Road Trip

Six days have passed since Ichigo and Kuroi completed their Bankai training and achieved their second Zanpakuto releases. Now, Kuroi sneaks through the quiet Hono residence heading for the kitchen. He reaches the kitchen and opens the fridge.

"It has to be in here. No one should have eaten it," said Kuroi.

Kuroi searches the fridge for a few minutes. He finally finds what he's looking for and grabs it.

"Phew. He didn't eat my chocolate ice cream this time," said Kuroi.

Kuroi takes the tub of chocolate ice cream and walks towards his room. He creeps up the stairs and opens the door to his room. He turns his head and sees a blood splatter on his closet.

"What the hell is this!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi walks over to the blood splatter and the blood flows down the wall. The flowing of the blood reveals a message on the closet.

"Please meet at Urahara Shop immediately. Why couldn't he send a pigeon instead?" said Kuroi.

The blood continues to flow down the closet and reveals the rest of the message.

"P.S, right now, those who think this looks like the message of someone before his death, then you have no humor. I should tell Kisuke that he's not funny," said Kuroi.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at the tub of ice cream on his bed.

"I'll eat you later," said Kuroi.

Kuroi exits his room through his window. He jumps from the second floor and lands on the sidewalk. He starts to run until he hears his father's voice.

"Where are you going?" asked Aoi.

"Umm. I was going to hunt some Hollows," said Kuroi.

"Kisuke already told me that you guys are going to the Soul Society to save Rukia," said Aoi.

"He did?" asked Kuroi.

"Yes and he also told me that you and Ichigo achieved Bankai. I'm proud," said Aoi.

"That's cool, dad, but I need-," said Kuroi.

"To get to Kisuke's shop. I was about to wake you up," said Aoi.

"You're going?" asked Kuroi.

"Of course. You will need my help to get into the Soul Society without conflict," said Aoi.

"So, let's go. We can't leave the others waiting," said Kuroi.

"Don't you want to ride in the car?" asked Aoi.

"Tonight feels like a good night for a run," said Joshua.

The father and son duo run for a couple minutes until they reach Kisuke's shop. They see Chad, Ichigo, and Orihime standing outside of the shop.

"You finally came. We've been waiting forever," said Ichigo.

"I just got the message five minutes ago. You should be glad that I even came," said Kuroi.

"You brought your dad? This isn't a field trip," said Chad.

"He's not a regular human. He's a soul reaper as well," said Kuroi.

"He is?" asked Orihime, surprised.

"I'll tell you guys later. Where's Uryu?" said Kuroi.

"I wouldn't worry. He's the weakest of us all, so it wouldn't matter if he came or not," said Chad.

"Chad!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Don't worry, Orihime. He's not completely wrong. We don't need Uryu. We have enough power on our side already," said Kuroi.

"Who did you say was the weakest?" asked Uryu.

The group turns their heads and see Uryu standing a few feet away from them.

"Uryu?" asked Ichigo.

"I'm here in the flesh. I couldn't forgive myself for losing to you soul reapers, so I decided to train. I won't stop until I win. If winning means that I have to help rescue Rukia, I will go," said Uryu.

"Aww. I knew that you were pretending to be cold," said Kuroi.

"Shut up. Did you not hear anything I just said?" said Uryu.

"You don't have to pretend to be cold anymore. We know the real you now," said Kuroi.

"Shut up! I will show you how strong I've become!" exclaimed Uryu.

"Whatever you big softie," said Kuroi.

"I said shut up!" exclaimed Uryu.

"Can you kids stop arguing? We have a mission to complete," said Kisuke.

The group turns around and sees Kisuke standing behind them.

"Follow me. The Soul Society isn't far away," said Kisuke.

The group enters Kisuke's shop. They walk into a back room and Kisuke opens a hatch. The group walks down the stairs and enters the large training ground.

"I never been in a training ground this big before," said Orihime.

"This is the only training ground of its size that exists," said Kisuke.

The group walks towards the center of the training ground and stops.

"Please look over here. We're about to go," said Kisuke.

