Nanao, Vice-Captain of the 8th, stands on the wall along the courtyard, silently observing the battle from a safe distance. Eventually she speaks up, "...What does the Ritei division* want? If it is a message, a Hell Butterfly** would suffice."
"Yes," a man is crouching on the ground behind the wall that Nanao’s standing on. His head is bowed slightly and he wears an odd hat that covers his face. He is a member of the messenger group, the 1/5th team*** of the Ritei division (Secret Maneuvers).
"However, this message," he says, "is under the joint names of General-captain Yamamoto and 10th Captain Hitsugaya."
"Under the joint names of two captains..." Nanao looks over her shoulder in surprise, "...It’s a top-security message!?"
Meanwhile, Chad’s battle is over – he lies face down on the ground, blood splattered around him.
"...Although it’s amazing enough for a person to make it into Seireitei..." Shunsui says to himself as he looks down at the unconscious boy. "For him to battle this far... is truly an admirable feat."
Shunsui’s eyes grow serious, "...Even so... the final strike only made it this far..." He faces a smoky, demolished part of the courtyard – most likely the area that Chad damaged from the energy in his fist. "...This guy might have been dangerous if took him straight on..." Shunsui says, impressed.
"Captain Kyoraku!" Nanao calls out, running towards him. "A message for you!"
"What wrong? It’s not like you to lose your breath over something," Shunsui calmly tells to his panting vice-captain. "Speaking of which, a boy from the Ritei division came by just now, didn’t he. What was it about?"
"Captain Aizen..." Nanao tells him, "has been killed...!"
The news catches Shunsui off guard. He looks up at his vice-captain seriously, almost in disbelief.
Nanao describes the manner of Aizen’s death.**** Then she adds, "It’s not an accidental death, it’s a murder. The culprit is missing... Since this was a top-security message from the joint names of Captains Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and Hitsuya Toshirou... there is no mistaking the information..."
"...I see..." Shunsui tips his straw hat forward, turning away from Nanao, "...Sousuke-kun has..."
"...Let’s go right now," He starts walking away, "at least I should go see his face..."
Nanao turns her head slightly and narrows her eyes. "...What happened, Captain Kyoraku?" she asks, looking down at the unconscious Chad. "This intruder isn’t dead, is he."
Shunsui pauses, looking back at her.
Nanao lifts her right hand, her index finger arched and her whole arm emitting a strange glow, "Shall I finish him off?"
Suddenly appearing by her side, Shunsui holds her wrist gently, sparing her a sad look. "Please stop. A young woman shouldn't do such a thing."
"But...!" Nanao looks up at him, upset. "The one who killed Captain Aizen is most likely a member of this intruder’s gang..."
"...Yes, you’re right, but..." Shunsui looks away. "It might not be true."
"...eh...?" Nanao is shocked by his words. After all, if the murderer isn’t one of the intruders, then... well, you know.
"...Nevermind," Shunsui corrects himself. "I’m simply speaking hypothetically. Anyway, it’s unnecessary to rashly kill someone. Call for the paramedic team and put him in a jail cell somewhere. If he may be the culprit, it’s all the more reason not to kill him right now. You know that."
"...I understand," Nanao says calmly. "I shall arrange it at once. I apologize for acting so presumptuously."
Shunsui sighs and looks up at the sky, apparently talking to himself, "...Things are becoming troublesome... it seems."
(Intro page – Nanao carries a thick book under her arm, looking cool, calm and collected.)
And now, for something completely different...
Sprinting through a labyrinth of passage ways, Ichigo is running for his life. He turns a corner – his sword hand gripping tightly, but bleeding – and Zaraki suddenly appears in front of him!
Zaraki slashes down at him with his jagged Zanpaku sword and Ichigo parries it with his Zangetsu blade. Ichigo grunts at the force of the blow but manages to break the stalemate and leap away from his attacker. He takes off running again, his cheek cut and bleeding now.
Zaraki watches him go, "...Is running away the only thing you’re capable of...!" He takes off, chasing after Ichigo.
Calm down... calm down...! Ichigo thinks as he runs, I can cut him! It’s not like I can’t! He remembers slashing Zaraki earlier without managing to leave a single cut on him. His sword hand starts to tremble uncontrollably. Shit!! He curses and uses his other hand to steady it. I’m not afraid! he insists to himself.
Then a crack appears on a wall as he’s rushing by. The wall explodes outward and Zaraki is in the debris and smoke. He comes right at Ichigo. "Don’t run so much. I don’t like chasing after weak guys," Zaraki says with a bored expression.
Ichigo sprints away, freaking terrified. (who wouldn’t be!?)
On a rooftop high above, Yachiru squats silently. She’s looking down piteously at the fight.
