I intended on updating this last night, but with the outages that didn't happen. So here you go!

Chapter 36: A Dramatic Entrance

While Ichigo and his friends worked hard to learn how to control their Reiatsu enough to use the Reishukaku, Kirara decided to try and get some rest at last. She lay in the grass, shaded by one of the massive stone arms still leaning to the side, and despite the sunlight beating down mercilessly, she managed to doze.

Kirara didn't dare let herself fully relax, even in the rare peace of the Shiba house. As she drifted in and out of sleep, she could feel the rising and falling power of the four who were learning to channel their Reiatsu into the Reishukaku needed to use the cannon to break into the Seireitei. It was a crazy idea, and would certainly attract a lot of attention, but it was the only way to get past the walls that seemed firmly in place.

It felt strange, lying in the grass under the sun like she had done so often a hundred years ago. The desire to flee had faded a little as Kirara eased back into her surroundings, but she doubted she'd fully lose that, but she was at least able to get some rest. She couldn't afford to go in exhausted.

By the time the sun began to set, Kirara got back to her feet and brushed off the blades of grass that clung to her clothes and hair. She could still feel Ichigo struggling to use his Reiatsu below ground, as wild and inconsistent as ever, and it made her frown.

That once strange factor that had always lurked in the shadows of his Reiatsu was beginning to shape into something else. Something that the others didn't seem to notice, but Kirara picked up on it easily.

Probably because it reminded her of her own.

Kirara pushed those thoughts from her mind. She'd work on addressing that once they'd gotten Rukia and left the Soul Society. Instead she moved into a comfortable stance, starting to perform slow, fluid motions that helped her focus her breathing. Most of the movements were second nature by now, but she went through the motions all the same.

"What's she doing?" Orihime asked quietly, having stepped outside to call Kirara in for dinner. They hadn't eaten since the small breakfast that Kuroro had prepared, and none of them had realised just how hungry they were.

"It's Tai Chi," Uryu said as he adjusted his glasses, studying her movements from a distance. "It's a martial art designed for self-defence," he explained, seeing Orihime's blank look.

"Seems Kirara is doing her own training while we learned how to use the Reishukaku," Chad commented as he peered out at her. He had wondered just what Kirara was capable of, and just what her power was. She was fast - they had seen that twice now, when she had saved them from the falling rubble when Ichigo fought Jidanbo, and again when she'd easily moved around Ganju's friends to stop their fight. But past that, he had no idea what she could do.

Kirara let out a quiet breath, well aware of the three spectators she suddenly had. So once she had finished her movements, she straightened up and stretched.

"Taking a break?" she called over, making them jump.

"Di-dinner!" Orihime stammered with a nervous laugh. Kirara shook her head, a faint smile on her face.

"Coming," she pushed her hair back out of her face, and headed back towards them as her own resolve stayed strong. When they got into the Seireitei, she'd be ready.

The sun hadn't even begun to rise by the time Yoruichi decided it was time to go. Uryu had gone downstairs to fetch Ichigo, who had been fast asleep after almost blowing up the training room when he finally learned how to channel his Reiatsu into the Reishukaku.

Kirara bounced lightly on her feet. Apprehension and anxiety made her stomach churn, but she channelled that energy as best she could as they waited for the stragglers of their group to arrive.

"Okay, so you're all here?" Yoruichi spoke as Ichigo finally emerged from the house, looking surprisingly well rested for someone who had slept where they'd passed out. Kukaku was sitting by the massive cannon in waiting, while her two henchmen stood nearby.

"Yessir!" the four called. Ichigo's gaze then shifted just slightly.

"Mr. Yoruichi, your tail looks like one of those flexible toothbrushes," he commented. Kirara stopped her bouncing, her eyes wide as Orihime, Chad and Uryu gasped. Yoruichi's ears twitched.

"What?" her voice took on a dangerous tone as they could practically see glowing red energy surrounding her. "You got a problem with it?" the snarl was low, and Ichigo instantly regretted his words.

"N-no," he stammered. "It's a beautiful tail, as always," he told her quickly. Uryu hissed in his ear, and Kirara shook her head. Yoruichi's scream when Ichigo had grabbed a hold of her tail in his sleep had been loud enough for Kirara to hear outside. It had taken her, Uryu, Orihime and Chad to pry her tail free from his grasp.

