Chapter 2
The journey to the Soul Society did not take long for our heroes. In a matter of minutes, the group exited a door and beyond that door, was the impressive sight of the Seireitei.
"Welcome to the Soul Society." Rukia said, acting as if she was a tour guide.
Kirby gazed in amazement as he looked around. "Um... I don't really know what I was thinking, but this place looks so big!"
"It needs to be." Rukia remarked, chuckling softly at Kirby's expression. "This is essentially the home of most soul reapers, of which we have over a thousand active members."
"Really, now? That's quite impressive." Meta Knight didn't say it, but he was somewhat reminded of the Organization based on that description and, from what he could remember, the squads were much more finely categorized than them. "Though you also said most, so that means not every Soul Reaper lives here. And I'm sure you don't mean specifically Ichigo as the sole exception." The knight pointed out, his curiosity taking hold.
"I'm not sure if Ichigo has given you this explanation already, but the Soul Society is split into two parts. The Seireitei and the Rukongai. The Seireitei is where the Soul Reapers and our noble families live, while everyone else lives in the Rukongai. Some Soul reapers have family in the Rukongai and as such, choose to live there. Some Soul reapers don't live in the Soul Society at all, but that's fairly rare."
"I see." The knight nodded, satisfied with that answer.
"What's the Rukongai like?" Kirby asked, now curious.
"The Rukongai is the residential area and is the largest part of the soul society. People live there in relative peace, working in the fields, manning stores. It's quite peaceful, depending on the district, that is."
"I guess there's places where crime is rampant there?" Meta Knight asked.
"Not exactly. Just a lot of fools who like fighting each other. No one really lives in those parts anyway."
"I see. So will you guide us to where your leader is?"
"That's my duty. Unless something unforeseen or idiotic happens to stall us, we should arrive soon."
"Well, lead the way, please." Meta Knight said.
"Wait, what do you mean by something idiotic?" Kirby asked innocently. Almost immediately, the whole group could hear the sounds of maniacal laughter and what seemed like the stomps of a charging rhino coming right towards them. "Huh? What's that?!" He then asked, with Meta Knight becoming noticeably tense as he put his hand on his sword's hilt. Ichigo, however, just had an expression of pure blankness.
"We should've figured he would do something like this, huh Rukia?"
"Yup." She replied with a similar bland and unsurprised expression.
"Why aren't you two panicking?! Doesn't that sound dangerous?!" The knight questioned, confused at this reaction.
"Because we know what this is. It's dangerous, but nothing we can't handle." Rukia added.
"What is it, anyway?" Kirby asked, tilting his head.
"Not it, who." The two reapers replied in unison.
Suddenly a muscular man dropped down from the sky in front of the group, causing cracks to appear in the ground. The man was tall and practically a living wall of muscle. He had long, messy black hair, a jagged sword and a peculiar looking eyepatch. Meta Knight stared at the imposing figure, his instincts telling him that the person in front of him was truly dangerous.
"So, which of you is the strong one I sensed? Step up or else I'll just start cutting you all down." He said with a crazed look in his one eye.
Before either Kirby or Meta Knight could respond in any way, Rukia walked up to him without fear.
"Captain Zaraki, these two are guests of the Soul Society that the head captain is expecting to see. You don't want to keep him waiting, do you?"
While Kirby seemed surprised, Meta Knight seemed tense as they waited for the large man to respond to Rukia's request. As much as the knight wouldn't mind a duel, he wanted to at least meet the head captain first before doing so. Kenpachi Zaraki, the captain of the Eleventh Division, was not someone who liked being denied what he wanted. But while he would love to ignore what Rukia said, he knew he couldn't. The head captain wasn't someone he was scared of, but even he knew better than to go against his orders. At least, most of the time he knew better.
"Fine, but once the old timer is done, no one will stop me. Yachiru come on, let's go." Kenpachi replied, his previous excitement completely gone.
"Yachiru?" Meta Knight questioned, noticing that there was now a girl with pink hair hugging Kirby, who didn't seem to mind, though was also a bit confused with the whole situation. Even then, he was hugging her back, like he accepted this was the better outcome.
"That's just like Kirby to be quick with making friends like this." The knight thought with a smile under his mask.
