Here is it! The long awaited beginning of the Soul Society Arc and I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 16: Your Move
One Year Later
Toshiro was deep in his thoughts about the recent sentence of Rukia. 'I don't understand, there have been past occasions that shinigami were forced to give there powers to a living soul but never were given a death sentence. Why is the Council of 46 deciding that now?'
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a great rumbling and turned to see that the HakutÅmon wasn't just down but now was opening. 'Is someone trying to break into the Seireitei?'
He got closer to the gate as it opened to reveal a massive man with shock written over his face. "C-captain Shihoin!" Toshiro ignored the gatekeeper and looked at the other people behind him.
One had a large butcher knife on his back and orange hair, another one was wearing all white along with glasses, and the last two was a tall dark skin teen and a teen girl with orange hair as well. Then he saw a flash of black before it disappeared but he couldn't tell what it was.
Toshiro then turned his attention to Jidanbo. "What are you doing? As a gatekeeper, your job is to keep any intruders out of the Seireitei so why are you letting them in?"
The massive man gulped and said, "Its my job as gatekeeper that if I am defeated, I am to open the gates to the victors." Toshiro sighed, the huge man was honorable but he always misunderstood rules. "You are suppose to keep it close even if you are threaten with death but it appears that you don't understand that."
Quick as a flash, Toshiro cut the nerves in his left arm making it hang uselessly at his side and the gate to come down. However, even with one arm uselessly, he managed to keep it up with one arm and his neck. Suddenly he was forced to block a huge blade with his own. He pushed the teen back and glared at him.
"Oi! What the hell are you doing!?" Toshiro's eyes met the one wearing shinigami robes and felt something oddly familiar about his eyes. "Who are you?"
Ichigo and Co POV
'Damn it! Out of everyone we first meet in the Seireitei, we run into the one person that I wanted to avoid at all costs!' Yoruichi thought from her current position which was several feet away from the gate and out of sight of everyone. She was currently in her human form and was prepare to move at a moment's notice but she couldn't help but notice how much Toshiro had grown in the century that she's been gone.
His hair was spikier than it was before, he felt more powerful if the captain's cloak around him was any hint, and his eyes held no emotion.
'And I'm the reason for that.' She watched Toshiro cut all the tendons in Jidanbo's left arm, to her she barely saw him move. 'This isn't good, Toshiro was powerful before and now he's even more so now! I have to get them aw-'
She was cut out from her thoughts when she saw Ichigo suddenly charge Toshiro. 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT IDIOT DOING!?'
Ichigo's Zanpakuto clashed with Toshiro's own in a deadlock which Toshiro effortlessly broke by pushing Ichigo back. Said person met the boy's own teal eyes and resisted the urge to shiver. His eyes were like ice shards that pierce his soul.
"Who are you?" The boy asked and Ichigo pointed his blade at him. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo and what the hell are you doing, you little brat?!"
'Brat?' Toshiro's left eye twitched in anger but he kept his emotions in. "I'm doing my duty and that is to make sure that no one breaks into the Seireitei which is suppose to be Jidanbo's own but," He looked at the gatekeeper who was struggling to keep the gate up. "Its seems that he will need some refresher courses about his job."
"We won fair and square and then you just come out of nowhere and start attacking." Ichigo said. "Orihime get ready to heal Jidanbo's arm."
Orihime nodded her head as Ichigo kept his attention on Toshiro. "So since I told you my name, what's yours?" Toshiro's eyes narrowed at him and said.
"Captain Shihoin of the Tenth Division." Ichigo's grip on the hilt tighten. "Alright then you midget, if your so eager to fight then I'll be an opponent. Since a no good punk like you attacks an unarmed opponent so hastily, I'll beat you into the ground even if you are a kid."
Toshiro mentally scowled. He could feel the difference in power between them and defeating him would be easy. But he knew to never underestimate an opponent, no matter who they were.
He shunpo in front of him and brought his blade down which Ichigo barely managed to block. 'Shit! I barely saw him move!' Ichigo suddenly felt his limbs stiffen and felt his legs and arms refuse to move.
