Heaven Can Wait (Closed)

Sal read the message again and again, and again. Scrawled across his apartment wall in blood, no less. Whomever wrote it wanted his full attention and they certainly had it.

We know where she is, we can kill her anytime. Stop looking for us.

Sal didn't understand. Who were they talking about and more precisely who were *THEY*. He was mildly concerned. Could it be that drifter he ran into a few days ago, or maybe even the Barmaid Rachel he had taken a liking to.
No, whomever was sending the message they knew that in the grand scheme these were just people he'd met to pass his long and weary afterlife. He'd feel bad if they died but a threat to their lives wouldn't halt him in his mission.

He sighed, amateurs man, they really didn't know how this blackmailing thing worked. He had no connections anymore and didn't plan to make any, they were a major chink in anyone's armor and he couldn't afford the-his train of thought exploded as each carriage smashed into the back of the one in front of it.

He would never have noticed it, tucked partially inside the news paper on his coffee table, except...he never bought a news paper...

He extracted the photograph, it wasn't in full colour, in fact it was sepia like an ancient camera had taken it. She had barely changed, the mousey brown hair hanging in wiry curls and her cherub like face smiling into the camera, big brown eyes full of life.

He examined every inch of the photograph. There were buildings in the background, wooden ones. Huts? Shanties?

"Rukongai.." Sal said to himself and slipped the photograph into his pocket.

The Damocles was submerged just off the coast of Florida when Sal reached her, a handy tracking device given to him enabled him to locate her anywhere on the globe.

"Welcome back Norongachi," Decker said, his cool blue eyes punching a no-bullshit hole through Sal's skull as he stepped onto the bridge. "To what do we owe the honor?"

"I need to use the Rift Gate to get to Soul Society." Sal said, matching the dead-eye stare of the Commander of the Red Dawn.

"Do you think we keep such things lying around to be used on a whim?" Decker said and turned away to look at the monitor next to his command chair. "Request refused."

Sal's eyes narrowed on the side of the mans skull, his teeth clenching together and his old friend anger rising up in his throat like molten lead.

"Listen you pompous mother fucker, i use the rift gate with your permission or i use it without. Either way i'm going to Soul Society and if i have to take this entire Submarine down to do it i fucking will!" Sal snarled and the bridge crew fell into silence, awaiting the ramifications of such a threat.

"You forget yourself, you are allowed on board this Submarine only because i say so. You have as much power here as I do." The Commander said motioning to the sealing runes spread across the walls, meant to contain Spiritual energy to a certain level. "Give me one god damn reason why i shouldn't get a squad up here and fill you full of holes!" The Commander never once raised his voice, he was all ice.

"Then i'll go down swinging tough guy and i'll take more than a few with me." Sal drew his Zan and in a flash it was against the Commanders throat.

"Starting with you." Behind him he heard guns being unholstered and almost every member of the bridge crew had a Cobalt Pistol aimed at his head. "He'll die before i do, so think carefully..." Sal warned them.

"I knew you were a reckless idiot but i never expected you to go so far as to jeopardize everything we've done. Whats the reason Norongachi, it better be good." The Commander said, still checking the figured on the Monitor even with the cool edge of the Katana at his throat.

Sal reached into his pocket and extracted the photograph and turned it so Decker could see it. "She's my daughter and she's in trouble."

Decker gave the photograph a casual look. "Stand down," He said to the bridge crew who slowly complied. "And fire up the Rift Gate. You have three hours, no more, no less. If you miss the window you're on your own."

Sal withdrew his sword and slid it back into the inverted sheath upon his back. "I wont forget this Decker." Sal said, although if it was a threat or thanks was hard to tell from his tone.

"Nor will I, now get out of here before i have you keel hauled."

The tear in the Veil snapped shut behind him with a barely audible 'pop' and Sal made his way out of the Forest on the outskirts of Rukongai. He walked down to the sea of Shanty houses that made up the vast slums outside the glistening city of Seireitei.

The likelihood of locating her were slim, how many orphanages were dotted across the 80 sectors that made up Rukongai?

He had three hours to locate and eliminate the threat and he didn't even know where to begin. He began in Zaraki, no luck, and worked as quickly as he could, Flash Stepping to the point of exhaustion between districts.

There was only one Orphanage in District 64 and he had all but given up hope. He had an hour left, if that, and there wasn't any indication he'd make it in time.

