This chapter has been rewritten and now contains new information. This chapter leading up to chapter 35 have been altered so if you wish to read please go to the beginning and read from there so that you are not lost. Thank you.
United Against the Legion of Flames
Chapter 28: Duty and Honor
Trumpets, drum and general merriment, it was the first thing they heard when the massive pillar collided with the ground. From within the Captains knew resided the Zero Division, or the Royal Guard, few would have expected this kind of entrance considering their occupation. Some would have expected some sort of humble appearance, a simple walk and bow, especially from such prestigious enforcers and in such dire times.
Instead the Captains got a parade.
The Royal Guard moved forward, their stride was wide with each footfall filled with energy and positivity. Every single one of them appeared to be in good spirits, even the neutral woman who was working the many instruments and banners that announced their arrival. The Captains did not share the same enthusiasm as their guest, instead staring with solemn expressions; it was obvious that their appearance in such a manner was not unexpected. But still their mood was still sullen and dull, the previous wounds of their last fight still tender.
Contrary to their name the Zero Division held only five members, all of which were Captains in terms of power and ability. But despite that prestige and power they often did not share the same mindset as those within the Gotei 13. Kyoraku mentioned that while the Gotei was a little egotistical, due to their goals and desire to go about things their own way that they knew was right. The Royal Guard was the same, but different in their manner of showing it, mainly because they had flair when they went about their business.
"Move it chumps!" The strange man with the elongated pompadour shouted out, chewing on a bit of straw as he marched forward. "Make way for the great Zero Division, the meanest and bad-ass S.O.B's of all Shinigami!"
The Captains did not reply to the taunt or gusto of the tall Captain, instead their posture remained sullen and features grim. Even if they were acting like a bunch of assholes with their entrance, they knew better to start a scuffle with the big weights of the Shinigami. That was especially true in a time like this, when they needed unity more than ever.
Sadly they were making it difficult.
"Have you noobs been taking your vitamins? And going to bed early?" He yelled, obviously trying to rile up those around him, likely to show off his own superiority or to get them to lighten up. It was not working.
"These guys must have gone off the deep end for being up there too long." Shinji mumbled to himself, but immediately was knocked back by a slap to the face.
"What the hell!" Shinji yelled, propping himself up and glaring at the plump woman that had hit him. "Why did you hit me?"
"Shinji-san! It is so good to see you again!" The plump woman of the ground said, her face large and her eyes closed. "Where is little Hiyori-san? It is so weird not seeing her with you. Always pulling on your hair and punching you!"
"Wait… who the hell are you?" Shinji asked, he wasn't very sure but that voice did sound very familiar; also what she said kind of reminded him of something.
"Shinji! How could you forget about little ol' me? It's me Kirio!" She said, and instantly it clicked for Shinji.
This was the old Captain of the Twelfth Division, Kirio Hikifune. She was like a mother to Hiyori and someone she respected probably more than anyone else. He had not seen her in over a century after she was accepted into the Royal Guard. She had really changed, and his following lines confirmed that.
"Kirio!? What happened to…? You've cha… Did you go through some kind of metamorphosis or something?!" Shinji asked, wondering what happened to that well rounded and hourglass hot piece of ass he remembered from back in the day.
"Oh Shinji, still so flitty you are! I haven't change at all!" Kirio said, making Shinji splutter at the insult at his masculinity or possible sexuality. "Ah, I am so hungry, do you have any rice balls on you! You seem to like those when I was here last!"
"Unohana! Good to see you, been keeping up with your studies I hope, making sure people are alive and well. I hope so; I taught you a lot of that junk!" The long haired man said, leering down at Unohana and making a face as he chewed on the straw in his mouth.
Unohana looked up at the tall lanky man, she had known him from over a Thousand Years ago when the Gotei began. He was among one of its Captains, Tenjirō Kirinji, he would go on to new things and teach her to use healing Kido.
"Naturally." Unohana replied, and instantly he rebutted her single worded reply.
"Really!? Because last I heard there are a lot of bodies piling up! What up with that woman!?" Tenjiro yelled out, walking away as if he was washing his hands of her. "Come up! Speak up! What is the problem here!?"
Unohana did not reply, instead she stared at him with a neutral gaze.
Only for the tense moment to be ended when the leader of the Zero Division appeared, wrapping his arm around the man's shoulder and defusing the entire situation. A smile on his bearded face, the only hair on his head as he was shaven clean.
"Now, now! No need to get caught up in such banter, we can catch up later when we are done with this war!" Ichibe Hyosube said, smiling broadly as he walked forward and unslinging his hand from the taller man who scoffed.
"You and the Zero Division seem to be as happy as ever Oshou, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Kyoraku inquired, looking at the happy Monk with an emotionless gaze, telling him to get to the point.
"We are here by Royal mandate to help rebuild the Soul Society, when this war is over of course. But it looks like we don't need to do much; most of the place looks intact." Ichibei said, glancing out over to the surrounding area to see that the Seireitei was mostly in one piece, a few choice places in rubble. "Now that is cleared up we can move onto the next task!"
"Next task? What the fuck is going through that head of your!?" Sui-Feng yelled, glaring at them, they acted so go-lucky and carefree that they didn't give a damn about the damage and loss of life. "Where was that damn smugness of yours when the Soul Society was being invaded? Where was it when everyone who was fighting to defend it was being torn apart!"
The Captains did not speak or halt her triad, they decided better to let her voice her aggravation, all had their misgivings about the events that transpired. But they chose not to voice their own grief, instead focus on the events that were to come rather than what has already come to pass.