"What the?" Ichigo said before he unwillingly dropped his blade and got on his hands and knees as his friends yelled his name in surprise. "Whats going on?"
He then felt the icy cold blade of the captain against his neck and heard him say, "I can control the water in your blood which allows me to control your body if I'm powerful enough. Now," Ichigo managed to met the boy's eyes to see that they held no emotion and was as cold as his blade. "by order of the Gotei 13, you and your friends are under arrest."
Before anyone could do anything, a blur ran by them and Toshiro felt the air left his lungs when a swift punch landed on his chest and sent him flying. The same blur quickly picked up Ichigo and his blade and threw him into Jidanbo with enough force to send them both flying back and, before the gate crashed down, the blur ran out just as it closed.
Several Shinigami rushed to the aid of Captain Shihoin who was laying in the rubble of a wall. "Captain Shihoin are you alright?"
Toshiro nodded his head blankly and got up. "I'm fine, I need to go somewhere." He walked off as his mind replayed what he saw. It was only for half a second but he could swore that he saw her.
He swore that he saw that it was his Kaa-chan that sent him flying.
With Ichigo and Co
"What the hell was that?" Ishida asked no one in peculiar as Chad helped Ichigo up. "I don't know but what I do know is that if I see that little brat again, I'm going to kick his ass." He growled out as he got to his feet and looked at Jidanbo who was being healed by Orihime.
"No you won't," Everyone turned to see Yoruichi, in her cat form, coming up to them. "Your lucky that he didn't kill you on sight otherwise this entire mission could have been a disaster."
"But-" Ichigo was cut off when Yoruichi's golden eyes glared at him. "This is not up for discussion Ichigo so drop it now." The orange hair teen sighed and nodded his head before he noticed something. People was now coming out of hiding and staring at them.
"Oh by the way Ichigo," Suddenly he felt his face get scratched and screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. "don't do something like that again or you'll get worse than a couple of scratches."
Later With Toshiro
Toshiro was currently finishing his paperwork at speeds that surprised his co-lieutenant Matsumoto who never seen him so distressed. "Uh Captain are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I just need to go somewhere but this paperwork needs to be finished first since I know you and Toph won't do it. Speaking of who, where is she?"
Matsumoto took a drink from her sake and said, "She's helping Tenten with her Zanpakuto. Why?" Toshiro stood up from his desk, all the paperwork for the next two days finished early.
"Tell her that until I return that you two are in charge. I need to visit someone who will take a while to find." He got up, took his captain's cloak and left in a Shunpo. 'I hope that Kuukaku-Obasan didn't move too far this time.'
The Next Day With Yoruichi and Co
"I will warn you Yoruichi-sama that Kuukaku won't be happy to see you." Koganehiko told Yoruichi and Co as they walked down into the house. The entire group had just found the house of someone that could help them get into the Seireitei. "She was really mad when you left without telling anyone."
"I know and I'll accept any insult Kuukaku has for me." The large man opened the door to reveal a busty raven hair woman but her face was one that held no emotion. "Long time no see Yoruichi."
"Kuukaku is a woman!" The teens behind her yelled out in surprise as Yoruichi looked at them. "I never said that she's is a man did I?" She turned her attention back to Kuukaku.
"And I believe we have some things to discuss in private don't we Kuukaku?" She nodded and got up. "I guess you guys should meet my brother in the meantime." The two went into another room while Kuukaku's introduced himself and they vaguely heard shouts from the room as Kuukaku shut the door.
Yoruichi wasn't surprise when Kuukaku suddenly threw her blade at her, nearly impaling her. "So why are back Yoruichi after what you did to Toshiro?"
Said person took a deep breathe and began her tale.
Later
"So that's why you left." Kuukaku said as she sat across from Yoruichi, a cup of sake in her hand. "Still, that doesn't excise what you did to Toshiro when you left."
Yoruichi nodded her head. "I know and I intend to make things right with him once I get the chance to." The two sat in silence for a second before she asked. "How have Toshiro been?"
"Oh great. He's the Tenth Division Captain now, head of the Shihoin Clan and," She grinned at the black cat. "I think he got a harem." If a cat could pull off a surprise face, then that cat would be Yoruichi who had a mixture of surprise and shock on her furry face.
