Heyo, real long chapter this time, I wasn't sure whether to make this into two seperate chapters or not, but in the end it's one massive one. This one took a little longer than usual cause of it's size. Had a bit of difficulty in trying to get the Vizards represented correctly (By the way, the whole argument between Kurosaki and Hiyori later was not inspired by the recent anime episode, that was my own work, and was typed up two days ago. Damn anime now makes it look like it was a copy of the whole Hitsugaya/Hiyori argument dammit.)
Oh well, have fun reading the chapter! (BTW, last note, Yoshirou's Gigai is perfect enough that it resembles a human, hopefully this might explain the first few paragraphs)
Ah yes, one more note. I'm getting slightly confused by my writer traffic, it seems that certain people skip chapters in favour of ones with fancy names. For example, the "Grimmjow" chapter has 24 readers, but the chapters before and after have 14. Also, the Chapter named "Truth" has twice as many views as the ones before and after it. Is it really so important that chapters have fancy names? Cause i'm getting slightly confused by it. I'll try naming this Chapter "Vizards", and see if the pattern reoccurs...
Yoshirou looked up in shock at the person before him. H-H-Hirako Shinji! Yoshirou thought internally, mind reeling as he looked at the former Captain before him. But he was killed!
Yoshirou, don't forget everything about that incident was because of Aizen, you can't regard any of it as true, I suppose the deaths of the Captains was also a cover up.
Yoshirou was still shocked by this though. A man thought dead years before, killed after a horrendous experiment made him into a hollow hybrid that was destroyed when a method to recover him could not be found. It wasn't just him though. Wait, there's eight people here… Yoshirou realised, going through his memories …holy, all the Vizards are those who were involved in the incident!
As he looked about, he now started to pick up familiar and slightly unfamiliar faces all about him. He instantly recognised many of them; the toned figure of the former 9th squad Captain, Muguruma Kensei was lounging about on the ground level, looking exactly as he had all those years ago. He could also see that Kyoraku's former subordinate, Lisa Yadomaru, had lost none of her amazing looks over the years; in fact she seemed to be opting to try and draw more attention to herself, a school girl uniform about her body. Across the way, the easily recognisable afro that belonged to Aikawa Love was prominently sticking out; his face grinning as it usually did, although he had opted to sculpt his hair in a star shape now. Shinji himself was standing in the middle, addressing the two men below. Finally, Yoshirou spotted the easily recognisable body of Hachigen, his former superior officer, sitting off to the side. He's still as big as ever Yoshirou though to himself.
There were three others that he didn't exactly recognise. A young girl in a red tracksuit seemed to scowl down at them, a prominent fang pointing out from under her lip. Another girl in a jumpsuit was standing beside Hachi, her green hair the most easily noticeable point about her. Finally, another man stood tall close to Shinji, long blonde hair waving out about his black frilly suit. However, although recognised many of them, it seemed the same could not be said for the Vizards. Nearly all of them were looking at him with certain levels of confusion, Shinji was even scratching his head, unsure as to why Yoshirou was present. The only one who seemed to show recognition was Lisa, who raised an eyebrow at him rather than showing surprise, not even Hachi recognised him, looking at him with curiosity on his face.
"Well, well, whose yo' friend then? I don't remember seeing him at school."-Shinji called down to Kurosaki. Kurosaki looked back up defiantly, asking-"Does it really matter?" Shinji tutted as he said-"Now c'mon Ichigo, you can't just take anybody around to meet us. This is our little group; you can't just bring anyone here, its invitation only." Lisa spoke out, saying-"I don't mind the guy being here, he looks cute, give him a few years and he might have been my type of man." "Hah, what the hell can you see in a dumbass like that? He's a bloody beanpole!"-the fanged girl said. Shinji quietly said to himself-"To a shorty like you maybe." "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT DICKHEAD!"-the fanged girl shouted back at him, jumping to her feet as she stared daggers at Shinji. "C'mon, enough of the theatrics, your being rude to our guest!"-Shinji replied, trying to placate the angry girl. The girl seemed to growl back at him, before settling back on the ground, now staring daggers at Yoshirou. Shinji sighed as he turned back to the pair.
"Now, like I was saying, this is an invitation only thing, so would you mind vacating?"-Shinji asked, Yoshirou distracted as he heard the massive shutter open behind him. Turning back to Shinji, he said-"If it's all the same, I'd rather stay with Kurosaki here." Shinji shook his head, taking his cap off with a flick of his fingers as he spun it on one of the tips. "Hoo boy, what are we going to do with you"-Shinji mused quietly. Across the way, fang tooth said-"If we kill him, then its problem sorted right?" Yoshirou stepped away a little, getting some distance from Kurosaki for in case they did attack. "Hiyori, how many times are you going to be rude before the guest? Killing him would be slightly overdoing it now!"-Shinji said back to her. Hiyori just grunted at him; as if he was wasting time not letting her just kill Yoshirou.
"Y'see, you're not exactly going to be safe if ya stay here, as you can see Hiyori is a bit temperamental"-Shinji said, ducking as a sandal was thrown across the room at him, accompanied by much swearing on Hiyori's behalf. "I'd still say ya might wanna go leaving before things get hairy in here." Yoshirou laughed as he said-"Then all the more reason I'm staying, if things get hairy, Kurosaki's gonna need somebody at his side." "Well, it's not Ichigo whose at risk here…"-Shinji said as he thought once again. "…ah well, looks like we do it this way then. Hachi? Would you do the honours?"-Shinji shouted across the room. Hachi looked at him with a slight bit of confusion, before nodding. Yoshirou was slightly confused at that, if Shinji assumed him human then why ask Hachi, a Kido fighter, to make him leave?
However, the answer became clear as Hachi turned to Yoshirou. As Yoshirou looked up at the massive man, he suddenly saw petals fall before his eyes. Purple? Yoshirou wondered, before realising the air before him was starting to distort. Ah, that's why he asked Hachi Yoshirou realised as he looked up at Hachi, his mind inadvertently drawn to look at the big mans eyes. Realising he only had a few seconds, Yoshirou quickly went over the construction of the spell Hakufuku, the one he realised Hachi was using on him. Within milliseconds he formulated the inverse required pattern, before staring once more at Hachi. Hachi jumped with surprise as Yoshirou's view cleared, the petals stopping their falling before his eyes. "…Shinji-kun, he's a Shinigami."-Hachi said, turning to Shinji, who made a strange drawn out surprise noise. "A Shinigami? I'd have never guessed, that's a good disguise he has on!"-Shinji said, before smiling sadly. "Sorry, but that kinda changes things..."
