"The door closed, but nobody came through?" The man asked, his gruff voice resonating through the chamber. He stood towering over the other man standing in front of him, his polished black boots shining off the polished floor. The other man shuffled, the sheet of paper in his hands trembling gently.
"That's what the report says, sir. We have to assume it was an anomaly or that the assailant didn't make it through." He responded sheepishly. The other man fumed.
"Like Hell! I want squads scouring every inch of Heaven, and get me all the 2nd Tier Captains in the meeting hall in one hour, tell 'em to be there come Hell or high water!" With that, the taller man stormed off, pounding the floor as he stomped. The other man sighed as soon as he was alone.
"That man never ceases to scare the shit out of me." He muttered as he turned to do his business. "Hey, runner!" He shouted as he stepped outside. A Death God ran up and stood promptly before him.
"You called, Captain?" He requested. The Captain rolled up the report and tied it off, then handed it to the runner.
"The General wants this report into the hands of every 2nd Tier Captain with instructions to have them in the meeting hall within one hour." He explained. The runner nodded and took off, maximizing his speed. The Captain stood silently outside the door, waiting for only a few minutes before a man walked up slowly.
"Lt. Hona, how good to see you." The Captain greeted. Hona nodded slightly.
"Sir, you summoned all the 2nd Tier Captains?" Hona replied, cutting straight to the chase.
"That's correct. Is Jas with you?" He answered. Hona shook his head.
"He's unable to attend, but he instructed me to take his place."
"What? Why? This order comes straight from the General himself." The Captain demanded. Hona bowed slightly again.
"The Captain is currently conversing with a Japanese Ex-Captain who is tracking our mutual enemy." Hona explained. The Captain reeled.
"What?! Why was Heaven not informed of this beforehand?!" He shouted angrily. Hona stayed bowed.
"This was a recent development, sir. The two Captains are sharing knowledge in how to proceed. Apparently, this is all a part of a much larger picture in Japan." Hona continued. The Captain waved him off.
"Fine, then you will attend the meeting in his place, but I warn you, the General will not be pleased to hear this." With that, the Captain turned and marched down the hall, leaving Hona standing outside. Hona returned to an upright position and scowled.
"Whatever." He muttered simply and entered the meeting hall. He walked the hallways until he entered a large round chamber surrounded in seats. He found the seat reserved for his Captain and sat. There were only a few other men in there, but as the minutes passed, more men and women walked in. They were all Captains, except for him. Finally, the room was fully assembled and the General walked in. The men and women all stood. The General took his seat and they all sat after him.
"This emergency 2nd Tier Captains meeting is assembled. Ladies and gentlemen, you are all aware of the possible security breach that occurred this morning; however, I have suspicion beyond a reasonable doubt that our culprit has already infiltrated our rank structure." The General announced. The Captains all sat silently, taking in the information. Finally, a Captain stood.
"Sir," He called out. "That is a more than serious accusation. What evidence do you produce?" With that, he sat. The General nodded.
"All of you are Captains at the 2nd Tier level, higher ranking and more powerful than regular Captains, and with more experience. However, one of you is missing." Hona froze. Surely, this could not be happening. The Captains all glanced at him directly. Hona stood slowly.
"As has been explained to you already, my Captain is currently cooperating with a Japanese Ex-Captain who is investigating the travels of our enemy from Japan to America. This problem is apparently more wide-spread and threatening -," He attempted to explain, but was cut off by the General.
"Lieutenant Hona, I have come to the conclusion that your 'Japanese Ex-Captain' is in fact the enemy we've been seeking. That is why he has not appeared here in Heaven." He accused. Hona's eyes grew large.
"You mean to say my Captain is working alongside the enemy?!" He cried. The General stood.
"Yes, whether he knows it or not. That man has to be the enemy. The Japanese have not sent a single emissary to Heaven in almost ten years. They haven't been exactly friendly with us, either. The enemy has to be using that as a pretext for infiltration." He continued. The other Captains seemed to be without opinion, as they showed no emotion to the claims. "Lt. Hona, you will return to your Captain and inform him of this. He will then eliminate the spy. If he refuses, deal with the spy yourself and order his return." Lt. Hona stood motionless. The General glared at him. "Is that understood, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir." Hona replied simply. The other Captains stood and began filing out of the room. Hona departed with them. The General sat back down in his chair and stared at the empty room.
"So basically, that kid destroyed the execution site and defeated another Captain on top of achieving Perfect Form in 3 days?" Jas asked, shoving another bite of food in his mouth. Urahara sat across from him at the table. The room was small, but cozy, and stocked with fresh food. He smiled and nodded.
"That's correct. Over in Japan, we call it 'Bankai' but yes; he was able to defeat everyone, save the girl's life, and smoke out the infiltrators." He explained, sipping a cup of tea. Jas leaned back and shook his head.