"H-how? W-who?" She stuttered out as she thought. 'I'm gone for a century and I come back to find out that my son has a harem. Crap I never even had the Talk with him yet.' "For the how, Toshiro just draws them in like bees to flowers and who, its these three girls. You already know Yukari but these other two, Lightning and Tenten, I can tell that they'll be real eye catchers when they grow up but they only have there sights for Toshiro."
"I'm going to kill whoever corrupted my little kitten." Yoruichi said in a dark tone while Kuukaku laughed. "Oh don't worry, he's still the same old Toshiro and I don't even think that he knows that they like him. For someone so smart, he can't tell if someone likes him until they go right up to him and kiss him."
The door was suddenly broken down when Ganju came crashing through before getting back onto his feet and charging Ichigo with a headbutt to the stomach.
"What the hell?" Kuukaku got up and stopped the two of them by bashing them in there heads with a fist and foot. "I try to catch up with lost time with an old friend and you two just come and ruin it all."
"Ouch attacking out of nowhere like that. Like brother, like sister I guess." Ganju got to his knees and yelled. "But Onee-sama! He started it!" He was silence with a swift kick to the head. "Don't talk back to me!"
She then stomped over to Ichigo and grabbed his head. "Listen here strawberry, this is my home and if you don't like the way I run things around here then you can get out."
Ichigo had a dumbfounded look on his face as he said, "Uh sorry?" Kuukaku nodded her head and dropped him. "Good now fol-"
"KUUKAKU-SAMA!" Everyone turned to see Shiroganehiko running into the room as he looked at Kuukaku. "This better be important otherwise I'll start hurting someone." The two downed males began to sweat since they were the closest ones to her right now.
"It is!" He pointed at the stairs. "Toshiro-sama is heading this way!"
"WHAT!" Three voices yelled out in unison and those three were Kuukaku, Ganju, and Yoruichi and the former of the trio quickly picked up Ichigo by the back of his robes and dragged him. "W-wait where are you taking me?"
Her response was to open a door that held some brooms, mops, buckets, feather dusters so in short a broom closet. "If Toshiro sees you here he'll take you all in a heart beat so get in there!" She threw Ichigo in head first while Yoruichi and the others went in and she closed it. Kuukaku went to sit on her pillows and Ganju sat beside her, both looking as normal as possible when suddenly Ganju was punched by his sister, gaining a black eye and hitting the ground.
"W-why?"
"I need a reason why this place is a mess, now shut up." They heard footsteps coming down and they saw Toshiro which Kuukaku liked to call him her nephew while Ganju his little brother.
In the Closet
"Ow! Someone's elbow is in my face." Ichigo said.
"Well someone's face is in my elbow." Ishida snapped back at him as he tried to put some distance between them but with Chad's body taking up most of the space, it was difficult. Orihime was in the front of everyone while Yoruichi was on her shoulder and she leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered. "Orihime, open the door a bit."
"Why?" Orihime asked. "Just do it, I want to listen to what he says." She did and everyone crowded around to see a familiar Shinigami. "Hey that's the brat that hurt Jidanbo. How does he know Kuukaku and Ganju."
"Just shut up and listen Ichigo." Yoruichi said as they began to talk.
Outside
"So Toshiro, how have you been? Its been a few months since you last visited." Said person was drinking a cup of tea that one of the twin servants brought. "I'm sorry, the division been busy for a while and I have to handle all the paperwork since my two lieutenants are either too lazy or can't do it themselves."
"Well its nice to see you here anyways." Kuukaku said as Toshiro looked around. "By the way, what happened in here?"
The raven hair woman pointed at the downed Ganju. "This idiot thought it would be a good idea to practice fighting in here than in the training rooms. You can pretty guess the rest."
Toshiro nodded, accepting the explanation when he suddenly heard something behind him. "What was that?" He said, turning around and looking at the closet while everyone beside him began to nervously sweat.
