Chapter 12: Soul Society (5)
"You…!"
Masato's eyes widened, staring at the white-haired girl.
In front of him - some distance away - was a beautiful young girl. She had flowing silky white hair, milky white skin, and an expressionless face with violent eyes.
Her ruby-like eyes stared at Masato without any emotional fluctuation.
No. She was astonished.
"Why are you a male?"
Obviously, when that screen invited her, it said that The Gamer was a girl. But the one in front of her was definitely a male.
From the world she was, only females were allowed to wield spirits. In her world, only one male could wield the spirits.
If it was her previous world and people found out that this male can use spirits, then they would be shocked, right? After all, if it is male, then the only reason he should be able to wield a spirit is that he is…
"Demon King…"
The girl's face tense. Displeasure was obvious on her face but it vanished right away, replaced with a frown.
It was normal knowledge in the girl's world that the only male who is able to wield a spirit is the rumored Demon King.
And this girl was the enemy of the Demon King. But it was not like she personally had some form of grievance with the Demon King, but because her previous master fought with him, she unconsciously disliked him.
That's why she looked at Masato and asked, "Are you the Demon King?"
'Demon King?'
Masato became silent. If the girl was surprised by the fact that Masato could wield her and he might be the Demon King, then Masato was surprised by the fact that she was his Zanpakuto Spirit.
The reason was simple, he knew this girl. Personally? No. He has seen this girl in his previous life.
'Did the system summon her as part of my Zanpakuto?'
He could only think such. And he was not wrong. The system did summon her from a different world as the part of his Zanpakuto, but then a question arises.
'Who is my real Zanpakuto?'
It should be noted that a Zanpakuto is essentially part of a Shinigami's soul. It is the manifestation of the person's soul in the form of a sword.
And there was not a single person who didn't have his own personal Zanpakuto. After all, every living being has this component called a soul in them - an astral body. They were not able to communicate with them because they didn't have any form of energy to contact them.
So, in theory, Masato should also have his own Zanpakuto Spirit. And he was sure, this girl was not his personal Zanpakuto Spirit but the one summoned by the system.
"You…"
"Are you the Demon King?"
The girl again asked the same question. It seems that she wanted to know the truth. She was not an idiot and knew that this was not her previous world. So her idea of him being the Deamon King based on her previous world is stupid.
But she had her own reasons. After all, she could feel the unpleasant aura of a hateful sword from him. The only sword she never liked.
"Demon King? If it is the one from your world, then no, I am not," shaking his head, Masato said.
In her world, only females are able to use spirits due to them being only forming contracts with pure girls. And the only male who was able to form a contract with a spirit was Demon King.
So it was no surprise that she thought that he was a Demon King, at least, that is what Masato thought.
"Then why do you have her aura on you?"
Normally, she would not be able to tell this aura but now that she has merged with his soul, she could feel the aura of that sword from him. After all, both of them have merged with his soul. It was no surprise that she could also feel her aura.
"Her aura?" Masato tilted his head, confused, "Who are you talking about?"
"..."
The girl became silent as she kept staring at him, finding if he was saying the truth or not.
Masato's eyes twitched. He wondered if his handsomeness had captivated her.
It was his delusions.
"Emm…" even if it is him, he felt unnatural being stared at by her, "Well… since you are my Zanpakuto… Do you even know what Zanpakuto is?"
"... I know. That screen told me everything," after a little silence, she answered.
"That screen… are you talking about the system?"
The girl nodded before she asked, "... Are you able to nullify any kind of curse? Is it true?"
This was the most important question in the girl's mind. She didn't want to kill her contractor while at the same time she didn't want to be lonely.
Her expressionless face intensely stared at Masato, waiting for his answer.
He could feel expectations from her eyes.
Remembering her story, a soft smile formed on his face before he answered, "Yes. No kind of curse is valid on me, at least, those of mortal level. Since you've merged with my soul, you should know of it too, right?"
Since he never got cursed by a God so he would not know if it would work on him or not, but at least, for now, mortal-level curses were definitely invalid on him.
The girl's expression visibly softens hearing him. She kept looking at Mastao as if waiting for him to say something.
"Then… will you become my sword?"
When he found out who this girl was, Masato had tried to say her name but to his astonishment, he couldn't. He thought that it was probably due to the reason she didn't accept him as her master.
You should know, if Zanpakuto didn't want it, then you are not able to use them. Even if they are part of your soul, they have their own individuality. They are like your children, but different at the same time.
So, when he found out that he can neither call her name nor remember it, he knew that this girl was denying him.
"... yes. You can. I've agreed to be your sword if you are able to nullify my curse," after some time, the girl, still expressionless, said, "You can use me as you like, master."
'Damn…' Masato placed his hand on his nose. He had to say, she looked damn cute when she called him master. He barely controlled himself from hugging her by chanting 'I am not a lolicon…'
Obviously, he was running away from reality.
"Good. Then I'll be in your care from now on, Est."
Est, still expressionless, stared at Masato before a small smile, almost unnoticeable, formed on her face as she nodded.
---
"It is really interesting. To be able to summon beings from a different world… How fascinating and mysterious."
Sitting near the pond, the girl, staring at the scene playing on the pond, said.
She had long lustrous black hair, swaying gently in the wind.
Quite bizarre if one takes into account that no wind should exist in the place where she was. There was nothing but darkness everywhere with a red moon shining at the top of the sky.
"I wonder… when will you summon me… my master."
Her soft and seductive voice filled her surroundings but no one was there to listen to it.
"Don't you think too, *****?"
She raised her head and looked towards the woman sitting some distance away from her and asked with a playful voice.
It was a young lady with golden hair and pointed ears dressed in an elaborate red gown. But the most evident thing about her was her rainbow-colored eyes that gleamed with a certain light in the darkness.
