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"Rukia" - Regular Speech
'Ichigo' - Thoughts
*Kaien-dono* - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts
"Bankai!" - Spiritual Technique
Chapter 7: The Flower Crane Cannon
"He's huge!" Ishida swore as the kneeling Gatekeeper towered over Ichigo. Chad and Orihime looked as if they were about to bolt towards their orange-haired friend to help him, until Kirika put a hand out in a stopping gesture.
"Have confidence in Kurosaki-san's abilities." she said, "I know the physical differential is large, but rest assured that he can handle this situation."
"B-but-!" Orihime stammered out.
"Physical size in battles such as this is a slight advantage." Kirika acknowledged, "It is part of the reason Ikkanzaka Jidanbō has successfully guarded this gate for the last three centuries without a single person getting past him. The advantage only holds true when he is against a weaker foe, however."
"OH? Are you saying that he isn't weak then?" Jidanbō boomed loudly.
"Your hearing is quite admirable, Ikkanzaka-san." Kirika said with a slight bow, "I would say that you will be pleasantly surprised by his strength."
"Hah! You country bumpkins don't know what you're getting into!" the giant snorted, "I'll get around to you once I take care of this one here."
"We don't have time for a one-one-one duel!" Ishida growled.
"Kurosaki-san is not the same person he was a month ago, Ishida-san." the masked Soul Reaper, "Just watch and learn."
The bespectacled boy frowned at Kirika, probably thinking she was being cavalier with her brother's life.
"Kurosaki-san has a lot of Reiryoku, far more than most Soul Reapers could ever dream of possessing." she told him, "The reason he had so much trouble with someone with as great an amount as he was his relative inexperience at manipulating it. He fought against Urahara-san day and night for five days straight after acquiring his true Zanpakutō and learned the rudiments of how to control his Reiryoku and use his Reiatsu. The difference…well, watch and learn."
In front of them, Ichigo reached up, grabbed the handle of his sword, and drew it with surprising ease for such a large blade. The cloth wrap around the blade unfurled and revealed the razor sharp edge of the Zanpakutō.
"Finished listening to them?" Jidanbō asked.
"I don't recall asking you to wait for them to finish talking." Ichigo shot back.
'Aniki! That was just rude.' Kirika sighed to herself in exasperation. Ichigo always did hate formalities, but this was just him being rude because he could.
"Definitely a country bumpkin." Jidanbō growled as he raised his axe, "Ya don't know etiquette. When someone waits politely for you…it's polite to say 'THANK YOU'!"
He shouted the last two words as he slammed his axe down on top of Ichigo and kicking up a large cloud of dust. The shockwave of displaced air made the rest of the group cover their eyes to protect them from the pieces of destroyed flagstone from the strike. Yoruichi climbed onto Kirika and sat in her hood.
Much to everyone's surprise, when the dust cleared, Ichigo stood exactly where he had been previously, holding Jidanbō's massive axe back with a single-handed block with his Zanpakutō. He didn't even look as though he was struggling in the slightest.
"Incredible…!" Ishida breathed, "Just how strong is he?"
"As strong as it takes." Kirika replied, "As I said, the Kurosaki Ichigo who stands before you and the one you knew previously are at two different levels of power."
"Attacking before I've even taken a stance…ain't that a lack of etiquette as well?" Ichigo asked impudently as Jidanbō disengaged, his eyes wide in disbelief
For some reason, this made the giant laugh uproariously, to the point Ichigo was pushed back by the expelled air.
"You're not bad, brat." Jidanbō chuckled as he stood up fully, "You make the third person who has challenged this gate to have stopped my first blow. It has been decades! Now I can fight all out for a change! Three may have stopped my first strike, but none have stopped my second!"
The giant Gatekeeper's second strike was even more ferocious than his first and Ichigo was plainly putting a lot of strength into his arm in order to hold the axe back. Still just a one handed grip though.
"Ha-Hah! Good." Jidanbō grinned widely, "Still standin' I see! Take this! Juppon Jidanda Matsuri! (Ten Red-Buffalo Strikes Festival!)"
With that, the Gatekeeper of the Hakutōmon unleashed multiple strikes with his axe on Ichigo. Each blow was stronger and faster than the last, but Jidanbō didn't seem to have a good grasp on how to count to ten.
"ONE!…TWO!…THREE!…FOUR!…FIVE!…SIX!…SEVEN!…SEVEN!…SEVEN!…EIGHT!…er…SIX!…EIGHT!…" the giant shouted, "Time for the finale! TEN!"
Drawing his axe back, Jidanbō sent a final horizontal strike to finish off the orange-haired Soul Reaper. It slammed home with a deafening crash that made everyone flinch, especially Yoruichi with her cat hearing.
"Wha…what…? Impossible!" Jidanbō gasped in incredulity.
As the smoke cleared, the group could see the reason for his disbelief. Ichigo was standing there, completely unharmed and unmoved from his position, the massive cleaver that was his Zanpakutō blocking the last blow, embedded into the ground and supported by his entire body.
"…! Ichigo!" Chad rumbled in awe.
