I do not own Bleach, Naruto, any other element that may or may not appear in this story. This story is for entertainment purposes only, not merchandising, branding, or anything else to implicate ownership or a similar function...
Doesn't mean I don't wish I owned either of them.
Neo-Seireitei: From Serrated Teeth
The Elemental Nations, a continent composed to numerous nations of humans both meek and powerful. While even the smallest, the weakest, and even the least wealthy can and have built great cities at one time or another, only a few have ever been home to a shinobi village.
A shinobi village, to put mildly, is the home to a grand number of their titled namesake; someone who had spent years upon years training both mind and body to harness a power found in even those born far away from their profession to improve their prowess in battle and espionage if need be. This power, known as chakra, has given them powers no normal human could casually bear from breathing fire to bending the senses, from creating lifelike doubles from near immaterial substances to summoning what would casually be dubbed as summons, often a animal of immense size and often possessing human intellect. Yet even with these powers that often defy common understanding, even they could be taken by surprise and subsequently left with their own mysteries.
Twelve years ago a nation seemingly appeared out of nowhere and laid claim to the Land of Waves in one day, ever since that day the mysterious nation has lived in complete seclusion from then world at large despite the bridge that connected the to the mainland. What few traders that have entered the 'new land' returned with the fruits of labor often in the form of tradable goods but never with an ounce of memory of what had occurred within the closed off borders. Of the shinobi sent in from the villages to learn of their new neighbor, few ever returned being any the wiser than when they had left; none that may have learned of anything ever returned. All that was known for certain were the high walls and the barest edges of a castle's roofing plus a high rising tower as seen from afar, nothing more, nothing less.What life was like and what business that was conducted inside those walls was nothing less than an enigma to outsiders.
Chapter 1: At the other side
Harribel's Manor, District Three (East), Neo-Seireitei
Rare was it for anyone to wake him after the rise of the morning sun for any particular reason. If anyone had normally tried then they would've found, at best, a neatly made bed bearing faint, if any, signs of recent occupancy. Yet there were those times where once, perhaps twice a year where someone would have encountered a figure buried beneath the sheets and blankets of a white, utterly, most likely unwittingly, ignoring the colorless pillows in favor of warmth and what darkness that was granted as protection from the rising sun. As such the woman who intruded on this scene, a tall woman of golden hair, primarily messy with three lengthy locks tied at the sides of her face and back of her neck, found it a bit of a treat of sorts...
She couldn't help but smirk when she happened upon this scene. The smirk of course turned to a slightly impish smile hidden away by a high rising collar and a mask of bone when its wearer gingerly reached down and effectively yanked away the covers to reveal a slumbering blond teenager whose eyes unfortunately snapped open to stare at the brilliant greeting the massive ball of fire that was sunlight had in store for him from an uncovered window.
"GAAAH!"
She had to bite back a gentle giggle when both of the teenager's hands slapped themselves as improvised shields against the light. "You're breakfast is getting cold." Without ado she turned around and sauntered through the door, her smile bordering on a hidden grin when she heard the incoherent grumble of a growl aimed at her.
While big, the structure of the entire estate was simple enough to be navigated through when blindfolded with but sparse decorations decorating here and there to liven up what would otherwise be a dull environment as far as such matters were concerned. Namely paintings, the occasional vase, and other knick knacks that had been added over the years. Seconds before rounding a corner she heard the door open and on glancing to confirm its source she called out, "Do not forget that we have practice after breakfast."
Her hidden smile returned to her in full force as she closed her eyes with while she once more heard the almost typical rumblings of a teenager still trying to cope with being woken up as she walked past the corner.
