"Welcome home, Shirayuki Mizore;" Fujisaki said as the yuki-ona was carried into the chamber by Akua "oh, and who might the other one be?" as he looked at the Arrancar.
He looked towards the blue haired girl that was also in Akua's arms. He wasn't expecting a second person to be brought back, but she did look familiar to him; maybe he saw her in some of the images that his Shikigami had shown him. He could already make a very safe guess at what species she was by her looks though.
"A succubus;" she said bluntly "her abilities might prove useful in the future."
"It's not like you to bring gifts like this;" he pointed out.
The only time the female Espada ever brought him gifts was when she felt she failed at something; which made sense for her. Harribel was loyal and would find a way to atone for a failure by bringing something just as good as success back with her. For her to bring back a succubus, after he had just revealed to her that the Hogyoku needed souls to help be created, meant that she had to have felt she failed horribly at something.
"I failed to confirm if I killed Jagerjaquez;" the female Arrancar said "I was planning on bring his corpse to you as proof that a preemptive strike from the shinigami would not be possible."
"Shinigami?" Kurumu and Mizore asked each other while looking at the other with a confused expression.
Shinigami were only creatures of legend, even for Yokai; the thought that a spirit being could hold on to this world wasn't too farfetched, but a shinigami was way out there. Then again, after everything they had seen in the past week or two it didn't sound as crazy as they first thought. Things were still confusing for them though; what do shinigami have to do with this guy in front of them?
"It's alright Harribel;" he said "Akua, take those two to the infirmary wing. They aren't any good if they aren't in good condition."
Akua nodded and carried the two towards the medical station. Kahlua stood in thought about her fight with the large chested woman that had the weird katana; surely she had to be a shinigami. After all, the living didn't have any weapons that could do what the katana did. Then she remembered what the shinigami was wearing on her sash.
"Oh-no;" she said in a worried tone that got everyone's attention "the shinigami know about my Charm ability."
"Care to elaborate?" Fujisaki asked.
"Last week I was approached by a woman with black hair that was braided and she was wearing a black outfit that looked like a dress," Kahlua said "she also had one of those badge looking things on her shoulder. She asked if I was a vampire, when I told her I was she started asking about what we can do. I told her that it depended on what we took the time to learn, but most of us had fast healing capabilities and are stronger than most other Yokai. Then she asked if I had any unique abilities, so I told her about Charm."
Harribel was about ready to kill the vampire for being so careless, but Fujisaki spoke up.
"If it was last week," the man said "then the shinigami weren't your enemy at the time; so do not worry about it. Just try to be more careful in the future."
"Hai;" with a bow before leaving.
"Was he there?" he asked Harribel.
"No; at least not in the fight. I felt an unusual reiatsu towards the end; at first I thought it was as powerful as Kurosaki's, but I realized that it had been contained within some sort of barrier. At best, it was the level of a weak taichou or high level fuku-taichou; I don't think he is a threat just yet."
"Very well;" as he noticed the blood on her wrappings "please go have yourself healed as well and then pick up where Midou left off in the search I had you doing."
"Hai."
-Mizore and Kurumu-
Mizore had convinced Akua to let her assist the medic in treating the succubus; not an easy task when the vampire was ordered to keep a hold of her the entire time. So she had to settle for being locked in the room and extra guards placed in the room as well. She honestly didn't care though; she had to help her friend. Luckily the injuries weren't as bad as she first thought and the basic medical skills she knew from her village were enough to help speed the process up.
The medical skills that the village has came from a mysterious place that only the priestess knows about; everyone else is left to guess. From what she was told, not every yuki-ona could use these healing abilities; only the priestess and a very select few could. The priestess had said something about requiring a certain type of youki; which wasn't something that was passed down by blood, you were either born with it or you weren't. Speaking of the priestess, Mizore didn't even see her usual assistant when they entered the castle; just some weird looking shark Yokai.