"Incredible..!" Orihime said, eyes wide.
"He's showboating." Kirika grumbled. She knew he could have dodged every blow had he wanted to.
"Maa, let him enjoy his first proper fight." her werecat sensei demurred, "He'll have to learn things the hard way, you know that."
Kirika grumbled slightly, but fell silent once Jidanbō reached inside his Shihakushō and drawing out a second axe, just as large as the first.
"I'm not done! Not by a long shot!" he declared, as he raised both axes and unleashed all of his physical strength, shattering the armour on his left arm, "Take this! Banzai Jidanda Matsuri! (Ten-Thousand Red-Buffalo Strikes Festival!)"
The Gatekeeper swung his axes down simultaneously, the air shrieking as the weapons cut through it on a collision course with Ichigo, who still hadn't moved from his initial position even once during this fight.
With a single swipe of his sword, Ichigo destroyed both of Jidanbō's mighty axes and sent the giant flying to crash into the Sekkiseki wall behind him.
"I don't believe it!" Ishida gaped in shock, "He just destroyed both axes and sent that giant flying with one cut!"
"This is why physical size is meaningless." Kirika said gravely, "Reiryoku can increase a person's strength by a large amount, depending on your control of it. Having a fit body is an advantage, but it can only take you so far. A lot of Soul Reapers don't get that what you have is secondary to how you use it."
The solemnity of the moment was broken by Jidanbō starting to bawl like a baby once he discovered that both of his axes were reduced to the hafts in his hands.
"First he laughs, now he's crying?" Ishida was apparently baffled by the humanity of the Gatekeeper.
"Out of the four Gatekeepers, the people of the Rukongai like and are fond of Jidanbō the most, especially this area, as he came from here." Yoruichi told him, "He specifically requested this gate when he was made a Gatekeeper three-hundred years ago."
"Kurosaki-san, destroying both axes was more than slightly over the top." Kirika sighed as she strode over to stand next to her brother, "We aren't even supposed to come this way."
"I guess I could have left one intact." Ichigo admitted sheepishly, "Sorry big guy."
'He's deliberately ignoring the fact we are not going this way!' the younger Kurosaki scowled beneath her mask. To try to enter the Seireitei through the Hakutōmon -or any of the other four gates for that matter- would be stupidity incarnate. With all the fighting that had been happening on this side, there would be a large force of Soul Reapers, possibly a Lieutenant or two as well, on the other side waiting for them.
'Maybe even one of the three bastards I'm looking for…' a seductive thought crept into her mind that she rapidly dismissed. That would be a worst-case scenario, to have a Captain-class Soul Reaper waiting for them on the other side of the gate. They'd be annihilated in seconds, if that.
"You…you two are nice guys!" Jidanbō declared as he sat up from the ground where he had been wailing, "Here's you'n'me being enemies and yer worried about me, the loser!"
"You fought well, Ikkanzaka-san. There is nothing wrong with losing after giving it your best effort." Kirika said gently. It was true. She seriously doubted that anyone had ever forced the giant of a Soul Reaper to go as far as he had in his duel with Ichigo. Anyone under the strength of a Fifth Seat would be utterly unable to defeat the giant without resorting to Kidō or Shikai, which Ichigo didn't have any choice but to use because of his appalling Reiryoku control.
"What a big hearted pair you are!" the giant grasped Kirika and Ichigo, one in each hand as he continued to burble.
"It's more like, how could I not comfort someone when they cry that much?" Ichigo said in an embarrassed tone. He was really bad at taking compliments he felt he didn't deserve.
After a period of time where Jidanbō bemoaned his loss as both a warrior and a man to Ichigo, he turned and, before Kirika could stop him, heaved the Hakutōmon up and open, revealing…
A silver-haired man with the face of a snake and the white haori of a captain in the Goteijūsantai.
"Th-the Captain of the Third Squad of the Goteijūsantai…Ichimaru Gin!" Jidanbō croaked
"Who the hell's that?" Ichigo asked bluntly. Kirika was paralyzed in a mixture of fear and hatred. Her worst-case scenario had come true!
"Of all the people…" Yoruichi muttered.
The Gatekeeper was paralyzed with fear as Ichimaru gave a false smile.
"Maa…this ain't right, Jidanbō. The gatekeeper isn't supposed to open the gate. Let's take care of that." Ichimaru said slowly, a hint of KI erupting from him that clued Kirika in to what he planned on doing.
The werecat found herself dropped off as Kirika vanished in a Shunpo, intercepting and parrying a sword blade that had extended from the hilt Ichimaru had drawn and pointed at Jidanbō's left arm in less time than it took to blink twice.
It felt like Kirika was trying to stop a freight train with Nejibana. Had she been able to release her Shikai, it might have been a different story, but with just the Fūingata, it was hard. With a shout of effort, she threw the sword to the side, meaning that Ichimaru only barely grazed Jidanbō's arm.
"Hmmm?" the silver-haired man looked at her curiously, as she landed in front of the giant and her brother. "Not bad. Ya actually managed to deflect my Shinsō (God Spear) to the point that all he received was a flesh wound. Let's try how you stop a direct attack."