She looked towards the black-haired girl and smiled gracefully, "Oya~, for an intruder, you do know how to talk. This goddess is impressed, I must say."
The black hair girl's brow twitched before she answered, "At least the master will be able to use me, unlike a certain self-proclaimed goddess who can only ideally sit and gaze at his picture like a stalker. For a goddess, you do have some bizarre habits."
The golden-haired girl rubs her hand in her hair before condescendingly looking at the black hair girl, "This goddess is not so cheap to be used by anyone. I have my pride. Unlike some unneeded and uninvited slut who would be used by anyone, literally."
"Who are you calling slut, bitch!" The black-haired girl looked at her as a dark aura swirled around her, painting the already dark world darker.
"Humph. Do you see anyone else here besides this goddess and you? Obviously, even an idiot can tell who is the slut here but it seems that this goddess expected way too much from you."
The golden-haired girl didn't give her any face and kept taunting her. From her actions and talk, it was obvious that she didn't welcome this black-haired girl here.
"That's it. I'll kill you!" The black-haired girl looked at the golden-haired girl as darkness started to fill her surroundings. She raised her hand and a ball of darkness formed on it.
Like a black hole, it sucked everything from the surroundings in it. It didn't matter what it was; light, wind, or anything else, everything was sucked in it.
The ball spun and kept on spinning faster before being launched at the golden-haired girl.
After leaving her hand, it seems to come alive as it makes its way towards the golden-haired girl.
She looked at the black-haired girl with disdain. As if watching some lower being before looking towards the coming ball.
Her eyes shone rainbow-colored before the ball was destroyed. No, the right word would be that it was killed. Like it never existed, it slowly vanished from sight.
"Che!" Seeing it, the black-haired girl clicked her tongue in annoyance.
It was not the first time this has happened. The same thing has been happening since the black-haired girl came here.
At first, it was just curiosity but soon it turned into a hostile relationship. There was no reason for it except that the golden-haired girl didn't like her entry into this world.
After all, before she came here, this world belonged to her. And the same with the ruler of this world.
The golden-haired girl has been waiting for Masato to call her, but due to the unexpected entry of three new spirits, it became harder for her to contact him - this increased her displeasure for these three spirits.
If not for the fact that they have merged with Masato's sword, she might have killed them by now.
Since the black-haired girl was aware of this fact, she was so bold. Otherwise, she was aware of the danger of this golden-haired girl. She only needed a single second to kill her - definitely horrifying.
"Humph!"
Seeing her attack easily being destroyed, the black-haired girl looked back at the pond, ignoring the golden-haired girl who did the same. Both kept staring at the pond where a video was being played, a white-haired boy talking with a white-haired girl.
The world again descends into silence with both ignoring each other's existence.
---
Sigh*
His eyes opened, Masato looked at the sword lying on his lap and smiled.
He couldn't believe that his Zanpakuto was Est from the Blade Dance series. It made his smile widen to an extreme level.
'Hehehe~ a cute little girl as my Zanpakuto… God! How grateful I am for my Zanpakuto not being an animal.'
Not everyone's Zanpakuto was human-shaped. There were many people whose Zanpakuto was in the shape of an animal. For example, Ranji - his Zanpakuto was an ape.
Remembering the cute and innocent white-haired girl, Masato again thanked his system for choosing her as his Zanpakuto.
'But… why do I feel as if she is not my 'real' Zanpakuto… as if it was supposed to be someone else in her place.'
He had this feeling since he met Est in his inner world. He didn't pay much attention to it at that time, but now the feeling was intensifying with each passing second.
It resulted in a frown on his face. He didn't like this feeling. As if he is being manipulated or being restricted in some way.
'Is it the system?'
It was not impossible. Masato was not aware of the creator of the system. He didn't know where it came from and who created it; for what reason it was given to him.
This all was a mystery to him. But since he was aware that the system has already merged with his soul, he didn't doubt it much.
But now he was starting to have doubts, whether to believe it or not.
'My study on Soul is still in the amateur phase and I don't know much about it. Though I can ask a professional like Urahara, I would rather restrain myself from exposing my secrets to him.'
In the end, he could only sigh and wait. It was not like he was going to die the next second. He had all the time in the world and he could continue his study on Soul until he fully understands its concept.
'If I have time, I should visit the Soul Society Research Department.'
Even after Urahara, it has degraded a lot but it should still have research material on the soul.
'And the central… it has all the collected data of everything from the start of Soul Society till now, I'll pay it a visit too.'
With his current skills, it was not hard to sneak into such places. Like Aizen, even though he didn't have skills like his Zanpakuto, sneaking in could be done easily with his skill set.
"What are you doing?"
Feeling a weight on his back and the feeling of something soft pressing it, Masato smiled.
"You are awake, Yoru. I thought you would take a day or two, after all, you were quite wild."
Hearing him, Yoruichi didn't shy away but her smirk enlarged.
"Of course, I would be. Who made you a professional in such things. Obviously, you are just a brat and yet your skills are heavenly. I wonder where you got all that experience from. Did you start practicing when you were a kid or something?"
She asked while her hands felt his muscles, her chin placed on his shoulders as she gave a lick to his earlobe. There was a mild blush on her face which made her enchanting.
Her hair was still a little wet and her eyes had this hazy look to them as if inviting him to ravage her again.
Looking at her like this, Masato could feel his heartbeat increasing.
'I definitely have a thing or two for tan girls.'
"Oh, you never know but I could be a natural at this. And I've practiced them a lot with my girlfriends."
Of course, he was talking about his mother and teacher. He never said it but even he was surprised. Since he never really had much interest in his previous life nor he had such wildlife.