"Yachiru, stop hugging my future opponent and get on already." Kenpachi barked out.
"Ok! Bye Marshmallow!" The girl named Yachiru replied, now instantly on the big man's shoulder, the pair running as fast as they appeared.
"Marshmallow?" Kirby asked with another head tilt.
"She gives everyone nicknames. Honestly, yours is one of the nicer ones she's given out." Ichigo answered his friend.
"Ooohhh, ok!" He replied in understanding.
"Well, we should probably be going now." Meta Knight said, turning to Rukia as if asking her to guide them. "Though I do have a question before we go. That Kenpachi Zaraki, what Zanpakuto ability does he have?" He questioned, clearly curious. It came as no surprise to Ichigo, knowing how battle happy Meta Knight himself was.
"Simple. He doesn't have one."
Kirby tilted his head. "Why's that?"
"He probably just doesn't. And from what I can sense, he doesn't need it." The knight replied.
"While you aren't exactly incorrect, it's not quite that simple. While Captain Zaraki doesn't necessarily need one, it's not that he doesn't want one, it's that he doesn't have one. I don't know if Ichigo has explained Zanpakuto to you two, but I will just in case." Rukia began, drawing the two puffs' attention to her.
"You see, Zanpakuto start out as asauchi, or nameless swords. They have no special powers at first. But over time, a soul reapers spiritual energy goes into the asauchi and from there, a Zanpakuto spirit is born. Once the spirit believes the wielder is ready for the Zanpakuto's true power, they will tell the soul reapers its name. Once a soul reaper knows a Zanpakuto's name, they can release its special abilities. This is the case for almost every soul reaper. The only exceptions being Ichigo himself for his unique circumstances and captain Zaraki. Who despite being a captain and one of our strongest fighters, has not learned of his Zanpakuto's name yet." She explained in full detail, creating illustrations so that they could follow along.
Ichigo for his part, decided against mentioning how silly they looked and just let Rukia have her moment.
"Oh! That makes a lot of sense!" Kirby replied.
"I see. but was it necessary to illustrate it with drawings of rabbits?" His mentor asked.
"It's always necessary." Rukia replied curtly, resisting the urge to use her catchphrase of fool in response to the knight's comment.
"Yeah, it makes it easier to understand, Meta-sensei!" Kirby said while pouting, completely cutting off any response the knight could make. "Besides, her drawings are great!"
Meta Knight immediately refused to make a comment. Instead, he had another question. "That Kenpachi, he doesn't seem to be the type to listen to orders. Why have someone like him as captain?"
"Well, to put it simply, he earned the position by defeating the previous captain in battle. The only person who can deny him his rank is the head captain and, quite frankly, captain Zaraki's strength is too great to leave him unchecked."
"I see..." While that was all Meta Knight said, he said that in a manner that told Rukia that he understood why. Seeing as that seemed to be the end of the Knight's questions, the whole group continued to walk.
As they walked, Meta Knight and Kirby kept to the back of the group.
"Meta-Sensei? Is something bugging you?"
"It's nothing, Kirby, don't worry about it." Was what the knight replied with, only to get a pout in response from his student.
"That's a lie, and you know it!" The child replied, almost instantly making his mentor feel bad and give a deep sigh.
"...admittedly, I'm a bit worried because of that Kenpachi man. I'm starting to worry if there are other Soul Reapers like him."
"That can't be the only thing, Meta-sensei. There's something else!"
The adult puff seemed to flinch a bit, as if the child had hit a bullseye with his guess. "Yes... you're right... my main worry is... well, I've been constantly thinking about the worst-case scenario happening while we're here. Will we have to fight everyone? What exactly will happen?"
Kirby tilted his head. "I understand why you're worried, but aren't you overreacting? What if they're all nice like Rukia is? Then won't you have just been worried for nothing?"
The knight seemed to stare blankly. "...force of habit..." was all he mumbled, making the child giggle.
"Well, don't worry, I'm sure everything will go fine!" Kirby exclaimed, continuing to skip along, causing his mentor to let out a chuckle. It was times like this that made him grateful for how optimistic his student was.