Yoshirou watched as several members of the Vizard's readied themselves, kicking up zanpakuto's that had been hidden on the floor up into their hands. Beside him, Yoshirou heard a strange noise as Kurosaki emerged from his own body, swinging his massive Shikai into a ready stance beside him. Yoshirou raised his arm, preparing to summon his own zanpakuto; he didn't have enough time to get his Gikongan out. "Whoa, calm down guys!"-Shinji said, upon which Yoshirou realised he was among the few Vizards who hadn't actually grabbed their zanpakuto's. "I didn't say for us to go into an all out brawl, just that it kinda changes things!"-Shinji called out, trying to calm down his own side. "Jeez, Ichigo, why on earth did you drag a Shinigami here with you?"-Shinji asked, the other Vizards standing down slightly, although their hands were still upon the sheaths of their zanpakuto. Yoshirou also lowered his arm slowly, unsure of what was about to happen next. Kurosaki kept his Shikai up however, not trusting that the Vizards were standing down, replying-"I trust him, that's a good enough reason."
"Well, that's good an all that you found yourself a buddy among the Shinigami, but like I said, it's invitation only, he's going to have to leave."-Shinji said, clicking his fingers. Nearby, Yoshirou saw Hachi slam his hands together, a strange hand sign with the middle finger crossed over the second, the others curled in. Yoshirou recognised the seal as the strongest Bakudo, no.99. However, before Hachi could start intoning the spell, Yoshirou turned, jabbing his finger towards the big man. Using the Sho spell, Yoshirou knocked the hand gesture off, cancelling Hachi's attempt to use the spell. Once again, Yoshirou raised an arm to summon his zanpakuto, keeping an eye on the seven Vizards before him, Hachi still recovering from having been knocked back slightly. Wait, seven? Yoshirou thought as a shadow suddenly covered him.
Before he could react, a pair of arms encircled his from behind, pinning them to his side. He also realised that whoever it was entwined their legs about his, knocking his posture off and making him fall to the ground face first. Yoshirou struggled against the grasp, but quickly realised it was already over, he couldn't break out of this one since he could neither get his hands or feet solidly on the ground. "I got him Kensei!"-a loud cheery voice called from his back, Yoshirou off hand noticing the pressure on the middle of his back confirmed it to be one of the females among the Vizards. He heard the ground thud beside him as Kensei landed nearby. "So what, you caught him off guard, that's nothing to celebrate Mashiro!"-Kensei said annoyed as he walked over to Yoshirou's side. Yoshirou felt his body rock as the girl newly named Mashiro started shouting back-"Don't be so mean Kensei! I caught him and you didn't!" "Yeah, and now you look like some sort of crab there, you could have just dislocated his arm's or something, but a full body hold? Idiot."
Trying to turn his head to the side, Yoshirou noticed Kurosaki looking down at him, standing still as if surprised that things had turned out this way. "Well, looks like the shinigami loses!"-Shinji happily announced from nearby. "Well, since you seemed so eager to go for him, why don't you play with the kid, Kensei?" "What, do I look like a fucking childminder?"-Kensei argued back, but after what Yoshirou guessed was a staring match between the two, Kensei must have relented. Kensei somehow completely picked up both Yoshirou and Mashiro. Mashiro quickly jumped away, but before Yoshirou could try and break away from Kensei, both of his arms were locked in a full nelson. A quick blur as Kensei jumped to the door, and Yoshirou felt disorientated as he was thrown out the door.
"Tch, I had wanted to see what all the fuss about with that kid, but I end up playing babysitter with a brazen brat like you?"-Kensei said, his tone obviously pissed as he cracked his neck tendons. Yoshirou carefully picked himself up from the floor, considering his options. I doubt Shinji would do anything stupid to Kurosaki, I'll bet I'm in the worse condition, a Vaizard ex-captain? How the hell do I deal with this? Yoshirou mused as he emerged from his Gigai, the body dropping to the floor behind him. Across the way, Kensei whistled as he pulled a combat knife from his pants. "Captain? Well, well, maybe this might be a little bit interesting after all."-Kensei said as he spun the knife on his finger tip, the knife whistling as the speed increased. Knife? That's Tachikaze, his knife zanpakuto, it was already released before the fight? Yoshirou wondered as he drew his own zanpakuto. "What do you intend to do with Kurosaki?"-Yoshirou asked quietly, holding his zanpakuto down to the side.
"Eh? Isn't it obvious? If you came with him you should know already."-Kensei replied, catching the knife in his grip. "He's the guy Shinji wants' to recruit, this is his little interview for joining us. If he passes, he joins, if he fails…well we're not about to leave something that powerful to go on a rampage now are we?" Yoshirou grimaced at hearing this. He knew this was basically what was required, but if Kurosaki did fail, it was his responsibility to get the boy out of there. He promised he would keep everyone safe, even if these guys were old comrades, he would fight them if it was required.
All nice thinking that, but Kensei alone isn't a guy I can take down Yoshirou thought as he readied himself. I doubt he will be bothered with killing me, he's just stopping me from going back in, my only hope is to pin him down somehow… but how? He could probably break my normal Bakudo with pure strength… Yoshirou shook his head, putting the thoughts aside. "C'mon kid, if I have to miss this thing, then at least don't waste my time!"-Kensei said, holding his zanpakuto in a reverse grip as he settled into an odd stance. He suddenly ripped the zanpakuto up, slashing the air in front of him. As Yoshirou watched, lines of condensed wind seemed to fly out of the ground, slashing the earth as it flew forward. The blades of air converged about Yoshirou, aimed for his limbs. Yoshirou jumped the first line as it flew under his legs, spinning his zanpakuto to disperse the next line, cutting through it before it reached his arm. He threw his body horizontally to the ground to avoid the one that flew for his head, bracing his palm off the floor before doing a handstand to land on his feet again.
"Well, at least you can move, although that seemed a bit clumsy."-Kensei noted, waiting for Yoshirou to ready himself again. He was just testing with that? Yoshirou wondered as he gripped his zanpakuto tighter. That could have killed me if it landed, and he used it to gauge my movements? That's insane… "Oi oi, are you really planning to just stand there all day?"-Kensei said, suddenly right in front of him. I never saw him move! Yoshirou panicked as he watched Kensei's fist fly for his stomach. He managed to just about avoid the punch, side stepping the blow hastily, but he could feel the distortion from the passage of the fist. Wait, that's his free hand! Yoshirou realised as he saw the fist holding the knife held before his face, glowing blue. "Shi-!"-Yoshirou gasped out before all he could see was blue, a blast detonating in his face, sending him flying backwards and through the wall of a nearby building.
"What the hell, have captains really gotten that weak since we left?"-Kensei said as he approached the hole which Yoshirou had flew through. He tried to peer through the darkness to find his enemy, before suddenly seeing a glowing blue fire collecting right before him, Yoshirou grinning as Kensei's eyes were drawn to in front of his chest. "Hado no.73, Soren Soukatsui!" (1) Yoshirou called out as twin focused blasts of fire flew from his hands, impacting straight into Kensei, sending him back out of the hole he had come from. Kensei smashed into a nearby wall, the wall cracking from the force of the impact. Before he could even recover, Yoshirou had already used shunpo to appear in front of him, his arms crossing over each other as he declared "Bakudo no.79, Kuyō Shibari! (2)" Kensei exclaimed in surprise as all around him, eight seemingly portals appeared, exerting a huge gravitational pull on him, forcing him in place. A ninth portal appeared in the middle of his chest, completely restraining his entire body.
