sorry about the missed week. Destiny dropped a new expansion and the grind is always a bit intense for those. but here I am, and with a major rising action to boot!
Aura Michibane was waiting, her mind going over possible patterns of engagement. It is likely the quincy would leverage their superior range and accuracy. Thus she was inside the building they once called their public base of operations. Yukio had already thrown everything inside Invaders Must Die and was on his way to the safe house in the forests further west in the prefecture.
Suddenly she felt three large flares of reiatsu.
"So, you've finally come out to play Uryu Ishida," Aura motioned for several of the masked figures around her to intercept the quincy. Suddenly and without a word, a dozen of them vanished in the green flash of bringer light as they moved to engage.
Aura didn't commit all of them, however. Their shinigami allies were yet to be seen. That most likely confirmed her suspicion that they were Onmitsukido. That also narrowed down their objectives. They would either be here to kill her, or to find out how she evaded detection for so long.
Given that she didn't hear anything from Tokinada about this operation, it was likely that it would only be to ascertain how she evaded detection. The Central 46 wouldn't like the head captain ordering the death of a human without their explicit permission.
So Aura simply waited.
Sui-Feng was not amused. The quincy before her was not as careful as he should have been when placing his listening devices. At least he was quick to figure out that they were discovered and was working with her Onmitsukido forces to cast a search net for anyone who could possibly be absconding with valuable intel.
"My apologies for my sloppiness earlier. I did not properly account for members of her cult being able to see spirits," Shaz Domino spoke apologetically. Though still focused on what his arrows were sensing.
"Then make up for it by finding our target," Sui-Feng didn't care much for apologies. Words did little to mend the situation. She also considered the fact that they hadn't been found out until this point quite fortunate. Though with the cult spooked they would likely go to ground, but that would have happened anyway. If there is one thing she learned in her centuries of service, it's that plans never survived contact with the enemy. This is why stealth is so important to an assassin.
So here they were, in the staging area, waiting for the quincy to point them in the direction of their target.
"It seems the target moved west," Domino couldn't sense where the target was. But he could sense where they were. That was not a good sign.
"Seems?" Most of Sui-Feng's face was obscured by her mask, but the quizzical look could still be seen in her eyes.
"I fear that they were able to pack up much faster than we expected," the former sternritter's statement was troublesome. It meant that they had blown their chance already.
"Very well. Then we will wait for the others to engage the target and scour the main base for anything left behind," this complication annoyed Sui-Feng immensely, but now was not the time for emotions.
Shaz Domino nodded. His Majesty asked him to be careful in the placement of his arrows around the city, but in a lapse of judgment, he thought he could hide one of them in plain sight to get better coverage over the target area. That lapse could very well have cost them the mission and he knew it.
So he redoubled his efforts. If he couldn't catch the runner. Maybe he could identify the route they took through the net cast by his arrows so that he could trail them to where they went. Though that was a multi-day effort at least, and something he didn't have the time to act on currently. He needed to focus on any further potential runners.
Litorro Lampard was not exactly keen on working with shinigami, let alone those of the infamous Onmitsukido. Uryu may not have been there 200 years ago when the Gotei was given the order to exterminate them, but she was. How she survived still eluded her, when she woke up in the rubble of her home, she could only see death and rubble. It was a crushing scene.
One she hoped no quincy would have to live through again. That is why she supported Uryu, and why she found herself embattled with a bunch of masked goons straight out of a tokusatsu show.
"Uryu, the more of these guys we fight the more I think we're in a damned tv show!" that was Candi running her mouth as usual as she knocked down a couple of the mooks.
"You're telling me," Uryu's strained reply came as he had to punch a mook away from him. They had been jumped by over a dozen of them as soon as they removed their concealment cloaks. Normally they wouldn't be an issue, but Uryu didn't want to risk pissing off the shinigami by needlessly killing humans.
The vanguard force had found themselves ambushed. Whoever this Aura Michibane was, she was a smart one. The information that had received on fullbrings from the shinigami indicated that they would have the range advantage, and their foes completely erased that.
As they had fought Lil noticed how even though punching their blut should feel like punching a brick wall, she didn't notice any smashed knuckles, no blood, nothing to indicate injury even though it was clear they were hitting at full force. This can't be normal.
Lil however was having a thought.
"Something isn't right here…" and with that she used her shrift to take a huge bite out of one of the mooks, biting off the entire torso above the hips. The loud chomp caught everyone off guard. The mooks started to back away from them. As if to process what just happened.
