Ron: Welcome back, readers, to the newest-
(The theater begins to collapse around itself due to lightning strikes and Zaraki's presence)
Ron: Just lovely. And here I thought I wouldn't have to fix this place.
Tom: (Walking around waving a pack of tickets) Tickets here, get your tickets to the greatest death match yet! Zaraki Kenpachi versus the God of Lightning and Thunder, Zeus, we are also taking all bets, 4-to-1 odds in the favor of Zeus!
Ron: Oh, dear god. At least I don't have to worry about anything else. Enjoy the-
(Lightning strikes Ron)
Ron: FFFFFIIIIIICCCCC!
Honnouji Academy
Ryuko stared down Satsuki who looked down upon the red and black scantily clad teen. "Make me, you say?" she question in amusement. "I find that to be… unlikely."
"Don't mock me, you bitch!" She fell to her knees, not knowing that her shame wearing Senketsu like that was draining all of her blood.
"Ryuko, you can only stay conscious for a few more minutes!" Senketsu warned worriedly.
"Then stop drinking all my blood so fast!" Ryuko demanded.
"Well! I think that will be enough for today, don't you, Kiryuin?" Ryu announced loudly as he stepped into the boxing area, standing between Ryuko and Satsuki. "After all, it's been a fairly exciting day all around."
"Yes, it has. Lick your wounds, Matoi. Your struggle is just beginning." At that, Ryuko finally collapsed, and her outfit changed into a simple sailor fuku, albeit a navy blue one. And Satsuki could not shake the feeling that Matoi looked familiar, somehow. She would focus on that later: Hisanaga and Kurosaki were going to be tested soon.
"Come on Ryuko, let's get you somewhere safer," Ryu said as he threw one of her arms over his shoulder to help balance her.
Ryuko glared at Satsuki, standing on her pedestal. But the Kiryuin heiress did nothing but glare back, in slight thought.
The first thing Ryuko felt when she woke up was heavy breathing. A man was laying on top of her. And there was no way in HELL she was taking that.
"GRAH!" Ryuko shouted angrily as she managed to get her legs curled up to her chest and unleashed the mother of all double kicks to the face of the man laying over top of her, sending him flying to the wall. "Who the hell are you? Where the hell am I? Where is Senketsu?"
"Oh, you're awake!" Ryuko looked around, seeing Mako. "Mako? this is your house?" "Yup! and the guy you clocked is my dad!"
Ryuko felt a pang of regret, but from the way he acted, she decked a major pervert, so it faded.
"How did I get here?" she asked. "Last thing I remember was Ryu carrying me away from Honnouji Academy…"
"Oh, he did, but I told him my dad was a doctor, and-"
"I get it. I get it." She cracked her neck. "Where ARE Ryu and Ichigo, anyways? Are they here?"
"Umm… Ryu is on the roof, I think," Mako informed after a moment of thought. "And Ichigo hasn't shown up yet!"
"The hell is keeping him?"
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Knives, broken bottles, BBs: those were just some of the projectiles coming Ichigo's way. Some asshole named Sana-something or other had apparently given them free reign on trying to take Ichigo down. To say they were succeeding...
"My leg!"
Was a gross exaggeration. Ichigo was more then used to shit chasing him around. He'd done it during his invasion of the Seireitei, dealt with it during the numerous incidents afterwards and he was sure that Xcution didn't put him through that because they knew he would pass with flying colors. That being said, it was time to go on the counterattack.
"Eh, it's probably nothing," screams of pain wailed out in the distance as Ryuko spoke. "Probably, anyways, what about the clothes I was wearing, where are they?"
"Oh! After we got them off of you, Ryu took them, said he needed to check something out about them!" Mako explained.
"Right, thanks, Mako," Ryuko said with a thankful smile as she moved to go up to the roof.
"Thought that was you kicking someone," Ryu commented as Ryuko climbed up to the roof. "How are you feeling? You had lost a lot of blood there."
"Yeah, I feel sorta light headed, but otherwise, I'm good." Another scream was heard from outside. "Where's Senketsu?"
Ryu gestured to where the uniform was hanging off a pipe. "You father was a brilliant man," he informed with an impressed hum. "To think he could create something that so completely mimics a Clad-Type Fullbring…"
"Uh...Fullbring?" An explosion was heard in the distance, along with Ichigo's voice. "PISS OFF!"
"Yeah. A Fullbring is the power to draw the essence from an object, and use it as your own. It's similar to that used by hollows, and most Fullbringers have parents that were attacked by Hollows and survived, with that power being inherited."
Ryuko blinked. "I don't get it."
"Basically, well… perhaps it's best I just show you," Ryu explained as he stood up from where he had been sitting and pulled out a pair of gloves. "These… these are quite special to me, a gift from a friend who passed away, someone who got me started in martial arts in general, these, were the second Fullbring that I awakened, and achieved Full Resonance with," he pulled on his glove. "And this is what happened when you do."
"Raijin no Ifuku (Raiment of the Lightning God)!" Ryu shouted as lightning began to imit from his body, wrapping around it, solidifying into what looked to be simple tunic and pants, with a pair of intricately carved gauntlets and greaves, showing bolts of lightning, his lower face was covered by a cloth mask that was attached to a helmet that also had lightning bolts carved into it. "This is a Fully awakened Clad-Type Fullbring."
"That's almost like Senketsu! Well, other than... being almost naked." WHY the hell she had to be naked to wear it as a weapon, she didn't know: with so much exposed skin, it was easy to injure her. A full set of armor would be more effective.
Ryu shook his head in response. "It's the other way around," he explained in response. "Your father's name, it was Isshin, right?"
Ryuko nodded. "Yeah. Isshin Matoi." She scowled almost like Ichigo. son of a bitch who killed him was going to PAY. "What about it?"
"Your father… he was a well known Fullbringer," Ryu answered slowly. "He was famous for developing several theories on Fullbringer capabilities and he was the one who figured out that Fullbringers could resonate with more than one item."
"Huh? But... why didn't he tell me any of this? I mean, I spent most of my life in boarding schools, but that's something really important!" A long scream was heard as a stupid idiot flew overhead.
Ryu sighed. "Fullbringers, are beings of spiritual strength, but… as we gain more power, the more Hollows that are drawn to us," he explained with a heavy look on his eyes. "And they are only one of the threats that face us."
"You guys have a lot of power. What the hell could threaten you?" Ichigo jumped on top of the house, looking VERY annoyed. "I've had a hundred assholes attacking me. The only thing that kept me from using Zangetsu was the fact that I don't want them dead."
Ryu snorted. "Shinigami are one of the threats," he told Ryuko, pointing to Ichigo who blinked in confusion. "They hate anything that can prove to be a challenge to them, the only reason they have really tried to wipe us out is because we've mostly kept our heads down and those that don't… well there's a reason they're not worried, finally there's the Quincy… fucking pricks."
"Quincy?" Ryuko asked in confusion, tilting her head slightly.
Ichigo planted his ass on the roof. "Human archers using spirit bows. They destroy Hollows instead of purifying them. Gotei 13 aren't that fond of them, either: somethin' about soul balance and the Quincies throwing it outta wack."
"Don't know about that Bullshit, but they're alive and thriving and believe themselves to be Crusaders of God or something," Ryu explained with a bitter look. "Thankfully, we have an edge over them, as our powers are based off of Hollows, which the Quincies, and their life based energies are weak to."
Ryuko didn't really get it, but she didn't need to. If this power helped her avenge her father, there really wasn't much she cared about. The fucker that killed Isshin Matoi was going to pay.