"Kirby's right." A quiet voice said, surprising both of them. "Most of the captains are easy to get along with. There's really only two you should look out for." Chad said, his words revealing that he had heard the conversation."
"See, I told you that you were worrying about nothing." Kirby pouted towards his mentor.
"If Kenpachi is the one, who is the other?" Meta Knight asked.
"Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Admittedly, I've never met him, but Uryu has. You should ask him. The other captains should be fine, though. Soi Fon, the 2nd Division Captain, is on the standoffish side, but she won't start any conflict unless she sees a need too."
"I see..." The knight replied.
"Well, do you feel better now, Meta-sensei?" His student asked.
"Yes, I do. Thank you, Chad."
"Hmm." Chad grunted as he gave a thumbs up.
"So, are we there yet?" Kirby asked Rukia, getting excited now.
"Almost. See the giant building ahead of us?"
"I do! I do!"
Acting quickly, Meta Knight picked up his student as if to prevent him from running off ahead. The child pouted back at him. "Let's stay together Kirby."
"Ok..."
"Kirby, I'd recommend you stay calm during the meeting. But after that, you can explore all you want. Does that sound fair to you?" Rukia asked the child.
"I was gonna wait anyway!" Kirby said with a pout before seeing that his mentor was looking at him. "Ok then, I'll wait." He said somewhat sheepishly.
"I'm serious, Kirby." Rukia warned. "During the meeting you need to show restraint, the head captain may be patient, but it's wise not to test him. That said, there's nothing to be nervous about either. Just stay calm and everything should be fine. Then you can run around the Seireitei to your heart's content."
"Ok." The puff replied, already having a calm aura about him.
"See, he can be calm when he has to be." The knight said, sounding a bit proud of his student.
"Rukia, I don't think you need to worry too much. You know how Yamamoto is around Yachiru." Ichigo commented, causing Rukia to laugh a little.
"Yes, I suppose you have a point, Ichigo."
"Yachiru? You mean that girl that was with Kenpachi? Well... I can see a few similarities between her and Kirby." He then looked at his student. "Though I would still prefer you be on your best behavior."
"OK, sensei!" The child nodded.
The gang continued on uninterrupted, a few soul reapers watching as they walked. Eventually they reached the inside of the 1st division headquarters and stood before a large door.
"Beyond here is the head captain, are you two ready?" Rukia asked.
"Yup!" Kirby exclaimed.
"I'm ready as well." The knight replied.
"Then enter. Ichigo, you and the others wait here with me. It's those two he wants to meet."
"Yeah, I figured. Have fun you two."
"Ok." The puff nodded as he and his mentor walked in the door.
Upon entering the room, Meta Knight motioned to Kirby to follow his actions, being given a nod in reply. Inside they saw an elderly man, sitting in a simple chair, eyes closed. Even so, Meta Knight could tell the man was staring into their very soul.
"He reminds me a lot of my grandfather..." The knight thought as Kirby stood cautiously beside him. It seemed honestly like both were questioning what they should say to him.
"You two must be Kirby and Meta Knight. Allow me to welcome you to the Soul Society. Now, let's get to the point. I have summoned you two for two reasons." Yamamoto said, his tone leaving no room for argument or extra commentary unrelated to what he wanted to discuss.
"What reasons are those?" Meta Knight asked.
"First, is to thank you."
Kirby tilted his head, obviously confused by this. "For what?"
"For restoring Ichigo Kurosaki's powers, of course. He is a man we owe a great debt to, so on behalf of the Soul Society, I thank you."
"Oh, well, you're welcome!" Kirby responded, making Meta Knight flinch a bit.
"I appreciate your gratitude very much." The knight said, trying to hide how blunt that response is.
"Now, with that out of the way. We have another matter to discuss."
"What is that?" The knight asked, his eyes asking his student to let him do the speaking.
"In my long life, I have seen many things. Many a war, many a species, many a peace time. But I've seen nor heard of a Dreamland. With the barriers between our worlds becoming open, it's only a matter of time before certain people from both of our universes try crossing over for nefarious purposes. Ichigo Kurosaki, in fact, already reported to us just how much trouble one Hollow got up to, not to mention that Dark Matter creature. So, what I want is simple. You two will keep as many of your universe's inhabitants away from us, and we'll make sure no Hollows will cross over again. That's not to say you two can never return, but it'd be best to keep the travels between our world to a minimum. That's all I have to say."