"That's amazing for someone with barely any training and almost no experience. He must be extremely powerful." He replied, chewing down another piece. Urahara took another sip. "I'd like to fight him sometime." He then added.
"I'm sure I could persuade him into that sometime." He agreed. They continued eating until there was a knock at the door.
"Yeah, come in." Jas called out. The door opened slowly and there stood Hona, shaking slightly. Jas looked over, confused.
"What's wrong? Did they find him?" He asked quickly. Hona nodded. "Well?!"
"It's him…" Hona said slowly, raising his finger to Urahara. Urahara spit his tea out and dropped his cup.
"What?!" He cried out. "Me?! What are you talking about?" Jas stood up quickly.
"Explain yourself, Hona." He demanded. Hona sighed and held out a note from Heaven. Jas snatched it and quickly read it.
"This is total bullshit and you know it, Hona. We've got more Intel and reports than all of the other Captains put together and the General himself. I looked into this one and I can guarantee you he is who he says he is." He reasoned. Hona shook his head.
"I know, I know, but if we don't get him into custody, they'll execute us both. I'd rather just play it safe." He answered, his voice shaking. Jas looked at Urahara.
"It looks like we're playing fugitive, Captain." He announced with a slight grin. Hona shook in place.
"We'll have to work quickly to discover the true enemy." Urahara agreed as he stood and grabbed his cane.
"I can't let you two do this." He announced, gripping the hilt of his sword. Jas sighed lightly.
"Hona, you know I'm right. You're the second in command for the Secret Police, you know I'm right. And you know you can't hope to defeat me, let alone get to him." He reasoned further. Hona shook his head.
"I know, but I cannot risk my life for this. Just take him to Heaven and let us be done with this." He pleaded. Jas' temper flared.
"Hona, damn it, if you don't move, I will move you." He snarled. "That's an order." Hona pulled his blade from the sheath.
"Please, just take him to Heaven with us, please…" He begged. Jas frowned and pulled his dagger from its sheath.
"We take this outside." With a sudden flash, they found themselves outside, on the side of a mountain. Urahara slowly walked out from the hut to see them standing at odds. He frowned.
"They're fighting over my safety? A lieutenant versus his captain… This will not be much of a contest." He sighed.
"There's only one way I can hope to defeat you…" Hona muttered. He gripped his sword tight in front of him and focused his power. Leaning close to his sword, he whispered to it. "Paint the ground red, Kurenai." With that, the blade turned a deep crimson; his body became enveloped in a dusty brown coat, his boots clacked against the dirt, the spurs spinning slowly. On his head, a matching dusty hat draped over his face.
"Incredible, his sword remains thoroughly Japanese, but his attire becomes that of an American cowboy." Urahara exclaimed. Jas turned to him and explained.
"All of our 'shikai' are the same, a more powerful Soul Slayer with matching cowboy garb. We call it True Form." Urahara nodded.
"But why cowboys?" He asked, curious. Jas snickered.
"That's our traditional fighter. The Japanese had their Samurai, Americans had cowboys." He continued. Urahara smiled in understanding.
"That makes sense." Jas grinned in return as the dust floated around Hona.
"Well, I guess that means I have to match." He announced. Focusing his dagger in front of him, he said nothing. The spirit force around him enveloped him rapidly and when it subsided, he stood matching, with his dagger sheathed at his thigh. Urahara noted this and leaned against a tree.
"I guess I will see the combat potential Yoruichi told me about…" He said to himself. With that, Hona leapt straight forward at a blinding speed. A loud crack was heard, and Hona found himself on his back, his sword flying wildly through the air behind him before crashing into the dirt. Jas stood calmly, a smoking gun in his right hand at his hip. Urahara's eyes opened wide. He had not felt a spirit force increase from the Captain at all, but he matched the immense speed of his incredibly powerful Lieutenant and shot the sword from his hand. Hona quickly snapped up, and with a quick flash step, regained his sword. Examining where the bullet struck, he frowned angrily at Jas.
"You can't win, Hona." Jas calmly sighed, sliding the pistol back into its holster at his waist. Hona gripped the sword tightly and lunged again, at the same speed. As soon as the motion stopped, Urahara saw Hona standing with his sword in the attack position, stopped inches from the Captain. At Hona's forehead was the gun barrel, the hammer clicked back.
"Damn it…" Hona muttered, lowering his blade. Jas clicked the hammer back and holstered the weapon.
"You can't win. Retreat." He said simply. Hona sheathed his blade and turned away.
"This isn't over; I'm telling them what's happened here. The others will come for you, Jas. You're making a huge mistake." Hona said without turning towards him. He continued walking. Urahara turned to see Jas already back in his standard clothes.
"What now, Captain?" He asked. Jas shrugged and turned to him.
"We find that bastard and get this resolved before we're both killed."