Kensei grunted as he tried to strain against the spell. "Don't bother."-Yoshirou said, lightly touching his stinging face, he could feel that Kensei's blast had burned him a bit, but nothing that he couldn't put up with. "That ones specially designed to restrain high strength foes, it uses your own power against you, the more you strain, the more force the spell pulls you in." Sheathing his zanpakuto, Yoshirou turned to head back to the original warehouse, where he could see through the open doors that Kurosaki and Shinji were duking it out, both men trying to overpower the other. However, he froze upon hearing a small chuckle from Kensei. "Wow, you guys both seem to underestimate your foes."-Kensei said as Yoshirou turned back to him. Grinning with a slightly dangerous smile, Kensei said-"Yeah, without being able to pull their Bankai's out, this one could restrain most people, even Captain ranks. I'll hand it to you, I didn't peg you as being a Kido type with your body like that, I've been around Hachi for too long."
Yoshirou suddenly realised exactly what was happening as he sensed Kensei's reiatsu start to warp. "But…who says I'm only as strong as a Captain?"-Kensei said, as some kind of material started to collect around his face. "Hollowification? Shit, I didn't want to burn up so much reiatsu with this…" Yoshirou said as he slammed his palms together, replicating the same seal Hachi had used earlier. Suddenly, even though he was now pulling his mask out, Kensei started struggling to break free before the mask finished forming, struggling even harder, recognising the spell Yoshirou was about to use. Yoshirou's own reiatsu roared about him as he prepared his next spell, Kensei was too slow, he didn't manage to overpower the gravity effect of the other spell in time as Yoshirou intoned "Bakudo no. 99,-!"
Yoshirou didn't manage to complete the spell; he felt a massive impact on his ribs as he simultaneously heard a girly voice shout out "MASHIROOO KIIIIIICK!" Sent flying for a second time, Yoshirou managed to just about get a glance at who kicked him. Mashiro was still in a mid air pose, having drop kicked him away as she grinned at the trapped Kensei. Yoshirou managed to flip in mid air, planning to kick off the nearby building to jump back. However, as his foot connected, the worn down metal of the abandoned warehouse his foot had connected to bent inwards under the pressure, and Yoshirou found himself inside the building instead. Coughing from all the disturbed dust, Yoshirou quickly used shunpo to get back outside, where now the fully hollowfied Kensei finished breaking out of his Bakudo.
"Haha, Kensei's an idiot!"-Mashiro laughed as Kensei landed back on his feet. However, even with a mask on, Yoshirou could tell that it had to be the same personality as Kensei turned about, saying-"Like hell you can speak, I didn't need you to butt in!" Yoshirou noticed that his voice had a strange darker tone to it, like the mask he wore distorted the words he was saying. So this is hollowification? Yoshirou wondered as Mashiro pouted, shouting insults back at the other man. That's insane; he broke out of the Kuyo so easily? I've never seen it broken before! His power skyrocketed after he put the mask on, far above mine. And what's worse, now I have another person to deal with… Yoshirou attuned his senses, and found much to his surprise that there were only five Vizards left inside the warehouse.
Where's Shinji gone? Yoshirou wondered, before finding his answer twitching in the dust nearby. "Ah, found him!"-Mashiro suddenly called out, interrupting her slanging match with the hollowfied Kensei. Mashiro seemed to skip over to the body, kneeling beside it and poking Shinji. Shinji growled in annoyance, before jumping to his feet. "DAMMIT THAT STUNG! Why in hell did Hiyori have ta hit me?"-Shinji called out in annoyance before noticing the other two men watching him. He jumped back in surprise while pointing at the two. "Wait, you're a captain! And you have your mask on! Why's all the interesting stuff going on outside when it was Ichigo we should have been testing! Dammit!"-Shinji said in mock shock as Mashiro laughed beside him.
"I was just about to finish this…"-Kensei said annoyed, his voice gravelly under the masks effect. Suddenly, Yoshirou felt a change inside the warehouse. Whoever was now facing Kurosaki had their reiatsu warping badly, also undergoing the hollowification he had seen in Kensei. Shit, if this guy jumped so high, Kurosaki hasn't got a chance! Yoshirou drew his zanapakuto once more, before running his hand along the blade flat, calling out-"Akariotoru, Taiyoukousen!" Kensei's face betrayed no changes as Yoshirou's zanpakuto changed forms. Of course it couldn't, it's a damn mask Yoshirou thought as he swung his zanpakuto to a ready stance.
"Sorry, but play times over for me, I don't like how things are going in there so I'm calling this match."-Yoshirou announced as he faced down the hollowified Kensei. As far as he could see, the eyes in the mask narrowed in anger at Yoshirou's attitude. "You got some attitude on you for somebody who hasn't even seen my strength. I'll teach you to underestimate me, punk!"-Kensei shouted back as he leapt forward, his zanpakuto put away in favour of using his fists alone. Unheeded by him, Shinji suddenly shouted out-"STOP KENSEI!" Too late Yoshirou thought as he swung his Shikai at his foes incoming arm. Kensei suddenly realised he was in trouble as the zanpakuto connected with his arm, and started biting into his flesh. Instantly, Kensei disappeared, skidding in reverse from his desperate retreat.
"What the hell? Your zanpakuto cut straight through my arm! That's not possible!"-Kensei said in surprise as Yoshirou brought his sword into a ready stance, sword pointing at Kensei in case he made any rapid moves again. "My Shikai, my rules Kensei, and you'll play by them, not by what you think is possible."-Yoshirou said, hiding the simple fact that his Shikai could just cut through anything but a zanpakuto. The less he knows accurately, the less he can do to me. Kensei growled, before suddenly regaining control. He raised his hand, swiping it across his face to dispel his mask, saying one more in his normal voice-"Fine" He drew his zanpakuto once again, before holding it before him. He took his mask off? What's he planning? Yoshirou thought uneasily as he readied himself for the next attack. "Then…if my sword changes the rules, your going to follow the new rules!"-Kensei stated as his entire body started to glow from the force of his reiatsu. "BAN-!" He started to call out, but Shinji suddenly appeared, a hand swiping to in front of Kensei's face, interrupting his words.
Shinji stared at Kensei. "I'm sure I said your only ta play with the shinigami, not kill him..."-he said darkly to Kensei. Kensei stood his ground for a second, before relaxing. "Sorry Shinji, he's surprisingly good at riling people up, he needed a good beating for it."-Kensei apologized as he spun his knife off his finger again. Off to the side, Mashiro was watching the whole thing aptly. Shinji took his hand back, saying "Next time, listen ta what I said, I told ya stop for a reason." Turning to look at Yoshirou, he said-"Just like the kid's said, the rules just changed, and it happened when he released his Shikai, right Yoshirou-kun?" Yoshirou was surprised at the sudden recognition from Shinji, he hadn't said his name once, either that or Kurosaki had said it to them. Shinji turned, heading back to the warehouse, motioning with his hand that everybody should follow. "C'mon, lets all see whether Ichigo's balls are in or not. You too, Yoshirou-kun, things have changed now it's you here."