The yuki-ona lifted her glowing green hand off her friend and helped her sit up. The Moka's blonde sister had done a number on her succubus friend with very few hits; it was frightening to think that a vampire that wasn't S-rank was that strong. What did that say about Moka's potential for strength? Could she be even stronger than her older sisters; or would she not be able to get that strong?
"Follow me;" Akua ordered as she opened the door "as I'm sure you've noticed by now," as she pointed to the exits, which had several yuki-ona guarding them "escape is impossible for you. Don't expect anyone to come for you either; all the potential rescuers have been defeated and are in no condition to even attempt to save you" she lied.
She wasn't sure where the brown haired boy had been, but she wanted to meet him. For him to have been able to break her favorite sister's seal meant he had to be incredibly powerful; maybe even stronger than herself. A blush began to grow on her face as she thought about just how strong the boy must be, but she quickly got it under control when she remembered she was taking the yuki-ona and succubus to their quarters. Besides, there was the off chance that the boy was going to end up coming here to save the two; that's when she was going to meet, and fight him. Of course she wasn't going to kill him, but that would be his 'thank you' from her for breaking her sister's seal.
"Here is your room;" she said as a guard opened the door.
Mizore and Kurumu walked in, the door was practically slammed behind them, and Mizore immediately began looking through the bookshelves that lined the walls. Kurumu was still taking in the sight of the room; a large comfortable bed that could easily fit four or five people that had a frame made from an elegant white oak wood and had snowflakes carved into the posts and on large one on the head board. The rest of the furnishings were made of the same white oak material and were set up in the room to maximize floor space.
"What are you doing?" Kurumu asked.
"Looking for something;" as she pulled a book out and started a pile "it's not every day that someone is allowed to read from the priestess' library."
-Soifon-
The petite taichou was the first person that was treated after Hanataro finished assisting the local doctors in stabilizing Grimmjow so he could have the operation he needed. She considered herself lucky she didn't even have a fracture after taking that punch from the Arrancar, and most of her wounds were healed without scaring; it annoyed her that the one wound that did scar was the one on her chest. If that wasn't bad enough, a shit storm was about to come down now that they had revealed their true identities to some of the students at Yokai Academy; it didn't help that they didn't have enough memory modifiers to get everyone, not even a quarter of the people that witnessed the battles.
She had remembered the sudden burst of reiatsu that came from Tsukune. Did that mean that his assumed bankai training was now done; if it was, did he gain bankai? The questions continued to run through her mind as she walked towards the underground canyon where Tsukune had been sealed off in for the past two days. Two days, that was how long Yoruichi had told her it took Kurosaki to gain bankai; the results were, and she couldn't believe she was admitting this, incredible. To go from barely surviving a fight with a taichou to defeating that same taichou, who had used his ultimate attack, was an incredible feat.
She pushed the hidden door open and could see the damage that was done to the large canyon. Grooves were cut into the ground and were stained red, boulders were completely demolished from what looked to be a single attack on each, drops of blood lined the canyon floor as well as parts of the walls, but she didn't see any signs of Tsukune. All this damage and she could barely sense where Tsukune actually was; he must have nearly drained all his reiatsu during this battle. When she finally found him, she saw someone kneeling behind him with his zanpakuto about to cut him; she immediately shunpo over to the person and grabbed her wrist, only to see it was Tsukune's zanpakuto spirit… cutting his hair?
"Soifon-taichou;" Bloodriver said with a smile "it's nice to see you again. Did you defeat my stepdaughter and the Arrancar?"
"No;" she said as she let go of her wrist "the Teresa Espada stopped me from delivering the killing blow. And that vampire was your stepdaughter?"
"One of three;" in a sad tone.
"Did he achieve bankai?" the taichou asked quickly changing the subject.
Bloodriver remained silent; not a good sign. If Tsukune had failed to achieve bankai then he was lucky to still be alive; she had heard of shinigami that attempted to achieve bankai and were never seen again. The mere fact that he was still alive showed that he had taken the training seriously.
