Author's response to unknown reviews.
To unknown reviewer: Zenkari
We at Ocasio industries recognize, the points you are making and we offer our sinceriest when we say: We try our best for entertainment. Come rain, hail, shine and possibly being a teacher, we strive to provide semi-decent entertainment at the low, low price of Zero dinero. Now for changes...hmm well technically there's more than five but that's neither here nor there. We follow closely to the story like with just the changes of reasons and personel, that is all that we do...unless we are misunderstanding your question: In which Ocasio industries provides plausible deniability.
To: MP Enchanter
Yes. I like happy ending myself. They make me feel way more optmistic about the world around me. Give a thumbs up for postive thinking!
To: Guest (1)
I fearith not dracula. I hath played a array of castlevania titles. I hath no reason to shudder in his prescenes, unless he be real, then I have plenty.
To: Ziro
I'm filing that under suggestion category. Ooh the ways to spin it.
Aizen: Greetings viewers. I have an important announcement to make. As of this chapter I will now be incorporating my own fanfiction story. Yes. Blackout2010 has been gracious enough to let me use production funds for this task. So now you may rejoice. (Ahem) Without further ado play the fic.
Chapter 1: Aizen the great
In the dawn of time there once existed a man who would exceed all other his name was...
Blackout2010: Aaaaand that's all the time alloted by your funding.
Aizen: W-what!? But you said-
Blackout2010: I make a big fat ZERO in the funding department, Aizen. (turns away) Now you know what it feels like to have to create a production without proper funding. You gotta rely on spirit, gusto and lots of dedicated free time. Like this...ROLL THE OPENING CREDITS!
Chapter 26: Right and Wrong: Shaolin's choice
As the soft sounds of movement continued to ring in small intervals, the man lying on the bed grunted slightly his sleep disturbed by the noise. Prying his eyes open, the room around him was illuminated by the light of the sun. With groggy groan the man turned away from the window on his left. As he brought his hand down against the sheet of the bed he nuzzled into his pillow before closing his eyes again to drift back to sleep.
It was not a moment later that his eyes sprung open fully as he felt something was definitely different than before. He propped himself up on one arm and looked at the empty spot in front of him wondering why he had a nagging feeling. Thinking hard on it he was rewarded with a single thought "Shaolin" he muttered as it finally came together.
Shaolin had been sleeping in that spot beside him but was now strangely absent. Recalling the events of last night he looked towards the other end of the bed and saw that Senna was missing as well 'Where'd they go!?' he asked himself as he slid out of the bed cautiously
He soon heard the sound of something shuffling followed by a loud resounding shout of pain from the door leading to Soifon's office. Fearing that the scream was caused by one of the two girls, he moved as fast as he could to the door. Hoping that maybe he'd be able help them if they were being hurt by something.
The loud crashing of the door, as it was violently ripped open and slammed against the wall, accompanied by the loud yell of 'What's going on are you alright!?' from Ichigo had been more than enough for the captain to jump in surprise in her chair.
The documents that the busy woman had been carefully organizing and filing through for the last twenty minutes were suddenly thrown in the air in a scattered cloud with one hand while she bit down on the poor finger in her mouth that she had momentarily stopped to nurse after the wicked paper cut she just received.
Steadying her shaking hand, the captain inhaled and exhaled rather quickly as she closed her eyes and leaned back against her cozy chair with her right hand pressed against her chest to calm down her rapidly beating heart.
Once she steadied herself again, she pushed her body out of the chair and gaze a fearsome glare at her loud mouth boyfriend. "Jesus Christ, Ichigo! You nearly gave me a heart attack! You're indoors, so use your indoor voice!" she demanded in her typical bossy 'Soifon' manner
Before Ichigo could open his mouth to offer reasons as to why he did what he did, and effectively cut her off before she went down the war path, she prevented him by suddenly stopping herself. Much to his surprise her volatile reaction was short lived; instead of proceeding to chew out whoever got on her nerves per the norm at work she went blank in the face when she got a better more concentrated look in Ichigo's direction. The fuse to her oncoming rant seemingly snuffed out from what her eyes were telling her brain.
The man watched with the deepest perplexion as the woman's head slowly tilted downward further and further away from his face before settling down at a nice forty-five degree angle. After a moment of staring at whatever had caught her eye, she returned her gaze back up to Ichigo, this time with a light but noticeable blush running across her face.
The woman gave a forced cough to stifle the laughter that threatened to escape her lips; while she did succeed in that endeavor the resulting smile that came from both amusement and playful joy wouldn't be so easily quelled from her face.
As the redness began to fade the woman looked at the man bemused and decided to answer the very silent but very obvious question that was on his mind "By the way Ichigo are you really that happy to see me? Or are you secretly one of those masochistic types who enjoys being abused and yelled at?" she said coolly, while pointing downward with her index finger.
Ichigo let the words sink in before he forced himself to look down as she had done. He was rewarded for his effort by getting a firsthand glance at his morning wood; which was busy giving quite the salute to the captain it was intimately familiar with.
With the blood rushing to his head the man quickly closed his legs in embarrassment while he slapped his forehead with an audible thwack. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been for forgetting that he was naked now that he was thinking clearly. He went to sleep without any clothes on and obviously hadn't put on any when he got out of the bed to come to Shaolin's office, so he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he had
Unfortunately this would become a life lesson in always making sure you had clothes on because it was at this moment in time that Senna came into the room carrying a tray full of food. "Ok, so I really didn't know what would have been good so I-"
Her words died in her throat upon seeing the naked strawberry she called Ichigo staring, with a very prominent erection, at her Sensei and his girlfriend. The tray of food comically slipped out of Senna's hand and clattered against the ground dully, while Senna closed her eyes harshly, incredulous at the situation she walked in on "Geeeez, you two are something else! We we're up all the way to 3 am! It's 11 now and you can't wait till later on in the day before getting 'busy at work'!?" she yelled unable to believe the amount of shamelessness they had in going at it so soon while she was making sure everyone was able to eat.
If they were truly so desperate they could have locked the door or put up a sign saying be back later after all. But nope not now!
"It's not like that damn it!" Ichigo yelled desperately trying to clear up the misconception brought on by his own stupidity while Shaolin snickered at his expense.
"Yeah, yeah. I totally believe it nature boy." Senna teased sarcastically, as she bent down and salvaged what food she could
"Uugh! You guys suck! I only came out here because you both disappeared and I got worried! You know what if either of you go missing again see if I pay any mind!" Ichigo roared as he stormed back into the room to get changed, while Shaolin reached into her desk and pulled out a band aid for her cut.
"Someone's a comedy show in the morning." Shaolin said as she walked over to go assist her student after sticking the band on.
"Thanks I try." She replied in an easy going tone befitting her
"Was he like this back in the human world?"
"Not that I know of but if he did walk around naked it was thankfully not in front of me. I can't make any comments about Rukia though."
The two shared a small laugh as the teacher bent over and assisted in putting some of the more salvageable food back on the tray "So Senna what will you do now?" The girl looked confused about what she was asking so she clarified "About Ichigo I mean. What do you want to do?"
To her surprise Senna actually seemed to stop and really consider her question. After briefly thinking it over she said "I suppose I'll have to talk with him and apologize. I really did put him in a corner yesterday, haha." She then smiled serenely "I'm not gonna pressure him any more than I have. I'm just gonna give him time and let him decide for himself, just like you'll decide on me."
"That's very mature of you Senna." The woman said surprised in the shift in attitude
The girl scratched her cheek out of embarrassment "Well…some of the things you said yesterday they've really sunk in. It turns out you're right, I was selfish. I do love him and I want to be with him but that shouldn't come at the expense of your happiness. So after hearing what you said last night I figured that if you're going to be fair to me, then I need to be fair to you, so I'm going to really commit myself to being more mature and…more receptive to the both of you."
The girl gave a sideways glance and spoke a little softer "But umm could you promise me something?" she asked while the other woman acknowledged that she was listening "If thing don't work out with me and him, could you please promise me that you'll look out for him for me. I worry about him.
