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Chapter 3

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Part 3

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Meeting Hall

Division One barracks

Soul Society

A disgruntled Toshiro trudged into the Captain's meeting, missing his eyebrows and scowling venomously. His hair was visibly singed as well, though there actually were no visible wounds on his face.

"Captain-General, I must report the capture of two Ryoka." The youngest Captain spat. "A large boy with strange power that almost feel tainted by Hollow and one Ganju Shiba. I believe we now have a confirmation on how the intruders got past the barrier."

"A Shiba you say?" Yamamoto murmured thoughtfully. "It lines up with Aizen's speculation."

Toshiro looked at his commander.

"It appears that Isshin Shiba is in fact alive and in the human world. The red haired boy leading the Ryoka is apparently his son." Ukitake smiled. "With your permission, Captain-General, I'll go speak with the boy and ensure he won't do something foolish." He grimaced. "From what we saw, he does have the Shiba's temperament."

"A Shiba explain your new look anyway. From what I hear, they love to tinker with fireworks these days." Shunsui looked critically at Toshiro with a sympathetic smile and glanced at his old friend. "I'll come with you." He added. "We can't have those three fine ladies killing each other or bringing down the hill on their heads."

The Captain-General's students looked up at him.

"Bring Yoruichi Shihoin back. I'll have words with her." Yamamoto ordered. He was going to get to the bottom of the chaos engulfing Soul Society and someone was going to pay for it. In the same vein, once the current situation was resolved, he would discuss Isshin Shibas indiscretions with the man himself.

Children these days...

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Urahara's not so secret training ground

Soul Society

Ichigo couldn't really concentrate of trying to find his Bankai's real blade, no matter what the Old Man said and did. The fight happening above his head was too distracting and unfortunately, it was happening too fast for him to even think about interfering. Those three… at best they were blurs he could barely perceive, at worst, he could see the Reiatsu explosions left after they clashed. That man, Aizen's words, didn't help. While he wasn't a fool, no matter what some people thought, Ichigo had to admit that he knew too little about being a Shinigami, much less about Soul Society to even begin wondering if what he was told was true, a lie, or something in between.

More importantly, could Kukaku and Ganju really be his relatives? As far as he knew, all the family he had back in the real world were only his precious sisters and goat of a father. He could scarcely believe that Goat-chin was or had been a Shinigami, much less a Captain. On the other hand, his father would fit right in with some of the crazies Ichigo already encountered in this insane place.

"Ichigo, look forwards!" Zangetsu snapped at him and came wielding a curved blade, forcing Kurosaki to duck below the swing. He barely parried a thrust and his sword shattered once, making him reflexively jump back and grab for the next blade.

Really, how the hell was he supposed to find the real Bankai among this forest of blades?! He continued to clash with the Old Man, all the while the whole cave shook with explosions and debris began to fall from the ceiling.

It was no real surprise that Ichigo didn't notice the newest arrivals and it took Zangetsu ceasing their fight to stand protectively in front of them in order for him to pay attention.

"Now what?" Kurosaki groaned.

"He really looks like Kaien…" Ukitake whispered in wonder. While he did see the boy through the cameras carried by the Stealth Force members, being here to look at the boy with his own eyes, the resemblance was uncanny. While it wasn't exactly impossible for the human to be merely a double in appearance, such things did happen if you lived long enough, the boys looks combined with the name of his father made it all but certain.

Shunsui merely hummed distractedly as he observed the battle ongoing above them with gleam in his eyes. At that moment, one of the figures up there vanished, only for a disgruntled voice to speak from behind him.

"Joy, it's the shameless leech. How you still haven't gotten yourself neutered, I'll never know."

He turned around with a smile and looked at the blue woman, Aizen's Bankai, no less. Up close and personal she looked even more interesting than through the video screen.

"Hi, gorgeous!"

"Compliments will get you nowhere." The Zanpakuto sneered at him. "Are you going to do something constructive about this mess or will you just make things worse, I wonder?"

"We prefer a peaceful resolution to this conflict." Ukitake promised.

"Go tell it to that pussy cat." Aria grumbled while rubbing her shoulder.

If anything, the battle above them intensified now that there was no one to distract Soi-Fon and Yoruichi from resolving their issues by trying to kill each other.

