367Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait but this will be the last update of the year because I'll be on vacation for the next week and the next chapter is going to take a while. So until then, happy holidays.
"Juha Bach"
"Shiro"
"Aka"
"Ao"
"P.O.V."
'Thought'
"Attacks"
Shikai/Bankai
Chapter 34: Aizen Assassinated! The Darkness which Approaches
{Opening Theme: "D-tecnoLife" by UVERworld}
Izuru, Tetsuzaemon, Shūhei, and Rangiku continue to stare in shock at seeing Aizen pinned to the top of the East Holy Wall with his own Zanpakutō as a horrified Momo begins to approach the corpse.
"You can't be dead. You can't be. You can't." Momo mutters as she sheds tears. "Oh, Captain Aizen! Who did this?" She screams before breaking out into sobs.
"What's all this racket so early in the morning?" A voice behind the lieutenants asks as they turn around to see Gin Ichimaru standing there with his usual sly smirk on his face.
"Oh, that. Yes, it certainly is a tragedy." Gin says nonchalantly which causes Momo to gasp as she remembers Tōshirō's words from yesterday.
[Flashback]
"Listen to me, Momo. Be careful dealing with the 3rd Division." Tōshirō says. "Especially…if you ever see Captain Aizen go out walking alone." He says.
[End Flashback]
As Momo recalls those words, she stares coldly at Gin for several seconds.
"It was you!" Momo yells as tears fall from her eyes.
Gripping her Zanpakutō, Momo rushes toward Gin and slashes at him, only to find Izuru intercepting her at the last second by blocking her strike with his own Zanpakutō, which causes Gin to smile.
"Izuru, stand aside!" Momo begs.
"I can't do that. I'm the lieutenant of the 3rd Division. No matter what reason, I cannot all anyone to raise their sword to my captain." Izuru tells Momo as she continues to struggle in their blade lock.
Gin scoffs and begins to walk away. Upon seeing this, Momo attempts to move around Izuru and resume her attack on him, but Izuru catches her and pushes her back in another blade lock as he shakes his head.
"He's a murderer, Izuru! Let me go!" Momo begs again.
"You know that I cannot." Izuru says.
"Stand aside! I'll kill him!" Momo screams.
"Let him go!" Izuru yells back at her.
"Can't you hear me? I'm telling you to step aside!" Momo yells enraged.
"Can't you hear me? I'm telling you to remember your place!" Izuru yells emphatically.
"Snap, Tobiume (Flying Plum Tree)!" Momo shouts as her Zanpakutō transforms; it's blade straightens, becomes double-edged, and produces multiple jutte-like prongs along its length at various intervals, not unlike a Seven-Branched Sword.
Upon releasing her Shikai, Momo unleashes a fireball and creates a large explosion. This shocks the other lieutenants while Gin continues to walk away. Both Momo and Izuru are pushed back from each other due to the explosion as Izuru glares at her.
"You dare release you Zanpakutō here? How reckless!" Izuru criticizes Momo as she pants heavily. "Have you lost your mind, Momo? You must never confuse public and private matters, Lieutenant!" He tells her.
Momo then charges up Tobiume and unleashes another fireball, which arcs past Izuru into the wall above Gin.
"Very well, then. You leave me no choice. Since you're now a threat, I must eliminate you." Izuru says as he leaps into the air above Hinamori and releases his own Zanpakutō. "Raise your head, Wabisuke (The Wretched One)!" He shouts as his Shikai actives causing the blade loses its curve and straightens, and where a normal katana would end, Wabisuke's blade makes two 90 degree angles, forming three sides of a square, reminiscent of a hook and has its cutting edge on the inside of the angles.
Izuru then comes down on Momo as she assumes a battle stance and glows with red Reiatsu. Just before the two lieutenants could clash, a mysterious third party appears between them causing dust to kick up. A few seconds later, the dust begins to settle to reveal that Tōshirō was the one who stopped them, using his partially unsheathed Zanpakutō to block Izuru's Wabisuke while pinning Tobiume to the ground with his left foot.