"My tail…" Yoruichi whimpered, looking at her oddly-bent tail. "The tail that was the source of my pride…" she walked away, dejected.

"I'd not talk about it again. Or you might end up with more scratches," Kirara warned cheerfully.

"G-got it," Ichigo gulped.

"Hey, what happened to Ganju?" Kukaku asked Ichigo, noticing that her brother hadn't joined them yet.

"Huh? I dunno," Ichigo shrugged. While the two attempted to play nice in front of Kukaku, he still didn't like Ganju. "He was muttering about something downstairs," he told her.

"Hold it!" Ganju's yell earned their attention, and they looked around to see Ganju leaning against the side of the house, out of breath and holding onto a long scroll of parchment. "The hero always arrives last!" he declared, gesturing to himself with his thumb.

"What's with that getup?" Ichigo couldn't help but sound derisive as he looked at the mainly green outfit that Ganju had changed into.

"It's my very own battle costume," Ganju grinned proudly. "Don't I look cool? Cry and beg all you want, but I won't lend it to you," he looked smug as he taunted Ichigo. Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I should have dumped this on one of the others. One day I'll learn how to delegate," she muttered, exhausted already and they hadn't even gotten into the Seireitei.

"Battle costume?" Ichigo repeated, before the words dawned on him fully. "What's it for, if you're just seeing us off?" he asked, not understanding. Ganju's smug look vanished, and he stalked towards Ichigo. When he got close, Ichigo leaned back, but didn't step away.

"A Shinigami killed my big brother," all of them went still at his declaration.

"Ganju, dammit!" Kukaku lost her usual smirk and glared furiously at her brother for his confession. Kirara bit her lip.

'Kaien was killed? By Shinigami? But…he was a Lieutenant,' she remembered the other Shiba well. It had been a surprise to hear that someone who declared themselves to hate Shinigami would be a Shiba, and Kaien's younger brother no less. Kaien had become the Lieutenant of Squad 13 not long before she'd become a Vizard, and he was a bit strange, but a nice guy.

"Just shut up and listen, sis!" Ganju snapped back, surprising her. "My brother was a genius. He managed to pass the Shinigami Academy entrance exam in one try. At that time, his Reiryoku was at Level 6. That's the same level as a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13. Then, he finished six years' curriculum in one, and became a member of a Squad," Ganju told Ichigo, who stared at him. "In just five years, he became a Lieutenant. But my brother was killed! Betrayed by his Shinigami comrades!" he yelled.

Kirara's fists were clenched as she listened to him talk about someone she'd known. She also knew that Kaien would have reached the Lieutenant's rank even earlier, had he accepted the role from Ukitake any earlier. But like Kirara, he'd refused it for the first few years.

Ganju took a breath, his fists clenched as he remembered his brother. "I was still a kid back then, so I don't remember the details. But there are two things I'll never forget. Their faces! Two faces! The demon-like face of the Shinigami who dragged my badly injured, dying brother home, and the face of my brother as he happily thanked that Shinigami. Why did my brother do that? Why did he seem so happy? To this day, I don't know," Ganju admitted as everyone else stayed quiet. "But there's one thing I can say. My brother didn't blame Shinigami. He didn't hate them. Why?!" he yelled. "Why didn't my brother despise Shinigami? Why did he continue to trust in them?" Ganju's frustration and sorrow was obvious.

Ganju then lashed out and grabbed Ichigo by the collar. "You're not like the other Shinigami," he hissed at the boy. "I have a feeling that if I go with you, I might discover something. That's what I think. That's why I'm gonna help you," he declared. "I'll go as far as I can, to see what a Shinigami is really like," Ganju told him, sharing his feelings with them all.

"Ganju…" Orihime breathed, stunned by his speech.

"Hmph," Kukaku had sat back down, looking somewhat amused as her men openly wept with pride. "Looks like you've made up your mind," she said with a grin.

"This is getting more ridiculous with every day," Kirara said, a hand on her hip. She couldn't help but be impressed by his words, and his determination to find his own way. Even if she felt a little envious that he could still be willing to open his heart and trust the people who had taken his brother away.

Ichigo then grabbed Ganju by the front of his shirt and pulled him close with his usual scowl on his face.