Shaolin's eyes softened as she touched the shoulder of the idealist "I will." She then allowed a mischievous smile to dance across her face "But in return my apprentice, I would ask in that you help me eliminate our common enemy, Urahara-baka." She finished having learned that the girl was briefly 'taught' by the mad scientist, and was more than eager to get back at him for both her sake and for Yoruichi-sama's continued state of purity in an environment free of the man's foul odor and perverted ways.
Senna then mirrored the girl smile "Oh, don't worry Sensei. I plan on getting ass-hat for every injustice he's done to female kind." She returned just as menacingly already working on rough drafts that she'd have final versions of for after the winter war was over.
The two girl continued to share their thoughts of torture of the blonde genius, even as Ichigo walked back into the room, which perplexed the man to no end, and left him wondering if the two of them getting along was a good omen or not.
Shrugging off the feeling he started to walk towards the door "I'll be back in a flash, I gotta grab something."
Seeing her chance to talk to him, Senna spoke up "Not without me!" She exclaimed forcibly inviting herself as Ichigo reached for the door. He momentarily stopped in his tracks and sent her an odd look as if to ask why, a question she had an easy to use excuse for "Hey, ease up on the look. I just wanna make sure you don't go dropping your junk in front of any other easily impressionable ladies." She chided like a mother hen
'Tch. Ya know she's got a point.' Hichigo commented with his finger stroking his clean shaven chin, as he viewed the girl and her dynamics.
'Shut up you! You're supposed to be on my side!' Ichigo mentally retorted
The creature shrugged like he didn't care 'Hey, I call it like I see it.'
'Then stop look at her chest and more at her face!' Ichigo yelled as a tick mark appeared on his face
'Huh? Did you say something, King?' the creature feigned not hearing the man, which earned him a down pour of water from the man's soul scape as retaliation for the comment. 'Fucking bastard, just wait till I get my hands on you.'
Tuning out the threat, Ichigo gave a shrug "Sure, why not Senna. Though, I'm not going on a magical adventure or anything." He then stopped and considered his words much more carefully "I better not be." He added in a low murmur not wanting to tempt fate any further. The two girls due to close proximity sweat dropped, at the strange measure of truth to his words.
He just couldn't catch a break.
Stepping out of the office, Ichigo and Senna walked down the hallway. To Senna's infinite surprise, they had arrived at their destination much sooner than they anticipated. "This is your room, isn't it?" Senna asked since he was the fourth seat and they'd only gone three doors down from the captain's. Heck, her temporary room was right next door.
"Yeah, it is." Ichigo confirmed as he used his key to unlock the door, and then stepped in, with Senna following closely behind him.
"Huh, so this is where you live…" Senna said taking in the small room, while Ichigo walked over to the nearby dresser "It's not very colorful." She determined considering the lack of adornments and other objects in the room.
"Yeah, well, there aren't as many decorator shops over on this side." Ichigo said as he stopped his looking for what he came to grab and looked over his shoulder to his partner "Most Shinigami tend to decorate their rooms with stuff they obtain from the human world, since that place has the most variety of fabric, toys, and other knickknacks and doohickeys. Pretty much their just souvenirs not really needed for survival."
"So that cat clock on the wall in Shaolin-sensei's room, that's a souvenir? I don't mean to sound rude but she really doesn't strike me for getting something that…tacky?" she said uncertainly, since while it wasn't anything special, considering the woman and her occupation, it was definitely out of place.
"That cat clock was actually a gift from Yoruichi. Truth be told, I'm actually surprised it's still around."
"Why's that?"
Ichigo turned away and went back to investigating his drawers "That was given to her from a long time ago, prior to the falling out that they had, before I even stepped into the picture. It was actually given to her after Lin-chan returned back from her first mission in the human world. So it's actually kind of a memento to her."
"Oh, right I remember you mentioning that Sensei and Yoruichi-dono had a huge falling out," she recalled back to the time at the cemetery and when confronting Yoruichi and Kisuke "Still seeing how they act now, you never would have thought they fought in the first place."
Ichigo nodded as he opened the next drawer "True. Time can heal all wounds."
"Hmm." Senna nodded to herself as she rocked back and forth in her spot "So what are you looking for?" she asked wondering what it is that he was rummaging through his stuff to find something. Which judging by his smile he unearthed at last.
The man pushed the drawer closed with one arm as he turned half-way around, "This." He said and held up a small silver ring that had a small medium-dark red ruby engraved just at the top of the band, physically embed it in.
Senna stared at it for a second, her mind processing what it was that her eyes were seeing "That's a ring," she said mechanically, 'Wait. Ichigo plus secrecy plus having his loving girlfriend Shaolin back plus a ring equals?' the woman's face then lit up coming to the correct path "You're gonna propose to her!?" She said in quiet excitement, trying to keep her voice as low as possible, though it didn't stop from her clasping her hands together and approaching closer to her brother.
"Y-yeah, well…" Ichigo lazily glanced away "I kind of already proposed to her yesterday."
That got her attention "You did? When? Was it before you met up with me?" she asked
"Actually…I proposed to her while we were in the middle of having sex." He answered sheepishly, scratching the side of his cheek in embarrassment, while Senna just gaped at him for his answer. "I think the reason you don't remember it was because you were still passed out from fatigue after you and I did it."
"You idiot!" she yelled as she whacked him on the head "Who the hell proposes to someone in the middle of sex!? Even I would have known not to do that!"
Ichigo chuckled slightly as he lifted his head back up, and rubbed the spot childishly, while he sent her a smile with one eye closed "Well, Sen, as you already know, me and Shaolin are an unorthodox couple to say the least, so might as well blaze our own path, right?"
The woman's pupils went to the top of her eyes while she shook her head playfully "You certainly are a weird bunch, but I guess it is kinda romantic." Senna then looked back down at the band "So why exactly did you get a ruby? I mean most people tend to get diamonds or pure gold rings." She asked curiously
Ichigo looked down at the item with a cautious expression "Well, I don't exactly get paid a lot, and the ruby was pretty expensive by itself so I couldn't afford a gold band. But I was pretty set on the gem since I wanted something meaningful and rubies are supposed to symbolize health, wisdom and success in love." He then looked away with a firm dash of red across the better portion of his face "I thought it represented us best, and would help our future. Then again I bought this before coming to the real world that second time around so maybe it was a bit soon to think 'help our future'."
To his surprise, Senna placed her hands around his arms and looked at him with a well aimed smile "Hey no need to be embarrassed. You put a lot of thought into it and she's head over heels for you. She's not as shallow as you're mental image of her so just do it. It's a great way to seal the deal."
"Heh, thanks for that." He said pocketing the ring somewhere safe in his outfit, while he ruffled the ribbon wearing woman's purple mop she called hair. "Let's go."
"Wait! Just a sec Ichigo!" the girl cried out, quickly seizing the opportunity before it closed itself
"What's up?" he asked unassumingly
"Umm…I want to talk to you real quick." The girl's cheek lit up "It's about…yesterday."
Ichigo's cheeks also lit up at what she said "Oh…ahh…" his voiced died due to the awkwardness of bringing it up, leaving the duo in an uncomfortable silence that neither really wanted to break.
After getting enough time to collect her thoughts Senna pushed herself onward "Before we had sex yesterday…when I confessed to you I really meant what I said." the woman grew red in the face "Every last word. I love you more than life itself Ichigo." As the flush went away Senna continued in a calm serious tone "Honestly I don't care if I have to share you with Shaolin or if I have to share you with a hundred different women. As long you don't treat me like a number or just use me for my body…as long as…"
She stopped to piece her words together to truly convey what she was trying to say "as long as you love me for who I am and mean it when you say it; that's enough for me." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear
The girl moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear "But at that same token I know how you are, the kind of person I mean, and well I didn't respect that…yesterday I…I took advantage of you. You're kind and want to help others out when you can. I preyed on that. I almost destroyed your relationship with Shaolin just so that I could have a shot with you." She explained with noticeable remorse "I don't want to stay that person if I am her and I don't want to be that person if I'm not. I don't want to force you to do anything that you're not okay with ever again. I respect you as a man, but I didn't respect you as my brother or as a committed individual."
The Miko scratched her cheeky softly "So…umm I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really sorry for all those times I never respected you like I should have. And I think that we should take things slow for a bit okay, Ichigo? If someday you decide to love me back and want to marry me too…I'll be waiting." She then shook her head softly "But if you decide you only want Shaolin as your wife then I can live with that. I'll be glad that you'll still care about me as your kid sister."