"He is far more proficient with Shikai and is more willing to use it in battle;" Bloodriver explained "but I do not believe he would have been able to fight against Akua or Kahlua for very long, which is why I forced him to stay in here when he first felt the Vasto Lorde's reiatsu. Had he gone to assist, he would have been so wounded Ghoul would have taken over and I am unsure of what might have happened after that."
Soifon knew that the zanpakuto spirit knew what would happen; it wasn't that hard to figure out. He'd start by killing Akashiya Moka and then everyone would try to stop him, which would only lead to him killing his opponents to either ensure his survival or just for kicks. Ghoul didn't seem too much different than Jagerjaquez from what she's seen so far, but he was still a lot like Tsukune. He wouldn't hold back like Tsukune will, but he was the same in respect to the fact that even Ghoul seemed to have a soft spot for the pink haired fuku-taichou. That made her wonder just how alike the two were all together.
Her eyes looked at Tsukune, who was still passed out in the pool of healing water with a few of his wounds finally finishing healing. She had mixed feeling about if Tsukune had been present during the battle that took place an hour ago. Had he been there, he wouldn't potentially be subject to a treason charge; however, he could've either been killed or, as Bloodriver believes, lost himself to Ghoul.
"Could you finish cutting his hair?" Bloodriver asked "the last bit is in the water and, as a vampire, I cannot touch water."
"Hai."
With that, Bloodriver dematerialized back into Tsukune's mindscape. When she got back, she saw Ghoul half asleep on his usual branch of the Monster Tree with a half contempt look on his face. That made her slightly worry that he found what he was looking for. Back in the real world, Soifon had drawn Suzumebachi and started to cut the last of the long parts of Tsukune's hair. As she pulled the hair out of the water, her eyes showed a confused look as she saw how long it was; it was longer than hers when it was unbraided. Something was very off; how could his hair have grown this much in only two days?
-Two hours later, Head Master's office-
Tsukune stood with his taichou, mentor, passenger, drinking buddy, and the medic he saw around the Fourth Division before. Rangiku had been rubbing her side from the pain of having almost all her ribs crack because of the hit she took. Grimmjow was bandaged up almost head to toe but was still moving on his own; despite the doctors' protests. Soifon had mentioned that she didn't take any injuries she couldn't deal with; which had him worried. Yachiru and Hanataro, as he introduced himself as when he gave Tsukune a file, were the only ones that looked like they didn't take any damage.
The Head Master was talking with an old man about something; saying that there would've been little they could've done against a Vasto Lorde level Arrancar. There was something about the old man that made Tsukune think that what he saw was something to deceive his opponents.
"You are Aono Tsukune correct?" he heard a boy ask.
"Hai;" he replied as he turned his attention to the boy.
"My name is Won Fanfan;" he said with a bow "I am the heir to the Won Family in China. Stories of your strength caught my family's attention, and I wish to offer you an invitation to join us."
"I can't;" he said "sorry."
Tsukune didn't want to sound rude, but he had to check on his friends and make sure they were alright. For some reason he wasn't being told about their conditions after the fight that had taken hold only three hours ago. He wanted to just rush off to the infirmary and make sure they were ok, but Soifon and Grimmjow told him no. He knew better than to even try to go there; Grimmjow might be in bad condition, but he was far from not being able to put him on the ground. Soifon is the taichou of the Second Division; enough said. Very soon the screen in the Head Master's office flickered to life with Yamamoto standing in his usual way.
"Report;" he said.
"Nice to see ya too;" Grimmjow snorted sarcastically.
"At twelve hundred hours;" Soifon began "a Garganta was opened into Yokai Academy and the Teresa Espada was discovered to be the cause of it. She had three living alongside her; two of which proved to be vampires and the third wasn't identified. Jagerjaquez started to engage one of the vampire's but I intervened believing that he would not have been able to survive against her as she was proficient in martial arts. At which point, he engaged the Teresa. Matsumoto-fuku-taichou engaged the other vampire, while one of the local inhabitants saved Seventh Seat Yamada from the unidentified enemy. We were defeated and two of the locals, Shirayuki Mizore and Kurono Kurumu, were kidnapped by the group."