Honnouji Academy
"You must be joking." Sanageyama shook his head. "I'm sorry, milady, but Kurosaki just...brushed them off. He got cut a little, but otherwise, the clubs sent to test him were obliterated." Satsuki was not happy about that. Ryu Hisanaga was enough of a threat with his own powers. Kurosaki doubled the number of headaches, if not tripled. Matoi was little more than an annoyance at best, a major distraction at worst.
"What have we learned from the attempts to put Kurosaki to heel?" She questioned as her eyes began to narrow.
"He's very capable in hand to hand combat," Sanageyama informed with a frown. "Not once had he pulled out his weapon or anything, he also seems to be able to do that strange speed movement as Hisanaga."
Satsuki tapped Bakuzan in a form of comfort. Hand-to-hand would end in her victory. "Continue preparations. I want Hisanaga and Kurosaki either neutralized or put to use. We have a campaign to plan." A campaign, yes, but not to conquer the schools. To kill that bitch of a mother of hers, Ragyo Kiryuin.
"Yes, Satsuki-sama!" the four three-star students responded, saluting in their own way.
The next day
Ryuko Matoi had suffered many things in life. Seeing her father die, forced to wear the skimpiest outfit she knew of, fighting a boxer. Getting knocked out by a fuckton of tennis balls? That was a new one. She gasped as she woke up, then noticed that she was slightly cold.
"Finally awake, Matoi-kun?" A familiar voice asked.
It was Mikisugi-sensei, and he was smiling. he stripped her down. Thus, only one result could happen.
"PERVERT!" Ryuko shouted in panic as she looked around rapidly before spotting and grabbing ahold of her Scissor Blade and made an attempt at grievous harm on her teacher.
"Hold it!" He held up a white hanky. "I didn't strip you for the sake of stripping." he pulled out a needle and threw it, making her freeze as it hit a nerve bundle.
"The fuck did you do to me?!" Ryuko asked angrily as she tried to move her immobile muscles.
"Oh, just an acupuncture needle. Now, your blood's getting hot, isn't it?"
"Damn straight it's hot, hot with the desire to murder you!" Ryuko roared.
He pulled out a hypodermic needle before stabbing it into Ryuko's arm. He would've, if he didn't feel a sword put to his neck. "Put the needle away. NOW." Mikisugi looked back to see Ichigo, holding a massive blade and he was in a mood to use it.
"Ichigo, calm the fuck down," another voice made the spy turn to see Ryu lounging on the windowsill. "He ain't here to hurt her, are you, Nudist Beach?"
Mikisugi flinched at the mentioning of those two words, and Ichigo did not withdraw his blade. "Son of a bitch takes her, and you're telling me not to try and protect her? What the hell is WRONG with you?"
"Hey, hey, relax!" He stabbed the needle into Ryuko's arm, drawing a few milliliters of blood before drawing it back and spraying it on Senketsu.
"BLOOD!" Senketsu cried out happily as the blood was absorbed by the uniform. "Huh? Where am I?"
Ichigo unhappily withdrew the sword. Ryuko blinked as she remembered that cleaver. It was Ichigo's zan-whatever, Zangetsu. "I thought you had to be out of your body to use that."
"Geta-boshi gave me something that lets me use it before he sent me here. So, jackass, want to explain what the hell you were thinking bringing her here? Ryu or I could've gotten her out of there."
Mikisugi removed his glasses as he pushed back his hair, for some reason sparkles were surrounding him as he removed his tie. "I needed to teach Matoi-kun about her Kamui," he revealed dramatically. "After all, it didn't respond to you when you tried to activate it against the Tennis Club, correct?"
"Yeah, he just...stopped. Didn't even hear him talk all day." "That's because he needs your blood to fully awaken, and the pores on your skin can't supply enough of it." The teacher's shirt began to undo itself...until Ichigo put the blade back to Mikisugi's neck, this time at his throat.
"Keep yourself decent. She might be rude at times, but there's a lady here!" Ichigo screamed out, his face blushing.
"I take it you have a way to rectify that?" Ryu asked curiously, unfettered by the attempted stripping.
Mikisugi chuckled nervously. Ichigo wasn't kidding: that blade was too close TO be bluffing. "uh...not really. does it on its' own. I made it myself!" That didn't please Ryuko. Ichigo, infinitely LESS, as he saw a slight blue glow to the blade. "but I can try!"
Fear was an epic motivator, no?
Ryu sighed as he climbed off the window sill and pushed Zangetsu away from Mikisugi's throat. "Ichigo, don't kill a person who will be our ally," he told him sternly. "So, what's this item you have to help Ryuko out?"
Mikisugi scrambled away from Ichigo, who clearly wasn't a fan of nudity. Then again, he wasn't a fan of Satsuki, so he could live with that. "Right... Can you, uh, keep him away from me?"
"Depends. Are you going to automatically strip every time we need information?" Ryu asked dryly, raising his eyebrow.
"uh...point taken." He pulled out a glove, which had a wrist bangle with a pull-out pin. "This will let Ryuko use Senketsu any time she wants, so long as she has the blood."
Ryuko accepted the glove, trying it on. "So, I have to use this to give Senketsu my blood, huh?" she asked as she examined it.
"Ryuko, so long as you are able to provide me blood, I won't fall asleep and I can fight alongside you," Senketsu said in a solemn tone.
Ryuko grinned. "Well, now. I think we've got a chance against Satsuki Kiryuin!"
Satsuki was slack jawed at the sight. Mikisugi might've thought himself not under surveillance, but that was folly. but that moron's lack of modesty was not her concern. The big fucking sword in Kurosaki's hands was. Sanageyama was gaping alongside her. "H-how the hell did we miss THAT?!"
"I… I don't know," Sanageyama answered in shock. "Such a massive weapon, it would be almost impossible to hide…"
An oversized khyber, with hints of a combat trench knife and a leather wrapped hilt and a chain at the bottom. Yes, that WOULD be impossible to miss. Yet they DID miss it. and that set Satsuki off. She had no choice. "I am heading to my mansion."
Nonon blinked in confusion. "L-Lady Satsuki?"
"I need a weapon to fight Kurosaki now. And there is only one that I can think of." She spoke of a Kamui. Kamui Jenketsu.
"Y… yes, Lady Satsuki, we shall mind the school in your absence," Gamagori assured. "Shall we prepare anything in particular?"
"Continue operations; particularly, testing Matoi. And on my return...I will face Kurosaki in combat. And we will see who is the strongest."
At Satsuki left the Academy, the Elite Four were uneasy. Kurosaki wielded that sword as if it were lighter than air. as if it were a part of him. And continued footage confirmed that his blade disappeared somehow. Inumuta could not explain it. but Sanageyama didn't care about that.
A swordsman, an honest to god swordsman, it made his fingers itch for his shinai, to challenge him, but, unfortunately, Lady Satsuki declared him to be her opponent, that left him with Ryuko Matoi - who he felt was still far too inexperienced to provide a challenge - and Ryu Hisanaga, who didn't seem to even use weapons at all, but, by large his skills remained unknown.
"I do not like this." All eyes were on Gamagori. While he ranked low on the combat scale (only those who provoked him got their asses handed to him) he WAS an experienced combatant. "Kurosaki has the feeling of a warrior whose skills have been tested. I fear that even Lady Satsuki cannot defeat him. That even the mountains don't have a chance."
"Satsuki-chan will win," Nonon declared without hesitation. "She never loses, to anyone."
