It took a little longer to write this chapter than I anticipated, mostly because I went back and rewrote the introduction of Ragyo and Hououmaru into the story in Chapter 3. I recommend you go back and reread that chapter because I closed a lot of potential plot holes while clarifying a few things...as well as Ragyo's initial surprise at Kisuke Urahara's skills in weaving Mugetsu and creating a Bleach Bomb. The initial version was rather lackluster considering how much I've improved my writing, so it was necessary to go back and rewrite everything in Ragyo's introduction from scratch (especially considering her personality in that chapter was created prior to Episodes 18 and 19).
I also highly recommend you go back to Chapter 18 and reread the entirely of Isshin's flashback from start to finish. The reason why will become clear once you read through this chapter.
There is one other thing I need to mention. Grocamol on deviantart has commissioned an ongoing manga adaptation of my story, drawn by the extremely talented Ardeearollado. It's only five pages into the first chapter but I'm truly honored that someone would willingly pay an artist to draw a manga about my story.
So that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
...
Chapter 53 – Killer Queen
March 10, 1985 – Kiryuin Manor
"I'm sorry about Masaki."
Isshin Kurosaki pulled uncomfortably at the collar of his only formal business suit, a nonnegotiable requirement whenever he visited Ragyo, for the fourth time since walking through the front door. Grimacing at the sensation of the high-quality threads rubbing against his skin, the former shinigami ignored the tiny voice whispering from the depths of his mind that he could weave something truly worthy for a man of his station out of Life Fibers. He nearly laughed at the utter failure of a temptation. If he hadn't even tried sewing anything of his own accord over the last three years aside from Junketsu, which really didn't count as clothing given that she was technically alive, he wasn't about to start now.
And luckily enough the whisper in the back of his mind, the voice that first appeared in the aftermath of his encounter with the Original Life Fiber, had grown increasingly silent over the last few months. Maybe it finally realized it would never convince him to use Life Fibers and decided to give up.
"It's nothing more than a cold," Isshin half-smirked as he stopped trying to loosen his tie, the specially tailored suit quickly snapping back into place, "As long as my darling Masaki drinks plenty of fluids she'll be up and about in no time. But I'll be sure to pass along your condolences, Souichiro."
"That's good to hear."
Souichiro Kiryuin absentmindedly played with his wedding ring as he sighed in relief at the welcoming news. They had originally planned on visiting Karakura town several days ago but Ragyo's ongoing attempts to expand into the South American market and his Life Fiber research on Junketsu's sentience had forced a change of schedule. To think that something like a Kamui could function on nothing more than a few drops of Ragyo's blood per day, remaining completely mobile without any need of a host. It was remarkable. Every theory he had derived on Life Fibers assumed they required a host's bioelectrical energy to survive. Yet Junketsu sustained itself on nothing more than Ragyo's blood.
As the early afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows of the second floor corridor, saturating everything in yellow and white hues, Souichiro ignored the faint shouting coming from the foyer and rhetorically asked, "So how was your first impression of Kuroido?"
Isshin gave his friend a dirty look, the memory of the portly man attempting to slam the front door on his face still quite fresh, "He's not the friendliest person in the world."
"Sorry about that," Souichiro half-heartedly apologized, earning the man another glare from Isshin, "Soroi stepped down from steward of the manor a few months ago, forcing us to search for a suitable replacement. Kuroido might be a little…abrasive…but he takes his job very seriously. He was probably unaware of your tendency to walk through the front door without knocking. Or that you're one of Ragyo's oldest friends."
As the last vestige of Kuroido's distant shouting reached his ears, no doubt the result of Soroi explaining the identity of the man he recently insulted, Souichiro took the opportunity to examine Isshin's peculiar attire – a white business suit with matching red tie. There was no question that Ragyo personally designed the clothing, he could spot her patterns from over a mile away. But the bright red tie was undoubtedly Isshin's contribution to the ensemble, a somewhat childish act of rebellion against Ragyo's choice of attire. Yet the notion that his wife could force Isshin, the same man who constantly wore bright and highly clashing colors, to wear this particular suit whenever he visited Souichiro found utterly baffling.
"By the way…"
The Life Fiber scientist, one of only a handful of people in the world who understood the alien organisms to any appreciable degree, trailed off when Isshin attempted to adjust one of his sleeves. Repressing the desire to smoke, a habit he was trying to break, Souichiro decided to ask the single question that had been plaguing him for the last few minutes, "What did you do to your hair?"
Raising a hand to his hair, which once more resembled its original coloring from his tenure as captain of the Tenth Division, Isshin grinned proudly at the fact he wasn't shining with the colors of a rainbow and gave Souichiro a thumbs-up, "Hiding my stunning silver hair for more than a day or two proved difficult, a challenge I'm more than certain Ragyo knows far too well! It took countless nights of work but it's been almost a month since my naturally produced rainbow light penetrated THIS disguise! You should have seen Masaki's joyous expression when she realized she no longer needed sunglasses around the house!"
Souichiro sighed heavily and refused to say anything the rest of the way to Ragyo's office. Holding one hand against the partially open mahogany doors, the gentle tones of a familiar voice reaching their ears, the scientist looked over his shoulder and quietly asked, "Isshin, if it's not too much trouble can you teach your technique to Ragyo? I'm sure she will listen to you on the need to…more thoroughly…disguise herself in public."
"Nonsense!"
Isshin resisted the urge to interrupt his beleaguered friend's request before he could finish. Folding his arms as he loudly declared his intentions, the former shinigami turned around and sagely continued, "A man must never criticize their wife's inherent talents or beauty no matter how strange or outlandish their sense of fashion! It is our duty as husbands to say they're the most beautiful person in the entire world! Someone you would sacrifice everything to protect! Always approve of whatever they think is fashionable even if deep down you know that's not true."
"Is that right?"
The slightly amused voice carrying just the barest undertone of faux annoyance immediately caused every muscle in Isshin's body to stiffen. Adorned in a loosely fitting white business suit and matching skirt, jeweled earrings jangling lightly as she tilted her head sideways, Ragyo Kiryuin tapped a manicured finger against her cheek and smirked slyly, "I'm insulted by your flagrant lack of tact, Isshin. You should check to make sure nobody could eavesdrop before spouting such nonsense. What will Masaki think when I inform her of your opinion on the matter?"
Isshin sputtered incoherently at the thinly veiled threat, which caused a brief bout of subdued laughter from Ragyo. The former shinigami was unsure whether she actually intended to inform Masaki on his transgressions or was simply trying to get underneath his skin. In either case, this wasn't a bluff he was willing to call. Not when the end results involved a stern discussion from his lovely wife.
As the man furiously attempted to think of an excuse to minimize Ragyo's willingness to call Masaki, which from her expression seemed incredibly likely, his train of thought abruptly crashed and burned when Souichiro rubbed his nose and coughed awkwardly, "Isshin, your hair is showing."
"What?!"
Rushing around Souichiro faster than the scientist's eyes could process the movement, Isshin pressed his face against the mirror hanging on the nearby wall and stared in disbelief at the dim rainbow light penetrating his disguise. Damn it! More than a month without any problems, of not having to listen to Ryuken's dry and mocking humor about his hair, only for Ragyo to ruin everything with nothing more than a single jesting comment.
"Oh for the love of…"
Ragyo irritably rolled her eyes at the ongoing display of childish antics. She would never understand why Isshin stubbornly insisted on disguising his true appearance with something so boring. Neither of them should care what the rest of the world thought, especially those foolish men working to destroy Revocs and everything she cherished. Still, she had to give Isshin's remarkable technique credit. That he constantly strove to improve the duration of his idiotic disguise, ignoring every notion to the contrary, was only further evidence that the man should have been her Grand Couturier.
Yet she knew better than asking Isshin such a foolish question after his previous nineteen refusals.
The faint crying from the bundle held against her chest caused Ragyo's maroon eyes to narrow angrily. Immediately curling two fingers on her free hand through the air, shimmering strands of rainbow Life Fibers reflecting dimly in the sunlight, she lazily swung her arm downwards and harshly tore away the rest of Isshin's stupid disguise. Smiling pleasurably as the man's shoulders slumped in defeat, his glorious silver hair once more matching her own, Ragyo motherly cradled the infant in her arm and asked, "I'm sure you didn't come here just to cry in a corner like a petulant child, Isshin."
Isshin's self-induced depression was instantly forgotten when he noticed the small bundle held protectively in Ragyo's arms. Grinning widely when Satsuki's familiar blue eyes closed as she yawned and fell back asleep, he chuckled quietly and proudly boasted, "Well, it seems that I was right after all. Satsuki did, in fact, receive your – "
A soft smack interrupted the rest of the compliment when Rei Hououmaru appeared behind Isshin and firmly smashed her clipboard against the back of his head, "Please refrain from finishing that line of thought. Lady Satsuki is trying to sleep."
"What?" Isshin rubbed the spot Hououmaru hit with her clipboard and impetuously groaned, "I was just going to say Satsuki inherited Ragyo's – "
The stainless steel clipboard shattered in the secretary's fingers when she smashed it against the back of Isshin's skull a second time. Staring emotionlessly at the former shinigami as he rubbed his uninjured head, she adjusted her aviator sunglasses before stoically warning, "I understand you are enthusiastic about Lady Satsuki, Isshin, but attempting to comment on her appearance a third time will force me to break out the Anti-Life Fiber weaponry."
"Punishing Isshin is one thing…but please try not to break Revocs equipment in the process."
Ragyo lightly chastised Hououmaru's lack of proper forethought. Something as mundane and common as a steel clipboard wasn't enough to teach the notoriously stubborn but sweet man his lesson. A more delicate approach was necessary to get the point across to Isshin. Fortunately it appeared he was reluctant to repeat his mistake a third time. Handing Satsuki to Hououmaru, the secretary carefully cradling the infant in her arms, Ragyo flicked a strand of silver hair out of her eyes, "Please bring Satsuki to Soroi, Hououmaru. And schedule a conference with Xcution at the earliest possibly opportunity."
"Very well," Hououmaru bowed her head respectfully, careful not to wake Satsuki, before adding, "I thought you should also know that Motoko's unit reported from Berlin just over an hour ago. Their investigations suggest several organizations are preparing to break into our Tokyo research facility."
"How prévisible…"
Ragyo sighed in annoyance as Hououmaru left with Satsuki. Preventing Life Fibers from falling into human humans was proving excessively tedious, due in large part to the attempts by her rivals to constantly break into Revocs research facilities. One would think after witnessing their mercenaries devoured alive by Life Fibers, torn apart by the very threads they foolishly attempted to carry out of her facilities without proper protection, they would have given up. But the stupidity of humanity was endless. If, or rather when, Revocs gained full control of their companies she planned on enthusiastically dismissing their boards of directors down to the last man and woman…with prejudice.
"Humans just can't seem to resist the allure of Life Fibers."
Something about the way Ragyo said 'humans' rubbed Isshin the wrong way. But before he could voice his concerns on the matter, or how knowledge of Life Fibers spread to the rest of the world, she sauntered back into her office without another word. Turning to Souichiro for an explanation only for the scientist to shrug his shoulders in response, the exhaustion in his eyes slightly bothersome, Isshin pulled at the tight collar of his suit before walking into the spacious and accommodating office.