"A wakizashi?" Ichigo muttered as he looked at the sword in the Captain's hand.
"It ain't no wakizashi, kid. This here's my Zanpakutō." Ichimaru remonstrated him as he crouched, pulled his right arm that held his Zanpakutō back and placed his left arm horizontally over it.
"Ikorose, Shinsō! (Shoot to Kill, God Spear!)" He called out.
Kirika barely managed to interpose her sword before she was slammed back by the point of Shinsō slamming into the flat of Nejibana. She was sent flying into Ichigo, making both of them fly through the Hakutōmon.
"Jidanbō! Close the gate!" she yelled.
"R-right!" the giant hastily stepped back and dropped the gate.
"Smart kid." Ichimaru said as he waved, "Bye-bye!"
With a thump, the Hakutōmon slammed shut.
"Ow…" Ichigo muttered, "Well that's just great. We could have fought him if you hadn't messed up, Kokken!"
"We'd be dead if we did that, you incompetent moron." Kirika spat at him as she got up and glared down at him, "His sword can extend a hundred times its normal length in seconds and he is a damn Captain! Did you ever stop to think how easily Kuchiki Byakuya crushed you before? Ichimaru could do it just as easily to you and with greater ease with the others!"
"Tch. We wont know now because he's gone." Ichigo said stubbornly.
'Time to make a point.' the redhead though as she brought up a hand and said, "Bakudō #1: Sai!"
With a jerk, Ichigo's arms were twisted behind him.
"Oi! What the hell?!" he roared before falling silent as Kirika placed her sword's edge at his jugular.
"Kidō, Kurosaki-san." she stated softly as she felt the other three prepare to attack her to defend Ichigo, "All Soul Reapers are at least somewhat proficient in both aspects of Kidō. You have only learned Zanjutsu. I can easily defeat you several times over, because I have learned the basics of the Zankensoki, the four primary skills of a Soul Reaper, whereas you are a lame duck who can only use his Zanpakutō. You can't move at high speed using Hohō, you can't cast spells with Kidō and your grasp of Hakuda is limited to human martial arts, which is all but useless against a moderately trained Soul Reaper. A Captain is infinitely more powerful in all areas than I am. Do not overreach yourself or it will be your friends who suffer because of it."
She hated to do that. She really did. It was necessary, however. Her brother was far too stubborn and reckless to pay her any heed unless the point was made absolutely crystal clear that he was both in the wrong and that Kirika/Kokken Asa was not going to back down.
"But Rukia could be executed any minute!" Ichigo protested.
"The Soul Society is very inflexible." she informed him as she stepped back and sheathed her blade, "The Central 46 especially. They will not order a change in execution date until and unless it is obvious to them that Rukia-san is going to be rescued momentarily. Abandon your recklessness."
She then flashed over to Jidanbō and examined the cut he received from Ichimaru. The giant was slumped over on the Sekkiseki walls, nursing the cut when she appeared.
"Yikes…this is a bad flesh wound you have here, Jidanbō." she said as she looked it over, "Regular Kaidō will take quite some time to heal such a long wound, but one of my companions can heal you up fairly quickly. Inoue-san!"
"Hai?" Orihime replied slightly warily. Hardly an unexpected result from Kirika attacking the girl's crush.
"Could you have a look at Jidanbō's wound and see if the Shun-Shun Rikka can heal it?" the masked Soul Reaper asked.
"Oh! Of course." the bubbly girl hurried over, "Sōten Kisshun!"
Under the giant's astonished gaze, the orange shield settled over the wound and the muscle and skin slid back together seamlessly. After a moment, the shield faded and the two fairies returned to their hairpin forms.
"There. How does that feel, Jidanbō-san?" the girl asked cheerfully.
"As good as new." the gatekeeper replied in astonishment, flexing and stretching his arm experimentally. "My thanks, young lady."
"Hehehe…" Orihime blushed in embarrassment.
Kirika heard muttering coming from behind them and turned. Various Souls were residents of the district were standing and looking at the group of invaders, muttering among themselves.
"Why were they hiding until now?" Ishida wondered.
"Because we're what they call Ryoka, Souls who have come to the Soul Society without the guidance of Soul Reapers." Kirika answered, "All who are so designated as Ryoka are seen as the source of disasters."
"'Travelling Evils'? Really?" the Quincy deadpanned.
"Most are Hollows." Kirika replied with a shrug, "In fact, I doubt that there's been any Ryoka aside from us that haven't been Hollows in a good long while."
The group tensed, ready to do battle, until an old man stepped forwards and bowed.
"Please wait. I am the elder of this Junrinan District of the Rukongai." he said, "I was watching the entirety of that incident just now. As ones who not only saved, but healed Jidanbō, I bid you welcome in this district."
"Huh?" Ichigo gaped for a moment.
"Although a lot of the Soul Reapers are arrogant bastards, Jidanbō-san came from this District." a Soul next to the elder explained, "He always treats us kindly. You all went against Ichimaru Gin to protect him, so you have to be nice people. Ordinary Ryoka wouldn't do that."
