Ch. 4

After about an hour of rest, Dante opened the door of the shed. With his swords placed sheathed at his sides and his fingers wrapped around the sake jug, the black teen strolled with in a rather inebriated gait. "Man, this is some good ass drink," Dante said before taking another swig. "Guess stuff from an anime is better than the real world. Makes me wonder about the here Kool-Aid…" Before Dante could ponder anymore, a group from Squad 11 passed by the ryouka, paying no attention to the teen. Dante only turned and stared at the mob blankly. "Either those guys seriously need they eyes checked, or they didn't even notice my black ass." With that realization, a smile grew on his face. "Sweet. They think I'm a regular Soul Reaper. My plan worked like a charm." Still snickering triumphantly, Dante turned around, taking a comforting drink from his jug. Just as he lowered his drink, he felt his body being hit by something hard and then found himself lying on the ground. "Ah…" he replied as he lifted his head. "What the hell?"

"Oh no! I'm sorry, sir!" said another voice. Dante turned his attention to his midsection and saw a small young man with shoulder length hair and a droopy gaze resting on his stomach. "Are you okay?" Quickly, Dante tossed the Soul Reaper of his person as he returned to his feet, his hands placed on the hilts of his swords. Apparently, the collision knocked the alcohol right out of him. "Please don't hurt me!" the young Death God replied. "It was an accident."

"What the hell you thinkin' running into a black man like that!" Dante shouted. "I oughta pimp smack you so hard, you'd be covered with more colors than just black and blue. And where the hell's my pimp juice!?"

Scanning the ground, the Soul Reaper searched desperately for Dante's jug. Luckily, the jar only rolled a few feet away. Quickly, he picked it up and gave it to the pissed swordsman. "Here you go, sir," he said timidly.

"Yeah, you best give me that, fool!" Dante hissed as he snatched his jar back from the Soul Reaper. Before he took a sip, he eyed the Death God. "Wait a minute…" Dante said as he moved his head forward and inspected the young man. He knew there was something familiar about this one. After a minute, he finally understood who he was. "I know you! Hanataro Yamada. The 7th man in Squad 4! Yo, you is one lucky sonuvabitch. With that hot Unohana and Isane, yo' ass must be livin' it up, son!"

"Uh… Wait. You know me?" Hanataro asked in confusion. "Who are you?"

"Uh…" Dante froze before whispering to himself, "God, I gotta stop doing that." He then turned to Hanataro as an idea popped in his head. "I wouldn't think you've heard of me. My homeboys call me Dante Blaine, master of the ancient art of keepin' it real."

"Dante, huh? That's a nice name. Are you new here?"

"Yeah… That's right," Dante said. "I just joined Squad 10. But soon, Imma make it big up in this bitch. Be a captain of my own squad. Ya feel me?"

"Really?" Hanataro asked. "But there are only 13 court squads here."

"So? That doesn't mean they can't squeeze in one more, son," Dante said. "Hell, if it all goes smooth, I might let you be my lieutenant. I hear the ladies dig a man with a title."

"What!?" Hanataro replied. "Are you serious?" Suffice it to say, Hanataro did not expect to hear such an invitation. Especially when he was a stranger he just met who first threatened his life.

"Is there a problem, kid?" Dante said with a raised eyebrow.

"No! No! I'm really honored!" Hanataro quickly replied. "It's just that I really need to catch up to my group. You haven't seen a team of shinigami come by here, have you?"

"So that's who you're rollin' wit'?" Dante asked. "Uh…" the swordsman pointed to the direction he saw the group head in. "If you hurry, you might catch up to yo' boys."

"Great! Thanks, Dante!" Quickly, Hanataro hurried to join with his with the group.

Dante, too, was ready to go his separate way. He took a drink of his sake with a satisfied smile on his face. "Like I said, he's cool. Kid just don't know it yet. All he needs is a some trainin' and to find his inner G, and that fool would be an unstoppable ladykiller." After taking another drink, Dante then came to a realization. "Hold on! If Hanataro was right here, that means he hasn't met with Ichigo and Ganju yet!" Quickly turning a one-eighty, Dante hurried over to where he last saw Hanataro leave. "That means I'll finally get to meet ol' Strawberry himself." With a smile on his face, Dante leapt on a nearby rooftop and sped for his destination.

