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Never Let Me Fall	By : shadoesong Category: Bleach > General Views: 1394 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters, nor do I profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 6

Rin strode leisurely down the division hallway, her hands tucked into her pockets. Her two zanpakuto bounced lightly against her leg. She had retrieved them as soon as she had found out about the War Time Orders, which allowed her to carry them with her everywhere. In her opinion, it should be allowed at all times.

She had spent the last little while avoiding her Captain. Though, it was getting harder and harder since she only stuck around the division, afraid she'd get lost otherwise. She was hoping that, when he did find her, she would be excused from punishment because of the Ryoka invasion. She was broken out of her thoughts by a loud meow. Gilepsi dashed down the hall and leapt onto Rin's shoulder.

"Enjoying the division, Gilepsi?" Rin asked. "It's been a while since you've had a new place to explore, hasn't it? New hiding places, more things to break, and tons of people to bug."

The cat purred and head butted Rin affectionately, earning herself a scratch on the ear.

"I probably shouldn't have snooped in on that meeting, hm? It was worth it, though, even if Kuchiki will have my head for it." The woman sighed out of exasperation. "Jeez... When did he grow up and become so serious? He used to be fun to tease, but now he's just a bore. Maybe it has something to do with his adopted sister being executed? That wouldn't make anyone's mood better. I wonder why she got adopted in the first place-" She wasn't able to finish that thought.

"Keep yourself out of my family business."

The woman jumped and turned around to see her Captain. Gilepsi immediately ran off, her tail bushing out with surprise. Rin scowled after her before glaring at the noble.

"What the hell was that for?! You scared Gilepsi away!" She exclaimed. "And interrupting me while you're at it, too. Nobles should have manners, even I know that!"

"What that animal does is of no concern to me," the man replied impassively. "You will be punished for interfering with the Captain's Meeting."

"Interfering?! It was done anyways!" she protested incredulously. "And I just wanted to know what was happening. You people are so stuck up. These things wouldn't happen if you didn't keep us lower ranked people so out of the loop!"

"Such things don't concern you, Asaje, and must be left to the Captains."

"Bullshit," she snarled. "What's so special about you that none of us can hear?"

"Your punishment will be dealt with after the Ryoka invasion so that we may have as much fighting power available as possible," he continued as if she hadn't spoken. Rin folded her arms across her chest indignantly, but didn't interrupt him. "For now, you will be given a task. You will be sent to investigate the Hakudo gate where the Ryoka had been spotted. Should you find one, you will not engage them. You are there to gather information, not to eliminate them."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just let me kill them?" she spoke up.

"Until we have a greater understanding of their power, you are not to attack. Is this clear, Asaje?" Rin rolled her eyes, but still agreed. He then continued, "Collect three other people to accompany you. I want your report in before nightfall. It must be as detailed as possible. I also want you to include a description of any Ryoka you meet."

"Whatever..." she muttered. "If that's everything...?"

"You are dismissed."

He brushed past her, leaving her to carry out her orders.

Rin crouched atop a rooftop, Gilepsi seated contentedly on her shoulder. She had decided that she didn't need anyone else there to help, and had come alone after finding her familiar. The young woman was far from Hakudo gate, which she blamed on her lack of talent in shunpo. She was already exhausted, but she would only allow herself a small break before moving on.

"Stupid reconnaissance," she grumbled as she tied back her hair just in case she ended up fighting. "Why the hell did I get chosen to do this? This is as good as punishment, especially if he expects that damn report before nightfall. As it is, I won't get to the goddamn gate before it's dark! And why is he making me do another squad's job? If he wants reconnaissance, then maybe he should be going to Squad 2."

"Talking to yourself again?"

The blue eyed woman jumped and sprang to her feet, turning to confront the speaker. She scowled at Daisuke.

"Jeez, why are you so damn quiet?! You're just as bad as Kuchiki!"

"Captain Kuchiki's quiet?" he asked, amused.

"Too quiet. Why can't he be loud and fun to tease like he used to be? And I wasn't talking to myself. Gilepsi's here!" she insisted, pointing a thumb at her shoulder. His gaze followed her gesturing.

"You mean the cat that's over there?" He nodded to his right. The woman turned, her eyes widening when she saw Gilepsi just before she leapt off the roof and disappeared.

"You little bitch! Get back here!" she yelled, shaking her fist. She then turned back to Daisuke. "I swear, she was here the whole time!"

"Uh-huh. I'll take your word for it, then," he agreed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He smirked at her. "What are you doing here, anyways? Don't you have a punishment to be finishing?"

"No punishment till after the invasion, but this might as well be it. Stupid bastard sent me on recon."

"Alone?"

"No, that was my own decision."

"You're going to be in so much trouble by the time this invasion's over and done with," he said with a sigh and a shake of his head. She scowled.

