Corroded Spirits

Corroded Spirits: 11

Chapter 11: Wary Consciousness

 "So- uh... What did you call me here for again, Captain?" Renji asked with a rub of his neck, as he stood awkwardly infront of his Captain.

 "I have an assignment for you." Byakuya said upfront, slightly surprising his subordinate. 

"Assignment?" Renji repeated.

 "It's just a little errand really.. I quick one.. And when you carry it out, I want you to do it as quick as you can..." 

Now Renji was downright confused. Byakuya was never one to give out an assignment. And from the looks of it, this one seemed to count as a 'secret' one. They weren't the Omnitsikudo for crying out loud, but if his captain ordered it, Renji will obey. "What's the job?" He asked firmly. 

Byakuya looked up momentarily from his calligraphic-writing, and stared hard into the small pupils of hic vice-captain. "I need you to go to Las Noches."

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 30 minutes later, which now marked the clock 9:13 in the night, Renji had successfully snuck out of Soul Society and was now wandering through the roofs of Karakura to Kisuke Urahara's shop. He recalled Byakuya's orders as he jumped from another roof. 

"What? Go to Las Noches?!" Renji had practically screamed. 

Byakuya glared at him darkly at that, quietly telling him to keep his voice down. "I need you to investigate something." He said.

 Renji couldn't believe it. He would've understood if it was to go to the Human World; Rukongai didn't sound bad either; and even the Maggot's Nest, if he had thought it, would be a cakewalk. But going to the World of Hollow, with full knowledge of what lurked there from the recent war, Renji wasn't excited to go at all.

 He was even more ticked off when he asked his captain the purpose of the task. "The other captains and I need information regarding Orihime Inoue's time from Hueco Mundo." 

Now that was just hysterical! How could Byakuya Kuchiki, of all people, go to such lengths, as to order his vice-captain to sneak out of Soul Socety and into Hueco Mundo, just to get information on a human girl's kidnapping?! 

"That girl is more trouble than she looks." Renji whispered to himself, landing rougher than usual on the pavement as he finally got to his destination. 

"Well.. Took you long enough.." A familiar, playful voice said. Renji raised his head, and was met with the sight of the carefree, lazy, and seductress vice-captain of the 10th Division, Rangiku Matsumoto. "Rangiku-san!" Renji yelled. "What are you doing here?"

 Rangiku shaked her shoulder lazily. "Same as you. Carrying out orders for my captain." She replied without turning.

 "Hitsugaya-taichou, or-"

 Rangiku said it for him. "Ordered me to go to Las Noches.. With you.. Didn't your captain tell you..?" 

 Renji looked away slightly, remembering he had stormed off of his captain, after hearing the reason of the assignment, to even know the rest of the details. "Well, I'm here now. So let's get going.." He said, but another voice, called out. 

"I'm coming, too!" 

The two Shinigamis looked to the left, and saw Uryu Ishida walking up to them. "Ishida? Don't tell me.." Renji tried to say, but Uryu held up a hand to stop him. 

"I've got a call from Urahara-san. He said he had a message from Byakuya Kuchiki, that he wanted to forward to me.. And it was an order to accompany you two in Las Noches." 

"Why? Aren't two Shinigamis enough?" Renji asked.

 Uryu pushed up his glasses. "You will need someone to guide you through the dome. Besides, only I, besides Kurosaki, who cannot be here, remember and know the way to Inoue-san's cell-room.. And even though I don't take orders from a Shinigami, Captain or lower, I want to help Inoue-san." Uryu said with a small nod.

 "Do what you need to do then." Rangiku said, entering the shop. With a sigh as his confirmation, Renji followed, with Uryu tailing slightly behind him, down to the basement, where the Garganta was being prepared.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 "So what exactly do we need to look for?" Rangiku asked, going through piles of rubble, looking for nothing in particular. 

"How the heck should I know?" Renji shot back, kicking more rubble as he walked along the scratched and worn out walls. Luckily, the moment they got out of the Garganta, no Hollow nor Arrancar was in sight. So they managed to make their way to Las Noches without any trouble. 

"What's left of it anyway." Uryu thought, surveying the dark messed up room, that used to be Orihime's cell.

 When they reached Las Noches, the dome was no more. The battles that had took place about a few months before, took its' toll on the once great architecture that served as Aizen Sosouke's hideout. The roof had been destroyed (he knew why), several holes adorned  the lower sections, long and large cracks ran through the entire dome, threatening to bring the rest of the dome walls down.

 The inside had been even worse. The hundreds of building that were inside, were reduced to about 3 dozen. Millions of debris and rubble littered the inside. Any Arrancar, unfortunate enough to haven't escaped from Las Noches the moment the battle began, were either trapped, or crushed.

 Uryu was grateful, that one of the buildings to have at least survived, with a few damages was Orihime's cell. Though, the rubble and debris that got stuck inside weren't helping them in their investigation. And the fact that they had no idea what to look for, wasn't helping either.

 "They said anything that could help them determine Inoue's condition, right?" Uryu asked, running his hands along the scratches that he could still remember, had been placed by Orihime herself. As he did so, he could still feel remnants of Orihime's Reiatsu from the scratches. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. "Abarai-kun.. I think I've got an idea." He said.

 Renji and Rangiku both stopped their searching and walked up to him. "What?" Renji asked. 

"Is there a Shinigami spell that can emit screens to project images?" Uryu asked, startling the two Shinigamis. 

No one has ever asked anything like that. 

"I think there is.. Ne, Rangiku-san?" Renji looked to Rangiku.

 "There is one. But we use it to relay messages or orders. Why are you asking??" Rangiku inquired looking at the Quincy with a quirk of her lips.

 "Inoue-san's Reiryoku is embedded in her scratches in the walls. I think I can harness them and pixelate them into images.. to show us what happened in the room the time Inoue-san attacked us." Uryu explained.

 "Oh! You can do that?" Rangiku asked, clearly amazed, making Uryu's pride weaken with flattery. He looked away with a nod.

 "Okay then.. Let's do it.." Rangiku said, preparing herself to start the spell. Renji backed away, knowing he wouldn't be of any use. "Bakudo no.-" Before she could start the incantation, though, the room began to tremble. "W-what-"

A dark Reiatsu suddenly filled the room, so powerful, it almost suffocated them. 

"What the hell is this?!" Renji strained, placing both hands on the floor to keep himself upright. The pressure was so strong, that Rangiku was quick to lose consciousness. "Ra-rangik-." 

Uryu fought to breathe, feeling spit run down his gaping mouth. The pressure was too much. Whatever or whoever it was omitting from, it was certainly one the three wouldn't be able to stand up to. 

 Uryu noticed something flitter at the far corner of the room, but his mind was too clouded to register who or what it was.. "Abaraii..." He said breathlesly. Renji was already slipping too, and he's face-flat on the floor, by the time Uryu's eyes get shot. Before he slips himself, he, unwittingly reaches his hand out to the blurry image across the room. "Who--.." And he goes.