'But now I think about it… I can only remember bits and pieces from my previous life… how strange…'
But soon he just shook his head. It could be that he already has started to forget his previous life memories, and he was not really interested in remembering them either way.
"So, what are you doing?" Looking at the sword on his lap, Yoruichi asked.
"Well… I was trying to learn the name of my Zanpakuto."
He didn't hide and said it. She was bound to see it one way or the other, so he didn't find any reason to hide it.
Yoruichi looked at the sword in his hand with astonishment before sighing, "Really… you are one big mystery Masato. Even Urahara pales in being mysterious in front of you."
Masato didn't reply and just smiled.
"Is Ichigo awake?" Changing the topic, he asked.
Yoruichi also didn't pursue him and nodded.
"He should be by now. I am going to check on him, do you want to come?"
As to not disturb their time together, Masato has placed a barrier around Ichigo before placing him at the entrance of the training field.
Currently, he and others were at the other end of the training field.
"Alright. By the way, what about Okaa-san? Is she still asleep?"
"Yes. She did wake up when I was leaving but then she again went back to sleep. She seemed tired."
Masato rubbed his chin, 'Weird… even though she should have more energy than Yoru, yet she is tired. Maybe she wants to sleep more.'
Masato nodded his head before sheathing his sword and followed after Yoruichi.
While they were crossing the training field, Masato was looking at the screen in front of his eyes showing the affection value of Yoruichi and the rewards.
{
Congratulations on reaching 100 affection values with Yoruichi Shihouin.
Skill [Flash Step] has been awarded for reaching 100 affection with Yoruichi Shihouin.
Skill [Flash Step] has merged with the skill [Flash Step] and evolved into [Skip].
[Skip Level: 1 MP: 50]
Allows you to skip a distance of 100 meters.
}
Masato looked at his new skill while following after Yoruichi.
Skip - as the name suggested, it allowed him to skip a given distance. If one takes his [Space Manipulation] into account, then this skill may look useless but in reality, it helped him a lot.
When he used [Space Manipulation], Masato found out that there was a little delay between the jump between two points. And even if he successfully merged with space and readied himself for the jump, someone who can disturb the space could stop his teleportation.
There were also other factors that made teleportation not so useful during close combat.
But [Skip] was different. It allowed him to skip the distance between two points and there was no delay in the movement of it. It was more like it deletes the distance between two points and makes him appear in that place.
It may look like teleportation to a viewer, but it was not.
So if he were to say which one was better in close-combat, then he would definitely choose [Skip] over [Space Manipulation].
'Sadly I didn't get anything from Mama Raikou. It seems that the system treats Okaa-san and Mama Raikou as the same entity.'
There was neither any affection point for her nor any obedience point, so Masato thought that the system never treated her as a separate entity.
A moment later, they reached the place where Ichigo was and found him about to go out.
Yoruichi's brow twitched as she vanished from her place and appeared behind him, punching him at the back of his head.
"Where do you think you are going!?"
Ichigo groaned. He rubbed his head and looked towards Yoruichi with a frown and asked, "What was that for!? Can't you be polite!?"
"Polite? Where were you going just now?"
Looking at her serious face, Ichigo looked at his side before answering, "... To save Rukia."
Yoruichi seems to become even angrier hearing his reply. She looked towards him seriously before asking, "How? With your meager skills, do you think you can rescue her? Let's not talk about right now when she should be detained with higher security, you wouldn't have come out alive before!"
Ichigo became silent with tightly clenched fists. He didn't raise his head while looking at the earth with indignation.
"... Then what do you want me to do? Wait for her execution?"
"Exactly!" Masato clapped hearing Ichigo and said while smiling, "That is exactly what we are going to do!"
""Huh!?""
Both Ichigo and Yoruichi looked at him with astonishment. Wondering if they heard him wrong but his expression told them that they didn't.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Innocently tilting his head, Masato asked.
"Wrong!? What do you mean by waiting for her execution?! Bastard! Did you not come here to save her!?"
Ichigo's fuse seems to be ignited as he angrily shouted at Masato.
He was not wrong, after all, even Yoruichi was looking at Masato with a frown. She also was confused by Masato's behavior. But unlike Ichigo, she waited for his explanation.
"Well…" looking at their serious faces, Masato's face also became tense as he seriously looked at them and said, "If we make our entry during the execution, then we will definitely look more badass. What do you guys think?"
"..."
Both of them looked at him with wide eyes as if they were enlightened.
Of course, it was Masato's delusion as he was punched by Ichigo but his [Absorption Barrier] blocked the hit.
"Ugh…" gritting his teeth, Ichigo looked at him and said, "Stop joking!"
"Alright, alright… calm down man, of course, I was joking," waving his hand as if shooing a bug away, Masato said, "Well, listen carefully then, I'll not repeat myself."
Looking at them, Masato finally started to explain his 'reason'.
"If my guess is not wrong, then Soul Society will decrease the time till Rukia's execution. After all, we have already reached Seireikei and almost freed her. And if we enter the fact that two captains have died, Soul Society will try its best to execute Rukia and capture Ryokas."
"Since they now know that we have enough strength to prove a danger to them, they wouldn't want us to free Rukia. So, they would try to finish their task faster so they can focus their strength on us… well, this would be there thinking if everything was normal."
"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked.
"Two captains died. I've killed Tosen, but who killed the other captain? Who killed the captain named Aizen?"
Just as Masato said, Yoruichi's eyes shone with a certain light. She became silent.
Masato continued as if he didn't notice her and asked, "In our group, (in normal condition) only Ichigo, Okaa-san, Yoruichi, and I have enough strength to kill a captain. Okaa-san and Yoru have been together since the start and they didn't fight with Aizen. Ichigo fought with Zaraki and didn't fight with any other captain. I fought with Tosen, then who killed Aizen?"