"But now you come here, the gallant Zero Division, and start gallivanting around and proclaiming that you will be protecting the Soul Society after the fact, give me a fucking break!" She yelled, clearly agitated at their arrival, especially when most of them did not visibly react or even acknowledge her rant.
"Anyway. We are here for several reasons." Ichibe continued. "We are here to…"
"Shut up! Don't act like you can't hear me! What the hell gives you the right…!" Sui-Feng shouted.
"What give us the right?" Tenjiro Kirinji said, appearing behind her and locking her arms behind her back. "Don't give us that shit; you know who we are and what you are. You are a soldier of the Gotei 13, get that through your thick skull girl. Your job is protecting the Soul Society, while the Imperial Special Forces is the protection of the Royal Palace."
He glared down at her, obviously disapproving of her jabs at them. But she could only glance over her shoulder in shocked anger that he had gotten behind her and locked her arm behind her back.
"You bear that honor and yet to go around crying and wailing when something doesn't go your way." He said. "You got the shit kicked out of you and now you whine because it happened, what a disgrace you are to even hold that title."
Sui-Feng growled under her breath, she didn't doubt his words, but the fact remains that the Soul Society is in danger and they had offered no aid. How could she not feel angry at them coming here and flaunting themselves like peacocks and acting like they are the best thing in the world?
But she was saved from making such a comment when Ichibei decided to interfere, quickly pulling Tenjiro off the Captain and tossing him back. He then chopped him on the head and dropped the man to the ground, obviously chastising him for getting ahead of himself.
"That is enough, we have things to do, and now is not the time to chat about our jobs and duties." Ichibei said, looking at the Captains seriously. "We are here to settle several things, and also collect a few people."
"Collect?" Joshiro inquired, the Royal Guard was a strange group.
They have made great contributions to the Soul Society, some straightforward, while other are abstract and obscure. But it was this man that was the most obscure, he was the first of the Guard yet his origins were a complete mystery. Even his title was hard to put down, and how he obtained it.
"Yes, mostly those who are going to be major players in this war, after all we can't let good potential be wasted, especially if they die." Ichibei said, smiling wide and cheerily. "Now we need to go get them."
"All of them are at the Fourth." Senjumaru said, looking off towards the building, and in her prosthetic hands were three Zanpakuto, familiar ones. "We should conclude things here; we are on a deadline after all."
"Excellent, afterwards we can take a little stroll towards the Tenth and meet up with this High Shaman Mairne Ragetotem character. I have a few words to speak with him." Ichibei said.
Many raised a brow at the words that left the High Priests mouth; it was obvious that he knew more about this Tauren than anyone else. But how much was undetermined, after all they had no knowledge of the man in question.
"You two know each other?" Kyoraku interjected.
"No, never met, but I would like to speak with him before we depart back to the Spirit King's Palace." Ichibe replied.
Kyoraku raised an eyebrow; this guy was going to be leaving them so soon after only just getting back? That was strange. He had expected them to remain for a while and actually do some talking, maybe with them or the Fleet. Yet while that was going to happen he was interested to see what the man would say to the Seventh Fleet Commander. Would be interesting.
Fourth Division
More Shinigami were being carted in to be treated, crammed into room and onto the floor, this place was becoming a mad house. With all the screaming, from the wounded and the medics treating them it was impossible to hear anything.
"We need to get his reishi under control, he is losing it too quickly, he will go into shock if we don't stabilize it!" One medic yelled to another.
"Dammit, get the regeneration kit in here! This guy needs a new everything!" Another cried, looking to see a balding man, his body charred and looking to be already dead, but the monitors showed he was mostly alive.
"Sir, she's hemorrhaging!" Another cried, looking he saw a woman with pale grey hair bleeding profusely, lying next to the balding man. "Shit, all her nerve endings are shot and her brain is a mess! What happened to them?"
"Electrocuted, badly, lucky they are alive right now, don't know if they will make it through the day." Another replied, working on another man who had a burn mark over his stomach, that also exposed an open wound the exited out his back.
'This looks bad,' Ichigo thought, seeing all these people dying, it didn't lift his spirits, they plummeted.
These guys fought tooth and nail and they were likely all going to die in the next few hours, and the war hadn't even begun yet. This attack was just one of likely dozens to come and so many were wounded and dead, he remembered the count being over two five hundred, but how many people were actually in the Gotei 13?
"Listen if you can help them, I am all for it, but you need to wait for my Captain." Ichigo turned to see Yasochika speaking with someone.
A man in long flowing robes lead a group into the Fourth Division, they were in armor and robes of silver and black. On their chests was a long white tabard with a golden sun emblem on the cloth with black rays expanding out of it.
"We have orders to be here, we will be assisting you in stabilizing the wounded, let us do this and save as many as them as we can." The man said, he kept his voice calm and civil, appearing to be quite serene, which was weird for a guy to do.
"Listen, Thomas right? Give me some breathing room here, I should be helping these people and not monitoring you all to make sure you are doing your job." A Third Seat said, clearly frustrated.
"Then let us do our job, we have a thousand healers ready to tend to the wounded, allow us to do so and we can save and prevent more of your men from dying." Thomas replied, gesturing to the others to get moving.
"We do not know what effect you will have on the patients, we don't even know if they will do anything and if you are doing it right." Yasochika said, trying to stop them from going past but failing.
Instead of listening Thomas raised his hand and placed it on the head of one of the people, who was leaning against the wall and grasping at his perforated chest.
