on her feet, but Tatsuki could see blood on her lips. For the first time since the battle began, Nemu did not rush back in to fight Tatsuki, just barely pausing to mumble to herself. Her voice carried in the wind, no softness could conceal her words from Tatsuki.

"Intact Capture deemed infeasible; specimen damage level moderate authorised." She charged again, finger's stretched in a spear-point. Tatsuki glared; was she using some kind of technique to attack her like that? Normally that would just break someone's fingers… Tatsuki would not take the chance. She grabbed Nemu's wrist once more. "Tedoriru!"

Her wrist twisted, and did not stop. Tatsuki's grip was violently dislodged as Nemu's hand continued; pushing into her stomach and shredding through her Shihakusho. Tatsuki gasped as her stomach was engulfed in pain! She fell to her knees, hand clutching her stomach. Nemu stepped back, bloody hand slowing down, and finally stopping it's whirling motion.

"Comply, Tatsuki Arisawa." She commanded. Tatsuki grit her teeth, forcing herself to her feet as she heard that whirring sound start up again; Nemu was using both two of her hands, and would not hesitate to kill her.

"Screw… you…" She held up her hand, clutching bloody feathers, all torn from her body. That attack could have killed her if they had not stopped it, even with the feathers her skin had been torn up when they were ripped out, and she doubted she could regrow them yet. She crooked her finger, feeling the wind pull around her. "Bring it."

Nemu charged. Tatsuki dodged. Dodge. Punch to the face; something cracked. Dodge. Knee to the hip; something crushed. Dodge. Dodge again. Punch in the chest; ribs broke. Dodge. Liver punch. Dodge. Grab arm, twist until something breaks. Leg sweep. Stomp on her opposite shoulder; the concrete beneath her broke, and her collarbone probably did too.

Tatsuki leapt back, panting heavily. She looked down at Nemu's mangled form… what the hell did she just do? The woman was a mess; blood covered her face, her breathing was wet, and her arms rested at unnatural angles. Tatsuki sunk to her knees, feeling something in the back of her throat.

She threw up… her hand was shaking, and covered in blood. So much of it probably was not hers anymore.

"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "I don't know why I… I…"

'You fought like a true tengu.' Tatsuki shook her head; she did not want to hear that!

Rubble shifted. Tatsuki could only stare wide-eyed as Nemu stood back up. She seemed unbothered by her injuries, but Tatsuki could see that they were not healing. Did she even feel pain?

Nemu surged forward; her arms were limp at her side, so she kicked, forcing Tatsuki to fall back to avoid the blow. She stomped down, foot sinking ankle-deep into the ground as Tatsuki leapt back, finally on her feet. Tatsuki was done!

The wind had been at its peak since Tatsuki was on the offensive, and for the first time, she used it for something other than the power it granted her to have around. It surged, crashing down on Nemu like a waterfall that shattered concrete around her as she was pressed harshly into the ground.

Nemu did not get up again…

…

The ground shifted, and Tatsuki shouted in surprise, dashing forward! The floor fell apart, opening into a dark void. Tatsuki heard rocks splashing into water below her, and even standing on the edge of the hole, she could not see the bottom. She looked down.

"Are you alright?" she asked Nemu, who looked between the hole and her. Tatsuki could finally see emotion flickering across her face; confusion.

"Why?" the question was loaded; full of emotions that Tatsuki was glad she did not understand. She set Nemu down.

"Because I didn't come here to kill anyone, you idiot." She flicked the immobile soul reaper on the forehead.

"But you…" She paused. Tatsuki reached for her sleeve, ripping it from her body and making a proper sleeve for her arm. "Reach under my armband," Nemu demanded. Tatsuki paused… before doing so. She pulled out a vial filled with clear liquid.

"What is this?" She asked, shaking the vial around; the liquid was viscous, somewhere between honey and water.

"It is the antidote you may need," Nemu coughed, flecks of blood appearing on her lips. "To save your friends from captain Kurotsuchi, now that the traps have been deactivated. Congratulations on stealing it from me."

"Wait, what?" it was too late; Nemu twitched, moving as much as she could, and fell into the hole in the ground. Tatsuki heard a splash below.

She could still feel the lieutenant's reishi, completely unwavering despite falling into the water with all those broken bones. A part of Tatsuki was tempted to dive in after her… but she doubted the woman would throw herself to her death.

She said that the captain was after her friends?

---

Tatsuki has defeated Nemu Kurotsuchi and acquired a vial of antidote. Nemu claimed that her friends were facing captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi and that the traps were taken down. How do you want to approach?

[X] Full speed
+ You will leave behind a large part of the gale you have created behind and will start with less wind to boost you

[X] Gale speed
+ You will take slightly longer to arrive but will arrive at full power

Additionally, while Tatsuki is travelling, whose perspective would you like to use to see the situation beforehand?

[X] Orihime

[X] Chad

 

[Armoury]

[X] Gale speed

[X] Chad

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Chad tried to reach her, but it was too late; the massive wall slammed into the ground, taking her away… and if she had been separated then he needed to focus on making sure the others weren't! He heard the sound of more grinding stones and saw the walls shifting all down the road.

He ran back to Inoue and Shiba, grabbing both by the coat of their shihakusho, and sprinted. Rukia had tried to explain a long time ago that if he improved his reikaku he would be able to turn or understand when to stop while he ran at full-speed. For now, he could not do that, and everything seemed like a chaotic blur of sight and sound, but he only needed to run in a straight line anyway. Over the sound of wind in his ears, he heard stone crash onto stone, again, and again, and again!