Gamagori wanted to agree. His lady had never lost. But Kurosaki was someone to watch out for. He knew better then to make the ultimate assumption that Satsuki was unbeatable. Ramses, Caesar, Charlemagne, Lee, Rommel, Patton: all of them were great leaders, generals and warriors in their own right, and Satsuki Kiryuin was well on her way to joining them. But they WERE defeated during their time: Ramses at Qadesh and Rommel in Africa, for example. This may go down in history as Satsuki's first defeat. "We cannot see into the future, Jakuzure. And Kurosaki makes me uneasy. I hope for Satsuki-sama's victory, but we must be prepared if she is defeated." Sanageyama snorted while Inumuta looked at Gamagori in respect. "Gamagori, that is uncharacteristically prudent of you." Gamagori snorted. "Out of us all, I am the only one to speak and interact with Kurosaki. I have reason to be prepared for Kurosaki's possible victory."
"There's another factor, Hisanaga and his supposed 'supernatural' abilities," Inumuta pointed out. "We have a rough basis of Kurosaki's abilities to start making assumptions, but, other than hearsay, nothing on Hisanaga's, and none of the one-stars we've sent out to fight him have even encountered him."
It really was strange, they could have him on video watching him as they directed the groups of one star students, but even with explicit direction, they could never find the teen who simply just appeared to vanish around a corner and the microscopic gaps between cameras.
"So, you sure you want to do this, Ryuko?" Ryu questioned as he, Ryuko and Ichigo gathered on the roof of the Mankanshoku 'Clinic'. "I mean, don't get me wrong I want to train you, but the quick path you want… it can maim or kill you."
Ryuko gave the Fullbringer a stern look. "Yes I'm sure!" she shouted angrily. "Satsuki knows, or is, the one who killed my father and I will be dammed if I don't get that information from her!"
Ryu sighed, exchanging a look with Ichigo who grimaced in remembrance from his own training, before looking back to Ryuko and nodding. "Alright then," he agreed finally. "But, we won't start it tonight," he gave her a stern look as she opened her mouth to protest. "Ryuko, in order to use your powers, you must understand them."
"What is there to understand?" Senketsu spoke up, his one 'eye' looking at Ryu intently. "I am Ryuko's power, what else does she need?"
"To understand how the power works and how to draw upon it," Ryu answered immediately. "Senketsu, I mean you no offense, but the stronger she is without your power, the more powerful she will be when she does draw upon it."
That seemed to mollify the Kamui as it settled down, allowing Ryu to continue.
"Fullbringers have been around as long as Hollows have been, and they have been around as long as Humans have," Ryu began his explanation, settling himself in for a long conversation. "They developed differently different countries," he drew out a rough world map on a piece of paper, dividing it into several sections and pointed at the Americas. "The Native Aboriginals of the Americas had Rainmen and Shamans, the Africans had their Medicine Men, India and some of the neighbouring countries actually had the largest concentration of Fullbringers, mostly monks of assorted orders, here in Japan we had the second highest concentration, the primary ones being Onmyouji.
"These origins have highly influenced how Fullbringers have developed," Ryu continued. "Fullbringers here in Japan act as guardians against evil spirits, what we know as Hollows today, Demonic entities and while at one point in time we were against the Youkai, nowadays they are our strongest ally, especially the Tengu, Kitsune, Nekomata and Inugami Clans."
"Wait, they exist?" Ichigo and Ryuko asked in shock as they stared at Ryu.
The Fullbringer nodded in confirmation as he pulled out a slip of paper with a pentagram and several Kanji written in the center. He then held it between his fingers in an odd position. "Sanae no Tamamo, as per the terms of our contract, I ask of you to come forth and support me." He chanted as his power swirled around him.
A pentagram began to form on the ground before him, the floor itself seemed to ripple as a figure rose up out of it. It was unmistakably female - hard not to be with breasts that would have rivaled Rangiku Matsumoto and wearing a rather revealing lush green floral print kimono, but what really caught their attention were the nine waving, rust orange, white tipped fox tails sprouting from her tailbone and a pair of similarly colored fox ear perking up from atop a long mane of wavy orange hair that fell down her back, reaching to the base of her tails.
"Sanae no Tamamo has arrived!" The obvious kitsune shouted out merrily as she struck a pose, winking her reddish-gold colored eyes as she did so. "So, whose ass am I kicking today Ryu?"
Ryu waved his hands in dismissal. "No asses needing to be kicked today," he told her. "Just wanted to introduce these two to you, giving them a crash course in the living world supernatural elements."
"Ah!" Sanae exclaimed as she turned to face Ichigo and Ryuko curiously. "Pleased to meet you, I am Sanae no Tamamo, tenth generational decendant of the Tamamo Kitsune Clan, never thought I'd see a living Shinigami in my lifetime."
"Uh, technically, I'm not a real shinigami." Ichigo held up the badge on his belt. "Human being with shinigami powers. A substitute, if you wanna get into it."
Sanae more deeply sensed Ichigo's power, sensing that, while Ichigo indeed had the powers of the Japanese psycocomps, the real base was human.
And rarely do the shinigami make living beings do their dirty work.
"Odd that the Shinigami would allow a human to run around with their power," Sanae murmured before shaking her head. "Oh well, no matter," she turned her gaze to Ryuko who squirmed under her gaze. "Interesting, you plan on teaching this one, Ryu?"
"She wants me to," Ryu informed with a nod. "The fast way too."
"I'll tell Yuki-chan to get ready to be summoned then," Sanae replied with a vicious grin. "The ones who want the fast way always end up being bleeders."
Ichigo rolled his eyes at the unwanted reminder to his own training methods.
Wasn't his fault that everyone wanted him dead NOW and there wasn't time to learn safely.
"So, how come the shinigami don't show up here? I mean, souls turn into Hollows most of the time when they don't pass, and that's usually a shinigami's job."
The kitsune scoffed in a haughty way that reminded him, scarily, of Matsumoto and Byakuya. Not a picture the substitute wanted in his mind.
"Do you think shinigami are the ONLY forces in the universe with authority over spirits? That's sheer arrogance! They barely have any authority over Japan, let alone the world." While Ichigo never thought about it (again, everyone trying to kill him in a VERY short time span and all; it tended to limit one's ability TO think about it) it made sense.
Shinigami were not the only 'death spirits' in the world: there were countless religions and beliefs, and while some of the more...recent ones...made little sense, others did.
So why in the name of hell had he never seen them in action?
The carrot-head nearly facepalmed. She said the shinigami only had authority over Japan, and only barely, thanks to the rise of Christianity and Buddhism in Japan over the past six centuries.
"The Christian Supernatural faction has the most influence over departed souls at the moment, and they are quite serious about their job and are fair in their dealings with the other factions," Ryu explained to the clueless Ryuko. "It happened… I think about two thousand years ago when the major shift started to happen. The Father of Heaven started to expand his influence and he was very successful, and he has actually had a… decent relationship with the Youkai of Asia, mostly because the majority of them are benevolent towards humans."
"The Father is truly enamored with them, even the ones that were not descended from his creations," Sanae piped in, amusement clear on her face. "Anyways, the Shinigami lost a lot of their territory when Christianity began to spread into Japan. Initially the Shinigami tried to fight back… but then they ran into the Archangel Michael and his Legions."
"THAT probably didn't end well."
An understatement if there ever was one. While shinigami were powerful (Yamamoto's bankai was probably something world-ending or something, and Ichigo had never SEEN it) they were not truly divine beings. They were souls granted some power over the cycle of reincarnation.