"I know I've been out of the loop for a while," Isshin's hair shifted in the early spring wind gently gusting through the open windows behind Ragyo's desk. Frowning pensively as she sat down with a tired groan, he rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "But how did anyone learn about Life Fibers?"
"An ex-employee…"
The guilt and self-loathing in Souichiro's voice surprised Isshin, "A geneticist I personally hired to help improve our understanding of Life Fibers. She was one of the best in the field, someone that could have broken down the evolutionary process that led to Life Fibers taking on their current form. But two months after being brought on board she leaked classified information on Life Fibers to several rival companies and governments."
"That's unlike you, Souichiro," Isshin folded his arms and frowned, "You're usually more careful about this sort of thing."
"Olivier's leading the investigation into how she slipped through security without getting caught," the Life Fiber scientist collapsed on the couch across the office from Ragyo's desk and grimaced, his expression suddenly twisting into a morbid grimace, "But we might never find out who hired her. Ten minutes after she released the information she tried stealing a bundle of Life Fibers without any protection."
"This sounds serious," Isshin had faith in Olivier's investigative capabilities but it was better not to take any chances with Life Fibers, "I know someone who –"
"Your assistance is appreciated but I'd rather not drag you into this atrocious mess," Ragyo passionately interrupted before Isshin could finish voicing his suggestion. A few minutes passed in silence, the tension building in the air as Ragyo signed several forms pertaining to recent acquisitions in South America and Europe, before the corners of her mouth curled upwards, "She's due next month, you know."
"Huh?"
Ragyo sighed deeply at the dumbfounded expression plastered across Isshin's face. Pressing a hand delicately over her stomach, the simple action enough to cause the man's maroon eyes to visibly widen, she patiently explained, "My second daughter – Satsuki's younger sister – is due in a few weeks."
"That's great news!"
All traces of somberness vanished into the spring breeze as Isshin flashed across the office and wrapped an arm proudly around Souichiro's shoulders, the scientist wilting in surprise at the overly friendly gesture. Thoughts of future play dates, birthday parties and other family events passing through his mind, the former shinigami chuckled sagely, "We should get Hououmaru to begin scheduling dozens of play dates for our children!"
Ragyo's maroon eyes widened fractionally at the confession, "Isshin, are you saying…"
"We found out last week," he proudly announced, the memory of Masaki's joyous smile shining brilliantly in his mind, "Our son's set to arrive in July!"
The pen in Ragyo's hand almost snapped in half, her self-control the only thing preventing blue ink from staining the documents scattered across her desk. As Souichiro congratulated Isshin, her husband offering to take him and Masaki out to celebrate, the Kiryuin matriarch's expression shifted between several conflicting emotions before she settled upon a simple smile, "I suppose congratulations are in order, Isshin."
Isshin scratched at his stubble-free chin and smirked, "Ichigo is going to have a hard time fighting off Satsuki and her sister when they're older."
"Already planning that far ahead? I don't…" Souichiro trailed off as the full weight of Isshin's statement came to light, "…did you say Ichigo?"
Ragyo felt a minor headache immediately start to develop in the depths of her mind at the particular choice of name Isshin decided to bestow upon his son. Leaning onto her hand and sighing impatiently when Souichiro's attempts to gently break the obvious news to the man fell on deaf ears, she waited several long seconds before dryly announcing, "Isshin, despite whatever YOU might think, Ichigo is most often a girl's name."
Isshin Kurosaki opened his eyes when the portable radio on the coffee table somberly announced severe thunderstorms set to arrive in the afternoon.
Staring silently out the living room window, faint traces of crimson pulsing across the glass from the customized Anti-Life Fiber protections he installed a few months ago, the former shinigami frowned at the slowly darkening overcast skies. It was going to rain soon, perhaps even before Ragyo and her army of COVERS arrived. The irony of the familiar situation was enough for Isshin to subtly clench his hand into a fist.
Dark and stormy days like this brought up terrible memories.
The rainbow undertone shining from his silver hair dimming minutely as the Anti-Life Fiber protections installed around the home hummed gently in his ears, an entirely separate one from the barrier around Karakura Town, Isshin grumbled quietly under his breath and sighed. Pulling a cell phone out of his pocket as he turned around, the floorboards creaking with every step, he tightly gripped the device at Yuzu and Karin's muffled conversation from the kitchen before taking a deep breath.
"I'm going out for a while!"
Despite the cheerful tone of his voice, developed after years of practice, Isshin's expression was etched into a tight grimace as he marched towards the front door. Staring at the phone when Yuzu nervously asked where he was going, the sullen mood enveloping Karakura Town over the last few weeks causing his most sensitive and caring daughter to constantly ask such questions, he wondered not for the first time if keeping them home was the smartest option. While his improvements around the house prevented any Life Fibers from entering or leaving without his direct permission – including his own – there were other places around the world equally safe from Ragyo's forces.
"It's dad business!" Isshin shouted loudly over his shoulder when he opened the front door and was promptly greeted by a gust of wind, "Don't leave the house until I get back!"
"Just make sure to kick her ass," Karin's annoyed response echoed dully from the kitchen.
"Karin! Language!"
...
Satsuki Kiryuin ignored the tense silence permeating the training ground underneath Kisuke Urahara's shop as she glared dispassionately at the elevator in the distance.
Nearly twenty minutes had passed since she initially informed Isshin Kurosaki of her mother's actions while ordering the remaining residents of Karakura Town, those who possessed the required strength and fortitude to stand firmly against Life Fibers, to gather within the secondary Nudist Beach headquarters. Such an order should have been followed without any issues given the size of the city. Yet while most of her friends and allies were already in attendance, two people remained suspiciously absent – Kisuke Urahara and Isshin Kurosaki.
It had been Yoruichi Shihoin who explained the former's sudden departure, albeit in a manner that expressed her deep annoyance with the exiled shinigami's eccentric behavior. If her story was accurate, Kisuke Urahara had vanished less than a minute after she informed them of the situation, leaving behind only a hastily typed note to explain his absence. Although this wasn't the first time the shopkeeper purposely left Karakura Town despite her orders, which caused Gamagori endless aggravation, the timing between her mother's offensive and his departure was too perfect to be coincidental.
She only hoped Kisuke Urahara's written claims of 'reinforcements' were not merely the man's usual ambiguousness.
Her greatest concern at the moment, however, was the conspicuous disappearance of Isshin Kurosaki. As the individual most capable of defeating her mother, Ichigo's father played a crucial role in defending Karakura Town. Yet the man had purposely decided not to attend the meeting.
The fact he profusely apologized over the phone before abruptly hanging up only made things worse.
"We cannot wait any longer."
Leaning over the table displaying a holographic representation of Japan, the forty-seven prefectures in the image colored in shades of green or red, Satsuki's expression tightened into a disciplined scowl as the surrounding murmurs immediately quelled, "Please begin, Inumuta."
Houka Inumuta pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he continued typing commands into Kisuke's computer. The collar of his Goku Uniform automatically unzipping when the three-dimensional image transformed into a replica of Honnou City, a spherical shimmer of light surrounding the academy at the center, he coughed gently, "Upon receiving Lady Satsuki's warning I immediately repositioned several of the Ishida Conglomerate's satellites above Honnou City. While it still remains virtually impossible to penetrate the Life Fiber Infinite Woven Barrier, I was able to detect large-scale movement over Tokyo Bay."
Uryu frowned at the familiar objects floating across the holographic image, "How many COVERS?"
"Fifteen thousand at the very least, empowered by the former residents of Honnou City most likely," Inumuta paid no attention to the varying outbursts of surprise by those present as his fingers responded to the information scrolling across the monitor, "At their current velocity the COVERS will reach Karakura Town in roughly thirty minutes."
"Trying to overwhelm us with quantity, huh? Luckily we have quality on our side," Ira Gamagori acknowledged sagely, his mood tempered by Jakuzure's obnoxious groaning and her subsequent commentary. Marching forward when something on the image caught his attention, he poked his finger at the holograph and asked, "What are these red dots?"
"I'm glad you asked."
Inumuta finished typing on the keyboard with a dramatic flourish, his finger loudly pressing one final button before turning around. Waiting patiently as the three bright red dots in the image grew larger, data and information rapidly scrolling down the computer's screen, the former hacker took a deep breath, "As some of you already know, the Life Fibers woven in every Goku Uniform possess a unique energy signature, which enabled Iori and myself to gather data on Ryuko Matoi and Ichigo Kurosaki's battles against the Club Captains back at Honnouji Academy. Using both the flash drive from the Moscow Distribution Facility and Kisuke Urahara's notes on spiritual energy, I managed to modify my software to detect the Life Fibers composing Xcution's individual raiment."
There's only three dots," Gamagori irritably pointed out, his face twisting into a contemplative scowl at the lack of helpful information, "Who are they?"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the sheer obviousness of his fellow Elite Four's question plucking a nerve, the former hacker tensely sighed before answering, "I'm afraid that's far beyond the limits of my software. We won't know their exact identities until they reach Karakura Town."
Satsuki furrowed her brow at the unwanted implications behind Inumuta's lack of useful information. Aside from Rei Hououmaru, there were five members of Xcution still remaining in her mother's employ. It was a noticeable decrease from the height of their power yet they still remained a formidable and highly dangerous force upon the battlefield. The presence of only three members, their raiment most likely newly stitched by the Grand Couturier was alarming for a variety of reasons. Her mother was not someone who would field only half of her elite operatives, those fanatically loyal to Life Fibers in both body and soul, against a target as hardened and resilient as Karakura Town.
She was missing something.
The traces of anxiety coursing through her calculating mind abated when Junketsu tightened around her body in a comforting gesture. Her glower lessening as she turned her attention onto the only person in the room more qualified to speak about Xcution than herself, Satsuki flicked an errant strand of hair out of her eyes, "Kugo Ginjo, as Xcution's former second in command, beholden to my mother's secrets for nearly twenty years, you possess greater insight into the organization than anyone present. Myself included. Who would Ragyo trust enough to lead this operation?"
"It's nowhere near that simple…"
The former substitute shinigami didn't look Satsuki when almost two decades of memories flashed through his mind, images of former colleagues screaming for help right before they were devoured by the Life Fibers in their uniforms or worse. Running hand through his combed back hair, Ginjo let out a deep sigh before elaborating, "Xcution is fanatically loyal to Revocs to the point of suicide, all thanks to Ragyo Kiryuin's Life Fibers woven into their raiment. Most of them don't last for more than a few years, which is why your mother hunts down teenagers with high resistance to Life Fibers. By the time they finish training with the Grand Couturier their minds are completely broken."
Folding his arms during the subsequent silence from the shocked and appalled audience, Ginjo's felt Ragnarok shift slightly across his back, "But don't underestimate Xcution. Ragyo might control them like puppets but they're still extremely dangerous. Some like Esdeath doesn't even need to transform to use their raiment's abilities."
A frustrated snort escaped Uzu Sanageyama's mouth at the reminder of his embarrassing loss, "Tell me about it. That sadistic bitch didn't even bother trying to activate her raiment."
Ginjo's grimace deepened as he finally turned to Satsuki, "Ragyo must have been concerned Xcution would accidentally kill the civilians before the COVERS had a chance to feed on them, especially considering Esdeath has a tendency to freeze everything to death whenever she activates her raiment. She probably ordered Xcution to only use a fraction of their full power."