Kisuke snaps and four large slabs of a concrete-looking material come together and form a Senkaimon.

"This is the door to the Soul Society. Aoi will explain how to get through this door without dying," said Kisuke.

"As you should already know, the Soul Society is the world of souls. To enter the Soul Society, you have to be a soul. The only people here that can become souls are Kuroi, Ichigo, and I. This is where Reishihenkanki comes in," said Aoi.

"What's that?" asked Ichigo.

"Reishihenkanki converts Kishi to Reishi. This means that you guys can go to the Soul Society in your original bodies. The real issue is time. When we enter this gate, we only have four minutes to get to the Soul Society or we will be stuck in the Dangai forever. I'm pretty sure that no one here will want to suffer that fate," said Aoi.

"How will we be able to not get stuck in the Dangai?" asked Orihime.

"Just walk forward," said somebody.

The group turns around to see a talking black cat behind them.

"Yoruichi!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Cats can talk now? The world just gets weirder and weirder," said Ichigo.

"She's not just any regular cat," said Kuroi.

"Huh?" asked Ichigo.

"You'll find out later," said Kuroi.

"Didn't I tell you? The heart and the soul are connected. The only important thing is how your heart thinks. Only those who can think with their hearts can follow me," said Yoruichi.

"What are you saying, Ms. Yoruichi? Everyone who showed here tonight has the heart to save Rukia. We are determined to complete this mission," said Kuroi.

"You should know that if we lose, we will never return," said Yoruichi.

"We don't care. If we can't save a friend, we don't deserve happy lives," said Kuroi.

"Well said, kid. Kisuke, get them into their soul reaper forms," said Yoruichi.

"Ok," said Kisuke.

Kisuke picks up his cane and pokes the foreheads of the three soul reapers and their souls are ripped out. Right when their bodies hit the ground, the Senkaimon opens.

"Perfect timing. Let's go!" said Aoi.

The group runs into the Senkaimon. On the other side of the gate is a large tunnel with slimy walls.

"This place looks disgusting," said Ichigo.

"There's no time to complain! Let's go!" exclaimed Aoi.

The group starts to run as the walls start to close in. As the others run, Uryu gets caught by the Kouryuu.

"Uryu!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I got him," said Chad.

Chad runs and grabs Uryu. He rips him off the Kouryuu and puts him over his shoulder.

"Chad! Put me down! I can run by myself! Put me-," said Uryu.

Uryu stops talking when he sees a light in the distance.

"Umm guys. We have an issue. Something's coming," said Uryu.

The group turns their heads and sees a train-like figure charging at them.

"The Cleaner is coming! We have to move faster! Kuroi, Ichigo, grab someone and flash step!" exclaimed Aoi.

"Yes sir!" exclaimed Ichigo and Kuroi.

Kuroi grabs Orihime and Uryu while Ichigo grabs Chad. The three soul repairs flash step towards the exit and through the other side of the Senkaimon. They rocket towards the ground and crash land on the hard ground.

"It hurt more than last time," said Kuroi.

"We have to get moving. Yamamoto doesn't like to wait," said Aoi.

The group slowly starts to make its way towards the Seireitei. There's no gate until pieces of a gate appear in the sky and rain down, blocking the entrance.

"What's going on!" exclaimed Uryu.

"Not again. Jidanbo!" said Aoi.

"Captain Aoi, is that you!" exclaimed Jidanbo.

The group turn their heads and see a giant gatekeeper standing before them.

"Jidanbo, why do you always do this? You should know that I am constantly leaving and coming here," said Aoi.

"I know, but there is always a chance that intruders will try to break into the Seireitei. You can come on in," said Jidanbo.

Jidanbo puts his hands under the gate and lifts it.

"I was about to say something, but then I saw you, Captain Hono," said a man.

Aoi turns his head and sees the captain of the third squad, wearing his natural creepy smile standing next to the gatekeeper.

"Good morning, Gin. You're up early today," said Aoi.

"I saw Jidanbo opening the gate, so I decided to see what's going on. I see that you brought visitors," said Gin.

