"Let me...."
"Chad, grab on me." Mei quickly stopped Chad as she observed quite a lot of enemies coming towards them and she didn't want to show too much so she planned to use her Soul Reaper abilities. She tried to focus her spiritual energy and succeeded, she was airborne and then she used her Flash Steps to bring them down to land on a tree peacefully and silently, just to left a few traces as bait.
She put her index finger between her lips signaling Chad to be quiet when they heard the sounds of running towards them. "Shh...."
"We don't see any traits.... That means they're still alive!" There was a group of Soul Reapers standing near the tree where they were hiding, but fortunately these guys couldn't sense Reiatsu so they went somewhere else to look. "Go find them!"
"Right!"
"My my, what a close call...." Mei breathed a sigh of relief when she saw those Soul Reapers leave.
"Do you have a plan, miss Acheron?" Chad asked nervously.
"Definitely not." Mei replied with a straight face and put a thumb up.
She took out a new peach and invited Chad to eat it, but he shyly refused, so Mei ate the peach while she thought about what to do next. Chad looked at Mei, saw this woman silent and nibbling on the peach she brought, her eyes looking far away suddenly lit up when she saw a crowd running after someone. "There!"
Mei immediately picked up the sword with her free hand and jumped down from the tree. "Let's go Chad, it's better than we find more people."
Chad nodded and jumped down like Mei, they ran in the direction the crowd was chasing.
They limit fighting as much as possible and try to find the remaining people as the others keep moving and the Reishukaku of many people blend together making it difficult for Mei to distinguish. At the intersection, Mei pondered which way to go, then she put her sword in the middle of the road and saw which direction it fell, then went in that direction, causing Chad to look at Mei helplessly.
"Hey, you there! Who are you guys!? What do you know about all these bodies lying here?" While they were wondering where to run, a group of Soul Reapers chased after them and blocked their path.
"Hey, are you with the intruders we saw earlier?"
"Intruders? You saw earlier?" Chad replied. "Probably, yes."
"Good grief, did you just underestimate us the 11th Division and get away with it, you're about to pay for it with you life, intruders!"
"You're going to get cut to shreds in five minutes!" They spoke angrily and aggressively when they thought that their accomplices were defeated by Mei and Chad while those two didn't know anything, so they succeeded, making Mei a bit "unhappy".
"I am sorry but I'm afraid we cannot give you that much time."
Chad replied calmly as he hinted that Mei had disappeared and when she appeared behind the Soul Reapers, they turned pale. Before they could turn around, Mei knocked them all down. She clicked her tongue and walked past them. At this moment, Chad also understood why Ichigo was so afraid of fighting Mei. " Dumbass.... C'mon Chad, let's continue."
Mei quickly ran towards the direction where she could feel Ichigo's spirit energy increasing more than before, maybe he got into battle with someone quite strong. But it was almost dark and they still hadn't found Ichigo, so they decided to find a warehouse somewhere that was a bit dusty but that meant no one came in or out much and rested for the night.
"It's warm here, isn't it? You're lucky to have found shelter from the rain, let alone fresh berries, in this desolate place." In Mei's dream, she once again heard that woman's voice. But this time the scene was a bit clearer than before, it seemed like the woman had a temporary companion and was sheltering from the rain in a cave. That woman was eating a peach while cooking. As for Mei herself, she is like a ghost that can go through everything without the other two being able to see her. Perhaps this is a memory of the other woman.
"I was just following the scent of life. It's particularly strong in a place like this." The woman replied as she picked up a strawberry and tried it. "It's a shame these berries don't have much flavor."
"Seriously? In case you didn't know, this fruit is pretty juicy. The only downside is that when you chew it... It becomes extremely spicy." The woman's companion said, leaving her silent for a long time as he explained the taste of that strawberry. Could it be said that the woman was flustered? "Have you... lost your sense of taste?"
" I can still taste certain things... like a faint sweetness. Before coming here, I stopped by a place called ██████. It had barren cliffs and nights lit by bonfires. Burgundy snow would fall from the sky, and when it landed on my tongue... it tasted like raspberries." The woman said, she sat staring at the fire boiling the pot in front of her, she said those things like it was something she treasured the most. "The flavor wasn't exactly sweet, but it left a lasting impression. When I think back on my past, I realize that what's tying everything together... isn't the big events, but rather these small yet unforgettable moments."