"WHAT?" Tsukune shouted in complete disbelief "why didn't you tell me?" as he looked at Rangiku, Yachiru and Soifon.
Was this why Grimmjow and Soifon were keeping him from going to the infirmary? Because his friends were kidnapped and they knew he was going to react like this? That shouldn't matter; Mizore and Kurumu were his friends and he had a right to know what happened.
"Hold your tongue Aono;" Yamamoto warned.
The sou-taichou was already tempted to withdraw Aono from Yokai Academy and have him return to the Shinigami Academy. With everything that he has done so far without being a full shinigami, he either needed a rude reality check or to be thrown in the Maggot's Nest. He didn't care which, but it had to happen soon.
"But they need to be saved;" he protested.
"I know full well where you are going with this. As you are a student of the Shinigami Academy and a temporary member of the Gotei Thirteen;" the sou-taichou said as he cracked his eyes open and held a serious tone "I am ordering you to stay at Yokai Academy. You are in enough trouble as it is."
The only reason he wasn't charged with attacking Kurotsuchi-taichou was because the sou-taichou had watched all the events prior to the fight unfold. That didn't mean that he was going to excuse everything the boy did; unlike Kurosaki, Aono was, just as he stated, a student of the Shinigami Academy and a temporary member of the Second Division and had to follow ever order given to him.
"You want me to just forget about my friends?" as he balled up his fist "to let them have who-knows-what done to them and pretend I don't care?"
He reached in back pocket and pulled out the badge he was given. He already knew what the answer was going to be from the sou-taichou; if that was how it was going to be then he was going to do what he felt was right. No matter what, he was going to save them from whoever kidnapped them. As soon as he placed the badge on his chest and was completely out of his gigai, he set it on the Head Master's desk. Everyone just looked at him in shock; did that mean what they thought it meant?
"I'll return to the Rukongai after I bring Mizore and Kurumu back;" as he walked out to the exit.
Grimmjow was just as surprised as everyone else in the room even though he suspected that he would do this. He knew Aono probably better than most in the room; only the flat chested taichou and the Head Master knew more about him. During their spars, they would often talk a bit; most of it was about fighting, but the parts that weren't were about Aono's past or at least what he could remember of it. From what he could tell, Aono would die for his friends; which made him wonder if that was how he actually died.
"If you do this you will be labeled as a rogue shinigami and hunted down as such;" Yamamoto gave as his final warning.
"I understand;" as he left the office.
As he left the office, he could see the empty desk that Ruby usually sat in; she was most likely still in the infirmary because of her injuries. His friends got hurt because he wasn't there to help them fight; that fight also resulted in two of his friends getting kidnapped. He had to save them and bring them back to Yokai Academy.
"Soifon-taichou;" Yamamoto said "in half an hour you are to begin pursuit of Aono."
The old sou-taichou already had a couple volunteers to hunt down the boy if he hadn't showed back up, Kenpachi and Mayuri, but hunting down rogue shinigami was the Second Division's jurisdiction. Since Soifon was already in the world of the living and had a good idea of where Aono was going to be heading, she was the obvious choice for the new pursuit.
"Hai;" trying to act unfazed about what just happened.
In reality though, she hated having to hunt down Tsukune for doing what he felt was right. That was how Tsukune was; no matter what he would always do what he felt was right. That much she figured out when he apologized for seeing her changing the first night he went on patrol; she was still confused about why she was so embarrassed about it. It's not like she hasn't been naked in front of a guy before; hell, she was the only female in the Onmitsukido and had to change, shower, and sleep in the same quarters as everyone else. Needless to say, there were a few times where she was frightened; that's the main reason she always trained so hard back in those days, to keep from becoming a victim.
