"So, you've been living with a new family?" Chad asked as he walked through the busy streets of the Rukongai district they were in while looking out for any Shinigami.
"That's right! I couldn't find my mom no matter how much I looked around, but then Horiuchi here found me and I got adopted into his family, right Hori?" Yuichi asked down at his older 'brother from where he was seated on Chad's shoulders and the older boy walking besides Chad smiled and nodded.
"That's right. Also, the entire family is not blood-related. We simply form groups that we call family and we look out for each other. We care for one another and the adults take care of us." Horiuchi said as Chad looked at him, to which the teen gave a simple nod while they stopped in the middle of a bridge.
"So, you think you'll be able to find your mom?" Chad asked, watching as Yuichi's smile dimmed slightly before it brightened as he nodded excitedly, to which the teen smiled and nodded despite looking at the saddened look on Horiuchi's face.
"Hmm, how long have you been here, Horiuchi?"
"I…don't know the exact date, but I do remember there being the sounds of planes and people shouting about bombs in Kofu, which is where I lived."
'…The only bombing that have happened in Kofu as far as I can remember is during the 1940's at the end of the war, I think. …So, he really can't find his mom here?' Chad thought with a frown as he understood why Horiuchi looked saddened when Yuichi said that he would find his mom if he has been here for that long and decided to get a new 'family'.
"I see."
"Sado?"
"Yes?" Chad asked as he looked down at Yuichi, frowning slightly as he saw the downcast look on the boy's face while he looked down at the river.
"Do…do you think I might find my mom one day?"
"If you keep on searching, I think you could."
"Will you keep visiting until I do?" He asked and Chad frowned as he looked at the water before smiling and nodding.
"If I can, I will."
"Heh, thank you."
"No problem. So, want me to meet the rest of your family?" Chad asked and smiled as Yuichi nodded excitedly and pulled him along, both the teen and Horiuchi sharing a subtle thumbs-up with each other as they made their way to the boys' home.
"…What exactly is going on here?" Chad asked as he stood besides Orihime, Uryu and Ichigo, to which the two boys snorted while Orihime gave a sheepish giggle in response.
Up ahead in front of the gate and the numerous large walls that were not there before, Tatsuki was smiling and covered in an orange aura as she skated and leapt through the air.
Her opponent looked to be getting more and more frustrated as the giant swung his axes to and fro to try and get her, Chad watching as Tatsuki barrel-rolled through the gap of one of the giant's axes before landing a kick to his chin.
The force of it sent him stumbling back with a slightly dazed look before the giant recovered right as Tatsuki landed, the gold aura around her fists shifting to her legs before she blasted across the ground and up towards him.
Skating across the ground and zigzagging around the attacks of the giant as he tried to hit her, she leapt onto the back of an axe when he swung it down before leaping up at a rocketing pace.
"Shoryuken!" Tatsuki exclaimed as she slammed a heavy heel kick to the side of the giant's head and a shock wave made the air tremble as the blow knocked him down onto the ground, Tatsuki landed softly in front of the downed giant before grinning as she turned to the others.
"Shoryuken is a rising uppercut, not a kick." Chad spoke up first, Ichigo nodding with a smirk as Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she walked over towards them.
"Hey, you have your Shoryuken and I have mine."
"No, there is only one Shoryuken and that's the one from the game." Ichigo added and as Tatsuki went to respond, they quickly stopped and turned around as the ground rumbled.
"Urgh, you beat me." The giant grumbled as he stood up and Chad readied himself for battle before blinking as the others smiled and Tatsuki put her hands on her hips.
"I did. So, are you going to keep your end of the deal."
"Ha! Jidanbo might be a guardian of the gate, but he is also a man of his word!" The giant, Jidanbo, spoke with a smile as he stood up and Chad just watched in slight shock as the giant reached down before straining himself as he slowly began to pick up the gate.
"Am I the only one out of loop here?" Chad asked as he looked at the others, who all smirked as Orihime giggled and Yoruichi leapt onto his shoulders.
"No need to worry about the details. Just know that we now have the means to enter the build…ding. Oh…oh no…"Chad blinked at the shocked tone in Yoruichi's voice as he turned to look at what she was staring at only to be shocked by the white-haired man standing in front of Jidanbo with a small wakizashi held out to his side.
'That's…a captain.' Chad thought in shock as he saw the white haori the man was wearing before shaking away his shock as he saw the man going into a stance with his wakizashi held back and his free arm hiding it from view.
"Go!" Yoruichi barked out as she leapt off of Chad's shoulder and he along with Ichigo, Tatsuki and Uryu didn't waste any time as they blitzed forward.
Ichigo was the first to reach Jidanbo as he leapt in front of the giant with his butcher knife of a sword held out in front of him with the flat side out while Uryu and Tatsuki knocked the giant backwards by kicking him in the ankles.