"Well thanks for being sympathetic, I really appreciate it," she muttered.

Suddenly, a loud crack! shook the sky above them, interrupting their conversation. High in the sky, something had collided with the Seki-seki barrier. However, unlike most objects, it was able to maintain its form rather than turn to dust. Angry, yellow lightning arced out from the collision point, covering the transparent sphere with intricate patterns. The pair blinked in confusion.

"The hell? That thing up there... It's not turning to dust. Just what the hell is it?" she growled in bemusement.

"I've no idea, I can't see it clearly..." Daisuke squinted, trying to get a better look at it.

"Whatever it is, its power and density are immense enough to resist the barrier. Think it's those Ryoka Captain Ichimaru didn't kill?" she mused out loud.

"Maybe."

They continued to watch as there was a brief lull and the lightning subsided. Not a minute later, four beams separated from the collision point and crashed into several spots around the Sereitei. Rin immediately turned to Daisuke.

"Which one's the strongest?" she demanded to know.

If she was going to collect information, then she might as well collect information from the most powerful intruder. He pointed in the direction of one of the points and she set off.

What the blue eyed woman found was not what she was expecting. She discovered two young men in a round hole filled with sand. One of them was clad in green, while the other had orange hair and was wearing a shihakusho. Standing at the edge of the hole was a bald shinigami, who was currently doing a dance of some sort. His partner had straight black hair and feathery things near his eye. It reminded Rin of a peacock.

She was crouched on the wall, watching the scene with an indifferent, blue gaze. It shifted to the orange haired teen, who didn't seem any more interested than she was. Finally, she spoke.

"Oi, give me the carrot top, he looks stronger. You two idiots can have the weak looking one."

"Who the hell do you think you are, giving orders to someone who isn't even in your own squad?! In fact, I've never seen you in any of the squads! You some type of newbie or something?!" the bald man retorted, rounding on her.

"I'm hardly new to fighting," she scoffed. "Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Madarame Ikkaku, 3rd seat in the Zaraki Squad!" he announced proudly. She frowned, knowing that she couldn't pull the rank card now.

"Squad 11 with the big, scary guy, right? You guys aren't nearly so menacing as that guy..." she muttered.

"How about you come down here and I'll show you how menacing I am!" he yelled.

"I'd love to, but the carrot top looks stronger. It goes by priority. You're just above that green Ryoka there."

As they fought, the two watched with blank looks on their faces. Only when they turned and began whispering among each other, did Rin and Ikkaku stop. When the bald man saw that they were still in their sandbox, he yelled.

"What the hell are you two idiots still doing in there?! I did the Lucky-Lucky Dance to give you time to get out!" When they ignored him, his hand clenched into a fist. "Ungrateful bastards! What are you two arguing about, anyways?"

He crouched down, frowning, not realizing that he was right in the centre of Rin's line of attack. The woman, who had been about to take advantage of her enemies' distraction, huffed with annoyance. Ikkaku continued, still unaware of his position.

"Oh, well... Go ahead and argue. Nothing can change your upcoming demise."

"Yes, but if we wait too long, someone may come in and steal our kill," his partner spoke up in protest.

He gave Rin a suspicious glare as he spoke, one that she returned. Ikkaku followed his gaze with a frown. He then stood straight.

"Makes sense..." he murmured. He grinned and held his sword above his head dramatically. "Listen up, you two! We'll give you a limited amount of time to talk. You have until I finish my next dance-"

Suddenly, the green clad Ryoka turned tail and fled. At that moment, Rin took advantage of the distraction and lunged at the teen, drawing both her swords.

"Like hell I'll let this fool do another of those stupid dances!" she yelled.

Frantically, the intruder grabbed his sword, barely managing to block the attack before leaping out of the hole. The woman followed, her swords connecting with his.

"You and your little friend have a break up fight?" she purred. Her opponent groaned.

"More or less," he confirmed, shoving the woman away.

She slid across the ground, stopping inches short of falling into the hole. She cried out in surprise when Ikkaku shoved her in as he attacked the intruder.

"This is my kill!" he yelled. Just before he could attack the teen, Rin pulled herself over the edge of the sandbox.

"You lost your chance, jackass! Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!" she yelled, holding out her hand.

Six bars of yellow light slammed into the man's middle, stopping him cold and trapping his arms. His eyes widened with shock when he realized what a high level spell it was. How could a recruit fresh out of the academy preform such a spell?

"There," the woman purred, pulling herself out of the hole. "No more annoyances. I can get on with what I came here to do."

"You know, he did get here first," the teen pointed out. She scowled at him.

"He lost his chance! Get over it! Plus, he's here for sport. I'm here for work! Now, I'll need your name. I'm sure my Captain will want it in the report."

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Asaje Rin. Now, shall we begin?" she purred.

