Sintesis Gris

Chapter 1

12 Hours Earlier

By the time he'd gotten through Ulquiorra and to Rukia, Renji was already at her side, frantically trying to heal her with his pathetic kidou skills while Ishida and Chad stood guard. Pesshe Gatiishe and Dondo Chakka stood over Renji offering utterly useless advice.

Ichigo didn't have to say a word to Orihime. She said the words as soon as they stopped their frantic sprint:

"Souten Kisshun, I reject!"

Renji was thrown back as the healing field of Orihime's reistu formed over Rukia. It was almost comical. Ishida ran over to kneel beside Orhime.

"Orihime-san! Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"Nuh-uh," mumbled Orihime, still intent on Rukia.

"Um, was that 'no, I'm not alright' or 'no, they didn't hurt me?'"

Despite the severity of the situation, or perhaps because of it, Ichigo let out a hoarse laugh.

They'd found Orihime. She hadn't betrayed them. Rukia was going to be okay.

He stopped laughing immediately when he realized he was no longer the only one doing it.

There was total silence in the cavernous chamber shave for the soft crackling sound of Orihime's energy field and the low chuckle that seemed to surround them.

""Who- who is that?" asked Nell in a tremulous voice.

A figure, clad in white, emerged from the shadows.

Aizen Sousuke.

Ichigo jammed his eyes shut, but he knew it was no good. He'd already seen Kyouka Suigetsu's blade.

One moment Orihime Inoue was concentrating all her power, her thoughts, her illogical guilt as to the situation into healing Kuchiki Rukia. The next she was surrounded by white.

Her first thought was "Am I dead?"

Her second was "Gee, Soul Society sure has changed."

Then she saw Aizen.

"Hello, Orihime-chan," he said, and she panicked. Panicked, and reached within herself for the power that let her defend herself, let her be more than a burden to Kurosaki-kun, and reacted instinctively.

"I REJECT!"

Aizen's eyes widened. He ran towards he, grabbing something-

The white faded to black.

They hung suspended in a void, pitch black all around them, their faces somehow completely illuminated and free of shadow, oddly two-dimensional. Rukia, partially healed and making soft sounds of wakefulness.

Ishida-kun, still kneeling at her side.

Renji, climbing to his fight.

The three desert brothers, who, after a moment of stunned silence, promptly began making a racket.

Chad, standing tall and apart from the group, speaking now: "Where is Ichigo?"

-_____________-

White all around him, Aizen Sousuke's heavy reitsu pervading every breath he took. A shout, breaking through, shattering the white blindness.

"I REJECT!"

and then an invisible hand grabs his arm, pulls him towards something, someone, he can barely tell that he's moving but then his captor stops - their reitsus - the brothers, Renji, Ishida, Orihime, Chad, Rukia! - where are they? - and the lights come back on. Go back off. Whatever. The point is, Aizen is holding him by the forearm, focusing his reitsu on him so powerfully that he can barely breath.