Grimlocked Chapter 7: Short on Time
Everything began to go downhill after Aizen was killed, starting from the moment I flew over the Squad Eight barracks. I'll admit that it was partially my fault for flying so low above the rooftops. Once I passed over the main courtyard, a giant blast of energy, larger than my Hado Eighty-Eight, crossed right below me, knocked me off balance and forced me to crash into the wall. My vision went black for a moment and there were spots in my vision.
"Hey, you alright over there, Lieutenant?" a laid back voice asked.
I shook off my dizziness to see a man walking towards me wearing a pink robe over his white captain's uniform and a rice hat. He had a happy-go-lucky expression on his face and had long brown hair with a goatee. Two zanpakto hung at his waist.
"That's a rather nifty Zanpacto you got, kid. I like it!"
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" I said after seeing the damage to the wall that my crash had caused, "It's my fault! I was flying too low!"
"Hey, hold up. Take it easy. It's nothing to worry about. In fact compared to the real battlegrounds in the Seireitei, this is nothing. It'll all be fixed once this ryoka situation is dealt with. Actually, that's kind of why you landed here. That guy over there put up quite a fight for a human." He pointed over to a crater left by a massive attack. At the serving end was a huge guy wearing a white and red shirt with black pants. He had deep tanned skin, short curly hair that covered his eyes, and he was huge! But I knew him.
"It can't be…" I walked over to him.
"You say you know him?" the captain asked.
"Yes Captain", I said.
"No need to be so formal around me. Just call me Shunsui."
"Well, Shunsui, I do recognize him from the World of the Living. He was at the same school where Rukia and I were stationed. He was a really good friend of Rukia's, but I didn't know him very well myself."
"I see", Shunsui tipped his hat up, "That would provide us with a motivation."
I picked up Banshi and sighed, "Well, since I'm here now, I guess it's my turn to be the bearer of bad news. Something terrible happened this morning. Several of the squad lieutenants, myself included, found Captain Aizen pinned to the side of a building with his own Zanpacto. He was declared dead on arrival, Captain. I'm afraid that I don't know much else."
"Sosuke?!" he said in shock, but he drooped, "I find it hard to believe at first, but I believe you."
"Captain", his lieutenant walked in, "This ryoka is still alive. Shall I…administer the killing blow?"
"No", Shunsui replied, "I want him put in a cell with some medical attention. We shouldn't involve ourselves with unnecessary killing. Besides, if he is involved with Aizen's death, or if the other Ryoka are, we can find out."
"I find it unlikely", I put my hand on my chin, "All four of the Ryoka were all from the same place in the World of the Living, and if I'm pretty sure that Chad didn't even know that Aizen existed. And as far as I know, none of them are powerful enough to take out a captain that quickly."
"That gives me all the more reason to watch my back. If that's the case, then I believe that we might have a traitor in our ranks."
"Speaking of which," the lieutenant continued, "that's part of why I'm here. We have some details from Squad Four."
"Good. I need you to inform me inside. Ash, I'd suggest you get going. Try to see if there's anything you can do to help."
"Yes, Captain Shunsui", I bowed walking away.
"By the way, "he stopped me, "I'm still not entirely certain as to why you wear your badge like that, but I'd say it looks nice on you."
"Thanks!" I said happily. But I stopped as I realized how he had not already said something else, "Shunsui, just a quick question. Is there anything on…..let's say the cloth of my badge?"
"Hmm…no, it's still completely white", he smiled.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat and I quickly removed my badge. The very second I walked into the crime scene, Aizen's blood dripped down from his resting place and stained my badge. Sure enough, the blood was gone. I mean, I had only found Aizen not but twenty minutes ago, and I had not washed my badge after it was stained! But nothing was there. It was like it never even happened. But I saw it happen with my own eyes!
Unless of course, I didn't.
I thought back to the time that I first saw Aizen. He was sparring with Momo, but he tricked her by hiding behind an illusion, one that manipulated my senses to make it seem real. Even Momo's sense of touch was affected. But the illusion wasn't woven elaborately enough to hide Aizen from my sonar. And the illusion started the moment I set eyes on his fully unsheathed Zanpacto!