Something shattered as Chad hit it, driving the wind from his lungs. He wheezed, stepping back to see that he had hit a wall. Fortunately, Inoue and Shiba had hit his back, so they were relatively unhurt and aside from a bit of blood on his face, he was sure he would manage.

He looked back, and saw the last moment of dozens of stone blocks falling into place; an entire path replaced by wall after wall after wall until they bore more resemblance to a feature of the landscape than a barrier. While Inoue and Shiba got to their feet he staggered over to the nearest one. His breathe was finally evening out, which was enough for him. He heard a click sound, followed by an explosion!

Chad grunted as a weight slammed into his side. Tiles shattered as the heavy metal ball fell onto them… That was going to bruise.

"Tut-tut, I'm sure you wish to meet your friends again, but do not worry." The gleeful voice on the speaker system called out. Chad noticed some of the tiles flip over behind him, revealing a line of yellow squares. "If you would all follow the path laid out for you, you will find yourself reunited at lab 6, where an assistant will anesthetise you and prepare you for experimentation. I will arrive to begin-" Chad punched the wall, crushing the hidden speaker; Inoue looked worried, and the voice seemed to scare Shiba.

"What a brute," The voice spoke from a different speaker. "I already know the first experiment I'll perform on you; we'll start by gauging your pain threshold, and then I'll-" Chad punched again, crushing the speaker.

"I'll inject a muscular atrophic compound, and gauge how your pain threshold changes as you lose your strength," He finished. "I'll see you tonight." With one final crackle, the speaker turned off.

"Seppa!" Shiba shouted, pointing his palm forward. Chad saw a flicker as something round flew from his hand and struck the ground nearby, on a path away from those yellow lines. Shiba looked at it for a few seconds, before turning to Chad and Inoue. "There was nothing metallic there, so we should be able to stand on that sand without activating a trap." Chad stared at the sand; he had yet to see what Shiba could do, and it was interesting. He looked to the stone wall that blocked the path between Tatsuki and them.

"Can you get through that to Tatsuki?" Inoue had the same thought as him and tugged Shiba to the wall. Chad held up a hand to stop them, gesturing down at the cannonball in the ground; and the risk of traps. "Well, can you?" Ganju looked at the massive barrier.

"Only if there's not much metal in it," he finally said, looking intimidated by the wall. "And there's a lot of walls, so I'm not sure if I have enough reishi to do it."

Chad reached down to grab the metal ball in the ground, before tossing it into the air. It flew normally until it reached roof level with the nearby walls. Chad heard a bang sound, and the cannonball fell back down, shattering more tiles as it landed. So apparently they could not simply jump over.

"How about going through other walls, to get to her rough position?" Chad pointed to the wall to the side; probably far less durable than the enormous block of stones that barred their path. Ganju stiffened… oh, he was not intimidated by the wall. Chad tried not to let a frown cross his face; he had just met Ganju after all.

"Well, maybe… but I think we should get to Sokyoku Hill; Arisawa will probably meet us there, and there's no risk of missing her and getting stuck even deeper in squad twelve." Ganju pulled out the map, unfolding it and glancing at Sokyoku Hill… He held it parallel to the ground at an odd angle and cursed under his breath. "If I had figured out where we were earlier I would have had us go around this place."

"Is this place really that bad?" Inoue asked. "We need to stick to a short trip after all."

"Maybe, but you guys are weird; I doubt anything short of a lieutenant could slow you down, but you've caught that captain's attention," Ganju pointed to a spot on the map, right in one of the thinner sections of squad twelves assigned area. "I've heard a lot about just two captains, and the captain of squad twelve is definitely the worst of the two; nobody knows exactly why his research is allowed, but everyone agrees that you don't want him to do it to you. He'll put a lot more effort into bringing you in than any other squad." He moved his finger in a line out towards the border wall of the seireitei. "This route takes us out of squad twelve as quickly as possible; we can go around and meet Tatsuki at Sokyoku hill by the day after tomorrow at the latest." He folded up that map again.

Chad looked to Inoue… she looked worried.

---

Trapped in squad twelve, what is your approach?

[X] Out and around
+ The safest route, and only about a day's delay to travel
+ Gets you the hell out of squad twelve

[X] Straight-through
+ The same route you voted for Tatsuki, though you do not know that
+ More time in squad twelve, less time to reach sokyoku

[X] To Tatsuki
+ Use Ganju's Seppa to go in a line to where you think Tatsuki is
+ If you miss you will be deeper in squad twelve with Ganju having less energy for Seppa

[X] Raw force
+ See if Chad can destroy the barrier at the roof
+ Then you can all travel over the top of the traps

 

[Armoury]

[X] Raw force

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Chad put a hand on Inoue's shoulder, and the shorter girl looked up at him. He could not tell why she looked worried, but not for lack of insight; this entire situation was worrying. She could be worried for Tatsuki, Ichigo, herself, or any combination, just like he was. He knew he could not let her get too worried though; her worry was important, and it would help her look for solutions. This was the first time Chad had ever had to worry about keeping someone from not feeling bad, but Inoue tended to evoke new experiences like that.

"We'll go to Tatsuki," he said as reassuringly as he could. Shiba could debate the best path forward, he could look at how to conserve strength, or how to save time or avoid risk, but that was all secondary to Chad.

He closed his eyes, and let images pass through his head; his Abuelo standing before those men, his coin in the hands of a man under the bridge, his friend in a prison cell nearby, and Inoue worried behind him. His arm grew heavier, yet it felt so light he could almost believe it was not there. His fist clenched, a motion he could barely feel past the black armour that coated his arm, but it resonated much deeper than mere touch.