XVX
Backyard, thirty minutes later
Whereas most people with a significant track of where grass was more dominant than anything else would've turned it into a garden or have it play host to some form of project, hers was that of a training field in the form of a large circular patch of flattened earth that had seen its share of scuffs that time had yet to wear away thanks to the field's constant use. And while he wasn't lazy by nature, she all but counted the minutes with nothing but the almost nonexistent movements of the shadows to act as her watch as he took his time to reach the barren patch of dirt in nothing but slightly rugged blue shorts and an equally rough grey T-shirt. Tied to a black sash further tied to his waist lay a katana with its handle garbed in a black wrapping, leaving behind dark blue diamonds in their wake. Color wise it was almost a direct contrast to her own garb— White hakama pants with a black trim with a wide black band of cloth acting as a belt. Black tabi socks encased slightly by sandals. Covering her from the underside of her breasts was a jacket with a high collar colored similarly to her pants in design, the sleeves of which however ended in an open, loose fashion compared to most jackets.
"Are you ready?" she asked once he stopped a few feet from her from within the circle. Tired looking as he was, his answer came with the slow drawing of his sword with his right hand, slashing the blade almost lazily through the air before holding aloft in his one handed grip.
Zttt-Clang!
And within the span of a second the blade shifted to the side, effectively blocking a otherwise unyielding strike from a sword of an unusual make, its 'core' was hollowed out, leaving nothing but surprisingly resilient edges of a wide sword with a hand guard ornamented with equally hollow shamrocks on both ends, that continued to push against an equally unmoving force.
Shing!Clash!Clang!
Soon he gave up ground to weather an onslaught of hefty blows with the speed and grace of an experienced swordsman. With each block he stepped back with no evident concern on his more awakened face that continued to dredge itself out of the last vestiges of his sleepy state. A gleam in his eye took place in mid-swing from his opponent and his blade, instead of blocking, dipped past to the back of the passing blade and forcibly nudged it, effectively sending the other sword into a wider arc than intended as its provoker made to stab at the woman.
Crackle!
Upon her sudden disappearance both hands grasped the hilt of the black handle as he swung himself around, a smirk on his lips as he pierced the emptiness of the unusual sword as if to stab her once more.
WHAM!
His efforts, and smirk, were in vain when a knee was slammed into his gut with enough force to force him to not only bow from the blow itself and lift him up from the ground at the same time. Distracted, he hadn't had the time to react when the woman disappeared in a crackle of static only to have her hand capture his most free one, bend it back behind him, and force him onto his knees in submission.
"What did we learn?" she calmly asked.
"That I should've weaseled out a few more minutes to wake up." A fist softly, admonishingly bopped the top of his head and rested there. "That I should be more aware that the threat of enemy doesn't lie with just their weapon," he answered in a groan.
"Anything else?"
"That I should think ahead for the unexpected rather than become overconfident with the speed and power of what's deemed to be a finishing blow."
"Correct." Both hands left him and he stood up, yawning slightly and grumbling once more as if what had happened never took place.
"My, my, you seem enthused this morning." Both heads snapped towards the head of their arena and focused on a man of light blond hair that slightly framed his head and covered the upper part of his nose with a single loose lock of hair, his eyes shadowed under the brim of a white and dark green vertically striped bucket hat. His clothes were dark green, covered only by a dark brown coat with white diamonds along the bottom edge, his feet were bare save for a pair of geta. In his right hand, probably his one true garnishment to those that knew of him, was a simple cane.
"Kisuke Urahara," the woman simply stated, her eyes casually narrowing from her default state of being half open to begin with. "I wasn't aware we were entertaining guests today."
The man softly chuckled and pulled out a fan from the inside of his shirt which he fanned himself with a second later upon casually snapping it open. "Sorry for intruding but I felt it prudent to check up on your son since he didn't show up yesterday."
The shorter blond tilted his head slightly, his eyes glazed over in thought, for but a second before his eyes widened in realization of something. "I'm sorry," he stated, "I completely forgot about it yesterday..."
"I understand!" he laughed. "Matsumoto can be a handful when she's drunk, isn't she?"
