"See, I spotted a fugitive with the ryoka." His grin broaded. "Former Fourth seat of Squad Ten, Shiba Enka"
Ganju hadn't taken well to me wearing the Shiba haori, if he had known it was Kaien's he'd have probably attacked, but Kukaku had taken care of his little outburst as soon as it happened. She reminded me alot of Kaien in that regard, he didn't have patience for nonsense either. I appreciated it, I wasn't sure I was ready to let Ganju know who I was yet. I can still hear him yelling how much he hated me, I don't think I could stand hearing from his mouth again.
I was starting to wonder if making us wait was his way of getting revenge. He had stalked off after Kukaku scolded him, and had been gone since then. But I knew he intended to come with us, as Kukaku had already informed me. It was a surprise, seeing as Ganju hated shinigami, and this particular shinigami was the one he hated the most. But he didn't know that, did he? He had no idea we were going to save the shinigami that killed his brother.
He eventually did show up, and it really didn't take long for him and Ichigo to be at each other's throats. If I had cousins, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be fighting them like this. But who knows, I didn't have cousins after all.
The conversation between the two took a turn, and I felt my blood run cold. Ganju was talking about Kaien, about his death. Kami... I didn't think I'd have to hear the story again. Once was more than enough... it was almost like a reminder that I wasn't there. Where was I, anyway? I had to think about that for a bit, a mission in the World of the Living maybe? It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have been there. I should have been here...
"What the hell do you mean they're gone?! That's impossible! Kaien's is a lieutenant! He's too strong to just die!"
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I felt Kukaku nudging me. I looked down at her, and saw a similar look of pain on her face. I frowned and put my hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"Enka," she addressed me. "Promise me you'll bring him back" her gaze had turned towards Ganju, showing me who she was talking to.
I nodded. "What's one more nephew to keep an eye on?" I scoffed, trying to lighten the mood. "It's not like they're both hard-headed, reckless and have no sense of self preservation. I'm sure it'll be fine"
I was trying to joke, but it was true. I originally intended to just keep an eye out from the shadows, make sure the kids don't die while not outing myself. But now, I have a feeling that Baku might be getting a chance to properly battle. Said zanpakuto almost purred in her sheathe, the battle thirsty thing was always ready.
•••••
I had done alot of things in my years, but admittedly, being shot out of a giant cannon was definitely a first. The first part wasn't that bad really, but knowing that my life now hanged the hands of teens knowing how to stay focused was terrifying.
When Ganju pulled out a long booklet, I think my life started flashing before my eyes.
"What the hell is that?"
"The Kakaku Taihō launch method has two parts," Ganju started to explain "The first part controls everything from launch to the directional setting. The second part then controls the acceleration and axis adjustment. After that, you gradually improve the accuracy"
"Are you telling me that's the spell? You still have to read it out loud?!" Now it was confirmed. We were going to die.
"I can handle it" Ganju snapped. Someone was still salty about earlier. "There's something I want to tell you guys. In order to enter Seireitei, we have to stabilize this cannonball. We need to keep the spiritual energy output by each person at a consistent level"
"That means no matter what, don't lose focus. Otherwise we'll all die!" I chirped, only to be met by deadpan stares all around. "With your hand on the ball, you can sense the reiatsu of the others, yes?" I received some nods. "Great. Pay attention to that, and keep your reiatsu level to the others. If someone raises theirs, you do the same. If someone lowers it, you do that too. Otherwise this cannonball will explode. Everyone got it? Good. Ganju, start with the spell"
Surprisingly, Ganju listened and started working on the spell. Although we soon had a problem with Ichigo, the kid still struggled with control and was pushing in too much reiryoku. The kids were struggling, most obviously Inoue. Ichigo tried to lower his reiryoku, but it wasn't enough to make things comfortable for the others. The problem with having noble blood, was that it came with alot of reiryoku. While usually we're raised to control it from a young age, Ichigo definitely wasn't, and it was starting to show.
"Ichigo-"
"I KNOW!" Ichigo interrupted me with a snap before I could even try and give him advice. If I was closer to that kid...
Apparently that was the last straw for Ganju, as he stopped reading the spell to start yelling at Ichigo. Watching these two made me kind of glad I didn't have kids of my own, I couldn't imagine going through this without being able to give the kids back to their parents.
"Can't you two stop fighting for five minutes?! I swear, its like watching two toddlers!"
"He started it!" The two said together, proving my point.
"Hey, you guys.." Sado's voice caught our attention. "The outside.."
Seireitei was in view, and it would only be a matter of time before we hit the sekkiseki shield. And we'd be hitting it full speed.
"Shit! We're going too fast!"
"We have no choice!" Yoruichi said. "Everyone, pour in all the spiritual energy you've got!"
"All of it?" I met Yoruichi's gaze, and she just nodded.
I suppose it made sense, it might make the ball unstable, but it would strengthen the shell enough to help us through the shield. Although I wasn't comfortable to put in all my reiryoku, I ended up just matching Ichigo's, which was still relatively high.
It didn't take long before we made contact with the shield, sparks flying outside. It was a good thing the ball hadn't shattered yet, but it wasn't going through yet. I bit my bottom lip and poured in some more of my reiryoku, soon after we started to slowly but surely start moving through the shield. Knowing what was coming next, I braced myself.
As soon as we got through the shield, the cannonball popped and we were left stranded in the air. Literally, we were floating where we were.
"W-what's going on?" Ichigo asked. "We got through the shield all right.. but why aren't we falling to the ground?"
"Don't get separated!" Yoruichi yelled from my side. "The cannonball dissolved when it hit the shield, and it's only temporarily holding us up"
"That means.."
"It will eventually create a whirlpool, then explode and vanish"
"Well that sounds fun" I remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"If we are separated at that time, we will be blown apart by the shock"
My immediate reaction was to reach for Ichigo, but before I could make contact with him, the whirlpool had started around us and we started being pulled downwards. While Ichigo was now out of my reach, I saw him and Ganju close together, which did soothe my anxiety a bit. But the fact that they were getting further and further from me was worrying me.
"They'll be fine" Yoruichi had managed to find her way onto my shoulder, clinging to me using reiatsu.
"I know, I'll make sure of it" I narrowed my eyes and tried to reach for them, but once again I was thwarted just as I was going to grab them. The cannonball finally exploded, and sent us all of us flying in different direction. I even felt Yoruichi get separated from my shoulder, leaving me on my own.
I tried to keep note of which direction everyone was sent in as I fell, but the blinding light from the explosion kept me from seeing who was who. At least I had their reiatsu to help me find them later on.
Once I was close enough to the ground, I twisted my body so I could land on my feet. I made contact with the tiles of a roof, and I felt relief as I was finally on something solid.
"Where the hell am I?" I muttered to myself as I looked around, and that relief didn't last much longer as I realized where I was.
Shit.
It was Squad Ten's barracks.