"Looking forward to working with you," he growled. Ganju smirked at him.

"Everyone, are you ready for the Cannonball?" Yoruichi asked, bringing them back to their task.

"Yes!" they nodded, ready to go.

"By the way…Mr. Yoruichi, can you make a Cannonball?" Ichigo asked, looking at the Reishukaku that he'd lifted.

"Huh? I wonder…" there was almost a devious look in Yoruichi's eyes as she played dumb. "Let me try it," he requested.

"Don't tell me…this is your first try?" Uryu gulped as Yoruichi jumped down from her perch to approach. Kirara grinned.

"Well, put that down there," the cat requested. Ichigo set it down, and backed away carefully. Yoruichi jumped onto the large glass orb, and instantly it began to glow. Within seconds, Yoruichi was surrounded by a perfect dome. "Something like this is as simple as breathing in and out," she told them as the four stared at her.

"Suppose I should give it a try," Kirara said cheerfully as she walked over. The dome faded from around Yoruichi, and the Reishukaku landed gently for her to jump off it. Kirara lifted it, noting the weight of what looked like it shouldn't weigh much. The nervous looks returned, before Kirara focused her Reiatsu and let it flow gently into the Reishukaku. Within a moment, she was encased in a dome, floating lightly in the centre. "So that's how it works. It's easy!" Kirara laughed.

"Wow! It took us so long to learn to do it!" Orihime cheered, applauding the two. Ichigo fell to his knees, humiliated that he'd struggled so much compared to them.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Kirara smirked at his reaction.

"Do you resent that we could easily do something that put you through so much trouble to accomplish? Huh?" Yoruichi looked smug.

"Are you ready?" Kukaku shouted down to them after talking quietly with her brother. "There'll be no more delays, you brats!" she shouted, and slammed her fist to the cannon behind her. Instantly a hole opened up. "Now, get in," she ordered.

Kirara's anxiety returned in full force as she stepped into the massive cannon. There was enough room for all of them, and they all held onto the Reishukaku in the centre with Yoruichi balanced easily on it. This was it. No backing down now. Soon they'd be making an explosive entrance into the Seireitei.

Kukaku continued to speak as the hole she'd created closed up, and she prepared the cannon. "The sun will be rising soon. That will be the signal to begin the launching ceremony," she warned them.

"Listen. Once we're in the Seireitei, we have to stick together. If you encounter any Captains, don't think. Just run. Our goal is to save Rukia, and nothing else," Yoruichi gave some last second instructions to the tense team. "Don't, by any means, take any useless risks!" she ordered, and for a moment her eyes lingered on Kirara, who was paler than usual. She gave the slightest nod, hearing the unspoken meaning.

Outside, they felt Kukaku's power rising, and Yoruichi snapped to attention. "It's started! Pour in your Reiatsu!" she shouted. Everyone reacted together, pouring in their power to create a powerful dome around all of them. It held firm, and the cannon began to shake before an explosion under their feet launched them high into the sky.

The sickening crunch was a tell-tale sign that the blow had at least cracked, if not broken the man's nose, and the blood that began to flow only backed that up. However, his grin didn't fade as he recovered his balance and focused on the one responsible for the attack.

Having recovered from her hangover the previous day, Natsuki was making up for lost time with a one-on-one with their 7th seat; a man twice her weight and three times her height. Yet she didn't lose her own feral smile as she pulled back her fist.

"Either you let me do that, or you're slacking," she warned him, making the man laugh.

"Could be both," he replied as he wiped the blood on his sleeve, before throwing a punch of his own. Natsuki dodged it, only for his knee to come up and catch her in the stomach. The force would have knocked out a lesser person, but Natsuki was well used to taking hits like that. She staggered backwards, and spat out blood.

"Not bad," she told him.

"Either you let me do that, or you're slacking," the 7th Seat repeated her words, and Natsuki's eyes gleamed. She charged in again, not losing that wild look as they continued to trade punches and kicks in a ruthless fight.

Eventually the man fell backwards, landing on his back as his eyes rolled back. Natsuki groaned as she pulled her fist back, having caught him with an uppercut straight to the chin.

"Okay, you're definitely slacking," she complained to the unconscious man, disappointed that the fight had ended already. "Take him to Squad 4," Natsuki barked at the men who were exchanging money, some looking disappointed while others looked victorious.