Yoshirou was surprised at suddenly being invited back in, Kensei cursing as he put his Shikai back, before looking down at his new modified top. "Fuck, I'm gonna have to change now!"-he said grumpily as he noticed the massive hole Yoshirou's spell had charred into the tank top, his skin surprisingly unharmed. "Haha, dumbass Kensei!"-Mashiro said in a sing song voice as she followed Kensei back into the warehouse. Yoshirou paused to retrieve his discarded Gigai, however, as he stepped into it he felt a strange sensation. Quickly stepping back out, he realised exactly what had happened. This Gigai has enhanced regeneration of reiatsu! Yoshirou realised, gobsmacked at just how quickly his reiatsu had started restoring itself. It wasn't much compared to his total, but for a normal shinigami, it would only take a minute at that rate to restore to full strength.
However, a fluctuation in reiatsu nearby drew his attention. Quickly getting back into the Gigai, Yoshirou realised that Kurosaki's reiatsu was both dropping, and also becoming increasingly unstable. Running into the warehouse, he watched Kurosaki fight the hollowified Hiyori. Things were going terribly for Kurosaki, his Shikai was cracked badly from the fight, his eyes already showing the degradation of his soul. Yoshirou ran forward, planning to intervene, before he smacked into a barrier. Growling, he quickly poured his reiatsu into his hands, hoping his bloodline ability would encompass this magic too. He found that it did, as the barrier shattered under his hands, drawing surprised gasps from all the Vizards, including Hiyori who had noticed the barrier falling.
That cost her dearly, as Kurosaki finally lost control, his reiatsu sky rocketing to a peak Yoshirou had not seen yet. With a strange distorted scream he leapt forward, catching the girl Vizard by her throat as they both flew across the air, slamming into a pillar past the original boundaries of the barrier. Yoshirou watched in horror at the sight, the girl trying to break free from Kurosaki's grip as he leered at the struggling girl. What the hell is that! Yoshirou realised, looking at Kurosaki. There was no way this was the Hichigo entity he had met before, this thing was animalistic in trying to squeeze the life out of its foe. Yoshirou froze, unsure as to whether he should now be trying to save the Vizard from this monster Kurosaki had become.
The Vizards made the decision first, all of them simultaneously leaping in and slamming Kurosaki to the ground, pinning his movements between multiple zanpakuto. As he watched, Shinji stabbed his zanpakuto forward into the mask part that had formed over Kurosaki's face, breaking it apart. Shinji straightened up, saying "That's enough…". Turning about to where Hiyori was, he asked "Ya satisfied now?" Hiyori didn't say anything, still trembling in shock of nearly being killed, staring down at Kurosaki as she tried to get her breath back. The Vizards one after the other stepped off of Kurosaki's body as Shinji said-"Ya get it now, Ichigo? Suppressing your hollow isn't as simple as just focusing your body and mind…" As Shinji said this, the black aura from Kurosaki's eyes disappeared, and he seemed to start from surprise at the situation he was in. He doesn't remember what happens while under the effects? Yoshirou wondered as Shinji turned around, smirking down at Kurosaki.
"You passed! We'll pound the way to suppress your hollow clear into the core of your soul!"-Shinji grandly announced. Although he then stopped for a second, as he said-"Well, maybe we might wait till tomorrow to start, ya really did a number on Hiyori." Kurosaki picked himself up from the ground as he asked "What did I do?" Nobody replied to his question, and as he looked up at Hiyori, she seemed to shirk away in fear. "…sorry…"-Kurosaki said quietly as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Ah well, it's all sorted now, tomorrow the real work begins!"-Shinji stated. "Also, Yoshirou-kun here is now a guest; he's not goin ta cause any more trouble, so no pickin fights with him! Now, about getting the groceries…"-he started to talk about, obviously having given up the whole seriousness of the situation. Yoshirou walked over to Kurosaki, offering to help him up. Kurosaki ignored his hand though, apparently preferring to remain sitting as he was, musing in his thoughts.
"Leave him be, he's just been through a bit of an ordeal, he'll recover soon enough."-a voice said from behind Yoshirou. Turning about, he noticed a hand held out to him, the man politely offering it to him. "Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, it's a pleasure to meet you."-the man said, still offering the hand to Yoshirou. Smiling politely back, Yoshirou took the hand, saying-"Yoshirou Kenshin, nice to meet you to… Ro…" The man arched an eyebrow at the name, saying-"Rose will suffice, that's what everybody calls me. And now I see why Shinji let you back in, that explains a lot if you're the mysterious Yoshirou I heard so much about from Tessai-san. I hear you're the current successor to the original Kido style?" Yoshirou paused, looking at him slightly confused before the man explained-"Mental casting, it was a style that I learnt as well, I'm guessing that's how you interrupted Hachi's Kido? Rather decent work if I do say so, you match up to the tales Tessai-san told us." Rose finished with a light smile, one that seemed out of place with his strange facial expressions. Guy looks permanently bored… Yoshirou noted as Rose waved his hand, walking over to join Love where he was sitting.
Mashiro was still chatting away with Kensei, while Shinji seemed to be trying to deal with Hiyori, although unsuccessfully from what he could see. "Well, hasn't it been a long time since I saw you."-a woman's voice noted from behind him. Turning, he saw Lisa strolling over now, her strange choice of attire rather prominent. Wait, all the girls here have strange clothing choice Yoshirou realized as he remembered Mashiro's jump suit and Hiyori's exaggerated tracking clothes. "Over a century now, how come you guys are all here anyway?"-Yoshirou asked. Lisa shook her head, saying-"A long story, and a boring one. You want details; try asking Shinji, he'll probably entertain you with the long version." Yoshirou considered it, before remembering something.
"How come you're the only person who remembered me?"-Yoshirou asked, curious about the strange coincidence. Lisa just said-"I tend to remember people who resemble my ex-Captain, just like Shinji tends to remember all the pretty girls he ever meets." Yoshirou took the chance to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "I resemble Kyoraku?"-he asked sarcastically. However, Lisa nodded, saying-"Just about the same height, the same laid back attitude, you're practically him minus a couple of centuries, although if I remember right, you don't share the same attitude to women." "What makes you think that?"-Yoshirou asked in return. Lisa slowly walked around him, making him jump a mile when she suddenly blew seductively into his ear from behind. "That's what I meant, Kyoraku would have enjoyed that, you jump in surprise."-Lisa noted as she stepped back again, Yoshirou trying to control his face from erupting red again. "Who knows, give it a few centuries and that might change too."