"Who wasn't at Honnouji Academy?"
The seemingly innocuous question caused the already foreboding atmosphere to grow increasingly stiffening. Taking the former Student Council President's intrigued reaction to his observation as a sign to continue, Uryu flicked a finger against the frame of his glasses, "Alexander Anderson killed one member of Xcution while the other four survived with minor wounds. Kinue Kinagase dealt with another two before the festival. So excluding Ginjo and Hououmaru, that leaves one person unaccounted for…"
"Yuu Akiyama."
Satsuki mentally noted Kugo Ginjo and Yoruichi Shihoin's reactions to the name moments before her face twisted into an annoyed scowl. As a backdrop of blue-white light appeared directly behind her head, the fierce illumination bright enough to nearly penetrate every shadow in the room, she splayed her hands across the table and passionately declared, "By his own admission, Yuu Akiyama is a coward of the highest order. But don't let his childish behavior fool you! Yuu's most dangerous ability is not the uniform sewn from Life Fibers but his own mind! For only a genius could out-maneuver someone of Yoruichi Shihoin's caliber before escaping to London, where he proceeded to nearly hand the country to Revocs!"
Yoruichi grumbled at the unwanted reminder of her failure. After chasing the bastard halfway across the country, fighting her way through the hundreds of COVERS he placed in her path, she finally cornered him several kilometers north of Tokyo. But even after avoiding all of his traps, which was only possible thanks to years of working with Kisuke, the coward still managed to pull one over on her. When she grabbed the bastard by the neck and prepared to tear the raiment from his body, Yuu had pulled out a remote and calmly claimed there were more than twenty hostages in the surrounding buildings, which were set to explode if he wasn't at least ten kilometers away in the next ten minutes.
In hindsight she really should have punched the damn bastard.
It was only when she reached the first hostages that things rapidly went from bad to worse. All of the men and women sitting in the shadowed warehouse, thick ropes tied around their arms and legs, were actually life-like animatronics programmed to simulate a range of human movements and sounds. And they were all stuffed with plastic explosives that detonated the instant she stepped close enough to realize the bastard tricked her again.
As her expression soured at the smug coward making her look like a damn recruit fresh from the academy, and not the previous commander of the Onmitsukido with over a century of experience, Ginjo somberly explained, "Yuu's poisoned, blackmailed, kidnapped and even hacked his way through dozens of companies, all without using his raiment."
Gamagori stiffened at the grim news, "So you're saying we're dealing with someone equal in intelligence to Lady Satsuki? That's quite the frightening concept."
"While I surpass Yuu Akiyama in a variety of fields, likewise he is my superior in others," Satsuki admitted without a trace of shame. Calmly retaking her position in the chair next to Kisuke's computer, she crossed her legs before continuing in a stern tone, "Which is why there's a distinct possibility Yuu has already managed to sneak into Karakura Town. If Kugo Ginjo's information is indeed accurate, Isshin Kurosaki's Life Fiber barrier won't detect Yuu, leaving him free to disable the barrier and allow my mother to march upon the city with impunity.
"The situation is far worse than that…"
The complete lack of bravado in Alex Louis Armstrong's voice as he marched into the room ground the conversation to a halt, "We've lost all contact with the Kansai Region."
Inumuta was acutely aware of Lady Satsuki's genuine surprise at the announcement, her normally regal features marred by an unsightly scowl, as he activated his Probe Regalia Mark II. Rapidly searching through thousands upon thousands of lines of coding, the entirety of Nudist Beach's servers laid completely bare to his eyes, the former hacker's mouth twitched when he found the source of their problems, "It seems someone managed to upload a worm into your communications network, causing the Kansai Region to go completely offline. I can repair the damage, but that's going to take some time."
The silence following Inumuta's admission was deafening, broken only when Armstrong stroked his chin and frowned, "Is that so? That's quite disconcerting news. But if we're truly unable to contact headquarters for the foreseeable future, than there is only one path left to take…"
Any naïve hopes that the younger Armstrong sibling would continue behaving in a respectable manner were violently disproven when he suddenly flexed his arms and boasted, "Until such time that my sister reestablishes communications from Osaka I shall assume full control over the nudist forces within Karakura Town! The stockpiled weaponry! The disciplined soldiers trained in several types of Anti-Life Fiber tactics! They shall be the blade that cuts through the thousands of COVERS ready to descend upon this fair and noble city!"
Nodding respectfully in response to the nudist's bombastic declaration while noting Gamagori's irritation, Satsuki leaned back in the chair, "Continue, Inumuta."
The former hacker was enveloped by a second burst of light when his Probe Regalia returned to its normal uniform appearance. Adjusting his glasses as he typed several dozen unique commands into the computer, the holographic image on the table flickering from Honnou City to Karakura Town, he pressed one final button and scoffed, "Under the assumption that Yuu Akiyama succeeds in somehow disabling the Life Fiber barrier, our first order of business will be neutralizing Xcution. While my software cannot differentiate between members of the organization, it can detect their raiment once they get within range. Which brings us to Lady Satsuki's plan…"
Mitsuzo Soroi stepped forward at the faint nod from his mistress, the silver tea tray in his hands covered with over a dozen earpieces. As he diligently made his way around the room, pausing just long enough for every person to grab one of the devices, Inumuta took a deep breath and explained, "Since one-on-one battles against Xcution are quite dangerous, not to mention suicidal, I recommend attacking them in groups. These earpieces will allow easy coordination of our movements so please make sure they are switched to channel two."
"Kicking Xcution's collective ass is great and all but I think we're forgetting about something a little more important."
Rubbing two fingers against the earpiece in his hand, the minute grooves etched onto the device enough to paint a clear picture in his mind, Uzu Sanageyama scoffed derisively, "Like how we're going to take down the Grand Couturier. Not to mention the big bad herself – Ragyo Kiryuin."
"Isshin Kurosaki shall deal with my mother."
Not a trace of uncertainty or doubt plagued Satsuki's answer, for Ichigo's bumbling father was the only person that could counter her mother upon the battlefield. Despite her personal desire to kill the woman determined to feed humanity to Life Fibers, the former Kiryuin heiress was not delusional. Junketsu's power was not enough to contend with what she briefly witnessed during the Great Culture and Sports Festival. But while Isshin Kurosaki would effectively contain her mother, preventing her from singlehandedly slaughtering anyone she came across, he would be unable to assist in defending Karakura Town from Xcution and the rest of her mother's forces.
Her sharpened mind, honed over more than a decade of planning from the shadows, rapidly coming to terms with the new variables, Satsuki's brow furrowed at the thought of the last opponent they needed to face, "As for the Grand Couturier, although her strength surpasses anything accomplishable by both regalia and raiment, it is her innate regeneration that will pose the greatest threat. Therefore, Yoruichi Shihoin, Tessai Tsukabishi and myself will work in tandem to defeat Nui Harime."
"And what of young Ururu?"
Tessai Tsukabishi frowned deeply at Satsuki's grim expression, his square-rimmed glasses shining in the lighting, "Do you intend to deal with the manager's daughter as well?"
Satsuki closed her eyes before stoically answering, "If Ururu Tsumugiya has been swayed into swearing fealty to my mother, than there is nothing we can do to save her."
"I refuse to believe young Ururu is beyond saving," Tessai's enormous frame quivered with barely repressed emotion as he tightly clenched his hand into a fist, "Which is why I must sincerely apologize for refusing to follow your plan, Miss Satsuki. If the manager's daughter appears upon the battlefield, it is my solemn duty to bring her to heel."
Nodding at the formerly exiled shinigami, Satsuki mentally began adjusting her plans, "Can you compensate for Ururu Tsumugiya's increased abilities?"
"There are several rather strong sealing techniques at my disposal," Tessai declared gruffly, his glasses flashing ominously with each word, "They should be enough to restrain Ururu until we can reverse whatever damage was done to her mind."
"I'm afraid that won't work…"
The clomping of wooden geta echoed loudly in the artificially bright underground chamber as Kisuke Urahara emerged from the shadows. Brushing some coal-black dust off his coat while blatantly ignoring the sudden tenseness in the atmosphere, the shopkeeper casually explained, "Life Fibers sustain themselves upon the bioelectrical energy produced within the nervous and circulatory systems of living organisms. However, that's only partially accurate. In reality, this bioelectrical energy is nothing more than spiritual energy. And since Kido are really nothing more than spiritual energy molded into the desired technique, Ururu's Life Fibers will devour any Bakudo you might use against her."
Yoruichi's fingers twitched impatiently as she waited for Kisuke to finish speaking. Once she was absolutely sure he had nothing else to say, she sauntered across the room and kicked him in the shin, "Where the hell have you been?"
Kisuke smirked enigmatically despite the pain running up his leg, "I went to get some reinforcements once I heard Satsuki's mother was paying a visit! Didn't you read my note?"
The dark skinned shinigami's amber eyes twitched in rising annoyance as she grabbed the man's coat, "Reinforcements, you say? By some miracle did you finally manage to find out why we can't contact the Soul Society? Or better yet…will the entire Gotei 13 arrive to deal with Ragyo Kiryuin?"
"Hmm…you'll just have to wait and see, Yoruichi!"
Rubbing his injured leg when Yoruichi responded by kicking him in the shin again, Kisuke grinned mischievously as he recovered from the debilitating attack. A paper fan appearing in the palm of his hand, the exiled shinigami turned to Satsuki, "I couldn't help but overhear your plans for dealing with Nui Harime, Miss Satsuki. You really are quite the intelligent young woman. I assume you have several contingencies ready in the event the Grand Couturier survives your trap?"
Blue eyes stared intensely at the shopkeeper, years of dealing with both the Grand Couturier and her mother allowing the former heiress to easily penetrate his eccentric personality to the devious man hiding beneath the surface, "When facing an enemy that straddles the boundary between insanity and reality it's best to consider all options and scenarios."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Kisuke acquiesced, "And you're right about one thing. Junketsu's power working in tandem with Yoruichi should theoretically be sufficient for you to defeat Nui Harime…"
The calculating tone in Kisuke's voice as he trailed off was not lost on those intimately familiar with the shopkeeper. Waving the paper fan in front of his face as he walked across the room, wooden geta clomping softly against the floor, he stared directly into Satsuki's eyes and finished, "But I humbly request you throw out any plans regarding the Grand Couturier. Because I can state with absolute certainty she will make her way to this shop, or more specifically me."
Satsuki's gaze narrowed at the admission, "The Grand Couturier is not known for her predictability."
Unperturbed by the teenager's accusatory tone, Kisuke's smirk slowly vanished as he snapped the paper fan shut with a flick of his wrist, "You should know better than anyone in this room that Nui Harime doesn't appreciate being upstaged when it comes to the fine art of sewing. Not only did I manage to figure out the secret to weaving a Kamui, which I'm certain she's tried to create, but I also embarrassed her in front of your mother during the Great Culture and Sports Festival. So I'm pretty much guaranteed to be at the very top of her list."
"But you believe Nui Harime is insane, don't you Miss Satsuki?"