"Senna…" he whispered quietly before embracing her with a reassuring smile "I forgive you Senna and thank-you."
The woman turned an even darker red "Ahaha…a-anyways, umm I just wanted to say that I'll always be on your side." She then pulled away from the embrace albeit reluctantly "Let's go make a certain Chinese girl happy."
"Right."
The pair stepped outside the room and saw Shaolin was standing outside in the hallway reading a scroll of some kind. The captain's steel grey eyes kept going up and down each sentence, from the right to the left. Coming near the end of the document, she noticed the approaching bodies of both Kurosaki.
Seeing the stern look on his fiancé's face he asked the most apparent question "Is it an order from the Sou-taicho?" he inquired, since squad two was busy running patrols and delivering messages everywhere while the Seireitei recovered.
"No, it isn't." Shaolin replied quietly, "It's actually a summons from the family. They're requesting my immediate appearance."
"Really? Can I see?" asked Ichigo as he extended his hand outward to see what they might have wanted
The woman shook her head and folded the paper up to pocket it "I highly doubt either of you can read Mandarin Chinese." She said matter-of-factly
"No. I might be fluent in another language but Chinese isn't it."
"Sorry, I'm taking English as my foreign language."
"I thought as much." She then huffed out tiredly, already knowing this visit was going to be draining mentally and physically "Anyway, I might as well go see what they want. Last thing I need is for them to be bugging me at this crucial point in time about something stupid like needing a new training schedule or an approval for building materials or expansions."
"Can we come along then? At least if you're miserable you'll be miserable with friends." offered Ichigo, since he didn't want to miss an opportunity to give her the ring, since he didn't know when she'd be back or how tired she'd be.
The unknowing Taicho shrugged unfazed "Eh, I don't see why not. I'm still the leader of that place. Just be sure to get your Zanpaktou before we head out. You never know when Hollows might attack."
Gathering their weapons to protect themselves from any possible attacks, the team left the sanctuary of the Seireitei and went through the dusty feudal town of Rukongai, on route to east district number fifteen.
The way there was thankfully uneventful but as they approached the hill leading up to the compound they were immediately surrounded by a bunch of men in gear similar to Onimitsukido.
"Halt at-" the man started but when he saw Soifon leading the group his words died in his throat. The man quickly signaled for his fellow soldiers to stand down while he straightened up and bowed his head "My apologies Fon-dono." He offered having now realized he stopped the lord and lady of the Fon family while she was evidently on business.
"While I can certainly appreciate the fact that the level of vigilance hasn't gone down since my last visit, I must confess that your choice in stopping me and my guests has me disquieted." Shaolin said with an apathetic look, though her tone let them know she wasn't in a good mood "Would you care to explain the reason why you have surrounded us weapons drawn Yahiko Fon?"
The leader of the squad Yahiko shifted his eyes to the woman's guest who stood behind her hands on their weapons from the sudden ambush "We received word that a group was approaching but we were surprised to see that you were here with them." He explained
'Sure were pretty eager to engage the enemy. That's far from normal.' The captain thought to herself as her gaze grew just a smidge less friendly "And why is that cause for attack?"
"Once we drive them away outsiders typically don't return here a second time around and live. This is the second time for the boy, so hopefully we'll continue our hallowed tradition." He answered self-assuredly while all three of them had to stop themselves from yelling out a certain thief's name. "Regardless we apologize for holding you up. We will go on ahead and alert the facility to your arrival." The man and his team then disappeared from sight in a flurry of speed
"Talk about a jackass." Ichigo muttered to himself now that Yahiko was well out of sight. "Still kind of surprised they didn't know you were coming." He commented quietly, not really seeing how the supposed patrolmen wouldn't be well informed of their boss coming in; especially, after being summoned by their major decision makers.
"Incompetence takes many forms Ichigo. I thought Omeada would have taught you that." The captain reminded her disgruntled subordinate as she resumed walking "Come on let's get this over with before night fall."
Senna moved her hand away from her asauchi and then gazed off into the nearby trees spotting a few of the soldiers looking back at them intently, which caused her to shudder involuntarily. 'What's this ominous feeling?' she asked herself, as she watched her onlookers disappear in a burst of speed, in the direction of the complex.
Turning back to the path she decided to keep it to herself, as she ran to catch back up with her brother and Sensei. Coming to a large gate, the woman witnessed it slowly open before them as she rejoined the group. When it was sufficiently opened, the captain told them to come along inside the fortress.
"Wow, so this is where you live?" Senna asked as she observed the miniature old-fashion village inside the large stone enclosure.
The captain slowed her pace as she looked over her shoulders to her wide-eyed apprentice "Yes and no." she replied with a small look of reminiscence "I did live here when I was a little girl apprenticing under the combat master's watchful eye, and I do still have my spare living quarters from those training day, as well as my room for my current status as head of the family and first daughter; although, my division barrack is where I've lived the longest portion of my life and has nearly all my personal possessions; however few they may be." She answered and was going to continue walking on until she noticed Ichigo standing completely still gazing off in another direction.
Ending her gait, she turned around to follow his line of sight and see where it was that he was looking, which ended on an old wooden building that could have passed for a small temple belonging in some isolated mountain range. "You seem rather interested in that building, Ichigo." The captain commented taking note of her secret fiancé's linger gaze "Something on your mind?"
Ichigo spoke but kept his eyes steady on the place that kept giving him this strange feeling "I guess you could say that…" He then pointed at the place offhandedly "When I came here the first time and saw that building it…well…I don't know…it just made me feel depressed." He said trying to best describe the strange effect the hut had on him.
"Hmm." Senna glanced over, tearing her eyes away from the patrolling archers mounted along the walls, and over towards the building in question. She didn't have to look very long to get the full effect of the myriad of emotion simply radiating from the place "Whoa… I sense a lot of bad vibes coming from that place. I sense sadness, fear, but most of all I sense malice and spite. It's practically oozing out from the entrance way."
The woman shivered slightly from the Goosebumps she was getting from the relatively close proximity to the resonating aura "I don't know what that place is but I think we shouldn't go over there." She reported taking half a step backwards, feeling much safer now than before.
The court guard captain let out a heavy sigh at Senna's precise conclusion, "I can't say I'm surprised." She admitted with a soft murmur "That building," she thrusted her hand towards the object in question "is actually our so called 'burial ground'. It is the place where fallen members of the Fon family are laid to rest."
Ichigo turned his body towards Soifon on his left "That doesn't explain why me and Senna are feeling such a foreboding aura from the place; if it really is just a 'burial ground'."
The woman let out another heavy sigh "Senna probably senses all those things not only because mikos and priestesses are spiritually and emotionally more sensitive to things; but because what she said relates to an easily discernible truth about us."
The woman turned away from the tomb and gazed sadly into Ichigo's amber eyes, obviously disconcerted "We of the Fon family believe strength above all else is important. Strength allows us to fulfill our duty and by fulfill our duty we can thus obtain honor for the clan. This belief is instilled in every child of the family from the moment they are born and is tailored to their duty in life.
Soifon's eyes tore away from her boyfriend and rested at her feet "My belief was that I was born to protect the current head of the Shihoin clan; every mission that she went on and survived served as a validation of my worth. My death would only be seen as an 'acceptable loss' if I died ensuring Yoruichi-sama's survival. That belief superseded everything including my own freedom and happiness, my sense of self-preservation, and the bonds with my blood siblings."
Ichigo grimaced "Yeah, you told me about your brothers." he said knowingly as he brought a hand up and squeezed her shoulder gently. The only sign of reassurance he could give her in public.
While she kept her usual impassive expression, on the inside she was thanking him for giving her the strength to maintain composure and stay collected.
Meanwhile Senna was considering her story and was struggling to find the connection with her estranged siblings and the moral behind the story. 'I still don't see what this has to do with that.' Senna then looked back at the building and then the answer dawned on her 'Oh. I get what she means.' She thought sadly
"Yes, as you remember Ichigo, before I met you, Shinjiro, Subaru, and before I was taken in by Yoruichi-sama. My brothers had all died in the various mission related to the stealth and punishment force. You remember how cold and ruthless I was back when we first met, so it should be no surprise that they'd be angry at me, when I was so much worse when they had perished. I cursed and hated them for their weakness; blinded by my own perceptions of strength. It's only after meeting you and so many other people that I at last found my heart."