He came to a halt in the middle of the street, tugging up the hood of his jacket to avert any recognition as he had done in every other District. He approached the large building from a dirt alleyway just down the street and pressed himself against the wall when he saw two Shinigami talking, rather angrily, with a woman at the door of the building.

"Listen! We're under orders to take the girl, its for her own safety!" One Shinigami was shouting, while the other looked around cautiously.

"I don't give a damn if you are here on Orders, these are my kids and I'll look after them!" The woman was short and stocky, her hair a copper brown and her face flushed with emotion. She wore a pinny and held a very large knife in one hand, she had been cooking, Sal assumed, when they had come.

Sal kept a watchful eye from the Shadows, if they were really here under orders to protect the girl. Then why was one keeping lookout and why did they both have their hands on their Zanpakuto? It didn't add up.

He stepped out into the sunlight and strode defiantly towards them. A Flash Step brought him in line with the first and a thundering Kick sent him tumbling up the street. The second reacted too late and with a flick of Sal's hand he slapped him into the small shack beside the orphanage, smashing the wooden walls upon impact.

He ripped his hood down and turned to the Woman quickly. "Is this girl here!" He said showing her the photo, a look of recognition crossed her face but then her eyes hardened. "Listen get her and the kids and get them far away from here, I'll handle these two." Sal growled.

The Two 'Soul Reapers' were rousing from their little mishaps when he stepped into the middle of the street, they were on either side of him, several feet away, one at the back and one at the front. They had their weapons drawn, unsealed, and Sal drew his own weapon.

He was in no mood for games today. This ended now.

They charged in unison, Swords raised and Sal did a mental 'Eany Meany Miney Mo' and chose the rightmost attacker. He belted into a head on charge but as the distance shrunk to a foot or so he sprung on his heel, turning mid-air and launched his Zanpakuto like spear at the Shinigami coming from behind.

The guy never knew what hit him, he was preparing his own strike when the weapon embedded in his abdomen, lifted him clean off his feet, and pinned him to an old wagon twenty feet away.

Sal arched his back as he fell and planted both hands upon the ground. The other Reaper swung his sword at the inverted Norongachi's neck but Sal pushed off a heartbeat before it could strike. He soared inches above his attackers head and as he passed his hands snatched up handfuls of the man's long black hair and he pulled with all his might.

When his feet hit the ground he bent his upper body rapidly, the now falling Shinigami fell all the faster, and releasing one hand planted it directly upon the bewildered foes face and slammed his head into the ground with a sickening crunch.

He stood back up and brought his right knee up to his mid-section and slammed the heel of his boot into his downed enemies throat. The man's gurgling ceased and a last ragged exhalation of air escaped his lips as his vertebrae snapped under the force of the impact.

The battle had lasted all of a minute and the Woman hadn't even had a chance to move from the doorway. Sal walked down to the skewered Soul Reaper and extracted him Katana from his innards before sheathing it and approaching the Orphanage again.

The Woman was displaying a mixture of fear and defiance, on the one hand he was raising the knife threateningly but on the other she was slowly backing into the house.

"Listen i'm not here to hurt anyone," Sal began his hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. "I just need to find this girl. People are trying to hurt here, like those two." He motioned to the bloody messes that used to be people.

"What do you want with her!" Still cautious.

"She's...she's just important to me, okay? I need to get her somewhere safe and if she stays the rest of you will be in danger. So we have two choices, either you let me protect her or i knock you the fuck out of my way and do it anyway." Sal's words must have been like a dowsing of ice for the woman because she looked defeated and turned in to doorway.

"Zara come here a second sweety." She called and Sal heard the footfalls of tiny shoes in the hallway.

The girl wasn't afraid as he held her in his arms, moving as fast as he dared to without harming her. Infact with every leap across the rooftops she would yell 'Weeeee!' and throw her hands in the air before laughing like a crazy person.

He couldn't help but smile, she was definitely his daughter all right.

His feet hit the ground in district 63 and he lifted Zara onto his shoulders at her insistence. He was constantly wary, every pedestrian was viewed as a threat, every shadow a possible assassin.

They made it to the little house that lay up a rough path some ways from the main body of the district, surrounded by fields and trees it was almost picturesque.

He stepped up to the door and knocked three times. After a few minutes it swung open an a short, stocky, man with a grey mustache stood in the doorway.

"Hey bossman.." Sal said with a smile. "I need a favor."