"I understand. We don't intend to do it on the regular, is that right, Kirby?" Meta Knight said, looking at his student.
"Yeah."
While his student was a bit sad that he couldn't visit often, he did understand that this didn't mean that they would never see each other again. At least he hoped that's what it meant. As if being able to tell what the child was thinking, Yamamoto leaned over, his changing posture making him look less imposing.
"Worry not, you and your mentor are welcome here at any time. Just make sure we are notified before you visit."
"Oh, ok! Thank you!" The puff replied, slightly surprised that the old man knew what he was thinking.
"Indeed. Now then, that concludes what I wanted to discuss. You two are free to explore, just don't go into areas that are prohibited. Lieutenant Kuchiki will point out what is and isn't prohibited."
"Understood. Thank you very much for allowing us to visit here." Meta Knight said with a bow, Kirby following suit.
"One more thing, expect a few Soul Reapers to be interested in a sparring match. I have no problem with that happening, just keep property damage to minimum."
"I understand." The knight replied, with his student nodding in agreement. They didn't say it, but they already knew that "a few soul reapers" primarily referred to that Kenpachi Zaraki they had met before.
"I'm already quite aware of Captain Zaraki already making such an attempt. No doubt the rest of his squad will follow suit. There's at least one other that would be interested in dueling you in particular, Meta Knight."
The knight seemed surprised by that. "Really? Who would that be?"
"Byakuya Kuchiki. He was intrigued by the speed Ichigo claimed you have. He tries to hide it, but Byakuya can be quite hot blooded when it comes to worthy challenges."
"Oh, he sounds a lot like you, Meta-sensei!" Kirby said happily, causing him to feel internally embarrassed.
"Now, I believe our meeting is over. You two can leave and tour the Soul Society, just be sure to stay out of trouble. Of course, if trouble comes after you, you won't be held responsible." Yamamoto said, everyone knowing what he meant by trouble.
"Understood. We don't plan on causing any trouble." Meta Knight said with a polite bow, with his student following suit.
"Then be on your way."
The duo nodded and left.
They exited the room to see Ichigo and his friends waiting outside.
"Well, looks like the meeting is done. How'd it go?" Ichigo asked, Rukia sighing at how direct he was, as always.
"It went great! He thanked us for our help!" Kriby exclaimed.
"And? Anything else?"
"He said we shouldn't be jumping between dimensions too much."
"And that we're allowed to go on a tour of the Soul Society. We just need to avoid trouble." Meta Knight finished.
"Fat chance of that happening." Ichigo and Uryu both said at the same time.
"Considering who we met before, I'm inclined to agree..." The knight said in agreement, clearly talking about the Soul Reaper Kenpachi Zaraki.
"Yeah, which is why we came up with a plan while you two were busy." Ichigo said, his earlier scowl replaced with a smirk.
"Really? What's your plan?" Kriby asked.
"Simple. Chad, Orihime and I will keep Kenpachi busy, while Rukia and Uryu show you two around."
The puff tilted his head. "Will they be safe? That guy seems pretty strong..."
"Who said anything about fighting?"
"Besides, Ichigo has beaten him before!" Orihime chipped in.
"Not that he'd needs to fight. There's other ways to distract Kenpachi." Chad added.
"Ooohhh! Okay!" He nodded. "Why's Uryu staying with us though?"
"He's quick on his feet. If anyone can make a quick and good escape plan, it's him." Ichigo explained, with Uryu smiling at the genuine compliment.
"That's a very good trait to have. Well, feel free to show us the way." The knight said.
"Let me do that. I know the Soul Society like the back of my own hand." Rukia stated, her voice filled with authority. "We'll make our way to Squad Six's barracks first. Ichigo, take this bag of candy. Use it to distract Yachiru. If she's distracted, captain Zaraki is distracted."
"Man, I don't know if it's impressive or depressing that you're so used to this. Anyway, we'll probably meet up later anyway. See ya around." Ichigo replied, taking the bag of candy and running off with Orihime and Chad.
"...May I ask why Squad Six first? I would imagine you would rather show off your own squad first." Meta Knight asked.