"Aw, you guys!" Jidanbō started to tear up again.
"Jidanbō-san, you'd better go into hiding until the furore in the Seireitei dies down a bit." the elder addressed the giant, "The warehouses are free at the moment, so go there."
"Thank you, elder." Jidanbō said tearfully, "You kids look after yourselves now! If you meet my little brother inside, Ikkanzaka Jirōbō, tell him I said to help you!"
With that, the now-former gatekeeper stomped off to hide.
"Why's he hiding?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"The Captains of the Gotei 13 are intolerant of failure." Yoruichi replied, "If Kokken hadn't intervened, Jidanbō would likely have been killed by Ichimaru."
"That's awful!" Orihime said in distress.
"Let's head over to my house so we can talk things over and rest." the elder suggested.
Chad was about to say something when the Soul of Shibata Yūichi emerged from the crowd and greeted him.
'Incredible…to think that out of all the districts in the Rukongai, he was sent here…' was all Kirika could think. A Konsō (Soul Burial) sent a Soul to the Soul Society and deposited them in a completely random location in the Rukongai. He was lucky to have arrived in District 1 rather than the dangerous Inuzuri or Zaraki.
"Chad, why don't you go and spend some time with Yūichi-kun here?" Kirika suggested, "He can point you in the direction of the elder's house when you've finished getting reacquainted."
Nightfall
District 1 Elder's House
"We will not be trying to get through any of the other gates, Ichigo." Yoruichi told him firmly, her masculine voice sounding exasperated, "We were never going to try to get through that gate in the first place! Kokken-san was very right to be angry with you."
The group of Ryoka were sitting around the fire pit in the elder's house, sipping tea. Kirika had her sword removed from her belt and laid next to her, ready to grab if necessary. Ichigo's Zanpakutō was too large for that, so it was leaned against the pillar he was lying back on.
The orange-haired Soul Reaper snorted, "Then what should we do then?"
"We follow the original plan." Kirika replied, "Chōrō-dono, do you know someone by the name of Shiba Kūkaku?"
"What?!" the elder's eyes widened.
"The Head of the Shiba Clan likes to change the location of the Shiba residence at the drop of a hat, so who knows were the idiot is now." Yoruichi mused.
"D-Don't tell me…you people plan to use that to get over the wall?!" the old man asked incredulously. Both Kirika and Yoruichi nodded seriously.
"Hmmm? What's with the rumbling?" Ichigo muttered.
Indeed, there was a loud rumbling noise, like a stampede was coming towards the house.
"Oh no…of all times!" the elder cursed.
Abruptly, the door was slammed off its hinges and a man rolled into the room. He wore white cloth trousers with a dark red belt, a white top with a black overcoat atop it, a red glove on his left hand, a white bandana with pink windmills on his head and sunglasses over his eyes. Poking out from the small of his back at the right was a pink-wrapped handle for a weapon, a knife of some sort given the length of the hilt.
Behind him, a large boar with a mean expression and a ridiculously large pink bow tied to its mane trotted into the room.
"What the-? A boar?!" Ichigo asked in disbelief, "Why the hell's there a boar here?!"
"Owowowowow…man, Bonnie-chan threw me off again." the strange man muttered.
'This Reiryoku…it can't be…Ganju?!' Kirika thought in astonishment as she was abruptly confronted with the younger brother of the man who had been the source of her temporary Zanpakutō. She swiftly touched the sword next to her and it changed form slightly, turning into a basic Asauchi with a plain tsuba and plain black wrap around the handle.
Kirika did not want there to be questions about why she was carrying around Shiba Kaien's Zanpakutō from either of the surviving Shiba siblings. She would beg forgiveness later.
"Yo, Occhan!" Ganju greeted the elder, "Long time no see!"
"Ganju! I told you to stop coming here and destroying my door all the time!" the elder snapped, "Go home and send money to replace my door…again!"
"Man you're cold. First time I've seen you in a while and you greet me like that." the man sighed, "Look, your guests are taken aback…"
He trailed off as he saw Kirika and Ichigo.
"Ehhh…what's a pair of shitty Soul Reapers doing here?" he asked slowly as he removed his glasses to glare at them.
Kirika decided to intervene before Ichigo did something stupid again.
"Shitty Soul Reapers like your brother and your sister-in-law, Shiba Ganju?" she asked in a bored tone of voice as she stood up and got in between the young Shiba and Ichigo.
"You dare…?!" he snarled.
"Shiba Kaien and Shiba Miyako were proud and powerful Soul Reapers. I daresay they would be rather offended at you calling them 'shitty' in such a tone of voice." she continued, "Or do you hate Soul Reapers because Kuchiki Rukia was forced to kill Kaien when he got possessed by a Hollow?"
"Bitch!" Ganju roared as he drew his fist back and punched at her.
She caught it in one hand with ease. He was self-trained in close combat, so this was no great feat. Kirika then grabbed down, squeezing Ganju's fist hard.
"OW!" he yelled and tried to pull his hand away with no success.