That same Zanpacto was pinning Aizen to the wall, and its sheath was nowhere to be found.
It was possible, and even probable, that Aizen's death was an expertly woven illusion. But I began to have doubts as I realized that even if it was an illusion, why would Aizen set it? And if so, why did Gin look so guilty? Why didn't he deny or confess?
Above all, Aizen cared for Momo, I could see it clear as day. If it all was an illusion, why would he do this to her without at least saying something?
But then I realized how it was obvious that he knew that he was being targeted. Gin obviously hated Aizen. Perhaps that was why Aizen let Momo stay with him last night. He wanted her close because he knew that they'd never meet again alive.
It was all just saddening.
I walked out of the barracks with this in mind, but a sudden explosion of spiritual pressure interrupted my thoughts.
There were two pressures of near equal strength. One was Ichigo, without a doubt. But I can only assume that the other was Kenpachi Zaraki. They were fighting close to the repentance cell. I didn't dare get any closer. In fact I turned and ran the other way and I ran around the corner only to run into someone in a head to head collision!
"OW! OW! OW!" I complained as I fell to the ground holding my head, while the other person just rubbed her head and shook it off.
"Ash?" a male voice asked behind her, and I looked up and recognized the pair.
"Uryu! Orihime! Thank goodness you're alright!" I hopped back to my feet. Both said people were disguised in soul reaper uniforms.
"I'm surprised to see you here!" Orihime said happily, "Is that Ichigo up there?"
"Yeah, he's fighting a captain, but I think he can hold", I confirmed, "Look, you guys have some bad timing. One of the captains was assassinated last night, and many of those who heard about it thus far are blaming you guys for it."
"Well it wasn't us, I can assure you", Uryu stated, pushing up his glasses, "By the way, have you heard about where Chad is right now? I can't sense him."
"Bad news, he ran into the captain of Squad Eight and was defeated in battle. Good news is that Chad is still alive, and is receiving medical attention in his cell as we speak", I heard some squad members approaching, "You guys have to lay low until this all dies down again. Be careful!" I flashstepped away, back towards the repentance cell as Kenpachi's Pressure diminished.
"Don't go!" Banshi stopped me, "Byakuya's up there!"
"So what? I'll just beat him to a pulp again", I said as I began to enter my inner world.
"You got lucky that once. He knows your current power limits now. He will kill you next time."
"What else am I supposed to do? I underestimated him last time and it will not happen again!" I growled as I took to the skies with a thunderous BOOM! I could see clearly where they were. I saw Byakuya confronting a guy in green and a young member of Squad Four. The man in green was on the bridge, bleeding out. Byakuya's shikai was closing in on Rukia and that boy she was protecting.
"HEY!" I jumped in between them and blasted the petals back towards Byakuya.
"Damn! You again?!" Byakuya growled.
"You miss me BK? This has to be like the fourth time I've had to confront you about going out of regulation! I need a scoreboard here!"
"Ash! Stop this at once!" Rukia rushed forward to try and stop me.
"Shut up", I grunted.
"Do you honestly want a repeat of last night?" Byakuya said as his blades swirled around him.
"I honestly wouldn't mind", I mocked "I survived your bankai and brought you to a draw while only using my shikai."
"You merely used your shikai to run", he narrowed his eyes, "and you only survived the first stage."
"Great!" I said sarcastically, "Now you decide to go all, 'This isn't even my final form!' on me. Unbelievable. But that is aside the point now. It is not your place, or mine to harm the prisoner before she's executed."
"Damn you!" he began to raise his hilt to command the blades but a hand stopped him.
Behind Byakuya stood a man with a kind face, long white hair that ran past his shoulder blades and he wore a captain's uniform
He sighed with relief, "Close one! Pretty dangerous! Why don't we leave it at that, Captain Kuchiki?"
"A captain?" I asked, "Strange, I've never seen you before. You must be the captain of Squad Thirteen. You weren't at that meeting that my sensei brought me to."
"Captain Ukitake?" Rukia asked.
"Hey there Rukia!" he saluted her casually, "It's good to see you! Are you alright?"