"Back away now, both of you." Tōshirō orders them calmly.
"Tōshirō!" Momo says in shock.
"Place these two under arrest!" Tōshirō orders as prompting Rangiku and Tetsuzaemon to restrain Hinamori by the neck and arm as Shūhei pulls back Izuru by his collar and restrains his right arm.
"Wait a minute!" Momo begins to protest.
"Momo! At a time like this you take up arms against you own? Especially, when your first priority should have been to take Captain Aizen's body down from up there." Tōshirō says leaving Momo speechless. "I will report this incident to the Captain-Commander. Get these two out of my sight. Lock them both up." Tōshirō orders.
While the lieutenants take her and Izuru away, Momo looks back at Aizen's corpse and glares defiantly at a grinning Gin, only to look down despondently afterward
"Thank you, 10th Division Captain. Sorry you had to waste your time on one of mine." Gin apologizes.
"You know, Gin, I believe that just now you were about to kill Momo." Tōshirō says as a silence falls between them while the wind blew their haori about.
"Now, whatever could you be talking about?" Gin asks.
"Play innocent if you like, but I'll tell you this, if you allow Momo's blood to be spilled, I promise you I'll kill you." Tōshirō warns the 3rd Division Captain.
"Oh, how scary! But I suggest that you keep an eye on her. You don't want any misfortune to befall her." Gin says to the 10th Division Captain.
"Captain Hitsugaya! Captain Ichimaru! What's happening?" A Shinigami carrying a polearm with two others come running up to them before seeing the 5th Division Captain's corpse. "Oh, no! Captain Aizen, he's-he's dead!" He says.
"But how could this have happened?" The second Shinigami asks.
"Get the captain's body down immediately." Tōshirō orders.
"Yes, sir." The second Shinigami says they approach the East Holy Wall to do so, leaving Hitsugaya to silently walk past Gin.
Meanwhile, in the canal network below the Seireitei, Ganju continues to sleep against a wall. A few seconds later, he begins to wake up and is startled to see Hanatarō sleeping on his leg.
"Hanatarō, you disgusting, little toad, what the hell are you doing sleeping on me? I'm no pillow!" Ganju says before realizing Hanatarō had drooled all over his pant. "And what's worse now, my only pair of pants are all slimy with your drool! I got half a mind to tear your slobbering head off, you worthless, little-" He begins to say but then realizes something. "Hey wait a second, where the hell is Ichigo?" He asks not seeing his cousin anywhere. "Don't tell me he went on ahead. Oh, that's just great." He complains before realizing something else. "Hold on, my body doesn't feel sore anymore and it also looks like the injuries I sustained yesterday are all healed up." He says looking down at the sleeping Hanatarō. "This was your doing wasn't it, kid?" He asks with a smile. "Got to say you are pretty amazing." He says as he sees Hanatarō open his eyes.
"Huh?" Hanatarō asks in confusion before letting out a yelp. "Stop it! Please, get away from me! I don't know what you're doing, but you have no right to come onto me like that. Besides, I'm not that kind of squad member, so stop it! I-" He begins to say before realizing Ganju was staring at him with a creeped out look on his face. "Oh. Good morning, Ganju." He says bowing his head.
"Hanatarō, what the hell were you just dreaming about?" Ganju asks as Hanatarō chuckles nervously.
"Oh, you wouldn't want to know." Hanatarō says.
"Okay…by the way do you know where Ichigo is?" Ganju asks.
"Oh, yes. He left a few hours ago saying he had to go meet up with Captain-Commander." Hanatarō says.
"I thought so." Ganju says.
"He wanted me to continue to guide you to Miss Rukia and to remind you that after you've confronted her to surrender yourself without resistance." Hanatarō says.
"Hmm." Ganju says taking in what he was just told. "All right, well enough wasting time. We move out in one hour, so get your barring's together so we aren't delayed." He says.
