• • •
"Where are Kurosaki-Kun and Ishida-Kun?" Orihime asked, placing a finger against her chin in thought as she looked around.
"Last that I remember, Ishida went in to hurry Ichigo." I answered, sheepishly scratching the back of my head. Nobody knew that Ichigo and I were up for a couple of hours last night. We talked a bit, it wasn't that awkward..!, and I even pointed out some of the summer time constellations to Ichigo. However, after about an hour and a half we wound up going back inside because I finally started to feel tired again. I even got a few more hours of sleep in. Needless to say, I was in a very good mood today.
"I wonder what's taking them so long…" Orihime trailed off, spacing out and probably daydreaming.
"I dunno, Orihime." I said, smiling at her as she wasn't paying me a bit of attention. "Might as well go and see."
Shrugging to myself, I pushed open the door to Elder-Dono's home and poked my head through the open space.
"Perfect timing, Kokawa!" Ishida exclaimed, turning to look at me as he heard the door sliding open.
And what perfect timing it was. Ishida was tugging on Ichigo's hakama, while Ichigo was holding onto a raised floorboard for his life. Seeing this would have to make you wander what was going on.
"Would you please help me peel this idiot off the floor?!" Ishida exclaimed, thrusting a finger in the strawberry's direction.
"Who are you calling an idiot-" Ichigo exclaimed, not noticing the sly black cat making its way up to him. Then, he did notice. Well only when Yoruichi raked her claw straight across his face. "AHHHHH~!"
I bit my lip, trying to hold in my laughter as his scream echoed through the house, and probably more than half of Rukongai. Ichigo, however, let his head fall and hit the floor once more.
"Has letting your anger get the best of you made you forget what you came here for?" Yoruichi asked, her claws glistening in the light for a second. She placed her paw back on the ground as Ichigo pushed himself into a seated position, ready for the lecture. "We're here to save Rukia! You shouldn't have forgotten that! Now isn't the time for you to be picking meaningless fights! Rukia's life depends on our journey! If you understand then get ready!"
Ichigo was quiet, almost sulking as he turned away from Yoruichi. My lips curved downwards into a frown as his cinnamon eyes wavered for a second, probably feeling guilty now that he actually thought about it.
"Answer me, you damn fool!" Yoruichi exclaimed, launching herself towards Ichigo and head-butting him.
I winced; Yoruichi's head probably wasn't very soft.
• • •
"Oi!" Ichigo called, moving his gaze away from the sun nearing the center of the sky; a sign of mid-day. "It seems we're pretty far away from the village… Is it really this way?"
Nobody answered him, as we continued our walk.
"Hey, I'm asking you!"
"Shut up!" Ishida exclaimed, turning around and gesturing to the map that he had in his hands. "According to the map the Elder gave us, it's around this area! If you don't like it, why don't you take the lead?!"
Ichigo's face was emotionless. "Well, I'm not complaining, just…"
"Shiba Kukaku-San must live out here because he wants to keep his identity a secret! Since Kukaku-San is the only one to know how to enter the Seireitei without going through the gates, he must get too much praise from the other villagers!" Orihime tried to reason; although, her reasoning was usually skewed.
"Sorry, but no." Yoruichi answered. "It's just the fool's nature to enjoy places like this."
We all looked down at Yoruichi as she began walking ahead of us.
"Don't worry. That rolling stone may change addresses like changing underwear, but… the house, at least, always looks the same. If I see it, I'll recognize it instantly."
"Instantly, huh?" Ichigo mused, sighing a bit.
"Yes, yes. Instantly." Yoruichi answered. "Oh, I can already see it. It's over there."
"…This…" Ichigo stuttered.
"This is…!" Ishida stuttered as well. Both of them were at a loss for words.
"I think it's kind of cool." I muttered, turning my head to the side so I could get a better view of the strange looking house.
"It's amazing!" Orihime gushed, clasping her hands together. I swear her eyes were literally sparkling.
"See! You can tell from just one glance, right?" Yoruichi asked, grinning up at the house. It probably brought a sense of nostalgia to her.
It looked like a pretty decent sized house; not that much different from most of the others in the Rukongai. However, it wasn't the house that was the problem. It was the arms bursting from the ground on either size, rising up above the house and holding a large banner that read 'Shiba Kukaku' in giant bold print. Well, that and the fact that there was a large chimney behind it; almost twice the size of those giant arms.
I looked beside me, grinning at the dumbstruck look on Ichigo's and Ishida's faces. Both of their jaws were dropped and their eyes wide in disbelief.
"Oh… This time it's human hands holding the banner. That's pretty good." Yoruichi observed, nodding her cat-like head in agreement. "Come on; let's go."
"Of course!" Orihime sang, happily skipping behind Yoruichi. Chad merely grunted, slowly walking after Orihime.
Once again, I looked up at Ichigo and Ishida. Both of them were still standing there in disbelief. A mischievous grin split across my face as I darkly chuckled.