She leapt at the teen, feigning to the right. He swung, leaving himself opened when Rin switched directions. However, when the woman swung, she purposely only sliced open his shihakusho. His big weapon made his attacks slow and clumsy, allowing Rin, no matter how slow she was, to dance and weave between his attacks. A few tricks she had learned from Daisuke, but not a fighting style she was used to. She received cuts for her inexperience, but she never returned them. Finally, when the teen was exhausted, the woman pulled away. He gave her a bemused look, and she replied to his unspoken question as she sheathed her swords.

"I wasn't ordered to kill you. I'm only here to gather information, and so far you are quite unimpressive. While I should kill you, Kuchiki's already going to be pissed, and I'm pretty sure I'll be on cleaning duty for a solid year once this shit is over."

She released Ikkaku before turning and walking away. Regardless of her words, it wasn't her only reason. It was suspicious. Gin allowing the Ryoka to get away. The Ryoka being able to get into Sereitei in the first place. Plus, just who was Kurosaki Ichigo? She had never heard of shinigami outside of Soul Society. She decided that she would hang back and watch, doing her best not to get too involved.

"Ha! Done and on time, too!"

Rin slapped the report down on her Captain's desk, grinning at her accomplishment. She frowned when he didn't share in her victory.

"Where is the rest of your team?" he asked instead.

"They're all here... Except Gilepsi. Little bitch ran off before we even got started," she grumbled.

"Those were not your orders, Asaje," he said in a hard tone, his eyes narrowed.

"Point being? I got the job done. Whether or not it was with other people shouldn't matter. Don't make a big deal out of it, Kuchiki. Bringing other people with me would have made this a lot harder. You'd probably be getting that report a lot later, as well," she said a matter-of-factually.

"..." He glared at her, a glower in which she returned ten fold. "You are done for the night, Asaje. Return to your room immediately."

"Oh, getting rid of me, are we? Fine. I don't want to be here, anyways."

She turned and stomped out of the office, slamming the door on her way out. Or tried to, sliding doors don't slam very well.

It was pitch black outside. Rin could barely see as she wandered back to the barracks. Or where she thought the barracks were. She was pretty sure she had passed the building a while ago. She was going to find a place to sleep outside if she didn't find it soon. Not that she minded, but it was far too hot and she wanted the air conditioning the barracks offered. Just as she was about to give up, a scuff of someone's foot against the ground caught her attention. Not wanting to take any risks, the woman whipped around, drawing one of her swords as she did.

"Show yourself!" she demanded.

No one replied, and she lost track of whoever had been trailing her. She was reluctant to put away her sword, though. Something about the whole situation sent shivers up her spine.

Suddenly, she spun and blocked an attack that had been aimed for her head. Sparks flew off the blades, lighting up the night enough to reveal an eerie grin on the attacker's face. Before she could confirm their identity, her foe leapt away and landed back in the darkness. The woman immediately changed positions as well, so her opponent didn't have the advantage of knowing where she was.

Whoever was attacking her was fast, though. She barely had time to sidestep when their weapon jabbed at her from the darkness. Even then, it caught her side and left a deep cut. She swung in an attempt to counter, but her enemy had already moved away.

This isn't possible! No one's this fast, she thought, frustrated, as she drew her other sword to block another quick attack. She gasped when her attacker was suddenly right in front of her. They slammed the pommel of their weapon into her stomach, making her double over. The attacker then used it to smack her in the back of her head disorientating and stunning her. Her attacker chuckled.

"Your presence has been requested, Asaje-san," they purred.

She didn't recognize the voice. Though, even if she did, she couldn't manage to put two thoughts together, much less name the eerie tone. They grabbed the back of her uniform, as if intending to take her away, only to let go in order to block an attack from someone else.

Rin struggled to stand when she heard the fight move away from her, but her arms trembled so much she couldn't even prop herself up. She twisted her head around to see the fight, but it was too dark. All she knew was that they were quite evenly matched, as their weapons met countless times, and there were no cries of pain from someone being hit. But soon, one of them lost face and disappeared. She heard the sheathing of a weapon and then approaching footsteps.

"Rin? Is that you...? Are you all right?" Rin was shocked when she heard the voice.

"Aika...? The fuck...?" was all the brown-haired woman could manage. She tried once again to get up, but someone stopped her.

"Don't move. Kawasuzu, I want you to go to the manor and order the servants to prepare a room. Once you have, contact Fourth Division and have them come immediately." She was doubly surprised when she heard Byakuya.

"No... I'm fine..." Rin protested, trying to get up once more.

"This is not up for debate," the man said in a hard tone.

"You have a concussion, Rin. You need to have it looked at," Aika told her. "I'm going now, Byakuya-sama."

She then disappeared. The brown-haired woman, though struggling mightily to stay awake, fell unconscious soon after.
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Never Let Me Fall