At this moment, Ganju felt his understanding of reality crumbling bit by bit. They had already come this far; was there really any turning back now?
*'Sorry, we didn't know this person didn't want to be rescued. It's all a big misunderstanding. Just pretend we're tourists visiting the Seireitei, don't mind us.'* → And then, in the spirit of friendship, the Shinigami of the Seireitei would just let them leave, and everything would go back to normal.
Except, was that even possible? Obviously not! If Hanatarō wasn't right there pleading with her, calling her "Miss Rukia" over and over, Ganju would have suspected she was an imposter—a trump card planted here to crush their morale at the very last second.
"Miss Rukia, sigh!" Hanatarō was running out of words, so he turned to Ganju for help. "Mr. Ganju, please say something too."
"Woman, do you really not want to live anymore?"
"That's right." Rukia clenched her fists, replying stubbornly, "So, hurry up and leave."
"No problem!" Ganju gritted his teeth and nodded. Just as Rukia closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate, she suddenly felt a tight grip around her waist. In the next second, she was hoisted uncontrollably over Ganju's shoulder.
"What are you doing?! Put me down right now!"
"Shut up!" Ganju roared. "I came here to save you, and I'm taking you out of here no matter what! If you really don't want to live, you can do whatever you want after we leave! Right now, you're a prisoner, which means you're supposed to be broken out by us. Got it?!"
This declaration was so absurdly shocking that Rukia was completely stunned. *'Got it? What exactly am I supposed to get?'*
*'I'm a prisoner and you're here for a prison break, so I should just obediently cooperate with you—is that what he means? What kind of logical connection is that?!'*
"Put me down! You idiot, this is the center of the Seireitei! There's no way we can escape!"
"We'll go out the exact same way we came in." Ganju curled his lip, his confidence currently bursting at the seams.
"Are those even the same concept?!" Rukia pulled at Ganju's square face, trying to force some sense into him. "My brother will never allow me to be rescued! If you leave right now, I can still beg him to let you go. Otherwise, you're all going to die here!"
"S-Stop moving! If you don't stop, I'm going to bite you!"
At those words, Rukia actually settled down quite a bit. It wasn't that she was afraid Ganju's bite would hurt, but rather that the look on his face was far too malicious.
"Your brother might be tough, but he's not here right now. And even if he was, I wouldn't necessarily be afraid of him!"
At this moment, the only calm person among the three was probably Yamada Hanatarō. He knew Mr. Ganju was very capable, but wasn't that claim stretching his abilities a bit too far?
"Um, Mr. Ganju, do you actually know who Miss Rukia's brother is?"
"I know."
"You know?" Hanatarō was a bit curious. Wasn't Mr. Ganju a Ryoka? How could he know about the affairs within the Seireitei?
"There should only be one family with the surname Kuchiki in the Seireitei—one of the Four Noble Families holding the highest rank." Ganju spoke with disdain. "And her brother, barring any surprises, is the man hailed as the most powerful head in their history, and currently the most famous among the Gotei 13 captains: the Captain of Squad 6, Kuchiki Byakuya."
Hanatarō was surprised that Mr. Ganju actually knew. Captain Kuchiki's fame was mostly confined to the Seireitei; outsiders rarely heard his name.
Beyond his surprise, his internal confusion only deepened, reaching a point where he simply had to ask, "So, how exactly does Mr. Ganju plan to deal with Captain Kuchiki?"
"You'll know when the time comes!" Ganju snapped irritably. "For now, let's get out of here and prepare to rescue Ichigo!"
*'How do I plan to deal with him? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! If I can avoid facing a monster like that, I absolutely will!'*
After quickly setting up a delayed firework, Ganju hoisted Rukia over his shoulder and walked out of the Senzaikyū alongside Hanatarō. The people of the Seireitei didn't seem to have noticed the situation here yet; not a single soul could be seen on the solitary bridge leading outside.
"It looks like the plan is going smoothly, Mr. Ganju!"
"Don't celebrate too early." Despite his words, Ganju's completely unrestrained grin perfectly illustrated just how smug he was feeling right now.
They were still tense, of course. Even though there was no one around, the two of them couldn't help but hunch over as they walked, as if doing so would somehow make them invisible.
*Tap... tap... tap...*
The faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the bridge. Ganju immediately raised his hand, signaling Hanatarō to stop. Crouching even lower, he quietly slipped two Blood-Tear Orbs into his right palm.
*'If you're just passing by and don't see us, I'll let you go. But if you accidentally spot us, I'll make you taste the agony of crying your eyes out!'*
A silver-white hairpiece came into view, followed by long black hair. *'A woman?'*
Just as Ganju relaxed his guard slightly, the approaching figure fully ascended the stairs. The iconic white captain's haori fluttered gently in the wind, the black Shihakushō standing out like a streak of ink on white paper.
A captain-class Shinigami! The feeling was completely different from Zaraki Kenpachi earlier. Even from a distance, an untouchable, overwhelming aura washed over them.
"C-Captain Kuchiki..." Hanatarō stammered, his face completely blank with terror.
So this was Kuchiki Byakuya. Ganju felt his limbs lock up. He had heard his older sister talk about this man, but he had never actually seen him in person.
*'I really jinxed it. I bragged about having a strategy to deal with Kuchiki Byakuya, and now I actually have to deal with him. I thought I'd cross that bridge when I came to it, but now...'*
*'What should I even say?'*
"So, how exactly should we report this to the Head Captain so that we don't look completely incompetent?"
Over at the Squad 2 barracks, Omaeda was clutching his head. His already clustered facial features were practically squished together into a ball; anyone could see the intense inner conflict he was experiencing.
He had asked Suì-Fēng this very question, only to be shot down with a curt, "Report exactly what happened."
And then—then Suì-Fēng had rushed out to find Lord Shihouin, muttering something about "not letting you leave so easily" before she left.
He had absolutely no idea what she meant. For the first time, Omaeda felt that Suì-Fēng was actually quite childish. Dumping all the embarrassing work on him—it was far too irresponsible!
What should he do? He couldn't think of a solution at all!
He gave up. Since the Captain ordered him to report truthfully, he would just report truthfully!
"Last night, the Underground Special Detention Facility was secretly infiltrated. There were no casualties..."
Ganju watched Kuchiki Byakuya approach step by step. Though the man hadn't spoken a word, his very posture dictated that everything in the world should obediently make way for him, as if it were the most natural law of the universe.
"...Only one dangerous individual escaped. The identity of said dangerous individual is the former Gotei 13..."
Leaning back slightly, Ganju whispered his instructions to Hanatarō. He would try to stall Kuchiki Byakuya; the moment he made his move, Hanatarō was to run forward with everything he had, and Ganju would throw Rukia to him.
"...Lieutenant of Squad 13..."
Byakuya had entered the effective range of the Blood-Tear Orbs. Ganju stomped his right foot and suddenly charged forward, tossing Rukia off his shoulder and backward with his left hand. He raised his right hand high, just about to hurl the Blood-Tear Orbs, when a familiar back suddenly blocked his path.
"...Shiba Kaien."