The woman's expression became slightly more mournful "Unfortunately such a small change would mean little to them. They know I hated them much longer than I had otherwise given a second thought too. It is something that I will need to live with." She then shook herself of her self-wallowing before looking back to Senna albeit solemnly "But to affirm what you said, that is no doubt what you sense, the anger and regret from various clansmen who have been credited only as disgraces after death despite their efforts must linger in that tomb." She then turned away and back to the road ahead "Let's be on our way. I don't want to be around this place any longer than necessary."
The team then walked on passing by the enormous training field filled with men and women in black garbs sparring, which Ichigo saw some of the dirty looks they, or rather he, was receiving. Still they made their way past them, and continued on until they reached the end where the two guards on standby were.
The guards crossed their spears in front of the door and the one on the right spoke "It is a private audience. The outsiders must wait in the training field."
"Fine." Shaolin said aloud rolling her eyes from the sheer stupidity of all this. "Go on you two. I'll be back in a moment." She dismissed, leaving the group to enter the room alone.
When the woman disappeared behind the door, Ichigo tapped Senna on the shoulder and nudged his head in the direction they came in. As the pair disappeared, the guard on the left lifted his spear and tapped it against the ground twice, giving a silent signal.
In an instant a number of soldiers appeared from the hallways "You are to follow the orders given by decree of the council. Be advised your target is heading in the direction of the courtyards and has an associate that should be treated with caution. Yahiko's unit will support you so do not engage the target until he has reached there. Move out at once." the spearman ordered, as the men silently nodded their head before vanishing from sight.
(Ichigo and Senna)
A small chill ran up Senna's spine, making her look back in the direction they came, while she put a hand to the back of her neck against the standing hairs. Ichigo stopped walking as he looked back at his stock still compatriot "You alright?" he asked concernedly
"Ahh…I just had a bad feeling." She said feeling like a target for some strange reason; she then looked back at Ichigo with worry "Umm, brother. I think now might be the time to tell you something, I saw earlier."
"What's that?" Ichigo said not liking where this might be heading
"Back at the hill, I saw a couple of them staring at us for a bit longer, before disappearing ahead. It made me feel really uneasy, and that same feeling just crept back up on me, less than a second ago."
Ichigo's eyes lowered fiercely "Now that you mention I was getting a few dirty-" he suddenly stopped talking, as he started scanning nearby reiatsu feeling the masked presences of others quickly approaching
"What's wrong?" Senna asked as she took a step closer to Ichigo
"Quiet." He hushed then spoke in a whisper "Someone's there, watching us." He then turned around "Keep walking like everything's normal and don't make any sudden moves." He spoke lowly, as he took a step forward to continue the conversation.
"Is this normal or is this something else?" Senna asked to get a better feel for the situation, since her sensing skills weren't up to the level of Ichigo, thus they were invisible to her.
"No." he said with cold finality, "Something tells me, we're gonna have to get ready for a fight."
Senna was going to open her mouth to ask why they didn't fight now, when the instincts Shaolin and Yoruichi drilled in her kicked in, allowing her take in the surroundings. Narrow corridors. Meaning Zangetsu wouldn't be able to be used, and Mirokumaru couldn't be utilized efficiently either.
Now she understood. They were going to take it outside where they'd have much more room to move, perhaps more enemies, but definitely life saving mobility.
(Shaolin)
The small four foot eleven Taicho walked through the double doors and into the chamber of the council. She silently scanned the room and noticed that only one member was missing from the assembly; which was the man who would normally sit on her immediate right when she was working alongside the assembly.
Still she knew she would find the answer for his absence momentarily and proceeded to the center of the room, where a small pillow was laid in the center for her, to speak to the elders who sat in their inward curving crescent moon shape formation. Shaolin brought both legs down as she sat upon her knees, and took a moment to remove her Haori and Zanpaktou, placing each precious object at the sides of her hands. Looking back up once herself assigned task was done; the woman raised her voice to address them civilly if irritably "So why is it that I have been summoned here? I have my hands full dealing with problems in Soul Society. What could be so pressing that you'd interrupt me doing my job as a Taicho to come here and clear up something as the head of Fon?"
"As we said in our message: we felt it was most urgent and since it will affect not only you but the clan as well, we believed it should be brought to you attention here in your home, milady." A man said from Shaolin's diagonal right hand side.
Shaolin however didn't bother to look in the speaker's direction "If that is so then tell me," she pointed beside the spot she normally sat at "Why is one of our numbers missing from such an important meeting?"
"Head Councilman Fon has fallen extremely ill."
Now Soifon turned her eyes at the speaker and gave a very hard glare "Explain." She commanded in a low pitch
Slowly getting up from his cushion the Fon elder open his mouth to adhere to the request "The man has been getting frailer and frailer as of late. He…unfortunately collapsed." The man closed his eyes and shook his head despondently, his voice continuing quieter than usual "It is unlikely that he will live."
'What!?' The captain's eyes widened just a fraction, though to those who saw it, they knew of the deep concern in them. She was about to raise her voice, when she remembered who she was talking too, and inhaled while simultaneously clenching her fist behind her back to control herself.
After recomposing herself, she spoke in a controlled tone yet abrasive tone, letting a small token of her anger be released "So then tell me why this was not brought to my attention earlier. Given the nature of the plane we live in and the longevity of spirits, you will have to forgive me for being rather skeptical on what you say, as people don't just suddenly collapse and fall on their death bed so easily, you fool!"
She then turned away disgustedly from the man and addressed the committee as a whole "Tell me, and I ask this question to all of you wise councilmen, why is it that no one decided to petition to me to bring a doctor from the fourth division to heal one of our oldest and founding member of our clan, or better yet, why did you not go do it yourselves?" she asked dangerously, testing to see who had the balls to either own up or try and bullshit their way out of this.
"It was just too sudden." A voice said quietly within the faceless masses, though the woman heard a certain amount of smugness behind it. "We thought he would be fine initially, and then when he became bedridden we tried to cure him ourselves, so as not to involve outsiders and save some face within out clan. However…our plan failed, as simple as that."
'You expect me to believe that a clan of warriors and assassins who've dedicated their lives to the kill, are going to be in possession of a doctorate in the medical arts!? Toxins and explosive compounds yes, Practical medicine no.' she thought to herself darkly, as she was now beginning to think something more was going on here, and that foul play was definitely involved.
The Taicho decided to change the subject, before she grabbed Suzumebachi and end up putting someone else on their death bed, "Tell me what it is that you want to tell me so that I may be on my way." She snarled impatiently
"Yes, let's do get back on track." A bald council man said coolly, as he turned his head back to his leader, who brought her eyes to rest on him "We, the council, have decided upon the accepting of a certain policy which will bring about a much needed change."
"That's what you called me all the way out here for!?" she shouted incredulously "Oh for the love of, if you wanted my vote on something you could have just a sent it in the message. I would have answered back immediately, a day later tops." She then wrinkled her nose and shot a dirty look "But, instead of utilizing that logical solution, you instead opt to wasting precious time by dragging me out here for a simple announcement!?"
The man smiled cruelly "We are not asking for your opinion or input." He pointed out which made the woman tilt her head wondering what he was getting at "We have decided to accept the marriage proposal between our family and the Omeada clan; the marriage between yourself, Milady, and Omeada-sama." Shaolin's eyes immediately turned to hate, as she figured out what this was really about. "It has been decided by us that it would be most beneficial. And before you say anything, the bi-law created by your two outsiders is null and void, as they are not present to enforce it. We also know the reason why they are not present."
The man's eyes narrowed, as the ice queen of Seireitei returned such a glare with unequaled distaste "We know those two are nothing but filthy, disgusting Rukongai trash that shamefully brought dishonor to this clan by their intimate association with the traitor Sosuke Aizen during his coup d'état, an association that forced our hand in regain our lost honor, an association that was allowable by your actions, milady."
