Bleach Fanstory: A Bleached Honeymoon
By Michael Xu
Bleach and its characters are trademarks of Kubo Tite and Shuesha. I don't hold any claim on it apart from the OCs I create
Summary: This is the sequel to Bleach: After the War, and follows the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia as they go on their honeymoon tour of the real world, exterminating hollows in the process.
Story so far: Ichigo and Rukia follow Chad to Okinawa. They are greeted upon arrival by Chad's relatives: his grandparents, and his cousins Shin and Selena. During their stay in Okinawa, Ichigo and Rukia learn about Chad's past, and about his missing father, Sado Kazuya. During a short trip to a beach, Chad's father suddenly reappears and assaults Chad's grandparents and his cousin Selena. Deciding to take revenge for the death of his mother, Chad confronts his father, but is quickly outmatched, as his powers have been sealed by Commander General Unohana. Upon Ichigo's orders, Rukia undoes the seal, giving Chad his powers back. Just as Chad's father is beaten to a pulp, he reveals a shocking secret; the real Sado Kazuya had died long ago and the person who Chad thought of as his father was actually a hollow by the name of Felipe Cortes. With the revelation that he was conceived from a union of a hollow and a human, Chad forgives the memory of his father and finishes Cortes off. A day later, Ichigo and Rukia receive a call from Soifon and Yoruichi, telling them to go to Beijing.
Chapter 3: Beijing
The Boeing 747-400 slowly descended over Beijing, heading towards the airport. On board were Ichigo and Rukia, having bought tickets for a direct flight from Okinawa. Since the plane started its descent, Rukia had been peering through the windows, looking down at the city below.
"Whoa, such a vast city," she said in awe. "So this is the capital of China."
"What's so special about its size?" Ichigo asked. "Tokyo's much bigger. Besides, people only come here to admire its historical attractions."
"Don't be so mean," Rukia scowled at Ichigo. "Compared to you I've barely experience much of the real world. Cities like these make Seireitei puny in comparison." Soon, the jumbo jet neared the runway, and the magnificent main terminal of Beijing's Capital Airport came into view. Shaped like a giant red arrow pointing south, it spanned for miles, ending in a teardrop shaped apex.
"That is one seriously awesome airport," Rukia said. Ichigo didn't bother looking; he had heard about the main terminal many times when he was a child. The plane touched down on the runway and headed towards one of the docking ports. Half an hour later, Ichigo and Rukia cleared customs and arrived at the luggage collection area. As they placed their bags on trolleys and entered one of the spacious arrival halls they were greeted by two familiar faces: Soifon and Yoruichi. Soifon was dressed in a black, full length t-shirt and green khaki pants, and wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Yoruichi was dressed in a more revealing purple dress that barely covered her legs. Around her neck was a flowing cream coloured scarf.
"Yoruichi-san, Soifon-san, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.
"We were waiting for you of course," Yoruichi replied in a deadpan voice.
"Where have the two of you been? You were supposed to arrive here two days ago!" Soifon exclaimed. "And how come you're wearing tropical shirts?" Ichigo and Rukia looked each other with embarrassed faces. They definitely had to explain some things.
"Um, we went to Okinawa to help a friend deal with some family related issues," Rukia replied. Soifon and Yoruichi gave her puzzled looks.
"Family related issues? Who is this friend you're speaking about?" Yoruichi asked.
"It's Chad," Ichigo said bluntly. Soifon and Yoruichi were stunned.
"I thought he was supposed to stay in Tokyo and be kept under strict supervision!" Soifon exclaimed. "He can still pose a threat with his inner hollow."
"I know that. I made sure beforehand that his powers remained sealed," Ichigo had to lie. "Plus our trip wasn't all fun and games. We had to deal with an Adjucha menos who had been hiding among the populace there."