The man screamed as he was enveloped in light, he did not scream but let out a startled gasp as his entire body glowed. But within a few seconds he slumped back and was unconscious, the doctors moved over to check on him.
"God dammit!" Yasochika said, drawing his Zanpakuto and pointing it at the man, who didn't even flinch. "I am warning you. Do not…"
"Incredible, he's fine…" A medic said.
Yasochika turned to see the previous wounds the man had sustained, several burns and punctures from reishi-based attacks, had been completely healed. Although his skin seems to have a small patches where the burn were healed, but he looked completely fine.
"My powers will heal them, the Light heals all who are worthy of its touch, and you are worthy of its touch. I will be working with others to help heal the critically wounded, am I understood?" Thomas said, turning and motioning the rest of the healers forward. "Now, start giving us patients, we will take as many of them off your hands as we can."
"Wait… we can't just…" Yasochika said, trying to get a word in, but he was unsure how to continue.
"It is alright, these men are here under my orders." Unohana said, stepping forward and looking calm, but her smile was not present, she was serious and too the task. "They will help us with the wounded, begin dividing them up amongst those critically wounded, their abilities will be of great use."
"Y-yes Unohana-taicho!" Yasochika saluted, before ushering the man forward without any hesitation, the word of his captain was law, and began rambling on about where he needed them to be.
Thomas remained and nodded to the woman.
"Thank you my lady, I will have my people do everything they can to help your wounded and your medics." Thomas said, giving a small bow before walking off.
Ichigo stepped around the newest healers that entered the Division, moving with Isane, but he did pass one of their healers and watched her inject something into a person. He watched as their wounds began to heal at a rapid rate, it almost reminded him of Hollows high speed regeneration abilities.
"He's stable for now, the serum will help him regenerate, and keep injecting it regularly and he will regrow his internal organs. But you will need to keep an eye on his heart and brain." The Healer said, speaking with three Fourth Division medics who nodded and carted the man off.
It would seem that maybe everyone had some hope of survival now, it was good, and with the way this place was piling up he was scared that people would be dying in droves. Soon enough he was pulled from his thoughts as he stepped into an empty room.
"Where are we? Who was supposed to be here?" Ichigo asked, turning to Isane, who was looking around the room confused.
"I'm not sure; last I saw he was here, I remember that I told him to stay here while I got…" Isane said, but was interrupted by a loud exclamation.
"Attack!"
Ichigo glanced up and saw something falling towards him from the light above, he couldn't make out anything other than the cartoonish shaped head on a small body. As soon as it landed on his face he realized he recognized the voice.
"Ichigo, you bastard, what the hell? I am stuck up in this hell hole under the thumb of that clown faced madman and you do nothing!" Kon yelled, glaring at Ichigo as he fruitlessly pounded his fist into the substitutes face, doing absolutely nothing to him.
"Kon? Is that you?" Ichigo asked, grabbing the lion by the back of his head and holding him up, surprised by the sudden appearance of the plushy toy.
"Of course it is me! How could you forget about me!?" Kon yelled, obviously offended by the notion, pulling himself out of Ichigo's grip and jumping to the floor.
"I… uh, thought you were still at Urahara's." Ichigo replied, lying through his teeth as one would say.
"That was eight months ago you orange haired idiot! Why didn't you look for me?" Kon bawled out, ranting and raving.
"I honestly didn't think you would leave, and I kind of forgot about you after a while." Ichigo replied, he had wondered where Kon had gone; he didn't expect him to be in the Seireitei.
"How could you!?" Kon cried out, but was halted from further ranting when something went click and the plushy went rigid and straight. "Dammit… no… I don't like it when… you do that…"
"Hello! Hello! Can you hear me? This is Captain Sekushī, can you hear me out there ladies!" Ichigo glanced over to see the image of Urahara appear on the screen smiling goofy. "Oh, this isn't my usual dating site."
"Urahara, hey is everything alright? Are you guys okay?" Ichigo asked, looking slightly panicked, but he was allayed any fears by the reassuring smile on the Shopkeepers face.
"We are all good, that Quincy did get the drop on us sadly, nasty little trick he used to seal the Dangai and also keep fighting." Urahara said. "But we handled it, so no worries."
Ichigo let out a breath, he was glad about that; he knew that him being trapped in the Dangai had to be that Sternritter. There was no one else who could have done it, he was the only one who had reason to try and stop him.
"What is going on over there?" Ichigo asked.
"We are preparing a revolution." Urahara replied. "The Arrancar, we have worked out a deal with them, we continue our previous objective and we undermine the Quincy's hold over Hueco Mundo."
"You got them to agree?" Ichigo asked, surprised that they would be able to work something out so quickly.
"Yep, in fact they are more than willing to help out, those Fraccion are really eager to help get their boss back, along with those they could scrounge up." Urahara replied. "We came to an arrangement and now all we have to do is follow through with it."
"How? As far as I know the Quincy are only occupying Hueco Mundo, how are you going to invade their main base." Ichigo asked.
"Not planning too, we simply keep them busy here and work out their plans, at best I will look into reversing the process of their Bankai thieving and see if we can give Soul Society some time to prepare for the next invasion." Urahara replied.
"But what about me, do you need me to come back?" Ichigo asked, wondering if he would be of more use there than in Soul Society.
"No, you should stay where you are and focus on something else." Urahara replied, becoming serious, more so than before. "Ichigo I can tell something is wrong; it is all over your face, something happened when you got to Soul Society. I don't know what it is, but I think you need to focus on that and fix it, because we are going to need you at top form when the time comes."