Perhaps that was why she was so attracted to Tsukune; as Yoruichi said, he sees her for her and not as a taichou, a superior, or like an object. Sure he always addressed her as 'Soifon-taichou' but that was because she had told him to do so. And if what Yoruichi told her was correct, then he most likely used 'chan' or no suffix at all since nothing pisses her off more than that; the only reason she put up with being called 'chan' by Kyoraku-taichou was because he was just that, a taichou. She turned to leave the room so she could begin preparing to pursue Tsukune.
"Soifon-taichou;" the Head Master said in a cryptic tone "be careful; you never know what you may discover in your hunt. Hehehehehe."
-Tsukune-
The now rogue shinigami decided against walking through the hallways, so he jumped out of the first window he could and sonido to the roof. He was going to rescue his friends without any support from the Gotei Thirteen; not that he could ask someone from there to rescue someone they didn't know. That's why he returned the badge he was given; by dropping out of the Shinigami Academy he didn't have to follow the sou-taichou's orders and stay at Yokai Academy. There was no turning back now; he had to return to the Rukongai districts as soon as he returned to the Soul Society.
"Aono-san;" he heard Fanfan say to him "to be willing to turn your back to the Seireitei like you did for the sake of your friends truly is a noble cause. Allow me to join you in this endeavor."
Tsukune turned around and saw Fanfan was wearing what he assumed to be a more combat worthy outfit; the sleeveless Chinese shirt and snug pants that hugged the ankles and waist were pretty good giveaways. He couldn't ask someone he had just met to help him with his fights; no, Mizore and Kurumu were his friends and Fanfan didn't know them at all.
"My transfer paperwork doesn't get finalized for another few days, if that is what you are worried about," Fanfan added "so until that time I can leave the campus as I please. I wish to get stronger;" as he bowed "please, allow me to join you."
Tsukune thought about his options; if Fanfan wasn't a student, then he couldn't be a part of the Safety Committee. It was the Safety Committee's job to protect the students on campus and… wait. Why didn't Soifon mention the Safety Committee when she reported to the sou-taichou? When he got back, he was going to talk to Kuyo about not trying to stop the abduction; the fox had stressed learning the student handbook so he did and preventing a student from being abducted inarguably fell in the Safety Committee's duties.
"This is something I need to do myself;" Tsukune replied "Mizore and Kurumu are my friends and it's because I wasn't there that they got kidnapped. Besides, if your family knows about shinigami and you get involved in their affairs it could put a strain on your relationship with the sou-taichou."
The sound of a Garganta being ripped open behind Tsukune caused Fanfan to practically jump out of his skin while Tsukune grabbed Bloodriver expecting something to be coming out. To his surprise, nothing was coming; he could only see the endless darkness that flowed with spirit particles. When he looked around, he saw Grimmjow standing by the door with a serious look on his face; something told him that his mentor knew, or at least had a very good idea, where his friends were taken.
"Focus on their reiatsu;" Grimmjow said "do that as yer goin' through the Garganta and you'll get to where ya wanna go. Since ya spent so much time with'em ya should be able to feel it;" he explained "when a Garganta is open, ya have one of two ways to get where yer goin'. Focus on the area ya wanna go, or focus on the reiatsu; since yer pretty good at sensin' reiatsu already it shouldn't be too hard. Just don't go towards the darkness, that'll take ya to Hueco Mundo."
Tsukune only nodded and stepped into the Garganta. When the Garganta slammed shut, he could only see the darkness that threatened to consume him; he opened his Pesquisa as much as he could. He knew what Kurumu and Mizore's reiatsu felt like, warm and chilled respectively, but it was taking him a while to find them. He spent what felt like several minutes searching for their reiatsu, but he found it and took off towards it. Now his personal mission had begun and he wasn't coming back until he had his friends with him.
