38 The Virtue of Patience
Instead of depositing them at ground level, the exit of the Senkaimon spat out Ohta and the rest in the air, nearly twenty meters above what looked like an ancient, Edo-period city.
"We're falling...!" screamed Ichigo, alerting everyone present to what they already knew. Fortunately, while Ohta was tempted to let them crash into the ground, Orihime had other ideas, abruptly turning around and trusting him to hold onto her as she brought the tips of her index and middle fingers to the flower-like hairclips near her temples, shouting, "Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon! Santen Kesshun, I reject...!"
Pointing her fingers at the ground, three fairy-like figures emerged from Orihime's hairpieces, forming a triangular-shaped barrier of light about a meter above the ground. When Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu crashed into it, the barrier pulsed, seemingly negating the momentum of their fall, while Ohta lowered himself, Orihime, and Yoruichi to the ground.
"Phew...I'm glad I made it in time..." said Orihime, wiping her brow before looking back at Ohta with an awkward smile, expressing, "You can let me go now, Ohta-kun."
"Sure," replied Ohta, releasing his hold on Orihime's waist and allowing her to step away from him. As she did, Yoruichi whispered into his ear, asking, "Did you enjoy holding onto the waist of one of your classmates~?"
Ignoring Yoruichi's teasing, Ohta took a moment to get his bearings, his eyes scanning the antiquated-looking, seemingly abandoned buildings in their immediate vicinity. Further away, there was a section of terrain fully paved in white stone, the boundary representing the divide between the inner and outer districts of Soul Society, the dwelling of native souls and Shinigami, Seireitei, and the comparably impoverished-looking Rukongai.
"Looks like we came out in a good location..." muttered Yoruichi, leaping from Ohta's shoulder and shouting, "Alright, you lot, listen up! If you want to survive this little foray into the Soul Society, you'll follow my orders to the letter...!"
"Huh, who put you in charge?" questioned Ichigo, earning cross-shaped scratches across his face from Yoruichi.
"Ah, my face...!" screamed the orange-haired 'hero,' writhing about on the ground while Yoruichi stared at the rest of the group, asking, "Anyone else want to question my authority?"
Seeing everyone remain silent, Yoruichi added, "Good. Now, let's get out of here before we end up surrounded. I'll fill everyone in on the plan once we reach a safe location."
"Hey, wait a minute," said Ichigo, rising to a seated position and gesturing toward the Seireitei as he asked, "Isn't that the direction they're keeping Rukia? I say we charge in, beat up the guards, and get her out before they even have the chance to react."
"You truly are a fool," stated Yoruichi, explaining, "First of all, if you tried entering the Seireitei without a travel permit, you'd trigger the Seireiheki to fall from the sky, closing off the land route. If you're unlucky, you could even be crushed beneath it."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Ichigo. "The longer we take to break in and rescue Rukia, the harder it will be to reach her...!"
Though he also felt Ichigo was an idiot, Ohta would be lying if he said he didn't find the orange-haired youth's initiative compelling. The problem was that the Seireitei comprised an area of more than two million square kilometers, and he had no idea where Rukia was being detained.
"For now, we get away from this location and find a place to stay for the night. There, we can discuss our plan, both for entering the Seireitei and rescuing Kuchiki Rukia," said Yoruichi, turning to lead the way.
Clicking his tongue, Ichigo crossed his arms and looked to Ohta, asking, "Are you okay with this?"
Hearing Ichigo's question, Yoruichi's eye twitched as she turned back to stare at Ohta. He knew what was at stake, but there was always a chance he would choose to do his own thing. It was definitely in his nature...
Furrowing his brows, Ohta replied, "We listen to the cat. Yoruichi is a native of the Soul Society and is skilled at gathering information. Rushing into things will only get us killed..."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yoruichi adopted the feline equivalent of a smile as she said, "Ohta is correct. He is also more powerful than the rest of you combined, so if you can't trust me, you 'should' trust him."
