Mind Infiltration (1)

"Ugh…" Slowly opening her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, Ino slowly moved her head and looked at her surroundings. She was lying on the bed in the center of a large and fairly luxurious room. Slowly she turned her head and looked towards the sliding window that led to a balcony overlooking the outside world. 'How long have I been out.'

As she sat up, she was surprised as she felt only dull pain coming from her arm, the very same one Kisame had ripped into. 'There's not even a scar left.' After studying Medical Ninjutsu alongside Tsunade, although not better than Sakura, she could still understand her body better than most.

Other than that dull pain, her body felt extremely loose and invigorated. Alongside that, the air felt incredibly clear to the point it felt unreal. "It's like a dream…" It was then that Ino heard a familiar voice. "Looks like you're feeling better. Though after sleeping for more than a day I suppose you would." Turning her head, Ino saw someone standing with their back to the doors of the room.

"Rei?" Ino felt that she was hallucinating for a moment, but she snapped out of it after blinking. "You- Where am I?" Rei smiled slightly and responded. "Well originally you were going to be taken to the Medical Barracks. But I wanted to be able to talk to you the moment you woke up so I moved you to my room. After all, if you went back to the Leaf with that wound on your arm you would have bled out long before then."

Hearing that, Ino realized that she must be beyond the wall, and at the same time, she was in Rei's bed. "Don't worry I rarely sleep in the first place so the bed is practically brand new." After all, he could go weeks and even months without rest. It was just sleeping that helped him recover faster. Ino had all sorts of questions at this point, but one was at the front of her mind.

"What about Fuyumi? She… She saved me and the Squad I was with. Is she ok?" Rei sighed lightly, which immediately caused Ino to sit up straight. "Rei? What happened to her?" Rei didn't answer right away as he leaned against the door behind him. "I'll answer you but first you need to tell me something."

Ino heard Rei begin to list things off. "One who are the Akatsuki and what is their goal? Two, why were they after me? And three, what exactly were your orders?" All three questions cut to the chase, and once again, Ino's mind remembered why she had come here in the first place. If Fuyumi was hurt, it was because of her, and at the same time, Rei had healed her.

"Rei, I want to apologize but… The truth is a Kage Summit has been called to deal with the Akatsuki and possibly you." Hearing the word's Kage Summit, Rei's mind raced back but pulled up a blank. Seeing the look on his face, Ino began to explain. At the same time, she also focused on the Akatsuki.

She went over details that were supposed to be kept secret and even told him about Naruto and the Nine-Tails. In the end, nothing was left to hide, and Ino's voice trailed off as she lowered her head. "So she sent me here in the end in hopes that you would at least hear her message out…" Rei could hear the hesitation in Ino's voice as she spoke.

There was so much going on in the outside world to the point he could barely wrap his head around it. Originally he thought everything would be fine if he kept to himself, but the situation had grown beyond even his expectations. 'The Five Great Nations are really so incompetent that they would allow so many of the Tailed Beast to be taken before acting?'

And that was on top of the fact that he had already met with The Akatsuki's quote on quote leader. 'And we also have our Hollow issue we still have to deal with.' So, once again, he was met with a mess, and unwillingly he had to be the one to deal with it. While he was thinking to himself, he remained completely silent, and his face turned slightly dark.

Ino misjudged Rei's expression and took it as a sign of anger, and felt it was understandable. 'If he decides to go to the village like when he went after Danzo…' She could already imagine seeing everything burnt to the ground. Getting out of the bed, she made her way over to Rei and spoke. "I know you must be angry and disappointed but I was the one who accepted the mission. If you-"

Suddenly Rei snapped out of his thoughts and saw Ino was apologizing completely and entirely for the Leaf Village. Holding up his hand Rei caused her to stop. "Ino I didnt bring you here and heal you to punish you. Nor am I hypocritical enough to say it's all your fault. Of course that doesnt mean I'm letting the Leaf off either."

No matter the reason or cause, he had given Tsunade a chance multiple times. He had killed Danzo in public to make a statement. In the end, if a person is strong enough, then even laws couldn't tie them down. 'Just from how Ino's acting, I'm guessing the lesson I burned into them remains. The real issue is the other Four Nations.'

An Idea ran through Rei's head as a smile crept onto his face. "Let's move away from that topic then shall we. You were interested in Fuyumi's condition, right?" This time when Rei brought this up, his expression changed, attracting Ino's attention. "Yes! Is she alright?" With worry radiating from her voice, she got exceedingly close to Rei.

Taking a step back, Rei replied. "I won't lie to you that her condition is not good. Itachi did something to her and she still hasn't woken it up which is another reason why I came here." Hearing that caused Ino's worry to grow as she grabbed onto Rei's shoulders. "What do you need? I'll do everything I can." Rei nodded as he replied.

"She's at the Medical Barracks. It'll be easier to see it for yourself than me explaining it." As he said that, Ino nodded and prepared to leave Rei's room through the door. But she turned her head and saw Rei was walking towards the room's balcony. "Where? Are we not going yet?" Hearing her confusion, Rei gestured to her with his finger.

Ino slowly made her way over to him out onto the balcony overlooking the Soul Society. Without any warning, as soon as she got next to him, he grabbed her by her waist tightly. Ino's body immediately froze up as she heard Rei speak. "Try not to let go." Ino still had not registered what was happening when Rei jumped into the air off the balcony.