In The Closest
"Seriously how does he know them?" Ichigo asked from the ground as he stared through the crack. "Ichigo if you don't be quiet, I'll give you some whiskers to match mine." That shut him up as they heard the conversation between them.
Unfortunately a feather fell off from one of the dusters and gently rubbed Orihime's nose and she let out a small sneeze before she quickly covered her mouth.
Yoruichi stared outside as she saw Toshiro tense up and look at them. 'Shit he heard us. I might have to change and restrain him.' She tensed and got ready to jump at a moment's notice as her son kept his look at the closet.
Outside
"I didn't hear anything! Did you Nee-sama?" Ganju said, getting up to sit and shared a glance with his sister who nodded quickly. "Yeah! Maybe you just need a vacation Toshiro, your starting to hear things now."
Toshiro shrugged and turned back to them. "I guess your right then. Everyone been suggesting for me take a vacation for a while now." He drank his tea and asked. "Kuukaku-Obasan I was wondering if you seen any odd looking people here lately?"
"Uh I don't know what your talking about Toshiro, a lot of weird people come by every now and then."
Toshiro placed his cup down and said, "By odd I mean a group of four people, possibly five. One with orange hair and a sword as long as him, a tall dark skinned one, another wearing white clothing and glasses and the last one female with orange hair as well."
Kuukaku scratched the back of her head, thinking about what he said. "Sorry, I haven't seen anyone like them around here lately."
"Then I guess I'll be leaving, thank you for the tea." He stood up but then heard a sound behind him and turned to the closet. "Now I'm sure I heard something." He walked closer to the closet, making everyone nervous.
Inside
The source of the sound was Ichigo's muffled yell of pain when Ishida accidentally stepped on his fingers but Chad reacted quickly and stomped his face into the ground to muffle the sound.
However Yoruichi saw that Toshiro still heard them and got ready to move. 'Sorry about this Toshiro.'
Outside
Kuukaku and Ganju looked at each other in fear as Toshiro got closer to the broom closet. The raven hair woman then held up her fingers on her only hand and made a kicking motioning with them and pointed at Toshiro. Ganju shook his head at that idea. Kuukaku then slit one finger across her throat and pointed at him to show what will happen to him if he didn't do it.
Faced between a rock and a hard place, Ganju stood up and swallowed before running toward Toshiro and yelling. "SNEAK ATTACK!"
Toshiro reacted quickly by shooting an elbow back into his stomach before grabbing his neck as he hunched over in pain and flipping him onto his back. "How many times do I have to say that yelling out 'sneak attack' doesn't make it a sneak attack."
"Right I forgot." Ganju wheezed out as Kuukaku walked over to them and grabbed Toshiro's hand. "Oh look at the time, I guess you should go now before it gets too dark."
She led the boy to and up the stairs. "Come back another time and beat up any strangers that try to talk to you." She led him outside before saying one last goodbye and closing the door.
'That was weird.' Toshiro thought as he began the walk to his division. 'Ganju I understand but Kuukaku-Obasan didn't seemed to want me to stay too long.' He shrugged before shunpoing out of sight.
Inside
"That was too close Yoruichi." Kuukaku said as the group tumble out of the closet with Ishida and Ichigo arguing with each other about him stepping on his fingers. "You should have told me that he saw you guys trying to enter the Seireitei."
"More like he stopped us from entering." Yoruichi sighed as Ichigo turned to them. "Say Yoruichi-san, why did you want us to hide? We could have beaten him."
He froze as the black cat leveled a glare at him. "Trust me when I say this Ichigo even if we caught him off guard, he would have still beaten us effortlessly. Also," She turned to look at all of them. "once we enter the Seireitei, I want you all to avoid him at all costs. Don't attempt to fight him, just run away as fast as you can."
Ishida then asked. "But why Yoruichi-san? Does he hold some sort of grudge against you?" His answer was a nod. "Lets just say that I left without saying goodbye to him."
Hours Later Lieutenant's Meeting
"So whats this meeting for anyways?" Toph asked as she and Matsumoto walked to the lieutenant's meeting hall. "Its about something that Toshiro put in his report."
