Chapter Eleven: Say it Right
As the meeting of the Elders was winding down, Ichigo rose up from his chair and addressed the seven other leaders of the Vaizard. "Gentlemen, Ladies, I thank you for coming this evening. I know how much of a pain it is to come hear and still try and manage to remain under the radar. I wish you luck on your return trip back to your respective posts. Please, I only ask that you all be careful."
He bowed at the waist in a western style, one hand at his side holding his wine glass, the other at his heart. He straightened and turned his attention to the Hirawatari siblings. "I ask that you two not try to contact your nephew at this time." They both made as if to protest, but Ichigo forestalled them with a gesture of his hand. "I know that you both want to see him, but right now it would be better if Soul Society believes that he is one of those special cases that pop up now and then. It just wouldn't do for them to figure out who he is really related to, now would it?"
Ichigo then looked over at the old men. "Fuji, Antonio, I want you two to start to develop into the Fourteenth War Scenario. It is imperative that we Vaizard are prepared to take appropriate action when the time comes. But be careful Gentlemen, as I just said to the Hirawatari siblings, I can't have Soul Society learn of our objectives prematurely."
Both of the Eldest of the Elders nodded their heads in acknowledgement of their new orders. Fuji raised an eyebrow and asked his grandson, "I just have one question, grandson. What are your plans concerning your father?"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow as well, "What do you mean by 'plans concerning my father'?"
Fuji stroked his white beard as he responded, "I mean, what do you plan to do if he, Urahara, and Yoroichi find out about this."
Ichigo simply sneered.
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Yamamoto scratched at his chin in thought. "This is certainly distressing news, Ukitake-Taichou. For a third seat to just disappear like that is an uncommon occurrence indeed. It is especially distressing because usually that little female third seat of yours is attached to your hip like her life depended on it." He scratched at the scars on his face before adding, "Have you informed her older sister as of yet?"
Ukitake shook his head, "I thought it might be more prudent to ascertain her sister's whereabouts before I did something drastic like that. Kiyone could have just gotten herself lost or went on a hollow hunting mission without informing anyone. She has been prone to do that before, although she normally isn't missing for quite this long of a time period. But still, I didn't want to give Isane a heart attack and then have her sister show back up in perfect health. That's why I came to you, sensei. I was hoping you could help me find my female third seat without causing a ruckus or an uproar."
Yamamoto nodded at this, "That certainly does make sense, Jyuushirou. I will see what I can do for you. Now in the meantime, I would like for you to return to your division and rest. I will have Shunsui and his Fuku-taichou…" he scratched his head in puzzlement, "what was her name again?"
Nanao had to restrain herself from lashing out at the aging Captain-General; he was stronger than her after all, even if he was seemingly suffering from Alzheimer's. "Ise Nanao, sir."
Yamamoto's expression brightened, "Ah, yes, that was it. Shunsui and Nanao-chan will both keep you company while you wait for news of your third seat."
Ukitake tried to protest, but Yamamoto harrumphed him into silence. "This is not a negotiation, Ukitake. This is an order from me, if that will make you comply." Yamamoto smiled at him, "Don't worry so much, Jyuushirou. I am sure that everything will be fine. Now then, shoo, shoo. Go ahead and get out of here. I will make sure that Kiyone Kotetsu will be returned into your loving arms shortly, you have my word. You just go ahead and relax. It will make Unohana-Taichou's workload easier, if nothing else."
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Ichigo replied back to his grandfather, "If they do find out, and the Vaizard might be compromised by their knowledge, I swear to you that I will personally see to it that they will be silenced by my very own hand." Shaolin pouted at this, and Ichigo roared with laughter. He then said to her, "Okay, okay, Shaolin, I'll let you help me out if it comes to that."
She smiled at him and let him continue. He then said to Akito, "I need you to finish up your work on the special order I asked you to make. I also need you to make some small shot of red fire canisters for me to plant in specific areas, as well as three or four Black Vortexes. When you have finished that, I want your Kidou Canister makers to go into full production. The war is coming soon, and we the Vaizard people need to be fully prepared."
Akito nodded her head and said, "It shall be done as you asked, Ichigo. Where do you want me to deliver that doll that you requisitioned?"
"It's done?"
"It's done."
"Very well then. If you brought it along with you, I actually will need to use it tonight. I hope you don't mind."
Akito flipped her long thin strand of hair back behind her in a very haughty and arrogant manner before replying by saying, "I don't mind at all, Berry-tan. It is my privilege and honor to be of service to your greatness."
Ichigo rubbed his forehead in frustration, "Can somebody tell me again why I put up with all of you?"
Akito frowned in thought before becoming overly cheerful and replying, "It's because of the perks of being our comrades at Breakfast."
Ichigo sighed.
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Yamamoto said, "I see, I am glad I had prepared for this eventuality."
Everyone that had crowded in Orihime Inoue's tiny apartment turned quickly around, only to be met with the fearsome sight of Captain's Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki.