Not too far away, Hanataro was in quite a predicament. It turns out that the team he was racing after weren't his group. They were all Zaraki's men from Squad 11. Hoping to pass by them and join his teammates, the healer instead found himself as a hostage of the two ryouka Ichigo Kurosaki and Ganju Shiba. "Hey bastards, clear a path!" ordered Ganju with a triumphant smile as he held Hanataro by the collar of his robe.

"…If you value your buddy's life!" followed Ichigo with a sinister glare and his blade threateningly close to the diminutive healer.

Noticing the ryouka's giant sword at such a close proximity to his neck, Hanataro couldn't help but to scream in horror. "Nooooo! Please let me go!" he pleaded. "Let me go!"

Oddly, as the young Soul Reaper cried, the mob which trapped them from both sides were rather still in both disbelief and confusion. In all of their professional carriers as hardened warriors, they have never seen such a sight of insanity. Silence filled the entire street and both ryouka were skeptical as the shinigami themselves. "Wow, what's with this atmosphere?" Ganju asked.

"Maybe they didn't hear us," Ichigo said with a thoughtful tone. "Do you wanna try this again?"

"Um… well okay." Taking it from the top, the two began to threaten their opponents once more. "Hey baaastaaaards! Clear a paaath!"

"If you value your friend's life!" Hanataro only stood silently, now more unsure than afraid. "Hey, come on," the orange-haired shinigami nudged.

"Oh right," Hanataro replied. "Please help me."

"The hell…?" replied one of the Soul Reapers.

"What the hell are you two doing?" asked another enemy.

"What does it look like?" Ichigo asked innocently. "We're taking a hostage. What else?"

"Right. Let me ask you guys something. Does this guy really look like one of us?"

"Well…" Turning back to Hanataro, the orange-haired shinigami whispered, "Which squad are you from?"

"I'm from Squad 4," the healer answered. "These guys are from Squad 11."

"How are they different?"

"This is too pathetic," said one of the shinigami. "You two really are from the outside. I hate to have to tell you this, but watching you go on thinking we're the same group makes me sick so why don't you listen up. There are thirteen squads that protect the Seireitei. We, of Squad 11, have the strongest captain of all the squads. We are the strongest out of all the squads here!"

"That's why we're at the front line when it comes to combat!"

"Yeah!" replied every Soul Reaper in the vicinity.

"Now that I think about it, all these shinigami have some crazy hair," said Ganju as he examined the opposition. "This guy's just ordinary looking."

"Thanks," said Hanataro.

"So you're from Squad 4, huh?" the orange-haired swordsman asked. "Is it good?"

"Of course. Squad 4 is a great squad."

"Yeah right!" replied another shinigami from Squad 11. "Squad 4 is just a backup group that specializes in relief and supply. It's where all the weaklings who don't have the guts to properly swing a sword are from. I don't even see why they exist."

"So don't call us buddies. They suck!"

"That's why we of Squad 11…"

"…Hate their guts!" shouted the entire street of shinigami.

"So if you wanna kill him, be our guest."

"Whoa!" shouted the large man and Hanataro. Now both were fearful as the bloodthirsty mob cheered for the healers death and the capture of the two ryouka. However, before anything happened, a laugh louder than the mob echoed through the nearby area. "Now what?"

"This is some dope ass shit up in here!" the voice replied. "Damn! If only I had my camera on me! Guess I'll just settle with what I got recorded on TiVo."

"Who is that?" shouted one of the Squad 11 officers.

"Oh these fools don't know?" the voice called. "They don't know about me? Well shut yo' mouths and open yo' ears 'cause Imma tell you who dis is, son!" On a roof of a nearby building, a small cloud of smoke began to form. "I am the gangsta who pimps in the night! I'm you fool's daddy who hasn't paid for child support in fifteen years!" The smokescreen then lifted, revealing a black teen in Squad 10's robes. "I am Dante motherfuckin' Blaine! Bow down to a true pimp, bitches!"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Ichigo thought out loud.

Dante then turned to Hanataro. "Yo, kid," he said as he nudged his head up. "What it do?"

"Dante!" Hanataro shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, what gives!" shouted another shinigami. "What's a Soul Reaper from Squad 10 doing here? We found these guys first."