Ichigo could understand that, he wasn't exactly focused right now, with everything going on he could barely think of one thing before having his mind move onto another. His friends that were in danger of dying from their wounds, his home that may be in danger from attack by Quincy, to this strange family history he is completely unaware of.
He has so much that needed to be sorted out that he didn't know where to start and fix it, and who could help him deal with all these problems. Ichigo had no idea where to start and what do to, but if he needed to stay here to figure it out, then it was best if he did it.
"How do I do that?" Ichigo inquired, looking up at Kisuke, who smiled and replied in good humor.
"You often make a choice that works out, go with the flow and do what you feel is right." Urahara replied. "Don't worry about us Ichigo, do what you need so that when the fight begins, you can be ready to take part."
Ichigo continued to stare at the screen for a while, he wondered for a moment how he would go about regaining some form of calm and control. But he knew that he would have to find a way, there was too much riding on this war to give up and give into his doubts. He had something to fight for, to protect, and if he had doubts, then he would need to find a way to get rid of them.
"We'll see you later Ichigo, good luck." Urahara said, switching off the communicator and leaving Ichigo to think over his next move.
Ichigo decided not to think too hard, moving to think of the first thing he could work on, he looked over his shoulder and towards the hilt of Zangetsu. One issue he found was regarding his Zanpakuto spirit, he had become quiet, almost gone since his arrival in the Seireitei. When Ichigo faced Yhwach, the felt the familiar weight of Zangetsu's presence on his shoulders had disappeared.
'Where are you Zangetsu, why did you hide from him?' Ichigo thought.
"You must be Ichigo Kurosaki."
The Substitute turned to find a large bald man behind him, large prayer beads around his neck and a smile on his face. Ichigo was weirded out for a moment, not understanding where this guy came from and why he was smiling so big.
"Yeah, that's me." Ichigo replied. "Who are you?"
"Oh… my name is Ichibei Hyosube, I am from the Zero Division." The Monk replied, smiling with teeth as he looked at Ichigo. "I need you to come with me to the Royal Palace."
Ichigo looked a little perplexed with the statement, he just met the guy and now he is taking him to the Royal Palace. Did he mean the spiritual realm where the Soul King resides; why in the hell was he going there? Why the hell would he need to go there? That was the better question.
"Uh… why?" Ichigo asked.
"Because we need you to come with us, you have many questions I suspect and also likely have need of answers." Ichibei replied.
"Yeah, I have been getting that a lot." Ichigo replied, before he felt the weight on his back disappeared, he turned to see Zangetsu in the hands of some strange guy.
"Damn, look at this, all form and no substance, like an empty bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, which is real weak man." Oetsu said, looking Zangetsu over and shaking his head in disappointment.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" Ichigo demanded, moving over for his blade but halted when he found the man was no longer in front of him.
Ichigo turned to see him leaning against the entryway, casually twirling the handle of Zangetsu between his fingers. Ichigo was starting to get annoyed with this guy, but stopped when Ichibei interjected on their little argument.
"Do not worry, he is looking over the sword, that is his job after all, and I agree that it is not as it should be." The Monk said, looking over to the blade and frowning.
Ichigo looked at it critically, it was obvious that something was wrong, his Zanpakuto had become empty when he fought with it. Even when he was using his Bankai he could feel the blade become slack and heavy, as if Tensa Zangetsu didn't want to fight any longer.
"Do you know what is wrong with Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked, watching as Oetsu scoffed and threw the blade at Ichigo, who caught it by the hilt.
"Who wouldn't, a blade like that is a mess, you should be ashamed of yourself for letting it remain like it is, a true shame." Oetsu said, crossing his arms and showing clear disappointment.
"What? What are you talking about; I have no idea what you are going on about." Ichigo argued back.
"But you want to know don't you?" Ichibei asked. "Then come with us, there is much you do not know, and I think that the trip to the Royal Palace is needed. I promise you this, every question will be answered, and every doubt laid to rest."
Ichigo looked at him for a moment, surprised by the statement; he wanted to ask what he meant, and how he knew.
"Let us be frank, you have always been unaware of your own history, your own past, even the meaning behind your own name." Ichibei replied. "I can tell you now that your name while does carry significance to you, it also carries significance to another."
Ichigo looked at him for a moment, not understanding what he was going on about, his name didn't mean what he thought it did. He would have thought he was making a joke that his name meant Strawberry. But the way he was speaking showed that may not be the case.
"Step alongside me, and when we arrive at the Royal Palace, we can begin to show you not only who you are, but what you can become." Ichibei turned and moved for the door. "We promise that your fears will disperse and that what shall return will give you clarity and understanding. For when you stand tall and aware, it is then that you will know where you will stand in this war."
Ichigo scowled, thinking it over for a few seconds. He knew he needed answers, to so many questions, and if this man can answer them and finally allow him to stand back on his feet without anything holding him down. Who was he to object? It was time he went with the flow.
"Alright, let's go to the Royal Palace." Ichigo said, he would have felt anticipation to enter a place that no one but these Royal Guardsman have set foot it, but he felt more resolved to finally find the answers he needs.
"Excellent, now that is settled we can get the others." Ichibei said, moving out of the door.
Ichigo quickly sheathed Zangetsu and followed after the monk; walking in step with the large man he followed him through the Division.