"Is that that so? Then this changes things. We shall discuss things in the car," Soifon said. She and Yoruichi led Ichigo and Rukia to the front entrance of the airport terminal, where a black limousine was waiting. After they all got in, Soifon ordered their driver, an undercover black ops member, to travel to their hotel in the inner city.
As they travelled down a freeway heading into the city, Ichigo and Rukia glanced out at the rather drab urban landscape, dotted with scores of identical flats and townhouses, with only a token presence of trees or bushes. The sky overhead was a blanket grey, casting an ominous feel over the entire city. Ichigo wondered if something big was about to happen.
"Apart from waiting for us, what were the two of you doing in Beijing?" he asked Yoruichi and Soifon.
"Cleaning up all the hollows of course, but that is the duty for Shinigamis everywhere," Yoruichi joked. Ichigo and Rukia chuckled.
"The truth is, the two of us are investigating a supernatural phenomenon in the centre of the city," Soifon explained. "Something's happened inside the Forbidden City, and whatever's causing it has warped the surrounding area. Tourists who entered the palace never came out, whilst a number of top government officials have begun acting strangely, with reports of several assassinations and sabotage in the ministry buildings. Even worse, the entire sky of Beijing has fallen under an unusual dark cloud which has caused apparitions to appear everywhere. In short, the city's in a state of chaos, and if we don't find out what's causing this disturbance, the entire country could be paralysed."
"I see," Ichigo said with some concern. "That's quite a situation."
"I don't get it," Rukia said. "What is the Forbidden City, and why is Beijing so important?" Ichigo quickly told everything to her, after which Rukia could only nod in agreement, stunned at how truly vast complicated the real world is.
"We can discuss the finer aspects of our mission once we get to the hotel," Yoruichi said. The limousine trundled into the CBD. Along the way, they encountered many attractions, most notably a striking lattice shaped stadium.
"Wow, what a remarkable stadium," Rukia admired. "It looks like a giant bird's nest."
"That's the stadium they used during the Olympic games held here several years ago. Nearby is the Water Cube, which hosted the swimming events. I remember watching the Olympics on television when I was young." When Rukia asked what the Olympics were, Ichigo had to go into another lengthy explanation that made absolutely no sense to her. Soifon and Yoruichi laughed, clearly sharing Ichigo's amusement at Rukia's lack of real world knowledge. The inner city area provided more attractions which required much explanation from Ichigo to get Rukia to understand them, such as the Tiananmen Square, the Hall of the People, and Mausoleum of Chairman Mao, founder of the modern Chinese state.
"You don't need to worry much about them," Yoruichi said to Rukia. "They're structures from a much more recent time. Instead, pay closer attention to the Forbidden City." Rukia nodded as the limousine passed the front entrance to the former imperial palace, adorned with a huge framed portrait of the Chairman. A few minutes later, they arrived at one of the city's most lavish hotels, in what was still a new residential area. The porters at the front door took care of the luggage, whilst Soifon and Yoruichi showed Ichigo and Rukia to their rooms. Upon opening the door, Rukia immediately jumped onto a king sized bed, complete with oversized mattresses and pillows, as Ichigo put the luggage away.
"This bed is so comfortable!" Rukia exclaimed. "I've never slept on a bed as soft as this one, not even at Nii-sama's!"
"That's because all of the beds in Soul Society happen to lie flat on the ground," Ichigo explained. "A bed like this is standard in most hotels." He walked towards the window and looked out. He realized they were a dozen stories above the ground. From here, he could see half the city. The view would have been more impressive were it not for the oppressive grey fog that blanketed all of the sky.
"Beijing's not known for having sunny skies," Ichigo shook his head as he sat down and made some tea. A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. It was Yoruichi.
"Hey you lovebirds, why don't you come down and join Soifon and me for some dinner?" she asked. "The sun's nearly gone down." Ichigo and Rukia nodded.
The next morning, having gone out and eaten at a lavish restaurant, Ichigo and Rukia woke up feeling bloated and stiff.