Ichigo had once said that the name of his first ability came to him in a singular moment of intuition, and that it had become stronger when he acknowledged that it had always had the name he found. It made Ichigo's strength seem… strange, like an ethereal strength that defied understanding, yet sought it anyway. Chad had never felt anything like that; he only had his hands. So he punched.

Energy gathered in the motion, every part of his body feeding the strength of his punch until it finally escaped his hands. A blast of blue light shot upwards, crashing into the barrier that was made to hold them in, and passed right through, flickers of energy fading at the edges as the blast continued, weakened to a mere fraction of its strength. Chad grabbed Shiba and jumped through the opening alongside Inoue.

He had no idea if this was the 'best' way to escape, but Inoue looked relieved, and that was enough.

"What the hell did you just do?!" Shiba cried, staring at the flickering edges of the barrier as they sealed back in. From this angle, and looking at the flickering edges, Chad could see that it was nearly as thick as his arm, rather than the paper-thin block he had assumed when he could not see it.

"I got us out," Chad turned to Inoue and offered his cupped hands; a platform for her to step on. "Do you think you can spot Tatsuki?"

Inoue looked in the direction she assumed Tatsuki before nodding. She shrunk before his eyes, losing weight, and her arms withered until they hung limply by her side. Chad crouched down low enough that his hands nearly brushed the floor, letting her easily place a leg in his grip.

"One…" Inoue took a deep breath, and her other leg withered just like her arms, badly shaking as if merely holding her weight was the limit of its ability. "Two… three!" Chad straightened, using his entire body to push Inoue up as she jumped.

She flew! Chad would have mistaken her for a stone from a catapult, were it not for her shout of excitement as she was sent higher than many buildings. At the peak of her flight, she slowed, suddenly falling at a slower pace… Chad was honestly unsure how she was doing it. Perhaps she was rejecting her mass, or perhaps the effect of gravity if that was something she could do. Her powers were stranger than even Ichigo's. She drifted down like a feather, before suddenly dropping like a stone. Chad stepped forward with his arms out, catching her as gently as he could, and she bounced from his arms. She looked normal again.

"I saw her!" Inoue cried, pointing just slightly off from where Chad could see the end of the blockade that had separated them. "She's already moving, so we need to hurry!"

"Hold on!" Shiba grabbed her shoulder, visibly stumbling to even slow the excited girl down. Chad saw why, as a glowing hole opened in the barrier right beneath where she would have stepped without his interference. "Dodge, Sado!" Chad tried to jump away, but his footing was already gone; he fell through the barrier!

Click! Phut!

Chad grit his teeth as a metal point buried itself in his arm, pulling out the offending object; a small metal sliver. He had fallen right back into a trapped section! He looked up and saw four people standing off against Inoue and Shiba. He could not hear them, but he could see wooden beams held in their hand, one of which was held against the ground. He could feel reishi extending from it to the spot in the barrier he had just fallen through, and he just barely saw the barrier close.

The four soul reapers held up their staves, ready to slam them back into the ground; they were going to try and seal Inoue and Ganju back down here!

---

Having escaped the maze, you are confronted by the four trap coordinators for your sector. They are armed with devices that allow them to open and close holes in the barrier kido, and their intent seems to be to force you all back into the maze. What will you do?

[X] Attack from below
+ your attacks are massively blunted by the barrier, so they are unlikely to kill even the weak soul reapers above you
+ You cannot move, however, lest you risk setting off more traps.
+You will have to trust Ganju and Inoue to avoid falling, as you will not be able to catch them

[X] Escape and defend
+ You can break through the kido barrier and help your allies
+ You can attack the coordinators, but will mainly focus on catching Inoue or Shiba if they fall

[X] Escape and Attack
+ For this choice, you focus first and foremost on taking out the coordinators, hopefully before they can harm you

[X] Escape and run
+ sensing the opening they are about to create is possible, so you may be able to simply run away and try to get to Tatsuki

[X] Write-in
+ You cannot communicate with your team-mates, but assume they can cotton onto a plan if it involves them and is simple enough.

 

[Armoury]

[X] Escape and defend

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Chad took a single breath and punched again. He had broken that barrier once, and he was sure he could do it a dozen more times if he needed to!

The barrier broke once more, this time with less energy escaping as he pulled back on the power in his attack. The first lesson Yoruichi had taught him was to avoid wasting energy, and he could finally put it into practice. He leapt right through the hole in the barrier just as one of the soul reapers slammed their staff into the ground; a line of reishi extended from the staff to the hole, sealing it in an instant, but an instant too late. Chad skipped to the side as another line of reishi shot towards him, trying to open another hole beneath him.

Inoue was already in motion, shrunk down and fast. Chad could feel the pressure from her, as overwhelming and patchwork as he remembered. It irritated him a little that she had to use that power, but it surprised him that it was not enough. The soul reaper she was charging toward opened a hole in the barrier beneath themselves, dropping away from her grip as the fourth sent a line of reishi toward Shiba. Chad grabbed Shiba by the arm, pulling him away as the soul reaper who fell through the barrier jumped back up.

"Do you have anything for this?" Chad asked Ganju, setting him back on the ground. The four had shifted their focus to Inoue, barely sparing the two of them a glance; Chad could escape if they caught him, and as long as he was near Ganju he could keep him from falling. By contrast, Inoue was in their midst, charging from one to the other in a blur that made their motion look sluggish.