"Come on, you two! We've got to follow Yoruichi." I said, reaching forward and grabbing one of their wrists in each hand as I began to drag them towards the bizarre house. "There's no one here to take pictures of us walking into a house like that; stop worrying already. Besides, Ishida, you'll walk around dressed like that but you'll worry about walking into Shiba's house? Hypocrite."
Ichigo's laughter rang through the air, making me grin a bit. Ishida glared, easily breaking free of the grip that I had on his wrist. He huffed, crossing his arms as pushed away from us and caught up with the rest of the group.
"Hold on!" A voice called out, halting us in our tracks. I released Ichigo's wrist, my hand hovering over Ankoku-Tatsu's hilt. Ichigo's hand was already on his sword, but it still rested on his back.
Two men, presumably guards, jumped down from their positions high atop the two human fists that were on either side of the house. Both looked identical, so I'm guess that they're twins. They had tiny, squinted eyes, bulky arms, and long thin mustaches.
"Who are you?!"
"Your clothes are really weird! And two of them look like Shinigami!"
"A bunch of suspicious people!"
"I, Koganehiko and…" The one dressed in tan clothes began.
"I, Shiroganehiko…" The one dressed in white clothes added.
"Will definitely not let you pass!" They exclaimed in unison, crossing their arms over their chests and looking down at us all.
"Get out!"
"Or else you will die here!"
"Che," Ichigo scoffed, not removing his hand from his Zanpakuto's hilt. "More guards? The Soul Society is such a troublesome place…"
"Hm?" Both of the guards hummed in unison once more. Their heads smashed together as they walked closer to our group and looked down in shock. "Yoruichi-Dono?!"
Before I could even begin to comprehend what was going on, we were soon being ushered into the home. However, the internal layout was quite sketchy; it was a straight shot downstairs as soon as you entered.
"Oh dear, I'm really sorry. I didn't think Yoruichi-Dono would be with these guys! Please forgive my rudeness!" Koganehiko, I think since he was wearing the darker clothes, exclaimed, leading us down the stairs. The other guard, Shiroganehiko, continued to stand guard on the outside level.
"It's okay. I didn't notice you guys first, so it's my fault too." Yoruichi said, brushing the guards apologies aside.
"Ha ha! You're very kind!" The guard exclaimed, grinning. Moments later, we finally reached the end of the stairs. "Please wait here for a moment."
"…Is it Koganehiko?" A voice barked out.
"Ye-Yes!"
"Seems like there's a rare guest..!" The voice continued. However, it sounded a bit strange…almost feminine. But if you think about it, Yoruichi is a woman after all. It'd only make sense that she'd be friends with another woman. "Hurry and open the door! Don't be slow!"
"Yes! I will open it immediately!" Koganehiko exclaimed, dropping to one knee as he formally slid the two sliding doors apart.
"Hi! Long time no see, Yoruichi!" Shiba Kukaku called out, smirking at our rag tag group from her lazed seated position in the middle of the room. She was a dark haired, really busty woman. A long white sash was tied sloppily around her head, leaving gaps so some of her spiky bangs showed through. Her eyes looked somewhat familiar; a deep sea foam green with long bottom eyelashes…
"Ku-Kukaku is a WOMAN?!" The entire group exclaimed, save for Chad, Yoruichi, and myself. Although, I could tell that Chad was shocked from his slightly dropped jaw.
Man, they must have been dense not to recognize that the voice we heard earlier was a woman's, so that meant that Kukaku had to be a woman. Maybe they thought that she had to be a man because they still thought Yoruichi was a man? Probably… I wouldn't put it past them.
"…Who? Who are these kids?" Kukaku asked, an eyebrow quirking as she looked us all over.
"…Kukaku, actually I came here today to ask you for a favor." Yoruichi explained, strutting further into the room before stopping a few feet away from the woman.
"I thought so. Isn't it the same every time you come?" Kukaku asked, "Is it really complicated?"
"I think so."
"Ha!" The dark haired woman laughed. "It's been a very long time since we've had this kind of conversation… Okay! Tell me; I love complicated stuff!"
• • •
"…I see, I think I understand." Kukaku spoke, exhaling and letting the smoke from the pipe that she was currently smoking leave her mouth. "Alright; I'll accept this job."
"Really?" Yoruichi asked, sounding a bit relieved.
"Yeah, since Urahara is a part of this, I can't really refuse." Kukaku explained, rising to her feet. Her sea foam green eyes scanned our group, scrutinizing Ichigo and I a bit longer than the others. "However, even though I trust you, that doesn't mean I trust those kids. I'll send one of my men with you just to make sure. No objections?"
"Of course not," Yoruichi answered, her amber eyes glistening in the light.
"Your man?" Ichigo questioned, eyebrows rising a bit in curiosity.