It was not a full second later that Kisuke found himself being used as a human shield from a maternal glare aimed not at him but her son the split second she turned to find he wasn't in his previous spot. Again he chuckled softly, albeit nervously. "Yeah... did I mention she has a habit of abducting people she likes when her normal retinue of drinking pals aren't available?"
The glare let up in any way, if anything it was narrowed even further to such a fractional degree that it wouldn't be noticed even by an expert eye in such matters.
"Perhaps I should... get myself properly clothed before leaving today," the younger of the two all but whispered.
"Y-yes... it wouldn't do having to spend your whole day beating lovely women off with a stick as you are now!" Kisuke half proclaimed in a mild, nervous cackle as his fan tried to banish the anxious beads of sweat beginning to collected on his forehead.
Not once did the glare didn't relent.
XVX
Urahara Shop, forty-two minutes later
A two story building built like a traditional shop of old, this was both the store and home of Kisuke Urahara and those close to him. If one went in for shopping needs they would find it satisfactory for their more mundane needs such as snacks and even some clothes shopping at best, limited though it may be. Yet as it had in the days of old over a decade ago it still serviced those known as soul reapers when the occasion arose. Arrancar, once enemies and general opposite of the soul reapers, came and were serviced here as well since the shop was essentially rebuilt. The only real addition made to the shop at all was the house sized building built inside a otherwise hidden underground massive room deliberately and painstakingly made to look like one had inadvertently came outside to a barren, slightly mountainous landscape during mid-day should someone climbed at least a quarter of the way down the ladder that lead to it. Inside this 'house' was machinery of all manner that would even send most scientist's heads spinning if they took it all at once. In truth it was in fact a labroatory, a messy one at that between the odd configurations and the odd cable running along the walls and floors. If this particular lab had a name then it was unstated even by Urahara who currently manned a computer in front of an empty tank, still wet from recent use as someone dressed them self behind a drawn medical screen.
"Well as far as bad news goes there isn't anything to be worried about."
"Just like the last time and the occasion before that in what would be dozens by now?" the teenager called out in an uninterested fashion.
"Yep!"
"Then wouldn't it be fair to say that this test, for all intents and purposes, has been pointless?"
"I suppose. Yet you can't blame me for being a tad paranoid."
"Be that as it may, I think I'll simply accuse you of simply wasting time if nothing else."
"Now that just a little mean!" he faux-whined.
"I didn't mean to be that way," the teen said as he stepped out from the curtain. His garb, overall, was much like his mothers save for three marginally distinct differences. Whereas her jacket exposed the region of her stomach and by extension her back where it was most relevant, his didn't save for a slim parting between his pants and his jacket, and what skin that would've been seen was covered by a wrapping of bandages. The cuffs of his jackets were smaller than its compared copy, narrower but loose all the same. Last but not least was the black face mask covering everything beneath the bridge of his nose that served to cover his face as oppose to a high collar that was nonexistent for his jacket. "Just if the worst of it had long since passed as far as these tests are concerned then I just can't help but think it redundant at this point," he supplemented.
"Oh I understand," Kisuke sighed as the console he stood in front of began to power down. "But like I said I can't help but be a bit paranoid." The last of the diodes powered down. "As far as reckless and crazy experiments go, you took the cake amongst everything I had done to date."
"Oh give it time, you might find something that'll top me eventually."
A hearty chuckle escaped Urahara as he grabbed his cane and made for the door, the younger man behind him at the last few steps. "There certainly is the possibility, isn't there?" As he opened the door the cascading light filtered in and danced off the sigil of a bound scroll set to the side on a simple stand, catching the man's confused eye for a moment.
"Oh! It seems you're not the only one forgetting things lately," Kisuke sighed as he reached for the scroll and handed it to the curious blond. "A courier from the First Squad dropped by yesterday in hopes of delivering this to you but... well it doesn't really matter does it?" He smirked slightly and went out the door just as the younger of the two opened the scroll and propped the door open with his foot to better read its contents.