Clenching her fist in anger, the female captain stood up slowly from her spot, her eyes never leaving off the person who poured burning salt upon open wounds. "Deplorable." She muttered "You have no right to speak such words, not against my honor or their own. I will not lie though and say I am pleased by what they have done and while I will not take their lives as penance they will be brought before justice. However you lot speak of what you know nothing about and that is unacceptable."
She then quickly moved her foot and pulled back on her heel, throwing the weapon into her hand, so she could pull out the sword directly at the man "So consider this your first and last warning," her eyes then narrowed as she started to release her spiritual pressure "and for you sake I hope use your wisdom and shut your mouth!"
The fuming woman then glanced to her sides sizing them all up "Now the next matter to address: Do you honestly think I'm just going to nod my head moronically and agree to these backdoor deals like a sheep being lead to the slaughter? If you did, you are sadly mistaken. For all my life I've done nothing except what people have told me to do and frankly I'm getting sick and tired of it and all the unnecessary shit it's brought me." the faint image of Ichigo standing courageously flickered in her mind "And that is why I'm going to forge my own path. I'd sooner embrace banishment then spend another second listening to you pervade the air with your abhorrent words."
"For a little girl who always used to cling to her father's coat you can certainly talk a big game, Taicho." The man directly to the left of the center said calmly despite the battle ready captain in front of them "But tell me do you think you have a choice? We are not as dumb as you would care to believe. While we might have grown weaker in our age, our minds haven't lost their edge too much."
He then stood up and gestured around the room "Consider where you are along with your proclamation: You would declare us as wrong and threatened us with violence if you don't get your way this essentially makes you an enemy to both us and the clan. One we have little reason not to eradicate save for following our will. You are strong without a doubt, but could you defeat every single man, woman, and child in this compound, all of whom have been training to fight against Hollows and are willing to throw their lives away at but a moment's notice? Even in the outcome that you should live and escape our fortress, have you thought about how it would affect you and the world around you?" the man smirked and continued in his condescending tone
"Of course not, such is the rashness of youth. How would you explain the situation to the court guard squads and the Sou-taicho? You will be accused and found guilty of killing hundreds if not thousands of individuals! Your name and credibility: black listed with a price placed upon your head, your coveted status as a Taicho: rescinded and revoked, all the spiritual powers and abilities you attained from training and battle: forever sealed away, and for what?" he asked, pausing to get a reaction out of her but only received a cold stare "Because, you simply wouldn't put aside your personal feelings; and do something for the greater good of your own clan? Is it not one of the duties as a high-ranking commanding officer of the Gotei 13 to put the needs of the many over the needs of the few?"
"You think I don't know the repercussions of my actions?" she asked rhetorically "I am quite aware that the Sou-taicho and the other Taicho's will not look favorably upon me for what I'm about to do to you for putting me in this situation; however, I'm not going to submit my free will to you just because it conveniences you."
"Hahahaha! You say it like you have a choice." A new voice said from behind the Taicho. Turning around the bluenette's eyes widened for a mere moment before turning to mere slits at who she spied entering the door.
Her Fuku-taicho Marechiyo Omeada.
"I was wondering what that foul odor was though I shouldn't be surprised to see you here." The captain bit coldly, as the man gave a cheshire grin in return "You will have to excuse me for not rolling out the red carpet over your ugly ass."
The large man laughed again "Oh captain, my captain. Never short on wit. It's one of the things I love about you most." He then looked slyly at her "Bet you figured out the reason why I'm here and the reason why you lose this time."
"It's because of your status as the first born of one of the four great noble families." She answered not missing a beat "Even if I were to go killing everyone here, you would fall under one of two scenarios. You'd either become the sole witness to the crimes I'd committed and with whatever back-up plan you might have indict me and have me declared unfit for duty. Thus promoting you to the position of Taicho, where you would no doubt offer me a place in the maggots nest instead of burning at the Sokyoku, using the fact of my loyalty to Soul Society as leverage for the decision."
A scowl slowly started to grow as she continued with the nightmare scenario "And while I'm chained to the walls in the maggot's nest completely defenseless I can rest assured that you'll be visiting my cell every single day to make sure I "don't try to escape" until I either die or submit myself to you and become your play-thing." She spat not daring to sugar coat it by saying wife, which she couldn't notice the man didn't bother denying.
"Keep going." The grinning nobleman urged for her to continue to unravel his master plan
"From there you'd keep my powers sealed so that I couldn't challenge you and because of my previous actions made public, no doubt thanks to you, no one would ever believe me that this whole thing was set up between you and my family." She then allowed herself to glance behind her at the silent but unobjecting councilors before turning back to the visage of overweight and spoke with a low gritted tone. "Conversely if I did kill you along with the rest of the clan, you probably left some kind of note to you family detailing that you'd be here for a meeting. And given the nature of our security, only someone with enough influence or direct blood relation could enter here and with me being the sole survivor and having already registered that I've departed the Seireitei which overlaps with the time you departed, it wouldn't be very long before rumors and suspicions arise. That is of course if they don't try and arrest or kill me first." She surmised "I'm even willing to wager that you were the one who helped supply the materials to poison High Councilman Fon. You visit frequently enough about the merging between our clans; it wouldn't be too much trouble to slip it in his tea since he doesn't consider you a threat but an annoyance."
The woman crossed her arms while her aura radiated her threatening demeanor "So tell me Marechiyo. Did I hit the nail on the head or is there a little more to your plan that I failed to recognize?"
"Well since you're asking oh so nicely I would like to inform you on my side plan to have my own personal harem." He uttered deviously, licking his lips at some of his perspective choices "I know you have a very good relationship with Yoruichi-sama. I certainly don't mind inviting her over from time to time, maybe even financially supporting her clan back to fame in exchange for her hand. There's also that girl from the invasion the one you and carrot head are constantly around. Despite probably being a commoner with just a little etiquette training she'd definitely be a nice addition to the fold and I can't forget about that other commoner beauty Lyn-chan."
The man felt his heart skip a beat from mentioning the girl while Soifon had to resist the urge to vomit from a combination of his re-mentioning of her and his grand perverse desires. Mistaking her disgusted expression for hazy memory the man clarified "You met her remember? At the festival last year. Real sweet girl that one, looks exactly like you too; could easily pass as your twin sister; once I find her the three of us can have some private time to chat and catch up."
"Oh?" she muttered with thinly veiled anger and distaste "The only harem you'll ever have is a desperate for compensation narcissus obese-obsessed all male harem. As for the girl who looks like me tell me was that her in your little pornographic book or was that book depicting how you intended to treat me if father or I had accepted your proposal?"
"Hahaha! You found that! Wow! I hope you liked it, I did try my best to get you right…but I just felt a little…role reversal was necessary. We can experience the real thing at a later time. Still I must commend you for being ever so through. Finding out not only about my little hobbies books but also being able to know me so completely. I dare say your ability to read me is a sign of destiny." The man said care freely as he took a step forward "So the ball is in your court, Soifon-chan, what will you do? Become my wife willingly or go through a plethora of things involving pain, humiliation, disgrace, imprisonment, special visits, and ultimately still becoming my wife. Don't take too long to decide my dear, I want to have some alone time with you." He chided arrogantly as he stuffed his hands in his pocket, while his grin increased in size for finally getting the woman of his dreams but also for being able to one up Kurosaki in the end.
The woman took a step forward with her fist clenched, ready to make her option apparent, when she stopped and felt something; like a small ripple of energy. The ripple waxed and waned in feeling, then started to draw closer towards them, seemingly unnoticed by the others around her, she wondered what it was she was feeling until realization began to finally dawn on her, her face slowly lighting up by his impeccable timing "ha…hehe…" she found herself starting to chuckle, getting worried glances from the men in the room for the odd choice in action. They all wondered if they had inflicted enough psychological torture to make her mind collapse upon itself "ahahahahaha! Oh, this is too rich!" she laughed aloud at some unseen joke which only she seemed to know. She then wiped her eye as if a tear had escaped and spoke in her usual calm, controlled and mocking tone of voice "Never have I laughed so hard in my life, I must thank you for that excellent show of entertainment." Giving a back-handed compliment "before…"
"Before what wench!?" one of the men demanded, only to be silenced as the nearby wall exploded as the debris flew inward, while the rubble from the wall collapsed away. Then two figures stepped out of the smoke one a orange haired boy with a large sword, the other a girl with purple hair and a golden staff and saber, the two of them wearing Hakama's of the Shinigami while behind them lying face down on the ground were a just a few of the many unconscious Fon assassins, that led all the way through the hallways and outside.