Zaraki's face was grim as he said to the assembled group, "You will come along quietly."
Byakuya's face was even stonier than normal as he gazed at the rabble staring in shock at the two of them, "We have been instructed to bring you back to Soul Society, by force if necessary."
As the gate from the real world to Soul Society was closing behind him, Byakuya could have sworn he could hear insane, mocking laughter echoing through night.
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Ichigo sneered as the five he had addressed left the condo and headed towards the many different exits from the casino proper. He turned towards Shaolin and said, "You were right, my dear, dear Shaolin Fon. Soul Society actually believed that that fool of a girl Orihime actually had the guts to betray them."
Shaolin smirked as well, but they were both interrupted by Kiyone who said, "I don't know about you, but I believe it is time we got back to Soul Society."
Shaolin smiled mischievously at her, "What, are you that anxious to ogle your Captain?"
Kiyone blushed a deep scarlet red, "I swear, you and Akito are just two of a kind."
Shaolin smiled, "Thank you."
"Not a compliment."
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Yamamoto's eyes snapped open as the video uplink hissed with static before clicking on. He turned his attention to the screen and awaited the report from the Twelfth Division, namely Akon and his batch of hooligans.
Akon seemed to be sweating bullets as he made his report, "Captain-General Yamamoto, we have discovered the location of Soi Fon Taichou and Kiyone Kotetsu. It appears that they are under attack by a Diatagara, or as you may already know, a warrior body of the Lichen race."
Yamamoto muttered, "I thought they were all dead." He turned his attention back to the scientist and asked, "Is it an actual Lichen?"
"No sir, it appears to simply be a highly evolved Diatagara, nothing more."
As Yamamoto sent out assistance to the two Shinigami under attack, he recalled all the pertinent details regarding the Diatagara and their masters, the Lichen.
The Lichen were an anomalous race of beings who had had great spiritual power. They were a group of evil wholes who had not passed on into the afterlife. They just did not wish to go and pass on. They managed to tamper with themselves enough so that were able to possess their very own corpses and continue to live in the mortal world. Then, using their great powers, they could devour other souls and continue to live for all eternity.
Needless to say, this upset the natural balance, and so they were relentlessly hunted down and slaughtered by the Shinigami. In order to protect themselves, they harnessed the power of Kidou far beyond the possible maximum that a Shinigami could hope to achieve. They used this mastery of Kidou to make for themselves unnatural servants, known as Diatagara.
The Diatagara were seemingly metallic constructs, often appearing in bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and ebony. They were Spider like constructs, but often having a reptilian or avian head instead of an arachnid one. They ranged in size from eight feet in diameter to eighty feet in diameter. The weaker ones were bronze, while the strongest ones were ebony.
The Diatagara were to powerful, however, and proved to be too much for their Lichen masters to handle after almost two millennia had past. Eventually, between both deaths by Shinigami and their own creations, Lichens were wiped out from the face of the earth. Their constructs still survived, though they were few in number. They also went into hibernation, trying to conserve their power for one last task that was to be set by their masters, which would never come.
He heard someone flash step in behind him, and he turned around in order to acknowledge the presence of the Second Division Captain. She bowed her head as she gave her report. "Please forgive me for my late arrival, Yamamoto-dono. I was assisting Kiyone-san in her training in the areas of both shun-po and hand to hand combat, since she had requested this of me after our last SWA meeting. After we had wrapped up our training for the day, a platinum spider like creature attacked us. I do not know exactly how to explain it sir, I just know that it had abilities that could rival that of a Captain. It had excellent mastery of Shun-po and of Kidou. I regret to inform you that it got away. Because of this, I am willing to take any punishment for my failure."
Yamamoto simply chuckled at her. "Do not worry, Soi Fon, I am just glad that none of my fellow Shinigami were seriously hurt. You should head back to your division and catch up on your sleep. I will inform Ukitake about the arrangement you had made with his third seat. Good night."
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As Akon watched on, his underlings sent out the pertinent data to the Captain-General concerning the 'attack'. When the connection was terminated, he crossed his arms and looked to the man standing in the shadows in the back of the room.
"Was that all you needed me to do?"
The man in the shadows replied, "Actually, I need either you or one of your subordinates to make sure that this Diatagara gets back to its owner. This is Akito's baby after all, and I don't think I would hear the end of it if it did not get back to her pronto."
Akon nodded and made a notation on the clipboard that he was holding. "Anything else, Kurosaki-sama?"
Ichigo walked forwards into the light, and headed towards the gate to the real world. "Just do what you always do when I visit…"
Akon finished off his sentence for him, "…alter the recording so nobody gets suspicious. Next time you visit, could you bring some more of that coffee?"
Ichigo smirked as he readjusted Zangetsu on his back, "Sure thing, Akon. Just try not to go through two hundred pounds of the stuff in two weeks again."
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TBC