XVX
Open Foyer, Squad One's barracks
If one expected something grand for it the squad headed by the Head Captain himself then they would've have to make do with the one and only aspect that made it different than most squads: the meeting hall. Otherwise one would have to simply accept being disappointed with surprisingly standard amenities the other squads had such as the captain's quarters, the barracks, and a drill yard next to its grassy lawn. If nothing else then its shear proximity to the looming castle behind it was sure to raise a brow or two... provided of course they somehow never realized it how close it was to begin with. For the raven haired woman, dressed in the normal shihakusho garb of soul reapers, she found relative comfort in the simplicity of it all. While not as ornate as her family home or even of the squads to which she and her brother respectively belong to, there was peace to be had here, not that it alleviated her stress by a great deal however.
At the soft creaking of wood she turned her gaze from the blue sky and the grassy field to the more peculiar sight of white as oppose to black. Peculiar namely because few if any arrancar ever went near a squad's barracks let alone the Head Captain's own domain, save of course squad three's own barracks by comparison. She squinted at first upon the suspicion of this arrancar being familiar to her in hopes of discerning his identity; only so few within their entire city had blond hair after all in spite the minute myriad of colors amongst the predominant black haired community. Her eyes widened slightly and her subconscious frown of peculiarity deepened in confusion as he approached.
"Misses Kurosaki, it's been awhile," he uttered just before stopping a few feet from her. In return she gave him a small, polite smile with her own response. "It has, hasn't it?"
Her frown however returned at its own accord. "I must say though, I never expected to see you here of all places. As I understand it your mother still hasn't quite forgotten the last battle in Winter War despite everything that happened afterwards."
Blue eyes closed as he took a contemplative breath. "If you're asking if she's at least aware that I'm here, she isn't..."
A brow perked. "Oh?" she asked. A minute later a slight smirk crept onto her face. "Entering your rebellious phase I take it?" Her smirk grew as his mask could only do so much to hide the countering scowl aimed at her. Again her brow perked as he unzipped his jacket half way, revealing nothing but bare skin and a woven cord for a necklace holding aloft a circular, hollow pendant containing a evenly spaced Y-shaped structure. Reaching a hand in he quickly pulled out a scroll from the confines of his jacket and promptly sealed his jacket back to its original state.
"As you inferred, I lack any particular reason to come here. But given the animosity between the two, I cannot help but find it curious that he would ask for me."
Her lip curled into a small glower. "I would like to point out that if anything it's one sided as far as this... feud, if you will, is concerned." Her gaze drifted onto the scroll proper and became clouded in pensive thought.
"Perhaps," he admitted. "But even if there wasn't any resentment to begin with, I still can't help but wonder why he would request me to meet him." He leveled more of his gaze on her. "You wouldn't by chance know, would you?"
The haze lifted from her eyes and she slowly looked away after a thoughtful moment. "It isn't my place to say," she finally answered after a pause. "Or at least I don't want to presume anything."
"... I see. If you will excuse me." She turned to him and offered him a small smile before tearing her gaze from him in favor of the view she enjoyed moments before.
XVX
Meeting Hall
"I've been expecting you," rumbled an elderly man... ancient in all honesty between the wrinkled skin that held a X-shaped scar where is hairless head and forehead was concerned, the exceptionally long white beard, and bushy eyebrows, who was sitting on the only chair within the meeting hall. He was dressed like any other soul reaper save for the haori draped across his shoulders bearing the rhombus encased insignia for squad one on the middle of its back. In his one handed grasp, the other missing thanks to a war long ago, was an old oaken staff with a large knot that made up its 'head.'
The blond stopped and examined him for a moment before bowing slightly. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Head Captain, but frankly I wasn't even aware you had summoned me until a short while ago."
The elder man only hummed and nodded slightly to a recently used pillow situated before him. "Please sit. This may take some time to discuss."