"Before, I present my counter-argument." Soifon said calmly as she 180'd to direct a sharp eye back to the assembly "Now, what's the matter? You all don't have to look so pale. I'd like to keep the bloodshed to a minimum; that's why I have the perfect idea to settle this little debate." She then turned around and as she did, sent a small wink to Ichigo who nodded "You and You" she pointed to Ichigo then Omeada "Will do battle to decide this problem. Should Ichigo win, then this entire thing is called off. Should Omeada win then we go along with the plan." She then stared into Omeada's face with a frigid glare "I'm sure you'll be fine with that as your opponent is no doubt weakened from having fought to get here, unless of course, you'd rather I go with my first course of action which was to break your nose before I walked all over you." She hissed
Now the giant glared back at the girl who was supposed to be his obedient fiancé "Why should I? The way it stands, even if he has shown up, he's nothing more than a weak traitor to Seireitei. It's probably only because of luck that strawberry over there survived against Byakuya and then Aizen. HEH! More than likely they thought they killed him and he just feigned death besides, when it comes down to it, in the grand scheme of things, he's just a bystander who has no say and no respect, easily replaceable."
The woman closed her eyes and shook her head unsure of if it was pity or disbelief in the man's idiotic illusions he had casted upon himself. Aizen and Kyoka Suigetsu would have a run for their money in creating something this bad. Opening up her viewing orbs again, she looked at Ichigo lazily "I see. Tell me Ichigo, I want an impromptu but full report on every major achievement and accomplishment you have done within recent memory, right now."
The man smirked as he raised two fingers to his eye brow "Not a problem Taicho. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, I am one of the Seireitei dubbed and localized leader of the group called the 'Infil-traitors', a group who successfully broke into the Seireitei and assisted in the fighting against Aizen. The woman beside me is Senna, a fellow Infil-traitor." He then looked over at Omeada through his peripherals "Not to correct you too much, but I'm not lucky, that's why I had to fight and defeat Captain Byakuya Kuchiki in battle. I didn't get the easy way out of giving up or him surrendering, so get your facts straight." He then looked back to the other men sitting in their crescent moon formation "I'm also the son of the Miracle Worker, and ex-Taicho of squad four, Masaki Kurosaki as well as Isshin Kurosaki a noble clansman."
"I don't know of any noble clan or family that goes by Kurosaki." One of the men out cried not believing it for a second, while Ichigo himself did feel inclined to agree with him, since it was a long shot using Isshin's title without proof, but didn't for the sake of argument.
No need to give them an edge.
"Belief or disbelief rest with you, but you can't disprove the fact that I have connections through to the Kuchiki family by Rukia Kuchiki; whom I and the rest of us on the team saved." He countered which got the men to start to talk amongst themselves, but was cut short as Ichigo stepped forward and tightened his grip on his Zangetsu "Look, I didn't come here to argue, and have only been as patient as I have out of courtesy for my Taicho. So I'm going to make things really simplified from how Soul Society is gonna see things, now that you know who I am." He then pointed his sword at them to intimidate them
"They're gonna wonder just what was the cause for the massacre, exactly as you say, but when they see my involvement they're gonna be giving me a good ear, since not only I did save their butts after they tried to kill me, but I have a rather impressive track record with the Kuchiki clan, former Shiba Clan, former Shihoin clan whose princess, Yoruichi I might add, would love to hear what you're doing to her apprentice, and I have the backing of captain's for squad thirteen, ten, eight, four and TWO, Lastly, I have been selected to be the incumbent Taicho of squad three after Aizen has been dealt with: a selection made by the Sou-taicho Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai himself. So I suggest you take the battle bet with me and Omeada, otherwise I'm just gonna slaughter you all, like I originally intend after finding out how you tried to assassinate me and Senna back there, but didn't because you were Soifon-Taicho's clansmen." He finished as a heavy silence filled the room
The multitude of men on the council looked to each other, and all nodded their head seeing that their plan had fallen through, and everything now rested on this decision, since now that their overwhelming numbers were gone, this was merely a mercy decision on the trio who could slaughter them and get away with it "Very well. You shall fight in the training field now." The man on the far right said through gritted teeth.
"Glad, that you see things our way." Shaolin replied hatefully as she turned to head towards the battle zone with Ichigo and company, and fill them in on some things.
(Outside)
After finding an open area free of unconscious fighters the crowd of individuals separated far away from the two combatants, with Ichigo on the far right hand side and Omeada on the opposite end. The taller man glaring hatefully at the one obstacle who always seemed to be getting in his way regardless of everything he'd done to ensure success. Ichigo on the other hand was ignoring his opponent and looking at Shaolin, and nodded his head before turning back to his enemy, promising to prolong the fight so she could do one last task.
"Are you two ready?" Senna asked, as she had been appointed Referee for the match, the two flags she held in her hand one for each person to dictate the winner raised off the ground
"Yeah." Omeada grunted out as he pulled out his Zanpaktou and released it into Shikai state, while Shaolin started to inch away, slipping slowly out of sight before disappearing completely
"Let's make things interesting, the winner will also get to take something away from the loser." Ichigo said as he brought his sword around, focusing now on the duel as he felt his fiancé's spiritual signature fade into the distance.
"Alright then." Senna brought both flags down as she jumped backwards "Begin!"
The lumbering giant jumped high into the air, and launched his massive ball and chain towards the man, who looked on impassively. As the weapon drew closer, the fourth seat backpedalled with a jump back, allowing the weapon to harmlessly crash against the tile, smashing it into pieces.
Ichigo kept his guard up and didn't move from his spot until he heard a clicking noise. His eyes then widened when the spikes rotated a bit, and shot outward, forcing the strawberry to use Zangetsu to block the fired projectiles, as they sent him skidding back though still standing.
"Hahahaha! I told you all it was just a fluke!" Omeada chuckled as he hit another button on the side of his grip, causing the weapon's spikes to retract back to him "You're still the weak common place dog that you've always been, while I've grown stronger. Haha," his smirk grew wider as he spoke in a more dangerous tone "You don't deserve to have received all the attention of my goddess, in fact if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. We'd probably be having a rather civil wedding, but that's ok. We can still have it, AFTER YOUR DEAD!" he yelled as he ran forward with his weapon in mace form wildly swing the weapon from side to side to clobber the man and end his life.
Ichigo remained silent, unsure of what to say about the man, as he used his sword to block each and every strike that came at him. The strikes were surprisingly stronger than the Shinigami originally anticipated, though nowhere near strong enough to force him to use all his strength since he needed to wait, on account of Shaolin's task.
As the giant brought his mace arm back around to smash against the sword to break through, he found himself open to Ichigo's jab to the side. The fourth seat side stepped around the man's girth and struck him en passant, as he maneuvered around to the back and kicked him forward, making the man stumble forward, before crashing against the ground in a painful heap.
"Is that all you can do?" Ichigo asked in a bored tone "Fucking pathetic. I swear even if I were to lose, Soifon-taicho would probably wear the pants in the relationship, powers or not."
"What did you say!?" the large nobleman said as he pushed himself off the ground wallowing in his anger from the humiliation the man was putting him through
"Clean out your ears fat-ass! I'm saying that you'd be the bitch in the relationship, if it actually panned out, but I'm gonna tell you exactly what I told you before I left 'You're pathetic, in all aspects of being a Shinigami, and only got where you are because of your family's name. Not because of the skill you've miraculously conned yourself into believing you possess,' that's why you're not gonna beat me. EVER!" He taunted, repeating the exact same thing he said before leaving to the human world the second time.
Now Marechiyo was seeing red, scrambling back up he ran full speed as he started to swing the ball and chain around his head. During his rush forward he swung the weapon in its large arc to nail the man to turn him into strawberry jam across the floor, when Ichigo jumped atop the weapon and jumped forward again towards him with his hand held out in front of him
"Sokkatsui!" Ichigo yelled as he fired a point blank kido spell into the self proclaimed immaculate face of the nobleman, using the man's plump body to spring board off himself and avoid being hit by the withdrawing chain. The man fell to his knees a second time as he clutched his face from the pain, while Ichigo just looked on in silent anger "Come on, is that your best Fuku-taicho?"
