"How are we supposed to get back?"
Yoruichi looked toward Rukia.
They'd entered Hell by killing a sufficiently sinful Hollow and using the Gate of Hell that appeared to claim it.
Obviously, that method was useless now that they were already inside.
And if they simply waited for Mayuri and the others outside to somehow open another Gate for them, the six of them would probably be corroded by Hell's miasma and turned into Togabito long before that happened.
Rukia had been to Hell once before with Kazuma.
If anyone knew a way out, it would be her.
"While you were searching, did any of you come across an enormous skeleton?"
Rukia did indeed know how to return.
All they had to do was find Shuren and his group. Those Togabito knew how to open a Gate of Hell from this side.
The problem was that Rukia hadn't come across their territory during her own search.
"An enormous skeleton?"
Rangiku hesitated.
"You mean the giant one covered in Hellfire?"
She and Hitsugaya had searched that area earlier, but neither of them had noticed anything particularly unusual about it.
Could that skeleton somehow lead back to the Human World?
"Yeah. That's the one."
Rukia answered without hesitation.
"You're sure?"
Hitsugaya frowned.
He'd been there with Rangiku and hadn't noticed anything either.
Had he simply overlooked something?
"Of course I'm sure."
Rukia casually pulled out her flask and took a small sip.
"This is exactly why I came into Hell with you. If something like this happened and none of you knew how to get back, you could all end up dying down here."
In this regard, she really had become Kazuma's student through and through.
Whenever there was nothing else to do, she took a drink.
"Ohhh, right!"
Rangiku slapped a hand against her forehead as realization finally dawned on her.
"You told us before we came in that you'd already been to Hell once."
She sighed dramatically.
"It must be this miasma getting into my system. My head's all fuzzy, so I completely forgot something that important."
That explained why Yoruichi and Kenpachi had accepted Rukia's answer immediately.
Then Rangiku slowly turned toward Hitsugaya.
Her large eyes gleamed mischievously.
Even her own captain had forgotten.
That was simply too good.
"Hahahahaha!"
She finally lost control and burst out laughing.
Hitsugaya's face immediately darkened.
"Hmph! So I forgot for a moment. What's so funny about that?"
Rangiku was practically doubled over, while Hitsugaya stood there looking increasingly embarrassed and irritated.
He could deny it all he wanted, but deep down even he knew he'd completely forgotten.
Yoruichi and the others, who'd been quietly watching the exchange, finally joined in.
Even Kenpachi — who normally looked as though humor had been beaten out of him at birth — opened his mouth and laughed loudly.
The tense atmosphere disappeared almost instantly.
For a brief moment, everyone forgot that Hell's miasma was steadily eating away at their spiritual bodies.
"Captain, why aren't you laughing too?"
Rangiku was laughing so hard that her stomach hurt and tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
She rubbed her belly with one hand while reaching over with the other to repeatedly pat Hitsugaya on his small head.
"Don't you think it's funny?"
Hitsugaya's expression became darker with every word.
He gritted his teeth and glared at Yoruichi and the others, who were still laughing at his expense.
Once they got back, he was definitely going to make them regret this.
It wasn't that Hitsugaya didn't enjoy laughing.
He just happened to be the joke.
If he had his way, he'd have drawn Hyōrinmaru right then and there and cut down every bastard laughing at him.
Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly an option.
...
Rangiku soon led the group to the enormous skeleton.
Rukia looked over the familiar landscape with a strange feeling.
The last time she'd come here, she'd been completely incapable of dealing with Hell's miasma on her own.
She'd only been able to move safely through Hell because Kazuma protected her.
Now she was strong enough to handle the environment without relying on him.
She almost wanted to sigh about how quickly time had passed.
Then she remembered that barely any time had passed at all.
For Shinigami, whose lifespans could stretch across centuries, less than a year was practically the length of a nap.
"We finally made it."
Everyone stared up at the colossal skeleton engulfed in Hellfire.
"So how do we get back to the Human World?"
They began circling the structure, examining it closely and trying to identify anything unusual.
Nothing stood out.
No hidden doorway.
No obvious mechanism.
No strange inscription.
As far as they could tell, it was simply a giant burning skeleton.
Was there some concealed switch they'd missed?
While everyone else was poking, prodding, and searching for a mechanism, Rukia quickly lost patience.
She looked around.
Then cupped her hands around her mouth.
"SHUREN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU HIDING?! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"
Her shout exploded across the desert like a thunderclap.
Yoruichi and the others nearly jumped.
They all turned toward Rukia in disbelief.
Was this giant skeleton voice-activated or something?
Not long after Rukia's yell, the seemingly peaceful desert beneath the skeleton suddenly erupted.
Sand blasted into the air.
Several figures shot upward from beneath the ground like bolts of lightning.
Shuren.
And his three remaining followers—Gunjō, Taikon, and Garogai.
"You bastards!"
Shuren's furious roar thundered across the desert.
"You dare to disturb my sleep?! Are you tired of living?!"
He and his subordinates had been resting peacefully beneath the scorching sands, enjoying one of the rare stretches of quiet Hell ever afforded them.
They'd already noticed Hitsugaya and Rangiku searching the area earlier.
At the time, Shuren had simply ignored them.
But now the same group had returned and was loudly calling his name.
More importantly, someone among them knew exactly who he was.
That made Shuren's entire body tense.
'Don't tell me that monster came back…'
The memory surfaced immediately.
Kazuma had once slaughtered Gunjō with almost insulting ease — and somehow prevented him from reviving afterward.
That scene had been permanently carved into Shuren's memory.
It had become one of the largest psychological scars of his entire existence.
A familiar fear slowly began crawling through his chest.
Meanwhile, Hitsugaya and the others watched the four figures burst from beneath the sand.
Every one of them immediately drew their Zanpakutō and went on high alert, eyes locked onto the Togabito before them.
Kenpachi reacted rather differently.
The moment he sensed the four newly arrived spiritual pressures, his eyes widened with excitement.
Every one of them was at least comparable to captain class.
There wasn't a trace of fear on his face.
To Zaraki Kenpachi, finding four powerful opponents in one place meant only one thing.
He was finally going to get to cut loose.
A fight.
Now that sounded fun.
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