"You mean…" Ichigo looked surprised and said, "Our group has another member who killed Aizen!?"
"... No… what I am trying to say is, there is something else going on in Soul Society currently. And whoever killed Aizen had already known that we would come to Soul Society to save Rukia. So, under the chaos we created, he/she killed Aizen. And since we have invaded the Soul Society, the first person to be suspected would be us."
"But here is another thing," both Yoruichi and Ichigo looked at him, l, "I've seen Aizen's body."
Both Yoruichi's and Ichigo's eyes widened before Yoruichi asked.
"How did you see it? It should be given to the 4th division to inspect, unless…"
"Unless I went to the 4th division. Yes, I did. But the thing is, the body I saw and what others saw, was completely different. What I saw was a sword and nothing else, but seeing other people's reaction, I am sure that they are seeing Aizen's body."
"This…" Yoruichi seems to think of something as her frown deepens.
"There are only two possibilities from this; first, Aizen was kidnapped by someone and his kidnapper had the power to hypnotize every person in Soul Society. Second… Aizen never died nor he got kidnapped, but he orchestrated it all. If that is the case, his Zanpakuto should be related to illusions or hypnosis. Do you know his ability, Yoru?"
"Why do you think it is Aizen who is behind all of this?" Instead of answering, Yoruichi asked another question.
Masato shrugged and said, "It is simple. To be able to hypnotize not only the captain but every person in Soul Society, one should have enough strength to surpass every other captain. If there was such a person in Soul Society, then he/she would have been found by now. The only way he/she can remain hidden is by not hiding at all."
"In simple terms, be open and let everyone know about your strength but at the same time, people shouldn't be surprised about it. What is the best position to achieve such a thing?"
"A captain's position…"
"Exactly. And to use such big and powerful hypnosis, I don't believe there is no condition to achieve it. There should be some form of the condition that is needed to be fulfilled before someone can achieve such a big AoE hypnosis. And the best, most unsuspicious way to do it is by being a captain. But since it is, let's say, his Zanpakuto's ability, then he would need to release his sword in front of everyone."
"Yoru… did Aizen ever release his sword in front of everyone?"
"During the captain selection… every captain is needed to reveal his or her Zanpakuto in front of everyone…" Yoruichi bit her lower lip. It was not something new to her as she and Urahara had already known of Aizen's sword. But it still left a bitter taste in her mouth thinking about it.
"Well, that makes it easier, in short something fishy is going on in Soul Society. And Aizen is behind it, we will assume that for now at least. I wouldn't be surprised to know that Rukia's execution also has something to do with Aizen."
Suddenly, Yoruichi seems to think of something before her face becomes ugly.
'This is troublesome…'
"What happened, Yoru?" Seeing her face changing, Masato asked.
"Nothing," she shook her head before looking towards Ichigo, who didn't seem to understand most of it, "Let's go Ichigo."
"Where?" Ichigo asked, completely ignoring the talk just now. This stuff was not his forte. He would rather swing his sword.
"To train you. If what Masato said is right, then we don't have much time. There are still three days till Rukia's execution, in three days, I'll teach you how to reach Bankai. Of course, assuming that Rukia's execution is not rescheduled."
"In three days?!" Ichigo's face changed as he looked at Yoruichi with doubt, "Isn't it something that would take decades to achieve, how can someone achieve it in three days?"
"I have my ways. You don't need to worry about it."
She said and looked towards Masato, "Did you achieve Shikai?" Since it was already open that something fishy was going on, they would need every possible power-up they could.
"Yes. It was not that hard, so it didn't take me too long."
Staring at Masato for a second, Yoruichi shook her head before going back to training grounds with Ichigo following after her.
'Sigh… She is suspicious but 100% obedient does it work. Even if she is suspicious of me, 100% obedience will not let her do anything against me or anyone related to me.'
It was not that he didn't want to tell her, but that it was not something he could tell anyone.
It should be noted, but Masato has not told anyone about his abilities. He just let them use it but didn't disclose how he got it and what its real purpose was.
He just said that it would make them powerful and nothing else. Of course, this itself had some danger to it but again, 100% obedience would not let them tell anyone about it.
After Yoruichi and Ichigo left, Masato looked at his sword before he said, "Come out, Est."
A light shone on his Zanpakuto before it turned into tiny particles and scattered before merging in front of him, forming a girl with a one-piece white dress.
Sadly, it seems that the system provided her with some clothes much to Masato's discomfort.
Est kept staring at Masato, waiting for him to say something.
Smiling, Masato rubbed her head, making her expression soft and a small smile forming on her face.
"Est… will you let me learn Bankai?"
"No!"
Masato became stunned, hearing her instant rejection. For a second, his mind went blank before he looked at her and asked, "Why?"
"Because Master should only use me and no one else. Only I am allowed to be used by the Master!" Est said with utmost seriousness, making Masato silent and not knowing how to reply.
'Oi… this is not following the script at all… didn't I have a premonition? What happened to the skill?'
"But Est…" "No! I'll not listen to the Master!"
'Ugh…' Masato groaned internally. Looking at her face, he was sure that even if he went on begging her, she would not change her answer. And remembering her character from her world, it didn't seem wrong.
'This is troublesome… I thought I would be able to learn Bankai right away…'
"But Est… Master requires more strength for future battles. If not, there is a chance that the Master will die."
"Do you mean I am useless?" With tears almost forming around her eyes, Est asked.
Her question stunned Masato as he hurriedly denied her accusation, "No, no! Est is the best sword. How can she be useless?! What I mean was-"
"Since that is the case, the Master doesn't need to use any other weapon. I'll be enough to protect the Master."
There was no change in her expression, but her voice sounded as serious as it could be - it sounded cute.