"That is probably the nicest way of putting it. The shinigami suffered for it. Heaven's forces certainly bled, but they DID win. Since then there hasn't been much fighting. It's more or less peaceful. Until about 20 years ago."
"What happened then?" Ryuko questioned in confusion.
"Life-Fibers appeared in the general market," Ryu answered, looking over towards Honnouji Academy. "They… they are of neither mortal, nor supernatural make, and it has everyone concerned."
"Yeah, when a Devil eases up on the whole corruption of mankind thing, you know shit's about to go down," Sanae commented grimly.
Ryuko's eyes fixed themselves on Honnouji Academy. Satsuki was the cause of this. She knew who killed her father, or she did it herself. And she was causing this shit.
"Kiryuuin! You're going to pay for this shit! YOU HEAR ME?!" The scissor-wielding girl pulled out and pointed the weapon at the academy while Ichigo tried to convince himself that he wasn't the lynchpin for the survival of the universe.
He was WRONG, of course.
"Still, getting back on track," Ryu said, called attention back to himself. "This will probably have to wait until you can manage to keep yourself calm for longer than thirty seconds, but many Fullbringers branch out into the older arts once they gain basic mastery of their powers, I myself branched into Omnyodo and forged a summoning contract with the Tamamo Clan."
"So you can summon a big-titted fox-girl."
Aforementioned fox-girl smirked at Ryoko's crude, if surprisingly accurate, description of her. "I am not just a pretty face. I could probably wipe the floor with most life-fiber users at that school of yours. But I'm not willing to take on those four with the larger counts, and as long as you're wearing that kamui, you'll be hard to take down. Might even hurt me more than I'd like."
Before Ryuko's ego could inflate, Sanae poked a hole the size of a banana in it. "But I WOULD win. And I REALLY don't want to take on the shinigami substitute. Reduced power or not, you scare the hell out of me."
Ichigo's eyes half-lidded before he drawled out "I'm not sure whether or not that's a compliment or an insult."
"KItsune's are tricksters and Illusionists," Ryu supplemented. "There are some who branch out into other forms of combat, Sanae here is said to be a prodigy with Fox-Fire on par with Tamamo no Mae herself."
Sanae seemed to preen under his statement, only to deflate a moment later.
"But she is completely useless when it comes to Illusions and Curse Magic," Ryu completed, smirking at his friend who glared. "I can also summon other members of the clan, as per our contract, to aid me in battle, so if I need a healer I can summon one of the Kitsune Healers, if I need combat support I can summon an Illusionist or Curse Mage, ect."
"So you can pull out the best one for the job." She turned to Ichigo. "What about you? 'Sides your fancy sword and the 'out-of-body' crap, I ain't sure what you've got."
"Well, I can use shunpo and I've got my bankai, but unless you've got hollows out the ass, I'm not pulling out Tensa Zangetsu. You've seen my normal Getsugas, so I don't think you want to see one ten times that."
If not more, as Ichigo knew he sucked at measuring his own power level.
Still, he had the basics, and while he didn't have the time (or the resources) to learn the other arts of shinigami combat, that was all he really needed.
Still, he'd thought he'd ask. "Hey, Sanae-san, do you have anything on shinigami kido? I never had the chance to learn as everyone was trying to kill me all the time."
They would get that story out of him later.
Sanae hummed for a moment. "I'm not sure, I will have to ask around the clan and check our records, but if I do find something I'll let you know and we can work out a deal," she offered.
"Well, as long as he doesn't involve anyone I care about getting hurt, I'll do it." The kitsune got the feeling that if they DID do something involving his family, they would regret it.
(In another universe, Aizen sneezed, banging his head into his restraints rather painfully)
The shinigami in question yawned. "I'm gonna get back in my body and go to sleep. Hate to say it, but we've got school tomorrow. And I want to face the insanity with a good night's sleep."
Something all of them could agree with. Madness could only be confronted successfully after a good night's rest.
"Ryuko, we'll begin your training tomorrow morning," Ryu told the teen delinquent. "I would suggest getting plenty of rest, it's going to be a long day for you."
Honnouji Academy - the next morning
Ichigo trudged up the stairs without a care in the world with an obvious Mako chipperly walking beside him, just wanting to get the insanity over with.
What he wasn't expecting was a bunch of banners and flags in the central courtyard. 'Oh, great, I just stepped into more crazy. GODDAMN YOU, GETABOSHI! And now that I know God really DOES exist, I'VE GOT THE RIGHT TO SAY THAT!'
A click of a heel was heard before lights shown over the tallest tower, making Ichigo squint. "Damn it, Kiryuin, can't you NOT be flashy?!"
"Kurosaki," Satsuki replied in response, brushing the comment off. "You will fight me, now."
Ichigo facepalmed. "Mako."
The overly energetic girl turned to Ichigo. "Yes?" The substitute pressed the badge into his leg and left his body, and Mako watched in wonder. "Wow! There's two of you!"
"Take my body and get out of here. This is probably going to be bad." The no nonsense tone got through Mako's skull and she grabbed his body, fleeing like a duck during hunting season.
"Look, Kiryuin, I don't have time to put up with your crap. I've got a class to attend, and I don't think you have the authority to give me a pass from it."
While a poor excuse, it WAS actually a valid one. Too bad Satsuki was basically the Academy's version of Adolf Hitler: supreme ruler of the school.
"Classes were cancelled for the day," Satsuki retorted as a stairway appeared before her, leading right down to Ichigo. "I will have nothing interrupt this fight, you will learn your place under me."
'Great, I forgot that she's basically the school's queen.' Ichigo drew his oversized khyber sword, annoyed as all hell.
Not a good combination. "And what the hell are you WEARING? Looks like some fancy dress uniform from the Maritime Self-Defense Force!"
The sword-wielding schoolgirl descended the stairs. "You have good eyes to see Junketsu from afar."
"'Purity'? Oh, god, don't tell me it's another one of those damned kamui outfits! ONE was enough!"
Satsuki smirked at him imperiously, "You are right to fear the Kamui so," she stated smugly. "Even if Matoi was too weak to use it properly you are smart to recognize its power as greater than your own."
"No, I'm just getting pissed off at the fact that everything's going down the crazy gutter!"
Satsuki's eyebrow twitched. There was absolutely no fear in Ichigo's voice. Only annoyance that his day had been changed and that he was being forced to fight.
That was something she would NOT tolerate, as while she didn't even believe her Darwinist bullshit, she WAS the best.
And Ichigo's attitude was pure mockery to her.
"Learn your place! Life-fiber override!" Satsuki declared as she pressed in three protrusions on her uniform, initiating bloodflow to the uniform, light flashing around her as it obscured the transformation of her clothing. When the light died down, the crowd stared at her new look, the uniform somehow being even more revealing than Senketsu had been.
Aside from the downright massive shoulder pauldrons with an eye motif on display, the uniform left very little to the imagination, showing off all of her cleavage and barely even covering her nether regions, although her arms and legs were completely covered.
"..." "Stunned into silence out of fear at least, I see."
Ichigo's face turned red as a beat. "Don't you have any freaking SHAME?! You're almost naked!"
Embarrassment. Ichigo was stunned not out of fear, but EMBARRASSMENT?!
THAT was the last straw. Satsuki drew her blade and charged at Ichigo, who blocked the strike, though not without difficulty.
"I will crush you underneath my heel Kurosaki," Satsuki declared angrily as she pushed Bakuzan against his oversized sword. "You're nothing but a mongrel!"
"At least I'm fair to people!" Ichigo pushed back, and Satsuki was surprised as she was sent flying back over 30 feet. HE OVERPOWERED HER.