Remembering something Kyoraku had said, Yoshirou said-"Wait, I thought you had no such inclinations towards…Kyoraku"-Yoshirou said, correcting himself before he openly accused her of being a lesbian. "You mean you were told I'm a lesbian?" Crap… "I said that so I could get away with doing what I wanted with him, he thought no commitment so I could do what I wanted instead."-Lisa replied simply. "That's also why I tend to remember people who resemble him, it's a bad habit." Yoshirou gaped at Lisa as she turned away, heading over to join Love and Rose. I can't tell if that means she likes him, or if she's just a pure pervert Yoshirou wondered, as the tales that Kyoraku told him of his lecherous Vice Captains actions sprung to mind.
Trying to clear his thoughts, he saw an orange light nearby. His attention drawn to it, he could see that Hachi was using some kind of spell on Kurosaki, although he seemed to be trying to protest against it. At first, Yoshirou assumed it was some kind of barrier, although that made little sense. However, as he watched the annoyed Kurosaki, he gaped at what he saw. Not only were Kurosaki's wounds being restored, but in turn, so was his clothing. Hachi seemed to notice Yoshirou's expression as he stared at the magic before him. Coughing lightly, he said-"This is a unique type of Kido that I developed during my exile here. In realistic terms, you might call it Space/Time Regression."
Yoshirou swore his jaw dropped even further. "What the hecks that?"-Kurosaki asked from inside the barrier, obviously not catching what Hachi meant. "Hmm…in laymans terms, you might call it turning back time within an area."-Hachi explained. Kurosaki didn't seem anywhere near as surprised as Yoshirou though, instead quietly saying-"Wow, it's kinda like Inoue's powers…" However, he said it too quietly for either Shinigami or Vizard to hear. "By the way, Yoshirou-kun…"-Hachi said, having overheard the others conversations and remembered his identity too. "How have things gone in the old squad?"-Hachi asked. Yoshirou sighed as he said "Far too much change for my liking, god I miss the days when superiors would do all the hard work for me, where to begin?"
For the next ten minutes, Yoshirou gave a condensed version of the past hundred years. In all honesty, there wasn't much to tell before the past few weeks, there had been very little for Yoshirou and his squad to do prior to the whole execution debacle. The best that had happened was a strange incident with a hollow nest within the real world, their destruction being one of the tasks that were usually handed down to the Kido Corps (3). This one was a unique mess as he had found himself trapped within the maze of passageways within the nest with the twins, and had been forced to fight nonstop for two days alongside them until another, larger strike team lead by the remaining seated officers managed to destroy the core of the nest, killing the endless reinforcements for the hollow side. They had it easy Yoshirou thought as he paused his narrative to Hachi, remembering the tides of hollow he had to destroy, the twins and he had purposefully lured them in order to make a path for the other team initially, however getting trapped had not been part of the plan. It hadn't been all too hard since the hollows weren't exactly of the strong type, but two days of sleepless fighting had been a nasty toll on the three, suffice to say they never used the same tactic again.
As Yoshirou finished, Hachi's magic seemed to finish as well, having fully restored the injured man back to good health. Kurosaki stretched his arms a few times, making sure that the arms still worked properly. "Hey, Hachi could I learn that technique?"-Yoshirou asked, hoping that it was one that could be passed along. Hachi seemed to think for a second, before saying-"Normally, I would tell you instantly no. These techniques are unique to me, and are totally uncontrollable by other Shinigami, but…" He stopped, looking up curiously at Yoshirou, continuing-"You somehow manipulated my barrier magic earlier, that should have been impervious to Shinigami Kido, but you broke it with minimal effort. Perhaps it may be possible, it depends…" Hachi thought further for a second, before taking a gravure magazine from the floor nearby. "…I hope that's not yours…"-Yoshirou asked as he saw the big man start to shred it between his hands.
"No, it's mine, and what the hell are you doing with it, Hachi?"-Lisa asked coldly, having noticed the detruction before Hachi. Pervert for sure now… Yoshirou thought as Hachi held a hand up placated, saying-"Don't worry, it will be restored in a few seconds Lisa, I just wish to test something…"-Hachi said as he neatly deposited the mess about the floor. Clapping his palms together, he put them forward, extending them over the mess. Another barrier sprung into existence; however the sheet's didn't regenerate. "Now Yoshirou-kun, if you would join me?"-Hachi asked. Yoshirou nodded, placing his own palms upon the barrier. He found that his ability allowed him to connect into the barrier, instantly seeing the immense complexity of the spell under his hands. "Now, since your connected, if you put your reiatsu into the barrier, we will see if it is possible or not."-Hachi said quietly, attention now on the barrier. Yoshirou did as instructed, however the barrier cracked, popping and disintegrating as his attempt failed dismally.
Hachi sighed as he reconstructed the barrier, starting to restore the magazine under Lisa's gaze. "It seems you're not compatible with using this magic, Yoshirou-kun. You're able to connect with the magic somehow, but actually pulling it to your will is not possible, you seem only able to unravel the magic about the barrier."-Hachi said, his magic restoring the magazine back to its former (dirty) glory. Lisa bent down, simultaneously giving both Hachi and Yoshirou views of her body they could have lived without, fetched the magazine and went about her way. Hachi wiped a hand before his eyes, shaking his head as he muttered-"Far too open, as usual." Yoshirou just nodded his head in agreement.
"Back to what we were discussing, the fact that you could deconstruct the barrier is in itself still highly irregular, how are you able to unravel Kido without a full understanding of how to use the spell? You used only a minimal amount of reiatsu, but the barrier folded under that, this kind of barrier would have been difficult for any of us Vizards to break, it defies any explanations that I can think of that you managed to open the barrier. How exactly did you do it?"-Hachi asked curiously, settling into a more comfortable position, eager to learn what he could. Yoshirou froze for a second, remembering the numerous warnings he had been told to keep the truth about himself hidden. Settling on the easiest alternative, he just said-"It's a zanpakuto ability, Taiyoukousen allows me to unravel Kido that I come into contact with, although it only really works on stationary magic's, Bakudo, barrier types, so on."
Hachi blinked a few times in surprise at the explanation, before rubbing his chin with his hand, thinking about what he had been told. "…but you didn't even have your zanpakuto in hand, let alone released…"-Hachi said, more matter of fact than suspiciously, still eager to try and find out the real reason. Yoshirou thought for a second, before internally saying Taiyou, give us a hand for a second.
Sure
Yoshirou then raised his hand, activating a healing spell to make the now collected reiatsu about his hand green. Hachi seemed a bit taken aback by seeing a healing magic, but watched eagerly. Yoshirou then funneled some of Taiyou's power up his arm and into the spell. Instantly the spell merged into the golden form from Taiyou's power. "You see? The spell still is a healing spell, but I can directly manipulate it with the power I borrow from Taiyoukousen, I don't need to have my zanpakuto in hand or even released to borrow her power."-Yoshirou explained as he released the spell, the golden glow disappearing from his hand. Hachi started rubbing his chin again as he voiced his thoughts aloud, saying-"The zanpakuto doesn't need to be summoned in order for its power to be used? Does that mean that your zanpakuto is in an innate form? …but I've never heard of a zanpakuto that can be innately used…Then again, maybe it's an ability of elemental zanpakuto's? The Sou Taichou could summon fire without using his zanpakuto, maybe yours just comes under the same jurisdiction… but this isn't corporal summoning of light, it's infusion of reiatsu, a completely unique style at that…this still doesn't explain how my Kido was broken down so effectively…unless the changed reiatsu is just far more powerful than I could sense?"