Despite that, they were still avoiding her; slight motions were all they needed to slip through the barrier to safety, where they freely repositioned to pop back up and try to knock her down. Inoue could not even chase them down there, or she would risk setting off a trap. The strangest thing was their reactions; they were instant. Chad could not see any gap between Inoue moving and them acting as if they were seeing the world faster than her despite the difference in their power.

"I've got one idea," Ganju said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a single sphere, almost the size of his head. "Kukaku gave me a few Curtain Closers for this. If we can get it down there we can force the soul reapers up here for a few seconds, and they won't be able to avoid Inoue." He gestured to the ground.

"Got it." Chad nodded, reared back, and destroyed a small section of the barrier.

"Fire in the hole!" Ganju shouted, rubbing the fuse of the sphere against the rough material of his armguard and throwing it through the barrier. Chad could feel the raw power coming from the explosive, and so could the soul reapers. Chad saw a look of panic on their faces, the two hidden under the barrier jumping back up, and the two above the barrier running. Inoue was already chasing them down.

One soul reaper slammed his staff into the barrier, and reishi began to shift under Ganju's feet. Chad moved as fast as he could, grabbing the smaller man and jumping away. He felt something shift in Ganju's arm and heard him start to cry out in pain, but moving fast was more important!

BOOM!!

The barrier shook underneath Chad's feet. Visible cracks formed for an instant before vanishing. From the single hole that had been forming beneath Ganju came a torrent of fire. Chad felt sweat break out along his back even as he ran from the pillar!

He saw Inoue from the corner of his eye. The fire beneath lit everything in shades of red and yellow, yet as she snapped one of the soul reaper's staffs in her grip there was a single spark of blue.

Finally, the conflagration ended. Chad could see the ground beneath the barrier; everything was destroyed, the stone had broken apart as easily as the earth beneath it, leaving nothing but a crater. Inoue was already upon another soul reaper, snatching their staff from their hands and breaking it over her knee. Half of them had been disarmed in an instant, and the disarmed pair ran. The remaining two stood firm.

Chad set Ganju down… he had injured his arm when pulling him away, but the singes on his clothing reassured Chad that it was probably worth it. He turned to the remaining two soul reapers.

"Leave." He held up his armoured hand, an open threat. The two looked between each other and him… before slowly lowering their weapons, placing them on the ground. Chad nodded, now they just needed to find Tatsuki again and-

"Gurk!" the two soul reapers hunched over, flesh bulging and reishi spiking; an attack! Chad held up a hand, as he saw Inoue flicker, her presence moving behind him. He pulled back his arm; whatever this was, he would stop it before it could reach either Inoue or Shiba.

He punched!

---

Everything was ringing, a constant noise with no colour to accompany it. Chad could not tell up from down. Slowly his eyes opened… everything was a blur, and difficult to understand. Focus returned slowly, and the ringing in his ears began to fade, but with the return of sensation came pain. Everything burned and ached and throbbed, and he felt rough points digging into his back. What happened?

He could finally hear enough to make out a sound over the ringing. Someone was crying… not just anyone, that was Inoue. He had never heard her cry like this before; sniffling and shuddering. He reached out a hand and groaned, his voice dry and crackling. He needed to find out what was wrong; Arisawa would not let this continue.

"Chad?" Inoue was above him; a distinctly red-headed blob in his vision. "You're alive!" she fell on top of him, driving the breath from his lungs as she hugs him with all her strength. She came away with bloody marks on her shirt and tear tracks on her eyes. He felt her power shift, and her shuddering breaths faded away… damn it. She was not supposed to feel that sad under his watch.

"What... happened?" Chad asked, swallowing to wet his parched throat. "How…"

"It was an explosion," Inoue said gently, putting a hand softly on his shoulder. "You were hurt protecting us." Chad nodded… he managed to stop it.

"Shiba?" he croaked.

"Ganju is alright, just a little shaken. Come on, let's get you on your feet," Inoue put a hand underneath him, before pulling him up. He staggered, legs shaking briefly under his weight before he slowly began to let his weight off of Inoue. He could still move well enough, even if he felt a little weaker.

"Thank the soul king you can stand!" Shiba cried, barely glancing back at him. He stood on a mound of rubble, looking around. He was covered in soot, and a little scraped up, but otherwise fine. Chad held up his thumb, before staggering up the rubble mound.

"Where did the soul reapers…" He looked over Shiba's shoulder… "Go."

It was devastation; two craters in the ground, with the barrier broken and not even beginning to repair itself. Those two craters… were close to where the soul reapers had stood. But that didn't make sense; why would their attack detonate right where they stood?

"Are you alright?" Shiba asked, brow furrowed and concern in his voice. Chad tried to nod, but the motion made the world shake, sending him to his knees. He felt something crawling up his throat as his sluggish mind grasped what had happened to those soul reapers. All four of them. He swallowed as heavily as he could, trying with all his might to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged.

"Do not hold back," a new, high pitched voice said. "We can start dissection much sooner if you empty your stomach right here." Suddenly, Chad could feel the man's presence. Chad froze, paralysed, as the urge to vomit fled in the path of his fear. That man… the one from the speaker. He turned to see the speaker behind all this for the first time.

He wore a white coat of his shihakusho, his sword hanging between his legs, none of which was particularly attention-grabbing in comparison to his face. How hair was invisible, hidden under a strange hat, and his face was coated in black and white paint, leaving not a trace of skin visible beneath it. Even his hands were covered in white paint, Chad noticed, as he reached for his sword.