"What are you doing here, Captain?" Byakuya said calming down.
"I could ask you the same thing. After all, releasing a Zanpacto in a place like this is a first class offense, even if it's to repel ryoka. What were you thinking, Kuchiki?"
"The wartime exemption allows the unrestricted use of Zanpacto", BK explained.
"War exemption?! Has the ryoka infiltration gotten that bad?! Was it a ryoka that killed Aizen?!" he said almost in panic.
All of a sudden, an explosively powerful spiritual pressure slammed into us, one that was as strong as even mine! Everyone, even Kuchiki was shocked.
"What spiritual pressure is this?! Clearly it's at the level of a captain, but I don't recognize it!" Ukitake continued.
I quickly looked around and laughed with delight, "I recognize it alright! This one's all yours, BK! He's here!"
A blast of wind blew up from the side of the bridge and a very familiar form dropped onto the bridge.
It was Ichigo, a massive sword shaped like a giant butcher knife was wrapped in linin wraps hung on his back. A strange device was in his hand with a large sail like wing which shrank to a reasonable carrying size.
"You okay, Hanataro?" he looked to the young Squad Four member, "I wouldn't have sent you ahead if I knew it was gonna be this rough."
"No, it's okay. I'm fine", Hanataro replied.
Almost immediately, Rukia argued with Ichigo, complaining for him to leave. Frankly it was just a waste of time in my eyes. I knew full well that Ichigo would either leave with Rukia or die trying.
Nothing that she or anyone else said could change his mind.
"Byakuya", Ukitake said almost in a daze, "What do you know of this man?"
"I know enough. He has no relation to the man you are thinking about. This one here is nothing. Nothing but ryoka. I'll destroy him, and this will all end. He'll be dead and this trifling invasion of his will be over."
"Look at you," Ichigo mocked as he and Byakuya approached each other, "taking everything so slow and casual. All that time Rukia and I were talking you could have been attacking, but you just stood there."
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Byakuya hissed, "Do you suppose that I need an opening to come after the likes of you? You should know better than to talk so big, boy."
"That sounds awfully familiar", I said sitting down by the railing, "If I recall, that's exactly how you addressed me when I first stood up to you for conflicting with my captain's orders. You remember."
"You shut up or I'll kill you next", he said before his own spiritual pressure hit us.
Suddenly, Byakuya flash stepped. I couldn't even see this one, but my sonar gave me a direction as to where he went. Now he was right behind Ichigo! But Ichigo's giant Zanpacto was behind his back in an instant! I would have had trouble swinging such a large weapon like that, but I knew fully well that in terms of muscle, Ichigo had me beat hands down. Byakuya gasped.
"I saw your every step, Byakuya Kuchiki!" Ichigo said taunting the captain as they parried once and leaped back, "Well what do you think, Kuchiki? A little surprised? Your movements are all visible to me now!"
"Don't confuse skill with a little luck, damned fool."
"So maybe you'd like to find out if it was just luck!" Ichigo dashed forward and Byakuya flashstepped past him. Ichigo then whirled his sword around in that same motion and blocked BK's blade. They went at it a few more times until Byakuya stopped.
"Very well. Obviously you've improved even more than I ever thought possible. So you leave me with no choice. Before you become too full of yourself, I shall show you the difference between us. The gap in power that you can never hope to bridge, not even if you had a thousand years of training." Byakuya raised his sword.
"Hey, Ichigo. I know you can't see it, but I believe this is the point where you should run!" I said nervously, "He's about to release his bankai!"
Ichigo gasped at this, finally realizing his situation.
But suddenly, linin wraps snapped into place around Byakuya's blade. They were being held by a young woman of extreme athletic build. Her dark violet colored hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had deep tanned skin. She wore long black pants and an orange jacket.
"It's been a while, Byakuya", she smiled at him.
"Well, that was an unexpected twist", I raised an eyebrow, "Byakuya, since you seem to know her, would you mind giving me an explanation?"
"She's the former fourth commander of the Stealth Force and the former captain of the Punishment Squad, Yoruichi Shihouin."
"Yoruichi, you came to rescue me. I realize that. I appreciate it, but at the moment I need you to step aside so I can beat this guy!" Ichigo growled at her.