"We need to speak to the head captain. We need to convince him to change something," said Aoi.

"I don't believe that Head Captain Yamamoto will be able to be convinced by anybody. Even you," said Gin.

"I'll try my hardest," said Aoi.

"It looks like one of your visitors is a Quincy. I thought that the race went extinct two hundred years ago," said Gin.

"He's the last one, so he's special," said Aoi.

"Quincy, don't let Captain Mayuri get you. The last time he saw a Quincy, it didn't end well," said Gin.

Uryu is visually disturbed by this comment.

"Well, we have to get to Yamamoto's office. See you later," said Aoi.

"Have a good meeting," said Gin.

The group quickly walks away from the suspicious captain.

"What's wrong with him? His smile is so creepy," said Orihime.

"Aizen brought him to the Soul Society a hundred years ago. I believe that he is in cahoots with Aizen, so be wary of him," said Aoi.

"He's not a priority right now. Let's deal with Yamamoto first and then we can go after Aizen," said Kuroi.

The group runs for a few minutes until they reach a large building. The group enters the building and walks up to the second floor. Aoi knocks on the door.

"Come on in," said Yamamoto.

Aoi opens the door and reveals a large office. A bald old man sits at his desk in the front of the room. The old man looks up as the group enters his office and walks up to his desk.

"What is it, Aoi?" asked Yamamoto.

"I have come to discuss an important issue with you, sir," said Aoi.

"Why did you bring these people with you?" asked Yamamoto.

"They are friends and allies of Rukia Kuchiki," said Aoi.

Yamamoto opens his eyes when he notices what his student wants to discuss with him.

"I see. You want to prevent the execution of Rukia Kuchiki," said Yamamoto.

"Yes, sir. I believe that-," said Aoi.

"No," said Yamamoto.

"Huh?" asked Aoi.

"My answer is no. Rukia Kuchiki broke a sacred rule of the Soul Society by giving her powers to a human named Ichigo Kurosaki. A substitute soul reaper named Kuroi Hono refused to turn her into us. Both of these boys stand before me right now yet you're the one trying to persuade me to not have Rukia Kuchiki executed. It's very odd to me," said Yamamoto.

"Sir-," said Aoi.

Aoi stops talking when he sees Ichigo hold his arm out, indicating for him to stop talking.

"The old man is right. This isn't your responsibility, uncle. It's ours. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki and I'm the substitute soul reaper that Rukia gave her powers to. Rukia gave her powers to me, so I could protect my family. Instead of ignoring her kind and selfless act, I decided to take her responsibility and protect my town. I owe my life to her for saving my family and me. I can't just sit back and allow her to be killed over such a petty rule. Rukia is a hero. Yeah, she may be annoying and rude at times, but she doesn't deserve death," said Ichigo.

"Interesting argument, but my answer stays the same," said Yamamoto.

"Mr. Yamamoto, I have only been to the Soul Society three times and I've only been a soul reaper for a year. You have been the head captain for more than a thousand years, so my measly one year of experience means nothing to someone as old and experienced as you. Even though I lack experience, I've lived in the living world all my life. One thing that I've learned is that some humans are born selfless and compassionate. Rukia is one of those people. She is not the perfect human or the perfect hero, but she doesn't deserve death. She doesn't deserve a result as bad as that. There are many people, some that may or may not reside here in the Seireitei, that deserve this fate, so please don't kill a brave and selfless woman like Rukia. She doesn't deserve this," said Kuroi.

"It's really good how her friends have come to her rescue, but I can't allow her to break the rules and not be punished. I'm sorry," said Yamamoto.

"Listen here, old-," said Kuroi.

Aoi places his hand on his son's mouth.

"We'll get going, sir. Have a good day," said Aoi.

The group quickly moves out of the room.

"What the hell was that for?" asked Kuroi.

"You can't yell at the head captain. If I allowed you to cuss him out, he would never listen to us. He is very stubborn. Even I probably couldn't convince him to change his mind," said Aoi.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Ichigo.

"I knew that something like this would happen, so I created a backup plan. Now, it's time for Plan B," said Aoi.