"Let's take this outside, shall we?" Kirika asked rhetorically as she dragged him towards the door, "We wouldn't want to destroy the elder's house now, would we?"
"Leggo!" the Shiba Scion yelped.
"Who is that guy?!" Ishida asked Yoruichi.
"Shiba Ganju. Shiba Kūkaku's younger brother." the werecat replied, "As well as the younger brother of Shiba Kaien who, as Kokken said, was killed by Rukia after he was possessed by a Hollow."
"Why would this Kūkaku person help save the person who killed her brother?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.
"Because there was nothing else Rukia could have done." Yoruichi replied, "Ganju was too young to understand it at the time and it looks like he still doesn't get it now. Ask Kokken for the full story once she's finished punishing Ganju."
Outside, Kirika threw Ganju at his three henchmen, who also rode boars. They looked damn peculiar. One had an afro of all things. Another had a pompadour. All of them rode on equally weird looking board with weird hairstyles on their manes.
"Aniki!" they yelped as he slammed into the ground in front of them.
"Haaaaahhh…" the masked Soul Reaper sighed theatrically as she cracked her knuckles, "Well, this ought to be a nice bit of exercise to help digest dinner…"
"Why you…!" Ganju growled as he shot to his feet.
"Going to set your minions on me?" Kirika asked, "Five on one or not, you can't beat me. Not even with your little Seppa (Stone Wave) trick."
"That's a Shiba Clan secret! How d'you know about it?!" Ganju demanded.
"Yeah…not telling." Kirika replied with a snort, "You want answers? Come and take them, little boy."
"Why's she calling him little boy?" Orihime asked in confusion.
"Ganju is less than half a century old, which is a child by the standards of the Soul Society." Yoruichi replied from her arms, "Similarly, Kuchiki Rukia is considered a teenager at a hundred and fifty."
"Get her!" Ganju ordered his men, who charged forward on their boars.
"Bakudō #9. Hōrin. (Way of Binding Number Nine, Disintegrating Circle.)" Kirika said calmly. She flicked her middle and index fingers on both hands at the riders of the boars, sending two thin strands of light at the riders of the boars, wrapping around them and binding their arms to their side and all of them to each other, making them fall off their 'steeds' with a chorus of yelps.
As the masked Soul Reaper calmly avoided the riderless boars, Ganju growled out, "That's dirty! Usin' Kidō!"
"There are no rules in a fight." Kirika shrugged, "Especially when one is outnumbered. Now that these four have been taken care of, I will restrict myself to Hakuda. Come."
She assumed a basic stance and made a 'come-at-me' gesture at Ganju with one hand.
"You are really asking for it!" Ganju snarled.
"Are you gonna talk or fight?" Kirika asked contemptfully, "Or is it that now you actually have someone who can refute your silly grudge, you wanna run with your tail between your legs?"
This had apparently been more than enough to motivate the Shiba Scion, as he charged forward, drawing a large flat-tipped knife from his back as he did so.
"Reckless." she sighed as she almost effortlessly dodged his enraged slices and punches. He seemed to use a style that used his admittedly impressive muscle power to beatdown his opponents quickly…if he could hit them.
"Shiba Kaien was possessed by a Hollow. This much you know." she said as she leap over him and kicked him in the small of his back, sending him stumbling forwards, "Do you know what it means for a Hollow to possess a Soul rather than a human body?"
"Shut UP!" Ganju roared as he cam around for another try.
"It means that once it happens, the Soul and the Hollow are impossible to separate." Kirika said, ignoring him even as she avoided the knife slashes, "For all intents and purposes, Shiba Kaien was a prisoner in his own body, forced to watch helplessly as the Hollow attacked his Captain and Kuchiki Rukia, who he saw as a little sister and who saw him as a figure of admiration in return."
"SHUT UP!" he howled as he used his Seppa to cause an explosion of sand to blind her temporarily. He ran to the left and made another Seppa.
'I see…he's trying to use Renkan Seppa Sen (Stone Wave Fan of Linked Rings).' Kirika thought, one of Kaien's memories coming to the forefront of her mind. The technique turned the ground within the designated area into sand, rather than just whatever he touched. It required at least four markings to act as guides to use.
"So then, what else was Kuchiki Rukia to do?" she asked aloud as Ganju ran and made another Seppa marking, "Run and leave her mentor to be a plaything of the Hollow? No. She returned and was immediately attacked by the Hollow Possessed Kaien. She counter-attacked and killed the Hollow with one stab, which allowed Shiba Kaien to resume control of his dying body and apologise to her…and thanks her, for letting him die as a Soul Reaper rather than a Hollow."
Ganju howled like a wounded animal as he made the last two Seppa marks.
"Take this!" he yelled and activated the technique.
An explosion of sand erupted from around Kirika, hiding her from view and for a while there was only silence as the sand settled, not showing a single trace of the masked Soul Reaper.
"And? What was that supposed to accomplish?" Kirika asked from atop the house across the street from the elder's place. Not a single mark was on her Shihakushō or her cape.
"Tch." Ganju was about to speak, but then froze when an alarm clock attached to the back of one of his minions rang.