"You know what, Shunsui," An amused expression formed on Ukitake's face, "I'm leaving the ladies to you. Gleefully." He added and walked slowly towards Ichigo. "Hi there. I'm Captain Jushiro Ukitake, I used to be good friends with your father, Mr Kurosaki. How is Isshin doing these days?"

"For once I'm not looking forward to spending quality time with two fine ladies…" Shunsui muttered when a particular Shunko clash cracked the ceiling.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Aria hissed, brandishing her blade.

"Make that three… Can we talk about this? Perhaps go have a drink or two?" Shunsui offered speculatively.

"You're the bloody Shinigami, you go deal with those two." The Zanpakuto pointed her katana at the fighting pair. "I'm done trying to talk sense into them. If I go up there again, they'll both regret it." Aria seethed. "Damned skanks…"

"Unresolved or unrequited love?" Shunsui asked in speculation. He wigged his eyebrows at the Zanpakuto too for good measure.

"They both need to get laid and chill off." Aria nodded. "Too wound up." She looked at the Shinigami in front of he speculatively. "Don't get your hopes up, boy. You're out of your league with them."

Shunsui gave her a deadpan look.

"Neither of them is desperate enough to go for a leech like you." Aria nodded firmly. "They do have standards, even if one of them is a bloody cat."

"My reputation isn't that bad!"

"You've been trying to sleep with everything vaguely female for longer than I can remember and that's saying something." Aria huffed and vanished, dispersing in flakes of light.

"Heh, we must get Aizen to release his Bankai more often."

Shunsui shook his head in amusement, drew his swords while still sheathed and Flash Stepped upwards, appearing between the women after they separated from their last clash.

=DA=

Part 4

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Division Four Barracks

Soul Society

I had mixed feelings when a Hell Butterfly flew into my office carrying a message, while I was busy consulting legal documents and crafting the best possible arguments to bring in front of Central 46 so they could see the light and overturn Rukia's execution. It was all a show of course, however the two squads of ninjas hanging in the vicinity trying to be inconspicuous kind of demanded said deception.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has been detained and is currently a guest at the Tenth Division. Yoruichi Shihoin is in custody and will be facing interrogation in front of the Captains at the First Division once an attempt to heal Captain Ukitake has been made. Escort the human Orihime Inoue to the Fourth Division Barracks and once she has made her attempt, come for the Captains meeting along with Captains Unohana and Ukitake."

The voice was familiar, it was Sasakibe, Yamamoto's Lieutenant. There was little surprising in this missive. Thanks to Kyoka's physical illusion I knew that Kyoraku and Ukitake manged to acquire both Ichigo and Yoruichi, in the former case before the boy could achieve his Bankai, which was a most interesting development, one that threw the old future out of the airlock even more than rest of my meddling. Well, butterflies I guessed. The way things were going, if I had to flee I might have to pick up Kurosaki and Orihime as well, to keep them safe for the time being if nothing else. And I might have to flee soon depending on what that damned cat would be saying and how much sway the planted orders and authorizations will have with Gotei 13. Even if they believed in the ruse, they might still want my head on a silver platter, and then there was the issue of what the next government might decide once it formed. At any rate I would be under tremendous amount of scrutiny for the foreseeable future and there was that arranged negation issue for a bit after noon today.

Tosen and Gin as well, they were plotting and I actually didn't know where the later was, though I did have my suspicions.

Well, there was nothing to it. I stashed my paperwork in a secure compartment, marked where I was on the thick legal tomes and headed for the sleeping area where Momo was keeping an eye on our honoured guest while resting herself.

I moved silently so I wouldn't disturb my sleeping soldiers, carefully maintaining Aizen's well crafted image. This time around I had no intention of discarding it even if the worst happened. It was simply too useful a tool – the gentle Captain who followed his orders to the letter, no matter how much they tore at his heart, until he could no longer take it and rebelled, for the best of reasons of course… I couldn't help it and a bemused smile formed on my face.

"Momo, please awake our guest." I said after gently awakening Hinamori.

Momo blinked bleary eyes at me before recognizing me and fully awakening. "Captain!" She squealed and flushed.

"We've got order from the Captain-Commander, first we'll escort Ms Orihime to the Fourth, and after she attempts to heal Jushiro, you'll bring her back, while I'll be off for a Captain's meeting." I explained.

Momo nodded and went to awake Orihime, who didn't feel like getting up anytime soon. This was likely the only time she slept at a safe location ever since stepping foot in Soul Society, and in the end, she was little more than a human child, it made sense she would be exhausted, both physically and mentally. Momo eventually coaxed her up and after a brief explanation that made Inoue beam like a lighthouse, we were off.