It wasn't long for the pillow to be occupied and an attendant replenished what was a previously unseen, hidden away by the pillow, bowl of rice crackers and a fresh cup of tea much to the younger man's latent curiosity.
"With all due respect, I didn't expect such a cushy reception."
"The pillow was originally for Kurosaki's wife who had been here but minutes before," the elder, Genryusai Yamamoto, answered. "Since it was already here, we may as well have made use for it."
"I see."
Silence reigned between them as a half lidded gaze met one that was almost lidded completely. Both analytically picking each other apart in a quiet gauging of the other for their own reasoning.
"The Seireitei can no longer afford the luxury of being isolated from the world around it."
A brow slowly rose up on the teenager's forehead. "What, may I ask, makes you say that?"
Slowly old weathered eyes peered out from behind their wrinkled covers. "Because for the first time since we have laid down the foundation of Neo-Seireitei the wall had been breached by outsiders barely three nights ago."
All trace of reserved seriousness at best gave way for sheer surprise. "With due respect sir I think such news would've spread like wildfire by now."
The elder man hummed in acknowledgement. "It happened in the dead of night and thankfully caught by several patrolmen on duty at the time. The incident itself, though swiftly dealt with, is to be held in silence so not to alarm the populace; we've even gone so far as to hastily repair the damage and quarantine the affect site before dawn's first light on that night. Regardless, the signs are clear to us if not to our enemy, we are not invulnerable; our barriers both physical and spiritual cannot hold our more determined intruders at bay any longer when they aren't caught by the Stealth Force in time. And given our own alienation of the world we've come to the decision that we must forge alliances to better prepare us for what may come," he answered gravely.
The brow gradually lowered and the cool demeanor resumed itself on the blonde's visible face. "Am I right to assume then that you wish to send me off to the outside world then?"
"Indeed," the Head Captain solemnly replied.
The blond stared at him for a silent moment. "To act as a bodyguard or to act as a emissary?"
"The former... I've already selected Rukia Kurosaki to act as our representative for the Elemental Nations."
Again the younger of the two stared at him for a unbroken period of silence. "... I apologize for coming off as rude," he carefully spoke, "but I feel as if there is more than what you are telling me, Head Captain."
His heart fluttered slightly in dread as the head captain's gaze seemed to bore holes into him in the form of a wordless reprimand...
"In the village of shinobi we wish to form an alliance with there is what is called a event called "Chunin Exam" to take place there. There other villages send forth their most inexperienced of members in groups with the hopes of improving their station and impress the crowds that are to come there to engage their business interests. I am also given to understand that mercenaries can also participate within this exam under special circumstances. With luck we can enter our own team to better aid us as either a deterrent for future war, or, if fortune favors us, promote talk for future alliances with the other villages should our true intent fail to be realized."
"... I see..." the teenager said. Again he bowed, albeit more deeply than before by comparison. "Again I apologize."
The elder man's eyes soon came to be hidden behind the veil of his lids once more.
"But I have a question if you will." Again the captain's gaze came upon the now straightened teenager in a half lidded gaze. "Am I being asked or am I being ordered?"
"You are not a part of any of the squads, young Harribel. Even then forcing those into this mission would most likely only aggravate the hornet's nest that this had become behind closed doors," the elder captain rumbled.
Again a moment of silence ensued between them, broken only by the younger of the two. "If I may ask, may I think about this before I give my answer?"
The Head Captain nodded in a light dip. "Be wary though," he warned. "No matter how you answer, our emissary and her party are to leave on the morning three days from now."
"I understand." Standing up, he bowed slightly before turning and parting from the hall.