Chad was the last as he appeared behind Ichigo and pulled his friend back with a leap right as the captain's wakizashi glowed before something flashed and the two of them were sent blasting into Jidando.
The impact against the giant managed to mitigate most of the damage they felt as he rolled over a few times before coming to a rest on his back with both Ichigo and Chad lying on his chest.
"Bye-bye~!" The captain waved as the gate snapped shut, Ichigo and Chad both letting out a groan as they stood up before Ichigo winced at the sight of Jidanbo lying on the floor with a deep cut in his left shoulder.
"It's a good thing you four helped him or else he would have lost an arm." Yoruichi spoke as she landed next to them and the two of them nodded before Ichigo smiled as Orihime stopped besides Jidanbo.
"While Orihime is busy healing Jidanbo, we should probably make sure that no Shinigami doesn't attack us while we're recovering." Ichigo spoke up and they all nodded before Chad blinked as Yoruichi leapt onto his shoulder.
"They'll patrol the area. You and I are going to meet up with the elder to figure out where my friend is."
"Sure." Chad nodded in agreement before nodding at Ichigo, who nodded back as he leapt down to the others while Ichigo grunted as he leapt over to where the crowd was.
"So, who is this friend of yours?" Chad asked and Yoruichi looked at him before smirking as she responded as they landed.
"She's an old friend who might be able to help us get into the Seiretei."
'Even though the walls are up?' Chad thought with a frown as he looked at the giant walls before humming as he turned back to listen to the conversation Yoruichi had with one of the people in the crowd.
"May we have a moment of your time, elder?" Yoruichi asked the old man they were standing in front of and the elderly man smiled and nodded as they began walking through the crowd towards the nearest house.
'Hopefully, that's the last person we have to fight.'
"…What are we looking at here?" Chad heard Ichigo ask as the six of them stood in front of a shack that looked to be a bit run-down, but all of them were more focused on the two giant stone arms holding up a banner along with what appeared to be a giant pillar in the background.
"We…have no idea either."
"As eccentric as ever." Yoruichi muttered as she leapt down from Chad's shoulder, walking up to the front door with the rest of them followed in confusion only to blink at the two muscular dudes dressed in a yellow top and white top respectively along with dark pants, boots and a red hat with a gold trim and white tossel top.
"Halt! You are not allowed to-!"
"Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, stop being idiots and let us through." Yoruichi interrupted them with a sigh and Chad rose an eyebrow as the two men looked surprised before blinking as the two quickly moved out of the way with a bow.
"Yoruichi! Our deepest apologies! You and your servants may enter." The one on the left, Koganehiko, apologized with a bow and Yoruichi nodded as she followed after Shiroganehiko while Tatsuki wrapped an arm around Ichigo's neck to stop him from shouting at the servant part.
"Don't make this harder than it already is." Chad smirked at her whisper to him as they all followed after Yoruichi, watching as his friend grumbled with a nod before she let him go.
"Fine~ So, who is this friend of yours again?" Ichigo asked as they walked down the stairs and through the maze of hallways before Shiroganehiko bowed with a smile while gesturing towards the door besides Yoruichi.
"She is right through here, Yoruichi."
"Thank you, Shiroganehiko. Ichigo, open."
"Why me?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow, which Yoruichi simply returned for a few seconds before he grumbled and walked over to slide open the door.
However, as he did so, Chad blinked at just how fast his friend went from confusion to shock to embarrassed as he watched him quickly moving away from the door and behind them.
"…Huh?" Uryu was just as confused as the rest of them and Chad frowned slightly as he followed after Yoruichi before blinking at the woman sitting in the middle of the room with an amused smirk and a sake bottle in her grasp.
'Ichigo really needs to learn to not blush at every woman dressed in revealing clothing.' Chad thought with a sigh as he saw how low-cut the woman's kimono was as well as how crudely she was sitting with one knee up and the other resting on the ground.
"A bit over the century and you finally found time to come meet your old friend, eh Yoruichi?" The woman spoke with an amused smile and Chad sat down near the door along with the others as Yoruichi smirked while sitting down in front of her.
"It's been a rough century, Kukaku."
Name: Kukaku
Race: Soul(Shinigami)
Age: ?
Reiryoku Levels: High
'Hmm, she's pretty strong.' Chad thought with a soft hum as she sat down, shaking his head as Tatsuki looked at him with raised eyebrow before she confused him as she gave a teasing smirk and nodded.
'…Huh?'
"A rough one? Considering how much the Gotei 13 have not found even a whiff of you, Kisuke and the others, I find that very hard to believe." Kukaku spoke with a smirk and Yoruichi just smiled before taking a lick of the sake from the cup that Kukaku poured for her.
"Why don't you kids go and play while the two of us have a quick chat?" Kukaku spoke with an amused look aimed at them all and they all looked at Yoruichi, who looked back and nodded.