"The hell you think, you ugly punk-ass!" Dante shouted. "I'm here to see what's going on. Didn't know that it was another Squad 11 group jerk off. So tell me. Who's winning?"

"You little bastard. Keep on running your mouth, and we'll slice it off!"

"Man, go suck a rabbit's foot you unlucky mother bitch!" He then turned to the ryouka, his gaze on Ichigo in particular. The orange-haired substitute also stared intently on the young teen. As they locked eyes, Dante couldn't help but feel a strong presence coming from the intruder. "Damn, this motherfucker here, man! The force is strong in this foo'! Someone check to see if he's on the juice, knawmean!?"

"What did this guy just say?" Ganju asked his hostage.

Hanataro only shrugged. "No idea. To tell you the truth, I just ran into this guy not too long ago."

Dante turned back to the enemy shinigami. "Yo, devil's dejects. How 'bout you make yo' asses useful and save my boy over there."

"You're kidding!?"

"Why the hell should we help this Squad 4 scum? And why should we even bother listening to you!?"

"That's right! The only person we take orders from is our captain."

"You don't know? God, bet y'all be doin' is strokin' and pokin' yo'selves over Yumichika."

"How dare you!"

"Think about it, butt-uglies. If you save my boy over there, then you might get what we call a 'happy ending.' I'm sure that Captain Unohana or Lieutenant Isane would be very grateful to the guy who returns him safely. I mean, have you seen them? Those chicks are stacked and fine as hell, man! Bet you the water in the onsen room's gonna be hotter than a cup of hot tea in that bitch. Or you'll get more than just a plain massage. If you know what I mean?"

Needless to say, the shinigami understood exactly what Dante meant. Every Soul Reaper in the street had faces red with blood rush. The cause was one common thought on their minds: Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu mist-covered nude bodies welcoming the lucky savior with open arms in a steamy spring. "Hey he's right!" shouted one of the shinigami in agreement.

"I wanna get lucky!" replied one of the men.

"Dream on!" shouted another. "Like Unohana would want you!"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Before the mob could make their minds, the group began to argue with itself before punching one another in the face. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, egos and fantasies were on the line.

Hanataro, Ichigo, and Ganju only stared in disbelief as the fight that broke out. Dante, on the other hand, only laughed. "God, I love riots!" he said to himself. "This would only be better if there was a chair I could throw!"

"This is crazy…" Ichigo said with a hand on his forehead. Suddenly, a bright light glowed intensely from a nearby wall. Before anyone could take notice, the building exploded with a loud blast. Everyone in the area was baffled by the event.

"What was that?" Ganju asked.

"Don't know…" answered the orange-haired ryouka. "But whatever it was… It did the number of enemies in half!" Taking advantage of the diversion, Ichigo and Ganju bolted towards the remaining foes with Hanataro being carried over the pyrotechnician's shoulder. Swords swung and yells echoed through the street. Dante leaped off his perch and transformed into his Deinonychus form. Tracking down their scent and left behind spirit energy, he followed the trail and took out any unlucky shinigami that crossed his path.

It didn't take him long to find the building the trio were hiding out in. With the coast clear, Dante returned to his original form and casually knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Hanataro asked from the other side.

"It's the milkman," Dante said in a sing-song tone.

"Really? I didn't order know we had a milkman." Hanataro opened the door, despite the complaints from his captors on the other side.

Dante only stood at the doorway and said with a plain look, "Moo, bitch." Ichigo quickly drew his zanpakuto from its cloth and held it in front. Dante, also pulled out his blades, just in case the situation intensified. "Kid, you best put that knife down before you cut yo'self!" the black teen warned.

"It's okay, guys!" Hanataro said defensively as he placed himself between the rogue Soul Reaper and the black teen.

"What are you talking about?" Ganju said. "He's one of the guys that tried to get us killed earlier!"

"No, that was called a diversion. I mean, come on! Did you get a good look at them losers. I bet you none have been with a woman since the Menji dynasty."

"Ganju's right," Ichigo said. "Then again, if he wanted to try something, he would have already done so."

"Ah ha! And the award for most observant goes to the orange-haired kid with a big ass blade! Now, why don't we lower these down before someone gets hurt." Cautiously, both swordsmen lowered their blades. They eyed each other warily before seeing there was no threat.

"How about we introduce ourselves," Hanataro said, hoping to help ease the tension in the room.