Grimmjow looked at Fanfan and narrowed his eyes at the boy about to say 'This stays between us or else' but stopped when he heard the Head Master.
"My, my;" with a snicker "I didn't know Tsukune-kun could open a Garganta on his own. He's quiet lucky to have abilities that are more hollow based than shinigami; it keeps me from having to pick sides," as he walked back down the hall to his office "there is a matter I wish to speak with you about Jagerjaquez-san; please meet me in my office after you assure Nekonome-sensei you are alright."
"Creepy bastard;" Grimmjow said as he tried to shove his hands in his pockets but stopped when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulders and ribs.
-Mizore-
The yuki-ona was now reading the third book she had pulled down from the many shelves. After everything she had seen over the past few weeks, the masked creatures attacking the school, Jagerjaquez-sensei having a hole in his stomach and a mask fragment on his cheek, and hearing her captors mention shinigami as if they truly exist; she decided to see what she wasn't seeing. It was cliché, but she couldn't think of any other way to put it.
"I don't get what we're supposed to be looking for;" Kurumu started to rant for the fourth time "shinigami don't exist."
"According to humans," she replied back dryly as she turned the page "neither do we. Here;" as she found a segment that mentioned shinigami "back when the village was first founded by Priestess Sode no Shirayuki," she read "supernatural creatures attacked daily. White masks hid their true faces, they had a hole in their torso and their youki felt empty; thus leading them to be called empty ones. Priestess Shirayuki, using her pure white katana, slew many each day to protect the village. As time moved forward more of the empty ones attacked, leading Priestess Shirayuki to speak with Jack Frost hoping to find a way to end the many loses that the village had suffered. Jack Frost replied; 'These supernatural beasts must be defeated by the supernatural; only the reapers will have means to prevent the loss of more snow people.' The Priestess then knew where to turn for help.
After finally making contact with a young shinigami by the name of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, a message was passed to the shinigami home land. Not long after, Yamamoto returned with allies that were a part of a special unit of shinigami and erected a barrier around the village. At the center of the barrier a sapling began to grow. On that day, a blizzard began to rage just outside the barrier and the frost from that blizzard lasted for a thousand years forever giving the sapling the name 'The Thousand Year Frost Tree'."
"So shinigami do exist?" Kurumu said in a surprised tone.
Mizore wasn't too surprise by her friend's, she was even a little shocked at the truth. As a snow fairy, she had been told stories of shinigami that seemed rather unbelievable at the time. Weapons that could change their forms and had abilities that would make most Yokai envious were just one of the stories.
"Not only that;" as she closed the book "but they're the reason my village still exists today."
"Finding comfort in reading about your village's history Shirayuki-chan?" they heard from the door.
Mizore didn't grace the one that had orchestrated her kidnapping with an answer; she only gave him a glare. This man was working with the 'empty ones', as her people had called them, that told her he was evil; she couldn't figure out how she fit into the picture, and what was harder than that was figuring out where her friend fit into it. The woman that had captured her said that Kurumu's abilities could come in handy, but didn't specify how or why she thought that. Everything had become one giant mystery ever since Moka was put in the infirmary for a week; reason being was because the S-rank vampire was being cryptic and secretive about how it happened.
"I suspected you wouldn't be very warm to me at first;" Fujisaki said as he shrugged his shoulders "but it will change since you are going to be my wife."
The red haired man reached out to hold Mizore's chin, but was stopped when he saw a set of nails coming down on his arm. The nails didn't break his skin, but they did cut up his overpriced jacket. He never expected the succubus to react like this, or have the rage in her eyes like she did.
"You won't touch her you creep;" Kurumu spat at him "if you so much as try to do it again, I'll cut your arms off."
-Tsukune-
The rogue shinigami continued to run towards his friends' reiatsu; when he felt it slowly getting stronger, he picked up his pace. He couldn't use sonido in the Garganta because he still couldn't sense reiatsu and use it at the same time, so running normally was his only option. He hated moving at such a slow pace, but it was better than over shooting his target and having to back track.
