Soul Societies, part 2.
Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to the works of Norman Bridwell.
Buford is seeing Kiyone off at the entrance to the Jusanban-tai when they hear somebody running towards them. "Pardon me, Ukitake-Taichō. Pendleton-Taichō, your presence is required at the Ichiban-tai!" He hears from a male voice.
"Eh... Ōmaeda-Fukutaichō." Kiyone says dismissively, not seeing him as any better than her fellow sanseki.
"Now, now, sweety; leave the poor whale alone. You know they're endangered." Buford tells her, and turns towards him, not wanting to think this has to do with his Fukutaichō.
"I am not fat!" Ōmaeda shouts indignantly to him and Kiyone as the latter runs off. "Just follow me, sir. It's urgent."
His earlier hope was dashed when he arrives at the assembly hall. Kuchiki Byakuya, and Unohana are there, along with some shorty resembling Shihōin Yoruichi. Even before learning that he was infact a boy, Buford opted to ignore him for being a crybaby sis-con.
The third is a man who is every reason Buford despises nobility. "Finally he arrives." The creep says to himself. "I have a project waiting, Yamamoto-Soutaichō. We must address this without the fourth clan."
Yamamoto nodded as Buford grew nauseous with every word, but not enough to miss what the summons was about.
She was not there.
Several minutes earlier, at the Kasumiōji Family Manor Compound.
"You've got some nerve showing your face here again; and you even bring a shinigami before me after I made it clear that we must not draw attention to ourselves." The steward tells him as he motions to Thao, who is unconscious behind the assassin.
"I did not instigate this, Kumoi-sama. She willingly allowed me to incapacitate her."
The steward huffed before requesting the full story.
While Buford was on his way to the Ichiban-tai, another Taichō was still investigating around the Amagake Estate when she hears voices nearby. "Don't you Yonban-tai's know by now not to be showing your faces where we can see them?"
"Especially when this one, i can never tell if you're a dude or not." Another said while grabbing the Yonban-tai Hachiseki by the neck.
"Can we just do our work, already?" The tallest of the Yonban-tai trio asked. "We're almost done with the portion of the estate your Taichō brok-."
Which only added to the problem. "Huh?! Don't think you can talk about Zaraki-Taichō just cause ya look like one of us, dammit." The first was shouting as a fourth punched him in the gut.
The smaller of the trio called out to him as he was plucked off the ground, at which time the observing Taichō decided she'd seen enough. "You're disrupting our work." She ordered as Ōmaeda plodded into view after his errand was done.
"Suì-Fēng-Taichō?!" The man holding Hanatarō asked in a panic.
"Your fortunate that this area is no longer part of the crime scene, but Zaraki-Taichō still broke that wall while saving the head of a noble clan." She reminded the aggressors.
"As was stated by many of my family's guards." A younger voice exclaimed. "I could not help but overhear shinigami disgracing themselves near my property." They are all told by a brown haired girl in a purple kimono with a night sky theme, who was accompanied by two of the aforementioned guards.
"Shall i add "disturbing the peace" to their misconduct report, Amagake Ojō-sama?" Suì-Fēng offered, only for them to bow so hard that one bashed his head onto the street tiles before all of them apologized and fled.
The young clan head instructed her guards to get the Yonban-tai shinigami to their feet.
"We appreciate the help just now, Amagake-sama, Suì-Fēng-Taichō." Hanatarō said, but she only huffed at him.
"You can thank me by not disgracing yourself; if you're a m... a shinigami, then act like one."
As the two women walked away, Ogidō, Aoga, and Ōmaeda could only stare blankly. "Is it just me, or was the Niban-tai Taichō hitting on Yamada-senpai?" The former wondered.
"Damn it all, how could they let this happen!" Buford demands, having just learned of the outcome of his Fukutaichō's mission. He naturally expected her task to go awry in a few ways, but desertion was not one of them.
Flashback. Karakura.
Once she could move again, Dang saw that it was not Kurosaki who broke through the space they had been trapped in. "Yoruichi? Another of the ryoka is here?" Thao thought as the newcomer spoke to the assassin. She then sensed the disappearance of nearby reiatsu signatures matching those of the man infront of her.