'This girl…'
Masato was left speechless and didn't know how to reply to her. He was sure that no matter how he persuaded her, she would not relent.
It made him smile bitterly. It seems that he will not be learning his Bankai any time soon. He could only sigh.
'It is going to be a headache to make her submit to me completely.'
You need full submission of your Zanpakuto to learn Bankai, and Masato found out that it would take him a lot of time to do so. He still had a long road ahead of him. For now, he can only play with his Zanpakuto and wished that she would let him learn Bankai.
---
"Inoue-san… what are you doing?"
It has been more than two days since they have come to Soul Society. In these two days, Ishida, Inoue, and Tatsuki have fought many battles but thankfully none of them was paired with a captain.
After all, their strength was not enough to fight with a captain.
That's why they've been trying their best to stay lowkey and not to cause much trouble.
They were wearing Shinigami's clothes for this reason too, so they can easily blend in with others. So far, no one has found out about them so they are safe.
Looking at Inoue who was dragging a Shinigami with her, Ishida doesn't know how many times he has massaged his nose bridge. It is not that he didn't want to stop her, but that her best friend also was doing the same thing which made Ishida helpless and not knowing what to say.
"Inoue-san, Arisawa-san… please, we are trying to stay lowkey. If you keep on taking down every Shinigami coming our way then we will be found out sooner or later."
He has said the same thing so many times that Ishida lost count of it. But no matter what he said, Orihime and Tatsuki would still take down any Shinigami that came in their way.
There was no particular reason except that Tatsuki doesn't seem to be in a good mood since the Shinigami asked Orihime out for a night.
She has treated every Shinigami as her mortal enemy since then. Ishida really wondered if Orihime was really just a best friend to Tatsuki and not that she has some ambiguous ideas about her.
"Don't worry, four-eyes. As long as I am here, I'll take care of everyone that comes in Inoue's way!"
Eyes shining with conviction, Tatsuki stated. Her eyes showed more determination than when she came to save Rukia.
"F-four-eyes!?" Adjusting his glasses, Ishida said, "It is not good manners to call others by such names, Arisawa-san."
"Huh? What are you gonna do? Fight me?"
"No… I never said that…"
"Then shut up four-eyes. You've been quite useless since we've come here. Not even taking down a single Shinigami and still talking like you are taking the lead."
"... Because our mission is to save Kuchiki-san and not to fight with other Shinigami…"
"What!? We are not here to beat these black robe cosplayers and save the princess!?"
Ishida helplessly sighed. He wanted to say that she only got the last part right but then he shook his head and looked towards the Seireitei.
'It has been a day since Kurosaki-san's Spiritual Pressure was released, fighting with a captain… I can only wish that he has not died.'
When they entered, Yoruichi had strictly banned them from fighting with a captain and to run away if faced with one.
It was not that she didn't believe in them but because she was aware that they would not be able to face a captain. Not everyone is born a cheat.
"Hick* Oy oy oy! Who do we have here? Oi, you bastards! Which divisions are you from, huh?!"
Tripping here and there, a person made his way towards them. His eyes were hazy while he was having a hard time staying on his feet, swaying here and there like a leaf in the wind.
He has a bottle in his hand, containing some form of liquid. It would not be hard to guess that he was a drunkard.
Ishida, Orihime, and Tatsuki's body tenses. They all looked at the coming Shinigami with vigilant eyes, ready to fight at any time.
"Hick* Oy…! Did you not hear me, pretty boy!? I've asked from which division are you from? What are you doing here at this time, huh?"
The other person pushed himself further towards them, soon reaching in front of Ishida.
"... We are from the 11th division and are patrolling around this area, looking from Ryokas." A moment later, Ishida answered.
"Huh? 11th division!? When did we have a flower boy like you in our division? Isn't it weird? Being in 11th division and not wearing your Zanpakuto with you!?"
Gripping Ishida's Kimono from the chest, the man pulled him towards his face. Inside the Kimono, there was a little tag that had an IV in roman written.
'Crap…!' Ishida, Orihime, and Tatsuki's faces tighten. Tatsuki had already put her posture and was ready to fight but then she stopped.
Behind the drunk Shinigami, a group of Shinigami made their way towards them with smiling and friendly faces.
"Hahaha! I am sorry, sorry! Our friend seems to be drunk and is causing you problems. What are you doing man? Come here, stop bothering them."
A man with a friendly face came and picked the drunk Shinigami and said. If you look at his face, one would not think that this person has some kind of malicious intent towards anyone.
But Ishida frowned at him.
"No… it is alright. We don't mind particularly."
"Is that so? Then you guys should also come with us. We are also patrolling. We can do it together. I've heard that Ryokas have powerhouses as strong as captains, we will be safer if we are together and with more people."
"I appreciate your offer but we have some other things to deal with so we will take our leave first."
Ishida wanted to leave this place as far as he could. He could feel his instinct ringing for some time now.
"Eh? Come on man. Where are you so stiff? Don't you think so too, lady?"
While laughing with his friends, the person looked towards Orihime and said, His eyes shone as he made his way towards her but this time, Ishida's eyes widened as he hurriedly shouted.
"Be careful Inoue-san!"
Boom*
A loud explosion took over the whole area, drowning his shout in it.
The person who was happily talking and chatting with them now missed the left side of his body. His eyes become hollow, full of disbelief.
"W-why… you said… we only need to…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence when another explosion happened in his body, tearing it apart into many small pieces.
"Che! Since you can't even capture them then at least be of some use." An unpleasant voice resounded from the other side of the explosion.
A weird-looking man walked in the direction of the explosion with displeasure on his face. His whole face was painted with black and white, giving him clown-like vibes.
He looked towards the explosion, completely ignoring his dead subordinates.
