The surface of the surrounding rock broke into shards as I raced around the cavern. The world blurring into a mess of color as I pushed myself to go just a further without losing control.

I was hesitant to call this version complete, especially since I only had a few days to really get it working, but it was pretty much at the point where I would feel okay with using it during a combat situation.

There were some drawbacks though that I doubted I would have time to fix. The biggest one was that it was a huge mana hog. With the original version of Haste I could chain over a dozen without really feeling a strain on my mana reserves, but now I could do maybe four or five without needing to take a breather. I knew with a few more days I could probably cut some of the cost down, though since we were on a schedule I would just have to be careful to not overexert myself before I could recover.

The second drawback was how physically tiring this stupid spell was. Pretty similarly to when I was first creating Haste I found going instantly to high speeds is incredibly traumatic to the body. Unfortunately, while the earlier spell solution to that problem still worked it was too weak to fully negate the new stresses changing direction could cause. Because of that I had to pay attention or I could tear something pretty easily. It was a good thing I was taking testing comparatively slow or I might have actually hurt myself on a couple versions.

More stone splinters flew through the air as I wove through a set of obstacles.

The second I had a somewhat viable replacement for Haste I had run to Yoruichi for any tips and exercises she could give me. As the former head of the Onmitsukidō she had quite a few of both. I was happy to say I had achieved the lofty rank of ‘not terrible’ from Yoruichi after practicing all of yesterday.

Normally I would have been proud of the achievement but the general mood in the cavern made it hard.

Renji Abarai had managed to track Ichigo down somehow. I had a sneaking suspicion that Yoruichi somehow pointed him in the right direction because I needed actual directions to find the right area.

Regardless, he had managed to find our little hideout and dropped a bomb that had all of us scrambling to finish our training as quickly as possible.

Rukia Kuchiki’s execution had been moved up. She would be executed at noon tomorrow.

My concentration finally wavered and I couldn’t keep the spell active anymore. As it ended my surroundings came back into focus and I felt the light ache in my legs from using the spell for so long. I glanced back and saw evidence for the third drawback all over the rocks around me.

Practically everywhere my feet landed the rock underneath was damaged. Probably too much mana being used to grip whatever I was standing on and getting torn up between all the forces I was manipulating to move at high speeds. I was playing a balancing game of speed, control, and simplicity. And right now I was giving up control for the other two. It wasn’t a big sacrifice though. I was still moving faster and could use the spell without a device, but I wasn’t good enough to perfectly control it, which meant stealth wasn’t much of an option when I left a trail showing exactly where I was going.

There were only a few hours left before noon though, so while I could probably fix that issue in the future, it just wasn’t worth the time to do so right now.

I lightly shook out my arms as I made my way over to where Yoruichi was still supervising Ichigo. While I enjoyed the feeling of loosening my muscles up, it didn’t do much for the anxiety in my stomach.

“How’s he doing?” I asked when I was close enough.

Ichigo was still fighting with Zangetsu. But now the two of them were fighting as complete equals rather than earlier where Ichigo was getting thrashed. Honestly the sharp rise in his combat ability was kinda scary. He was getting to a level of strength it took me a year to get close to in a matter of days.

“He’s close.” She replied, “He only needs one good push to achieve Bankai, but we are nearly out of time.” She looked over at me. “You should get going. It’s going to take time to reach the execution grounds and I don’t have a way for you to keep up if you wait here for him to finish.”

I sighed.

She was right. Yoruichi only had a few artifacts that could get us to the execution grounds fast enough if I stayed too much longer. And most of them needed precise Reshi control to even get to function let alone use.

“Right, I guess I’ll hang around and jump in when your friends give the signal. Are you absolutely sure I’ll know what it is when I see it? Because this could be really embarrassing if I mess it up.”

She nodded, “Yeah no doubts about it. Just remember not to jump in beforehand or you’re going to have to face everyone there.”

“Yeah not going to do that,” I said with a shiver. “I kinda like living.”

I didn’t even want to think about fighting several Captains at the same time.

With that I turned to leave, heading back to the ladder out of this place, when Yoruichi grabbed my arm and forced me to stop.

“Alexandria, remember this is only the opening act. Whatever Aizen has planned in the long run won’t end here.” She said seriously. “Don’t die.”

I gave her a small smirk and pulled away. “Like I said, I like living. Just don’t be late.”

-o-

The plateau that held the execution ground was a bleak place. There were some dead looking trees at one end where the stairs leading to the bottom were, but other than those nothing else grew on the flat rock. The lack of anything else around made the giant halberd sticking out of the ground seem even larger.

It was beautiful in its own way since it had a near unrestricted view of the surroundings, being the highest natural point in the Seireitei rivaled only by a single white tower.

That was the prison Rukia was in wasn’t it? Kinda a shame that I only got close enough to see this place when I really couldn’t make a move.

I leaned back against the tree I was hiding in, allowing one leg to hang off the branch while I looked at the gathering of Soul Reapers in the distance. It was a small gathering with only a handful standing around the execution platform, but the amount of power concentrated in that little area was enough to level the Seireitei in minutes if they went all out.