That was NOT tolerable! She charged back, striking Zangetsu as hard as she could, but Ichigo was parrying like mad, making Satsuki angrier.
Ichigo had no formal style, and he was HOLDING BACK.
Picking up the tempo of her strikes, Satsuki began to try to overwhelm him with a barrage of blows raining down faster than the average human could even sprint. 'What is this strength from, there are no Life Fibers on his body, at all!' she thought to herself angrily as Ichigo continued to parry the blows.
"Are we DONE?" Satsuki swung at him with bakuzan, and Ichigo didn't react.
She thought she won. Until Ichigo caught the blade with his left hand. "I've caught swords before."
Satsuki's rage knew no bounds as she pulled and continued her attacks, smiling as Ichigo jumped back into the air. Another supposed victory.
Until his sword glowed gold with power.
Satsuki had just enough time to widen her eyes before Ichigo spoke two words, no raised voice, no angry shout, just speaking as if he was having to recite something in class. "Getsuga Tenshou."
She didn't even get to verbally say what she was thinking.
Outside Honnouji City
The flash of light, followed by the rather loud explosion where practically self-explanatory to both Ryu and Ryuko: Satsuki had picked a fight with Ichigo.
And judging by the fast-moving dot in the sky, she was beginning to regret doing so, much to Ryuko's amusement.
"HA! Serves you right, bitch!" She was currently wearing her older outfit, with Senketsu sitting off to one side as Ryu trained her in the spiritual arts. And watched the dot that was most likely Satsuki Kiryuin go flying into the stratosphere.
"I would suggest you focus more on the ground, Ryuko," Ryu admonished lightly, a smirk on his own features as he set aside his duffel bag, a sheathed katana in his hand.
The pair were currently situated in the center of a circle made up of countless Kanji with a diameter of at least a mile. "This sealing circle will push the attention of anyone outside of it away from here and prevent any entry," Ryu explained as he stood across from Ryuko. "It also prevents Reishi and all sounds from leaking outside of it… and bars any attempt to leave until deactivated, this is your last chance to back out Ryuko, once we start, there will be no stopping."
"You see that?" The dot in the sky had been kicked higher, likely by Ichigo. "I want to be able to kick her ass just like Ichigo can! And if you kicking me down a few times is the only way to make that happen, then let's get on with it!"
She had spunk, he would admit that much. Might get her killed one day, but she had the will to push on.
Ryu chuckled a bit, reminiscing on his own past before shaking his head. "Alright then," he pulsed his power to the circle, activating it as a black dome began to rise up around them, sealing them within, oddly enough, however, despite the perfectly sealed dome around them, it was still bright as day. "We begin now."
His pronouncement was quickly followed with him seemingly teleporting in front of Ryuko, his katana bared and swinging, slashing directly across her eyes.
"FUCK! I can't see!" Which, she figured in a more reasoned part of her mind, was the point.
Too bad Ryuko didn't operate on reason. She was more of a wild animal in a human body.
She swung blindly at Ryu's presumed last location, missing him entirely with each punch. This was likely to take a while.
Ryu threw his katana aside for the time being, it's job was done before launching a punch right above her kidney, forcing the air out of her lungs as she was lifted off of her feet. "You won't be able to defend yourself by wildly lashing out!" Ryu barked out harshly as she crashed against the ground, coughing. "Stop struggling, and fight!"
"What the fuck-" She swung at the source of his voice, but Ryu had moved to dodge the rather pathetic attack. "Do you think I'm doing?!"
Ryuko was attempting to use her only two remaining senses that were of any tracking use - sound and smell - to find Ryu, but that was going to be impossible. Her sense of smell wasn't like that of a dog, and Ryu moved every time he spoke.
'Damn it, I can't fight without my eyes!'
"You wanted this Ryuko, if you can't find me, you will die," Ryu announced, punctuating his statement with a brief blast of killing intent. "The question is, will you die like some mutt, or are you going to fight me like a Fullbringer?"
Ryuko had plenty of one thing: rage. Rage for her father being a general dick, for her father's killer, for Satsuki being a bitch.
It was time to put that rage to a more constructive use. She used it to focus. most would be focused on finding their happy place.
Ryuko was going to try and find her unhappy place. And use it to beat the unholy crap out of Ryu.
As soon as her mind was cleared, she felt...something.
To put it in radar terms, it was like finding a sudden blip. A primitive and archaic radar blip. But a blip was a blip, and Ryuko was going to use that blip to clock Ryu.
Ryu stepped to the side, a small grin forming on his face as he felt her Reishi begin to stir within her, small pulses being sent out, washing over him. 'Just a little more,' he thought to himself. "I guess then, you really don't want to find your father's killer," he said, faking disappointment in his voice.
And Ryu had just made her unhappy place more unhappy. If that were possible. The feeling became more defined, but not as accurate as Ryu's senses. Or even Ichigo's, and his sensing abilities sucked. But she was sure where he was. And with a roar of rage, she charged at Ryu, who dodged one hit, but the second one he had to block.
That didn't mean she stood a chance in hell, though, as Ryu knocked her back down on the ground.
"Pathetic, you think you can take on Satsuki like that? Your father's killer?" Ryu barked out. "Don't make me laugh, your father was a strong and tenacious son of a bitch and if someone killed him you don't even stand a chance."
Ryuko, as before, fell for the goading. Like Ichigo's protective urges forced him to grow at an unholy rate, Ryuko's rage did the same, if...slower. Fractionally.
Her wild strikes still held some wild rage, but they were becoming more calculated, like a predator striking its' prey. Ryu was blocking more than dodging, which was an improvement. What would be REAL improvement would be Ryuko stopping trying to hit him and just hitting him!
"You think you can protect your friends like this?" Ryu questioned darkly, pushing the teen girl further. "I wonder, how will you keep Satsuki from attacking Mako and her family, how about your father's killer? Do you just plan on letting them die?"
THAT pushed her over the edge. Her leg finally made contact with his knee, stumbling him long enough for a haymaker to introduce itself to his face.
But if Ryuko could be compared to anything, it would be a shield-chewing berserk Norseman, commonly and incorrectly referred to as Vikings. Once she was at that point, getting her out of it was going to require extreme measures. mostly knocking her out without causing irreparable damage.
Thankfully, Ryu was more than capable of doing just that.
Ryu rolled with the haymaker, completely unfazed and not even bruised by the blow, Ryuko moving to continue attacking him, her Reishi guiding her right to him as she launched another punch that Ryu quickly intercepted, pushing it up while simultaneously slamming an open palm into her solar plexus, hard enough for her to black out. "Good job, kid," Ryu told her quietly as she collapsed, catching her before she hit the ground and laid her down softly on her back. "But we're just getting started."
He quickly pulled out a paper tag and concentrated. "Yukihime no Tamamo, as per the terms of our contract, I call you forth to provide me aid," he chanted, summoning forth a white haired, blue eyed kitsune, a pair of deep blue, white tipped fox tails lazily swishing behind her with similarly colored fox ear poking up out of her head. While her figure was not as… attention grabbing as Sanae's she certainly did fill out the proper kimono she wore as she bowed to Ryu.
"You called for me, Ryu-dono?" she asked softly, her voice firm despite the softness.
"Yeah, need you to fix up Ryuko's eyes here," Ryu requested politely, garnering another bow from the kitsune who approached the unconscious teen and placed her hands overtop of her closed eyes, blood leaking out from underneath.
"The damage is repairable," Yukihime announced as a soft green glow began to emanate from her hands. "To think, people are willing to risk such things for power."