'No matter what;' he said to himself as he saw something white in the distance 'I'm bringing them back to Yokai Academy.'
'I will support whatever decision you make' Bloodriver said to him knowing just how far he was willing to go.
He picked up his speed again and broke through the white he was seeing like it was a window; causing shattered pieces of what would've been his exit to crash around him and then vanish when they hit snow. He looked around and saw he was on a mountain of some sort; in the distance he could see a village that had a castle even further back.
"I guess I should start in the village;" as he rubbed his shoulders and started to walk towards it "maybe I can find some warm clothes too."
-Fujisaki-
He was about to back hand the succubus into a wall when he felt a strange reiatsu suddenly. As he turned his head in the direction he felt it from, he could tell that it was outside of the barrier that he had modified and doubted that whomever the reiatsu belonged to could get past it; but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"It would seem we have unwanted company;" he said as he turned back towards the door "I'll deal with you later."
-Tsukune-
The chilled brown haired boy finally came to the first house and was about to knock on the door; he was going to ask for something warmer to wear, but figured it wouldn't be much better than what he was already wearing. Mizore had told him that yuki-ona weren't affected by the cold like other species of Yokai were, but it was better than nothing.
"Hey; you!" he heard someone call out to him "it's past curfew and…" the person stopped.
There were two fish type Yokai, a shark and a blowfish, all bundled up in thick winter coats; the two started muttering to each other. The only words he heard were 'spy', 'shinigami', 'barrier', and 'hollow'. Their conversation seemed to be more of a debate as the two kept looking back at him and then continuing their talk.
"Please follow us, we will escort you to the Priestess' Palace" the shark said.
The rogue shinigami only nodded, and hesitantly followed the two fish. He opened up his Pesquisa again and could feel that Mizore and Kurumu were in the direction of the palace; if he ever passed their reiatsu, he would quickly change course and head towards them. The two escorting him were continuing their debate and kept looking over their shoulders at him; they seemed indecisive about him, just as he was about them. Sure they were taking him closer to his friends, but this is supposed to be a village filled with only yuki-ona; yet two aquatic Yokai were on a snow covered mountain.
He desperately hoped that he would pass his friends' reiatsu signatures so he could ditch the two Yokai in front of him. They were gradually looking back at him more and more and it was starting to worry him; did they catch on that he wasn't on their side? His fear slowly subsided as two different Yokai opened the doors to the palace for them and they walked into the main entrance area.
"I thought you two were supposed to be doing your rounds;" a hammerhead shark Yokai snapped at them.
"We were, but found this shinigami inside the barrier;" the blowfish said "he's got to be a spy for Fujisaki-sama if he's in it. After all, we did modify the barrier so shinigami can't enter."
"YOU IDIOTS!" the hammerhead shouted at them "FUJISAKI-SAMA DOESN'T HAVE ANY SHINIGAMI SPIES! KILL HIM NOW!"
In a split second, Tsukune was surrounded by all sorts of different Yokai. He sonido out of the way of an attack that was coming from a Cyclops, and easily kicked its knees out from under it causing it to crash down on top of four of his allies. With a serious of punches, he knocked two into a wall and completely out; he knew that a Yokai could take hits and they were his enemy, so he didn't hold back as much as he was while at the academy. Before he could continue his attacks, he heard a whining followed by what he could only describe as a several potato canons being shot one after another. When he looked at the source of the noise, he saw a woman standing in the door he had just entered with a large weapon in her hands. As he studied her further, he could see a resemblance to Mizore from her.
"Thank you for getting them to open the doors for me;" the woman said "my name is Shirayuki Tsurara."
"You're Mizore-chan's mom;" with a slight sigh of relief "I'm a friend of hers from Yokai Academy;" in a slight panic as the woman pointed the weird weapon at him.