"About the people that tried to break in?" Matsumoto looked at the co-Lieutenant in surprise. "I'm blind Matsumoto, not deaf. Its amazing what you'll hear if you go to the right place at the right time."
"So did people really try to break into the Seireitei?" The red hair lieutenant of the Sixth asked as he walked up to them with another man with a 69 tattoo on his cheek, hearing them talking. "I thought that Jidanbo would take care of them."
The Ninth Division Lieutenant, Shunhei Hisagi decided to add in what he knew. "Turns out that he lost and willingly opened the gate for them but Captain Shihoin kept them from entering."
Momo Hinamori, the Fifth Division Lieutenant and sister of Tenten, looked at them from her position on the ground. "Captain Shihoin? You mean the child genius?" She knew a little about the captain from her sister Tenten and heard that he was very powerful.
"Yup and head of the Shihoin Clan." They turned to see Iba, Lieutenant of the Seventh Division, come up to them. "The baby captain is a dangerous kid, I heard that he's a cold blooded killer."
Toph then stomped on the man's foot as she walked by him, making him jump up and down in pain. "Whoops sorry can't see where I'm going on these wooden floors. Anyways Toshiro isn't that bad unless you make him mad and Matsumoto did Toshiro come by the Division lately? I think I felt his reiatsu a few hours ago before he left again."
The co-lieutenant nodded her head. "Hai I was in the office when he came back to check on us. He was a little surprised that I didn't have any sake parties when he was gone and said that he needs to visit someone else."
With Rukia
'I should have known that idiot would follow me here to try and save me.' Rukia thought as she stared out her window. 'And he probably brought Orihime, Chad and maybe Ishida with him. They'll be slaughter the moment they encounter a captain.'
Then she heard footsteps and turned to see the Captain of the Tenth Division standing in front of the bars. "Captain Shihoin?"
"Hello Rukia, nice to see you again." He said. "I wish to ask you some questions about your time in the World of the Living."
Later
Both Yoruichi and Kuukaku were sitting beside each other, enjoying the silent night and each other company. "Kuukaku be honest, does Toshiro hate me?"
Said woman sighed as she drank her sake. "Its... hard to tell. Sometimes he would be crying for hours on end, whispering your name and other times he would be destroying dummies yelling your name." She looked at the black cat beside her who had a tear running down one of her eyes. "When you left Yoruichi you really hurt him in a way that wouldn't heal easy. I watched my little nephew become as cold as the ice he controls but I still saw in his eyes that he missed you."
Yoruichi stared at the Seireitei as she took in what Kuukaku said. 'Shiro-chan, I've hurt you so much when I left you but I promise to find a way to make it right.'
Captain Meeting Hall
Toshiro stared at the front doors that was the First Division, going over what Rukia told him. 'She purposely left some things out but even with those things missing, I can tell that she never even saw my Kaa-chan.' He was taken out of his thoughts when the doors opened and he walked inside, seeing all the captains, beside the Thirteen, inside with him being the center of attention.
The first to speak was Yamamoto. "Captain Shihoin, I assume you know why you were called to this meeting." Toshiro nodded.
"The intruders that tried to break into Seireitei." Yamamoto nodded his head but before he could speak, Kenpachi cut him off. "I heard that you dealt with some intruders but let them get away. Why?"
Toshiro's eyes narrowed at the Eleventh Division Captain. "I was caught off guard by one of them and managed to disable me long enough to escape. I didn't let them get away on purpose."
He then heard a laugh and turned to the captain of the Twelfth, Mayuri. "And are we suppose to believe that? As a captain, some weak intruders shouldn't be able to catch you off guard."
Toshiro met the man's eyes with his own. "Are you saying that I purposely let them go?"
"Perhaps I am."
"Hey clown face, I was talking first." Kenpachi said to him, getting his attention. "Unless you want me to kill you, just keeping talking and I'll see how your body holds up against me."
"Enough!" Yamamoto said loudly as they looked at him. "Both of you stand down and be quiet for the rest of this meeting. Now Captain Shihoin, are you aware of what your saying has no evidence to support your claim of being offguard nor is there you actually letting them go."