The shopkeeper's tone deepened dangerously as he continued without pausing, "Truthfully, I was originally of similar mindset. But after doing a little research and speaking with both Ichigo and Ryuko concerning their experiences at Honnouji Academy, I adjusted my hypothesis. It may come as quite the surprise, but the Grand Couturier is actually quite sane. She simply has a twisted perspective of reality…among other things. I'm sure you noticed her behavior around Ichigo. How she referred to him as her 'cousin.' The reason for the peculiar nickname can be traced to her rather concerning attachment issues. She treats every Life Fiber Hybrid as extensions of her family, lashing out whenever someone attempts to disprove that notion. Or worse, take them away. And since she likely believes I kidnapped Ururu seventeen years ago…"
"She's going to lash out disproportionately," Satsuki finished with a tightening of her own expression. She remembered with vivid clarity Nui Harime's psychotic outbursts when she returned to Revocs, blood streaming from her left eye. The usually saccharine Grand Couturier, possessing an unnerving dissonance befitting of someone without a shred of humanity, had taken her frustration out on the middle managers, slaughtering over a dozen employees before her mother was forced to intervene.
But all that occurred after the Grand Couturier's mind shattered, broken beneath the heavy strain of attempting to reconcile the notion that a human permanently injured her body with Ragyo's teachings about the superiority of Life Fibers. It had been too much for Nui Harime, causing her intelligence to falter alongside a noticeable decrease in her strength while she fervently sought out Ryuko for revenge. However, the complete restoration of her eye changed everything. Now that she regained her full mental faculties, the Grand Couturier would undoubtedly not repeat her mistake.
"I presume you have a plan to defeat both the Grand Couturier and Ururu Tsumugiya?"
"More or less," Kisuke frowned pensively at the barely noticeable quivering of Yoruichi's shoulders. So she realized what he was planning, huh? That would make things easier in the long run, "But I'm going to need everyone to leave my humble little shop until further notice."
"You're going to use that against Ururu?!"
Yoruichi's unrestrained outburst drew the attention of those familiar with the normally playful shinigami. Acutely aware of Tessai's subdued reaction to his explanation, the stoic man staring intently in his direction, Kisuke patted dust off his coat before grimly responding, "While the long-term effects of Ragyo Kiryuin's Mental Refitting on humans normally leads to death, I'm unsure how the Life Fibers she implanted into Ururu interface with her mind. Ragyo's skill with Life Fibers exceeds my own by a large margin. Not to mention whatever other tricks she picked up from the Original Life Fiber …"
Taking his childhood friend's ensuing silence at the explanation as a sign she was letting the matter concerning Ururu rest for the moment, Kisuke mentally sighed in great relief when Yoruichi decided not to kick his shin a third time. It would be unseemly, not to mention embarrassing, if he collapsed to the ground writhing in pain. Calmly removing his bucket hat as he walked across the room, the measured clopping of his geta echoing in the silence, the shopkeeper replaced the paper fan within the folds of his coat, "That being said, there's one last order of business. Uryu…"
The teenager Quincy resisted the urge to scowl at the shopkeeper's enigmatic tone, "I need you and Tessai to escort Orihime to Karakura General Hospital."
"W-What?"
Orihime Inoue, who had thus far remained silent, widened her eyes in absolute surprise, "But why?"
A contemplative scowl etched itself across Satsuki Kiryuin's features as she attentively listened to the comments from Orihime Inoue's friends in response to Kisuke Urahara's logical but cold answer. Running a finger down Junketsu's sleeve when she noticed the Kamui's multicolored eyes staring intently at the orange haired teenager, she cleared her throat before speaking loud enough to immediately gain everyone's undivided attention, "You're referring to the events of the Naturals Election. Or more precisely, the miraculous regeneration of Nui Harime's formerly missing eye."
"There are two ways to counter the regeneration of a Life Fiber Hybrid."
The upper half of Kisuke's face was framed within the shadows of his bucket hat as he solemnly explained, "The first is exhausting their spiritual energy. Contrary to popular belief, a hybrid's regeneration isn't limitless. It takes a certain amount of spiritual energy for their Life Fibers to regenerate. However, fighting Nui Harime long enough to reach that point will be rather difficult. The other method involves cutting through their body using a pair of hardened Life Fiber blades, which would effectively negate the regenerative properties of their internal Life Fibers. Such an attack is usually permanent. But your Shun Shun Rikka easily managed to regenerate Nui Harime's damaged eye."
"And that makes you the single greatest threat to Ragyo Kiryuin's plans."
Orihime's depressed expression quickly morphed into a state of confusion at the shopkeeper's comment. How could her Shun Shun Rikka pose any sort of threat to someone powerful like Ragyo Kiryuin? As she spent several moments wracking her mind for an answer, Orihime was torn from her thoughts when Kisuke took the initiative, "The ability to heal injuries caused by Hardened Life Fiber blades wouldn't normally draw Ragyo Kiryuin's undivided attention. But someone like her, whose knowledge on Life Fibers is second to none, undoubtedly understands the true implications of your powers."
"If you can reject the damage caused by the Scissor Blades, it only makes sense that you can mimic them."
Satsuki's eyes immediately focused upon the formerly exiled shinigami, "How certain are you of this?"
"Pretty certain," Kisuke enigmatically answered while pulling a small device out of his coat, the nearly palm-sized invention faintly glowing around its edge. Fiddling with the strange device while fully aware of the building tension in the atmosphere, the corners of his mouth curled into a familiar knowing smirk before he added, "But there is a single advantage we have over Ragyo Kiryuin. Despite her impressive knowledge on everything related to Life Fibers, her background on spiritual matters is sorely lacking. Tessai's skills, in conjunction with Ryuken's unique style of construction, should conceal Orihime from your mother."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it appears we overestimated Ragyo Kiryuin's patience. She'll be arriving on our doorstep in just over twelve minutes."
The former hacker ignored the subsequent uproar as he began packing away his equipment. While he was mildly interested in Orihime Inoue's miraculous ability to resurrect the dead, his current priority was preventing Karakura Town's communications network from being sabotaged by a third party. In other words, he needed to prepare defenses to make sure Yuu Akiyama didn't repeat what happened to Osaka.
"I'll require another secure location to keep the communications network fully operational," Inumuta's collar automatically unzipped as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned toward Satsuki, "Karakura General would be optimal in reestablished a secure base for the network. Furthermore, connecting directly to the Ishida Conglomerate's servers will allow me to more accurately track Xcution's movements."
"And I shall take my leave as well!"
Pink sparkles twinkled around Armstrong as he vigorously shook Kisuke's hand, the strength behind the display of respect causing the shopkeeper to wince, "Your bravery in the face of adversity is inspiring, Kisuke Urahara! It's a travesty that you must fight your own flesh and blood! Forced to battle the daughter you love and cherish! But please feel honored that your words of encouragement have not gone unheard! For Nudist Beach shall fight until our last breath to prevent Ragyo Kiryuin and her army of COVERS from taking the city!"
An expression of mild curiosity graced Satsuki's features at the nudist's boisterous speech. Silently observing Gamagori's eyebrow twitching spasmodically in response to his father's actions, which Jakuzure was more than willing to derisively mock, she leaned slightly toward Inumuta before quietly inquiring, "What is the status of Iori's project?"
The blue hair teenager subtly glanced around the room, "Preliminary testing was completed yesterday afternoon. After Kisuke Urahara checked over the results, Iori began processing your request. The package has been delivered with detailed instructions tailored specifically for the designated target."
Despite the importance of the discussion, Satsuki found her mind drifting upon watching Yasutora Sado attempt to comfort Orihime Inoue, who seemed increasingly depressed by the revelations regarding her abilities. Biting the interior of her cheek as she regally stood back up and grabbed the auburn Scissor Blade from its resting place against the table, Satsuki's heels clacked loudly with each deliberately placed step as she marched across the underground chamber towards the elevator. Her stride unfaltering when Yoruichi Shihoin demanded to know where she was going, the former Kiryuin heiress's expression didn't waver as she answered.
"To find Isshin Kurosaki."
...
It was going to rain soon.
Isshin could feel the familiar chill in his bones, or whatever facsimile his internal Life Fibers created. In less than an hour the heavens would open asunder and Karakura Town would be deluged in a heavy downpour, which coincidentally made the windbreak he put on this morning, one of Masaki's last gifts before her passing, all the more necessary. Although his current physiology, unwillingly bestowed by the Original Life Fiber, made him immune to both the ravages of time and the elements, there were some things he refused to ever lower himself into doing. Dressing flamboyantly in bright and overwhelming colors like Ragyo, uncaring about anything the world had to say, was one such line the former shinigami would never cross.
Ichigo's completely unfounded remarks about his atrocious sense of fashion didn't prove anything.
Lost in his spiraling thoughts while sitting upon one of Tsubakidai Park's somewhat comfortable wooden benches, built when Ryuken donated millions of dollars into revitalizing the city after Satsuki's Raid Trip, Isshin frowned at the spiritual energy growing closer with every passing second. Judging from the way Ragyo was flaunting her presence, which only he could sense thanks to the glowing spool of eldritch yarn underneath her manor, she was either incredibly content or extremely annoyed. Emotions that he knew from experience would only lead to trouble for him in the long run.
Fixing the collar of his worn jacket as the distant pealing of thunder echoed faintly from the north, the air growing heavy with the scent of rain, Isshin resisted the urge to sigh heavily when he sensed Ragyo shifting her course by a fraction of a degree, "Well, there goes any chance of catching her off guard…"
After embarrassing her in front of thousands of people, not to mention being the only true obstacle in her path, Isshin expected Ragyo would want to personally deal with him. And he knew she wouldn't be in the mood to sit down and simply talk things out like normal adults.
"You never were the sort of woman to just take 'no' for an answer," he solemn confessed with a heavy sigh. Wrapping his arm around the back of the bench as another rumble echoed only a few kilometers to the north, Isshin watched a brief flash of purple light illuminate the overcast skies before his mind drifted toward something that had been troubling him since the Great Culture and Sports Festival.
Ragyo was stronger than he remembered.
It was apparent from the moment she angrily slapped him during Parent Student Day that Ragyo wasn't the same woman from seventeen years ago. Since the fateful night he realized the depravities Ragyo committed in the name of the Original Life Fiber he'd secretly been training. It hadn't been easy hiding his progress from Kisuke's ever-watching eyes but since Life Fibers are completely different from both shinigami and hollows, he managed to convince the bastard that his shinigami powers were still gone. But the strength he felt when she slapped him, or rather how much power Ragyo was actually holding back, suggested his old friend hadn't grown complacent.
"I suppose you couldn't relax with someone as strong and handsome as myself on the playing field," Isshin sagely commented. He had assumed for a long time that Ragyo would find training abhorrent since it meant the Original Life Fiber's power wasn't enough to fulfill its plans for humanity. Yet not only did she train, almost catching up to him despite all of his effort, but Ragyo somehow learned how to properly wield a sword instead of swinging it around like a complete idiot.
Lightly rubbing his jaw at the memory of their fight, Isshin sarcastically added, "But who the hell taught you to throw a right hook?"
The rhetorical question went unanswered when a familiar prickling pulsed across his mind. Sighing slightly louder than necessary as he checked his watch for the time, Isshin watched arcs of lightning illuminate the darkening skies in shades of sickly purple for nearly a minute before arching a silver eyebrow, "Your request caught me by surprise. Usually you're the one against these personal meetings."