"This is bad Aniki! It's Nine already!" the man called over to him.
"Geh! Come on, Bonnie-chan!" Ganju said and whistled.
The boar appeared out of nowhere and sent the idiot flying again.
"Stop playing Bonnie-chan! I need a ride!" Ganju complained once he picked himself up.
Bonnie apparently didn't like his tone, so charged him, sent him flying, then charged off for him to land on.
"You stick around!" Ganju roared at Kirika as he galloped away, "I'll be back tomorrow to kick your ass!"
"…yare, yare…looks like Ganju grew up to be quite the hooligan." Yoruichi sighed.
"Kokken-sensei…was all of that true?" Chad asked.
"Yep." Kirika sighed as she dropped down and walked over to them, "Exactly as I described. I only held one detail back."
"What?" Yoruichi asked curiously. She hadn't heard Kirika talk about the death of Shiba Kaien at all, although that was one of the memories she had retained since they had first started to leak through ten years ago.
"Shiba Kaien was a Lieutenant, the Squad 13 Lieutenant to precise." Kirika said softly, "He was good, very good, at Hohō and Hakuda. The Hollow had access to those skills, so how was it that Rukia, an Unseated Soul Reaper, was able to land a killing blow? I suspect that Kaien fought against the Hollow's control and temporarily halted the movements of his body for a few seconds at just the right moment for Rukia to strike."
"He chose to die." Orihime said with teary eyes.
"What did Kaien look like?" Ichigo asked.
"Grow your hair longer, dye it black and you'd look exactly like him." Kirika said sadly, "It's why Rukia-san tried so hard to keep you away from her when Abarai Renji and her elder brother came for her. She couldn't stand the thought of seeing you die when you look so much like the friend, mentor and crush she killed with her own two hands."
"She had a crush on him?" Orihime asked with wide eyes.
"A small crush born of admiration only." Kirika replied, "He was happily married to his Third Seat, Shiba Miyako. She was the first one to be possessed by the Hollow and killed a squad of her men. A night of tragedy indeed."
"What is this Shiba Kūkaku like?" Ishida asked, adjusting his glasses with one finger, "Yoruichi-san hasn't given us any details."
"Hmmm…a female version of Ganju with a worse temper and no tolerance for backtalk or tardiness." Kirika said thoughtfully, "This is a severe warning to you, Kurosaki-san. Do not push her or she will kick the unholy crap out of you."
"Wait...Kūkaku is female?" Ishida asked in surprise.
"Reiryoku is a big equaliser." Kirika said dryly, "In that regard, the Soul Society has always been ahead of the curve. At least five of the Captains and Lieutenants are female, but do NOT underestimate them."
Ichigo snorted. "Like I would. My little sister Kirika can kick my ass six ways to Sunday in a kendo match. She is not one to cross."
Kirika could feel Ishida's eyes on her as she blushed beneath the mask. Her brother always did appreciate her skill with a sword.
"Yes, well…we'd better get some sleep." she said quickly, "We have to head to the Shiba Family Estate tomorrow and who knows where Kūkaku has moved the place."
The Next Day
Outskirts of District 1
"Hey Uryū, are we even going the right way?" Ichigo called.
"Shut up already!" the Quincy snapped, "The map that the elder gave us says that we're going the right way!"
Ignoring the two squabbling boys, Kirika brought up the rear and walked patiently. The idiot that was Shiba Kūkaku had terrible taste in architecture and HAD to build her houses in isolated places like this.
"Ah, there it is." Yoruichi, who had been padding forwards sedately in front of Uryū, sat down and flicked her tail at the house down the hillock.
It was…horrible.
The house itself was normal for a building from Feudal Japan, with a huge chimney looming over it. What made Kirika wince was the pair of muscled concrete arms that held a red banner between them with the name 'Shiba Kūkaku' emblazoned on it in black. Talk about bad taste.
"Hmm...so she went with the two arms holding the banner this time." Yoruichi muttered thoughtfully.
"The theme is different every time?!" Ichigo and Uryū said in unified disbelief.
"Well, let's go." Kirika said with a sigh. It figured that it took mutual disgust to get those two to agree with each other, "We only have a couple of weeks to save Rukia and the Seireitei is huge. The sooner we get in, the sooner we can get out."
The walk of the group resumed, reluctantly in the case of Ishida and Ichigo. Kirika could almost hear the gears ticking over in the Last Quincy's head as he analyzed the house in front of them.
"HALT!" a pair of voices boomed.
A pair of heavily muscled men leapt down from atop the arms and crossed their arms threateningly.
"What odd apparels you wear." one noted.
"Two of you are even Soul Reapers!" the other added.
"I, Koganehiko…" the first started.
"…and I, Shiroganehiko…" the second one added.
"Shall not let you pass!" they both said in unison.
"MORE damn gatekeepers?" Ichigo groused, "People in this place are damn irritating."
Yoruichi strode forward and grinned up at the two impishly.
'She is having way too much fun with this.' Kirika thought in exasperation.
"Yoruichi-dono!?" the two guards said in surprise.