"Hmmm. How interesting, how interesting. It is the first time I've seen such a weird power. You will make a perfect specimen for my next experiment. What do you say? Want to come with me? I'll make sure to provide you with the best environment as an experiment."
If one looked at the other side of the explosion, a golden and bluish-color shield was placed in front of everyone. This shield blocked the explosion from reaching Ishida, Orihime, and Tatsuki.
"W-hy… aren't they your subordinate?"
With a trembling voice, Orihime asked. Tears gathered around her eyes as she looked at the pieces of what used to be a Shinigami a second ago.
"Subordinate? Ah! You are talking about those useless guys? Since they can't even capture you, then they should at least be useful in some way or the other; don't you think? But they are still not able to do anything. Sigh… it seems that useless things will remain useless no matter how you use them."
Opening his hands helplessly, the person said. He looked towards Orihime and Tatsuki, his eyes shone with light.
"But you guys are different. A human with unusual powers… How fascinating! I've never seen such a thing before. So, please, don't compare yourself with those who are useless and have no meaning except being used by others."
"... step back Orihime." Tatsuki placed her hand on Orihime's shoulder and pushed her back, her face filled with disgust as she looked at the person in front of her.
Ishida was no different from her. He also equipped himself with his bow and readied himself for the battle. Feeling the opponent's Spiritual Pressure, he could tell that running was useless.
Orihime, who was still shaken, was pushed back by Tatsuki as she smashed her fist together and looked towards Mayuri. A smirk forming on her face.
"Are you ready for the beating clown-face?"
"Oh~," Mayuri looked at Tatsuki with interest and said, "Interesting. Your Spiritual Pressure is not bad, for a human that is. But what is this technique you are using, the one that made your hand pitch dark?"
Tatsuki didn't reply and initiated the attack. Her toes clenched tight before she vanished from her place and appeared in front of Mayuri.
"Not a bad [Flash Step]." Mayuri, still not taking her seriously, praised her like an interesting toy.
"Iyaa!!!"
With a girly shout, Tatsuki punched Mayuri, who gripped his Zanpakuto handle and raised it to block her strike.
A loud clang sound was produced as if metal hitting metal, and Mayuri was pushed behind.
"To be able to harden your skin to such an extent, really interesting. What technique is this? You are really a valuable experimental piece."
"Stop blabbing your mouth already!" Tatsuki's face showed her displeasure as she shouted at Mayuri.
She again launched herself towards Mayuri and again threw a straight punch.
Mayuri was not fazed as he again raised his sword to block it but his eyes widened as he saw Ishida releasing an arrow from behind.
He was not surprised about the fact of Ishida releasing an arrow but the fact that Tatsuki was in the way of the arrow and it would hit her before reaching him.
'Is he sacrificing his friend to make a hit on me?'
Even though he thought so, there was no delay in his moment as he again blocked Tatsuki's punch with his sword.
'This…' Mayuri's face showed astonishment as he saw that Tatsuki's body passed from his body… no, it was not a body but just an afterimage.
"Behind you, Mayuri-sama!"
A voice of a woman came from his behind but he didn't have time to dodge her attack as the arrow of Ishida had already made its way in front of him as it smoothly passed from Tatsuki's phantom body.
Sling*
The arrow was cut open in two as his other hand made its way towards Tatsuki's punch.
The wind was created in a circular manner as Mayuri's eyes looked at his back, at Tatsuki. His eyes showed bewilderment as he didn't feel any pain on his body or any force from her punch.
But then he felt a great shock inside his body, shaking his organs completely.
Cough* Cough*
Blood filled his mouth before it fell out of it.
"Mayuri-sama!" The woman standing behind him shouted with worry and anxiousness but Mayuri didn't look at her but his blood.
'An internal attack? She released her unstable spiritons inside of me to damage me from inside?'
Don't look at his appearance and his way of talking but Mayuri was an intellectual person. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the Head of the Research Department of Soul Society.
He may look eccentric from the outside but his mind was calm. He calmly judged Tatsuki's attack and easily deciphered the way it works.
'But how did she produce unstable spiritons? It should have attacked her instead.'
If she released unstable spiritons, she should have these spiritons inside her body before, but she seems to be alright with it. Mayuri, even though found out how she damaged him, couldn't find the reason why she was able to use unstable spiritons.
"That is an interesting move. How did you do it? Wait, don't tell me. After I capture you, I'll find it myself." Saying, he took something like an injection out of his pocket and injected it on himself.
Even though the damage was not big, it was not small either. And internal damage would hinder the battle more than normal injuries, so he needed to be on the safer side.
Tatsuki's and Ishida's faces tensed, seeing this. They didn't know what this injection did but it was definitely not good for them.
Tatsuki again appeared beside Ishida and looked at Mayuri with vigilant eyes.
"What to do, four-eyes?" She asked in a low voice while her eyes never left Mayuri.
"... We can't run away so the only way is to fight him head-on," Ishida looked towards the woman standing behind Mayuri and said, "I'll target that woman first. You fight her and I'll fight with the captain. We can't let them fight us together."
"Can you take care of him alone?"
Mayuri was a captain. No matter how creepy he looked, he was still a genuine captain. Fighting him alone would definitely prove fatal to them. Ishida and Tatsuki were aware of it.
Even though she liked fighting, it didn't mean she couldn't tell the difference between her opponents. She was sure that one mistake would kill them in front of a captain, so she was worried.
"... then you take care of the girl and come help me. I'll hold him as long as I can. The girl behind doesn't look to be a fighter but we can't ignore her, more so if she came with a captain."
Even though she looked harmless, since she could come with a captain, there was no way she was a normal Shinigami - at least, a vice-captain.
"Are you done with the planning?" Mayuri asked, seemingly giving them time to discuss and not minding.