"All power comes at a cost," Ryu quoted. "Either time, or physical injury, if you're lucky."
Yukihime nodded in agreement as she focused on her work, Ryu settling in for a brief rest as he waited for her to finish.
125 kilometers above the surface of the Earth
Satsuki was having a hard time thinking. On one hand, being in the thermosphere tended to do that, as oxygen was rarefied at this height.
On the other, she was getting a headache from the flat of Ichigo's sword sending her flying to the edge of space. And that boy was going to get her killed if he stopped holding back.
Yes, Satsuki was now of the opinion that Ichigo Kurosaki was now the third deadliest known being on the planet, the second being Nui Harime and the first being her mother, Ragyo, much to Satsuki's displeasure at admitting this.
And she was falling at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. She was probably going to hurt herself on landing. Her fall stopped as she felt a strong hand grip her wrist, and her eyes turned skyward.
Ichigo had caught her mid-fall. "So, are you going to give up, or do I have to really hurt something other than your damn ego?"
Satsuki's response was to snarl as she swung her sword at him, hoping to kill him before he became to much of a threat to her.
Ichigo blocked her strike using Zangetsu. Yet again, which infuriated the ravenette.
"Ok, down you go." The world dissolved in milliseconds before they were only a few kilometers above the school. Ichigo let her go, before shortly kicking her in the gut, sending Satsuki down to Earth at mach speed.
'This is going to hurt.'
6 hours later
It had, indeed, hurt. Satsuki's back had popped out of place, five of her ribs were cracked and two of them were outright broken, her right leg was broken in five different places and her eye was black and swollen.
She was thankful for Junketsu's presence, otherwise she would be dead. Thankfully, Nanon had helped put her back back in place, and her wounds were being tended to.
"To think, that you of all people would be reduced to such a state, Satsuki-sama," Inumuta commented as he looked over the data he managed to record from the brief fight. "Let alone survive such a fall…"
"Kurosaki didn't kick me as hard as he could have. If he did, I would be dead, not wounded." She was under no illusions of that. To cause her wounds, even though she was in a combat-mode Kamui, would take strength. And he didn't look winded from the foot planted into her gut.
No, the head of the student council realized that Kurosaki was holding back, and greatly.
Not that her subordinates were believing that.
"What should we do, Lady Satsuki?" Gamagori questioned. "Do you wish for Kurosaki to be expelled? We could also put some pressure on him to leave Japan…"
"No. Kurosaki did not have a wish to kill me. He could have easily done so, and none of you are to be under any illusions that he was not unable. We will adopt a wait-and-see procedure for Kurosaki. Inumuta, Sanageyama, shift all of your focus to Hisanaga and Matoi. We have enough on Kurosaki." That translated into 'he can kill someone in a Kamui if he wanted to; there IS no defence against that'.
"Understood, Satsuki-sama," Inumuta confirmed. "Although… I have not seen either of them on any of my cameras all day, just a single photo of them leaving the city."
"Troubling." She attempted to sip her tea, only to find that she could not, as the fall had sprained her fore and middle fingers on the right hand, making it impossible to hold the cup.
"And this will be outright annoying. Resume surveillance on them as soon as possible, and inform the club presidents to avoid Kurosaki. I do not want to risk another confrontation with him so soon after my...defeat."
The elite four saluted their leader before crying out "Yes, ma'am!" in unison.
Back with Ryuko and Ryu
"I have finished healing her, Ryu-dono," Yukihime announced as she smoothly stood up, stepping away from the groaning Ryuko.
"Thank you, Yukihime," Ryu said gratefully. "How are you feeling there, kid?"
"Like someone blinded me with a sword. Last thing I remember is rage, confusion and blinding pain." Ryuko blinked, noticing she could see again. "I didn't go drinking, did I?"
"No, but you were blinded by Ryu-dono's sword. I have healed the wound and restore your sight to you." The girl with the red-streaked hair stared at Yukihime for several seconds. "Uh, a medical fox girl? What's next, an archer?"
"That would be Ban," Yukihime replied, making Ryuko blink at her.
"So, Ryuko… do you remember how you managed to fight me while blinded?" Ryu asked calmly, his eyes closed as he held his katana with the point resting on the ground.
"Sort of. Like I was looking through some heat-vision goggles or something. I felt your presence. I kinda saw you." Her face adopted an Ichigo-equse scowl. "Did you HAVE to get me that mad? I mean, I'm always MAD, but that was a mad I never wanna go through again." If they knew about it, the pair would be sure Ichigo could relate with them. But they did not know of Ichigo's hollow situation, nor of the...incident involving Ulquiorra two years before.
"You wanted to do this the fast way," Ryu pointed out firmly, his eyes snapping open to stare at her. "Don't start whining when the consequences come and bite you in the ass."
"Well, mister experience, I don't think we've got time for the slow way! Those goku uniforms at Honnouji are gonna be going all over the world, and I don't think any of us would like to take on a few armies of Satsuki's lackies just to get to her!" She rolled her gear-like eyes before mulling over the next question. "So, what's the next part, and are you going to hack my eyes out for THAT, too?"
Ryu shook his head before reaching behind him and tossed her the scissor blade. "Now… we fight, and you do your best to survive," he told her as Yukihime stepped off to the side. "And I will tell you now, the only way to survive is to start the process of awakening the next stage of your Fullbringer powers, Soul Resonation."
She twirled the blade in her hand for a few seconds. "So, life and death again. Wonder if Ichigo had to go through this shit when HE got his powers." The irony was that Ryuko was right without knowing it.
But neither knew the circumstances of how Ichigo got his powers, so the matter was dropped as easily as it was mentioned. "So, when do we start?"
"Now," Ryu announced, blurring himself forward as he swung his sword at her midsection, much slower than when he did this before, but still just as lethal.
And since Ryuko had no way of surviving a sword fight, she clumsily attempted to block the attack, only resulting in a bruise to her midsection, as well as pain to her wrist from the force of the impact.
If Ryu hit any harder, the sword would have broken her hand. "Ok, wishing I knew more swordsman crap, now."
"Stop complaining and try and live," Ryu commanded as he rushed her again, sending a series of strikes against her as he pushed her back. "You want to hit this hard, then resonate your soul!"
Ryuko put herself back in the unhappy place. It helped before, it would help now.
The red-and-black haired girl tried to deflect the attacks as best she could, slipping into an instinctual anger. That actually made her better at fending Ryu off.
But Ryu was not that easy to fend off. He stepped up the deadliness by a factor of ten. Either she would be a Fullbringer or she would be a corpse. Her choice, really.
Their respective weapons deadlocked, Ryuko managing to muster up enough strength to hold Ryu back for a moment, although that only lasted long enough for him to introduce his fist to her face, sending her flying back. "Rage is a good motivator, but it's a limited one," Ryu instructed as he chased after her tumbling form. "It is a double edged sword, and will cut you if used too much Ryuko!"
She got back to her feet, wiping blood from her face. "It got me this far!" Rage was only self-destructive if it wasn't used correctly. If it wasn't tempered by wisdom and experience. Ryuko only had an inkling of either. But she knew well enough to use her rage as fuel now, not to allow it to consume her.
But if she didn't watch herself, Ryu's sword would meet her head, and it would roll onto the ground in a bloody mess.
Ryu drove his sword into her blade hard, skidding her back a bit as she groaned in pain from the blow, feeling her bones rattle from the impact. "The Soul Resonance is a reflection of two souls Ryuko!" he announced he stood straight backed before her. "It is the determination of choice to stand and fight, or to be a coward and flee, to rely on others for strength."