"What do you mean the others?" Ichigo asked, before he was answered when he saw a woman, that was floating above the ground, with several translucent balls in the air containing Byakuya, Renji and Rukia.
He saw Unohana arguing with her, but she was quickly cast down by a verbal rebuttal from another man. Ichigo was surprised that a guy could talk with her like that, and not get even a glare from the Captain of the Fourth Division. He guessed that they were other members of the Zero Division, and they had rank or privilege to talk to her like that.
"Now who the hell are you shrimp?" Tenjiro said aloud, looking down at the man known as Thomas.
"Thomas Hopebright, Priest of…" The man tried to speak but was stopped when the large lanky man yelled out again.
"What a pansy-ass sir name!" Tenjiro yelled, obviously causing trouble, and from the frown on the young man's face he did not like the jest. "But looking at such a pansy-ass man, it is no surprise!"
"I do request that you keep quiet, you are disturbing the patients, and are rather insulting. Please try to be more courteous." Thomas tried to say, but again the man ignored him.
"No can do! I am here to look around and what do I find, a bunch of schmuck in the Fourth Division, using all kinds of weird crap on these Shinigami. It has me interested!" Tenjiro said, before pulling out a bottle of red liquid. "Like this here!"
He took a sip and then twirled it around in his mouth and swallowed.
"Good stuff, allows for higher cell division and regeneration, but not just to bones and tissue, but actually moving through the blood along all the vein and artery paths in the body that allows for it to act on organs as well! Very nice!" Tenjiro said. "I will be taking some of this with me! See if I can incorporate some of it into my Blood Bath."
"You are more than welcome to…" Thomas tried to say.
"Thanks little girly man, now make way, I have people to save!" Tenjiro brushed pasted him, who only looked on with a sour expression.
"That man is quite dislikable." Thomas remarked.
Unohana only sighed and gave a nod before she turned towards the Division Barracks and walked back inside, Thomas trailing behind her. Ichigo watched them pass and he tried to say a greeting to Unohana but she did not seem to be there at the moment. She walked past Ichigo without looking or saying a word.
"Unohana-san?" Ichigo mumbled, surprised to see her so down, but given the circumstance he could understand.
"Are we done?" Senjumaru asked, gaining Ichigo's attention, and received a nod from the priest.
Senjumaru turned and hovered over towards Ichibei and Ichigo, she glanced at the substitute before turning to the Monk. Ichigo was a little unnerved by the woman who floated off the ground and had those strange bone-like limbs behind her back.
"We have them, we can go now." she said, before motioning off towards the main gate in the east.
"Yes, we have everyone, but we first must speak with the High Shaman. He is in the South sadly. After that we can return to the Royal Palace." Ichibei said.
Ichigo followed after the four people, he guessed they were all part of the Zero Division, but he wondered who their Captain was or even how many of them were there. But he decided to focus on the task of following these guys. But then he noticed a rather plump woman below next to a large white pillar that she had on a cart.
'These guys are very weird,' Ichigo thought to himself.
"Why do you want them for?" Ichigo asked, looking at the wounded three in the bubbles.
"We need to bring them back for healing; they are wounded and can't be treated here." Tenjiro said. "So we are taking them to the Royal Realm for some right ol' healing by me, the best Healer there is."
As they moved down the street they garnered a lot of attention, apparently the Shinigami were in awe of them. Ichigo guessed that they saw them as idols and the greatest warriors in the afterlife; he didn't doubt that, being a member of the Royal Guard likely meant that they were powerful.
But something that Ichigo picked up on were the others in the Seireitei, mainly these unknown people from this Seventh Fleet of the Army of the Light. He could see them staring and whispering at one another, but it was all focused on him. They were all talking about him, he could hear a few things being said, and it was obvious that the Royal Guard could as well.
"Damn, you're a celebrity outside of the Soul Society as well, you must feel so smug." Tenjiro said aloud.
Ichigo didn't reply, just listening to what they were saying. He picked up on several things, a few words on who he may be, and mentioning some place called Argus. But it was what they were referring to him as, 'The Black Knight', 'The Savior', and 'The End of the Deceiver'.
He didn't know what that all meant, but he had to guess that it meant something to them, and the way they were staring at him, showed he was important in some way. From what that massive bull-man said he had come to meet him.
Ichigo guessed that he was going to be doing something after this, and based on the hope he saw in these people's eyes, he knew they needed him to do it. He had never seen anything like it before, and it was actually daunting to feel like he was needed.
"How are you setting up?" Kyoraku asked, walking towards Mairne who was coordinating with three people.
"We will be setting up a temporary command post here; mainly to funnel in and out troops from the Seireitei back to our base." Mairne replied, before he looked out into the open area behind the Tenth Division.
There were few structures in this area and it allowed for a great deal of freedom for him to have his people move around and do what they need to do without interference. Here he could have a small force of soldiers on hand to coordinate with the Shinigami while the rest return to the Garadar.
"I have selected a man for you." Mairne said, gesturing to the side and calling someone forward.
A Death Knight walked over, wearing light blue metal armor and a similarly colored hood. On his back was a large scythe. Yet it was his appearance that was a little surprising. Kyoraku had only ever seen one wolf-like creature before and that was Komamura, never before had he need another before.
"This is Reginald Blackgrave, he will be helping you with information on the Shadow Realm, I will also contact one of my warlocks when the time comes." Mairne said.
"Greetings." Reginald stated, giving a nod towards the Shinigami.
"Hey." Kyoraku replied. "Central is going to have a field day with this."