---

Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi had arrived, in explosive style. Chad was injured defending his allies, but Orihime and Ganju are still in mostly good shape, and the barrier has vanished, leaving no obstacle against fleeing along the rooftop and avoiding traps. How do you want to fight, or flee, your opponent?

[X] Everybody run
+ You need to try and escape, or else you could all be laid out by this monster

[X] Everybody fight
+ You might not be able to escape, so you should fight where you can

[X] Chad fights
+ Even injured, you refuse to let your allies come to harm
+ You will fight alone, to give them time to escape

[X] Orihime fights
+ Orihime knows how badly injured you are, and makes Ganju drag you away
+ She will try to fight Mayuri alone
+ Perspective change included

[X] write-in
+ combinations of fight or flight may be selected, as well as general combat strategies
+ strategies based on meta-knowledge are permitted

 

[Armoury]

[X] Everybody run

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

"Run!" Ganju shouted, tossing a handful of pellets toward the man. Almost before they had even left his hand the man was scrambling up the wall. As the man jumped back they burst! Red smoke spread out to fill the alleyway, tingling painfully on Chad's wounds. He felt a hand dragging him to his feet and obediently stood, jumping painfully to the roof alongside Inoue. The man stayed back, staring so intently Chad could feel his gaze boring into their back.

"So," Ganju panted, running as hard as he could to keep up with Chad and Inoue. He sucked in a deep lungful of air. "What's the plan?" Chad almost stumbled. He told them to run and then started asking them for 'the plan'?

"We need to get out of squad twelve first," Inoue said, coming to the rescue. "Take away the home-field advantage, so we have a chance of losing him. If we get far enough away he can't sense us." Chad nodded; it was their best bet by far. He tried to straighten up to run properly, but his head spun at the motion. He must have been hit by that explosion harder than he thought; even his armour hurt.

"What are our chances against him?" Chad asked Ganju, picking up the smaller boy and tossing him onto his shoulder, not slowed down anymore he and Inoue could run faster.

"Bad," Ganju gasped. "You two are strong, but this is a captain; running is our best chance, and it's still not gre- Inoue!"

A hand wrapped around Inoue's shoulder, before yanking back. Chad turned to see it; a length of cables interspersed with cylinders of flesh. Inoue vanished from its grip, stumbling as she appeared next to Chad again. He really wanted to figure out what she was doing, but not enough to waste his breath asking.

"Was that his hand?!" Ganju screeched.

"Keep an eye out for it," Chad grunted, fingers twitching. He saw a gap in the rood they were running on; a wide hallway. He couldn't risk getting on ground level with the traps. "And hold on!" He leapt!

"On the left!" Ganju shouted. Chad whipped his armoured hand across his body, grabbing the extended appendage on its course for Inoue. Energy gathered in his fist; a punch that he did not intend to let travel far. And then the hand in his grip exploded before he could even do anything! A wave of fire pulsed out from the hand, singing his already burned body.

"It's not his arm anymore," Chad growled, landing heavily on the opposing roof. He winced as his burns flared at the sensation, but pushed himself back to his feet. He could worry about the pain later!

He could see the captain standing at the origin point of the arm, gripping a stump of an arm. He still had a charged attack, and he intended to use it! A wave of blue energy rushed from his hand toward the clown-painted soul reaper, obscuring him from view. The blast wavered, so much weaker than before. He doubted that attack could have broken the barrier as he could before. He had never had the chance to test how injuries affected his attacks, but he had worried it would do this.

"We're nearly at the border!" Ganju shouted, pointing ahead. Chad could see some minor differences in the design of the house, but not anything that stood out. If he were not so desperate to escape this place he could have passed between districts without even knowing. "Just a little more!"

"That's enough!" The captain shouted, flickering into place in front of them… specifically, between them and their escape. Chad scraped to a halt, hearing Inoue do the same beside him. Ganju clambered off of Chad's back, and the captain stared between the three of them… he clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "This has been entertaining, but I will not simply let you leave that easily. I've seen enough in the field, and it's time to find everything I can in my lab."

"Fire in the hole!" Ganju shouted, lobbing a huge sphere at the captain. Chad had just a second to realise what it was; one of the curtain closers he had mentioned. He was about to reach out, to cover Inoue and Ganju, when a flash of silver intercepted the sphere. The reishi building in it froze, and it fell uselessly to the ground with a loud thunk. The captain's sword was held out; drawn so fast Chad had not even seen it move.

"Cease blabbering, Shiba child," The man scolded, lowering his sword slowly. "I've decided that the specimen I am most interested in… is her." He pointed the tip of the sword at Inoue. "I'm so glad you have the most interesting abilities, girl; the screams of a woman on the dissection table are so much more pleasant than that of a man."

"You won't hear anyone scream," Chad said firmly, stepping in front of the other two. He held up his hand… he was shaking?

"Oh, that's right," the captain shook his head. "If you're jealous don't worry, I haven't dissected a walking corpse since the mod soul were discontinued, so you interest me quite a lot."

"Wha-" Chad coughed, collapsing to his knees… his vision blurred, and by the time it cleared his armour was breaking, falling from his hand. It finally revealed the state of his arm beneath it; a swollen mess of bruising and swelling, which twisted painfully under its own weight. The taste of blood rose in his mouth, and he spat out a glob of blood. "What did you…" He gurgled the rest, but the captain merely smiled.