His answer was a silent nod and Yamamoto opened his eyes to stare at Tenth Division Captain.
"Very well, since there is no official evidence of you letting the intruders escape nor is there any of you actually being caught off guard, you shall still be punished."
Soifon then said, "House arrest." Everyone turned to the Second Division Captain who had an emotionless look on her face. "This way he could be actually using his vacation days and be kept under watched by my members."
No one raised there voice to her idea and Yamamoto tapped his cane on the ground. "It is decided then. Captain Shihoin, until further notice, you are here by placed under house arrest and if you leave your manor, you will be placed under arrest. Is that clear?"
"Hai." He opened his mouth say something else but was interrupted by a loud bong followed by a voice announcing. "ALERT! ALERT! INTRUDERS IN THE CITY! ALL SHINIGAMI SHOULD REPORT TO THERE POSTS!"
Lieutenant Meeting
"I REPEAT INTRUDERS IN THE CITY! ALL SHINIGAMI SHOULD REPORT TO THERE POSTS!"
All the lieutenants looked around in surprise and Toph was the first one to speak. "Well at least something interesting is finally happening."
Captain's Meeting
"Could they be the same ones as last time?" Aizen said as Kenpachi suddenly ran out of the room. "Wait Kenpachi! The meeting isn't over yet!" He was ignored as the battle loving captain ran straight outside.
Yamamoto then spoke up. "It can't be helped then. All captains return to your stations except for you Captain Shihoin," Said captain looked at him. "your punishment still stands. Now everyone leave."
Everyone filed out of the division but before Toshiro could shunpo back home, he felt a hand land on his shoulder and looked to see Soifon behind him, a concern look on her face. "Were you really caught off guard Toshiro?"
He nodded and said, "I was Soifon-Neechan." She stared into his eyes, looking for any signs of lying but found none and let him go as he shunpo away.
With Yoruichi
"Remember our objective is to rescue Rukia, that is all." Yoruichi said as they prepared to fire. "If you encounter any captain class Shinigami, just run in the opposite direction. Also," She looked at everyone with an intense gaze. "avoid Captain Shihoin at all costs. If he captures any of you, he won't hesitate to torture you to get the information about me out of you. Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded as Kuukaku yelled out the beginning chanting of the Kido.
With Toshiro
Toshiro was sitting on the front porch of his home with Snowflake laying besides him as he rubbed her head. He watched as what appears to be a cannonball hit the shield that was around Seireitei and he knew that his Kaa-chan was in that ball with the intruders.
When he saw it turned into a tornado and break off into four different directions, he called for four hell butterflies to deliver something for him.
Toph
The co Lieutenant of the Tenth was walking around the Seireitei, heading toward one of the crashes she heard nearby but stopped when she heard something else. A hell butterfly landed on her shoulder and it said in Toshiro's voice.
"Toph, I have a mission for you. If you encounter any of the intruders..."
Yukari
"Capture and bring them to Shihoin Manor for questioning." Yukari was watching when the cannonball hit the shield from the Kido Corps HQ. After it broke off into four different directions, she saw a hell butterfly heading toward her and was surprised when she heard Toshiro's voice coming from it.
Lightning
"Due to my recent actions, I am unable to pursue them myself but I am relying on you to do so for me."
Lightning was training with her Zanpakuto when she saw the sky lit up and, after that, she received a hell butterfly from Toshiro. Her eyes harden at what he said to her and thought. 'I won't let you down Toshiro-sama.'
Tenten
"Remember to bring them alive and as unharmed as possible."
Tenten was watching what was happening from the Tenth Division training grounds and gotten a hell butterfly as well. She watched as one of them landed not to far from her and Shunpo toward it, determined to carry out her captain's orders.
With Yoruichi
'Alone. Just like how Toshiro felt during the century I wasn't here.' Yoruichi thought as she shot off from the cannonball. 'I'll make things right with him, even if it'll cost me my life.'
Toshiro
"Your move Kaa-chan," Toshiro whispered as he watched the parts break off. "Your move."
Here you go! Sorry for the lack of action but I promise that the next one will have more than enough for all of you! Until next time, Mr. Hourglass OUT!