"I cannot sway your governing body, all I can do is aid you in this fight when it comes, and it is you who needs to make them understand the importance." Mairne replied, receiving a nod from the Captain.
"I know, that doesn't make it easier thought. And just a heads up, the Zero Division want a word with you." Kyoraku said. "I advise caution; they may not like having you here."
"I will deal with it when the time comes." Mairne replied, before he looked past the Captain and them let out a sigh. "Seems that the time is now."
Kyoraku turned and low and behold was the Zero Division making their way towards them, Ichigo in tow and appearing to be confused as to why he was here. Also he noticed that there were three spheres in their possession, and he noted that there were three familiar faces in them.
'What are they up to?' Kyoraku thought.
"Ah! You must be the leader of these people. Mairne Ragetotem if I am not mistaken." Ichibe said, strolling forward and showing positivity and cheer.
Mairne raised a brow at his approach, it seemed out of place in such a dim and gleaming site that use to be a battlefield. But he did not judge, these people were quite eccentric and he couldn't really try to understand the mindset of gods.
"Yes, I am, and it is an honor to meet one who serves the god of this world." Mairne said, giving a short bow towards the Shinigami.
"Oh, no need for bowing, I am here to chat." Ichibe replied. "You know you coming here has caused quite a stir, and not all of it good."
Mairne glanced at him, he could understand that.
"I have tried to make amends to our previous engagements with your people, but it was spurred on by the Quincy." Mairne said.
"No, it was spurred on by you." Ichibe replied, not sounding convinced of Mairne statement.
"Would you repeat that?" Mairne inquired.
"Your actions against us have been by your own volition." Ichibe replied. "You knew about the Quincy and their subtle manipulations before we were aware, and despite that you played right into their hands. You nearly damage the only force capable of maintaining balance in the Seireitei and did so knowing full well what we are and of our importance."
Mairne narrowed his eyes slightly; he was accusing him of being the instigator in this despite having firsthand knowledge and the Shinigami having none.
"You expect me to take blame for you being ignorant?" Mairne inquired. "On every occasion we warned you of the Quincy and tried to tell you of their plot and we were met with violence in turn. How is this our fault? How is anything that we have done an inconvenience to you?"
"First you decided to get involved in matters that did not concern you." Ichibe replied. "Then you decided that one life was more valuable than every single person on this world. For someone preaching about protecting and seeking to aid us in maintaining the balance you sure were quick to cause chaos."
"If you are referring to the attack we were to carry out it was to rescue someone of grave importance. Someone you refused to hand over to us, and were willing to let over two hundred and forty of your people to die for that." Mairne replied. "I am no fool here, and while my actions were not in the best interest of this world, it was in the best interests for my own mission."
"Your own mission involves destroying this world? You call yourselves protectors? You would risk an entire world simply to save one person." Ichibe replied. "The Gotei was forged to protect the Balance between the Soul Society and the Present World; you disturbed that by interfering and acting of your own. Look at the damage you nearly caused."
"I did what was necessary, I was asked to send those warning and put my people in harm's way to make sure it reached you. It is not my fault that you remained blissfully ignorant of those warnings. Had I not sent this army, the Quincy would have invaded regardless and decimated your forces." Mairne replied.
"Yes, likely as they did now, but even with that knowledge you still tried to attack and disturb the balance. I want to know why, why you tried to break apart our fragile system we have in place." Ichibe replied. "The Balance exists to be protected by the Gotei, there is not greater mission for the Gotei or the world. You tried to undo that by acting the way you did."
"Why?" Mairne asked. "I fight to stop an evil worse than those upstart Quincy, a force that could decimate not only them but you in turn if they so wished. You think you can judge us simply because we attacked without thinking about the consequences of our actions. I did, and I saw the risk and took it anyway. And you wish to know why? Because your balance means nothing in the grand scheme of things."
There was a standoff between the two.
"I have been fighting an enemy that would see this world and thousand others burn to ash." Mairne growled. "You are no more important than any of those worlds out there. Your balance is a drop in the void of the Greater Dark compared to the chaos that ensues across the universe because of the force that we fight. Had I followed my orders to the letter I would have not bothered to look into helping you arrogant and egotistical gods that think yourselves to be the only intelligent life in this universe."
There was a brief pause in reply, it was obvious that they were stepping into some very tense waters right now.
"And how does one person amount to saving all those worlds?" Ichibe asked, looking at him blankly. "It doesn't does it? Because you said so yourself, if we are no more important than us falling holds no importance to you. So why was it you wanted to get involved when this enemy of yours, so worse than the Quincy, is not here?"
Mairne looked at him for a moment.
"Because of him." Mairne said, pointing towards Ichigo.
"All because of one boy?"
"Sometimes that is all that is needed, sometimes you only need a small flicker of hope from one person to ignite others." Mairne replied.
"You have been fighting so long that you forgot why you are fighting haven't you?" Ichibe inquired.
"I fight for every world assailed by the Great Enemy, for every world saved is another race saved from the fire." Mairne replied, but even his excuse was hollowly delivered.
"Yet now you stand here in the Seireitei that you nearly tried to raze to the ground to save one person and because of another, for what? To continue your war that means nothing to us?" Ichibe inquired. "What you did go against everything you claim to be, defenders of the innocent and protectors, your actions nearly doomed us all."
"I do not admit innocence in what I did, but I will not condemn my actions when I have been fighting for the last decade to save as many as I can from the shadows." Mairne replied. "As I said your Balance means nothing to me. But in turn, my own wars mean nothing to you; I will not expect you to understand the greater scope of things."