"Typically, I would, but Squad Six is my brother's squad. A close friend of mine is also the lieutenant of it. I was thinking of having him join us. Now, if you have no more questions, let's get moving."
The two puffs nodded and began to follow.
As they trekked to the base of Squad 6, Kirby and Meta Knight looked around at the sights around them. There were people of all sizes in the same uniform as Rukia running around, of course minus the arm band she wore on her arm. However, each of them seemed to look at the group for a brief moment, as if they were curious and surprised by the ball-like visitors. Not that anyone would blame them, that kind of response would be expected from people who haven't seen Star Warriors before. Quickly, Meta Knight focused on walking, with Kirby following suit. Despite how busy the Soul Reapers seemed to be, there was an aura of calm in the area, likely because this was peace time. It would likely become busier and more hectic if someone was attacking, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. Soon enough, they reached the barracks of Squad Six.
"It's impressive. Very impressive." Meta Knight stated, taking in the sight before him. His prior history as a soldier told him that the soldiers here took very good care of it.
"As befitting a member of royalty." Uryu said, begrudgingly respecting the barracks of Squad 6.
"Royalty?" Kirby questioned, wondering if it was actually royalty or Dedede's idea of royalty.
"There are four noble families that have existed since the start of the soul society. Each noble family is responsible for an aspect of the Soul Society's history. There used to be five but... anyway, my brother, Byakuya, is the head of the Kuchiki clan, one of the noble houses."
Kirby nodded in understanding, deciding not to question the fifth house upon seeing how uncomfortable Rukia's face was when mentioning it.
"So, are you royalty, too?" Meta Knight asked. "Yes, but not by blood. I was adopted into the clan. My brother's wife was actually my older sister. She asked him to take me in and the rest is history."
"Where is your sister now?"
"She's-"
"Hey Rukia!" She was interrupted, to her relief, by a tall man with pineapple like red hair and a goofy grin.
"It's a pineapple man!" Kirby cried out, seemingly excited by that, but he was quickly shushed by his mentor.
"I apologize for that, you two. I'm guessing that this man is the friend you mentioned, Rukia?" The knight asked.
"Yes, this is my closest friend, Renji. Introduce yourself."
"I got it. I'm Renji Abarai, lieutenant of squad 6. So, you two must be the visitors from...what was it? Sleep world?"
"Dreamland." Rukia deadpanned.
"Right! Dreamland. Pretty small little guys, aren't you? Now don't worry, I'm not making fun of you, I know firsthand big things come in small packages." He said, still keeping his grin. Kirby just giggled, Renji's attitude reminding him of his friend Knuckle Joe. It was that energy that made Meta Knight immediately notice how well his student clicked with Renji, and he couldn't help but crack a smile under his mask at seeing his student enjoying meeting new people.
"Now as for why I'm here. Besides assisting Rukia in her escort duties, Captain Kuchiki also gave me a mission related to the two of you. Now, it's nothing serious, he simply wishes to meet you two and possibly have a fair sparring match with one of you. I believe he said the name, Meta Knight."
"That would be me." The knight spoke up. "But yes, I 've been looking forward to having a good sparring match." He tried to ignore the slight giggling that Kirby was doing in the background, knowing exactly why he was doing that.
"Alright, he's in the training grounds already. Honestly, I haven't seen the captain this motivated in a while. Not since helping Ichigo deal with those Xcution guys." Renji mentioned as he directed them to furthest point of the barracks, where they saw a man with long, black hair and a regal attitude and blank face standing in the middle.
"...That's him being motivated?" Kirby questioned, already seeing similarities with his own mentor.
"Welcome, visitors from another world. I am Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of Squad 6." He announced, unsheathing his sword.
"Huh! Already!?" The child said, now alarmed.
"Meta Knight, captain of the Meta Knights." He replied, already unsheathing Galaxia.
Already the puffball can sense how excited his mentor was, and honestly, Kirby was excited, too. He liked to see him being happy, and one of the things that made his mentor happy was a good, fair sparring match.
"We should probably step back." Uryu spoke up, knowing full well how destructive both combatants could be.
Rukia agreed and raised her hands. "Bakudo number 81! Dankū!"