Uryu however, was not as reserved.
"What did I say about eating people!" Uryu had found the Bambis to be a source of constant vexation. Bambietta was a violent psychopath who loved to blow shit up, Candice didn't understand the word 'modesty' and Lil would eat literally anything, Menias was honestly the least problematic of them, and he still had to remind her to not use her inhuman strength in public.
Lil held her finger up as she could be heard loudly chewing on the poor mook before swallowing.
"They're not human," Litorro's response caught everyone off guard.
"What?" Uryu looked at her in utter befuddlement.
"People aren't so crunchy," Lil spoke matter-of-factly.
"Then what the hell are they?" Uryu was really not in the mood for this right now.
"I don't know, mannequins?" Lil really didn't know. It's not like she was a toddler who put anything into her mouth after all.
"How the hell would mannequins be able to just stand around and fight huh?" Candice was not believing this. She was fine with Lil eating people as she usually only reserved it for combat or people who really deserve it, but this talk about animated mannequins was nuts,
Uryu though was contemplating things while the mooks stood and stared at the exchange that was happening before them in utter confusion.
"Aura is a fullbringer. Animating dolls or mannequins isn't out of scope for them," though the skill required to control so many…
"So we can just kill 'em?" Candice asked in an almost eager way.
As if to answer Uryu quietly walked up to one of the mannequins, activating a Seele Schneider from his belt. And in one quick motion bisected it from shoulder to hip. Then all of the other mannequins suffered the same damage as he used his shrift to apply that state to all of the others.
"Yes." Uryu then turned off the Seele Schnider and hooked it back into its place on his belt.
Aura felt the moment the mannequins she sent to intercept Uryu and his vanguard fell silent. Somehow he had an ability that could take them all down in one blow.
Aura's interest was piqued. The mechanics of such an ability, especially given how he only hit one of them, were intriguing, and just dangerous enough that she didn't fancy further confrontation.
"I believe now is the time to leave before we become committed," she spoke to a shinigami beside her. His shihakusho bearing no distinctive markings.
"Yes ma'am," with a single fluid motion, he opened a senkaimon and two hell butterflies flew out.
Aura had gotten as close to the enemy as she felt comfortable with in this early stage of the plan. She needn't risk herself nor the nature of her abilities recklessly. She could win Uryu over later. After all, he had as much of a bone to pick with Soul Society as many of her followers, perhaps even more so.
When the senkaimon closed, the other animated mannequins fell onto the floor. The power that rendered their bodies able to move having departed.
Yuyu was sticking to the outskirts of where her family had set up camp in the courtyard. She had used any excuse to stay out of her father's field of view. Fortunately, he was busy talking shop with some other nobles for business deals and the like.
So caught up in her own thoughts Yuyu didn't notice that there was someone in front of her going in the opposite direction who was similarly distracted. Causing the two to bump into each other, and Yuyu being the smaller of the two, falling over from the impact.
"Shit, are you okay?" Yuyu heard a concerned voice.
"Yeah I'm fine, sor-" that was when Yuyu looked up and say just who she had bumped into, "-ry…" her mind practically froze. She had bumped into Ichigo Kurosaki! The twice savior of Soul Society.
"OhmygodI'msosorryletmegetoutofyourway!" She had moved to go to some hidden corner of the courtyard and sulk, preferably making herself forgettable enough to not be complained about.
Much to her anxiety Ichigo stopped her.
"Are you okay?" the look in his eyes showed genuine concern. He did just knock her flat on her ass after all.
"Uh… yeah…" she didn't know how to respond to this. She had gathered that he was nice, but he was so far above her in every way that mattered that she was expecting a more familiar reaction like indifference.
"Are you really?" Ichigo could sense something was up. He didn't know what, but his initial impressions of the Yayahara were not exactly flattering. While most had kept their mouths shut about eyeing him for potential political marriages, the Yayahara were not so subtle. It was as if the worst parts of what he dreaded were shoved in his face.
"I… no," she didn't know exactly why she felt safe around him, but she did.
"Yuyu!" that was when a voice that she dreaded seemingly boomed over the noise of the party. A Yayahara man walked over, presumably her father, and tried to collect his daughter. "I apologize if she has inconvenienced you in any way Lord Shiba."
Emphasis on tried, as Ichigo put himself between the man and his daughter.
"Sorry for what?" Ichigo stared at the man with a glare that could peer into his very soul, and Ichigo didn't like what he saw.