Ichibei did not reply at first, but rub his head.
"But what I see is the fact that you were willing to destroy what we have been protecting for thousands of years for such shallow reasons. It makes me wonder if you are any better than the Quincy." Ichibe said. "
Mairne narrowed his eyes at that statement. He did not do this out of some foolish need of revenge or anger for his apprentice being taken hostage. He did it because the Fleet needed a flicker of hope in order to remain strong in the face of overwhelming and unending war.
"I fight for a cause, one that was thrust upon us and we chose to follow it because I believed in it. I do what I do for the Army of the Light because I know it is right, I fight because I know if I do not than more suffering will unfold until I decide to take up that torch." Mairne replied. "Every single soldier in this Fleet has taken the oath to fight to their last to stop our enemy. We will do anything we can to stop them."
"Where do we fit into that? Where does our destruction lay when you march on to claim your victory against the Legion?" Ichibe replied.
"I never intended for your destruction, it was forced upon us, I only sought the one thing that could see a future where we may actually win and know peace." Mairne replied, appearing to tire and grow weary. "You have faced the never-ending war of the Balance longer than us, and I ask how it feels to not see an end to this struggle. But to feel that it will end only when you are but dust and echoes, and your struggle is in vain."
Ichibe looked at him for a moment.
"You did what you did because you were scared were you, scared that the only light you had in that Fleet of yours would be gone?" Ichibe replied. "Understandable, hope is a powerful thing. But your actions against us have left me soured in regards to you."
"We do what we must, after all we all are not above sin, your forces may protect the balance but not all things you do are for the greater good. You and I both know that these struggles are not won by ideals, sometimes we must dabble in darker aspects in order to win." Mairne said.
Ichibe actually looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing the words before nodding his head.
"You and the Gotei have a lot in common you know. Both of you fight for balance in two area, some are larger in some respects but the methods we achieve them are different." The Monk said. "I have been given a mandate from the Soul King in regards to you."
"And what would that be."
"You are allowed to station your forces here to fight; the Gotei will be working alongside you in fighting the Quincy." Ichibe replied.
"He accepts our presence?" Mairne inquired.
"He tolerates it." Ichibe replied. "You have things here that are not meant to be, creatures that go against everything we stand for and that makes even my skin crawl. But if you are to make up for the damage you caused let this be an act of penance."
"You judge us too quickly; you continue to speak as this is our fault." Mairne said.
"As we talked about, your struggles and battles mean nothing to me, but now that our struggles have become yours it is best we fix them together." Ichibe replied.
"Why are you so accepting? You who is older than all Shinigami here are allowing us to remain and fight by the side of the Gotei." Mairne asked. "You criticize me, and my people, call our struggle incomparable to your own and yet still warrant us to come and fight."
"Personally I care not why you are here, but the Soul King does and has asked that you remain here so that you may aid the Gotei. I trust his decisions, and he made this one a long time ago and made it quite clear who you are." Ichibe replied. "And he was right about another thing."
"What would that be?" Mairne asked.
"You are straying from the Light." Ichibe replied.
Mairne did not reply to the statement, those words hit hard. The Fleet had become decadent, worse, the Army of the Light had begun to fade. It had resorted to means and ways that went against what it was meant to do.
Helping and aiding had turned into fighting and destroying. The Army of the Light was meant to be a beacon of hope for the different worlds they moved across, but in a way he feels that they have only become another moving armada that is fighting the Legion.
"For too long you have gone on fighting without realizing how much you have lost. Not just in people, but also in direction. I think maybe it is time that you get a little reeducation." Ichibe replied. "Maybe a little while with our people will help you with that. Sure they can be difficult, but maybe you will learn that just because they are strict doesn't mean they do not follow the right path"
"Maybe so, you do seem devoted to your duty." Mairne replied.
For a moment he remained silent, the Fleet had begun to degrade, and he doubted that in the following years that the true mission of the Army would remain. Simply fighting and killing the Legions forces, and then they would simply continue on from there. No, there had to be more to the Fleet than that. They had to rediscover why they fought so hard in the first place, and are willing to sacrifice everything to stop the Legion.
'Instead of sacrificing others,' Mairne thought to himself.
"You have been given permission to stay, he says that you would have a part to play in this war and those that are to come." Ichibe said. "I do not know what he means, but I have my suspicions that maybe your problems will becomes ours soon enough."
"I see, then we shall discuss this more when the war is done. I will prepare our forces then, and aid you as best we can." Mairne said, nodding towards the monk, who replied in turn.
As Ichibe moved away Kyoraku looked on a little lost, it was obvious that there was something more being said between the two and he had no idea how to process it. It was surprising really that Ichibe would have a mandate allowing the Fleet to remain; in fact he was wondering if he was going to actually start another fight to get them to leave. Instead it was an argument that ended with him saying that they could stay and fight.
"Hyusobe…" Mairne called, gaining the Monks attention. "Thank you for your words Guardsman, they have given me much to think about."
Mairne turned and moved off, planning on continuing his operation.
"Anytime." Ichibe replied, moving back towards his fellow Royal Guardsman and then smiling broadly. "Alright, back home we go."
"Uh…" Ichigo said, kind of put off with the way those two had been talking with one another.
At one point it looked like they were about to throttle each other, then it gets resolved somehow. It was weird, these people had been at each others throats recently and while he could understand that with the Quincy revealing themselves they would have put it aside. He never expected them to be working together to amicably, he actually expected some resistance.