Hachi continued to muse over this for a while, although before he could come up with another definite theory, they were interrupted by Shinji, who had apparently succeeded in calming Hiyori down judging from the arrogant look that had been restored to her features. "Well, everybody seems to be having good fun! Catching up on old times does seem to be nice for you two, it gave me some time to chat with Hiyori here, ICHIGO!"-Shinji suddenly called out loudly, trying to locate the substitute shinigami. It seemed that Mashiro had been bugging him, as he tried to pull away from the girl, she said "Seeya, Berry-tan!" Judging from the face Kurosaki pulled, he didn't exactly like his new pet name. As he walked over, he noticed that Hiyori was also with Shinji, and his face fell a bit, as he shuffled over to beside Yoshirou, unable to make eye contact with the girl Vizard.
"Well, since we're going to be at this for a while, resentment between comrades will just cause problems, so you two are going to be friends from now on!"-Shinji happily announced, although the face on Hiyori suggested that she didn't exactly agree with this theory. "Why the hell do I have to be friendly with that Dickhead!"-Hiyori shouted back at him, aiming to slap him one again. Shinji barely managed to dodge the incoming sandal as he said-"Now, now Hiyori! You're forgetting our deal!" Hiyori froze in mid slap, before muttering to herself, putting sandal back on foot. "Now, Ichigo, you got anything you want to be saying?"-Shinji asked, trying to indicate this was the part where he should start apologizing. "Yeah…sorry…"-Kurosaki said quietly, although the face Hiyori pulled once again suggested this wasn't good enough. "Eh, what was that you said Dickhead? I didn't hear ya clearly!"-Hiyori said, deliberately putting hand behind her ear to pronounce her point.
"I said I was sorry! No need to take the mick!"-Kurosaki said angrily, riled by Hiyori's actions at him. Well, he's already forgotten he nearly killed her half an hour ago Yoshirou noted as a tick seemed to appear on Hiyori's face. "It's "sorry Hiyori-san" to you, dickhead!"-Hiyori shouted back at Kurosaki, who shouted in reply-"Stop calling me Dickhead, Fang girl!" That one seemed to hit the mark, as Yoshirou suddenly found himself trying to avoid a flying Shinji as Hiyori neatly threw her comrade at Kurosaki. Holy crap! Yoshirou thought as he quickly shunpo'd away from the sure to be beginning battle, landing himself beside Rose and Love. "Ahh, Hiyori's going to be on the war path for the rest of today."-Rose said, shaking his head lightly in disbelief as the battle ensued in the middle of the room between the two, although judging from Hiyori's speed, it looked like the fight was going to be rather one sided.
Love chuckled quietly as he said-"Seriously, fang girl? Even I wouldn't go calling her that" As the three men watched, a table was over turned, before being neatly dumped on Kurosaki's head. "Shouldn't somebody stop this?"-Yoshirou asked as the crashes and bangs started to get louder as more heavy objects were picked up in the scuffle. Both men turned at looked curiously at him, as they simultaneously said-"Be my guest." Their about as intimidated by this as I am Yoshirou realised as neither man moved to stop the fight. The fight seemed to take a pause for a second as both combatants stopped, just yelling insults at each other non stop, although this was short lived as the brawl began again. Shinji managed to get up; slightly dizzy from the way he had been used as a human bullet. He tried to stop the combatants, but this time ended up being a human shield as Kurosaki chucked the table from earlier at his opponent.
"All right guys, enough of the games!"-Kensei said as he appeared between the two, simultaneously hoisting both fighters by their clothing into the air. Both tried to struggle from the grip, but it seemed Kensei had no intention of releasing either of them. Hiyori looked rather pathetic as she stopped fighting, held more than her own body height again in mid air by Kensei's grip on her track suit, spinning slowly as her clothes twisted slightly in his grip. Kurosaki looked a bit better, but his face was a mask of embarrassment as he realised he had gotten into such a petty fight and had to be stopped like a little kid by an adult. Mashiro was practically rolling on the floor laughing at the debacle.
"That was my line Kensei!"-Shinji said as he groggily tried to stand straight, his head bleeding from where the table had hit him. Kensei shrugged as he dropped both people, Kurosaki landing on his feet, Hiyori falling more ungracefully onto her backside. "Hiyori, there was no need ta be acting like that, especially using me twice in the fight! I'm not a weapon for you ta chuck ceremoniously at people!"-Shinji said as he walked back over, stumbling once for good effect. Like hell that could do him in Yoshirou thought as Shinji reached the two. "Well, if your good enough ta be scrapping, then I guess that will have ta do. Now, like I said earlier, Hiyori's gonna be your trainin instructer for a while!"-Shinji announced, making both Kurosaki and Yoshirou look at him with surprise. However, from where Kurosaki was sitting, he couldn't see the evil smirk that was on Hiyori's face. She's got some nasty regimen planned for him then. Yoshirou realised as the collective group got up.
"Now, since you're going to need ta be watched over, there's no leaving here for now. Your not allowed ta leave this place until we've beaten your control of your inner hollow into ya, and even at that, no contact with anyone. We cannot let Soul Society know of our existence, that includes you!"-Shinji said, pointing at Yoshirou now. "You're gonna keep your mouth shut too." Yoshirou shrugged, saying-"If I planned to turn you guys in, I wouldn't have let Kurosaki come in the first place. I'm only here to make sure you guys didn't try any funny business, but seeing you guys now I think I can trust you not to do anything stupid." Shinji smirked as he said-"Stupid? Doing stupid things makes everything more fun, don't be such a kill joy."
"Anyway, Hiyori, could ya show where our lil Vizard-in-trainin' is going ta be staying?"-Shinji asked her as she finally picked herself off the floor. "Why in hell has it got to be me?"-Hiyori muttered, before saying-"C'mon dickhead, lets get going." Kurosaki growled again at the insult, but withheld any kind of retort this time, still massaging the bruised areas where he had been hit in the struggle a few minutes ago. He followed the girl as she lead her way towards an area at the back of the warehouse, disappearing into a more refurbished area.
"Sheesh, seems things are gonna be lively here."-Shinji noted as he walked over to Yoshirou. "Now… lets get to greetings I suppose, I'm Shinji as you no doubt heard, and your Yoshirou-kun right?" Yoshirou nodded as Shinji stood before him, saying-"How did you hear of me? You and I only met a few times in the past." "Eh? I met you before?"-Shinji asked in confusion, scratching his head. Yoshirou rolled his eyes as he said-"Yoruichi introduced you to me and Byakuya, that's how we first met." Shinji suddenly clicked his fingers in recognition. "You're that kid the Byakuya boy was always hanging around with! The one Yoruichi kept pestering! How in hell did a kid like you get so much attention from that babe?"-Shinji asked. Yoshirou raised an eyebrow as he said-"I didn't, she was pestering Byakuya, I just happened to be around a lot of the time by bad luck."