Coughing awkwardly into his hand when the friendly comment was followed by a long moment of silence, Isshin scratched the side of his face and grimaced, "I hope you didn't have too much trouble getting through the barrier. I had Kisuke test the damn thing but the guy can't exactly wear Life Fibers…"
There was another long moment of silence despite Isshin's best efforts to break the ice before the obscured figure standing patiently on the other side of the bench hung their head and sighed. As the intricate white cloak concealing both their gender and any revealing features billowed in the gusting winds preceding the approaching storm, the figure coughed into a gloved hand before asking in a slightly strained tone, "How did you copy Ragyo's improvements? It's…"
"Amazing? Well…I do know quite a few things about Life Fibers," Isshin smugly boasted, his expression darkening as another wave of thunder echoed through the heavens, carrying with it the heavy scent of rain.
What he failed to mention was that Ragyo's ingenious improvements to his barrier didn't come without their drawback, a painful lesson the former shinigami knew better than anyone else at the moment. Reverse engineering the Infinite Woven Life Fiber Barrier had been fairly straightforward, thanks largely to Kisuke's detailed notes and the knowledge seared into his mind by the Original Life Fiber. But reworking his designs from the ground up, altering the fundamental construction of the barrier, had come with a heavy price. For although his improved barrier flawlessly worked to prevent Ragyo and her COVERS from entering Karakura Town, he could never leave.
And the knowledge that thousands of people were dead, or worse, constantly gnawed on the edges of Isshin's conscience.
"But if it's any consolation, copying Ragyo's barrier wasn't the easiest thing in the world," Isshin continued in a fairly pleasant tone, none of his guilt or self-loathing evident when he leaned backwards and smirked, "Kisuke might understand how she built the damn thing but the guy doesn't have an artistic bone in his body. He'll never comprehend Ragyo's unique craftsmanship when she puts her heart into something. It's a miracle he managed to create Mugetsu without leaving a single Life Fiber out of place."
"I see…"
The cloaked figure's concealed shoulders hitched slightly with every strained breath as the bitterly cold wind briefly intensified, exposing several strands of sweat-covered purple hair sticking to their hidden face. While they normally allowed Isshin to speak freely for several minutes before gently guiding him back to the reason they were meeting in the first place, time was of the essence. As rivulets of blood dripped from within the folds of their left sleeve, staining their gloved fingers a deep crimson before pattering quietly onto the grass, they resisted the desire grab their limp arm, "It was difficult avoiding Ragyo's attention. I had to wait until after Esdeath departed for Osaka before excusing myself from her office. And if the Grand Couturiers hadn't been preoccupied with an errant stitching on Shinra Koketsu I never would have managed to leave Honnouji Academy alive."
Isshin's brow furrowed at his colleague's words, his fingers clenching as the mirth and amusement drained from his features, "How is Ururu?"
A wince completely unrelated to their current condition rippled through the figure's cloaked form. Coughing hoarsely when the air briefly thickened, the world momentarily turning to shades of gray and black before snapping back to normal, they ignored the rampant pain in their left arm and somberly replied, "I'm sorry, Isshin. But Ragyo was very…thorough…in her methods when Ururu proved resilient to normal Mental Refitting."
Several minutes of agitated silence passed excruciatingly slow as Isshin cursed his shortsightedness. Despite all of the information on Life Fibers unwilling implanted into his mind by the Original Life Fiber and decades of experience as captain of the Tenth Division, he wasn't the most brilliant tactician. He didn't have Ragyo's cold logic and intelligence and all of his plans couldn't hold a match to Kisuke's when the sly bastard was given ten minutes to prepare. Having Ururu follow Ichigo and Ryuko to Honnouji Academy had been extremely risky considering Ragyo's plans, but with the Soul Society unable to help she had been the only one who could stand against Nui Harime.
But contrary to popular belief the Grand Couturier wasn't an invulnerable monster. In fact, Isshin could name several captains off the top of his head that were both stronger and faster than Nui Harime. The problem anyone would have if they chose to fight against the Grand Couturier was overcoming her powerful regeneration.
Yoruichi could have dealt with Nui during the Great Culture and Sports Festival if he hadn't asked her to remain in Karakura Town in case anything went horribly wrong. But without a Hardened Life Fiber blade, which in the hands of a shinigami was no different from a normal sword, she couldn't counter Nui's regeneration. From there it was only a matter of time until the Grand Couturier slowly but surely analyzed Yoruichi's fighting style for the perfect moment to strike. And that wasn't factoring in Ragyo's propensity for personally dealing with those standing in her way.
Even with over a century of experience and enough power to overwhelm the Grand Couturier, Yoruichi wouldn't have stood a chance against Ragyo.
Isshin had hoped Ururu's connection to Nui – Twin Life Fiber Entanglement – would weaken the teenager long enough for either Ryuko or Ichigo to knock her unconscious. He knew they wouldn't kill the Grand Couturier despite the atrocities she committed under Ragyo's orders. And once Nui was out of the way he could have dealt with Ragyo and her COVERS before easily sweeping aside Xcution, putting an end to the Celestial Cocoon Seed Planet before it could truly begin.
In hindsight, it had been an extremely risky plan even if it technically worked. But he should have known Ragyo would have something special up her sleeves. Yet how could he have ever expected the woman would stoop low enough to hire someone to assassinate his own daughters?
"I'm sure Kisuke has something prepared for Ururu. The bastard has contingencies for everything you can imagine," Isshin half-heartedly dismissed with a lazy wave of his hand, the strained smirk never reaching his eyes. Despite his heavily restrained ability to speak about most topics pertaining to Life Fibers thanks to the Original Life Fiber, he had a pretty good idea how Ragyo molded Ururu into her twisted version of a perfect daughter.
Permanently restitching a Life Fiber Hybrid's mind wasn't easy by any stretch of the word, especially if they fought against the technique every step of the way. Ururu's internal Life Fibers should have instantly rejected the foreign threads, preventing the sickening ability from ever taking hold. But if Ragyo used Mental Refitting alongside Life Fiber Hierarchy in a specific combination that made his stomach mentally lurch, she could have easily achieved such revolting results.
"But you should probably find someplace to lay low for the next few hours."
Despite his concerned tone of voice, Isshin was internally grateful for the distraction provided by the burst of familiar spiritual energy from halfway across Karakura Town. He would have given an arm to forcibly derail that train of thought before it ruined his entire day. Satsuki wrapping up her emergency meeting on dealing with Ragyo was the perfect excuse for him to shift the conversation onto a more positive topic. But judging from the way Ragyo's daughter activated Junketsu seconds after leaving Kisuke's shop, it was very likely Satsuki was intent on hunting him down.
That might be a problem.
"There's an abandoned hospital north of here," Isshin rested his arms against the bench while ignoring the thunder rumbling almost directly over the city, "Its basement was converted into a shelter during Satsuki's Raid Trip. You can hide there until this mess blows over."
Prefacing the suggestion with a tired sigh, Isshin once more calmly checked his watch when he sensed Ragyo's pace toward Karakura Town abruptly quicken. His expression twisting at the chaotic cacophony from the army of COVERS annoyingly buzzing in the back of his mind, the inhuman vibrations from the Life Fibers focused upon a single purpose, Isshin's eyes narrowed in growing suspicion at his colleague's strange silence. They were never this quiet. In every meeting stretching back almost seventeen years they had always spoken in an exasperated yet serious manner, chastising his purposeful lack of focus before forcefully returning the topic back to Ragyo.
This was the first time he was the one leading the conversation. And that was more than enough of an incentive for Isshin to finally turn around.
"What's wrong?" Isshin glanced curiously over his shoulder, "You're not usually this –"
The question died in his throat when he turned around and noticed what he should have seen from the start. Momentarily stunned into speechlessness at his colleague's heavily injured condition, countless bloody tears covering the once pristine white cloak, Isshin was brought back to reality when they hunched forward and coughed wetly, thick strands of blood and saliva dribbling thickly from their mouth. He should have noticed something was wrong when they refused to talk any more than was necessary, a clear and worrisome departure from their previous meetings. It was a miracle they managed to flee Honnouji Academy with a dislocated, and possibly broken, shoulder without falling unconscious, which was something that greatly bothered Isshin.
Their injuries were severe enough that he should have detected something wrong with their spiritual energy before they even arrived.
But until a few seconds ago, when he actually turned around, they had sounded and felt perfectly fine.
"I'm…sorry…"
Isshin's heart skipped a beat when his colleague slowly started falling backwards, their body finally giving out after pushing itself long past the breaking point. Vanishing in a burst of motion faster than the eye could follow, the former shinigami managed to gently catch his friend just before their head bounced off the ground. The blood staining his cherished jacket completely ignored as he instinctively began examining the full extent of their wounds, decades of human and spiritual medical knowledge coming to the forefront of his mind, Isshin tensed as a raspy voice reached his ears, "Ragyo caught me…right before I could…"
"You didn't have to do this!"
The first drops of rain lightly landed against the back of Isshin's neck as he interrupted their completely unnecessary excuse. Grimacing angrily at his inability to have stopped Ragyo sooner, he clenched his hands impotently and declared, "You shouldn't have risked everything trying to escape! Telling me about Ururu or anything else wasn't worth your life!"
"Ragyo…she…"
A choking gasp barely managed to escape the figure's blood-filled mouth as they were wracked by another series of painful coughing. Their head resting limply against the ground as the howling wind picked up, exposing strands of blood-caked purple hair, Rei Hououmaru stared upwards into the stormy skies before weakly continuing, "…she…Laissez…Faire."
Isshin's breath hitched in his throat at the unexpected name. He had spent much of the past decade working relentlessly to counter Ragyo's plans, thinking of creative and unique ways to work around the mental blocks placed upon his mind and soul by the Original Life Fiber. But it wasn't until a few weeks after Ichigo left for Honnouji Academy, when Hououmaru last managed to escape Ragyo's watchful eye, he first heard of Operation Laissez Faire. And what little information Hououmaru knew about it wasn't good. An operation designed for the singular purpose of eliminating both Nudist Beach and himself.
In any other situation the notion that anyone in Revocs aside from Ragyo could hurt him would have been laughable. But from the way the woman was rapidly marching on Karakura Town, the previously flaunting presence now extruding a cold fury, it appeared she was worried Hououmaru knew something that could jeopardize her operation. Asking Hououmaru could give them an advantage over Ragyo. But at the rate she was losing blood, and whatever internal injuries she most likely had, she wouldn't survive much longer.
It wasn't a difficult decision to make for the former shinigami.
"Try not to talk…"
Even if Hououmaru did know everything about Operation Laissez Faire, he wasn't going to risk his friend's life in the process. Carefully examining several of the larger gashes placed across her stomach, the crimson dyed into the fabric beginning to mix with the falling rain, Isshin refrained from tearing open the bloods-soaked cloak and pressed a finger against her neck, "You have internal bleeding. I'm not sure if Ragyo sewed Life Fibers into your body but Ryuken's hospital is the only place in Karakura Town that has the proper equipment to stabilize your –"
It was the incessant electronic beeping, barely audible over the pouring rain and thunder, that caused every muscle in Isshin's body to simultaneous stiffen in dawning realization.