"Beat him? You think you can beat this guy? You are a fool." Suddenly she dashed forward and fired a devastating punch to Ichigo's stomach that knocked him out instantly. She picked him up over her shoulder.
"Don't waste your time trying to help him. Neither of you will ever escape from here", Byakuya snarled.
"My! Just listen to you talking like such a big shot now, Byakuya. And yet I don't believe you've ever beaten me even once at a game of tag. Have you?"
"Shall we give it another try?" Byakuya said.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun to watch!" I said going to the far side of the bridge with Banshi, "Now all I need is some popcorn!"
In an instant, both combatants flickered by each other. Then Yoruichi made a break for the exiting side of the bridge. I thought that she'd make it, but Byakuya just appeared beside her, no flicker, he was just there.
"Did you really think you could escape with a flashstep that slow?" Byakuya asked as he slashed Yoruichi in the back with his blade, and I cringed at the sight. But she suddenly disappeared in a flash of orange paper and she was suddenly on Byakuya's shoulder. A real life freaking ninja!
"Did you really think you could capture me with a flashstep that predictable?" she mocked him and flickered to the top of the building behind her, "Three days. In three days and I'll make him stronger than you. Until then, consider the fight between you postponed. Feel free to give chase if you wish, but Yoruichi Shihouin is not about to be caught by the likes of you!" she said with a come-and-get-me tone and she disappeared.
"That woman", Byakuya growled, "She's even more annoying than ever."
"I don't blame you for thinking that, Captain BK", italics equal English "I know from sparring with Captain Soifon that ninjas are not to be taken lightly. I don't want to say it, but you definitely did a better job than I ever would in that situation. I have to give you props for that Captain."
"Why do you change your attitude towards me?" he asked me coldly. I put Banshi away.
"It's just that I've realized that you have a bigger rival than me. I've seen how fast Ichigo progressed in the world of the living. By the time he comes back for another round he'll be an even more dangerous opponent. If this feud between the two of you is as big as I speculate it is, then I want to be around to see it. And I'm pretty sure that you'll kill me the next time I try to fight you again. So until that battle's done, I'll stay out of your business. You have my word. I do want you in good shape for that fight if it's going to be interesting. But in turn, you leave me alone too."
"As long as I can have a few days without your annoying interruptions, I have no objections", Byakuya said in his usual emotionless tone, walking past me and leaving the scene.
Rukia suddenly collapsed from the tension and Hanataro panicked. Man, she looked beautiful in those robes!
But I began to think, Rukia was in my reach now. I could make a break for it right now and end this. Then again, there were already two captains within a two hundred yard radius of me. They'd track me down and kill me before I could even make it to the front gate.
"That was certainly surprising", the captain sighed "We haven't seen Yoruichi in over a hundred years. She was you mother's childhood friend, you know."
"Was she now?" I said looking in the direction she left in. But I did a double take as I took to mind what he just said, "What the hell?! How did you know who my mom is?! Only the Head Captain knows!"
"That wasn't entirely true", Ukitake scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "You, see I've actually known you since before you were born. Miharu was adopted into my clan and she became my adopted sister. I was even there with her and your father when you were born early in the Precipice World and I even spent a little time with you while you were still growing in the World of the Living. Surely she must have mentioned old Joshiro Ukitake."
"Joshiro….no, Josh! You must be that Uncle Josh that Mom told me about!" I realized with a smile of delight as I shook his hand.
"Look, I really wish I could talk more, but thank you for saving my lieutenant."
"Rukia? I didn't know she was a lieutenant."
"Anyway, I just received word from your mother and captain. She says to meet her at her estate at once. It's urgent!"
.
(Kisuke's shop)
"Well, good morning sir!" Kisuke greeted the man who stepped into the shop. He was tall and muscular and he carried a large black case over his shoulder.
"I need a ride to the Soul Society", he said plainly.
"Sir, I'm afraid you're mistaking us for a mystic's shop down the street. We're just c corner store", Kisuke replied.
"Don't make me laugh, Kisuke, former Squad Twelve captain."