"Oh god, I feel terrible," Rukia moaned. "I think it was all of the pork and duck that I ate." She rubbed her stomach as she felt it rumbling, causing Ichigo to burst out laughing.
"Serves you right for eating too much. The Chinese like to eat far more than the Japanese do," he said. Rukia threw her pillow at Ichigo's head before stomping off to get changed. An hour later, they met Soifon and Yoruichi in the front lobby of the hotel.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" Soifon asked smugly.
"The bed was nice, but the food yesterday was too much to handle," Rukia replied.
"I don't blame you," Yoruichi smiled. "I prefer to eat Indian food."
"Indian food?" Ichigo was confused, "How do you know about India?"
"Oh, I never told you did I?" Yoruichi shook her head and laughed. "Well, the ancestors of my family originated from India. They were servants of the legendary emperor Ashoka, who ruled Indian some two thousand three hundred years ago. When the empire collapsed a century later, the entire family was murdered and sent to Soul Society. They participated in the founding of Seireitei, along with four other families, thus establishing themselves as a great clan."
"Wow, I never knew the Shihouin clan was so ancient," Rukia said. "I must ask Nii-sama about the Kuchiki family's origins when we get back."
"Yes, it would be good if you did," Yoruichi smiled. They stopped talking and decided to get into a limousine again. The driver took them to the flag pole in front of Tiananmen Square and dropped them off. Soifon led the others to front gate of the former imperial city. A large group of soldiers from the People's Liberation Army barred the gate. Soifon walked up to them and gave them a salute. As they spoke in Mandarin, Soifon showed them her ID. A few seconds later the soldiers allowed them through.
"That was quick," Rukia glanced at the soldiers as they passed by.
"I didn't know you worked for the Chinese government," Ichigo said. Soifon smiled as they walked across a vast courtyard.
"My family's always maintained close links with the real world. The ancestors of my family, the Fon, were servants to the Tang Dynasty when they were still alive. As a minor noble family, they were of high standing within the imperial palace, which at the time was located west of here," Soifon explained. "In the middle of the eight century, there was a massive uprising against the dynasty that almost overthrew the emperor. Our whole family was murdered and sent to Soul Society. We wandered around Rukongai for an indeterminable period before placing ourselves under the Shihouin family. As spies and agents for the Special forces, we regularly went into the real world and mingled amongst the local populace."
"So that explains why you have ties to the government," Ichigo said. "You and Yoruichi-san must have been co-operating with them on this mission."
"Precisely," Yoruichi nodded. "Whilst you led the invasion of the King's Realm, we were in the real world trying to renew the contacts that had been lost because of Aizen's reign. Because of the chaos in Soul Society, spiritual activity has increased in various parts of the world. China is one of the countries that have been severely affected."
"Well then, I guess we've got some cleaning up to do then," Ichigo said, stretching his arms. The four of them reached the Meridian Gate, the true front gate to the Forbidden City. The gate was an imposing structure, several stories high, and made out of ancient red bricks. It consisted of a main building with three arches in the middle, flanked on both sides by protruding wings. As they stood in front of the arches, Ichigo and Rukia could already sense something ominous lurking within. A gust of wind blew across the courtyard, sending shivers up Ichigo's spine.
"I feel hundreds of strange reiatsu signatures coming from the inside," Rukia whispered to Ichigo, who nodded in response. A lowly government official, dressed in navy blue uniform, stood in front of the central arch. He saluted Soifon as she walked towards him. The two of them talked with each other in Mandarin for a while before Soifon motioned Ichigo and Rukia to come closer.
"Comrade Lin, these two are agents from Japanese Security and Intelligence Agency, Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia," Soifon said in Japanese. "They have been sent by the Japanese Government to assist me and agent Shihouin of the Indian Intelligence Bureau in solving this supernatural phenomenon. Ichigo, Rukia, I want you to meet Lin Shao Khan, an official from the Ministry of State Security."