"I see, so that's what you came across; a special poison indeed," He reached into his coat, pulling out a red vial. "This one, to be exact; it causes the reishi in the affected person to swell and contract, breaking organs and bones alike. The stronger someone is the faster they die. I see that you fight by channelling almost all of your reishi into your arm; that alone has likely been keeping you alive until now." Chad tried to speak again, but only managed to cough; clearing his airways for just long enough to breathe.

"When… we've only been talking for a few minutes. No poison could spread that fast." Ganju whispered. The sound made the captain perk up.

"When?" he sneered. "Why, before I even arrived; a simple trap that fired a single needle. I had dozens like it within the area you fought in alone."

Chad coughed, gasping another breath while he could… a single needle. He vaguely remembered that from the fight with the soul reapers, when he had fallen through the barrier.

"The fact he's still alive is amazing in itself; he is an incredibly sturdy individual," the captain grinned. "I'll need to disable you two through the fastest possible method if I wish to preserve his corpse properly." His reiatsu thickened, as he held up his sword.

"Rip; Ashisogijizo!" the blade warped, colour shifting from silver to gold as the guard warped. It wavered and split, until Chad could see three golden points, pointed right at them.

"Inoue," Ganju swallowed loudly, stepping forward. He drew his sword, holding it up even with his vision starting to blur, Chad could see his arm shake. "You're only going to get one chance; I need you to take Sado and run."

"But I-"

"Run!" he shouted, charging forward with his sword held in front of him. The captain grinned, lifting his sword; Chad could already see how it would end, in just one slash. He felt Inoue wrap an arm around him and lift him, but however hard the movement made his head spin, he gave everything to watch. To keep his eyes open and see-

"Idiot!" A tornado crashed into the captain, lifting him from his feet. The remainder of the gale brushed Ganju, sending him flying back into Chad's side. Wind… that meant. "You don't get to go all 'noble sacrifice' on me, you bastard; I won't allow it!"

Tatsuki grabbed Ganju by the front of his shirt, hauling him up to face level.

Good… she was here… Chad closed his eyes… he could rest for just a bit…

"That goes for your ass too, Goliath!" something small and hard was shoved in between Chad's lips. A cold liquid fell into his mouth, and he swallowed… the pain in his body began to subside. What was that?

---

Chad has been given an antidote but is still badly injured and close to passing out, so the perspective will change next chapter. This in itself is somewhat of an open vote for strategy between the remaining three Ryoka, as well as perspective.

[X] Ganju's Gambit
+ Ganju tries to grab the curtain closer and light it again to catch Mayuri
+ True art is an explosion

[X] Tatsuki's Treaty
+ Tatsuki calls out her early wings and carries the group away
+ The tengu retreat

[X] Orihime's Outrage
+ Orihime may be able to grasp the power needed to fight this captain
+ Only one thing will be left

 

[Armoury]

[X] Tatsuki's Treaty

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

"So that's how it is…" Tatsuki felt a sickly shiver run down her spine when Kurotsuchi spoke. Some quality that had been hidden by the crackling of the speakers. "I had assumed you were a specimen, but to think that there were still regents in this day and age." He stepped forward, braced against the wind. He did not move, seemingly ignoring Tatsuki's best efforts, continuing a marching charge towards her. His golden sword was held up; the baby's face on the guard perfectly visible and unsettling.

"What do you even think you're talking about?" Tatsuki grit her teeth, pushing harder, but only succeeding in ruffling the man's clothing… keeping her distance would not work on him. She reversed course, dragging the wind around her, coating her functioning limbs. She tried to call out her feathers, but between the fight with Nemu and breaking through the wall, her dislocated arm and stomach were both uncovered.

"And a tengu no less; soul society has not seen a tengu in almost a thousand years," his grin stretched across his face. He twisted his sword to the side, ready to slash. "A pity I have to break the container to get to it!" Suddenly, he was in front of her, sword rushing for her stomach!

Tatsuki twisted to the side, barely avoiding the blow. She jumped back to avoid the subsequent swing, and he was on her! His movements… they were like Nemu's; less effort was put towards long combinations of movements, and more towards single attacks with the highest chance to land a hit. Each attack flowed from the last only as he gauged the best way to land just one hit.

Which meant she could not afford to take a hit! She lashed out, air rippling from her arm as it smashed into his chest. He shifted back, the ground cracking as his feet passed; he was doing something to stick to the ground so she could not blow him around, she realised.

Tatsuki saw Ganju trying to sneak up at the same time she saw Kurotsuchi notice; far too late to tell him to run. Kurotsuchi whirled, blade flashing out with a wet squelch as it buried itself in Ganju's chest. The Shiba slumped, and Kurotsuchi threw him derisively from his sword. He landed limply on the floor...

"Ganju," Tatsuki stared at the limp body. He wasn't moving, but Tatsuki felt pure relief as she heard him take a shuddering breath. "You should have run!" she shouted; if he was still alive he needed to move!

"It's too late for that," Kurotsuchi laughed, holding up his sword. "My sword, Ashisogi Jizo, has pierced him; he has been afflicted by an advanced neurotoxin. The conscious signals from his brain that cause movement of the limbs are completely blocked."

"You bastard," Ganju growled. Tatsuki grit her teeth, looking around; Chad was unconscious, Ganju was paralysed… Inoue was out of sight.

"Of course, simple paralysis would be far too bland," Kurotsuchi flipped his grip on his sword, driving it into Ganju's leg. Tatsuki could only stare as Ganju screamed. "Pain signals are still permitted, with absolutely no anesthetic properties. It's brilliant!"

'Hold, Regent!'

No!

Tatsuki shot forward, arm raised; she needed to get him away from Ganju!