"Let's go," Ishida said and stretched the bowstring and released an arrow at Mayuri.
"Quincy, huh. I've already completed my research on your race so I am not interested in you." Mayuri completely ignored Ishida's arrow and tilted his head to the side, dodging it.
But as the arrow passed him, his eyes again looked in surprise as he saw Tatsuki, who was standing beside Ishida, moving at the other side of the arrow and passed him with the arrow.
The arrow went straight towards the woman standing there and blasted everything away.
The woman had already jumped before the arrow reached her so she was saved but Tatsuki appeared at the place where she jumped and round-kicked her at her solar plexus.
The woman, named Nemu, crossed her hands in front of her and received the kick.
But she overcalculated the pressure behind the kick, including the fact that she was still in the air.
Boom*
Tatsuki's Haki-coated kick landed on Nemu's hand as she was blasted away back to the ground, creating a pothole there due to her fall.
"Huh?" Mayuri looked towards Nemu and Tatsuki, completely ignoring Ishida as if he was just air.
This seems to arouse Ishida's displeasure as he releases an arrow at him.
Feeling the coming arrow, Mayuri uninterestedly swings his sword and destroys it.
"Did I not say it? I have already completed my research on your kind and am not interested in you, Quincy kid," he looked back at Ishida before his eyes landed on Orihime, "I am more interested in that lady behind you. Can you hand her over?"
"You can try." Ishida pulled the string back and created another arrow. He cautiously looked at Mayuri while also observing the fight between Tatsuki and Nemu.
"Hmmm. Is this a die-for-your-friend thing? I am not interested so I'll have to remove you."
Mayuri also took his sword out and looked at Ishida. Both of them ignored the fight between Nemu and Tatsuki, readying themselves for the fight between them.
While this was happening, Orihime was standing some distance away from them and worriedly looked at everything happening.
---
"Do you like this Est? I baked this cake just before coming here."
"Um. It's good."
"Try this one too. This one has a chocolate flavor. I bet you would love this one too."
"Um."
"Do you like it?"
"Um."
"Then… Can you let me learn Bankai?"
"No."
"Thought so…"
"..."
While such conservation was going on between two white-haired, Yoruichi and Ichigo were looking at them silently, not knowing what to say.
After all, they were surprised to know that Masato can already manifest his Zanpakuto; adding the fact that she is this cute too.
But what astonished them most was his way of making his Zanpakuto submit to himself. It has been almost a day and Masato has been feeding Est all kinds of sweets, trying to buy her.
Though it didn't help him in the least as Est was completely stubborn at the part of not letting him use any other weapon than her. It really made him helpless.
As for the hard way…
'You don't think I'll raise my hand on such a cute little girl, right? Are you a monster or what?'
"... I didn't know that there was such a way to make your Zanpakuto submit to yourself…"
As if completely astonished by what he was seeing, Ichigo said. While at the same time he was jealous, not of how cute Est was… maybe… but that he had to fight with an old man for submission.
"Don't get distracted Ichigo. You shouldn't be surprised as every Zanpakuto has a different personality and requirements; it mostly depends on them whether they would let you make them submit or not."
An old man with long messy black hair said. He was Ichigo's Zanpakuto, Zangetsu.
Even though he said that one could tell that even he was weirded out by the behavior of Masato and Est.
"Say... Ossan… do you like chocolate?" Looking at the old man, Ichigo asked with some expectation.
Sling*
A vertical sword made its way towards Ichigo as he hurriedly parried it with his sword.
"Oi! No need to be so angry about it. Just say no if you don't like it! We can also try vanilla!" While dodging the incoming strikes, Ichigo shouted.
Zangetsu ignored his shenanigans and kept slashing his sword at him, trying to kill him.
Yoruichi ignored them while looking at Ichigo with frown brows.
'It already has been a day and he hasn't made any progress so far except in combat…'
("Ah! Don't worry. Kurosaki-san has more talent than me so he would definitely be able to learn it.") - is what Urahara had said to her but Yoruichi wondered if Ichigo would really be able to learn it.
It was not that she was doubting Urahara as she knew that Urahara would not spot nonsense without any proof.
'But still… to learn Bankai in three days…'
Urahara had also learned Bankai in three days. According to him, taking longer would prove dangerous so either one can learn Bankai in three days with his method or use the typical method.
Now Ichigo was also learning with the same method. Yoruichi could only believe in Ichigo and that he can learn Bankai in three days.
"Hm?"
Both Yoruichi and Masato raised their heads as they felt a familiar Spiritual Pressure rising.
Since he has been in intense training, Ichigo doesn't seem to perceive it. Also, they were in a training ground built by Urahara that blocked the Spiritual Pressure. So, if you don't have a high talent for perceiving pressure, then you might not find it out.
Yoruichi looked towards Masato as if asking if he was going or not.
Masato shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn't care.
"He didn't care" might not be the right wording but he didn't want to help anyone in any fight or he would have to take Chad with him before.
Except for his plans and the things he needs, he was not going to interfere much with the original. Though he had already fucked the original… but not much, right?
Yoruichi also nodded and didn't leave. She is the one powering Zengetsu Materialization currently. If she left, Zengetsu would change back to a normal manikin.
---
Just like that with Masato trying to make Est 'submit', Yoruichi training Ichigo, and Mamako sleeping; a day finished.
Everyone rested for the night before Yoruichi again materialized Zangetsu and started Ichigo's training for the second day while Masato was sleeping in Mamako's bosom and Est hugging him.
While everyone was busy with each other, a meeting between the highest powers in Gotei 13 was happening in Seireitei.
Every Captain, leaving those who were busy, was gathered.
They stood in two rows, in front of each other with Gotei 13 commander sitting in the center.
