Livia looked at Urahara like he was insane. "Just one hour? Seriously? And for this, you will…teach me…how to use my powers." She crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "So…what the catch? If I can't or won't tell you something, will you stop my…training?" She was having trouble keeping the sneer out of her voice as she kept up the act of Urahara potentially training a spiritually aware human. Gah, all she wanted to do was smack the Messenger that had given her this assignment!
Urahara started to laugh at her predicament. "Oh, no, no! Nothing like that! It will just be an empty space in the information that I have that I will have to figure out at a later date. Not a problem at all!"
Livia still looked suspiciously in Urahara's direction, but then hesitantly agreed. 'I hope that he realizes that I have things that I need to keep from him, or my life is forfeit. That would be…very sad for me, and possibly distressing for the others. I would have had the shortest Secret Division's career of all the former Captains!'
She could hear Kootta snickering in off to the left of Livia. She frowned, but the look went unnoticed by those around the table. {Kootta…would you stop it? You're being distracting and it isn't that funny…you would die the Final Death, for Heaven's sake!}
Kootta looked slyly at Livia, her eyes glittering mischievously. So? It would be fun…the final battle. 'Cause neither of us would go out without a fight. And only the Spirit King and his direct progeny are powerful enough to subdue us. It would be a night of great fireworks and much reconstruction.
Her attention was drawn back to Urahara as he clapped his fan shut and stood up. "Well, this seems like a good place to stop for the night. It's already late, and I do believe that Livia still has class to attend tomorrow. Renji, why don't you see her home."
Grumbling, Renji stood and extended a hand to help Livia up to her feet. She bowed to Urahara, thanking him for his time, and walked home with Renji.
It was several days later that Livia found the time to go over to Urahara's shop and attend her so-called "training sessions." It was absolutely ridiculous that she would have to be trained by Urahara…even if it WAS only a cover. She soon found herself grumbling about how she would have to follow this cover until she was sufficiently "trained" enough to use her Hounds in front of the others. It was rubbing the Captain the wrong way every time that she thought about it. Oh, calm down Livia. This isn't your fault…remember that. We needed a cover, and Urahara is providing it for us. Is that such a bad thing?
{It is when I have to take up such a degrading position as student. Seriously! His apprentice! I don't know how long I can take these so-called training sessions…and how about what he is going to ask us, huh? Knowing his reputation, I would say he is going to try to get every ounce of information out of us as he possibly can.} Livia crossed her arms as she stepped into the store. Looking around, she could feel Urahara's spiritual pressure, but she couldn't see him. "Alright, Kisuke! Show you're ugly face so we can get this over with!"
There was the sound of a few boxes falling, and one of them even rolled haphazardly into view from the back room. She could hear his muffled voice from the back room. "Maa, maa Livia! What has you saying such awful, mean things to me! What have I even done to insult the ever-powerful Livia, Captain of the Kings Secret Squad?"
Livia raised an eyebrow at him, and started tapping her foot. "Where would you like for me to start? Let's see…there is me being your own personal information source, your 'apprentice,' having to treat you like a master in front of others, be being in this degrading position to begin with, having to keep my spiritual pressure always in check…oh, and did I mention THAT I HATE THIS STUPID MISSION!"
Kisuke just looked at Livia like she was a demon from the depths of Hell. "Ahh…you do realize that a good part of those problems aren't my fault, right?"
Livia glared at him. "That may be, but I have to wonder how the Kings Secret Division was even made AWARE of the Arrancar situation in the first place. I mean, WHO here knows of us in the first place? You and cat-girl Yoruichi. Who knows how to contact the Spirit King's division? You, maybe Yoruichi. Who has been giving me the most trouble and is the only one that I can vent to about my problems as the Captain of the Secret Squad on an undercover mission with other Shinigami who don't even know the existence of the King's Squad?"
There was a brief moment of silence.
"He has," said the masculine voice of Yoruichi in cat form, coming from the window in which she was sunning herself.
Livia glanced in the cat-turned-Shinigami's direction for a moment before a demonic smirk came to her lips. "Exactly, Yoruichi. Now, if you would be so kind as to tell us if and when some of the others show up, I would appreciate it."
A quizzical look suddenly appeared on Kisuke's face. "Why would she need to do that if we are just going to be up here, discussion your division?"
The demonic smile appeared on Livia's face again. "Because, my dear, sweet, annoying Hat and Clogs, we are NOT going to be discussing my squad on day one. We will be training…down in your lovely room that may be just big enough so that we do not disturb the poor Living. However annoying you may be, I will always get extreme satisfaction when I grind someone's face into the dirt on my own power. We will be restricted to Shikai release, no higher. It will level our abilities. After all, Shikai is something that we have both achieved…and it will not cause the city above us to fall on our heads."
Urahara gulped audibly, and Kootta, in Livia's mindscape, just laughed.
"YaaaaaAAAAAAAHHH!" The sound of two swords clashing, and then two sets of feet hitting the dirt.
"Yah-ha-haaa!" Urahara's insane taunting and fighting cry as he managed to block the enraged Livia once again.