She wouldn't…
Harshly tearing apart Hououmaru's cloak without a second thought, his concern for her grievous injuries forgotten in light of the changing circumstances, the former shinigami's eyes widened in disbelief at the device intricately woven throughout the Life Fibers of her raiment. A Bleach Bomb, one of the most dangerous weapons in the world that only a handful of people even knew existed, had been stitched into the very fabric of the uniform. This wasn't good. It was impossible to disarm the device unless he knew exactly how Ragyo primed it in the first place. And knowing that woman, she made sure the Bleach Bomb would explode if he so much as touched it.
Damn her.
Isshin's fingers twitched nervously inches above the beeping device as rain continued trickling down his face. He needed to bring Hououmaru to Kisuke. The bastard was the only one who could safely disarm the Bleach Bomb without killing her or setting it off in the process. Swallowing the lump in his throat as he examined the Life Fiber circuitry stitched into the raiment, rainbow threads intermingling with normal cloth, Isshin nearly flinched at the unadulterated terror in Hououmaru's eyes.
"Don't worry," the former shinigami ignored the rapid pounding of his heart, born from apprehension and nervousness, as he reassured his friend, "If I know Ragyo, she was counting on me attempting to disarm the damn thing. It's probably primed to react only to my Life Fibers. So don't move. I'm going to call Kisuke and –"
Reaching for his cell phone, determined to get Kisuke's assistance no matter how much he needed to threaten the bastard, Isshin had barely pressed the first number before he became acutely aware that the Bleach Bomb was shimmering with a dangerous light. Staring at the glowing circuitry woven through Hououmaru's raiment, he numbly dropped the phone as a disturbing light started bathing the surrounding landscape in shades of black and white. This shouldn't be happening! He didn't even touch the Bleach Bomb!
An unnatural stillness pressed down upon Isshin's ears when the rainfall suddenly ceased falling, repelled by the chaotic energy radiating from the Bleach Bomb. The passage of time slowing to a crawl as he reached toward Hououmaru's uniform, fingers grasping through the air inches away from the glowing Life Fibers, maroon eyes widened when a faint pulse of spiritual energy rippled outward, bathing the surrounding landscape in shades of gray and black. Moving without any regard for his own well being, Isshin gripped the trapped raiment and pulled as the entirety of Tsubakidai Park was enveloped within an explosion of terrible white light.
...
Ragyo Kiryuin's expression twisted into depraved amusement at the beautiful explosion rippling through Karakura Town in the distance.
Floating majestically high above the ground while surrounded by thousands of Combat-Class COVERS, the Life Fiber creatures completely unmoving apart from the emaciated faces of their victims silently screaming for salvation, the Kiryuin matriarch's maroon eyes narrowed in sadistic pleasure. Sometimes it was just far too easy to play that man. But if she was perfectly honest, it was highly surprising Isshin fell for such an obvious trap. Despite his gregarious but annoying personality, he was still her equal when it came to Life Fibers. Every mote of knowledge bestowed upon him by the Original Life Fiber was given to her as well.
So why on Earth would Isshin think she'd do something so predictable as setting the Bleach Bomb to his Life Fibers?
"Oh Isshin…"
The name of the only man she ever loved passed from between slightly parted lips as the Kiryuin matriarch beheld the aftermath unfolding over the horizon. Silver hair gently waving in the torrential downpour, Ragyo trailed a perfectly manicured finger down her arm and mockingly sighed, "It's insulting that you honestly didn't see this coming."
Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder why she continued encouraging the man's behavior. Did Isshin honestly believe she was blind to her own secretary, who's worked at her side for over twenty years, disappearing at random hours of the night? Such a flagrant insult to her intelligence made Ragyo want to slap some sense into the loveable oaf. However, it was that same disrespect that allowed Operation Laissez Faire to exist in the first place. And for that she was willing to completely forgive Isshin's numerous mistakes and childish acts of rebellion against Life Fibers.
However, he still needed to pay for confiscating the Scissor Blade from dearest Nui. Stealing from a defenseless teenage girl was a personal matter she couldn't disregard. Did he have no standards?
But once again, accounting for Isshin's predictable behavior in her plans was so facile. Which made the Bleach Bomb she patiently stitched inside Hououmaru's rewoven raiment, one of the Grand Couturier's gifts in the aftermath of the Great Culture and Sports Festival, all the more amusing. The man's self-centered presumption that the device was configured for his specific Life Fibers meant he would willingly sentence Hououmaru to an excruciatingly slow and painful death from internal bleeding while he tried calling for help. But since the Bleach Bomb was subtly connected to the Life Fibers composing her secretary's cloak, Isshin still fell into her trap despite his paranoia. Thanks to a few modifications, the man would have just enough time to ponder the consequences of his pointless defiance before the Bleach Bomb detonated at point-blank range.
Of course, she had no intention of killing the man. For despite years of frustration and heartbreak born from his callous spurning of her affection, not to mention kidnapping Amu, she found the notion of killing Isshin completely reprehensible.
"La vie est drôle."
Ragyo shuddered pleasurably at the sensation of the Life Fibers woven throughout the garment she'd chosen to adorn her body. With Esdeath and Yuu currently dealing with Olivier's pathetic nudists in Osaka, slaughtering all who would reject the glory of the Original Life Fiber, it was time to begin the next phase of Operation Laissez Faire. And with Isshin out of commission, there was nobody left in the miserable city capable of stopping her.
"Hououmaru's splendid performance aside…I believe it's time to put an end to your pathetic display of resistance."
The pealing of thunder reverberated across the drenched landscape as the Kiryuin matriarch's lips twisted in sadistic amusement. Slowly raising a hand in front of her face, manicured fingers pressed tightly together, she chuckled darkly as the Life Fibers from Hououmaru's raiment scattered to the far corners of Karakura Town. Did Isshin truly think the crux of her plan only involved incapacitating him with a Bleach Bomb? Au contraire. Expanding her senses to the thousands of threads blown throughout the encapsulated city like a dandelion in the wind, she momentarily basked in the heavenly pleasure coursing through her veins before grinning madly.
"Au revoir…"
Isshin hadn't exaggerated about the impenetrability of his barrier. Not a single COVERS or Life Fiber Hybrid could traverse through the high-velocity Life Fibers enveloping the city without his permission. While a bothersome annoyance on the best of days, he then had the audacity to further modify the Life Fiber Infinite Woven Barrier, preventing either of them from crossing. The man really knew how to test her patience. However, impenetrable wasn't the same as indestructible. And that was a lesson Isshin would have time to ponder while her forces ravaged and slaughtered everyone in Karakura Town.
Except, of course, for her foolish daughter. She had something special waiting for Satsuki and the treacherous Kamui adorning her undeserving body.
Folding her arms underneath her ample bosom as thousands of COVERS immediately descended upon the unprepared city, Ragyo sighed in utter content at the subsonic vibrations of their Life Fibers. Their roars were akin to a beautiful symphony resonating in the depths of soul, an elegant cacophony unmatched by anything humanity ever accomplished. This was the moment she'd dreamt about for years. Months of planning coming to a head as Isshin's attempts to defend humanity from the Original Life Fiber were torn apart down to the dress patterns.
The truth of the world he'd denied for the last twenty years would finally be drilled into his thick skull…whether he liked it or not.
"Proceed with the operation."
Ragyo paid only the barest amount of attention to the three simultaneous eruptions of rainbow light across the rain-soaked landscape. While it was heartening to watch her employees diligently march forward, obeying her orders down to the letter, the heavy resistance undoubtedly waiting within Karakura Town meant some of them wouldn't be returning alive. But that was simply how the world worked. Xcution were nothing more than sacrifices, obedient servants ready to throw away their lives to ensure the success of her plans. Yet while she would have loved taking her sweet time with Isshin before personally killing Kisuke Urahara, she didn't have the luxury of an empty schedule. The generator powering the barrier was undamaged and fully operational. It was only a matter of time before she needed to retreat, lest her forces get trapped inside the city when the barrier restored itself.
But forty-five minutes was far longer than she needed.
Sighing contently at the plumes of smoke already rising from Karakura Town, miniature explosions crossing the horizon as the beleaguered defenders fought tooth and nail against the power of Life Fibers, Ragyo's lips quirked into an amused smirk when two presences simultaneously appeared on the periphery of her senses, "I take it things are nearly finished?"
"Gosh, we wouldn't be here otherwise!"
The saccharine voice pierced through the torrential downpour as Nui Harime smiled widely from her perch upon the right shoulder of a giant COVERS, having arrived only moments prior to Lady Ragyo ordering Xcution to kill every man, woman and child in Karakura Town. Sapphire eyes staring mirthfully over the dreary landscape as the rain caused her blonde pigtails to wilt slightly under the weight, the Grand Couturier enthusiastically nodded her head, "All that's left is the final stitching. But I could do that with both hands tied behind my back! So we decided to take a break and see how things are progressing! After all, watching these humans squirm…"
"…is something we wouldn't miss for the world," Amu Harime finished stoically with only the slightest trace of detectable emotion, her purple boots splashing lightly as she stood on the Life Fiber being's left shoulder. Tilting her head to the right and blinking when Lady Ragyo didn't acknowledge their answer, deigning to remain silent and continue staring at the battlefield in the distance, she pressed the purple Needle Blade against the small of her back, "Shinra Koketsu only needs a few more hours of work, Lady Ragyo. Once we heard what happened with Hououmaru, we couldn't help ourselves from watching. Because without Mr. Kurosaki…"
"…there's absolutely, positively nobody left on the planet that can stop us!" Nui proudly finished with an exaggerated bobbing of her head. Smirking mischievously as her own purple Needle Blade glistened in the pouring rain, the Grand Couturier stared at her unblemished reflection before cheerfully adding, "Even that shopkeeper and his transforming sword can't hold a candle to you, Lady Ragyo! But we're not stupid, you know! We wouldn't have come all this way if the old goat hadn't fallen into your trap!"
"Is that right?"
The smirk adorning the Kiryuin matriarch's features widened at the insinuation, "And this has nothing to do with a certain annoying man?"
Nui tilted her head in mimicry of her sister and giggled, "Gee, was it that obvious?"
Ragyo was keenly aware that it was dearest Nui who dragged her loving sister all the way from Honnouji Academy. Her cheerful daughter's motivations for disobeying a direct order were painfully obvious to the woman. Yet she couldn't fault the Grand Couturier. Kisuke Urahara had been an annoying thorn in her side from the beginning, a man who consistently pushed the boundaries of both her self-control and patience. From creating Mugetsu to entering the Original Life Fiber's sacred chamber, desecrating the holy being with his presence, the shopkeeper had long ago earned the exclusivity of her wrath.
If only her COVERS had managed to capture the man during the Great Culture and Sports Festival…
The deafening crackle of thunder gently pulled the Kiryuin matriarch from her darkening thoughts. Having the Grand Couturiers participate in Operation Laissez Faire was incredibly risky. And it wasn't too late to send her daughters back to the safety of Honnouji Academy. But she wasn't so cruel as to deny them the opportunity to stretch their legs. After working countless hours weaving the final garment necessary for humanity's destiny at the hands of Life Fibers, they deserved the chance to take vengeance. To torture Kisuke Urahara for the pain and humiliation he inflicted upon them by wiping the man and everything he cherishes from the face of the planet.