"Alright", Kisuke flipped out his fan, "So you know who I am. That doesn't mean I'm just going to let you get through. You're not even a soul reaper." As soon as he said that, a gargantuan spiritual pressure hit the store and made some of the things on the shelves wobble.
"I can't afford to stay here now. I have orders from Miharu Kozuki."
"Miharu? I see, you must be one of her human subordinates, the Watchers, if I recall correctly", Kisuke held up his fan with a smile.
"You could say that", the man replied.
"I'm afraid that the bridge is still cooling down from its use yesterday. But I can speed up the process and get you out there by tonight. Until then," Kisuke snap closed his fan, "make yourself comfortable. You look like a gambling man to me. What do you say we play a little poker?"
On cue, the man flipped a pack of cards, laid them all out on the table in a line, flipped them all twice, threw them back in a deck, and shuffled the cards…all with his eyes closed. He then held the deck in one hand and flicked four different places on the deck (completely at random), sending four cards into the air before stacking up in another layer on top of the deck itself.
"From your left to right, a heart, spade, club, and diamond, all aces", the man said before showing Kisuke the cards. All four aces were in his hand and in that exact order
"On second thought, let's just play for fun, no real money in this poker game", Kisuke said surprised.
"Poker? Please, only the armatures call it poker", the man finally opened his eyes as he dealt out the cards, "I prefer the term, Texas Hold 'em."
.
(Sokyoku Hill)
"BANKAI?!" I said in disbelief, "I only got my shikai less than a week ago! I can't just pull a bankai through that same sort time!"
"I know that this sounds crazy, but we've run out of options", Mom told me as we walked into a hidden cave beneath the Execution grounds, "Now that the captains know what the ryoka are planning, they'll push for a nearer date for Rukia's execution. If we can't clear Rukia's name by then, then we'll have to take the offensive. Every captain is going to be there, two of which will be working with us: Ukitake and Shunsui. With Aizen gone and Kenpachi in recovery, that leaves another nine captains. I'm afraid that you current power levels will not suffice if we're going to even get out of this heist alive."
"But I was told that it took years to learn bankai", I told her.
"That's where this place comes in", Mom said before reaching a dead end. She whistled a bird call that echoed through the cavern. Moments later, a similar call was made by a flute and a small opening in the ground formed with a long red ladder. I saw light.
"Awesome! Secret sanctum! Geronimo!" I dove head first down into a cavern that was bigger than the Cowboys Stadium. I snapped out Banshi and flew over the rugged desert like landscape. But then I saw two familiar figures and went back into combat form.
"Ichigo!" I called out. He turned around and looked to me.
"Ash! I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you on the bridge, but you have a cover to maintain. I just can't believe that you got into the Seireitei so easily."
"Oh, so you're that rebel at heart lieutenant I've heard rumors about", Yoruichi told me before looking to my mother as she came in, "I haven't seen you in fifty years. Never heard about a son."
"He's got a lot more of his father in him than Byakuya wants to deal with", Mom told Yoruichi as they hugged for a moment, "How's Saeko? Is she here?"
"She's training in the upper loft", Yoruichi said as a blast of wind blew from the cut out in the far wall, "She's progressing fast. You might want to go up there and catch up."
"Good luck Ash. You too, Ichigo." Mom flickered away.
"So what now?" I asked reaching for my Zanpacto, only to realize that he was gone. Ichigo's too.
"What happens now, is we need to put plenty of distance between us", a mechanical voice said and I turned to see Banshi himself. This time he was dressed as he was the day I first met him, dark robes covering up most of his body, and letting only his hands and face show.
"Impressive!" Yoruichi inspected my Zanpacto, "In terms of manifestations, this is the first time I've seen a mechanical Zanpacto."
"Your Zanpacto can manifest physically?" Ichigo asked.
"This is a special case", a tall man wearing a long robe/coat with long black hair and shades stood behind Ichigo, "If you recall, Ash is a half soul, capable of existing completely in both the Soul Society and the world of the living without using a gigai to retain physical form. As such, his Zanpacto can fully exist in weapon form, its manifested form, or both at once."
"Zangetsu", Banshi said in surprise, "You caught on quite nicely."