"Be, be quiet you." The man said as he rubbed his face, only to then be forced to place both his hands on the ground to support his body from the spiritual pressure pushing against him
"Marechiyo." He hissed saying the man's name very rudely "You will shut the hell up, and not speak; unless you are answering a question I ask, which you didn't. Now tell me: Are you doing your best?" he said much harder telling the man to answer or else suffer some horrible fate.
"Y-yes! What's it to ya, are you scared?" the giant asked as he felt the spiritual pressure ease up, allowing him to stand back up, and look into the cold eyes of Ichigo who looked ready to paint the town red
"Really? That's good then. I really needed to know that because truth be told Omeada when I accepted this fight I wanted you to put all your strength, all your pride, your very soul even, into this fight. That way I could crush it and grind into the dust." He whispered dangerously as his spiritual energy began to swirl around his body
"From the day I met you, I've hated your guts. You're a disgrace to the name Shinigami. Seeing you now pisses me off to no end because good, honest, hardworking people like Hanataro Yamada, the man who took care of your wounds whenever you were injured, and Ganju Shiba the proud warrior of the former noble clan Shiba, died protecting the entire afterlife and every soul in it; souls even as wretched selfish and disgusting as you!" he declared as he brought his sword around to point directly in front of him as the cloth wrapped around his shoulder
"I can't stand it. It's not right. It's not fair!" He shouted hatefully as his body started to glow white as reiatsu began to flood off his body "and the worst thing about you still being alive is that you remind me that I failed to keep them alive!"
He then spoke one chilling phrase that sent dread into everyone except Senna, who merely looked on in awe "Bankai!" When he said the words, the energy went into the sword's tip and fired outward destroying part of the wall beside Marechiyo who was reeling at the fact that he knew Bankai of all things. The large man started to shake in primal fear at knowing that he'd awaken a great demon.
With a flick of Ichigo's wrist the dark reiatsu dissipated from around his body, revealing the man's form as his jacket billowed in the wind and his jet-black sword touched the ground, leaving a noticeable gash in the concrete from merely touching the sharp sword. "Surprised?" Ichigo asked in a patronizing tone of voice as he beckoned him with his fingers to step up "Come on tough guy," he then let the full force of his spiritual energy hit Omeada, sending him sprawling upon the ground gasping for air "Stand up." The fearsome reaper commanded.
Though try as he might the man lay there squirming trying to avoid being squished to death by the power. Ichigo continued it for a few more seconds until he felt the reiatsu of Shaolin return, and eased up so the man could stand again.
With the pressure removed from his body, the man looked at Ichigo for just a moment then followed his natural instincts. To run far away from this, this monster. The large man turned around and attempted to run, to shockingly find Ichigo standing ten feet away from his with a fierce scowl.
"I think I know why my Bankai specializes in speed so much. It's because I already possess the strength necessary to protect my friends," he then drew his sword back and charged a small Getsuga "I just needed to learn how to get there quicker, so they won't die." And swung Tensa Zangetsu, which launched the cloud-like energy beam and swallowed the man up in his entirely; loud screams were heard as the impermeable black wave continued to chew Omeada's flesh up, before spitting him out twenty some odd feet away from the initial suction point, bleeding on the ground gasping for air while experiencing large amounts of physical pain as he clung desperately to life.
Senna was about to call the match, when she stopped seeing Ichigo raise his hand to her, with a softer look telling her to trust him, which then hardened as he glanced over at his opponent before zipping over to the wounded Fuku-taicho.
Materializing above him Ichigo tsked to himself "Remember what I said, winner gets to take something from the loser," he then spun his sword in his hand, while the downed man's eyes widened considerably "I'm taking this." He said as he threw the sword down into the ground.
The blade embedding itself a centimeter away from the man's ear, as Ichigo kneeled down and removed the arm band which signified the second rank in a division. "Be thankful I didn't take your life."
"A flawless victory." Shaolin announced to drive the dagger further into the crowd of councilmen around her before she left the crowd and started walked over to the distant pair.
Hearing her announcement Ichigo glanced over and nodded acknowledging her before looking back at Omeada "By the way Omeada I didn't spare you out of mercy. I spared you because it was the more practical choice." He said as pushed himself up and removed Tensa Zangetsu from his spot beside this waste of space
"W-what…?" the man groaned out dully wincing from the intense pain his body was under
Ichigo's eyes grew colder and more lifeless as if some small part of him was enjoying seeing the ogre of a man in pain and wanted the rest of Ichigo to twist the dagger in further "I spared you so for once in your miserable life you can be a man, so you can die serving an actual purpose in the upcoming war against Aizen. And I guarantee you that you won't be squirming out of it; because I'm gonna personally order you to be on the front line of every battle we participate in. So enjoy whatever time you have left Omeada and may the spirit king have mercy on your soul." The reaper returned his Zanpaktou to it's rightful resting place and left the wounded man to whatever fate the spirit king had in store.
With that out of the way he turned back to see his captain with her hand out stretched for the badge he just earned. Placing it in her hand, the woman smiled softly at him "I've never been more proud of you Ichigo-koi." She said softly so no one could hear before raising her volume "Firstly, I thank-you for being the bigger man and not sinking to his level. He was at your mercy and you chose to spare him. Had the situation been reversed I would be hard pressed to say he'd extend the same courtesy. So congratulation."
"I don't have to become my enemy to beat them." He replied sagely
"Good. Now the second thing I must ask you. You have defeated the Fuku-taicho of my squad in not only my presence but in witness by a gathering of nobles and sacred guest of Soul Society and you have also completed a tour of duty in the human world, making you eligible to for the position of Fuku-taicho. I will ask you now: Fourth seat Ichigo Kurosaki, are you prepared to accept the position of Fuku-taicho for my squad and all that it entails?"
"For you, always." Came his response
The smile on the woman's face grew a fragment more "Then it is my great pleasure in appointing you as Fuku-taicho for squad two." She then leaned in and carefully tied the badge on his arm. "Yojimbo. I will be expecting even greater things from you from now on, try not to disappoint." She said playfully with her contented smile
Ichigo gave her a sideways glance "Hopefully, nothing too great; I really don't need another Senna chasing after me, from some misplaced feeling of adoration."
"No kidding, it's a good thing I actually know her. The rest of the SWA on the other hand…" Shaolin gritted out in annoyance at how fame seemed to put a big cluster fuck in people's lives.
"Don't worry about it. With you and Senna around I won't have time dealing with them. Speaking of you I have something for you." He was going to continue until he saw the mass of elderly men looking at them and felt they needed to be addressed. "But it can wait later. Come on let's go see the old guys eat their words."
"Oh, I forgot about them. Well seeing how today went I do believe I have a shocking piece of new to give them." The captain said with a dark smirk, as they turned back to the crowd, and stopped beside Senna who held her weapon threateningly.
The crowd of older men stared at the trio bitterly, not wanting to admit their defeat in not only their plan but also in their forces. After a long silence one of them spoke begrudgingly "Having seen the results first hand and agreeing to it, we accept the results on the matter."
"Hmph. I don't really care either way at this point." Shaolin said with an unconcerned shrugging of her shoulders
"W-what, why not leader-sama?" the man asked confusedly, not understanding how or why she was being so laid back about all of this "I'll be frank. I don't care; because, I am through. I am through with this place. There is nothing here for me anymore."
"You-you can't abandon your duties to the clan."
"Abandon?" Shaolin quoted with mock curiosity for the word, only to then let the façade dissolve into a dark smile "Abandon is such an ugly word. I prefer that I'm eloping with Ichigo here," she then put a finger to her chin as she gave another mocking suggestion "or I guess forsaking is a good word too." Her cruel smirk penetrated into the hearts of the men at not expecting the words she was saying "Yes, I'm forsaking the clan."
"Do you even know what it is your saying!?" he asked exasperatedly since this would be the first time in history that a Fon went rouge, instead of being KIA or exiled.
"But of course I know what I'm saying. However…" she glanced at Ichigo and then to Senna who both smiled "If you want me to put even simpler so you can understand it is basically this," as she opened her mouth to say the next word, Ichigo and Senna assisted so they spoke as one "Fuck off."
