Road to Redemption

Chapter 34: Another Bond Severed

A/N: *peeks* Hello everyone! Sorry I been so silent this past month. College has been one exam after the other (grades are great tho 😈) so I have less time to write. But now that we're on quarantine for 11 more days I have time to write. We're close to the end everyone. So be ready for it! I hope you like and thanks for reading! 🤗😋

© Bleach and its characters don't belong to me. They belong to Tite Kubo and Shounen Jump. Only Anna and Shizuka belong to me.

Chapter 34: Another Bond Severed

"Are you certain?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. It's certain that Aizen will be attacking the Soul Palace. We've pinpointed the date for late May. Karakura likely won't be involved."

"Then why tell us? It's none of our concern now." Uryu spoke.

Tatsuki shifted in her chair. The Quincy's tone was cold and clear in its intentions. What scared her more, however, was her boyfriend's ability to stay calm, when in reality he was coming up with something.

Chizuru took her hand. Tatsuki stared at her pink-haired friend, she seemed concerned. While they often butted heads, the human girl was very sweet when she wanted to be.

'You ok?' she mouthed.

'Yeah, thanks.' Tatsuki mouthed back.

The rest of the conversation was a blur, Tatsuki only came back when Orihime and Ulquiorra returned. The pair had dried themselves and were bringing back more cake.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san! Have you guys come to get some sweets?"

"I'm afraid not, Orihime-san. It a far more urgent matter."

He relayed everything to the both of them. Tatsuki was sure Orihime would take an issue with the coming plans, but to her surprise, her redhead bestie simply smiled. "Okay. If that's the case then maybe we can take some precautions. Can we pass by the shop tomorrow?"

Urahara seemed surprised by her eagerness but quickly agreed. Both he and Yoruichi bought some treats and left the bakery.

It took a while for anyone to speak again.

"We can discuss what'll happen back at my house, but there's cake to be eaten and a party to finish."

***
By the end of the night, all Orihime wanted was to fall down on the bed beside Ulquiorra. Her boyfriend had to carry her since her feet hurt too much and by the time they reached Shizuka's house she was half asleep.

"Urahara is probably going to ask for our help... What do we do?"

Ichigo's question hung in the air. Eventually, Ulquiorra answered. "Refusing would raise suspicions within him, and while I don't think Kisuke would be the type of man to reprimand us for not wanting to fight, he's still a mastermind whos plans took out Sosuke. We cannot underestimate him."

Uryu seemed to be deep in thought. "Would he believe us if we said we would follow him? We haven't spoken to him since the battle against Anna Maria, and we didn't exactly follow his plan then."

"Then we 'follow' his plan now."

Orihime's suggestion gathered a lot of confused looks, she giggled drowsily and explained.

"Remember Urahara-san said he wanted to keep my bond with Ulquiorra a secret from the Soul Society and from Anna? Well, now that they know, there's no reason for us not to use it as a weapon!"

"That's a great idea, but what if he doesn't trust us anymore?"

"He's gonna have to sulk, we're all he has. I'm aware that Ulquiorra and I are not his most powerful allies, but the bond gives us an advantage. If the fullbringers are coming too it's likely he'll ask Sado-kun to fight them, maybe Kurosaki-kun and Shizuka-san too since they also spent a long time training with them and as such know their fighting styles and their moves.