Taking his advice, the three ryouka sat down on the floor with their legs folded.

"I'm Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."

"The name's Ganju Shiba. I'm part of the noble Shiba house."

"You can call me Dante Blaine, a.k.a. Darkman Raze, a.k.a. Dr. Heines, a.k.a. Barracuda Escobar..."

"My name is Hanataro Yamada."

"Dude that's lame," both Ichigo and Ganju said in monotonous unison.

"What?" the shinigami asked. He was somewhat surprised by the reaction he received. "My name is certainly not lame."

"Look, where I come from, the word 'Hana' means flower and that's real lame," Ichigo said. "You might as well just call yourself Blossom."

"H-Hey!" Hanataro retorted. "I think it's a great name! How about you, Dante?"

"Sorry, but as pimp as you might get, Ichi's right on this one," Dante said. Of course, he earned a glare from Ichigo, though the teen paid no attention to it. "Not only that, your full name pretty much means 'Missing Girl-Boy.' If I were you, I'd look into a change real quick."

"I don't even see why we should know the enemy's name," Ganju said. "And another thing. Why are you two even introducing yourselves in the first place?"

"Well… to tell you the truth, I don't really know," Hanataro said.

"Hmm… Makes a brother wonder," Dante said as he rested a hand on his chin.

"Here's a better question," Ichigo began. "Why did you bring him for?"

"Well I couldn't just leave him on the ground. He was just sitting there and I accidentally picked him up!"

"Accidentally? What are you? A garbage man?"

"Hey, you're the one that let the other guy in!"

"Please settle down, you two," Hanataro said with concern. "You guys don't have to fight over me."

"We're not fighting over you!" shouted Ganju and Ichigo.

"Alright, but if you guys keep yelling, the other Death Gods will be here in no time." Heeding the healer's warning, the two ryouka quickly covered their mouths.

"Man, this almost reminds of Cheech and Chong's last fight," Dante said to himself. "Though who will play a chihuahua and who will play the squirrel master?"

Meanwhile, back at Squad 10 headquarters, Captain Hitsugaya was occupied with a pile of paperwork. Of course, not all of it was his. Half of them belonged to his lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, who had once again ditched her duty. Of course, the only difference this time was that she had to report to a meeting with the lieutenants from the other squads. Between the recent ryouka business and the meeting, she had legitimate reason for being behind on her work (for once).

However, as he was working, he couldn't get his mind off what he saw earlier. How could a Deinonychus, an animal which has never been seen by either mortal or shinigami eyes, be walking around in the Soul Society. He's read of creatures like this from books in the mortal realm. Dinosaurs the humans called them. From what he's read, they've been long gone. Perhaps he was hallucinating due to stress. Then again, different squads have reported confronting an agile dragon-like creature with sharp claws and large fangs carrying a scythe and sword on his back. However, with each sighting, there were many different descriptions. What he saw was a creature covered in scales. However, those who have engaged it claim it had feathers on parts of its body. Still something didn't add up. For a creature like this, a slew of reports should have came in. Instead, between each attack, the beast seems to have vanished. How is it that something the size of a man with such natural weaponry manage not be detected between such lengthy periods? Even for highly trained shinigami, this was not possible?

Before he could continue pondering, he was returned to reality by a knock on the door. "Yes, come in," he said. Stepping into his office was a Fifth Division shinigami. He walked in front of the young captain's desk and gave a bow. "You're from Squad 5, are you not?"

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya," he said. "Captain Aizen has a report he wishes to give you."

"Really? I'm sorry, but I'm too busy. Perhaps another time."

"It's about Lieutenant Hinamori," just as the officer said this, Hitsugaya stopped what he was doing. His pen was just hovering over a document and a pale look of concern had covered his face.

"Hinamori?" he said. "What is it?"

"Lieutenant Hinamori was wounded in battle today by an individual. Apparently, it was from one of the intruders."

"A ryouka fought her?" he asked. This was hard to believe. Hinamori is a highly skilled kido expert and a lieutenant shinigami. Whoever, this intruder was, he was a powerful foe.

"Correct, Captain. She said that the individual fought with two large weapons. One a sword the size of his body. The other being a scythe with a long blade."

"How severe are her injuries? Will she survive?"