The Next Day, Early Morning
Just Prior to departing to Invade the Seireitei
Balancing one of the Shiba Clan's Reishūkaku (Spirit-Gathering Core), a blue sphere with the Shiba Clan emblem inside it. She had to admit that, at first glance, the plan was mad.
Getting shot out of Kūkaku's Kakaku Hō (Flower Crane Cannon) and break through the barrier surrounding the Seireitei using the collective Reiryoku of everyone, plus Ganju, to empower the Reishūkaku and the shield it generated wasn't a fun plan.
In order for the plan to work, everyone had to be able to use the cores themselves. Ichigo, with his gross lack of experience when dealing with such control exercises, had taken most of the previous day and most of the night to accomplish.
"Hey, masked girl." Kūkaku called over to her, "Stop juggling it! Those things aren't cheap or easy to make, y'know."
The Clan Head of the Shiba was a beautiful woman, or she would be if she ever gave a damn about what she looked like…and stopped experimenting with fireworks. She was missing her right arm, replacing it with a wooden prosthetic. Her roughly cropped black hair was partially bound with cloth, she wore a red top that did very little to conceal her large bust, a white wrap around her waist that draped down to her ankles, bandages wrapped around her feet in lieu of socks and a white cape. She also carried a smoking pipe that she used to jab at people for emphasis.
"My apologies, Kūkaku-san." Kirika said politely, "I am merely eager to get moving."
"Hah." the fireworks maker snorted. She was silent for a moment before saying, "Ganju told me you scolded him about his hatred for Soul Reapers."
"Pretty much, yeah." Kirika nodded cautiously.
"Thing is, some of the details you told him there ain't no way you should know." the woman growled, "Three people went into that forest; two came out. You ain't Ukitake and you ain't Kuchiki, so how do you know how my brother died?!"
"I give you my word to tell you after Rukia has been saved." Kirika replied.
"Listen to her, Kūkaku." Yoruichi said as she trotted out of the house and up to the Shiba Clan Head, "She doesn't know because she wants to; she would probably be happier if she didn't know."
"Tch. Fine, whatever." Kūkaku said with an eye roll, "You sure the carrot top can do this? He has all the control of a bull with raw ginger up its ass."
"He is reckless." Yoruichi conceded, "But sometimes recklessness can be a good thing; it'll take the Gotei 13 off guard and let my student here and myself to work unopposed in all the chaos."
"She's your student?" the woman raised an eyebrow, "The Hornet will not be pleased to hear about that."
"I don't go after kids that way, Kūkaku." the werecat said in disgust, "If anything, 'Kokken Asa' is like a daughter to me."
"Sensei!" Kirika flushed red at that, thankful for the mask that concealed her face.
"Never thought I'd see you getting all maternal on me, Yoruichi." Kūkaku guffawed heartily, "Ah, that was a good one. Oh? Here they come."
Out of the building walked the rest of the Ryoka group, followed by Ganju, Shiroganehiko and Koganehiko.
Ganju was dressed in a white, black and green ensemble that was designed to look good rather than anything else, although it did look rather easy to move in. He had his knife on his back, as well as a pouch that was full to the brim with who knows what. Not to mention a long sheaf of paper clutched in one hand.
"That kid better not break my Reishūkaku." the fireworks maker muttered.
Kirika had to chuckle at that. Ichigo had blown the roof off the training all when he had finally been clued in to how to insert his Reiryoku inside of the Reishūkaku. No control whatsoever.
Of course, Kūkaku had kicked the crap out of Ichigo and Ganju for that. Ichigo for doing it and Ganju for giving him a hint.
Still…the fact that Ichigo's cannonball blew up once his emotional stability was shot did not comfort her any. She just really hoped that nothing came of it.
Later…
Sky above the Seireitei
She really had to stop tempting fate, even in the sanctity of her mind.
After breaking through the shield, the shockwave had sent them all to different areas of the Seireitei. Kirika was heading for what looked like a rarely travelled part of the Court, so that was something at least.
The stupid plan was shot all to hell now, thanks to everyone being split up hither and yon. Ishida had grabbed Orihime, so she was probably safe. Ichigo was stuck with Ganju and she hoped that they wouldn't kill each other. Chad was on his own, but the muscular Mexican youth could handle himself. Yoruichi-sensei was alone, but in her cat form, she was all but undetectable.
The question was…how the hell should she stop herself from becoming a pancake here?
"Ah...yes, that'll do." she muttered, "Nana-ten. Nagareru mizu. Shūshū kumo. Jōshō oyobi Tachi sagari hikari o mamorimasu! Bakudō #37, Tsuriboshi! (Seven Points. Running Water. Gathering Clouds. Rise and protect the falling light! Way of Binding Number Thirty-Seven, Suspending Star!)"
From her extended hand, a bolt of blue light shot out and flew faster than she was moving towards where she would land. At some predetermined point, it shot out seven streamers that attached to nearby buildings before the entire thing solidified into elastic just in time to catch Kirika.
"Ow!" she grunted. Elastic or not, landing on the damn thing at the speed she had been going at hurt!