"Liar, Yoruichi still gloats over the amount of times she got you recently, I never got much attention from her, despite she being my first love and all…"-Shinji said, eyes shining with reminiscence and memories. "Don't listen to him Yoshirou, he calls every pretty girl that, I can't count how many first loves that idiots had. Most of Soul Society is filled with his numerous first loves, even Mashiro and I have been called his first loves."-Lisa called over, before reading her magazine again. "And I loved them all equally as much!"-Shinji shouted back at her. Yoshirou sighed in annoyance at the way the conversation had turned, before realising just what Shinji had said. "You keep in contact with Yoruichi?"-Yoshirou asked.
"Yeah, we were only talking last night. Normally she has ta look for days for us, since we change locations frequently, but since we are going ta be training Ichigo, we relocated here indefinitely. This warehouse is the only place that has a decent sized trainin' area underneath it, we'll need it ta get his hollow under control. Pure luck she picked this warehouse as the start for the search."-Shinji explained. Suddenly, Urahara's words made sense from last night, about how Yoruichi was going to be gone for a long while, yet she was suddenly there in the morning to bug him.
"Anyway's, she alerted us ta all the going ons in Soul Society. She made a big point of you though, the kid who fought Aizen on level pegging, she said you even managed ta injure the bugger, my hat's off ta you if ya did. I recognised ya instantly when you released your Shikai, light elemental style, that's what she told me was your main characteristic ta look for."-Shinji said. Yoshirou looked down in annoyance though, he didn't feel like he managed anything against Aizen, least of all fighting on level footing. Aizen had huge amounts of power in reserve, he was fighting on level pegging about as much as he was when he faced Yamamoto. Shinji seemed to notice the change in mood about him, instead clapping Yoshirou on the shoulder to get his attention back. Shinji took a deep breath as he prepared to try and say something profound.
"Look, Yoruichi let us know everythin. You're pegged as one of the big players in the upcoming war, the Captain with only his Shikai ability already. Hell, you got Kensei to put on his mask, even with that you would have had his arm off if he hadn't pulled back. He nearly went Bankai just ta fight you, something I haven't seen for centuries. Even I can tell you're the real deal, even if you don't think it. Your also rather understandin, you supported the Ryoka the moment you heard the truth about what was happening in the executions without a shadow of a doubt, putting your life on the line for a person you only jus' learnt of. Hell, for a shinigami your top notch, look about here…"
Yoshirou looked about like Shinji said, not really understanding what he meant. All the Vizards were going about their daily life as far as he could see; spontaneous arguments about petty things between Rose and Love, Mashiro annoying Kensei, Hachi was meditating alone, Lisa was still reading her gravure magazine. "Ya don't see it do ya? You're a Shinigami amongst one of the biggest violations against Soul Society, and only within a tiny amount of time, we're both so comfortable with the others presence that every bodies guard is dropped about you, and you're not concerned any of us will kill you in return. You probably don't see it, but we've been livin' in fear of the Shinigami discoverin us for a century, yet just in one afternoon, you and Kurosaki have both broken down that wall in minutes, as far as I see, that's god damn amazing. You don't feel like a Shinigami, you feel like a comrade already, there's no dislike or inhibitions on either side of the fence, that's not something any normal person could pull off."
Yoshirou just looked confused at Shinji's words, he didn't exactly get where all of this was going. Shinji sighed in annoyance at Yoshirou's lack of understanding. "Look, your attitude makes you seem like a person anybody could be friends with. Only a minute ago we were all kicking up our zanpakuto's, ready to kill you, but now you're talking with us like long lost friends. You don't hold the inhibition of what we are against us, and in turn we can't hold the fact that your one of the god be damned shinigami who exiled us against you. We represent beings who have gained the powers of hollows, the ultimate antithesis of Shinigami. Yet even though you're fully aware of it, you're already comfortable with being near us, even though our reiatsu throws off such a disgusting tone for a pure Shinigami. You've seen us as former comrades and friends, not as enemies. You may see it as nothing, but it takes a certain kind of person to be able to drop all inhibitions like that."-Shinji explained quietly, his usual camaraderie lost in the seriousness of his tone. "Perhaps your proof that the shinigami can change, maybe since now this is all out in the open, if there are enough people like you, maybe we might be able to return back to Soul Society rather than hiding in these shadows. God it would make a nice change…"
Yoshirou looked curiously at Shinji, along with the Vizards who had started to listen to him, his usual smile lost for the serious tone he was taking. However, Shinji suddenly started sniggering, before laughing out loud. "Hey, seems I can make good speeches after all! God, it's been years since I had any young enough troubled kids nearby ta give it a try, Hiyori was never a good enough target, she'd stuff a sandal in my mouth ta shut me up when ever I tried ta sound profound! What d'ya think of that one, Rose?"-Shinji called out to the nearby Vizard. Rose shrugged before saying-"A valiant effort, but I would suggest-" "Yeah, like anybody wants' to listen to your long winded talks!"-Love said, interrupting the Vizard before he could continue. An argument started between them as Mashiro said-"Hey Kensei, what was Shinji on about?" Kensei shook his head in disbelief as he said-"If you didn't listen in the first place, don't bug me for the answer." Mashiro just pouted again as she retorted-"Just because you didn't listen either, baka-Kensei." Sure enough, another argument started out between those two.
"See, family life."-Shinji said as he turned back to Yoshirou, who was laughing at the spectacles before him. "I think we can trust ya ta keep quiet about our presence, we aren't plottin anything against Soul Society, nothin could be further from it. We all have a lot to owe that bastard Aizen, just like I bet you do too." Yoshirou looked at him, before asking-"What exactly happened then? I knew from the start Tessai's betrayal had to be wrong, but I never really figured how his exile concluded with you guys, I thought you all dead." Shinji raised an eyebrow at that, before asking-"So, what exactly is the bull that's been said about our condition to you generic shinigami?"
Yoshirou sighed as he said-"I think only the Captains were aware of a different story, since you guys are powerful, anything less than a Captain would not be made aware of your existence since we had no hope of defeating such entities. As a 3rd seat, I was only privy to the general drivel they tell the weaker shinigami. What we were told was that a hundred years ago, you were all part of a heinous experiment in order to discover the secret to power from using hollows. However, you all died gruesome deaths due to the experiment, the process having been a total failure. The whole thing was kept hush-hush by the Central 46, my bet is to scare shinigami into believing that trying to gain power by that method is futile, and to make sure lives weren't lost trying to hunt you guys down. I was only alerted to the possibility that the process could have been a success via the secret databases I accessed in the 12th Squad during my research into arrancar. I found the sub topic for Vizards there, had it not been for that I would still be lost in the darkness about the whole thing."
