บท 280: Another plan in the making
(3rd's pov)
A group of 5 people and a cat were going through Sereitei.
"... When I decided to come here... I didn't expect it to be that easy." Ichigo muttered in disbelief, although he was still loud enough to be heard by everyone.
"You can thank me later. Now, I need to figure out how to hide you until I think about a way you all could help me." Kaien said off-handly as the group was making their way to... who knows where for now.
"Wait! Are you saying that you grabbed us without a plan!?" Ichigo screamed.
"I will have a plan! If you let me think for a second, which isn't easy with you screaming!"
Both Kaien and Ichigo slammed their foreheads into each other as they glared. An imaginary electricity sparked between the two.
"Besides, let me hear your master plan. How did you plan on saving Rukia with your small group? Enlighten me!"
Suddenly, Ichigo grew shy, and he quietly answered. "I planned to beat everyone in the way until I got to Rukia."
"... ... ... Hahahahahaha!!! I can't, I can't. Brat, you didn't tell me you were a comedian! Oh, I needed that laugh." Kaien wiped away a tear that gathered in the corner of his eye. "Even if you somehow gathered two more captains with you, it would still be a challenge to accomplish what you said."
Ichigo was about to rebuke, but someone caught a hidden detail in what their new ally just said.
"You mentioned another captain, but from what we heard before, you are a lieutenant, so what do you mean by that?" Ishida asked as he pushed his glasses up.
"Eh, you don't know?" The lieutenant looked at the black cat walking beside everyone, and the eyes of the group followed his suit. As they connected the dots, they opened their mouths as Yoruichi basked in their awe.
"What? Did you expect me to share my life story with you all?" She said calmly while licking her paw. "It's not like I wouldn't help you fight if not necessary, but I would rather stay hidden for a lot of reasons."
"You mean you being wanted, or you just don't want to face... your family?"
Kaien made an effort not to say Ryoto. He heard from him at one point in some fleeting conversation how Yoruichi enjoys hiding her true gender when she is a cat because of her voice in that form. The captain of Squad 2 also may have fed him some fake information about what happened to the last person who interrupted her fun, which ended very poorly with a lot of scratches in very delicate places.
Kaien shuddered at the lone thought of going through that.
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at a hint of fear in Kaien's voice, but before she could start questioning him, they were stopped by a group of low-ranked Shinigami.
"Good afternoon, vice-captain Kaien!" They all saluted out of habit, but then they noticed who accompanied the lieutenant of Squad 13. Surprisingly, a few remembered a description of one of the invaders, which included orange hair and Zanpakuto that was as big as the user himself, and Kaien noticed it.
"These are my guests. Understood?" Kaien narrowed his eyes, scaring his subordinates, who completely forgot their train of thought and scattered.
"God, I hate doing that. Using my authority, I mean. Now that this issue is solved let's think about where to drop you so no one finds you for a while..."
"Actually, I have an idea where we can stay with no one finding us." Yoruichi brought everyone's attention to her as she smirked.
---
In the meanwhile, the group of scared Shinigami got to breathe again and started thinking again.
"Hey... don't you think that that orange-haired guy was identical to the description of Ryouka?" One said.
"Not only that, but he also looked a lot like lieutenant. As if he was his sibling..."
"... Or child." The third Shinigami in the group ended the sentence of his friend. "Didn't you find it suspicious that Lieutenant Shiba started idolizing Captain of Squad 2? We all heard a story how Captain Yuuki..."
"Which captain Yuuki?" The first guy asked, interrupting his colleague. The other 2 looked at the idiot and sighed. They couldn't believe that they were friends with him.
"... Captain Ryoto Yuuki."
"Ooooh. Why didn't you say so from the beginning? I swear you can be so stupid sometimes." He waved his hand with a goofy smile, but all it did was make the other two want to punch him.
"... Anyway, as I was saying. Captain Ryoto is a known womanizer, and right now, we see someone who looks like Lieutenant Shiba and is considerably younger. What if it was his secret child and he was trying to get in contact with his father, but vice-captain Shiba used his family contacts to create an illusion that it was a Ryouka? To avoid more trouble, he sneaked him in to solve this issue behind the curtains."
"What should we do then? He is part of Five Great Noble families and lieutenant to boot. We can't expect to go against him."
"True, but we can try to save Miyako-dono, his wife. Our organization failed to save Captain Rin Yuuki, the ex-captain Yoruichi Shihoin, and Lieutenant Isane, but this time, We Won't Fail!!!"
""Yeah!!!""
Another misunderstanding has been born.
(Yukima's pov)
...
"So, what do you think of my plan? Ingenious, isn't it?" I looked proudly in front of all of my siblings except Akio-nii, at whom I was still angry, but it kept getting harder. It looks like he's changed in the last few years, and at least on the surface, it seemed like he genuinely regrets his actions, but I'm going off-topic. My plan is more important!