"Right away!" they shouted, rushing away quickly with the man.

"That last hit was the only good one," as she wiped blood from her split lip, Natsuki looked over at the two standing nearby.

"You didn't even try to dodge most of those," the other accused, keeping his expression bored as he chided her. Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"Would have taken more effort to dodge than take them," she replied, looking over to the pair. She then grinned at them. "Either one of you want to go next?" Natsuki asked them eagerly, hoping for a good fight. The last one had been okay, but she wanted a proper, full on fight where both of them ended up in Squad 4's medical bay, being shouted at by 3rd Seat Iemura.

"You know what?" the bald 3rd Seat of Squad 11, Ikkaku, let a matching grin spread across his face. "I happen to be in the perfect mood for a good fight. Just let it be better than the shitshow we just saw, Hamasaki, or I'm going to put you in the ground," he warned as he stalked towards her.

"For you, Ikka, anything," Natsuki winked at him.

"Try to tone it down, please. The complaints haven't died down from the last time you idiots decided to destroy the wall," Yumichika called over, watching them with that same bored look.

"It wouldn't have been a problem if this idiot had dodged," Ikkaku defended. Natsuki stuck her tongue out, and he pulled a face in response.

"I don't know why I bother," Yumichika murmured, electing to watch what he suspected was going to be a ruthlessly bloody fight. And he was looking forward to it.

The drumming carried across the entire Seireitei, reaching them just before Ikkaku could land the first blow. The two stopped instantly, exchanging confused looks.

"Urgent alert, urgent alert!" a voice accompanied the drumming. "Intruders in the Seireitei! All Squads, get into position," the orders echoed, reaching every member of the Gotei 13.

"What the hell is going on?" Yumichika asked as he walked over to the pair, their fight abandoned as Natsuki looked up at the sky above. Around them, their Squad members panicked, rushing around.

"Oi!" Ikkaku snarled loud enough for them all to stop what they were doing. "You know what to do. Stop running around like headless idiots, or I'll remove your heads for you!" he threatened, bringing order to their Squad.

"The Ryoka that tried to break in the other day," Yumichika remembered what had been reported.

"The ones who fought Captain Ichimaru?" Ikkaku glanced at the 5th Seat. "You think they managed to find a way in? I thought all the gates were guarded," he remembered that more than a few Squad 11 members had volunteered to help out in hopes that they could fight the Ryoka themselves.

Natsuki's quiet laugh was more of shock than true humour, and they turned to her curiously. The blonde was still looking up at the sky above.

"I don't think the gates are the problem anymore," she said, and the two looked up. Their eyes went wide as they gasped. So high in the sky that it was barely visible, a strange bubble was hurtling straight for the Seireitei. "The shield-" Natsuki started, before the bubble collided with the anti-soul shield that protected them from aerial attacks.

"It stopped!" someone shouted from nearby. Everyone watched the shield in awe as ripples of power trailed the entire way down.

"Whatever that thing is, it's still whole," Yumichika observed, none of them daring to move as they watched the bubble as if it was trying to push through the shield. Everything rumbled as lightning spiked from where it collided with the shield.

Then another shockwave pulsed, and the bubble passed through the shield. As they gasped, the bubble vanished, and a moment later Reiatsu began to swarm in the air where it had been. A bright light then shot from the swirling Reiatsu, before the Reiatsu exploded and sent out another four lights and vanished.

"They just…made it inside," Natsuki breathed as they saw at least one of the lights flying towards the ground not too far from them.

"This is my lucky day," they looked at Ikkaku, who had a wide, excited smile on his face. "Let's go say hi, shall we?" he asked. The initial shock vanished, and both smirked, knowing that their quiet days had just been interrupted, and all three were very glad for it.

Staring up the sky above, the young man with blue hair brushed back out of his face hadn't been able to take his eyes off it from the moment the strange bubble had collided with the shield.

Now, a swirling mix of Reiatsu was dissipating in the air, vanishing as quickly as it appeared as five sets of lights scattered in different directions, each seeming to carry at least one Ryoka.

Fear mixed in with determination, as the young man shoved the files he carried into the hands of someone else, and took off towards the closest lights.

"I won't let people get hurt," he vowed quietly, determined to stop the invaders at all costs.

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