Hey guys, here's Chapter 9 - The Seireitei, way ahead of schedule, because Thanksgiving Break, that's why. I won't be posting every day, but do expect at least 4 more chapters over the course of the week.
To Paxloria:
From what I can tell, according to canon, Ichigo's inner hollow was passed on to Ichigo only because there was only one. Once he had it, Isshin's seal transferred to Ichigo, and the others were fine. As for his spirits, that will be explained.
To TheDisturbedDragon:
Thank you for your comments. Just to clarify, Root is not all-powerful. Seeing as to how she has coalesced into a single being, she's more of a lite version of The Root. She has a pretty extensive knowledge of general magecraft, but she will have to exert herself to try and know more, and reaching for more of her knowledge will exhaust her. She won't be omniscient, unless the situation really really calls for it. Also, the true magics are pretty overpowered in and of themselves, so I'll probably stick to only one or two.
I own nothing. Bleach & Fate/stay belong to Tite Kubo and Type Moon respectively.
Ichigo spent the rest of the night training for the invasion of the Seireitei. He considered sleeping so that he would be alert tomorrow, but when he brought it up, Archer corrected him.
"Spirits only sleep to recharge their reiatsu. As long as you are in the Soul Society, you are a spirit. With your huge reserves, you'll only need sleep if you get badly injured. You'll probably be fine going without sleep for the next month." Ichigo nodded, and they kept going. Sometime during the night, Shiro came to a decision.
"Ichigo. If you are going into the lion's den, then you'll need some of my abilities. Your Hollow powers." Ichigo perked up at that.
"How do I use them?"
"First, you'll need to know how to call on them. You need to summon your hollow mask."
"Alright, how do I do that?"
"All I can do is demonstrate. You can't summon your mask in here, and without the mask, you can't use your hollow abilities." With that, Shiro reached up his face. He clenched his hand as though grabbing something, and as black energy flowed off his hand, a mask formed as he pulled down. A mask formed on his face, but it was blurry. Ichigo blinked and squinted, but he couldn't make out how it looked.
"Why can't I see it?"
"This mask is a copy of yours, but you can only see it once you have earned your mask. Now for the true demonstration. Fight me." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at this, but he complied. He pulled out Zangetsu, and they charged at each other. Ichigo immediately noticed a difference. Shiro was far faster, and much stronger than normal. Ichigo quickly found himself being overwhelmed. Finally, Shiro knocked away his sword, and held Negative Zangetsu to Ichigo's throat.
"Whoa," managed Ichigo, amazed.
"Yeah. The default abilities of your mask are that it will boost your speed, strength, and power. Over time, as you find a balance between your hollow powers and your consciousness, you will be able to access more of its abilities. I'm warning you now, though. The more you accept your powers into yourself, the more powerful you'll become, but you'll have a harder time controlling your hollow side. If you overreach, then both you and I will be overwhelmed, and all that will be left is a raging monster." Ichigo nodded once seriously, and suddenly, Archer appeared.
"Ichigo. The others are waking up. It's time to go." Ichigo gave them both a wave, and left. Archer turned to Shiro.
"Do you think he can make it?" Shiro grinned.
"He's Ichigo. Of course he can."
As the group woke up, one by one they went outside, to the huge smokestack next to the house. Kukaku and Ganju were waiting for them. Ichigo was the first to speak.
"So, how're you going to get us into the Seireitei?" She grinned and patted the smokestack.
"With this. The Shiba family cannon, Kakaku Hō (Flower Crane Cannon)." Uryu suddenly saw his life flash before his eyes.
"A cannon?! We'll be killed!" Isshin cut off Uryu's panicked rant.
"Kukaku. I know you're a fireworks genius, but while that cannon could get us over the walls, aren't you forgetting the dome?" Ichigo looked at him in askance at that.
"What dome? I don't see one." Yoruichi was the one to answer.