Although she was a Ninja, the building in the center of the Soul Society was higher up than the rest, which meant that the fall became lethal even to her as soon as they jumped. "Ah!" She unconsciously gripped Rei's clothes and closed her eyes. She had expected to feel the wind rush by as they fell but instead, it was quiet.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked down and saw they were in the air, still not moving an inch. "Are… How are you? Are we floating?" Having stumbled on her words, she looked at Rei, who shrugged. "Well get there faster this way, just don't look down too much." Then, with a burst of energy, Rei's body rocketed forward through the air.

Seeing this and looking down, Ino saw countless buildings under them zoom by. 'He… He can fly?' Her mind seemed to have blanked out on this point while Rei flew in the direction of the medical bay. He had found hints here and there that he could maneuver in the air before, but he never expanded on it.

Flash Step had been his greatest point when it came to mobility, but he discovered something interesting when he tried using it in the air or off the ground. It was only when he trained with Ryujin Jakka and saw its spirit perform what he thought was impossible at first that he began to catch on.

With that being the case, he could not only walk on air, but he could move through it as if he was flying. He was happy when he first discovered it, but it just so happens Ryujin Jakka knew of the ability already. He simply did not tell Rei. His excitement dulled, but the overall accomplishment remained.

As she finally calmed down, Ino could look at the Soul Society in its entirety. She knew Rei excavated a lot of space, but now she couldn't hide her surprise. The countless buildings and structures were now full of life. It wasn't a ghost town like before, and there were clearly people walking about living their lives.

On Top of that, the atmosphere was pleasant and even charming in a way. "You really gathered this many people in such a short amount of time?" Though she was speaking to Rei, she was also thinking back. "Well it took a lot of effort. And on top of that not everything is as it seems." Ino glanced at Rei, who had a slightly absent look on his face.

"Where here." Rei's gaze locked onto a wide building that had greenery surrounding it on all four sides. Only a fairly tall wall separated it from the outside world, and two large wooden doors were the only real way in. "Huh?" Ino felt them quickly descend as it only took them a few moments to reach the ground.

The two Shinigami standing at the doors guarding them complacently. They were fairly lax, but the moment they spotted Rei, their faces changed. "Head Captain Rei!" The two straightened up and immediately changed their attitude. Although Rei still was an anomaly to the people of the Soul Society, his strength was hardly questionable by anyone.

That on top of the fact he created all the systems and laws that governed them, they could only treat him with respect and, in some cases, fear. Slowly their gazes fell onto Ino, who still hasn't let go of Rei's clothes. "May we ask who this is?" Since she was wearing her normal wear, she obviously stood out compared to everyone else here.

"Oh i'm…." Finally waking up, Ino quickly let go of Rei and stepped back. "She's her on my request move aside." Rei didn't want to waste time. "Yes, Sir!" The Shinigami guarding the door immediately lowered their heads and moved. Ino glanced towards the two Shinigami before seeing Rei was already making his way to the Medical Barracks.

Catching up with him, Ino spoke. "I've never seen people change expressions that fast. Are you sure you aren't scaring them?" Rei didn't answer as he thought to himself. 'I guess I don't make many public appearances. In fact I don't even think the public has much of an impression of me.' It wasn't something he worried about since he didn't manage the people living in the Soul Society.

"As weird as it is, I find it easier to get people to listen to you if they fear you at the same time. It works out for me so I don't bother changing their perspectives." As Rei said that, the two of them had entered the Medical Barracks and ran into a woman who was making her way outside. Instead of the black they normally wore, they wore a dark grey with an insignia on their chest.

This showed they were full-fledged members of the Medical Squad. The woman froze before recognizing Rei and moving out of the way. "Head Captain Rei we had just sent a message to your office on the current status of Lieutenant Fuyumi." Hearing that both Rei and Ino's faces changed. "Did something happen?"

The woman looked at him and shook her head. "That's the issue no matter what we try we simply can't get her to wake up. We've tried every Kaido Technique we've studied and even gone through the library to find alternative methods. But she just won't wake up alongside that…." She stopped speaking and gestured for them to follow her. "It would be best if I just show you."

With no hesitation, both of them followed her through the halls of the Barracks and made their way to an isolated room near the back. Compared to the other Medical Rooms, this was the largest and had measures using Kido to keep it soundproof and reduce distractions. Entering the room, there was only one person lying silently on a bed.

Two Medical Squad Members hovered over her with a soft light protruding from their hands. Hearing the door open, the two members looked up and spotted Rei. They stopped with their attempts and greeted him. "We've still had no luck…" Ino immediately walked over to the bed and looked at Fuyumi.

Her face was paler than before, and her eyes looked exhausted despite the fact she was unconscious. Even now, it looked as if she was still trapped in a Genjutsu. Lying on a table not too far away, Rei spotted her Zanpakuto and froze. It was a light, but Reiatsu was leaking from the blade, and it was slightly trembling.

"Reports say her Zanpakuto has been like that since she was recovered and brought here." Rei looked at Fuyumi silently as Ino observed her condition personally. She was still proficient in Medical Ninjutsu; however, she came to the same conclusion as the Medical Squad after checking. 'She's perfectly healthy physically but her mind is… She's like this because of me.'

Suddenly Rei turned and gave out an order. "I want all of you to leave the room and bar entry until I say otherwise." The three Medical Squad Members looked shocked but complied shortly after. They left the room leaving only three people left. "I'm sorry she was trying to protect me and in the end she…."

The same sorrowful voice came from Ino's voice as before, and Rei shook his head. "Apologies are one thing but actions are another. I brought you here cause I want you to help her. Can you do it?" Ino glanced at Rei, seemingly confused. "My… My Medical Ninjutsu can't do anything to help her in this situation."

Rei spoke directly after staring at her. "I don't want you to use your Medical Ninjutsu. I want you to use your Clan's speciality."