Yoruichi looked on, feeling the outside for any traces of Ichigo and the others, "watching with her other senses for their arrival. She had to laugh at how easy it was for Urahara to poke Livia into attacking first…although, it seemed that the Secret Squad Captain was going easy on the poor former Captain of the 12th division. It seemed more like she were using him to relieve some of her stress of the mission…to which Yoruichi couldn't blame her. If she had been stuck in the Captain's position, then she would probably wish for mush the same release. It was just easier for her, knowing that there were others around for her to fight with and let off that excess spiritual energy and anger.
Looking back on it, though, it seemed that Livia was too easily provoked. All that Urahara had commented on was her total lack of sex-appeal, and Livia lost it. From what she had heard from the messenger that had told them of Livia's eminent arrival, it was her Zanpaku'to that was one of the sexiest Zanpaku'to in existence.
And, Kami help her, Yoruichi couldn't help but believe it, when she had first set eyes on the being of repressed sensuality and glacial curves.
However, their ensuing battle after the comment had been very…instructional to say the least. Livia's fighting style was unique, almost like she was used to fighting alongside another being when she was holding the sword in her hands, which she probably was if the reports of her Shikai were to be believed. She could summon up to 15 of the 20 Hounds of Kootta while in Shikai, or she could call upon the Frozen Witch herself. The Ice Witch of the Frozen Sea…what an intriguing name for a Zanpaku'to. And long, she decided. She couldn't wait to hear the incantation for her initial release. It would either be an incredible mouthful, or short and sweet.
"You sorry excuse for a Shinigami! I'll show you how a real Captain fights!" Livia shouted, and took a stance that was similar to a pirouette from ballet. The blade of her sword was held in front of her in her raised right hand, while her left was gracefully in front of her in the form of a block. Her feet were spread slightly apart, her right foot facing forward, and her left horizontal to her body, acting as a balance for all the weight placed on her right foot. "On gilded thrones we call to one another! Shriek, Kootta Umi no Kootari!"
Obviously, hers was a mouthful. No wonder she was said to go straight into Saisei from an unreleased state.
Her sword didn't change in the least, which surprised Yoruichi. However, upon closer inspection, Livia now had a belt of ice around her middle with one end that reached down to the girls feet. She then shouted, "Growl, Yabou! Chase, Shouri!" and just like that, two of the twenty dogs appeared. One was obviously a mutt, and was the hound that they had met earlier: Yabou. The other was a white Golden Retriever. 'That must be the alpha female, Shouri, that the messenger told us about,' Yoruichi thought, looking at the two dogs that materialized by Livia's feet.
Kisuke released Benihime with a muttered, "Okiro, Benihime," and the fight was on once again.
About an hour later, Yoruichi looked down on the two exhausted combatants, laying ungracefully on the hard, rubble-strewn ground. "Hey, Kisuke you wimp! We need to head back upstairs! The others are coming, and it would be good for you to get some of your muck-loved info from Livia.
Livia stood up, groaning. "Alright, alright! Let's get going Kisuke. This is actually good cover…you working me into the ground."
Kisuke didn't say anything. He just lay there, limp as a dead fish. Livia poked him with a toe, hard enough to move him a few inches. "Hey, Kisuke! Wake up! Break's over!"
He still lay there, still as the dead…which, technically, he already was.
Kootta, only visible to Livia once again, whispered in Livia's ear. The resulting smirk, if either Yoruichi or Kisuke could see it, would have scared them witless. As it was, Livia's back was to the former stealth-force captain, and her face was towards the asleep shop owner. Livia bent down, and whispered something in Kisuke's ear.
To say the man shot up would be the understatement of any lifetime. It was almost as if the man had used Shun'po to heave his body upright and into a standing position, it was so fast. He spotted a confused looking Yoruichi, and then pouted at Livia. "Olivia! You are a bald-faced liar! Yoruichi is not naked, calling out to me!" It was then that Urahara felt a pair of eyes sending lasers into his skull. He turned around slowly, looking at Yoruichi, whose look of anger would make the Greek Furies cry in shame. Her drawn out shout of, "Ki-su-KEEEEE!" could have been heard for miles around, had the population been as spiritually sensitive as Ichigo and his companions. Livia got much enjoyment watching the woman throw Urahara's green-clothed ass into the nearest rock pillar, rendering him unconscious again.
It took several minutes for Ururu to pull Kisuke out of his semi-comatose state. As it was, They had just enough time to sit down at the round table before Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia came up to them, taking off their shoes before entering the living area of the shop.
AN: I was going to have this bit and the next bit (now next chapter) be in the same chapter...but, then as I was writing, I kinda hit a snag here. I was able to finish up this part at least...and look at the bright side! Now the chapter is finished, instead of just a preview...er...right?
*is promptly slammed up against a wall by an unknown force*
OK, OK...I get the picture!
As always, I do not own any characters and events you recognize. I only own Kootta, and the NAME of the Saisei Bankai...stupid author...taking my idea and making it cannon...lol. ^_-
R&R! Thanks for reading!