"Sure thing. We'll…find something to do, I guess." Tatsuki muttered as she stood up, the others doing the same before they left the room only for her to groan at the familiar tall and muscular man walking down the hallway.
Dressed in a green vest and dark green pants with a green bandanna tied around his head, a scarf wrapped around his waist and a pair of goggles around his neck, the man blinked as he looked at them before his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Ichigo.
"Shinigami!/ You bastard!" The man and Ichigo shouted as they leapt at each other and Uryu grappled Ichigo in a full nelson right as Chad did the same with the man, Tatsuki shaking her head with a sigh as Orihime blinked while looking between the two groups.
"…Oh, this is going to be a long day."
"Ganju! Are you fighting with the guests again?!"
"Are you all ready?!" Kukaku shouted as she stood in front of the large pillar that Chad and the others saw yesterday, which they were told by her last night was actually a super cannon meant to shoot fireworks high up into the sky.
"Ready." Yoruichi called out as she stood on top of a large glass sphere, the sphere giving off a bright light blue glow as the five students of Karakura along with Ganju who decided to go with them.
"Okay! Kogane! Shirogane! Ready up!"
"Yes, Mistress Kukaku!" The two of them spoke with a salute as they rushed towards the sides of the cannon, Chad watching as the opening they came through shut back up before looking at Yoruichi as she spoke.
"Remember! The moment I say go, you guys activate the Reishukaku and form the barrier! No overloading it, understood?!"
"Right!" They all nodded, even Ichigo despite his grumbling at Yoruichi's pointed stare aimed at him.
"Far away! Copper-colored greed desires the domination of 36 degrees! Seventy-two pairs of illusions, thirteen pairs of horns, the right hand of the monkey grabs the star! Embraced by the 25 wheels of the sun…"
"Ready…"
"the cradle of sand bleeds! Kagizaki!"
"Now!" Yoruichi shouted and they all created a vibrant blue reishi bubble around them right as a powerful explosion sent them blasting into the air, the others a bit confused at the explosion as they had expected it to be powerful.
"Uh, was it supposed to be that weak?" Uryu asked before blinking as Ganju smirked and spoke.
"Here comes the real impact." On cue, the sky trembled and flames exploded from their side as the second explosion sent them rocketing towards the Seireitei at a rapid pace, Chad unable to hide his shocked face while the others shouted in fright as they impacted the barrier with a grunt.
"Okay! What now?!"
"Keep the barrier steady!" Ganju shouted as he took out a folded up paper from his vest before unfolding it fully, everyone frowning a bit as Ganju released his focus from the Reishukaku
"I-Ichigo, a little less there." Tatsuki gritted out as they felt Ichigo's Reiryoku overflowing into the orb and Ichigo gritted his teeth as he tried his best to pull back his energy.
"Back, Kurosaki! Pull back!"
"I'm trying my damn best here!"
"Stay calm, Ichigo!" Chad called out as he saw the barrier crack slightly, before he gave a mental curse as Ganju repeated a line and made the small crack grow out significantly.
"Crap! You made me repeat the same line!" Ganju shouted at Ichigo, who looked surprised before he glared at him.
"Me?! You're the one who's supposed to use the spell!"
"Everyone, keep calm!" Yoruichi spoke up, but Chad frowned as they crashed into the dome surrounding the Seireitei, knowing that the barrier around them was going to shatter as he saw numerous fractures forming around it.
It was not moments later that his fears were confirmed as the barrier around them shattered right as they slipped through the dome and floated in the sky above the Seireitei.
Looking down at the Reishukaku, he frowned as he saw the concentrated spiritual energy swirling in the orb before he crossed his arms in front of him right as a tornado of spiritual energy all around them.
"Don't worry about trying to reform the barrier! Just grab someone and get away!" Yoruichi shouted and Chad gritted his teeth as he tried to use Reishi to get closer only to frown as the reishi from the tornado was disrupting that in the air.
Quickly scanning the group, he saw Ichigo and Ganju being sent down first towards the ground, looking over at where Tatsuki and Uryu were trying to get to Orihime first before he focused Reishi below his feet and blasted towards them.
Forcing himself through the tornado of Reishi, he grabbed a surprised Uryu and Tatsuki before throwing both of them upwards towards Orihime, hearing Ichigo shout his name before turning towards his best friend and giving him a thumbs-up.
'It's corny, but it works.' Chad thought with a smirk as he saw Ichigo nodded with a strained frown, letting the tornado of Reishi send him flying towards the ground as Brazo Derecha de Gigante appeared around his right arm.
Time to conduct a rescue operation.
A/N: And the arc is finally off~! I was going to make the whole chapter about them meeting Kukaku, but I decided that would be too much work so I decided to cut it down.
Next chapter, though, is Chad's actual fight against the person I had in mind so look forward to that.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!