"Now I certainly cannot deny my daughters the chance to enjoy themselves…"
Ragyo flicked a strand of silver hair away from her eyes as something in the distance caught her attention, a brief shimmer of familiar blue light moving rapidly across the rain-soaked landscape, "But do be careful. He may be a foolish man but Kisuke Urahara has proven to be quite resourceful when cornered."
"You don't need to tell us twice, Lady Ragyo!"
Puddles of water splashed haphazardly across the COVERS as the Grand Couturier cheerfully walked off its shoulder. A dangerous glint visible in her eyes when her pink boots found purchase upon thin air, a trick she learned from watching those stupid Quincy at Honnouji Academy, she propped the Needle Blade behind her back and laughed, "We're not going to underestimate that party pooper a second time! While Xcution is having fun killing those stupid nudists…"
"…we're going to hunt down that stupid shopkeeper and kill him," Amu's waist-length black hair, styled in a manner reminiscent of her sister, was weighed down slightly by the rain as she leapt off the COVERS. One leg curled upwards as she gently landed in the air next to Nui, whose fingers reached out and entwined with her own, she smirked darkly and added in a subdued tone, "But not before torturing him for keeping me away from you, Lady Ragyo."
The Kiryuin matriarch saw no reason in clarifying that it was Isshin who kidnapped dearest Amu seventeen years ago, not the foolish shopkeeper destined to rot in the deepest bowels of hell. Chuckling heartily, Ragyo folded her arms underneath her bosom and smirked, "Well then…amusez-vous."
A wistful sigh escaped from between slightly parted lips when the Grand Couturiers smirked in synchronization before vanishing in an impressive burst of speed. Today's youth were simply too impulsive and impatient. She understood dearest Nui's desire to violently eviscerate Kisuke Urahara but the man was someone that couldn't be underestimated. Creating a Kamui wasn't something anyone could simply learn, a lesson her daughter understood. Yet it was the non-Life Fiber powers wielded by the residents of Karakura Town that garnered a modicum of her admittedly minuscule interest.
Just how did Isshin manage to conceal these people from her notice for all these years?
"Life is indeed amusing…wouldn't you say, Isshin?"
Ragyo's lips twisted into a psychotic smirk as the rainbow undertone shining from her silver hair intensified, bathing the surrounding landscape with its harsh light. She couldn't wait to see Isshin. They had so much to talk about…
...
A single involuntary twitch plucked at Satsuki's eye as she soared over Tsubakidai Park, the rain-soaked landscape displaying just how much damage it sustained from the detonation of the Bleach Bomb. Changing her trajectory as wisps of white energy curled through the humid air, clinging briefly against Junketsu's flight configuration before dissipating into the storm, the teenager's frown deepened when the Kamui tightened around her body. Although she remained unable to hear Junketsu for obvious reasons, the underlying connotations of the reaction were perfectly clear.
With a soft clack Satsuki's heel connected with the damp soil, her body illuminated by a shimmering flash of blue light and stars when Junketsu instantaneously transformed back into her standard configuration. Cautiously examining the decimated environment with a discerning eye, the former heiress's nose scrunched in disgust at the overbearing scent permeating the atmosphere. She had been unaware of Bleach Bombs until Kisuke Urahara's enigmatic explanation of his escape from the Grand Couturier.
Drawing the auburn Scissor Blade strapped across her back with a metallic snap, Satsuki ignored both the rain streaming down her face and the deep-seated revulsion pulsing through Junketsu. What she was planning had the potential to injure the Kamui yet she bitterly had little choice in the matter. With her mother's forces assaulting the city, slaughtering anyone they came across, they didn't have the luxury to remain cautious.
She needed to walk into the lingering effects of the Bleach Bomb…for better or worse.
Her black hair lay matted against Junketsu's uniform from the pouring rain as she leapt into the dissipating white haze hugging the ground without a second thought. Marching across the cratered and burnt landscape as the distant gunfire momentarily ceased, drawing her attention for the briefest of moments, Satsuki felt the Kamui tighten uncomfortably around her body when the reached the epicenter of the cataclysmic explosion, the figure laying prone upon the ground all too familiar.
"Isshin Kurosaki!"
Isshin ignored the metallic taste of copper as he struggled onto his feet. Actual pain…now that was something he hadn't experienced since encountering that thing hibernating beneath Ragyo's manor. And to think he'd missed the human sensation of having his body wracked by the most excruciating pain imaginable. Arms trembling as he propped himself onto one knee, trails of blood oozing down the burnt skin of his face, Isshin stiffened at the scrap of cloth growing damp in the puddle between his hands.
Rei…
As streams of bitterly cold water trickled down her body, causing Junketsu's armor to glisten slightly from the moisture, Satsuki landed next to the crouching man with a loud clack of her heel. Ignoring the strand of black hair laying against her face as she stared at Ichigo's father, the guilty expression in his eyes momentarily shattering her well-honed discipline and disposition, Satsuki's voice contained not a single trace of her conflicting emotions despite the Scissor Blade quivering slightly in her fingers, "How did my mother transport a Bleach Bomb into Karakura Town?"
"Your concern about my health is appreciated, Satsuki."
Isshin ignored the suspicious glare from Ragyo's daughter as he staggered back onto his feet. One hand callously wiping away the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, the man winced at the pain lancing through his body. He never expected his friend to sacrifice Hououmaru just to get to him. It went against everything he knew about the woman. But perhaps he had been deluding himself all these years about Ragyo if she was willing to stoop to such unfathomable depths in service of the Original Life Fiber.
"We don't have the luxury of time to worry about your condition," Satsuki replied, her tone firm and unyielding, as her attention shifted eastward, "You are the only person capable of defeating my mother. You may chastise my disrespectful behavior all you wish, Isshin Kurosaki, but refrain from doing so until Ragyo Kiryuin lies dead upon the ground."
Running a hand through his silver hair at the remarkably strange comment, Isshin exhaled loudly and muttered, "I'll be sure to remember that…but you need to get the hell out of here right now."
Satsuki's brow furrowed pensively when Ichigo's father extracted the same hardened Life Fiber blade he wielded against her mother from the tattered remnants of his jacket. The rest of his uncharacteristically serious warning was not necessary for her to understand the direness of the situation – her mother was hastily approaching. Even with Junketsu's full power at her disposal, Satsuki knew she stood no chance against the monster calling herself Ragyo Kiryuin. Nodding as she turned to leave, knees flexing in preparation of shifting back into Senpū, she looked over her shoulder when Isshin hurriedly added, "Find Kisuke and tell him he needs to get –"
"I'm disappointed, Isshin."
Every muscle in Satsuki's body tensed at the suave voice, the genial and nearly motherly tone sending a shiver down her spine. Floating gently above the ground, arms folded beneath her bosom as the rain actively avoided touching her clothing, Ragyo Kiryuin sighed in disappointment, "You of all people should know better than to speak so freely around unworthy ears."
"And you should know it's rude to interrupt somebody when they're talking."
The suppressed vitriol tainting Isshin Kurosaki's voice was a startling departure from the childish and family-oriented man Satsuki had been living with for the last few weeks. Staring reluctantly at Ragyo's amused expression as lightning arced overhead, the former shinigami balanced the multicolored tachi in the palm of his hand and grumbled, "But you really had me going for a while, Ragyo. I never thought you would kill Rei just to take me down."
Ragyo's expression immediately soured at Isshin's unwarranted venom. While the man certainly had every right to speak his opinion on the matter of her tactics, the events that led to Hououmaru's raiment being rewoven into a fully functional Bleach Bomb were entirely his fault. But alas, trying to make Isshin follow even the most basic directives was a task unto itself. A melancholic sigh escaping her parted lips as she stood several inches above the ground, Ragyo tilted her head sideways and playfully mused, "Did you think I wouldn't notice your obvious correspondences with Hououmaru?"
Amused laughter echoed melodically across the park before Ragyo took a deep breath and smirked, "But I'm surprised you're still conscious, Isshin. That Bleach Bomb was designed with your level of stubbornness in mind. It seems I've underestimated just how stubborn a man like you can be…"
"Ragyo Kiryuin!"
The Kiryuin matriarch's attention lazily shifted to her petulant daughter at the completely childish outburst. Absentmindedly observing both the furious expression etched in Satsuki's eyes and the terror circulating through Junketsu's quivering Life Fibers, Ragyo shook her head in disbelief when Isshin grumbled inaudibly under his breath. Did he honestly think she couldn't hear every word that left his mouth? Humoring Isshin by pretending she hadn't heard his flagrant and admittedly rude insults, she stood silently in the torrential downpour as the man gathered his wits and decided to speak normally.
"So you're going with this little act, huh?"
Isshin held a heavily burnt arm in front of Satsuki, preventing the teenager from interfering as he locked gazes with Ragyo, "You knew a Bleach Bomb wouldn't be enough to take me down."
"True…"
Rainbow light spilled through the decimated park as the Kiryuin matriarch placed a hand against her cheek and chuckled darkly, "Yet it's clearly taking your full concentration just to remain standing. You're nothing more than a shadow of your glorious self, Isshin, a weakened husk that even my foolish daughter and her treacherous Kamui could defeat. And while you'll regain your full power soon enough, as of right now…"
Trailing a finger down Isshin's neck when she abruptly closed the distance between them, Ragyo smirked at the shocked expression in her daughter's eyes before whispering, "…even you cannot hope to stop me."
The Kiryuin matriarch's smile noticeably faltered when Isshin rudely leapt away, leaving her standing slightly embarrassed in front of her foolish daughter. Her heel clacking upon the air when the man darted forward and swung the hardened Life Fiber weapon at her neck, the killing intent behind the strike momentarily taking her off guard, Ragyo angrily narrowed her eyes before snapping her arm upwards and grabbing Isshin's wrist.
"Pardonnez-moi, mon amour," Ragyo muttered before smashing her hand into the man's stomach.
An explosion of multicolored energy disintegrated the already decimated landscape the instant Ragyo's fist connected with Isshin's stomach, forcing Satsuki to stab the Scissor Blade into the muddy soil lest the overwhelming intensity of the technique send her flying backwards. Junketsu's armor glowing with a fierce blue light as the Kamui deepened their level of synchronized, Satsuki found the additional power greatly appreciated when the shockwave accompanying her mother's unholy blast rippled across Karakura Town. Ignoring the sharp ringing in her ears, the former heiress broke out in a cold sweat when Ichigo's father vanished, his body crashing through multiple building in an expanding trail of destruction leading out of the city.
"Now, with that particular matter settled…"
Ragyo's tone returned to its previously mirthful state as she casually reached over her shoulder. Manicured fingers clasping firmly around the hilt of Isshin's tachi, which the man had accidently discarded prior to his impromptu departure, she turned half-narrowed maroon eyes to her daughter and smirked, "…there's only the matter of you, Satsuki."
"Don't underestimate me! Junketsu Zenkan!"
An aura of spiritual energy enveloped Satsuki's body as Junketsu eagerly transformed into Zenkan, the immense power radiating from the advanced configuration vaporizing the rain coating her body. The ground cracking beneath her Kamui's heels as she refused to give the monster in the guise of her mother a single moment of respite, the former heiress couldn't suppress a snarl when she swung the Scissor Blade only for Ragyo to effortlessly dodge at the very last second.