"The Sekki-Sekki walls let off waves that form an invisible sphere around the Seireitei. These waves have the same properties as the walls themselves." Kukaku didn't argue the point. Instead, she tossed Ichigo a huge stone ball.
"Did you guys think I'd just fire you in unprotected? No, you'll be using this." Ichigo turned it over in his hands.
"What is it?" Ganju grabbed it, and held it in both hands. He closed his eyes, and focused all of his reiatsu into it. A huge white sphere formed around him.
"It's one of my amazing inventions! I call it the Reishūkaku (Spirit-Gathering Core). With this, you'll be able to break through the shield around the Seireitei. What you need to do, is focus your Reiatsu into it at a controlled pace, and a shield orb will form around you." Ganju gave it back to Ichigo, who became confused.
"Why're you giving it to me?"
"Normally I'd make you all push your reiatsu into it, but doing it that way is risky, because it's difficult to synchronise your outputs. You, though, have enough Reiatsu to fuel the core all by yourself. Go ahead, try it." Ichigo nodded once, and closed his eyes. Just before he started, though, Archer spoke up.
"Wait Ichigo. If you just push your powers into it, it'll explode. Use the circuits I gave you."
Ichigo focused his power through the pathways built into his nerves. In his mind, white lines spread throughout him, pulling his power from his core, and focusing it in the Spirit Gathering core. To the observers, it seemed as though a swirling black sphere had suddenly swallowed him up. He released the power, and the sphere collapsed. He looked up.
"How was that?" He jerked forward as Kukaku slapped him on the back.
"That was amazing! Especially for a first try! I thought I'd have to give you some time to figure it out, but if you already have it down, you guys can go now itself!" With that, she pulled a lever, and the cannon slowly tipped over, until it was pointed at the Seireitei. A hatch opened in the side, and a ladder unfurled. Kukaku turned to the party, and gestured them forward.
"Alright you guys, climb aboard. Ichigo, once everyone is in, I'll close the hatch. That's when you activate the core." As the teens climbed in, Kukaku grasped Isshin's arm.
"I just got half my family back. I don't want to lose you guys again. Bring them back safe, Uncle."
Isshin grinned, and ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry, Kukaku. We'll come back to you." He gave her one last wave, and climbed in with the others. Kukaku closed the hatch, and prepared the firing lever. She waited, to give Ichigo time to activate the core, then pulled the lever. The cannon fired with a roar, and the black sphere containing the group flew off towards the Seireitei.
"Good luck, you guys." Kukaku said quietly. Ganju looked over to her and grinned.
"Don't worry about it. They'll be fine." Kukaku looked at him.
"We can only hope."
As the sphere neared its target, the teens were feeling tense. Orihime and Uryu were tightly holding each other's hands, Yoruichi had her claws out as she held onto Chad, and even Isshin looked rather apprehensive. Ichigo, on the other hand, was too focused on the sphere, and their surroundings, to feel afraid. Extending his senses outwards, he could sense the approaching dome.
"Brace for impact you guys!"
Down in the Seireitei, Akon was just returning to the R&D Institute, when he heard the whistling of an incoming object. He looked up, and saw a huge black cannon ball strike the dome. It paused for a moment, then exploded, shattering the dome and sending its passengers off in every direction. Shocked, he ran to the R&D institute. Captain Kurotsuchi needed to be told.
As soon as the sphere exploded, Ichigo's first instinct was to grab onto the others. He reached out, and grabbed the closest person, then he was out of time, as everyone was blasted to different parts of the Seireitei. As the ground approached, he curled up and braced himself. He hit the ground hard, but managed to get up, though he was dazed. He gave himself a quick once over. No broken bones, though he'd probably have some impressive bruises. Suddenly, he remembered that he hadn't been alone. He looked around, and saw that Chad was dusting himself off nearby. Of course, he was fine. Chad was built like a tank! He turned to Ichigo.