The words stunned the assembly at seeing one of their own, including a local heroine and big time leader, turn coat and willingly leave the fold. The trio seeing that nothing more would come of this flash stepped as fast as they could out of the compound.
As they exited the front gates, Shaolin hung back just a second longer to stare at the wooden temple like house used as a burial grounds, before smiling and then bowing to it with seemingly years of built up respect. While she didn't expect any good karma to have come from the gesture, she would admit to herself to feeling at least a little lighter on the inside. "I'm sorry, and thank-you." She said to the inanimate object, before turning to catch back up with the others.
After having left the place the team went full speed back to the second division, ready to put this incident to rest forever.
Shaolin and Ichigo bidded Senna good night, and promised hard training come next day, before proceeding to the roof top above the barracks. The two lovers sat on the edge of the barracks with Shaolin sitting between Ichigo's legs and leaning against his Bankai provided Gi, as they stared into the fading summer evening together.
"Tell me, Shaolin did you see him?" Ichigo asked as he lightly encompassed his arms around her waist, which she touched softly with her right hand
"Yes…" she replied in a pained whisper "it wasn't…what I would have liked our final meeting to be like."
(Flash back)
After slipping off from the battle, having already told Ichigo quite bit on the way to the challenge grounds, which Ichigo promised to take as long as possible, the woman moved as fast as she could to the High Council man's room. Cocking her fist she smashed the door to pieces, as she forcefully entered the room, and saw her father looking extremely pale and most certainly on death's door.
"Ah, leader. Sorry for letting you see me like this, I hope you are having a good day." The poisoned man bidded well, as he looked up with a welcoming smile at his daughter, who had a heartbroken look on her face "But judging by that look on your face, I take it you found out about a lot of things." His smile then decreased significantly "Most of which I could not stop."
The morose woman trudged over to the bed and dropped down to one knee "Father…" she said quietly, her emotions visible within her eyes, as she gazed at the man.
The man tried to push himself off the bed and only succeeded in letting out a violent stream of coughs and strained sputters. Shaolin in her panicked concern leaned forward and placed her hands against his chest to help stabilize his breathing and keep him from moving any further. Once his chest started to rise and fall at a steady pace again, a sign that the flare up subsided, he spoke again "Bah, this is my own fault. I should have been much more alert; it seems my lack of diligence has caused my skills to deteriorate to the point I can't even tell when I'm being poisoned." The man then chuckled at his own morbid humor, and grew serious "I am not long for this world, Soifon. It's only a matter of time before I return to the cycle of reincarnation." The man let out a sigh, as his hand reached down and touched Soifon's "I suppose now that I'm at my end, I find myself with regret."
"…" the woman closed her eyes accepting the inevitable "and what is that?" she asked with a heavy heart
"My greatest regret was not being able to be the father I could and maybe should have been to you and your brothers. All…all I wanted of you all was to be able to stand up on your own. To have not only the strength of body, but the drive to achieve something beyond clan honor. I…only did what I thought would be…the best way to prepare you for the world outside these walls." He said softly as his other hand softly stroked the woman's cheeks as she strained herself not to breakdown and cry "Please end it, allow me to die with dignity and of my own choosing, not as my leader, but as my daughter Shaolin." He pleaded using the name, she had been told to abandon long, long, ago.
The woman dropped her head slightly to obscure her eyes, as she brought her left hand against the one that was against her cheek, her fingers rubbing against his skin "Alright, but before I do I want to tell you something father. It's something that I learned outside of my time at the Fon family training facilities, and outside of even the Gotei 13." She raised her head and quietly smiled at him "I learned about love, and I am proud to say that I fell in love with a boy. A boy who is strong, courageous, and most of all has a noble spirit.
"You met him before father," she said quietly but she knew he was listening intently "it was that orange haired kid who showed up once before. His name is Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki. He is, without a doubt father, a man able to perform miracles and can soothe the soul. It's because of him that my entire world changed and rearranged itself from what it once was, and it's made me a better, stronger person."
The heiress slowly brought her father's hand down from her face back unto his bed "But, it's also because of that I am at odd with the family. And it's because of our different viewpoints, which I pray you will forgive me for telling you this, might lead to the destruction of the clan." She smiled bitterly, while the sick man only kept his breathing steady still listening "I'm leaving the clan forever so I can marry and be happy with him." A lone tear fell from her eye "So even if you did not ask of me to do this. This…this would be our last meeting face to face on possibly friendly terms. But even so I want to tell you father how much I appreciate all that you've done for me. Giving me my codename of my grandmother; the best female assassin of our clan used. Training me despite my constant ineptitude when I was a child. And…and for both you and mother loving me…even if you hardly ever said it. I can't say just how much I…I…" she stopped speaking as she threatened to lose control
The old man took in a deep breath as he looked kindly towards her "I understand my daughter." His voice then became more worrying, more cautious "But I hope that you know the path you have chosen now will not be easy; however, if it is what your heart is set on I will not stand in your way. I give you my blessing if it means anything to you. (Cough)(cough) huhu…huhu…(gulp) Be happy Shaolin."
"I will." She said as she slipped back and engaged her Shikai, her hand trembling from not wanting to do this "It will be quick father, I promise you this." She then brought her arm around and buried the stinger into the man's chest impaling the heart within, a clean perfect kill.
The woman sniffled as she pulled her arm back and turned to head to the door to leave "Farewell father. May we meet again." She said quietly before leaving, knowing now wasn't the time for tears.
(Flash back end)
"And then I left." She finished her recounting of the event, her eyes showing a level of hurt in them "I suppose I'm technically an orphan now."
The woman leaned back into Ichigo's chest, and took in a calming breath of the evening air to clear her head. The man's arms wrapped around her waist and pulling her in tighter, making a wry smile flitter on her face. The wayward brushing of skin made the assassin look down at her left hand as she felt something both hot and cold. Without moving her head, she saw Ichigo's fingers pushing the last few inches of what appeared to Shaolin to be a ring of sorts.
She adjust her body to the side and lifted her hand that had the silver ring with red gem stone up, and felt the corners of her lips tug more, as her right hand gripped tighter on Ichigo's arm.
"You might be an orphan," said Ichigo he as placed his head to rest on the woman's shoulder "but you'll always have me by your side. We're family now."
The woman tilted her head just enough to spy over her shoulder "It's nice to have family. But I'm afraid it's still not complete just yet." She brought an arm around encompassing the back of his neck as she looked back "You still have a wayward brother and sister in law."
The woman felt the small hitching in Ichigo's breath, which had sent a pulse of worry through her body "I'm sure you probably don't w-"
"Alright." He said interrupting her. He then smiled a little "I'd do it even if you didn't say anything, Shaolin."
The woman frowned a bit at his forced tone "You don't need to lie to me Ichigo. I can tell that you're still sore about them stabbing you in the back…literally."
The man let out an easy sigh "Alright, you caught me, I lied. Of course, I'm sore about that, it friggin' hurt, ya know!" he said playfully, letting out a small laugh before he grew serious "We've known them for a while, so I'd like to hope their fighting against their better judgment."
"Mmm…"
"So I guess that just means I'll have to beat it into their heads, until they admit they screwed up, and come back." Ichigo joked
"Ooh? All I know is you better leave some beating in for me." She added with dangerous smirk which broke into a small laugh as she leaned back contentedly against her Husband. Her ears listening to the beating of his heart as she allowed herself to finally relax "Thank you for making me whole Ichigo. I love you. Always."
The orange haired tightened his grip around her as they both stared off into the fading evening skies over the Seireitei. "Don't worry about it Shaolin." He whispered as he softly kissed her cheek and rested his head against her shoulder "It's what husbands do."
The two continued to look on as the sun continued to set. Both ready for whatever the future might bring.
Blackout2010: So ends the breather arc of the story.
Aizen: M-my breakout debut...(cries)
Blackout2010: Aizen (puts hand on shoulder) this feeling is called 'painful, agonizing, failure.' Get used to it. (turns back to audience. I also have an announcement for all of you out there from Ms. Unohana. Hope spot is on life support but he's entered into a stable condition. So he could make a full recovery. She has told me that she thanks you for you support and will eagerly await when you cross over.