In another world, a man wearing geta sandals would say that the soul grows in strength when it is in the most danger. And he was proven right once more.
While Ryuko would enjoy having allies in the future, she would be more than capable of taking care of herself.
A thump of power was felt from her blade, and she flipped the guard into an elongated hilt. Decapitation mode wouldn't do shit against Ryu, but it would make her feel better.
As the sword shifted to its secondary form Ryuko could feel a pulse forming within it, latching onto it she feed her own power into the Scissor blade, heat beginning to waft from the blade as she prepared to attack Ryu who paused to watch the unfolding scene. 'I think she has it,' Ryu thought with a small grin as he watched her prepare to attack.
The red blade erupted in flame, a heat that could rival a steelworks blowing into Ryu's sword as it made contact.
Her inexperience in handling the weapon's power, however, drained her. But it was good enough as Ryuko felt to her knees.
Ryuko was now a full-fledged Fullbringer. Satsuki was going to BURN once Ryuko was fully ready and if Ichigo didn't kill the long-haired bitch first.
Ryu chuckled as the flames died down around him, completely untouched by the spiritually enriched fire that surrounded him, his sword barely even marked from the blow. "Congratulations, Ryuko," he said to her proudly. "You pass."
"Huh. I like fire." Ryuko fell unconscious shortly after she said that. And to be perfectly honest, who DIDN'T like fire? It cooks your food and it kills your enemies. ESPECIALLY kills your enemies.
Mankanshoku clinic
Ichigo sat on top of the building, mulling over what happened with Satsuki earlier that day.
'I could have been more gentle with that kick. I think I caused brain damage with that last one.' as soon as Satsuki was unconscious (that happened shortly after she hit the ground at mach one point two) he fled the scene, heading for the Mankanshoku clinic. He was surprised that Gamagori didn't sic the Disciplinary Committee on him.
Maybe the fact that he took down Satsuki in a uniform superior to theirs made them back the hell off.
About time people listened to common sense.
"Hey!" A familiar voice called out as Ryu strode over towards him, hopping across rooftops with practiced ease, an unconscious Ryuko slung over his shoulder. "Saw you kicking Satsuki around the sky, how'd it go?"
"I think she's going to leave me alone. Pretty much beat the shit out of her. She had a Kamui, though: Senketsu, she called it. Pretty pretentious calling something 'purity' when she's a complete bitch." The substitute glanced up at the school. "I don't think the Elite four are going to leave you guys alone after this. How's Ryuko?"
"She's reached the first stage of resonance," Ryu informed proudly as he set the teen down onto the roof, Senketsu and the Scissor Blade next to her. "Just needs to learn the Bringer Light ability and she should be set to discover the rest on her own."
"Yeah, that's gonna be fun. My Fullbring training sucked. didn't help that I was being set up. At least I got my shinigami powers back." That was a story that Ryu wanted to hear. After all, a Fullbringer and a substitute shinigami, all in one?
THAT just didn't happen. At all.
"Fullbringer and Shinigami powers?" Ryu questioned curiously, humming in thought. "Tell me, did you have Hollow powers as well?"
"Uh...yeah. two years ago, I got my powers from a shinigami named Rukia when she got hurt. When she was taken, I had to get them back using something the Shattered Shaft. I got Hollow powers out of it, too, though I didn't know until LONG afterward. Came in handy until I lost my powers. Again."
At Ryu's questioning look, Ichigo answered. "I used a technique called the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho. I defeated my biggest enemy, but I lost my powers." Ichigo stared into Ryu's eyes. "It sucked. I had to live without my powers, unable to protect my loved ones for 18 months."
"Damn, that's a downer," Ryu agreed with a nod. "Fucking sucks being shafted to the sidelines."
"It did. I just coasted through life until a friend of mine was hurt and a group offered me to get my powers back. They turned me into a Fullbringer, stabbed me in the back and took the power away. Then the Gotei 13 FINALLY jumped in and decided they owed me a favor, giving me back my powers using some kinda special sword. Kicked Ginjo's ass, then...well, I ended up here. My life in a nutshell."
Ryu frowned at Ichigo. "You really don't have any understanding of your powers do you?" he questioned the orange haired teen. "Ichigo, it is completely impossible to fully steal a Fullbringer's power from them without killing them, our power is linked with our very soul, it's possible to seal, suppress, leach or even take a portion, but all of it? I just can't happen."
"Well, it happened to me. There wasn't enough left for me to do ANYTHING." Ichigo paused. "Well, not exactly." He materialized Zangetsu's blade. "I just had enough to change Zangetsu's shikai. He used to just have a cloth-covered tang and there wasn't a curve in the blade."
Ryu hummed as he studied the blade before letting out a deep sigh. "Well I've never seen a Shinigami/Fullbringer/Hollow hybrid before so…" he trailed off with a shrug. "Who knows how that works."
"Trust me, I'm known for breaking the laws of spiritual physics. It happens a LOT." Breaking a kido prior to gaining his powers, getting bankai in two days using something that was supposed to give you them in three, pretty much mastering the use of his mask in less than a week, dying...
Yeah, Ichigo broke the rules and basically gave impossible the finger so many times it wasn't funny.
Ok, it was fucking hilarious, but that was beside the point.
"Well, I really should get Ryuko inside," Ryu commented as he stood up, throwing the two colored haired girl over his shoulder. "Sounds like it's going to be a bitchy day tomorrow."
the next day
Mako had basically whacked the trio awake, yelling something about a 'no-late' thing. Ichigo honestly could not have cared LESS, but Mako thought it was important.
Of course, Sakuyo was washing Senketsu. Much to Ryuko's annoyance.
Or rather Senketsu's annoyance. "HELP ME! RYUKO, PLEASE!"
"Umm… ma'am… I need my uniform…" Ryuko said hesitantly as she watched her clothes get roughed around in the wash basin. "How soon until you're finished?"
"Not until I'm done washing it!" Ryuko looked to Ryu and Ichigo, who simply shrugged. "They'll deliver it once you get to school. They're...weird..." Ichigo eyed the leering father, son and dog, tempted to boot them in the head. "But she's normal enough." Of course, Ichigo was comparing them to his own family, and he was not exactly...normal either.
"Don't look at me," Ryu said raising his hands. "My guardian was useless at housework."
BGM: Gamagori Theme
"LISTEN UP! TODAY IS NO-LATE DAY!" The massive man gestured to the city. "The disciplinary committee has turned the city into an obstacle course! You will go through these courses until you reach the school! AND IF YOU ARE NOT THERE AT 0800 HOURS SHARP, YOU WILL BE DISMISSED FROM THE ACADEMY!"
Ichigo simply stared, bored as all hell, at Gamagori. "Really? How the hell did you set this crap up?"
"It's like a rollercoaster from hell," Ryu commented, tilting his head as he stared at the path up to the school. "How have you not been sued?"
The man who somehow shapeshifted in size (and he was ALWAYS bigger than they were) somehow grew in size. "LEGAL TROUBLES LIKE THAT ARE IRRELEVANT TO SATSUKI-SAMA!" Gamagori's gaze turned to PJ-wearing Ryuko, guitar case on her back. "AND WHAT IN GOD'S HOLY NAME ARE YOU WEARING, MATOI?!"
In the canon verse, she would have been embarrassed. Here? All deadpan. "Uniform's in the wash. It'll be at the school when I get there."
"THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!"