Snorting off to the side, Uryu pushed up his glasses and muttered, "That's debatable..." in a faint, mildly offended tone. He lost handily to Ohta in the past, but he had gotten far more powerful since then. If they were to fight now, Uryu was certain he could avoid a similar outcome...
Surprising Ohta, yet again, Orihime chimed in, expressing, "We should listen to Ohta-kun and Mr. Yoruichi. We didn't come here looking to pick a fight. We came to rescue Rukia."
While Ichigo looked annoyed, Chad and eventually Uryu nodded their heads in affirmation. As such, the group ended up following Yoruichi to occupy one of the many abandoned buildings within the Rukon district, which, after the initial scare of the group's arrival, slowly became packed with people...
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"I need you to listen closely to what I'm about to say," said Yoruichi, sitting beneath a rough 'map' of the Seireitei while the rest of the group sat in a loose circle around her.
"As Orihime pointed out previously, we did not come here looking to pick a fight with the Soul Society. Our objectives are the salvation of Ms. Kuchiki and ensuring you're able to return to your everyday lives without suffering adverse consequences. Thus, while contact with members of the Gotei is unavoidable, you should do what you can to avoid maiming or taking your opponents' lives. They are not likely to afford you the same courtesy, but if you go on a murderous rampage, this incident will not conclude with Ms. Kuchiki's rescue..."
Understanding that Yoruichi's words were principally intended for him, a
frown marred Ohta's face. He understood the logic behind her words, but the notion of sparing those trying to kill him...to say it was a sentiment he didn't agree with would be an understatement. However, as he knew the original purpose of this setup was to expose Aizen and his collaborators, he would try not to kill everyone that stood in his way. Not for the sake of Kisuke's plan but to ensure Rukia didn't become an outcast by association with him...
"What's the actual plan?" asked Ichigo, both looking and feeling restless. He hadn't come to Soul Society, leaving behind his family and loved ones, just to sit around and wait.
"The four of you will remain here while I look for a woman named Shiba Kukaku," replied Yoruichi. "As we speak, Shinigami from all Thirteen Court Guardian Squads are doubtlessly being deployed to guard the perimeter of the Seireitei. Kukaku possesses a method that will allow us to slip past them, placing us near the center of the Seireitei in a single go. From there, we should be able to locate Ms. Kuchiki in the Senzaikyū, the Repentance Hall."
Raising his hand, Uryu said, "Question. Once we rescue Kuchiki-san, how will we escape? Furthermore, what's to stop them from pursuing us to the human world once we do?"
"Those are some excellent questions," replied Yoruichi, secretly feeling very annoyed. She was confident she could convince Ohta, but if Ichigo learned they would wait until the day of Rukia's execution to rescue her, he'd charge in like a reckless bull.
Catching Yoruichi by surprise, Ohta chimed in to state, "That's where I come in. The Seireiheki that Yoruichi mentioned before should prevent even Captain-level Shinigami from forming footholds and flying through the air. So long as we can recover Rukia, I can ferry everyone to safety, no problem..."
"That doesn't explain how we'll prevent the Soul Society from pursuing us to the human world," noted Uryu, beginning to key in on the fact that Ohta and Yoruichi were keeping secrets.
"You should have thought of that before you decided to come," asserted Ohta, adding, "It's still not too late for you to back out. Once I've rescued Rukia, I'll come and collect both you and your discarded balls."
Furrowing his brows, Uryu looked like he had 'a lot' to say but understood there was no sense in fighting amongst themselves. He had also come to Soul Society for 'personal' reasons, not just to rescue Rukia, so he wasn't going to back out now.
"Whatever," interjected Ichigo, directing his gaze to Yoruichi as he said, "Just hurry up and find that Kukaku woman. The longer we wait, the more time our enemies will have to prepare. If they start sending Shingami out to search for us, the people living around us will be in danger."