"It's good to meet you, Mr. Kurosaki, Ms. Kuchiki," Lin spoke in Japanese with noticeable dialect. "It's been a nightmare standing guard by this gate. In the past few weeks I've had to endure constant screams and echoes coming from within."
"How come you're the only one standing here?" Ichigo asked. "Your government would have surely placed a large group of special forces to surround the palace."
"Everyone else was too scared to stay in this place," Lin shook his head. "We Chinese are a deeply suspicious lot, and since the incidents inside the palace began, no one except me was brave enough to volunteer for guard duty. I hope the two of you are as good as Comrade Fon has made me believe, for you're going to need it for whatever's waiting inside. You have permission to enter, but I won't accompany you inside."
"You don't need to," Soifon said. "The four of us will be fine by ourselves." Lin Shao Khan gave them all a final greeting before Soifon led the others through the front arch of the gate. What they encountered on the other side was a courtyard filled tons of hollows and spirits, munching on the corpses of other spirits and dead bodies. A small stream intersecting the courtyard had been dyed red, and the walls on both sides of the courtyard were splattered with dried blood. Rukia felt sick just looking at the mutilated faces of the dead bodies.
"These must be the bodies of the tourists who went missing," Soifon said, as she, Ichigo and Yoruichi swiftly disposed of all of the hollows.
"I can feel a powerful reiatsu up ahead," Rukia said. The four of them trudged through the mass of bodies to reach the Gate of Supreme Harmony, a pavilion-shaped building that marked the entrance to the central square of the palace. Upon walking through the gate and arriving at the central square, Ichigo, Rukia, Soifon and Yoruichi gasped at what lay in front of them. In the middle of a vast open area was the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a gigantic pavilion. Surrounding it was a set of concrete tiers, with three flights of steps leading up to the entrance of the hall. None of this was unusual, except for the sight of hundreds of stakes at the base of the steps. Upon each of the stakes was a rotten head, contorted in hideous expressions.
"Impaled heads…this looks a lot like something Vlad the impaler would have done," Ichigo said, remembering something he read in the history books.
"Whoever did this, they surely must be a depraved bastard," Yoruichi said, shaking her head. Around them, the presence of numerous evil spirits was felt, but the immense spiritual pressure coming from the hall was a more urgent matter. The four of them decided that the time for action had come. Taking out their Gikongan, they entered their Shinigami forms, and ordered their mod souls to go back to the second gate.
"Let's go," Soifon said. She led the others up the flight of stairs. Upon reaching the top, each of them entered through a separate entrance. The interior of the hall was filled with immaculate sculptures and paintings, but it was the throne that caught Ichigo's attention. Covered with gold, it was decorated with pictures of a dragon, and small dragons coiled around the hand rests. Sitting upon the throne was a man dressed in an elaborate yellow gown embossed with numerous dragon motifs, and upon his head was a rectangular shaped crown. A wavy moustache and a short beard marked his otherwise unblemished face and he stared at Soifon's group with cold brown eyes.
"What business does a group of Shinigami have with me?" the man asked in a deep and forceful voice. Ichigo noticed he was holding a golden baton in his left hand.
"Isn't it obvious? You must be the one responsible for the atrocities and other supernatural phenomena occurring in this city, and especially in this palace," Soifon responded, unsheathing her sword from her back. Yoruichi, Ichigo and Rukia did the same. The man started laughing.
"I don't believe this! You Shinigami finally decide to deal with the real world properly, instead of focusing on your petty dimensional struggles, and your first target is me? Is Soul Society so afraid of my power that they have to send two captains in order to eliminate me?" He stood up from his chair, still laughing madly.
"Judging by your reiatsu, it would not be wise for us to underestimate your power," Rukia said. "Vasto Lorde."
"Oh, dear, my cover's already broken," the man slapped himself on the head, before glaring at them with an evil grin. "My plan was going so nicely too. Within a few months I would have succeeded in bringing the entire country under my dominion, but now I have to do deal with you maggots first." He flared up his spiritual pressure, exerting a tremendous crushing force upon the Shinigami, but none of them were fazed.