"Don't worry about it. Losing oneself is a reality that every ████-███████████ (Self-Annihilator) must face. At least, I haven't completely lost my senses and memories yet.".....
From that point on, she couldn't hear anything else from their conversation. Mei knows that the other woman also has problems with her senses and memory like herself and what she receives are small daily joys.... The same as Mei... The friends and memories she has now are also a small joy in life, learning interesting things with many people and doing silly things together....
"You check there, quick!"
"Did you find them?"
"No!"
"We'll search this one!"
"Next check that warehouse!"
"Yeah I know!"
"Uh oh....."When Mai woke up, it was already dawn and outside came the calls of Soul Reapers searching for the two of them. She quickly woke Chad up and prepared to face the worst that could happen today. "Wake up bud!"
"Get the door open." Upon hearing voices of Shinigami outside preparing to search the warehouse they are in when Chad just woke up and seeing the barricaded door being banged against. Mei clutched her weapon in anticipation and Sado manifested his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, they both observed that silence and hoping the Soul Reapers groups would leave soon. But what they got was nothing but bad things that were about to happen. "Harder!"
Even though Mei strikes with her scabbard, on her side she knocks down all the enemies and hits them to the point of flying far away, without even drawing her sword yet fighting so horribly that a lucky Soul Reaper is still alive. woke up and glanced at Mei.
"Damn, these monsters!"
Chad walked over and interrupted the fat Soul Reaper's words and grabbed his collar and lifted him up with one hand like he weighed nothing. "Tell me where the repentance cell is."
"How do you even know that name?" The Soul Reaper stuttered in surprise when he learned that even Chad knew the name of the prison where Rukia was being held.
"I asked the last guy I hit where Kuchiki Rukia was and that's what he said just before he passed out." Chad frowned and spoke with a serious look as he was determined to get the answer out of this fat Soul Reaper's mouth. "Tell us where it is while you still can."
"It's.... It's there! It's right there!" As the fat Soul Reaper panicked and tremblingly in fear, he pointed at the white buildings in the distance. "You see that tall white tower way up there? Right next to the mountaintop?"
"The Repentance Cell is at the top!" Chad remained silent without saying anything. He squinted his eyes and focused on the fat Soul Reaper for a long time to see if he was lying or not, causing the other Soul Reaper to panic because he was afraid Chad would do something to him. ta. But what Chad did was just drop him to the ground and make him land on his butt. "Please let go of me."
"Very well.... Thanks for your help." Chad politely thank the Shinigami and quickly left when that Soul Reaper said nothing.
"You're welcome?" However, as Sado begins walking away, the sneering Shinigami mocks him for turning his back on the enemy and leaps forward as he attempts to slash at Sado, only for the latter Mei uses her sword to knock out the fat Soul Reaper. Then they continued running to the white towers that the fat Soul Reaper had shown them. On the way, they met many Soul Reapers blocking their way, but they did not hesitate to defeat the enemies to escape. save Rukia.
In the Eighth Division compound, an energy blast from Yasutora Sado's Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, blows a large hole in a wall, sending several unseated Shinigami flying through it in the process. Mei could feel a large amount of Reiatsu appearing here and then immediately disappearing as they walks through the hole and along the trench gouged into the ground, Sado finds himself confronted by 8th Division 3rd Seat Enjōji Tatsufusa, who declares them. "Hold it right there! That's as far as you go! You foolish Ryokas! I'm the Assistant Adjutant and third seat of 8th Division! Enjōji Tatsufusa!"
"I'll bet you're wishing you'd chosen some other path!" Tatsufusa laughed sinisterly and vilely as he belittled Chad with Mei. Chad glanced over at Mei and saw that she had become much more serious, holding her sword in her left hand and her thumb had pushed the sword out of its sheath a bit as if pondering something. "Surely even you realize that this road became a dead end for you from the secon I appeared!"