Standing the furthest from me was the Captain of Squad Eight, Shunsui Kyōraku. Definitely one of the more noticable captains of the bunch considering the bright pink kimono thing he was wearing. I also considered him the third strongest captain here even if I ranked both him and his lieutenant as the lowest threat to me. At least I hoped they were the lowest threat. Yoruichi hinted about acquaintances that might give us a hand dealing with the execution and from what I knew of the original timeline I assumed she was talking about Captains Kyōraku and Ukitake, and I was hoping very hard that they were going to take the same actions or we were screwed before this thing even started.

As for his lieutenant, she wasn’t really a concern either way. If things went the same she was a non-factor since she follows after her captain and even if she stayed she wasn’t an issue since she would be restricted to Kido. Looking her over, she didn’t have her sword on her so I marked her as a pure support type. Simply showering her with ranged attacks would keep her busy enough or I just could immobilise her with Kusarihebi and take her out up close.

Next to them was the top officers from Squad Four. A woman with her black hair braided so it ran down her front stood next to a taller woman with short grey hair. Captain Retsu Unohana and her lieutenant. Number two on my most dangerous captain in the area. And luckily enough, she was likely going to be a noncombatant regardless of my presence thanks to her current decision to focus on healing rather than combat. Her lieutenant was a different case though and would likely still try to fight but I wasn’t really concerned.

Due to her following Unohana around, and as a result staying out of most fights, I didn’t remember her fighting any other time than the quick beatdown with Ichigo where she got one shotted. Hell I didn’t even remember her name! So if she wasn’t immediately taken out this time, we had a lieutenant level Soul Reaper that I had no idea what she could do. Still probably not much to worry about if she was taken out in one hit regardless.

My inspection of the gathered captains was interrupted by a small procession approaching the execution ground. Four men in white robes surrounded the small girl in the middle. Each one carried a red staff with a chord that attached to the collar around her neck. Rukia Kuchiki had arrived, the execution was about to begin.

I watched as the group of five slowly made their way to their destination passing by the captain I was most uncertain about, squad 2’s Captain Soifon. Unlike the other captains Soifon had definite reasons to change her behavior. Afterall I had told her subordinate the main reason Yoruichi left her behind was due to an outside party. In theory she would be open to listening to Yoruichi and working with us right away. On the other hand, she spent one hundred years with a huge grudge against Yoruichi. That might not be forgiven so quickly, so it was entirely possible she would fight us instead. As for her lieutenant. Well... I don’t think he would make any meaningful contributions either way so I ignored him.

The only person I considered more dangerous than her was the Captain of Squad One, Captain Commander Yamamoto. If the old man decided to fight here it was an instant game over for my side. Even If we were technically trying to work with him in the future, it wouldn’t make a difference if he incinerated us in the present.

Speaking of incinerations, the execution was just about to start. Byakuya Kuchiki had shown up silently while I was lost in thought and Yamamoto had given the signal.

Rukia was escorted to the middle of a large stone platform where her escort removed the collar from her neck. The ropes on her arms disintegrated as her arms were pulled out to the sides and held in place by restraining blocks. Rukia started floating up until she was just below the crossbeam on the huge scaffold.

The men in robes milled around the base of the Sokyoku. With a combination of chanting and hand signs the ropes binding the giant halberd burned at the base and detached. Now freed the giant ropes swung around the pole of the spear in a good imitation of a maypole before straightening into stiff poles themselves and launching off the plateau.

Was there a point to that?

The robed guys already burnt the ends so it wasn’t like they were going to reuse the ropes. Maybe it just made collecting them easier? Rather than drag new ones up and still need to remove the old ones, they just designed it so the old bindings could be collected at the bottom.

Right, not the time to be thinking about random things. Time to get into position.

I pulled my legs under me and crouched on the branch. But just before I jumped down I felt something cold and metallic press against my neck.

“Please don’t move Ryoka. We need to talk.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Natsum’s voice directly behind me. Looking down I saw a katana with the back of the blade on my neck.

“We don’t have much time so I would appreciate it if you listened without making any sudden moves.” Natsumi continued. “The Captains investigated your information and the ones we can clear for certain have agreed to ignore your presence for the moment. This depends on you working with us to corner the traitors . Do you agree?”

Damn, this really isn’t the time for a negotiation. But I can’t jump straight to a fight either without attracting the attention of everyone else here.

“You realise the whole reason we came here was to prevent the execution of Rukia Kuchiki. Saying you will ignore us while you execute her isn’t really something I can just go along with.” I said as a huge rush of hot air swept by us.

Looking back towards the others I saw the Sokyoku had been released. A massive firebird hovered in the air right before the scaffold where Rukia was. I couldn’t see Ichigo anywhere yet so I couldn’t risk him swooping in to stop the Sokyoku at the last second. Natsumi’s sword wasn’t in a position to actually cut me. It would be risky but I could try rushing in and snatching Rukia before the Sokyoku hit. No way was I going to take a hit from it if I didn’t need to. Getting away would be hard but-

“The execution is fake.”