"Great!" I clapped once, "We're all here. Let's get down to business! Where do we start?"
All of a sudden, a line separated the space between me and Banshi, and Ichigo and Zangetsu. On his side, hundreds of giant swords appeared, all stabbed into the ground. All looked similar to Zangetsu's shikai in some form. The same thing happened to my side, only all of the weapons, swords and scythes alike, resembled Banshi.
"Both of our true forms exist somewhere in this room, on our current sides of the cave", Zangetsu started, "Only one weapon each is capable of defeating us.
"What are you saying?" I knit my eyebrows together, "We have to fight you?"
"I told you before that we would have to fight for a bankai", Banshi smirked before his mask closed over his nose and mouth "You want to access our true power? You have to tame us first! This time, you are on your own."
"And the training starts…" Zangetsu started and was accompanied by Banshi as he said, "NOW!"
Our respective Zanpacto flickered and came at us with their own shikai forms.
"Scatter!" I barked as Ichigo and I both dodged out of the way. Banshi and Zangetsu went straight for each other too fast to stop. But they both leaped off of the ground, tilted back ninety degrees, then both kicked off of the sole of the other's foot as they gracefully back flipped back to our respective sides. It was absolute, choreographic perfection!
The chase was on!
.
"Let's dance!" I dove for the first scythe I saw and prepared to fight. This one had serrated edges on the outside and lacked a hole on its hinge. Of course I never actually got the chance to do anything but block with this one. Banshi hit this one square on the hinge with the tip of his scythe and shattered it. Using that same chain attack, he slashed at my face and scratched over my hollofied right eye, splitting the mask a little. I yelped in surprise to find blood. Thankfully I hadn't lost my eye again. In fact, the mask itself was healing.
"One down", Banshi came at me again, and I rolled aside to grab another one. This one was much smaller, only the size of a mountain climber's ice pick. I rushed in and tried to get in close. His chain attacks made that part very difficult. Our blades clashed for almost a minute before my weapon shattered. I picked up a third, larger than the others with a large speaker instead of a hole on its hinge.
"Let's try something new!" I spun the giant weapon before stabbing it into the ground, releasing a shockwave into the ground. The ground cracked and the earth around me rumbled and giant rocks were forced up in a line from where I was aiming. I turned shockwaves into seismic waves and had created my own earthquake! But a massive pulse blew the pile of rocks aside. I dove behind another but ducked as that boulder was sliced in half horizontally, almost slicing me in half at the waist. Even in terms of a shikai's normal cutting power, this was extraordinary.
The ground shook again as another seismic tremor was aimed at me.
"Hado Number Eighty-Eight: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!" I said and fired the spell through the wall or boulders.
I whirled around and my open blade struck against Banshi's, but this time he cut clean through my scythe!
"A number eighty-eight without an incantation? You've been holding back on me!" Banshi bantered.
"I'm surprised you didn't know", I held a stance, blocking with the handle of the broken scythe, "You live inside of me after all."
"I may live in your mind, I never said anything about reading your thoughts, or you mine. If that were the case, one of us would have already won by now."
I leaped back and threw the handle at him like a javelin, only for him to split it long ways down the middle. I then grabbed a sword from the ground and pointed it at him, channeling another pulse.
"Keep up!" Banshi said and I whirled around to block his strike, while landing my sword in the part of the hinge that prohibited the blade from moving: its weak point, if you would.
"Damn!" he growled, "I was just about to use that! Hey!" while he was talking, I let go of my sword and dove beneath the scythe's handle and I directed a shockwave from my hand directly into his face. His eyes widened for a moment before he was launched back twenty-five yards. But I held his scythe.
"I was beginning to wonder why this one has so much cutting power. All this time you were having me search for the winning blade, when in reality, it was right in front of me. It was in your hands this whole time!"
Far off, Banshi stood up, brushed himself off and laughed, "Way to use your head. I honestly never thought you'd do that", I brightened up, "However…"
All of a sudden, the blade exploded in to shrapnel, and a large piece had been lodged in my hip. I took hold and quickly removed the piece. The pieces then flew back to Banshi and formed that scythe again
"Sorry, but that wasn't how you play the game. But that was a very insightful decision. It probably would have taken me a few days to think of that, and you did that after just three Zanpacto. Professional."