XVX
Outside
The shoji quietly closed behind him, not that he was paying attention in favor the sight before him. Rukia, the woman who was sitting near the edge of the platform when he arrived, had left it seemed, replaced a tanned woman two heads taller than himself. It was obvious to everyone she was an arrancar as made evident of her white clothing lined in black, in this particular case hakama pants with a heavy wrapping of bandages on her chest that left everything below her covered naval and above the highest point of her forcibly flattened bosom bare as far as the wandering eye was concerned, and the mask of bone adorning her face; a complete mask that covered her entire face in layer after layer of segmented bone with each layer's tapered points in perfect alignment along the middle of the mask that held tilde styled slights for her eyes. On her back in a leather sheath was a great sword, a flamberge in actuality for those who personally knew of her...
The blond, coming out of his momentary daze, narrowed his eyes slightly in exasperation than any other emotion that now assailed him... including the slight dread of what was to undoubtedly come. "She knows I'm here already, doesn't she?"
All hopes of perhaps the smallest, most unbelievable amount of luck that bordered on the foundations of miracles was dashed when she nodded her silent answer.
"... Better get this over with then," he sighed in resignation with the despondent clenching of his eyes.
XVX
Kurosaki residence, District Four (East)
Not even ten minutes in upon crossing the threshold of their modern home was she was assailed by a giggling little ten year old girl with jet black hair dressed in more modern clothes, jeans and a yellow sleeveless blouse to be precise.
"Dad! Mom's home!"
"I'll be right there!"
A sudden jerk had the woman on her knee, more out of parental indulgence than surprise, and soon a pair of young lips accompanied by a hand nudging the side of said lips like a shield were practically brushing against the cartilage. "Dad's cooking again!" the child whispered in matching childish disgust. "Can you please make him toss it into the garbage?"
"Now, now," her mother chided as she stood up. "You know as well as I do that he's practicing..." Her face soured instantaneously. "Unfortunately unlike fighting it's going to take him time to master..."
A crop of short, mildly spiky orange hair and its exasperated owner popped out of the kitchen door. "I'll have you two know that I am improving," he said with a scowl.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!
His face fell and a pitiful sigh left him. "I'll be back in a minute..." he grumbled just before pulling his head back into the kitchen.
"Out of curiosity, what was it he was trying to cook?"
"A meatloaf..." her daughter sighed.
A smirk briefly flirted across the woman's face before she frowned slightly.
"Masaki," the girl's head cantered to her mother with a puzzled curl to her lip, "can you please go get your aunt Karin for me please?"
"Ok..." she drawled. "Why though?"
Her mother simply smiled at her. "Because your father and I are going to have a talk and I'm fairly sure I know how it's going to end."
"Ok, I'll be right back then!" she announced before dashing over to her discard shoes, slipping them on and rushed out the door in time for a now intrigued yet concerned, still scowling face of Ichigo Kurosaki to peer out of the kitchen once more as the door slammed to a shut.
"What's going on?" he murmured. All Rukia could do to quell his concern was offer him a small, weary smile as she made her way down the hallway to the living room. With a sigh he resigned himself back to the kitchen where the clinking of glasses and snapping of switches could be heard for a good moment, though not in their respective order. A half minute later her emerged with a cup of tea in each hand and followed his wife down the hallway, meeting her long after she commandeered a comfortable reclining chair for herself despite not using its more famous function, her sword left on an almost decorative weapons rack hanging from the wall.
"You know your father sure can pick chairs," she said with a gentle smile as she watched her own hand rub fabric belonging to an arm of the chair.
"Well he is getting on in years," Ichigo offered as he set the cups on a the elongated coffee table in the middle of the room. "The only sad part of it though is that he hardly uses it."
A amused hum left Rukia. "Speaking of who, where is he?" she inquired, turning her attention on Ichigo who was smirking while getting himself comfortable on a three seated couch.
"He's... spending 'quality time 'with Yosho," he answered with a slightly wicked smirk.
"Poor Yuzu," she quipped.
"Yep... poor Yuzu," Ichigo sighed with a smile cheating what was said. It was lost to his more famous scowl however. "So what is it that old man Yamamoto wanted to talk about?"
Her own smile was lost to a contemplating glower as she considered on what to say, all the while her hand was reaching out for her cup. Even when she acquired it and settled into the chair she kept her silence in favor of swishing the contents of her cup about in thought.