"...Yukima, you didn't say anything for the last 10 minutes," Masaru informed me with a strained smile.
That's strange. I was sure I was having a flashback, but it seems that I will be forced to talk out loud. How boring.
"In short, I want to somehow save Rukia-chan from her execution, and that's why I'm gathering allies."
"... Are you trying to brute force your way to Senzaikyu (Repentance Palace)?" My dear older brother asked, and I, of course, looked away from him in shame that my plan was figured out that quickly.
"You are an idiot, Yukima," Gin said with his usual creepy smile that I learned a long time ago is just his poker face.
"And why is that Gin-chan? The genius of this plan is its simplicity. We gather a big group and swoop Rukia-chan before she gets a chance to be killed. Simple and effective!" I tried to reason with my brother, but I was outnumbered.
"Yukima-chan~ as much as I love you and your... simple personality, I must agree with Gin. It's not your best idea." Rangiku, the laziest... biggest in some areas, and my only sister complimented me.
"Oooh. Thanks! ... Wait, did you just call me stupid!?"
"Calm down, everybody. Let's focus on why Yukima brought us here together." My lovely brother Masaru tried to be a mediator to get us back on topic.
"Right... the topic. Let's discuss why it's stupid." Gin returned not only to the topic but also to mocking my grand plan. "Let's start with why you want to help Kuchiki-san."
Is he mocking me more than usual? That's a stupid question, no matter how you look at it.
"Because I'm not blind and see that Rukia-chan is innocent, and even if she isn't and gave someone her powers, I believe that she wouldn't do it without a reason, so as her friend, I'm going to do everything I can to help her."
Throughout my entire answer, Gin was creepily smiling at me. I love him, but God damn, is he hard to get a read on. I think only Masaru-nii and Dad can understand him.
"Great answer for a meathead, but that's not what I meant. Let me rephrase it." He looked incredibly smug at the moment. More than he usually is, and that's saying something. "You've noticed that something was up with Kuchiki-San's execution." I nodded. "And let's just say that you aren't detective material, so if you've noticed something, then it's natural to believe you weren't the only one. Ryoto, for example."
I nodded once more.
"That's right. Dad is more tired than usual, and he even said to not worry and leave everything to him."
"So why bother doing anything?"
That was the question he meant to ask from the start. To be honest, I didn't want to answer him, but I probably should. Despite knowing that saying my intentions was the right thing to do that would possibly sway Gin to my side, I hesitated but, in the end, forced myself to share my thoughts.
"... I'm scared," I said with a voice barely loud enough for the group to hear. "I'm scared that Dad will take on himself more than he is able to handle. I'm scared that something that similar to when he disappeared will happen, but this time he won't return as fast or at all... just like mom." Everyone's expressions softened. Even Gin's. "I just want to help. I know that maybe I will be in the way, but I want to have a plan B for that if something goes wrong-"
I was suddenly pulled by Rangiku into her two mountains, where I couldn't breathe. God damn! I wasn't small, maybe average, but compared to Rangiku, everything may as well be small. We were eating the same food, so why was she so much bigger than me!?
My jealousy was abruptly ended as the hand of my sister gently caressed my head.
"You've had a lot on your mind, haven't you?" My usual happy-go-lucky sibling was nowhere to be found and was replaced with the somehow motherly figure.
It felt... nice. I like hugs. They are warm.
After a few moments, we broke out of the hug and returned to our conversation. The first to speak was Gin, who seemed to soften his tone.
"I see that you thought about it for some time, and I understand what you wish to accomplish, but let me ask you this. What if your plan will get in the way of Ryoto's plan?"
"That's simple. The idea is that we'll intervene only on the day of Rukia-chan's execution. Only when I'm absolutely sure that Dad's plan either didn't work or something like that, I'll go through it."
"Then what if his plan involves letting Kuchiki-san die?"
These words hit me like cold water on a hot day. These words were something that didn't even go through my mind even once.
"Come on, Gin, Dad wouldn't-" Masaru-nii tried to reason with our brother but was quickly shot down.
"He would. For his family, he would become a demon if needed. He wouldn't have liked it, but he would do it if he could secure your safety. That's the kind of person Ryoto is."
I narrowed my eyes at the implication of what Gin just said. It's true that Dad can be overprotective. Me, Masaru-nii, and Akio-nii witnessed it in person, but I don't want to believe that he would sacrifice innocent people like Gin is implying, even if what he is saying is true...
"Then it's even more reason to have a backup plan, so Dad won't be forced to make a difficult decision like that."
Gin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Then I can't say anything to change your mind. In that case, I'll just follow you so you won't kill yourself by your stupid decision-making."
Masaru-nii and Rangiku agreed to go along with my plan as well, but we should really work on the details, or so I've been told.
As long as they're happy, I guess, but I don't get what's wrong with my plan.
---
END
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kurit_kun
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