"Yeah, he's my little brother. But he's just a punk; he's still not good enough." Kukaku explained, walking over to another set of sliding doors. "Oi! You ready?"
"No…wait..!"
"I'm opening the door! Be courteous!"
"G-Got it, Onee-Sama!"
The door slid open, revealing a familiar face.
"He-Hello, everyone! My name is Shiba Ganju! Pleased to meet you!"
Everyone's jaw dropped, not believing this new twist.
Seconds ticked by, all of us just sitting there and staring at each other.
"AHHH…YOU!" Both Ganju and Ichigo simultaneously screamed, once the shock set in I guess.
"What? You guys know each other?" Kukaku asked from around the pipe hanging from her mouth, smoke still trailing up off of it in tendrils.
Both men charged each other, landing punches and kicks every once in a while. Ichigo managed to sling Ganju halfway across the room, which was quite impressive. That managed to take down one wall of the sliding doors, making the delicate wood splinter to pieces.
Ganju made a quick recovery though, quickly standing up and charging at Ichigo and landing a nice kick that sent him tumbling. Before the strawberry got a chance to recover, Ganju was suddenly above him, grabbing ahold of his ankles and mercilessly stomping all over his…ahem, man parts.
Of course Ichigo screamed, but managed to throw Ganju off of him. And once again, Ganju was sent flying through another set of sliding doors. Kukaku didn't seem to mind the senseless fighting; that is, until they managed to knock the pipe from her hand and break it.
"Stop this right now!" Kukaku exclaimed, bringing her fist down on Ganju's head and her foot down on Ichigo's head. "What on earth has gotten into you two?! You started fighting the minute you saw each other..!"
"Ouch…" Ichigo muttered, rubbing the top of his head as he glared at the other male. "Jumping out of nowhere with no warning at all… Like brother like sister…"
"Bu-But Onee-Sama!" Ganju exclaimed, tearing up like a little kid. "It was hi-"
Kukaku aimed a nice kick to Ganju's face; no wonder his nose looked so weird, it'd probably been broken who knows how many times. "You dare talk back to me?!" Ganju lay in a crippled heap on the ground. However, Kukaku's eyes then spotted Ichigo, and she stormed over towards him. "Yo, punk! This is my home. If you don't like the way I run this place, you can get the hell out!"
"…Uh… Sorry?" Ichigo stuttered out.
"Okay, as long as you get the point." Kukaku stated with a bored tone of voice, releasing Ichigo's hair.
Ichigo slowly crawled over to Ganju, who was still in a heap on the ground. "…Your sister is scary…"
"She really is…" Ganju muttered back.
"Alright-! Everyone!" Kukaku exclaimed, causing us all to snap to attention. Now we knew what she was capable of. "Koganehiko, you go outside and help Shiroganehiko prepare. Now, the rest of you, follow me this way."
"Yes!" We all replied in sync, our backs rim rod straight as she made her way across the room. We all visibly relaxed when her back was turned away from us; it was then that we knew that we were safe. She probably wouldn't blow up like that again.
Kukaku lead the way throughout the maze that was her underground home. But, it was much brighter than anyone would expect it to be; especially when you considered that it was all under the earth.
"Wow, it's so bright even though we're underground…" Ishida pointed out, looking up at the ceiling in interest. That's where the source of light came from. "No electrical wiring in sight, too…"
"I planted some light vines between the walls and the ceiling." Kukaku lazily pointed out, half-assing her answer.
"Light vines?" Ishida questioned. "Excuse me, is that a special plant of Soul Society?"
"Oh, here we are." Kukaku said, avoiding Ishida's question as she stopped in front of an average looking door. "Open it, Ganju!"
"Coming!" Ganju cried, pushing his way through our group as he rushed to his sister's side.
"Excuse me," Ishida said, stepping closer to Kukaku.
Ichigo, however, was on the lookout for him. He snuck up behind him, grabbing him from behind and covering his mouth as he drug Ishida a couple feet back.
"What are you doing?!" Ishida questioned, turning and glaring at Ichigo.
Ichigo held up his hand, whispering from behind it. "Don't upset her, okay?"
"Opening the door-!" Ganju exclaimed, tugging the doors back, "Leave it to me!"
We all gasped at the sight as the door was thrown open. Compared to the hallway, this room was much darker. It looked like it had little to no illumination. The only light keeping it lit up now was the light streaming in from the hallway. We could make out a huge towering shape in the center of the large, seemingly empty room.
"What…is that?" Ichigo questioned, his head tilting up as his cinnamon eyes tried to trace the path of the large cylinder.
"I'm using that to send you into the city of Seireitei." Kukaku proudly stated from her position next to the large cylinder. Then, her one arm pointed upwards, "From the sky!"
"The sky?!" Ichigo and Ishida exclaimed in shock, their jaws dropping once more.
"I'm Shiba Kukaku… Rukongai's Number One Fireworks Technician!"