"She got in your way, she has issues knowing her place sometimes" he then tried to grab his daughter but Ichigo grabbed his wrist before he could even lay a hand on him.
"It seems she isn't the one who has issues knowing their place," Ichigo spoke darkly. This was the Shiba manor, and he was a guest. The threat was clear, were he to so much as lay a finger on her wrong, he could have him thrown out. Such a reprimand would reflect poorly on the Yayahara and his status in the clan would suffer.
"Pardon me, but she is my daughter," he glared at the Shiba heir. He was interceding in family matters. He had no business getting between him and his daughter in such a way.
"Seems to me that you don't understand the first thing about being a father," Ichigo could just sense something wrong with this man. The way he moved to grab his own daughter, who was a fully grown young woman, like a small child spoke volumes.
"Please don't…" Yuyu could feel her father's anger from here. This wasn't going to end well.
"Oi oi, what's going on here?" the familiar voice of Ginjo could be heard clearly over the crowd that had gathered around Ichigo and Yuyu's father.
"This boy is keeping me from reprimanding my own daughter," Yuyu's father turned to Ginjo, hoping to get the head bodyguard of the Shiba on his side.
"Did I ask you?" The former substitute glared at the man, causing him to shut up. "Ichigo, what happened?"
"I ran into this girl and then he came over and tried to grab her," Ichigo's answer caused Ginjo to sigh.
"You, what's your name?" he pointed at Yuyu, who was standing behind Ichigo and very much not wanting to be seen.
"Yu- Yuyu Yayahara," Her answer caused Ginjo to groan.
"You," Ginjo pointed at Yuyu's father. "You seem to forget the rules around here, I don't care if she's your daughter, you don't go around manhandling people like that. Now get out of my sight before I throw you out."
"But-"
"Don't care. Shiba's house, Shiba's rules. If you have a problem, take it up with Kukaku." with that Ginjo turned to leave.
"I would recommend listening to him," the voice of an older woman could be heard after Ginjo made his statement. When Ichigo looked over to her he saw a woman of much fairer skin than the other Yayahara and spoke with an unmistakable grace.
The man across from Ichigo stared daggers at her and then left while grumbling under his breath.
"I apologize for the actions of my husband," the woman then bowed lightly. The thanks for interceding went unsaid.
"I take it you're her mother?" Ichigo looked at the woman. The way she spoke, the way she carried herself with an almost ethereal grace, and her near-blank expression and measured formal tone told him everything he needed to know to make a fair guess as to her ancestry.
"Yes, Lord Shiba. I also apologize if my daughter did cause you any inconvenience," Her formality itched on Ichigo, though he knew he would have to get used to it.
"Please, Just Ichigo is fine. What was going to happen?" Ichigo really wanted to know if he actually read the situation right.
"I fear your initial assessment was correct," Ichigo grimaced at the woman's words. Then looked over to Yuyu.
"Are you a member of any of the divisions?" Ichigo asked as he knew that many of the captains would go to bat for their subordinates.
"Eighth," Yuyu kept herself quiet.
"Then maybe you should stick with Lisa," when he said that Yuyu's face lit up, and her mother's flashed subtle shock.
"You know Captain Yadomaru?" Yuyu didn't know much about Lisa, but if Ichigo knew her on a first-name basis that could mean all kinds of things.
"Yeah, Lisa helped in my visored training," Ichigo casually scratched the back of his head. The fact that she used him to do her chores didn't really need to be said.
"Why do you refer to Captain Yadomaru so casually?" Fukuro found Ichigo's disregard for rank and titles irksome.
"Oh, yeah, I kinda met them when they were exiled, so they didn't really have any titles…" Ichigo grinned sheepishly. "By the way, I didn't get your name."
"Fukuro Yayahara," she responded formally.
"Nice to meet you. Do you think Yuuu would be safer with her division than here?" Ichigo didn't want to just take her to Lisa without anyone in her family knowing. It would be a bad look.
"Yes," Fukuro looked at Ichigo. "And thank you."
With that, she left to return to the Yayahara delegation. Confident in her daughter's safety.
"Well, let's go, I'm sure you'll be safer with Lisa," and with that, he walked over to where he figured Lisa was smashed and Rangiku was probably asleep. After all, it couldn't be any worse for her than where she was now, was it?
so, there we are. the first blow in this little shadow game, along with another look into the noble fuckery of Soul Society. I hope you enjoyed, and if you have anything to say, don't be afraid to leave it below.