"There's been an incident," she answered bluntly much to her husband's deepened scowl.
"What kind?"
"... A team of shinobi from the mainland somehow managed to evade the Stealth Force's surveillance long enough to actually breach into the western districts where their incursion was stopped thanks to a late night patrol. It all happened three nights ago. To keep the public from panicking the entire matter had been down played as maintenance work while the damage was being repaired."
A respectful silence passed between the two while she took a careful sip from her cup.
"Our current sources however weren't' able to identify which village they were from however," she resumed solemnly. "Given light to this situation the Head Captain, Parliament, and Central have unanimously agreed that an envoy plus a guard unit would venture to the nearest, largest shinobi village for a twofold purpose to broker an alliance: If we're lucky we would win over the "Leaf Village" as it is called with words alone, if not then we can at least attempt to enter members from the guard unit to participate in a tournament they're holding called the "Chunin Exam" and hopefully win over our potential allies in a demonstration of skill and strength. Even if that fails then we hope at least we could potentially deter a future attack, slim though that may be of actually succeeding."
Her husband's lips pursed and he closed his eyes. "I take it then that you're the diplomat then?"
Her cup was cradled between her stomach and her clenched hands. "I am," she answered.
"And he's aware that you're pregnant again, isn't he?"
"He is."
His tired, aggravated eyes came upon her once more. "And you're going, aren't you?"
She bowed her head and closed her own eyes. "You may not like it Ichigo but I'm inclined to agree with the principle of what is hoped for: A successful alliance would have our potential enemies think twice before attacking. If that succeeds then we would have allies who are more familiar with our enemies than we are." She looked him in the eye with unwavering, stern resolve. "And while you are no slouch by any means as you proven time and again against the impossible, I don't want to risk losing either you or our children if the day ever comes that the walls that protected us over the years finally fails because we were too stubborn to ask for help."
He released a guttural sigh as he looked down while a hand scratched the back of his head for a minute or two. "Why do I get the feeling the old man knew we were going to have this conversation?"
A light, entertained "hmphed" escaped Rukia, earning her husband's complete, puzzled attention.
"A few years ago you weren't as quick as you are now," she explained much to her amusement when a heavy set scowl was directed at her, her smile lost in favor of a neutral, scrutinizing frown as she tilted her gaze down slightly. "Frankly though I suspect that may have been a part of his reasoning if not someone else's in choosing me. In fact it seems he's trying to draw in as many people unofficially affiliated with the squads even if it's only by proxy at best."
"What do you mean?" he inquired while his brows furrowed.
She swished her tea about once more. "By chance I crossed paths with Harribel's son who was apparently summoned by the Head Captain..."
Ichigo's face crinkled slightly. "That's weird..." he mumbled. "I thought she hates the old man or something."
"Something like that," she admitted just before taking a sip. "From what I understood when I asked him about it though it seems he never even told her; the request was so unusual to him that he felt compelled to see what it was about."
"Well, something like that would certainly grab my attention at least," Ichigo sighed as his hand dropped to his lap at long last. "So how many all told do you think will go?"
"Aside from us?" She took a lengthier draw from her cup as she considered what she knew. "At bare minimum two others. Possibly four all told as back up should someone get sick or you lose your head if I suddenly go into labor."
"Not funny," he grumbled. She nevertheless grinned at him in pure amusement.
"Still..." he said only to stop to sigh and run his hand through his hair. "In any event this is unavoidable, isn't it?"
"It is," she said solemnly.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!
"Oh not again!"
Rukia only rolled her eyes as she enjoyed her drink, eying the athletic form of her husband who essentially leapt over the table in a mad dash to the kitchen.
"Be easier to learn if they had zanpakuto, wouldn't it?" she called out with a teasing grin to her lips, her hand reaching down for the lever of her chair.
"Still not funny!"