A brief trip using Flash Steps got us in front of the Fourth, where an unseated Shinigami I wasn't familiar with led us to a room where Unohana had Ukitake sitting on a bed and was busy running diagnostic Kaido all over him. Shunsui leaned on the wall to the right, observing them with a contemplative expression on his face. He had a large angry bruise on his left cheek and his left arm was bound in a snow white sling.

Yoruichi really did a number on Shunsui before he and Soi-Fon could finally subdue her. Well, that was to be expected, he did open his mouth at the wrong moment and the only surprise there was that the Captain of the Second didn't join her old mentor in attempting to cave in his skull and neuter him, not necessary in that order.

I led my small party inside with a smile, made the necessary introduction then looked pointedly at Kyoraku. "You've been hitting on my Zanpakuto." I stated blandly.

"Well, shes…" He began smiling…

"If you hit on Kyoka again, I'll have to do something terrible to you, my friend. She is off limits."

"Ah… don't be like that. She's such a fine Zanpakuto, one of the best really…"

"Captain Unohana, do you think that neutering might improve Shunsui's disposition? Perhaps make him more interested in his duties as a Captain too?" I inquired innocently.

What no one expected was Retsu giggling at my suggestion while Shunsui blanched, unsure how serious I was, especially when Unohana might attempt to carry it out anyway for the hell of it.

"That's a theory that might be worth testing." Unohana finished with the Kaido and looked speculatively at Kyoraku. "I like how you've changed as of late Sosuke." She offered me a pleasant smile.

"Me too, even though my mind is still all jumbled up and the less said about my control right now the better." I smiled humbly and rubbed the back of my head.

Unohana nodded before turning her attention to Orihime. She first explained Ukitake's symptoms and then proceeded to quiz the girl on the way her ability worked. All the while Shunsui glanced warily between me and Retsu to his oldest friend's great amusement.

"It might work. Rejecting injuries, such a fascinating power…" Retsu said with a gleam in her eye. I was sure now that she would want Orihime as a part of her division, no matter if she was still alive or not. "Do go on."

Orihime nodded warily and gingerly went to stand besides Jushiro. She raised her hands, palms extended and looked at him with impressive amount of determination.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject!" She declared aloud and a golden shield enveloped Ukitake.

It was a fascinating and education thing to watch, especially for those with the right senses. What she did had nothing to do with regular Kaido healing, something not lost on Unohana.

"To think that a human has such a power…" Retsu's tone became odd one more.

Jushiro gasped as soon as the golden energy touched him and he brought an arm up to his chest. Soon, he was taking deep breaths with a look of wonder on his face. Orihime wavered, sweat forming on her forehead, however she didn't pause, much less required to stop. She soldiered on and within a few tense minutes it was all over.

"It's done…" Orihime mumbled and collapsed only, however both Retsu and Ukitake caught her.

"This…" Jushiro was smiling, taking deep breaths as if he had been drowning just a moment before. "This is incredible!" He declared with a look of wonder on his face. "Captain Unohana, please take good care of Ms Orihime over here. I owe it more than I could possibly repay."

"Me too my friend. You're fine?" Shunsui asked seriously.

"That remains to be seen." Unohana had to rain on their parade. She deposited Orihime to one of the free beds in the room and ran a Kaido over her. "She's merely exhausted. A few days of rest and good food should have her back on her feet. Now as far as you're concerned…" Unohana did a decent imitation of Kurotsuchi with a new toy to play with as she began running all kinds of test over Jushiro.

"Well this went better than I hoped." I beamed at Ukitake.

"I'm grateful you brought Ms Orihime to our attention and suggested she heal me. I owe you one as well." Jushiro thanked me.

"Nonsense, what are friends for?"

"Huh. She really did it. There's no trace of the disease, in fact there's absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"In that case I believe we're all off to that Captain's meeting. Momo, keep an eye on Orihime here until relieved."

"That we are." Unohana agreed. "Captain Ukitake, you're coming back for further tests and observation once we're done, am I clear?" Retsu displayed one of the patented terrifying smiles, which was more than enough to make two of the most dangerous and powerful Captains stiffen and hastily nod in acceptance.

Me on the other hand? That merely made her that much more interesting.

We all Flash Stepped away towards the First. It was time to face the music.