Her anger cleared an instant later, as Kurotsuchi grabbed the golden lump on the side of his face and pulled out a scythe. In the time it took her to realise it was attached by ligaments, it was soaring towards her. The world slowed; it was just her, the scythe, and not enough time to dodge.

And then a red comet struck the ground.

Orihime's landing threw up dust and crushed the scythe. Tatsuki could feel her moving before the air cleared. Tatsuki stumbled, gasping in relief. She had almost died. Hollows did not usually get that close to killing her. She forced herself to her feet again, finally able to see Orihime. She was locked in a dance-like struggle against Kurotsuchi, and Tatsuki took a step to join her.

'I said wait!' her foot froze… Tatsuki could feel the tengu trying to hold her back, she could even break free, but she let herself be stopped for an instant. Orihime stumbled; an overextension, only for her to flicker away before Kurotsuchi could take advantage of the attack. Kurotsuchi vanished, chasing after her, only for her to reappear back where she was, still stumbling. When did she learn to do that?!

What did the tengu want? She needed to help her friend!

'Your friend is outmatched, and we all know it. Now is the time to run, not fight!'

How could running help though; he was faster than them.

'It is time.' Tatsuki felt a nudge in her back… the wings.

Two bursts of wind were all it took; Chad and Ganju slib to her side and she leaned down. Hefting both two over her shoulders. Do it.

'Grit your teeth.'

Why would she need to- AAAAAGGGHHH!!!!

The nudging in her pack turned into a push as her knees gave out. It felt like her back was on fire, and she could hear something tearing… no, two things tearing. The loudest was the dry tearing sound of her shihakusho ripping, but the second, deeper sound, was something only she could hear; the feeling of skin being ripped apart, accompanied by sound.

She could almost hear adrenaline running in her veins. The pain did not lessen, but she forced herself to her feet as she heard the sound of flapping.

"Orihime," She shouted through clenched teeth and the taste of copper. "We're leaving!"

A new muscle flexed, and her feet left the ground. She felt a weight settle on her back and Orihime vanished from her sight. Kurotsuchi stared at her, his lips moving in a single word, carried to her by the wind.

"Warlord…" His expression changed. Tatsuki felt the motion of his reishi before he moved, and twisted as hard as she could with three people on her. It was not enough, and his sword dug into her shoulder, passing through her feathers as if they did not exist, but he failed to sever her wing. She threw a punch, wind exploding from her arm. Without his connection to the ground, he flew off, his sword ripping from her shoulder in a spray of blood. He had stabbed her.

"Grab them!" she yelled at Orihime, as her arms went limp and her grip on Ganju and Chad loosened. Inoue's hands stopped them, and her wings pumped despite the loss of control of her own body.

She was too high up to reach; Kurotsuchi was little more than a speck on the ground… She flew; this would not last long -she could feel it- and the closer they were to Sokyoku Hill when she lost her wings the less distance Orihime would have to drag them.

The wind blasted at her face, drowning out any sound, but for a subdued voice in her head.

'The price... is paid…'

Her wings twitched, and she grit her teeth, trying to get as close to the ground as possible. This would be a rough landing!

She scraped to a halt on rocks, feeling Orihime fall off of her with Ganu and Chad. She was sure the landing hurt, but everything hurt, so it was… not as bad as she expected.

"Tatsuki!" Orihime shouted, running up to her. "You're bleeding!" she was, wasn't she? There was the stab wound in the shoulder, obviously, but her entire back was soaked in what she could only assume was her own blood.

"Right," her voice felt harsh on her throat, pushing her into a fit of coughing. "Get the outer layer of this shihakusho off, and wrap it around my chest as a bandage." She instructed; fabric was fabric, and Rukia had spent hours drilling into her head the many improvisational uses of a shihakusho. Though she wouldn't have her sling after this.

Orihime nodded, setting down Chad and Ganju to get to work on her… wow, they were all really beaten up, weren't they? Well, except Orihime. She was a little dirty, but not even scratched. Tatsuki felt proud and jealous at the same time… an odd feeling to direct towards someone who was pulling her clothes off.

Good thing neither of the Zuru's were here.

"Tatsuki," Orihime sounded nervous. "What is this mark?"

"My regent sign?" Tatsuki was sure she had shown that to Orihime before; she was really annoyed that she'd need to wear her buttons all the way up to hide it from now on.

"No… on your back." She wrapped the shihakusho around her, tying it in a knot as Tartsuki tiredly mulled over that. "It looks like a talon."

Hey Tengu, what was with the mark?

...

Tengu?

---

The Main Ryoka squad takes refuge near Sokyoku hill, beaten and bloodied but alive.

However, there are two more parties of interest to Ichigo's rescue. Who would you like to see first?

[X] Uryu Ishida
+ Landing in the eleventh district with Yoruichi

[X] Rukia Kuchiki
+ Sneaking in under cover of night

 

[Armoury]

[X] Uryu Ishida

Thanks to Erien for his help on this chapter. We have a mutual beta arrangement, so if you are up for a good time then head over to his page; he has many more stories than me.

---

Freefall was an odd sensation, to be sure. Ishida imagined that to others his age it would be an adrenaline-inducing event the likes of which rarely before faced, but he had faced down a charging Yasutora Sado, so adrenaline had… different heights. Nonetheless, his body was not the same kind of durable as Chad's was, even if he tried to use reishi to blunt impacts, so landing was sure to be a messy prospect if he did not act soon.