Having realized that Kurosaki hadn't been the one to free them even after all the feats he'd accomplished, she looked to him as Yoruichi resumed boasting before she interrupted. "Those katana of yours... did the Juniban-tai requisition them?"
"I will not say."
Thao tried again. "Are they be used against Aizen?" Hanza raised a brow at this, which was all she needed. "If so, then..." She glanced to the other two, then bent over and a cloud of red smoke suddenly enveloped them as Hanza stepped back in surprise.
"...ikai seyo rond...no kokken. Ichidoku...mizukar...o kaki kiru ga ī. B...dō no kyu, Hōrin." Yoruichi heard from her as she and Ichigo were coughing.
"Dang-san, have you-"/"Ichigo, look out!" They said too late and were caught by the spell. "Don't do this!" Yoruichi pleaded. "Whatever you're plotting, it won't work agains-"
"It will. But first, i must first speak with the Kasumiōji clan head." Thao said to both her and Hanza.
End flashback.
"What did Kurosaki Ichigo and Shihōin Yoruichi say occurred next, Unohana-Taichō?" Yamamoto asks her.
"Sadly, they informed Iemura-sanseki that she surrendered and volunteered to be struck unconscious."
Yamamoto stamps his pseudo-staff against the floor. "We cannot allow any more shinigami to defect." He announces, with both eyes open, as he stands up and calls for Sasakibe. He has no intention of letting Kumoi get the better of him again.
"Stop!" Buford says suddenly, just knowing the Niban-tai will be sent for. "...Apologies. Soutaichō, we already knew that it was too soon for my Fukutaichō to be sent out for a matter of this importance. I'll find out what she is up to, if you permit it."
Yamamoto stares him down for a few seconds before looking to the three nobles. Kuchiki-Taichō says nothing, whereas the Shihōin clan head nods. "While we have yet to secure an intact sample of whatever weapons the Kasumiōji are producing in order to counter them, they can't match anything we of the Shihōin possess. One less shinigami will not be to our disadvantage."
The third man hesitates, intentionally. "Abstain. Those second-rate tinkerers are the Goteijūsantai's problem, not the Tsunayashiro's."
Yamamoto thinks for a moment, and decides that the majority rules in favor of Pendleton-Taichō. "Find your Fukutaichō and bring her to her senses within seven days." He declares. "Should you fail, it will be grounds for Dang Thao's immediate execution."
Buford takes a breath before replying. "There will be no failure, Soutaichō. I'll retrieve her, or slay her myself."
At this point, though, another voice was heard. "Might i suggest something, Taichō?"
At the Kasumiōji compound.
As Thao is in another room to replace her Shihakushō with the assassin's garb, Kumoi hears somebody walk into his office. "Is her claim true, Kumoi?" The person asks him.
"Her claim? Ah, you mean regarding Aizen Sōsuke." Kumoi replied as he waved a fan at himself. "Yes, Amagai-san. He was here long ago to examine my work, but was dismissive of it."
"Because of the device he removed from the Kuchiki girl?"
"The Hōgyoku. He told me that the Bakkōtō are inferior to it, and left." He said angrily, not wanting to admit he became slightly convinced after hearing of the incident. "That fool will soon regret the day he met me."
"He shall indeed." Shūsuke replied cryptically.
Shinigami Zukan.
Once Buford and Ōmaeda have left, Ukitake speaks to his shorter sanseki. "How did your day go, Kiyone?"
She turns to him and sighs. "Lousy; he dragged "his little pumpkin muffin" around to the worst places." She tells him, and points to the cart behind her that's full of stuffed animals, clothes, and other packages. She holds up a book. "I don't wear hats, and i don't know how freaking young he thinks i am to make him buy a dozen of these!"
Ukitake leaned over and read the cover, which had a dog that was bigger then it's owner on it. "I'm not sure i see the problem." He said, as though taking notes for future use, causing her to give off an anger-vein.
Send a review or PM if i should have combined this with ch.1 please.