A wide barrier appeared in front of them, keeping them out of harm's way. Byakuya gave a quick nod in acknowledgment to his sister's use of dankū. Without another word, both he and Meta Knight began to cross blades, moving faster than the average eye could see. Both seemed evenly matched, neither managing to land a hit on the other. Byakuya jumped back a little and raised his fingers.
"Byakurai."
With the calm announcement, a blast of lighting shot out towards Meta Knight, who countered by shooting out his own blast of lighting. The two blasts canceled each other out, bringing them back to the initial stalemate.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
Meta Knight looked on in intrigue as his opponent's sword turned into pink petals.
"Interesting."
The knight teleported behind him, aiming to catch him off guard, only to defend himself from the petals slamming towards him.
"I see, the petals act like little swords that are just as sharp as a regular sword."
Meta Knight then used a technique he rarely used. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, causing the wind to scatter the petals and quickly kicked Byakuya in the stomach, only for Byakuya to grab hold of his foot and used a remaining petal to strike, causing a crack to appear in Meta Knight's mask. Kirby, meanwhile, was mesmerized by Byakuya's fighting style.
"Those petals remind me of my Leaf Ability!" He uttered aloud, amazed by how elegantly they moved and how, from his perspective, they seemed razor sharp to the touch.
"Yes, my brother is simply incredible. But I must say, your teacher is something else if he can keep up with him like that."
"Yup! My sensei is the best!" Kirby said happily.
Back with the fight, Meta Knight continues to block every attack, though that's all he could do. Byakuya had no openings, no blind spots. While he didn't need to worry about getting hit, he couldn't do anything else. That's when he decided to do something his student would do. Brute force.
"Mach Tornado!"
Spinning at intense speeds, Meta Knight charged through Byakuya's petals. Byakuya held his hand out again.
"Sai."
With that quick utterance, Meta Knight found himself paralyzed. Though his magical energy kept spinning, meaning that in a sense he was completely protected. He couldn't move, but couldn't be hurt without Byakuya going all out.
"What say you that we call an end to this bout?"
As much as the knight wanted to continue on, he also understood very well what the man had meant.
"I think now would be a good time to conclude it. It was a great match, I quite enjoyed it." Meta Knight said as he sheathed his sword.
"I am satisfied. Enjoy your time in the Soul Society." Byakuya said, then walked towards Kirby and gave him a few pieces of candy. "Farewell." He said, vanishing from sight immediately.
"Brother is in a wonderful mood." Rukia marveled, comically large tear drops falling from her eyes.
"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." Renji replied, also crying.
While Kirby was happily eating his candy, he was slightly confused by that response. Byakuya's expression didn't seem to change at all as he said that. Though it was probably something similar to how he could tell that his mentor was happy despite the fact that he wore a mask and rarely showed any sign of emotion. Speaking of which, Meta Knight also seemed to be happy about the results of the sparring match, but it was likely because he always enjoyed fighting strong opponents.
"Well, that was bizarre." Uryu muttered, feeling like the odd man out in this circumstance.
"Shall we get going? The longer we stay in one spot, the more likely it is Kenpachi will find us. Especially when a fight just took place."
"That sounds like a good idea." The knight replied. While he probably would've been ready to fight under normal circumstances, having just been fighting, Meta Knight knew he wouldn't be able to fight at his full capacity.
"Ok! Where are we gonna go next?" Kirby asked, sounding excited as ever.
"Well, if it's avoiding captain Zaraki that you want, I suppose Squad 4 would be the safest place to be." Renji offered, with Rukia nodding in agreement.
"Then let's head there." Meta Knight said.
"Why there though? Is there a reason?" Kirby asked.
"Squad 4 is the medical division, fighting is prohibited there." Rukia explains.
"Oh! So Zaraki wouldn't want to disturb people being treated!" Kirby assumed, missing the sweat drops forming on the soul reaper's faces.
"Sure...let's go with that."
Meta Knight himself didn't miss it, though, but he decided not to ask further. Whatever works, as they say. "Alright, lead the way, please." He said.
"Alright, let's go."
With that, the group left the barracks, a satisfied Byakuya watching them leave from a window, a small smile on his face.