A simple reishi flow under his feet was more than enough; inside the barrier that surrounded the seireitei it was arguably difficult to gather up reishi, but the effect was barely noticeable with the sanrei glove helping him. Suddenly he was on the ground, instead of falling from the sky.

"Are you alright?" He asked Yoruichi. The black cat was perched on his head… and not interested in moving. He grabbed the scruff of the cat's neck, feeling claws poke his scalp as he unburdened the small feline from his strained neck.

"Put me down," the cat hissed, which was all the warning Ishida had before three lines of fire inscribed themselves on his face.

Naturally, he dropped the little hell-born fur ball immediately. By the time he was done tending to his scratched face, he could not catch so much as a tail hair from the little black pain.

"This must be my lucky day," an unfamiliar voice crowd from behind him. Uryu narrowed his eyes; he had trouble sensing him, which was a first… reishi signatures felt distorted in this place, like they were hidden in a fog. He'd have to account for that. He tried to look around for Reiraku, but could only see a handful nearby, so presumably, this place cut down his range as well. "Hey! turn around and face the guy who's going to kill you!"

Uryu sighed, finally turning to face… face… what on earth was that man wearing?

Uryu did not particularly care about the bald man; he was simply wearing a uniform. He could not say he liked the uniform, but that was admittedly half due to personal prejudice. Nonetheless, the man wore it as intended. But what was even the point of a uniform is someone was allowed to simply add all that to the top?

He could remember sewing lessons by heart; splashes of colour draw attention. That man -who had decided to grow enough hair to make up for his follically challenged friend- had added colourful feathers to his lashes, presumably to draw attention to his eyes. He also wore a neck… something and an arm warmer, drawing attention to his upper body and forearm. Perhaps he tried to distract from advanced footwork in battle?

"Oi Four Eyes! Stop staring and introduce yourself!" the bald man yelled, jolting Uryu from his clothing inspired trance… he was far too unfocused today. He would fix that.

"Goodbye," he said, turning around; the barrier slightly interfered with reishi manipulation, but not enough to noticeably stop him from activating hirenkyaku and leaving. He did not need to simply fight every thug in this place after all, and he needed time to plan before he proceeded.

"Quite the speedy exit, little Ishida," Yoruichi drawled. Uryu huffed.

"Not fast enough, if you kept up," he started marching… actually, maybe Yoruichi would be helpful. "Since you're the guide, could you tell me where Ichigo is being held before you go to the others?"

"So eager to see me go?" Yoruichi smiled like… well, the simile involved canaries, but Uryu found it a bit overused. "You're alone in enemy territory, young quincy. You really shouldn't try to split up with your allies."

"Then you don't need to worry," Uryu could not help but notice that the damn cat was following him, and still had not given him directions. "Just tell me where to go and find the others. I'll meet you there." He took a step to the side; black fur would look terrible on his white clothing.

"Hmm…" Yoruichi said nothing, pattering along beside him for several minutes… Uryu could hear a commotion nearby, and quickly carried himself a short distance to where he could not sense any presence with Hirenkyaku. Yoruichi was still there, even arriving before him. "I think the kids will be alright." The cat finally said.

"They have no idea how this place works." Uryu pointed out.

"And what do you have, a two-hundred-year-old book?" Yoruichi giggled. A disturbing sound to hear in the deep voice of a middle-aged man. "They are resolute, or at least resolute enough. I think the self-saboteur needs more management than them."

Uryu stopped… did Yoruichi-

"Of course I know, young quincy," the cat glanced back at him. For just a second, Uryu saw a flash of… something dangerous, only for it to disappear too quickly for him to make it out. "Unlike the kids, I'm not stupid enough to miss that you interrupted Ganju intentionally."

"Why would I do that?" Uryu crossed his arms, staring down at the cat. The cat stared back.

"Guilt, I assume," Uryu imagined that the cat would have shrugged nonchalantly if cat shoulders could do that while walking. "Kisuke and I knew it would be an issue before you even approached us, but we believed your strength was worth the risk."

"I have nothing to be guilty for," Uryu scowled. "I just made a mistake, which I am rectifying right now."

"Right, and you were just so awkward and silent around Tatsuki because of your hormones," Yoruichi snorted. "I've seen guilty children before, Uryu; smart, strong, dumb or weak, the first thing you do is clam up, and the second is try to fix things before people realise how horribly you messed up."

…

"Fine," Uryu rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You've got me; congratulations. I don't want Arisawa to find out I shot Kurosaki in the leg. That's self-preservation, nothing more."

"Sure."

"Shut up!" Uryu's face creased into a scowl worthy of Kurosaki himself. "Just tell me how to get to Kurosaki so we can fix this!"

Yoruichi shook her head, tsk-ing at him.

"Uryu, Uryu, Uryu," she skipped ahead, turning to face him. "You'll be nothing but a hindrance if you only focus on fixing the external problems."

She turned around, leading him deeper into soul society without another word. Uryu did not start a conversation either; if there was one thing he had learned, it was that she was not someone to talk to, else she would talk circles around him. He did not need that.

Though he was remarkably curious why a female cat had such a masculine voice.

---

Uryu, accompanied by Yoruichi, begins his trek into soul society. Yoruichi has several destinations to check;

[X] To Sokyoku Hill
+ The giant rock in the centre of soul society
+ Yoruichi claims she can find something helpful here

[X] To the second division
+ Home of intelligence operations in soul society.
+ This is where they'd keep a known dissident

[X] To an empty building complex
+ The sign out the front reads 'Shihoin'
+ Yoruichi claims this is important for the plan, but it seems like it's just slowing them down