"Right." Hanatarō agrees.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Senzaikyū, Ichigo awakens from his power nap and senses that no one is nearby.
"All right, time to move out." Ichigo says to himself as he leaves to storage room he was hiding in and makes his way towards the 1st Division barracks.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the steps leading to the 1st Division barracks, Kenpachi Zaraki was sitting there waiting patiently for Ichigo to arrive as the bells in his hair jingle in the wind.
[Flashback]
Chad stands over a downed Ichigo who was bleeding from his forehead looking up at the over six foot tall teenager.
"You're Chad?" Ichigo says reading the name tag on Chad's school uniform.
"That's close. It's Sado." Chad corrects the hybrid.
"Is it just me, or are you freaking huge? That's our uniform, but I've never seen you before." Ichigo says. 'Plus, there's something strange about his Reiryoku.' He thought.
"I was supposed to start classes at Mashiba Junior High School today, in room 2F." Chad says.
"You're a junior? You mean you're in the same grade that I'm in? That is so bizarre." Ichigo says and lets out a groan in pain. "I still don't get why you didn't hit them back." He says getting back to his feet. "But what the hell, I guess you must have your reasons, so thanks for helping me out." He says wobbling a little.
"Wait. Are you sure you should be standing up?" Chad asks.
"Yeah, sure, why not? I feel all right." Ichigo assures.
"Well, you don't look so good. You took a pretty serious beating back there." Chad notes.
"Eh, I've had worse." Ichigo comments. 'Especially when I piss off Yoruichi for slacking off in training.' He thought. "If they didn't have rocks and bats I would have kicked their asses." He says dusting himself off as Chad looked at the downed students.
"These guys are serious. What did you do to make them so angry at you?" Chad asks.
"Nothing I know of. The seniors have had it in for me from the start, just because they don't like my hair. Apparently, they don't like anybody who stands out. They're totally close-minded that way. You know. I'm sure you get it too." Ichigo says making Chad gasp in shock. "As big you are, I bet there are always people wanting to fight you just to prove themselves. Come on, Chad, let's get a move on." He says grabbing his school bag.
"Call me Sado." Chad says as follows after Ichigo. "You're obviously still a little wobbly." He says.
"And you obviously don't like being called Chad. Why not, though? I think it sounds cool. Like the country." Ichigo says.
"Never heard of it. Where is it?" Chad asks.
"It's in Central Africa! Then how about Hanging Chad?" Ichigo asks.
"Never heard of him, either, but I have heard of Horatio Chadstein." Chad says.
"Yeah? Who's he? Sounds like some dead writer." Ichigo says as they exit the alley way.
[End Flashback]
At that moment, Chad opens his eyes and sits up on top of a stack of boxes and looks around as he realizes he is in a warehouse.
'Hm. It was a dream. I'm lying here, dreaming of the past, like some old man on his porch swing. Well anyway, I managed to place all the seal stickers Kisuke gave me around the Seireitei yesterday, so that means I can try and catch up with the others or head towards Rukia's location.' Chad thought before the sound shouting drew his attention to the locked warehouse door. 'Good thing I woke up when I did.' He thought holding out his right arm as he began transforming it. 'If I'd still been sleeping when that knock came, this could have turned into a really bad day.' He thought as the doors burst open.
Back in the canal network below the Seireitei, Ganju has a puzzled look on his face as he stares at a pill that has a skull on it.
"Hanatarō, just what the hell is that thing?" Ganju asks.
"It's a super nutrition tablet for reviving and energizing 4th Division member whenever they're exhausted but still have a lot of work to do. Every member of the 4th Division is required to carry a supply of these, in case of emergency fatigue." Hanatarō explains what the pill is and its usage.
"Does it really work? Because it has a picture of a skull on it. Are you sure someone didn't give you poison instead?" Ganju asks with a sweat drop.
"You just swallow the pill whole and then…" Hanatarō says as he swallows the pill, and after a few seconds nothing seems to happen.