"I plan to do exactly that," retorted Yoruichi. "In the meantime, the four of you should remain here. The Rukongai is like a maze, so if you wander off, you could get lost and never find your way back. Besides, we didn't come here to take in the sights. Unless you are forced to withdraw, sit tight and wait here. You aren't children anymore..."
Finished with her words, Yoruichi walked between the ground, making her way outside. Since everything around them was formed from Reishi(Soul Particles), she couldn't phase through things like normal. As a result, she had no choice but to navigate her surroundings like an actual cat, seeking out the village elder or mayor responsible for the area they were located. Kukaku didn't know the meaning of the words 'low profile,' so if she was in the area, someone was bound to know her exact location...
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Staring up at the two moons dominating the night sky of Soul Society, one red and one blue, various thoughts crossed Ohta's mind. He had been told that the Soul Society was a single plane, seemingly stretching out forever. However, with two moons in the sky and countless stars present, he felt a dismissable urge to know more about the world he had been reincarnated into...
Interrupting Ohta's silent reflection, Orihime approached him from behind, calling out, "Ohta-kun...?" in a faint tone.
"Last I checked..." replied Ohta, continuing to stare at the sky with a half-lidded expression.
Surprising him once again, Orihime came over and sat next to Ohta, albeit with a respectable distance between them. She then crossed her arms on her knees, resting her chin on them as she asked, "Do you...do you mind if I ask why you gave up your previous life and body...?"
Understanding why Orihime might ask such a question, as she was also an orphan, Ohta considered his response before answering, "Because I possess a power that doesn't belong in the human world...a power that, if exposed, would incite greed and jeopardize the lives of myself and those involved with me..."
Lowering her gaze and adopting a sad look, Orihime asked, "Is that why you never got close to anyone...?"
"Something like that..." replied Ohta. The truth was more complicated, but Orihime's conjecture wasn't wrong. He hated losing those he had deemed important, so after losing 'everything' in his previous life, he was reluctant to invest in relationships that didn't benefit him in some form...
"You seem very lonely..." muttered Orihime, causing Ohta to shift his gaze to the buxom beauty, finding her staring back at him with a look he could best describe as empathy but more than likely denoted pity...
Furrowing his brows slightly, Ohta softly retorted, "You 'would' recognize it, wouldn't you?"
Smiling weakly, Orihime broke eye contact with Ohta and replied, "You're right. Even though I have wonderful friends like Tatsuki-chan, I always feel alone at the end of the day. Sometimes, especially around holidays, I even cry myself to sleep..."
"..."
Though he was tempted to ask what she expected him to do about it, Ohta remained silent, permitting Orihime to ask, "There's something I've been meaning to ask you...that day when you escorted me home, did you do something? Ever since then, my health and luck have improved, and I no longer get chills at night..."
"That'll happen when you stop getting hit by cars..." replied Ohta, eliciting a pouty expression from the orange-haired girl.
Regaining her smile almost immediately, Orihime joined Ohta in staring up at the stars as she quietly expressed, "Well, regardless of whether or not you did anything, I wanted to thank you. The food you made that day was delicious. If there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know..."
Adopting a faint smile, Ohta replied, "Just keep being a caring person and a good friend to Tatsuki. As for your loneliness problem, you could always confess to Ichigo..."
Surprising Ohta more than ever, Orihime covered her mouth to suppress a soft, sonorous giggle before turning to meet his gaze with narrowed eyes as she stated, "Maybe I will, someday...for now, I'm thinking of following a different path..."
Rising to her feet, Orihime brushed herself off before retreating into the rundown shack they were occupying. Ohta followed her departure with his eyes, briefly stealing a glance at her ass, but soon returned his gaze skyward, thinking, ("First Ichigo's tomboy sister and now Orihime...being handsome really is a curse...") while smiling faintly...
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(A/N: Ichigo needs to be careful. Ohta is slowly sucking up all his fate and luck...)