With the Royal Guard he suspected that they would tell them to leave, but instead they stayed and were given a free pass into the Seireitei. He had no idea why that was but he guessed that the Soul King knew something that no one else did.
"Hey, I have been meaning to ask, how do we get to the Royal Palace?" Ichigo asked.
"Simple, when the Noble Houses were formed each one was given a special task." Shutura said, the woman hovering above the ground slightly while her skeletal arms held the orbs aloft. "The Kuchiki hold the entire History of the Soul Society, from its creation up till now. The Shihoin hold the Godly Tools that were given to them by the Gods. We are going to be visiting the ones that were given the task of protecting the passage to the Royal Realm."
"Really? Who is that?" Ichigo asked.
Kyoraku followed after Mairne, he had to speak with him on a few things.
"You know, you never did tell us about yourselves." Kyoraku said. "In fact Oshou seemed to know more about you than me, care to explain?"
"My forces and their history mean nothing at the moment; all that matters is what we can offer you." Mairne replied.
It was not the answer he was expecting from the High Shaman, or wanted really. But in truth he didn't really care, he just wanted details on how they could help one another. He did not know exactly this guy can offer besides troops, that wouldn't be enough otherwise it would be pointless bringing them along.
"Okay, what can you offer us?" Kyoraku asked.
Mairne did not reply before he reached for something and then tossed it at Kyoraku. He caught it and found to his surprise it was a gauntlet, silver in color and engraved in some runes. More than that it looked pretty simple, did they intend to actually give them armor.
"Really?" Kyoraku asked.
"Put it on." Mairne said, before turning and reaching for something else.
Kyoraku looked at him for a moment before he complied and put it on, and instantly noticed something. The runes along the surface of the gauntlet began to glow, flowing with energy. In fact then he felt something else, he felt it coming into him.
"What is this?" Kyoraku asked.
"Elementium, it is enriched metal that comes specifically from spiritual planes. It is metal infused with different properties and enhanced by the elements there. That one in particular is that of the Earth, it is weightier, but the effects are much more noticeable." Mairne said, gesturing over to a wall. "Strike."
Kyoraku walked over and drew back his fist and punched forward, it wasn't anything flash but it should make a dent. But his eyes widened when the force behind his hit actually broke down a section of the wall, having it crack and dent backwards.
"How the hell…?" Kyoraku said.
"Earth represents strength, power, and indomitable. That is what you gain from that single piece of armor there. The strength needed to overcome your foes and not fall." Mairne said. "I will outfit all your warriors with armor, enhance them as best I can and ensure that they are ready for the next fight."
Kyoraku looked down at the gauntlet, the pulsing green runes and veins along the metal surface surprised him as they continued to flow from it to him. Feeding him the strength of the earth and enhancing his already great strength.
"You rely too much on skills and control to guide you, but you are facing enemies that can match you and are even greater than you in many regards. So I offer you a new edge against them, a means to overpower them, counter their ability, and eradicate them." Mairne said, stepping forward and presenting him the full set of armor for the glove that had been given to Kyoraku.
Silver in color and engraved in many runes, while it appeared to be bulky Kyoraku could see that the armor was plated and seemed to be able to collapse down. Likely to be able to fit anyone of that particular size and race. But it was the runes that were emblazoned all over the armor that made his eyes widen, that would give anyone strength beyond measure.
"My warriors can only grow so strong, but you all have limitless potential to exploit, give me your trust and I will give you this war before the final battle is even waged." Mairne said
"I think we have something to talk about then." Kyoraku said, smirking as his hand flexed within the gauntlet, before quickly tightening into a fist. "But first let me ask you this? You got anything to match my style?"
Zero Division: Now if you think about it, the Zero Division is made up of some of the most arrogant bastards you could ever meet. They are loud, obnoxious and generally dislikable with the way they go about things. But despite that, they have flair and that makes up for it. Still they are an annoying bunch that is not unwilling to mess with the lowly Shinigami below them to prove their superiority.
But there is a reason for this, each of them is likely nigh immortal and has been up there for a long damn time. Each one has been given a place in the Royal Guard because they are better and have set themselves apart compared to the other Captains. And because of that they feel entitled and worthy.
The Light: Originally I had it that the Light affects Shinigami in a negative fashion. I changed that because as I said previous that Shinigami do not actually have any connection to any force within the expanded universe. Meaning they are not creatures of Death, but simply deal with death.
Mairne and Ichibei: Their talk was very important; it showed off a lot of details about the current state of the Fleet and their current status. As you have read into the Fleet has been suffering greatly over the many years of fighting and they are beginning to lose their hope to seeing an end where they can win. Because of this they have become detached from their original purpose. Such as interfering with the development of a world that they have no right to and for getting involved in the afterlife.
While both things were for the greater good it was still not their place to get involved in matters that did not concern them what so ever. Ichibei pulled them up on all the things they did wrong and Mairne knows he did wrong. Getting involved where he shouldn't have and nearly playing to the tune the Quincy played even when Mairne knew that this was happening. Ichibei basically beat him at his own logic and made Mairne accept that he fucked up and that he had to do better and not be so high and mighty when he betrays his own morals.
Armor: Now some of you will get annoyed at the fact the Shinigami are going to be getting armor. Let me say this, it is not going to be big bulky armor where they fight like medieval Knights. Instead it will be different and when I post the next chapter it will be explained in detail. In fact it will tie in to several things as well. So be patient and do not flame.