Sitting up after a moment, she peered around. None of Shiba Kaien's memories told her where she was. Typical. She was in one of the few places where she had no idea whatsoever where she was. Could this day get any worse?
"Halt, Ryoka!"
…of course it could.
Turning around, Kirika saw three Soul Reapers glaring at her with their hands on their Zanpakutō. One was thin, almost emancipated, with dirty blond hair, black eyes and large bags under his eyes. The one next to him had long black hair tied into a ponytail and red eyes, while the last was bald with tattoos all over his chrome dome and blue eyes.
"Well, well…aren't we quick?" Kirika said idly as she stood and dusted herself off, "Would you three happen to know exactly where I am in the Seireitei?"
"Silence, Ryoka scum!" the bald one barked, "Throw down your weapon and identify yourself?"
"Considering you plan on killing me right after I throw down my weapon, I'll say no to that." Kirika said dryly.
"She has a point, Daisuke." the thin one said hoarsely.
"Shaddap, Nagisa you wretch!" Daisuke snapped, "And Hiro, don't you dare say anything!"
"I said nothing." the pony tailed one replied with a smirk.
"Are you quite finished?" Kirika asked. Seriously? These lunkheads were Soul Reapers?
"Fine. If you declare that you won't comply with our orders, we'll be 'forced' to defeat you." Daisuke smirked.
"Curious here; what squad are you all in?" Kirika asked.
"We're all in different squads." Nagisa replied, "I'm in Squad Five, Hiro's in Squad Seven and Daisuke's in the Eleventh."
"Stop talking to her like she's a Soul Reaper, dammit!" Daisuke cried in frustration, "Fine! Whatever! Since you know that much, we might as well introduce ourselves. I am Hyōbu Daisuke, Eleventh Seat of Squad Eleven!
"Masakabe Hiro. Tenth Seat in Squad Seven." the black haired Soul Reaper said with another smirk.
"Err…Sasayaki Nagisa…Eleventh Seat of Squad Five." the thin one said.
"Since you've been so polite, I'll return the favour." Kirika said, "The name's Kokken Asa. A Ryoka. Nice to meet you. Now, I suppose it's beyond question that I'll have to defeat you in order to leave here, correct?"
"Not that it'll happen, but yeah." Daisuke snorted, "Seriously, give up. Three on one here."
"Zero multiplied by three is still zero." Kirika replied as she drew Nejibana, "Let's dance."
"Why you…!" Daisuke snarled, "MURDER HER!"
The three drew their own blades and charged at her. Kirika immediately leapt into the air and Shunpo'd behind them. Flipping her sword around, she slammed the blunt side into the back of Hyōbu Daisuke's head and sent him flying into her Tsuriboshi, which in turn sent him flying over a wall.
"Gaaahhh!" he yelled before he landed with a thump.
Flipping Nejibana around once more, she parried a slice from Hiro and sent him into a wall with a kick to the abdomen. Seeing his friends being beaten with such ease paralyzed Nagisa long enough for Kirika to send him flying with a kick as well.
"Wha…what's with her style?" Hiro gasped as he removed himself from the wall, "She uses kicks and punches with as much ease as her Zanpakutō!"
"That's… (Cough)…that's like the style used by the Onmitsukidō!" Nagisa added as he stood up shakily.
"Raaaaaggghhhh!" Daisuke was well beyond reason at this point as he slashed down at Kirika from her left.
She simply flared her Reiatsu and blocked the attack with her bare arm.
"Wha…?!" he gasped.
Blood spurted from small wounds in his hands as the backlash from attacking someone with higher Reiatsu struck him.
"No way! That was like the time I fought Madarame-senpai!" Daisuke gaped, "You have higher Reiatsu than me?!"
"In order to pierce it, you three will have to use either Kidō or your Shikai." Kirika remarked, "Choose your weapons."
"Tch. Like a member of Squad Eleven would be caught dead using Kidō!" Daisuke scoffed, "Let's go!"
"Like I can let you fight alone." Hiro sighed, "Yake, Hinezumi! (Scorch, Fire Rat!)"
His sword flared red and changed into a red whip that had flames licking along the length of it.
"Kaze ni patapata, Yōsen! (Flap in the wind, Leaf Fan!)" Nagisa said grimly. His sword turned into a large gunbai (war fan) with a pair of leaves emblazoned on it.
"Wakareru, Rokkotsu Tansō! (Break Up, Six-Boned Short-Spear!)" Daisuke roared. His Zanpakutō shifted until it became a copper coloured, leaf-bladed spear just as tall as he was.
"A spear, a gunbai and a whip…" Kirika stated, "Zanpakutō never cease to amaze me at how many forms they can take."
"I hope you can fight well now we have gone to the trouble of using our Shikai, girl." Hiro said with a lash of his whip. The stone it struck melted like butter.
"Yeah, yeah…" Kirika sighed, "Seriously, my luck sucks."
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Next Chapter: Mist Fire and Silver
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Author's Note #2; Nagisa can be used as a male name as well as a female name. Case in point, a male police officer in Battle Arena Toshinden 3, Nagisa Iwashiro.