...

Huh?

Eyes wide, I turned back to Natsumi.

There were so many things I was fighting to say that my mouth did this weird fish impression, unable to make any actual sounds. In the end the best I was able to do was a vaguely questioning noise and gesture incredulously at the execution currently in progress.

She followed my gesture and snorted. “The Commander and the Captain are coordinating so someone from your little group could step in.” She waved back at the group. “See?”

Damn, she distracted me. I was too far away to reach Rukia in time.

I looked at the execution site and helplessly watched the firebird surge forward. I had nothing that could stop the colossal bird from hitting Rukia, but right before the two collided a blurry figure dashed in between the two and the firebird suddenly stopped moving forward.

A relieved sigh escaped when I realised Ichigo managed to get here in time. Looks like things were still kinda salvageable.

“We really do not have time, your answer?” Natsumi prodded. “Just know if you refuse the Commander will focus on your group immediately in exclusion to all else.”

You really aren’t giving me a choice are you?

“Fine, I accept.” I said reluctantly. “And the other Captains? Will you have them stand down also?”

Natsumi didn't look at me while she retrieved a simple looking device from a pocket, a plain black rectangular remote with two buttons, one red one green, and pressed the green button twice. Then she simply jumped off the branch we were both on and began walking away.

“Follow me Ryoka, or I will consider the deal off.”

One last glance back was enough for me to see the destruction of the Sokyoku and Ichigo holding Rukia on the top of the execution scaffold. After that I turned and rushed to follow the third seat before she followed through on her threat.

-o-

Soon we were running over rooftops getting farther and farther away from the plateau, heading towards the center of the Seireitei. I was hesitant to speak up earlier when all the Captains were right there, but now that we were on our own I wanted to find out why the hell I was suddenly pressed into an alliance.

Is it even an alliance if one side threatens annihilation if you don’t cooperate?

Probably not, but not like I have anyone I can complain to.

“I think I’ve been pretty understanding so far Natsumi. What is going on, and where are we going?” I called out to the Soul Reaper ahead of me.

“Don’t call me so familiarly Ryoka, but very well I shall explain. The Commander suspected something was wrong when Central 46 called for the execution of an unranked Soul Reaper after she was deemed guilty of a B-class crime. Normally this could be written off as political posturing by noble factions looking to pressure the Kuchiki clan, but the use of the Sokyoku, which is only used for S-class criminals or people unable to be executed normally, raised several concerns.” Natsumi explained. “All these concerns, however, were responded to with the correct codes and passphrases known only to the members of Central 46.”

“When you reported there were potential traitors in our ranks and an acceleration for the execution was ordered both Commander Yamamoto and Captain Soifon decided to send another verification request independently. They received the same confirmation codes.”

I waited for her to continue but Natsumi seemed to think that explained everything.

“...So? What does that mean? Wouldn’t getting the right codes be normal?” I prodded.

Natsumi glared at me over her shoulder like I was an idiot for asking. Well, sorry I’m not an expert on Gotei 13 security codes. Actually, shouldn’t you be happy about that?!

“As the leader of the Onmitsukidō, when Captain Soifon makes a request regarding a judgement from Central 46 she should receive a separate verification code. She is the only Captain that requires an independent code and she has only requested a verification twice in her career. That she did not means that at the very least Central 46 has been compromised.” Natsumi said unhappily. “We are going to link up with one of the Captains we have verified as trustworthy and investigate. Until the traitors have been dealt with we will not move against your group if you do not move against us.”

An explosion resounded through the air behind us.

“Won’t move against us, right.” I said dryly. Natsumi had the decency to blush. “And why the cloak and dagger routine if you know there are people pulling the strings behind this? Just storm the place or declare martial law or something.”

Natsumi shook her head at my comments. “Politics. The noble faction would look at any aggressive action without proof as a coup and use it as an excuse to grab more power for themselves or even attempt a rebellion.”

“And the blatant lie that is ‘we won't move against you’?” I asked.

Natsumi refused to look at me. “Captain Kuchiki was not expected to be at the execution. He was specially excused from it due to his relation. Because of that he was not included in this operation.”

“So you’re saying he showed up against orders and threw the whole plan out of whack because he wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place?” I mused.

“Well, not against orders.” Natsumi said. “It was more heavily implied that he did not need to be there.”

Of course he would. Byakuya probably thought it was his duty to attend even if he was excused. At least Ichigo had a chance against him, pretty much any other Captain there would have crushed him immediately.

We spent some more time in silence making our way towards our destination, which I still didn’t actually know. Buildings passed by in a blur before Natsumi eventually started slowing down and soon enough came to a stop at an intersection in the road.

I followed suit and stopped next to her.

“Why’d we stop? I thought we were meeting up with a Captain?” I asked.

Naturally this is when a short, bluish-silver haired figure wearing a Captain’s haori walked out from one of the side roads followed by a taller strawberry blonde woman.

“Good, you arrived. Follow me, we are about to enter.” said Squad 10 Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya before turning his back and walking off again.