"Mm? Mm?" Ganju questions as he looks at Hanatarō.
"There. I'm energized. I guess we'd better get going." Hanatarō says as he gets to his feet.
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you talking about?" Ganju asks loudly.
"What's the matter, guys?" Hanatarō asks with his face not having a look full of energy.
"That stupid pill didn't have any effect on you at all! You still look like you did before!" Ganju shouts.
"No, no, just look at my face. You see how full of energy and life and vitality it is now?" Hanatarō asks despite nothing having changed.
"I stand by my previous statements. You did get yourself cheated in a big way, little friend." Ganju says as the two make their way out of the canal system.
Soon afterward, Ganju and Hanatarō emerge from the same canal network entrance outside Senzaikyū that they used the previous day.
"Good. There's nobody around." Ganju says stepping out of the entrance. "Although, with the battle that happened between Ichigo and that lieutenant yesterday, I was expecting a guard or two to be posted here but maybe they think we feel lucky just to have gotten away alive, and they figure that this is the last place we'd come back to." He theorizes.
"Whoa, I am so full of energy now." Hanatarō claims pumping his fists.
"Well, you still look exactly the same to me." Ganju says.
"By the way, didn't you and Ichigo come here with others before getting separated? Should we go and look for them before heading up to Rukia?" Hanatarō asks.
"Normally I'd agree with you but Ichigo seemed confident that the strange guy with the glasses and white cape, and that cutie-pie with the great big eyes wouldn't pick a fight they couldn't win. And he seemed to have the most faith in Yoruichi, which I can understand, as well as Chad, not sure what the story is between them but they seem to have a brotherly bond and the upmost faith in each other, so there's nothing to worry about." Ganju says.
Back outside the warehouse Chad was resting in, a Shinigami is launched high into the air and falls to the ground below alongside his defeated comrades.
"I give! Please, just don't kill me." The Shinigami says before gasping as Chad picks him up by his uniform collar.
"Tell me where the Shishinrō is." Chad says.
"How-how do you even know that name?" The Shinigami asks in shock.
"I asked the last guy I hit where Rukia Kuchiki was, and that's what he said just before he passed out. Tell me where it is, while you still can." Chad says in a demanding voice.
"It-i-it's-it's there! It's right there! You see that tall white tower way up there? Right next to the mountaintop!" The Shinigami says shaking violently from fear.
"Mm." Chad replies.
"The Senzaikyū is at the top." The Shinigami says.
"Hmm." Chad says staring intently at the man for a few seconds before letting him go. "Very well. Thanks for your help." He says with a bow.
"You-you mean-you're really going to let me live?" The Shinigami asks before seeing Chad run off but suddenly, he narrows his eyes and picks up his Zanpakutō before rushing towards Chad. "You ought to know better than to turn your back on an enemy so soon!" He says taking a swing at Chad only for him to stop the Zanpakutō mid-swing with Brazo Derecha de Gigante and bend it, leaving the Shinigami astonished as Chad exerts his Reiatsu intimidating the man, causing him to jump backwards and kneels. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me, I swear! I promise I'll forget I saw! Please don't kill me!" The Shinigami begs.
"Fine. Just don't come after me again." Chad says and runs off.
"You-you're gonna let me go again? Even after I attacked you?" The Shinigami asks Chad's retreating form. "Whoa. What a surprise. My begging worked." He says.
Meanwhile, Ganju and Hanatarō approach the stairs leading up to Senzaikyū.
"At last. So these stairs lead to the Senzaikyū, right?" Ganju asks.
"That's right. Though Shishinrō is a bit further inward but we are close." Hanatarō explains.
"Good, then let's get going." Ganju says breaking into a run with Hanatarō following.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was back on the ground floor of the Senzaikyū and was calmly making his way to the 1st Division barracks.