"It is so not!" Mako shouted, seemingly teleporting right up next to Gamagori who flinched at her sudden appearance. "She was just asleep until a minute ago! It's normal for people to wear pyjamas when they sleep isn't it? It is and you know it, you can't deny it! You don't know about pyjamas, is that it!? Don't you wear them when you sleep?"
"No... I sleep in the nude," Gamagori revealed getting embarrassed blushes from several of the female students.
"You sleep like that and you'll catch a cold!" Mako shouted indignantly. "What happens if there is an emergency? You'd be at home in bed! From now on, please wear pyjamas like everyone else!"
Gamagori was inwardly impressed. This girl had spunk for a no-star. "What is your name, no-star?"
"My name is Mako Mankanshoku! My PJs have Mt. Fuji, two eagles and three eggplants on them!"
'FAR too much information, Mankanshoku...' "I'll be sure to remember that. Now, BEGIN! I EXPECT TO SEE YOU AT THE ACADEMY!" The students rushed out, but Gamagori jumped down to stop Ichigo and Ryu. "Not you two. You are going straight to the school."
Ryu smirked as he let out a small chuckle. "Remember how to access what I taught you, Ryuko, maybe you can learn how Bringer Light works on your own," he commented to her quietly. "Have fun." He then turned to the academy and began to walk on air, a soft green glow emanating from his feet with every step he took.
Gamagori looked at Ichigo. "And that is why you are excluded. There's no point if you can just WALK ON AIR!" Ichigo stuck his finger into his left ear to clean it out. "Do you NOT have an indoor voice?" "SHOW THE PROPER RESPECT, KUROSAKI!"
Ichigo held up one finger. "One, I kicked the crap out of Satsuki. Two, I was holding back. I don't think you want to make me mad, gorilla man." The LAST time that happened, he blew a hole in the gates of Hell itself.
Not that Gamagori KNEW that, but the point of Satsuki's ass getting whooped was enough to make the big man back off. "I know better then to start the fight, Kurosaki. And Satsuki-sama started your battle. You and I are alike. NOW GET TO SCHOOL!"
Meanwhile, Ryuko was dealing with insanity.
Rolling buzzsaws, spike traps, FLAMETHROWERS. You name it, it was there. "What in the hell is with them doing this!?" Ryuko snapped as she assisted Mako in getting through the traps.
"Oh, they do this every year!"
She half-expected a T-Rex with THAT comment form her new friend. She continued to run, grabbing Mako (and VERY unwilling to put up with her stupidity) and focused her reishi into her feet in an attempt to increase her speed.
She did not know that this was a step closer to Bringer Light, but at the moment, all it did was increase her running speed and agility. She would take what she could get.
"How can they expect normal people to run through this?" Ryuko growled as she leapt over a pit drop.
"Most don't make it, Ryuko! That's why it's a no-late day!" Ryuko was tempted to just jump from building to building like Ichigo did when he wasn't in the mood to walk.
Which was often. Ichigo was a master of roof-jumping.
At that, she continued running, not noticing she was no longer touching the ground. "Ryuko! Look at your feet!" She glanced down. Her feet were glowing. And not on the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL?! DAMN IT, RYU, YOU OWE ME AN EXPLANATION TO THIS BULLSHIT!"
Honnouji Academy
Satsuki's only surviving eyebrow twitched. Ryuko was cheating. Somehow.
She wanted to put her through her paces, but she was instead going through the courses like tank through a wall of bubblewrap!
"How is she doing that!?" Inumuta shouted desperately as he wildly tried to figure out how the three were literally walking on air. "It's impossible! It's against the laws of the universe!"
"So was what Kurosaki did, and yet he did it, Inumuta." Satsuki attempted to raise a much easier to hold mug to her lips. At least she could bend her fingers now. At the shaking, she stopped and put it down on a side table. "He should not have been able to do anything without the aid of a goku uniform or a Kamui. Yet, here I sit, injured."
Nanon bowed her head. "But you're recovering pretty fast, Satsuki-sama." At this rate, Satsuki would be able to move without aid in a week, thanks mostly to modern medicine. "Inumuta, from the data you've gathered from my fight with Kurosaki, I want to know one thing." Her one-eyed gaze turned to the tech-head. "How high is his threat level? His true threat level?"
Inumuta swallowed as he looked at the data. "I believe he would completely crush the entire school if it rose up against him," he admitted after a few seconds. "Doubly so if he is holding back as much as you say he is."
Sanageyama smiled. "Milady, I request permission to fight him." "He would kill you, Sanageyama. he nearly killed me, and I wore a Kamui. A three-star uniform is no match for him."
That did not make him back down, but he got the message: no one would engage Kurosaki alone. "And what about Hisanaga?"
Sanageyama grinned in response. "Also an acceptable opponent," he agreed, bowing to the student council president. "I wanted to be able to test my swordsmanship, but I suppose putting Hisanaga into his place would suffice."
He had no idea.
Ryu and Ichigo arrived at much the same time, both looking bored as hell. The obstacle courses were easy to avoid for them, and they just waited for Mako and Ryuko.
"The insanity of this place is going to get to me. I'm used to MY crazy, not this."
Ryu snorted in response as he leant against a wall. "Try trying to form a contract with the premiere Kitsune clan in the world," he retorted. "Getting even one of the Tamamo Clan to enter a contract is difficult, the entire clan was a freaking gongshow."
Ichigo shrugged as he held screaming. Ryuko's screaming. Followed by an armored bus diving towards them. "Oh, God, this is ridiculous."
It landed just short of the pair, and both girls, plus a no-star wearing girl in spectacles, planted themselves on the stairs. "I think you've had a funny day, Ryuko." "Don't start. And why the hell can I hover above the ground, Hisanaga?!"
"Bringer Light - Resonating your soul with the molecules in the air to provide stable footing," Ryu answered calmly as Ryuko seethed at him. "It can do many, many, many things, a most useful and versatile tool for a Fullbringer."
"And why didn't you tell me about that?" Ichigo's answer to her question was accurate. "I don't think you asked."
Ryuko growled at Ichigo. "I will end you one day."
Ichigo held out Ryuko's Kamui. "Mako's mom showed up with this. You've got about five minutes to get changed before Gamagori does the whole disciplinary crap."
"Crap!" Ryuko shouted as she grabbed Senketsu who was shouting something at Ryu as she darted back into the school bus to change, just in time as Gamagori began to stalk towards them, clipboard in hand.
"MATOI! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ichigo glared at Gamagori. "She's getting dressed. Don't you have any decency?" Gamagori blushed at the thought, turning his head away from the bus. "Just...be sure to get to your class on time!" He was two steps from provoking Ichigo, and he was not one to act first. He counter-punched.
'Sanageyama will have a hard time fighting Hisanaga. His power...I can FEEL it.'
As if summoned by the thought, the President of the Athletics Clubs strolled towards them, a wide grin on his face. "Ryu Hisanaga," he called out grabbing the group's attention. "I hope you're ready, because by the order of Lady Satsuki I am going to put you in your place!"
(Ron emerges from the ruins of his theater)
Ron: ZEUS! I WILL END YOU IN WAYS THAT KRATOS COULDN'T THINK OF! DO YOU HEAR ME!
DKR: *Crackling as he counts a wad of money* No one bet that they'd tie!
Ron: Gah! (Walks off and grabs wheelbarrow) I've got a theater to rebuild. EVERY TIME! (Screaming and wailing like a banshee before lightning hits him) YEEOW!
DKR: Oh walk it off, sissy. (Walks past Ron, whistling in pleasure) I am loaded.
Ja Ne!