After drawing his Zanpakutō, Tatsufusa initiates Hōzan Kenbu by rapidly and repeatedly slashing in all directions around his body while screaming a repeated kiai, leaving only his smirking face visible between the whirling strikes. However, with Tatsufusa arrogantly goading Sado to make a move and not be timid just because Tatsufusa's swordplay has never been beaten, Sado simply punches him in the face with his Brazo Derecha de Gigante fist between the slashes, sending Tatsufusa hurtling into the sky and vanishing with a twinkle.
"Sado-kun." Mei held out her right hand and to stop Chad from running further surprised him the first time Mei called him by honorific with an extremely serious and wary expression. He immediately understood why she was so wary when he suddenly felt a large amount of Reiatsu pressing down on them.
While Chad was still looking around, rose petals were flying down towards them, causing him to suddenly look up. From above, there was a person wearing a large pink haori with a conical hat slowly landing on the ground in the most elegant way. He stood up and had a smile on his face, not mockingly but as if wishing to be friends but his hawk-like eyes observed the intruders carefully as he paid more attention to Mei because he knew that this woman was stronger than that brown-haired boy. "My name is Kyoraku Shunsui, 8th Division Captain. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"8th Division Captain?"
"Pleased to meet you." He chuckled when he saw so many flowers still falling, then he turned up to talk to a girl wearing glasses and standing above. Based on her basic uniform and lack of haori, she was probably a lieutenant. "Hey! Nanao-chan! Enough with the flower petals already!"
Even though he told his lieutenant, the woman named Nanao still dropped flowers, making Shunsui sigh. "I guess she didn't hear me. Hey, Nanao! it's very nice but that's enough set decoration alright?"
"I think we get the point! Save some for later, my sweet Nanao-chan! Lovely, lovely Nanao-chan!" As soon as he finished saying that, his lieutenant poured all the rose petals from the basket onto his head, then she threw the flower basket on Shunsui's head and sent his conical hat flying.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to stay and watch your routine. Please just step aside." Having had his hat knocked off by this, Shunsui sits still with the basket covering his head, prompting an embarrassed Chad to apologize to him and tries to go around him. But even so Mei still stared at Shunsui and didn't move at all, as if she was frozen even though Chad made signs for her to quickly move.
"Come one, can't you loosen up a little and try to have some fun?" Shunsui bemoans Chad and Mei not being willing to play along because everyone is so indifferent these days as he puts his hat back on. "Life's too short to take it seriously."
"I've asked you nicely. We're in kind of a hurry. You seem like a decent enough guy, so if there's any way to avoid it, I'd rather not fight you."
"Then I guess we have a slight problem.... since there is one of us is anxious for a fight, but of course I can't just let you or that pretty lady through either." Shunsui said with a smirk. "I don't suppose you guys would be willing to retreat, would ya?"
"We could never do that."
"I though as much, I guess that leaves us no choice." Sado tenses up and prepares to fight, Shunsui merely brings out a jug of sake and two cups before suggesting that they have a friendly drink together, leaving both Chad and Mei stunned by that. "We'll have to have a friendly drink."
"Why not? If you won't retreat, at least you guys can take a break here for a while?" Shunsui smiled and raised the wine bottle as if to say that it was not poisoned. "Let me show you a little hospitality."
"No thanks." Chad bluntly refuses. "It's a rule, minors are not allowed to drink any alcohol."
"Oh well.... That's unfortunate, how about you? The quiet lady?"
"I don't drink alcohol while I'm working." Mei said with an impassive face and seemed to be a little interested but still had to hold back because they were in the middle of a battlefield now.
"What a pity.... I hate to drink alone. But maybe it's just as well, this whole thing will be over soon, now that the other Captains are all on the move. Probably if you were smart you'd just...."
"The other Captains?" Chad was surprised to learn more about this information while Shinsui was grumbling and blaming himself for talking too much, leading to self-revealing the information. "Wait, you ean Ichigo and the others are being pursued by the Captains, too? Mr. Kyoraku, I suggest you move now!"
"And if I refuse?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow in challenge to Mei and Chad as he picked up the cup of wine and drank in mockery as he watched the two of them get angry.