'That intense Reiatsu is still in the same spot as the last time I used my Pesquisa. No doubt about it…that's got to be Ikaku's captain, Kenpachi Zaraki.' Ichigo thought quickening his pace to the 1st Division barracks.
Elsewhere in the Seireitei, Chad defeats several more Shinigami and runs up a set of stairs leading into the 8th Division compound, towards the main barracks. Meanwhile, inside the main barracks, Shunsui was resting on his back humming to himself.
"He's here, Captain. It's the Ryoka." Nanao says looking out the window and sees Chad just outside. "He must have overpowered the guards. Captain Kyōraku!" She shouts when he doesn't respond.
"Already? I wasn't expecting the guy so early. So what the hell, guess I'd better head out there and give them a proper greeting." Shunsui says getting up.
"I still don't get why you won't send me. Though I'm only your lieutenant, for a single Ryoka I'd be more than enough." Nanao says.
"Nanao, we've been over this already. This is a direct order from old man Yamamoto. He doesn't want anyone to know that order forces are having problems capturing five Ryoka, even if they are here to talk peacefully. You know how old folks are when it comes to losing face. Not that old man Yama really cares about that." Shunsui says with a chuckle as he walks over to his lieutenant. "And besides that…" He says placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'd never be able to forgive myself if my little Nanao went out to fight for me and somehow ended up getting injured." He says teasingly.
"Since when am I your little Nanao?" Nanao rebukes as she smacks his hand away with a folded fan.
"Ah. You know I love it when you treat me bad. You're beautiful when you're heartless." Shunsui says clutches his wirst in pain.
"Enough with the meaningless compliments! If you're going, then just go!" Nanao shouts flustered.
"All right then." Shunsui says releasing a sigh as he looks back at his lieutenant. "Don't look so worried. I'll be fine. It won't take long. I'm just gonna go have some fun." He tells her.
Meanwhile, Ganju and Hanatarō continue running up the stairs of the Senzaikyū panting heavily.
Elsewhere in the Senzaikyū, Ichigo continues walking in the direction of the 1st Division barracks before pausing as he looks in the direction of the Shishinrō.
'Sorry Rukia, you'll have to wait in there a little bit longer. But I promise, I will get you out and straighten this whole ordeal.' Ichigo thought before continuing his way towards the 1st Division.
In the Shishinrō, Rukia looks out her window and closes her eyes.
Back with Ganju and Hanatarō.
"Damn it. How many freaking steps does this stupid stairway have anyway?" Ganju asks complaining.
"What's the big deal about a few steps?" Hanatarō asks passing Ganju.
"Huh?" Ganju asks in shock.
"Now do you believe me? Those nutrition tablets really did give me energy!" Hanatarō says.
"All right, all right, already!" Ganju shouts as the two reach the top of the stairs. "Finally. We made it to the top!" He says catching his breath before noticing something. "There's nobody here either. What's going on with their security? Whatever, let's just go straight for the tower." He says break out into a run with Hanatarō following but then suddenly the two experience an incredibly intense Reiatsu enveloping them. "What the hell is this? Some kind of impossible powerful Reiatsu?" He asks.
In the Shishinrō, Rukia's eyes widen as she is alerted from feeling the Reiatsu too.
Meanwhile, Ichigo rounds a corner from the surrounding buildings and the moment he steps forward he is hit with the same intense Reiatsu Ganju and Hanatarō felt.
"No doubt about it now…that's definitely Kenpachi Zaraki." Ichigo says.
"You ready for this, King?" Shiro asks feeling giddy for the approaching battle.
"Of course. Even if I wasn't, it's not like I have a choice if what my dad, Yoruichi, and Kisuke told me about him is true." Ichigo says.
Meanwhile, at the 1st Division stairway, Kenpachi was sitting on the steps with Yachiru close by before a grin spreads across his face.
"He's coming." Kenpachi says.
{Ending Theme: "Hōkiboshi" by Younha}
Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please be sure to review and tell me what you think. Hope to see guys back here again next year. Happy Holidays.