"Come now," the regal woman mockingly chastised, her tone devoid of worry as she easily evaded or countered every attack Satsuki used, "Did you think wearing Junketsu would be enough to stand at my level?"
Accentuating the difference between their powers by deflecting the Scissor Blade before casually leaping upwards, Ragyo's eyes widened in genuine surprise when Satsuki tensed her knees before following suit. Now this was an interesting development. How did Isshin teach her foolish daughter such an intriguing ability? It might have been a mistake on her part if her eldest daughter was capable of learning such techniques. Grinning smugly when Satsuki arrogantly attempted to take advantage of her introspection, Ragyo's heels clacked against the solidified air as she continued avoiding her daughter's easily telegraphed strikes.
"Although I will admit your strength has improved since our last reunion."
Ragyo quirked an eyebrow when Satsuki abruptly ceased attacking, rings of condensation rippling beneath her heels with each step. Watching dispassionately when both her daughter and the Scissor Blade were enveloped within a deep blue aura, the Kiryuin matriarch frowned at the name Satsuki gave Junketsu's signature attack. Tenrai Kagai certainly possessed a marvelous symbolism befitting that of the first Kamui. Her silver hair rustling slightly when Satsuki shouted passionately and rushed forward, blue spiritual energy coating the Scissor Blade, she waited until her daughter was nearly upon her before stabbing Isshin's tachi straight through one of the hardened Life Fiber blade's circular holes.
"But you're just a poor girl who doesn't know her limitations…"
The potent spiritual energy encompassing the Scissor Blade exploded harmlessly into the surrounding storm as Ragyo stared deeply into her daughter's furious expression, "My blood might run through your veins but you're still only human. And a human can never hope to truly wear Kamui!"
Ragyo didn't hesitate upon finishing her explanation to promptly kick her petulant daughter directly in the stomach, the amount of power contained within the restrained strike enough to send Satsuki violently crashing to the ground where she belonged. Taking a brief moment to examine the underlying intricacies of Isshin's blade as she patiently waited for the dust to settle from her daughter's indignant landing, Ragyo smirked at Satsuki's defiant glare, "Speaking of Kamui, I believe it's time Junketsu returned to where she truly belongs."
"You shall never touch Junketsu!"
A single stream of crimson trailed down Satsuki's face as she stood unflinchingly in the rain, her attention focused upon her mother's monstrous visage. Her expression tensing at the terror radiating from Junketsu at her mother's insinuations, Satsuki tightened her grip around the Scissor Blade and sneered defiantly. As a blue-white backdrop of holy light burst into existence, bathing the scorched landscape with its glory, she clasped both hands around the weapon and fiercely declared, "I'm aware of the gulf between our powers! Isshin Kurosaki demonstrated that concept quite clearly! Even with Junketsu's full strength at my fingertips I don't stand a chance of defeating you!"
Ragyo arched an eyebrow at the childish statement, "And yet you still harbor delusions of stopping me?"
"Lying is unbecoming of you, mother."
The corners of Satsuki's mouth curled faintly into a smirk at the faltering of her mother's sadistic expression. Flicking the Scissor Blade through the air as a writhing aura of deep blue spiritual energy once more enveloped her body, she ignored the small amount of satisfaction pulsing through her chest at Ragyo's visible astonishment when the weapon transformed into an identical replica of Ryuko's Decapitation Mode.
"Your entire plan is nothing more than a desperate gamble!"
Lightning flashed across the heavens as she raised the transformed Scissor Blade to her shoulder, a metallic ringing echoing across the landscape. As streams of water cascaded down Junketsu's armor, the backdrop of holy radiance grew increasingly brilliant, "You can hide your nervousness beneath a paltry veneer of confidence but this battle was predicated upon a quick victory! For once Isshin Kurosaki's Life Fiber Barrier is restored, both you and your army will be rendered powerless!"
The spiritual energy radiating from the former Kiryuin heiress, bolstered by her nearly perfect synchronization with Junketsu, exploded outwards as she defiantly proclaimed, "I might fall beneath your power, Ragyo Kiryuin, but –"
"You talk far too much…"
Manicured fingers clasped firmly around her daughter's mouth as the Kiryuin matriarch closed the distance between them in a single step. Easily lifting Satsuki off the ground despite her feeble attempts to counter the sudden shift in momentum, Ragyo's lips curled in sadistic pleasure at the fear in her daughter's blue eyes, "Grandiose speeches are wonderful when used appropriately, Satsuki. Speaking down to the plebeians…asserting your dominance over humanity…killing Quincy. The middle of a battle, on the other hand, is certainly not the proper place for such avocations."
Squeezing a modicum tighter when Satsuki's heel slammed into her stomach to absolutely no effect, Ragyo's maroon eyes narrowed fractionally as she calmly stabbed Isshin's sword into the ground, "However, your little act of disobedience was anything but a fight. Your thoroughly annoying attempt at stalling for time, while quite commendable, has amounted to absolutely nothing. A few minutes wasted on a meaningless conversation against a young girl who still cannot comprehend the truth of the world."
Ragyo decided to accentuate her point by delicately trailing a finger down her daughter's bare stomach, eliciting a muffled shout of defiance. Easily intercepting Satsuki's wrist when she foolishly swung the Scissor Blade at her heart, she chuckled before knocking the weapon out of her daughter's unworthy grasp. Amused eyes watching the work of her former and unimaginative husband twirl through the air before stabbing blade-first into the mud, the rainbow undertone in her hair shone menacingly as she shook her head and sighed, "Today's youth simply have no respect for their elders…"
The simultaneous widening of both her daughter and Junketsu's eyes as several Life Fibers emerged from her fingers, the rainbow threads weaving dangerous through the air, brought endless satisfaction to the Kiryuin matriarch. Heroic willpower and determination aside, her daughter was still nothing more than human. An exceptionally gifted and powerful human born of her flesh and blood but nothing compared to Life Fiber Hybrids. And with Satsuki's allies and Nudist Beach preoccupied with Xcution and her COVERS, she had all the time in the world to reweave her daughter and Junketsu into obedient servants.
Having Satsuki slaughter her former comrades, the utter betrayal stinging deep as they lay dying in the rain, would be well worth wasting another few minutes.
"Now isn't this quite the surprise…"
Maroon eyes widened fractionally at the distinctly masculine voice penetrating the pouring rain, the entirely unexpected presence momentarily taking her by surprise. Just how did this man manage to avoid her senses? Quickly recomposing herself with all the grace afforded to a woman of her social standing, Ragyo ignored her daughter's continuing petulant actions as she glanced impatiently over her shoulder at the source of the unwanted interruption. As rain trailed down his black cloak in thick streams, the hood hiding everything but the lower half of his smirking visage, the man continued in the same calm tone.
"It seems I owe Kisuke Urahara an apology. I assumed his rhetoric born of unnecessary apprehension, the continued result of a previous irreconcilable difference of opinion. But your presence in Karakura Town helps explain his sudden change of heart."
Lightly disturbing the growing puddles of water covering the ground as he took several deliberate steps closer to the Kiryuin matriarch, the man held up a hand and commented, "This isn't a situation where one can allow their judgment to be clouded by emotion. Even determination can be detracting if expressed improperly. After all, you are someone who contorts the concept of 'power.' Intelligence, strength, speed…these concepts cannot describe you, Ragyo Kiryuin. For how does one compare anything to the woman who has been touched by the Original Life Fiber?"
Ragyo ignored the feeling of utter disgust trailing down her spine, "And who are you?"
There was something inherently wrong about her unwanted guest, a mixture of discontent and antipathy increasing with every second that passed. And despite her legendary patience, for some reason she wished nothing more than to immediately skewer the man through the heart. Casting one final look at her daughter before callously tossing her away without a second thought, the Kiryuin matriarch removed Isshin's hardened Life Fiber sword from the ground before turning her full attention upon the man, "From your familiarity with that annoying shopkeeper I can only presume you're another one of Isshin's clandestine colleagues."
"Isshin Kurosaki…"
The amusement in the man's tone caused Ragyo to narrow her eyes, "You might say we are well acquainted. In fact, your chance encounter with him would never have happened if it weren't for my personal involvement."
Lightning pulsed through the heavens, bathing the deluged city in shades of purple, as the Kiryuin matriarch sneered. It was annoying enough that the man felt the need to speak to her in a condescending fashion, completely ignoring the fact she was only humoring him, but claiming he had anything to do with Isshin was simply too much. There was confidence and then there was suicidal disrespect, "Your involvement?"
"Perhaps you don't believe me," the man, completely unperturbed by the sudden rise in spiritual energy, noticed Satsuki crouching against a fallen tree. This was the first time he was able to personally observe a Kamui, one of the pure Life Fiber beings. Putting aside the matter of its appearance around Satsuki Kiryuin, the power radiating from its advanced state at a surprising level, he casually added, "But I wouldn't expect a woman of your position to simply take my word at face value. Needless of your beliefs, Isshin's encounter with Masaki Kurosaki would never have occurred without my direct involvement."
Maroon eyes widened briefly at the insinuation before narrowing in growing fury. It was abundantly clear the man was taunting her, using her loss to that woman in a futile attempt to enrage her. But just because she refused to fall for the tactic did not mean she would allow the man to continue speaking…or standing. The rainbow undertone from her silver hair brightening dangerously as she clacked a heel against the air, a pulse of spiritual energy rippling outwards from the point of contact, Ragyo tightened her fingers around Isshin's blade and smirked coldly, "Is that right?"
Wisps of rainbow energy wafted from the hardened Life Fiber weapon as her tone grew increasingly sinister, "Assuming you're telling the truth, my dear étranger, there is something about you that piques my interest. You're neither human nor are you one of those Quincy scurrying in the shadows. And you're certainly not a vampire. So tell me, just who are you?"
"What an interesting question…"
As streams of water cascaded from the man's raised arm, a faint wind began blowing through the park, "Would knowing my name depreciate your desire to end my life?"
"I simply wish to inform your next of kin," the Kiryuin matriarch explained with a distinct lack of amusement as she marched towards the boorish man, "But my patience with your baseless slander has reached its limit. I do have a schedule to keep."
"Is that so?"
A brief moment of silence followed the rhetorical question, punctuated only by the pealing of thunder, before a katana abruptly shattered into existence between the man's fingers. As the hood of Kisuke Urahara's spiritual-concealing cloak was blown away by a gust of wind, revealing swept-back brown hair, Sosuke Aizen's calm demeanor didn't falter at Ragyo's unimpressed quirking of her eyebrow. It would have been presumptuous to assume a woman of her caliber, who's witnessed the truth of the world with her own eyes, would find such a mundane display remarkable.
"Then by all means try to kill me," Aizen smiled amiably at the monstrous spiritual energy lurking beneath Ragyo Kiryuin's false skin. Jagged arcs of lightning illuminating the storm deluging Karakura Town when he raised his power, causing the woman's eyes to widen fractionally and her daughter to wisely leap several dozen meters further away, the traitorous shinigami shifted into the most basic of zanjutsu stances. His calculating mind simulating nearly a dozen variations of attacks the woman would attempt in the next five seconds, each difficult to counter for anyone other than himself, Aizen ruminated on the question he asked Kisuke Urahara not an hour ago.
Just how did Isshin Kurosaki allow the Celestial Cocoon Seed Planet to progress to such an extent?