"Stop trying to flatter me!" I dashed forward, "If that's the way you're going to play the game then I'll play my way!"
I roared and began to zip around the stage with my flashstep. I was fighting blind, moving too fast to even see where I was going. But I knew that Banshi would be having just as much trouble. I then jumped up into the air, spotted Banshi, and dove in his direction.
.
"Quit your whining! There's nothing to be worried about." Ichigo stepped into the hot spring.
"Excuse me, Carrot Top, but in the far West in Texas, we don't have public baths. The idea just doesn't settle with me. The only reason I'm even on this side of the springs is because my mom packed some Speedos for me."
I had been training for the past nine hours with no progression. I lost track of how many Zanpakto we went through. Yoruichi insisted that we both have a break and nurse our wounds in this hot spring.
"You keep on telling me about this Texas. Never really heard of that country before."
I face palmed, "Texas isn't a country! It's a state back in the USA! Well, granted it was a country a hundred and fifty years ago, so I guess I can't blame you."
"That doesn't entirely answer my question."
"Well, a lot of the state is actually desert, so my Dad and I live on a ranch that's just outside of a large city called San Antonio. So I got a taste of both country and city life. But despite what you might think, life out there was far from normal and peaceful."
"How so?"
"Well, I'm not allowed to reveal the exact details, but the section of land we make our home in is something of a zoological hazard zone. When you live out there, you see some things that are creepy and scary as hell. Living out there will give you all the bravery in the world, but no matter what, you will jump right out of your own skin if you're not careful."
"So that day we first met wasn't your first out of the ordinary fight. But how come so few have heard of them?" Ichigo wondered
"That's kind of why the government sets its secret facilities deep in the desert. They usually deal with any trouble before the people can even notice. My dad was hired by a government chaos control agency to exterminate any 'hyper-hazards' as they were called. That was partially why he was sent to Japan seventeen years ago, to eliminate a Menos Grande that was visible to the entire surveillance unit. Why him? Because he was the best in the business. He may be even stronger than Chad. But the agency hired him because he could sometimes settle the problem with his bare hands, unless it was something big. And the cause of that inhuman strength was unknown, even to the agency itself. But my mom says that he held a spiritual pressure that bested even some of the captains, and he knew how to use it. So he taught me his tricks and he took me along when there was a call to…" I couldn't finish as I realized why he got me involved.
"He was training you…to be a soul reaper. He knew what he was doing and wanted you to live this life."
I shivered with excitement as I thought on this, sliding into the water to my chin, "Pops, you son of a gun." My thought was interrupted by a sizzling sound, and I saw steam coming out of the wound over my eye. The moment it stopped, I reached and felt nothing. The cut was completely gone! Even that wound on my chest from Byakuya was gone!
"Ichigo! Dive in quick! The water here heals wounds!" I said as I splashed some on him. A cut on his cheek fizzle away.
"Hey! This is freaking awesome!" Ichigo said as he dove and splashed into the deeper end of the pool and back. By the time he came back, all of his wounds had healed.
"I wonder what happens if we drink it", Ichigo said with a smile of excitement that I've never seen before on him.
"Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't even consider drinking water that we bathe in. But considering the healing and disinfectant properties, it probably sterilizes itself! Dive, Red October! Dive!" I said as we both began to grab a drink, "Holy crap! It even tastes great! Ichigo, before we leave this place we have to start bottling this! We're going to need a lot after this raid is done!"
"Damn right!" Ichigo said as we both dove back underwater for more.
"Ichigo, Ash! How's the water? Is everything alright?" Yoruichi walked up to the edge of the water.
Ichigo waved at her mumbling something as he kept drinking.
"It's incredible! I've never seen anything like it!" I said floating around.
"Nice, huh? I'm glad to hear it" she replied and I heard a light rustling, "In fact it sounds so good, I think I'll join you."
"WHAT?! GAH!" I closed my eyes as she began to disrobe. Ichigo spat the water out of his mouth.