Shinji laughed mockingly at the information. "Wow, now that's some Grade-A bullshit indeed, well since you're curious, do ya want to hear the real truth? You can see already that we do indeed have powers, but none of it was wanted on our half. The truth is we don't know when it all started, god knows how long Aizen has been doin this crap, it was only a century ago that he finally decided ta start experimenting on real bodies. Now…"
(1 hour later)
"…And here we are!"-Shinji finished with a big flourish, his tale finished. Around them, several Vizards clapped as he finished the telling. As time had gone on, Shinji had attracted a bigger audience until eventually everybody was listening to the life story, although Hiyori was yawning in boredom. Kurosaki also seemed rather shocked by the whole story, as was Yoshirou. "So Aizen is responsible for what happened to you too? That bastard, what the hell could he be planning doing all of this? And how in hell did he get away with it for so long?"-Yoshirou asked, his anger towards Aizen growing further than before. He hated the man for having betrayed Soul Society and for having been the reason why so many innocent people had nearly died during the incident 112 years ago. However, everything that had been said here revealed that he had hurt people again and again even before that, even his own superiors and his teachers had been forced into exile because of him.
"He got away with it cause he's one helluva deceitful bastard. I had been suspicious of him, but like Aizen told me, that was my undoing as well. I never realised that I was under his illusion until it was all too late. Your lucky, Yoshirou. You may not see it, but you were only under a superfluous illusion, one made by his acting. Ya said so yourself, ya saw something slightly out, although ya couldn't put your finger on it. Every day, when ya saw him, it was not an illusion, he was really there standing right in front of ya. I can't be sure when I was looking at him, or when I was looking at something entirely different. The man I knew wasn't just an illusion; he may have never been there to begin with. That's his ability, the great deceiver."
"However, ya have your trump card, Yoruichi told me all about it, if ya really did injure Aizen, then ya saw through him, his illusion was beaten. Even if all ya did was give him a tiny cut, ya beat him in that one sense, he's gotta be afraid of that, and that's why you're so important. Even us Vizard don't have that edge that you do, you an Kurosaki both. Ya both have that unknown quality that can't be gauged, be it your unbelievable abilities or Kurosaki's undeniable extraordinary growth rate. Speaking of such actually…"-Shinji said, looking with a strange smile at Yoshirou. "Ya were a 3rd seat when we left, yet here ya are playing with big game like the Espada and Captain ta boot. All in a single century and ya haven't even hit your full power yet, I could sense it when ya pulled your Shikai out, I bet ya don't have your Bankai yet, right?" Yoshirou was surprised at the astute study that Shinji gave him. Grinning, Shinji said-"I wonder what it would be like ta fight ya when ya hit the peak of your power, would be a good game I'd say."
"Well, I'm not exactly aiming to fight with you guys; it's Aizen I want to beat."-Yoshirou assured him. "What and you think a dumbass beanpole like you has any chance?"-Hiyori challenged, having grown interested in the talks now it was verging away from their personal history. Yoshirou froze for a second, actually considering whether he did or didn't. Hiyori smiled with self satisfaction, her fang showing through the sneer as she said-"And that's proof ya don't! I'd put my bet more on that dickhead over there than you!" Hiyori taunted, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at Kurosaki. However, a fist descended on her head from Love, punishing her for the comment-"Hey, we're all after the same guy, no insulting him for no reason!...but she is also right, your kinda lacking in the spirit department, you don't think you can beat him can you?"
Yoshirou frowned to himself at hearing that. Shinji instantly swept a hand forward, saying-"All right, it's getting kinda late now! We should be getting some rest for tomorrow!" Turning aside, he quietly said-"Don't let Hiyori get ta ya, she has a kind of mutual hate for everything not Vizard, she takes any kind of betrayal's very deeply, it's gonna be another century before missy calms down enough ta even speak civilly with a shinigami. Aizen's gonna get his due, one way or another, so don't go worryin about whether ya have ta beat him yourself, somebody will kill that bastard, and all of us here are definitely gunning for it. Don't take it too heavily if ya don't think ya can beat him, it's not just up ta you, its up ta everybody that bastard betrayed, this is everyone's war."
Yoshirou nodded, but didn't really take it in. As Shinji walked away, he kept on thinking to himself. I know I'm not strong enough, that's why I need to get this Bankai, I can't do it without it. He may be right that others can do it, but is it worth letting up just because somebody else may do it? How many more will die because I can't cut it? "What's eating at you then?"-Kurosaki asked, making Yoshirou jump. He hadn't noticed his approach. Shaking his head, Yoshirou lied-"nothing, just bored… Well, now this is all sorted, I'm heading off; I'm probably in enough crap as it is for having broken regulations last night." Kurosaki watched him for a moment, before shrugging. "Well, seeya around then."-Kurosaki said as he walked off. Yoshirou turned to leave, before something caught in his mind.
"Hey, you said you didn't tell Rukia about what you intended, right?"-Yoshirou asked. Kurosaki stopped in his tracks, as he said-"Yeah, why?" "Well, how many people know you're here then?"-Yoshirou asked. Kurosaki looked oddly at him as he said-"Err…you?" Yoshirou frowned as he said-"Okay then, how many people have you made an excuse to that will explain your absence?" Kurosaki continued to look at him confused before it sunk in.-"…crap, I didn't tell anyone, I didn't realise I was going to be kept here." Yoshirou sighed exasperatedly as he asked-"All right then, what story and who do I tell it to? Mind you, don't go listing people I don't know, like hell am I going into your school and explaining your absence." Kurosaki thought for a second, trying to piece together some likely excuse. However, he must have given up, just simply saying-"Tell Rukia I'm getting this problem sorted, and not to look for me, she'll explain the rest to everybody, she's better at making stories up than me."
Yoshirou slightly cringed at that, he didn't exactly want to see her face when she learnt she was going to have to tell half the town excuses for a ginger truant. "Jeez, don't give me an easy task; if I end up with an arm missing, then you know who ripped it off in fury."-Yoshirou replied, Kurosaki grinning slightly at the joke. "Well, good luck with getting your hollow under control, I'll check in when I can, although my bet is I'm going to be under house arrest for the next two decades when I get back to Soul Society." Kurosaki nodded, before Yoshirou walked away, heading back into the town.
Chapter finished! Kinda started losing steam by the end, the last few paragraphs suck quite a bit. Now that this is done, I really don't know what to write 0.0 It could be quite a while before anything new comes out, I dunno, hopefully not. I tried to keep people in charecter, but it mightent have worked in all cases, i'm not too good at visualising the Vizards... oh well, hopefully future chapters might be better. Seeya all then! As usual, suscribe and review if you like the story! (Been slightly lacking in both recently, oh well)
(1) Soren Soukatsui: Since I've already had Yoshirou use Raikoho as no 63, im going with the anime's numbering of making the spell number 73
(2) Kuyo Shibari: This is a new spell from the manga, the second most powerful body binding type, strong enough that Urahara used it to pin down Aizen with two others (Although Aizen revealed minutes later he just couldn't be assed to break it since the follow up level 90+ Hado couldn't hurt him anyway.)