"We've seen through your ruse already, Ban Kailong," Soifon said. "As the heir of the Fon dynasty, the name of our family's nemesis is deeply etched in my mind."
"Ah ha ha!" Kailong laughed. "I don't believe this! A descendent of the Fon family appears before me, and even more, she knows my true identity. What a rare treat. I have no doubt her soul will be extremely tasty. Eliminate them, my servants!" A strong gust of wind blew inside the room, bringing with it particles of sand. Within moments these particles arranged themselves into man-high terracotta statues, wielding swords, spears and arrows.
"Terracotta warriors," Ichigo said. "This is going to be troublesome." He and Rukia slashed at the statues in front of them, cleaving them in two, but within moments the statues reformed themselves and started attacking them again.
"These things are indestructible!" Rukia exclaimed.
"They're being controlled by Kailong's reiatsu," Soifon said, undoing her haori. "As long as he is alive, it is impossible to destroy them." She Shunpo-ed towards Kailong, chanting "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi," as she did so.
"A blind charge at me will never work!" Kailong shouted, unsheathing a gigantic two handed pole-arm. He swung downward, trying to cleave Soifon's head in two, but the nimble-footed captain of the 2nd division easily avoided the attack and struck him in the side. She barely managed to penetrate the heavy plate mail, but did enough to mark him with a Homonka.
"It's over. One more strike from my Suzumebachi and you're dead," Soifon said. Turning around on the spot, she swooped in for the second strike. Before she could land a hit, Kailong's body suddenly dissolved into dust. Ichigo, Rukia and Yoruichi all froze in shock.
"His body's disappeared, but these statues are still standing," Ichigo said.
"Then that means his spirit energy is still present," Yoruichi said. "He must have transferred to another living body."
"Like a Jibaku right?" Rukia asked. "Then that means we have to find his real spirit body, and destroy it."
"And that you'll never do!" a booming voice shouted from above. The four Shinigami ran out of the hall and glanced at the sky. All of a sudden a monstrous creature swooped overhead. It resembled a dragon, covered with golden scales. Its long flexible body stretched for hundreds of feet.
"Come back here!" Soifon shouted as she saw the dragon fly off to the northwest. She jumped into the air and Shunpo-ed after him. At this moment, hundreds of terracotta statures appeared and surrounded Ichigo, Rukia and Yoruichi.
"Go Yoruichi-san!" Ichigo shouted. "Rukia and I will hold these off."
"Take care then," Yoruichi nodded. She Shunpo-ed into the air and desperately tried to catch up to Soifon.
"Okay, we're surrounded by a horde of indestructible clay warriors who are being controlled by a hollow who can take control of physical bodies. Any ideas Ichigo?" Rukia asked. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.
"You ask me. This isn't like those horror movies," he said.
Soifon almost ran out of breath before she caught up to Kailong, who was now in the body of a giant golden dragon. They were hovering above the Great Wall of China, the ancient line of defences that had kept the steppe barbarians at bay. She tried piercing his skin, but the leathery scales were too hard to penetrate.
"Touch luck Shinigami," the dragon Kailong roared. "My skin is as tough as an arrancar's hierro!" With a flick of his tail he swatted Soifon towards the cliffs below. She crash landed on top of the great wall, creating a large crater in the process.
"Damn, I dropped my guard," Soifon cursed herself. Before she could get up, Kailong breathed a torrent of flames from his mouth at the great wall. Soifon narrowly avoided being hit it. She jumped into the air and quickly shouted "Bankai!" . The stinger wrapped around her right middle finger disappeared, replaced with a bare sword. In the middle of the air however, a swarm of bees suddenly appearing, coalescing into a giant bee, covered with yellow and black stripes. Kailong stared at it in shock.
"What is this thing?" he bellowed.