"Are you nuts?!" he asked, "What are you doing?!"
"Why? Is something wrong?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yeah something's wrong! You just took your pants off!"
"What's the big deal? Come on, loosen up you two. Don't be so old fashioned", I heard Yoruichi's shirt fall to the rocks.
"This has nothing to do with being old fashioned!" I barked, still not looking.
"DON'T COME IN!" Ichigo and I both said in a panic. But we heard a very light splash and a very different voice.
"I don't know what you're getting so worked up about", I looked to that male's voice and saw a black cat swimming around beside us, "What? Are you a little disappointed? Come on, be honest. You are, aren't you? You little perverts."
"Hey! I might be many things, but a pervert isn't one of them!" I barked.
"I am going to drown you!" Ichigo growled, but then looked around at the cave itself, "Wait, this place looks familiar."
"It does?" I asked.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I've finally figured out what it reminds me of. It looks like the training room under Urahara's shop.
"You picked up on that", Yoruichi nodded, "We tried to model that place after this one when we built it."
"You built this place?" Ichigo raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. When Kisuke, Miharu, and I were kids, we needed a place to play, so we snuck off and built this place. It was our own little secret hideout."
"Secret hideout?" Ichigo questioned, "This place is huge! How'd you ever keep it a secret?!"
"And how on earth did you three even build this place when you were still kids?!" I wanted to know.
"It's a very long story. Back when the three of us were kids, we used to play here almost every day. When we got older, he joined the court guard squads, I joined the stealth force, and Miharu became one of Yamamoto's students, separate from the Squads themselves. We'd still come here to hone our skills."
"Wait a minute Yoruichi! You mean you three used to…"
"GAH!" we both yelled in shock as we turned to see that Yoruichi had taken on her human form again, sitting casually on the side of the pool.
"You scared the hell out of me! Can't you even cross your legs?!" Ichigo screamed at her.
"We told you not to do that! You're my mom's age! You can't do that to us!" I screamed and we both looked away.
"I always get the same reaction" Yoruichi smiled.
"Yeah, just tell me more about Mr. Hat and Clogs! The truth now. The guy's really a soul reaper, isn't he?" Ichigo demanded.
"Yep."
"I figured, that it would be obvious to you", I said.
"I always wondered how he knew so much about the Soul Society. Not to mention the fact that he has a zanpakto. I want to know, Yoruichi. I want to know the truth about the guy who trained me", Ichigo asked.
"Alright then", Yoruichi agreed, "He's the former captain of Squad 12 of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. In addition to that, he's the one who conceived and founded the Department of Research and Development, and served as its first chief."
I whistled in surprise, "That on the other hand wasn't so obvious."
Banshi began to walk around the corner, "Alright, Ash. You've spent enough time in that hot spring. It's time to-HOT DAMN!" he spun around at the sight of Yoruichi, "Looking very sharp, little lady. You two don't know how lucky you are!"
Flick-KA SHING! I was at his throat in an instant, and now in my soul reaper attire, "That does it you pervert! Now I'm really gonna kick your ass!" We flickered around the cave with a clashing of blades until he locked our scythes in place, far from the hot spring.
"Good to see that you're at full strength again. While you were gone, I did some scouting above ground and I picked up some news on Rukia's execution. It's early morning now, so that means that Rukia's execution has been moved to noon…tomorrow." I gasped silently, almost in a daze for a moment. But then I knit my eyebrows together in anger.
"That does it. They're just screwing with us now! Let's settle this!" I struck at Banshi again with a newfound strength.
We could not let Rukia down!
(End of Chapter 7)
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MWA-HA-HA-HA! Beowulf is back!
Alright, first off, if you remember my last PS, I mentioned something of a crossover side story in the Hueco Mundo Arc. All who have asked have received information as to what it is. And thus far I've only gotten positive results! As of right now, the project is a go once we reach the arc! (unless of course you guys don't want it (however unlikely( ;D)))
If you've had your recomended servings of Bleach, you know full well where the next chapter is going. Ash is going into the fight of his life with his ultimate rival!
This is Beowulf ["And Ash!"] and the entire OC Crew, signing out!