Stabbing Zangetsu’s into the ground, Ichigo leans on it and tries to catch his breath. Apparently, he managed to get away from Zaraki for a few precious minutes.
Shit…! Why…! I hit him…! But I still couldn’t cut him…! Ichigo berates himself. Is there really that much of a difference between my strength and his…!? Damn it all…!
No…! he thinks, Calm down… gotta calm down… there’s no way I couldn’t cut him… I’m getting scared of his spiritual aura now…! That’s bad…! If I calm down and hone my own aura, there’s no way that I can’t cut him…
"...It’s just as ol’ man Zangetsu said...!" Ichigo grips the hilt of Zangetsu in both hands, bowing his head and leaning against the embedded sword. As he rests, he repeats over and over in his mind, calm down… calm down, calm down, calm down… "Discard fear... Look ahead..." he says aloud as his mantra changes to I’ll win… I’ll win…. "If I back down, I’ll grow weak... If I hesitate, I’ll die!!" I’ll win, I’ll win, I’ll win, I’ll win, I’ll win. He raises his head in determination, I’LL WIN!!!
With Zangetsu in his hands, he takes off down the passageway, "Right! Let’s do this!!"
That’s when he feels it, like his heart plunging into his stomach. The sensation is strong and he looks up in disbelief, "...Chad’s aura... disappeared...?"
This realization crushes him, No way! It’s can’t be! Chad lost…!? Is he dead…!? It’s a lie!! That’s not possible!! Chad couldn’t have lost…!!
A spark of life in the vast darkness... Ichigo feels it. He looks up again in surprise, He’s alive! He still has a bit of aura left!!
Ichigo stands there, facing the sky, thinking, That’s right… What am I getting scared about… If I lose here, then Chad, Inoue, Ishida, Ganju, Hanataro, Yoruichi – the whole group whose strength was lent to me - everyone will die!! His expression sets in determination, I haven’t the time to get scared!!!*****
Eventually, Ichigo’s feet skid across the ground as he turns the final corner.
Zaraki looks up from where he has been sitting in wait. He stands up, "...So you’ve finally come out, huh... Have you prepared yourself for death? Or are you simply going to surrender?"
"Neither one!!" Ichigo raises his sword, bleeding arm and all. He leaps in to attack and Zaraki blocks easily.
…Wait for me, Chad… I’ll defeat this guy and I’ll definitely, Ichigo silently vows, definitely rescue you!!! He breaks the deadlock and swings hard, a manic look in his eyes.
Zaraki stands there, blood erupting from the fresh cut in his chest. He looks down at it.
"...Sorry. I still don’t intend to die," Ichigo looks up and yells, "If I die, it’ll destroy everyone who’s got my back!!!"
* I'll admit I'm not familiar with the term ??? ("riteitai"), so I won't make a rash guess at it's true meaning without feedback. The Ritei Divisions seem to be some sort of group that works parallel to the Shinigami Divisions - probably taking care of the innerworkings of Soul Society instead.
** The black swallow-tail butterflies associated with Soul Society – “Hell Butterflies.” I didn’t know they were used as heralds – interesting...
*** Or the 5 1/2 team... honestly, I’m useless at mathmatical fractions, much less fractions in a foreign language. -_-
**** Nanao mentions that he died by Zanpaku sword at close range, and then stuff about destroyed heart, extracted soul, ect. I’m not familiar with the terms she uses, so I wouldn’t want to write a direct translation so hastily.
***** Um... Ichigo forgot to mention that Rukia would die too if he lost... what's up with that!?
Notes:
-There's probably a few mistakes in this summary, so feel free to laugh heartily. It's 4:30am, by the way, so my state of mind is a little... off-kilter...
-I'm kinda sad that Chad couldn't make it through the Shunsui fight even though he had his heart set on it, but I guess everyone has to face personal dissappointment one way or another. I'm just relieved that Shunsui spared his life not once, but twice. Shunsui's still a "nice guy" in my book.
-Shunsui refers to Captain Aizen as "Sousuke-kun" - giving the impression that these two good-natured guys were pretty good friends and Shunsui may know something about what Aizen was investigating. It might just be me, but Shunsui looked pretty saddened by news of his death. Then again, you never know with these guys...
-Nanao is creepy when she's self-rightious. o_0
-Did I ever mention that I get peeved when Ichigo talks in double negatives too much? >_<
-The way Ichigo scolds himself for being scared reminds me of chapter 1, vol. 1.
-So all in all, this chapter was mainly about Ichigo getting over his fear and evening the playing field with Zaraki. I'm not complaining, cuz there's a lot of cool shots of Nanao, Shunsui, and Ichigo this week - but, personally, it didn't beat last weeks chapter in all-around coolness. ^_^;