"Why are you here shinigami? And how are you enrolled at Yokai Academy, shouldn't you be in the Soul Society?" as she tapped the trigger showing she was more than willing to pull it.
"Mizore-chan was kidnapped and I'm here to save her;" as he waved his arms in front of him in a defensive way "and it's a long story."
"Then give me the short version" as she tightened her grip on the weapon.
"I used to go there when I was alive."
Tsurara lowered her weapon and looked at the shinigami; she finally recognized who he was from the stories her daughter had told her. Now she was positive she could trust him.
"The ones that kidnapped my daughter also have the Priestess hidden somewhere;" Tsurara said as she looked down the hall "I couldn't find a way in before. We should split up;" as she saw that the hall split into two "you look for my daughter and I'll search for the Priestess."
Tsukune closed his eyes and opened his Pesquisa up again; he could feel several reiatsu signatures coming from the left, and further down he felt a very powerful colder reiatsu. The best he could guess was that reiatsu belonged to the Priestess that Mizore's mom had mentioned. To his right were significantly fewer reiatsu signatures, but far more powerful. The odd thing was, he didn't feel any fresh Arrancar reiatsu; what he could feel was older, but he wasn't complaining since it made things easier for him.
"I think the Priestess is that way;" he told Tsurara as he pointed to the left "there are several people guarding her though…"
"Don't worry about me," as she started walking down that hall "just save my daughter."
Tsukune hesitantly nodded before he took off down the hall on the right. He would've thought that the older yuki-ona would have insisted on helping him save Mizore; she probably felt that she wouldn't be strong enough to help and would only be in the way. The woman looked like she knew what she was doing, so he was going to have to trust her judgment. Now he had to focus on saving Mizore; if it was an Arrancar that took her, then she was bound to have some strong guards around her to keep her from escaping.
He finally arrived in a large chamber that looked decorated for a ceremony. He believed that this was probably the room that the Flower Offering Ceremony was going to take place in. Just as he was about to start heading up the stairs to the door that was on top of the balcony, he heard a door open on his left side. A woman with long curly blonde hair, tanned skin that resembled a beautiful olive skin tone, red eyes, wearing a white dress with matching gloves that went up to her upper arm and a tiara on her head. The red eyes told him that this woman was a vampire and most likely a very serious fighter; that thought went away when she tripped over her dress and did a face plant on the floor.
"Oh dear;" she said as she picked herself up off the floor and adjusted her tiara "tripping over my own dress on a first meeting… How embarrassing;" as she rubbed the red spot on her forehead "I mean" looking at the boy that was watching her "I meant to do that! I thought a funny entrance would help you relax so I can convince you to leave. I'm Shuzen Kahlua."
…Shinigami Cup: Golden…
Mizore had noticed her friend had been starring at her since the red haired man left and it was starting to get on her nerves. It wasn't like she had something on her face since they hadn't been fed anything yet. It annoyed her even more because she couldn't focus on making an escape plan.
"Why are you starring at me?" she finally asked.
"You said your ancestor was a Priestess;" Kurumu said.
It took the succubus a while to make the connection, but she finally had an idea about why the yuki-ona was kidnapped. It was obvious!
"I don't see how that's relevant to the position that we're in;" obviously annoyed.
"It has everything to do with the position we're in!" Kurumu snapped "if your ancestor was a Priestess then that makes you a princess! Oh my god," starting to panic "I'm friends with a princess!"
"I'm not a princess;" with a blank face.
Yuki-ona hierarchy didn't work by bloodlines. Yes, being the descendant of the founding Priestess of the village meant she was more likely to be stronger than others, but it wasn't a guarantee. Just like with succubae, their strength is dependent on their fathers; for example, if her father would have been a werewolf she would have been faster. Since her father was a male of her species, her natural strength and abilities were increased by at least double; at least according to what the Priestess said to her.
"I've been treating you so horribly!" Kurumu continued her panic.
"She's obviously cracked;" Mizore whispered to herself with a sweat drop.