"Kougou Hachi Suzumebachi," Soifon said. "This is my Bankai. Each of the millions of bees that comprise the mother bee has enough power to kill a target instantly, should they penetrate." She waved around her left hand, sending the swarm of bees to strike at Kailong's body. The dragon raised its tail and swatted them all away.
"How useless," Kailong admonished her. "You call this a Bankai. Those tiny bees will never be strong enough to pierce my skin!" He opened his mouth again and this time fired a gigantic cero directly at Soifon. The powerful red beam slammed into the bedrock of the great wall, completely demolishing a large chunk of it. When the dust cleared, Soifon was slightly burnt but otherwise unscathed.
"Phew, if I hadn't erected that Danku barrier I would have been seriously injured," she said to herself.
"Damn you!" Kailong shouted. The dragon flew downwards, opening its mouth in an attempt to eat her. Before he even got close to Soifon, his entire body was wrapped up by what seemed like giant ropes.
"Need some help, captain?" Yoruichi asked. She was sitting upon her Bankai, Nekomata Yabun Akisunerai; a giant black cat nearly fifty-foot high. Nine tails came out of its body, and each of them was now coiled around Kailong.
"Urgh, what are these ropes? I can't break free!" Kailong screamed.
"Thanks Yoruichi-san," Soifon said. "But I didn't really need any help. She got up and directed her swarm of bees to fly into the dragon's mouth. A second later the golden dragon swelled outward and exploded in a shower of gibs and blood.
"It's over at last," Yoruichi said, returning her Zanpakto to normal.
"No it isn't!" Soifon exclaimed. The two of them noticed that despite the destruction of the dragon, a powerful reiatsu was still present in the vicinity. He's still alive! She thought to herself. Moments later, the remnant spirit particles floating in the air assembled themselves into a single being. Outwardly he resembled a human, with long, lithe arms and a hollow mask shaped into the form of a crown. He wore yellow robes with the symbol of the dragon on it. From his back grew two gigantic wings, nearly thirty foot across. What was more, the reiatsu flowing from his body terrified Soifon and Yoruichi. Not since their battle with the horsemen Carestia had they encountered a hollow of such power.
"It's been a long time since I've shown my true form," Kailong spoke. His voice had both the regality of his human disguise and the ferociousness of his dragon disguise. "Staying in it for too long shortens my life. That is why I shall dispose of you two quickly." He clasped his arms around himself and then thrust outwards. The force of the resultant blast knocked Soifon and Yoruichi hundreds of yards away; they narrowly avoided crashing into neighbouring mountains by solidifying the spirit particles in the air.
"What a powerful spirit force," Yoruichi grimaced. She looked down at the remnants of her left arm, nothing more than a stump due to the events of the Winter War. I wish I still had my arm, she thought.
"Prepare to die!" Kailong shouted. He pointed his fingers at Soifon and Yoruichi and fired a hailstorm of needles from them.
"Yoruichi-san!" Soifon yelled out. Yoruichi looked at her and nodded. The two of them activated Shunko, forming a dense layer of Kidou around their shoulders. Streaks of lightning shot out and burnt all of the needles into ashes. Kailong was not finished yet. The hollow swooped down and barrelled into Yoruichi. She tried breaking her grip, but Kailong suddenly threw her into Soifon. The two of them crashed into the great wall again, ending up on top of each other. As they struggled to get back on their feet, Kailong charged up spirit energy in his eyes. Soifon and Yoruichi realized what was about to happen, but it was too late to react, as Kailong fired twin ceros from his eyes. The beams lanced down at the great wall, blowing up a huge chunk of the surrounding mountains.
"It's over," Kailong gloated. He started laughing hysterically. However his laughter was cut short when the smoke around the ruins of the great wall cleared, revealing Ichigo in his Bankai robes. He Shunpo-ed in front of Soifon and Yoruichi a second before the cero hit and activated Tengetsu Gaieshi to form a spirit barrier around them.