"What do we do now?" Ichigo thought for a minute. This could actually work in their favor.
"We go for Rukia. The others will do the same. With all of us split up like this, it only increases our chances that someone will reach her and free her. We can only hope that the others are fine." Chad nodded. Ichigo had a good point. Suddenly, Ichigo froze. Where was Rukia? He was about to go find someone to ask, when they suddenly came across a whole horde of Shinigami. Obviously, everyone had noticed their flashy entrance, and the Shinigami had been sent out in force to find the intruders. The two friends looked at each other. They could take these guys, but it would take time they didn't have. Rukia would be executed in ten days. They looked at each other, and nodded in unison.
"Run."
On the South side of the Seireitei, Uryu and Orihime floated gently to the ground, riding Orihime's Santen Kesshun. They touched down, and Uryu jumped off, then turned and helped Orihime off. The shield disappeared, and her Shun Shun Rikka returned to her hairclips. They looked around warily, but didn't see anyone.
"Uryu, what do we do?" asked Orihime apprehensively. They had been split up, and now she had no idea where the others were. Uryu turned to her, and grabbed her hand. He gave her a comforting smile.
"Don't worry. Knowing them, they'll be trying to save Rukia regardless of their current circumstances. If we manage to find Rukia, we'll find the others too!" As Uryu led the way, Orihime asked him a question in a quiet voice.
"Uryu, why did you come on this mission? I thought you hated Shinigami. Why do you want to save Rukia?" Uryu pushed up his glasses, and the glint of the light off them made her unable to see his eyes.
"I didn't come here for Rukia. I honestly don't care what happens to Rukia, and I'd rather you and I were safe at home. I came, because Ichigo asked me to come. Never tell him I said this, but he is my closest friend, and I owe him, because if he hadn't reached out to me, you and I would never have met." Orihime smiled at her boyfriend, and stood closer to him as they kept moving to avoid the Shinigami search parties.
"How exactly," Uryu muttered to himself, "are we supposed to find out where Rukia is, and get there, without being caught?" Orihime smiled.
"That's easy. If we take someone's uniforms, then we can just go and ask someone." Uryu was dumbfounded. Looking at her airheaded exterior, it was easy to forget just how formidable Orihime was. A martial artist near the level of Tatsuki, and one of the smartest people at school, one would underestimate her at their own peril. Considering her idea, Uryu realized that he had never even thought of it, yet it was the perfect solution. He turned to Orihime, and grinned.
"That's perfect! Let's do it." With that, they hunkered down, and waited for the next Shinigamis to
walk by.
As Isshin and Yoruichi came down, Yoruichi realised that Isshin would not survive the fall in his weakened state. Thinking fast, the cat maneuvered itself under Isshin, and amassed Reishi under its feet, slowing their fall. They stopped about a foot off the ground, then the cat dumped Isshin off to one side, then landed. Isshin got up, and picked up the now exhausted cat. He smiled at it.
"Thanks for the save, old friend." He looked around. Without his powers, he would be useless in a fight. He needed help, and there was only one place he could go. The 10th squad, the squad he was once Captain of. With luck, he would find someone willing to help their old captain. With a goal in mind, he took off towards where he remembered the 10th squad barracks. He gradually made his way over, dodging into alleys to avoid search parties, until, finally, he found himself outside the gates of the barracks. He looked around, and went in. The barracks were mostly empty and he went down to the Captain's office, where he found a young looking, white haired Shinigami in a captain's Haori, looking rather annoyed, surrounded in paperwork. He looked up at the person who had entered his office, and his jaw dropped as the intruder spoke.
"Hello Toshiro, or should I say, Captain Hitsugaya."
"C-Captain Shiba?!"
Unknown to any of the three duos, a mysterious figure was watching over them, for to him, they were mere pawns to be manipulated however he wished. Everything was going according to his plan, and the time for his rule was fast approaching. Sosuke Aizen sat back in his chair, and laughed.