"Lieutenant Hinamori was not too badly injured. Apparently, she only received a few cuts and bruises from her battle. In fact, she is being briefed with the other lieutenants."

Hitsugaya gave a small sigh of relief. The good news was that she was still alive and well. That's what matters. "I see. Is that all?"

"Not quite, sir. The ryouka Hinamori had fought. She said that he had the ability to transform into a fast man-sized creature. It's possible that it might be the beast which has been wreaking havoc as of late. Recently, he has been seen wearing Squad 10 robes." Hitsugaya stayed quiet. The underling could feel the air in the room dropped suddenly. "Captain?"

"You are dismissed," Hitsugaya said rather sternly.

Feeling the young genius' power increase, the Squad Five officer bowed and hastily left. Hitsugaya only sat in his chair. His reiatsu was now building up as he realized what happened. First this ryouka attacks his fellow shimigami. Then he defeats his childhood friend. Now he was impersonating a member of his squadron. Maybe it was his overprotective nature toward Hinamori or his own pride he felt was on the line. Either way, Hitsugaya had one more thing to worry about. And there was only one thing that crossed the captain's mind, "If I find this ryouka, whoever he is, he will have hell to pay."

"Is the coast clear?" Ichigo asked.

Looking out a nearby window, Ganju carefully scanned the nearby streets for any Death God. At the moment, there were no enemies anywhere. "No one's here. At least, not yet."

"We're still screwed. 'Cause even if that bald guy I fought was telling the truth about Rukia being held in some white tower, we still have no idea on how we're supposed to get there."

"I have a map," Ganju said. Pulling out a small piece of paper, Ganju held the map. Both Ichigo and Dante scanned it. Problem was, it was nothing more than a large circle separated in quarters with a smaller circle inside. "We can use it to avoid running into any captains out there. If only there was a way to find where the enemy was."

"You call this a map?" Dante asked. "There's nothing here, dawg. I've seen more detailed shit on fan forums and google than this piece of crap here!"

"Watch it, kid," Ganju warned.

"Wait…" Ichigo turned his attention to the small picture in the corner. Seeing it being a drawing of Ganju's face, the substitute soul reaper knew exactly what this meant. "You dumbass! You made this yourself!"

"At least I came prepared! Where you guy's map!"

"Man, I have more of an idea on where we are than these scribbles!" Dante said.

"Yeah, right."

"Yeah, right!"

"Um, excuse me," Hinataro called.

"Look, would you but out of this," Ichigo said. "We're in the middle of serious tactical conversation here."

"Why don't you hit the road," Ganju said. "You're not gonna be much use anyway."

"Sorry, girl-boy," Dante replied. "Mature grown-ups are talking over here."

"You guys said you're looking for Rukia Kuchiki, aren't you?" Hearing this, Ichigo quickly turned around. Dante, seeing the drama unfold, sat down on the table. "I thought so. It all makes perfect sense. The Squad 6 captain's younger sister being held as a capital offender. The white tower you said she's being held in must be the Repentance Cell. If you trust me, I can get you into that tower. There's a hidden path I know which can take you there."

The room became silent as Ichigo started to decide on what to do. This shimigami seemed like he knew Rukia and was willing to assist them. And at the moment, it didn't seem like there was any other choice. Sooner or later, some shimigami would open the door and they'd be caught. Ichigo nodded his head. "Alright Hanataro," the rogue substitute said. "Lead the way."

"Are you sure about this?" Ganju asked.

"We don't have any choice. We either move now or wait until two thousand Soul Reapers come swarming in like cockroaches."

"About time we got moving," Dante said. "You thinking was starting to make me bored."

"What are you talking about 'we'?" Ichigo asked. "Who said you were coming? We don't even know why you're even here."

"Let's put it this way, kid: If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Exactly as I said, Ichi."

"Guys, we should get out of here now," Hanataro said. "If we don't go now, we might not have another chance." Taking the small shimigami's words into consideration, Ichigo exchanged a quick glance to Dante before leaving the building.

The four hurried down the road, turning a few corners during their travel. They made sure they weren't spotted by the enemy. Soon, they found themselves in an empty intersection where Hanataro pulled off a tile, revealing a tunnel way that extended underground. "This way," he said before he climbed down the ladder. The three intruder gave eachother quick glances before following the healer's lead.