"Hey," Ichigo said, amused at the still shocked faces of Soifon and Yoruichi. "Sorry I had to interrupt your fight." Rukia, who had been following behind Ichigo, helped the two women to their feet.
"Thanks for saving us Ichigo," Yoruichi said.
"No problem," Ichigo turned to look at Soifon. "Do you want to finish him off yourself?" Soifon nodded. She returned her Zanpakto to its shikai state.
"I do need some help though," she said. "Can you restrain him for a brief moment? One second is all I need to strike my Homonka a second time." Ichigo nodded.
"Do you really think you Shinigami have a chance against me?" Kailong asked furiously. "Take this!" He gathered all of his spirit energy together and charged it in the palms of his hands. A second later he fired a powerful yellow energy blast at Ichigo and Soifon. Ichigo Shunpo-ed upward and in one sudden movement, deflected the blast into a nearby mountain. Before Kailong could react, Ichigo constricted his waist with Zangetsu's chain, immobilizing him.
"Now's your chance!" Ichigo yelled. In a split second movement, Soifon struck Kailong right where the Homonka was.
"Hasta la vista, Ban Kailong," Soifon mocked. The dragon hollow didn't even have time to scream before he disintegrated into nothing.
A day later Ichigo, Rukia, Soifon and Yoruichi stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square. With the death of Kailong, the oppressive fog that had covered the entire city was lifted, and for the first time in months the inhabitants of Beijing saw the light of the sun. The terracotta warriors and other spirits spawned by Kailong's influence disappeared and the Forbidden City was reopened to the general public. The government privately thanked Soifon's group for their efforts but publicly covered up the entire incident.
"So where are you planning to go next?" Yoruichi asked. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders and then glanced at Rukia, who was fiddling with her soul pager.
"I'm not sure yet. Commander Unohana told us to clean up spiritual hotspots so I suppose we'll head to the nearest one," Ichigo replied.
"You're in luck then," Soifon said. "There is a big concentration of spirits in the central provinces near Shanghai. Yoruichi and I were planning on going there but Unohana-san has sent us on a new assignment."
"We've got a flight scheduled to depart this afternoon," Yoruichi said. "Do you want to accompany us to the airport?" Rukia and Ichigo looked at each other.
"I don't know Yoruichi-sama," Rukia said. "We've spent a lot of money on flights already." She looked at her purse with some concern.
"You could try catching the train," Soifon suggested. "It might take longer but it will be far cheaper than going by airplane. Plus, you're going to have to take your time going through the southern provinces anyway. There's bound to be a lot of lost souls about."
Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter done. A lot of other things came up, plus I spent ages trying to think up story ideas. Having Writer's block definitely did not help either.
Part of the reason for the long writing time was the complex back stories I developed for both Soifon and Yoruichi to explain their presence in Beijing. Given their appearance and names, it wouldn't be a stretch to have their ancestors originate from India and China. Soifon's backstory in particular ties in the the hollow featured in this chapter.
Ban Kailong: His name has a Chinese origin, like Soifon's. The Ban is from the Japanese word Banzai, and comes from the Chinese word that stands for Ten thousand. Kai means open and long means dragon. So his name literally means Ten thousand Open dragon. His character designs were based around the Tang and Qing emperors, and the traditional Chinese dragon. His final hollow form resembles Kousaka Soujirou's ice dragon form. Finally, the terracotta warriors he summons come from the real-like terracotta warriors that were buried with the first emperor Qin Shihuang.
Kougou Hachi Suzumebachi: This is Soifon's Bankai. For those who haven't read AW, its name means Queen Bee Hornet Sting in Japanese.
Nekomata Yabun Akisunerai: This is Yoruichi's Bankai. Again for those who haven't read AW, its name means Nekomata Prowler of the Night. Nekomata was taken from Naruto, it being the name of the two-tailed Biju.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please send send me feedback and reviews!