Only Soifon, Gin, Unohana, Byakuya, Komamura, Shunsui Kyuraku, and Toshiro were present. Other captains were either injured or were busy with something else.
While Gin, Unohana, Byakuya, Toshiro, and Shunsui didn't have any particular expressions, Komamura was resealing intense dark aura.
It was enough to tell that he was not in the mood to hear someone or talk with anyone. His face was hidden or people would definitely have been scared by him, adding the fact that he looks like a wolf.
"Captain Komamura doesn't seem to be in a good mood, is everything alright?" With his everyday grin, Gin asked Komamura what looked like a teasing voice.
Sigh*
Everyone sighed but no one intervened. But the aura around Komamura intensified even more but he controlled it well under his wolf skin.
Except for Tosen, he had great respect for Yamamoto. So, he would try to be as civil as he can in front of him and would try to be not rude; otherwise, he might not even join this meeting and will definitely be busy looking for the trail of Masato.
To exact his revenge for Tosen. But sadly, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't find anything about him which made him frustrated with each passing second.
Obviously, the enemy is in your territory and yet no one can capture him, it is enough to make one frustrated, no?
"I've heard that Captain Soifon also had a fight with the Ryoka but he didn't, let alone hurt, kill you. Is there a reason for it I wonder?"
Seeing as he didn't get any answer from Komamura, Gin changed his target and asked Soifon.
Was he targeting her? Not really. He just liked the reaction of people when he teased them.
A condensed killing intent emerged from Soifon as if being hit on a sore spot as she glared at Gin, "What do you mean by that, Captain Gin? Are you saying I am concluding with the Ryukas?"
Soifon didn't hold her disgust for Gin and replied in a low voice.
"Of course not!" Gin hurriedly denied and said with the same grinning face, "I was just asking. I am sure every Captain is curious about your fight with Masato Oosuki. After all, we don't have much information about him. His fighting method, his techniques; everything is a mystery to us. I was wondering if you could tell us something about him."
Other Captains also looked towards Soifon with interest. None had any information about Masato except that he killed Tosen and he is the only person in Ryokas who would strike to kill instead of leaving his opponent alive.
For this reason, he was dubbed as the "most dangerous among Ryokas" too.
"... From what I've seen, he seems to have mastered most of the Kidos," Seeing as every Captain was interested, Soifon reluctantly opened her mouth and explained, "Other than that, he has monstrous talent as he was able to copy my strongest technique by only looking at it once. He even improved it by so much that it looked like a completely different move in the end!"
As she finished, she was gnashing her teeth enough to tell her hatred towards Masato and that she wouldn't mind skinning him completely.
Of course, that was impossible.
The present Captains were astonished hearing it. Learning most of the Kidos when he has not been in Soul Society for more than 5 days and even mastering them was enough to shock them, but he even copied Soifon's most powerful technique with just one look and even improved it? They didn't have any words to describe it.
Even Yamamoto opened his closed eyes as he stared at Soifon, seeing if what she said was true or not.
"Really… it seems we have encountered a monster this time." Shunsui lowered his straw hat and said. Since he has also met Masato and seen his control of space, he was sure that even he would have a hard time fighting with him.
And now knowing that he even knows how to use Kido and learn other people's techniques with just one look, of course, even he would rather not face such an opponent.
An opponent having one overkill method is easy to deal with one who has hundreds of different methods to fight - after all, you can't really face different scenarios at once.
And your opponent would have hundreds of different methods to cope up with any situation.
"To be able to learn a technique with one glance?" Gin became silent as he contemplated something.
"How did he learn Kido? If he went to Kido Corps then they should be aware of someone entering their library, no? To be able to enter without anyone noticing, does he have some kind of sneaking method?" Toshiro questioned.
Even as a Captain, he would have a hard time entering the Kido Corps undetected. After all, it was filled with many different traps to find any intruders.
It even has many seals to stop just anyone learning high-level Kidos.
If Masat was able to learn Kidos, then not only he bypassed every Kido defense and entered their library, he might have even learned high-level Kidos by destroying the seal.
Thinking this, everyone's faces sank. This is the high-level Kido they are talking about. Not just anyone can learn it.
Not only that, high-level Kido has enough power to kill Captains. If such powerful techniques fell into the enemy's hands, everyone can guess how much of a problem and danger it can cause to Soul Society.
"If everyone in their group had such talents..." Gin murmured to himself but others seemed to hear it as they denied it right away.
"Not really. I've fought with his… mother - at least that is what she calls herself - and she definitely didn't know any Kido. But even without that, she was insanely strong. She didn't even use her full power against me as she kept increasing it with constant pace to match my Spiritual Pressure."
Toshiro said as he remembered his fight with Mamako and shuddered. He still remembers her last attack that made him almost want to give up the fight.
"And Captain Zaraki fought with the Ryuko who 'stole' Kuchiki Rukia's power," Toshiro looked towards Byakuya before continuing, "According to the information, he only used his sword during the whole fight."
"While we've received the news last night that Captain Mayuri has also lost to a Ryuko that is suspected to be a Quincy. Captain Mayuri was almost killed during the fight but Ryukos were captured by Captain Ukitake who just came out of his medical rest."
"While one of the Ryuka was captured by Captain Shunsui. Now only three Ryukas are left - Ichigo Kurosaki, Masato Oosuki, and Mamako Oosuki. They are also the strongest Ryukas."
Toshiro explained the current situation thoroughly before going back to silence.
Other Captains also didn't interject and remained silent.
By this time, Komamura opened his mouth, "That devil… I'll kill him myself." His Spiritual Pressure was almost at the edge, wanting to rampage but he controlled it perfectly.
Thud*
A loud sound filled the room as Yamamoto struck his stick on the ground. He looked at every captain before he slowly said, "New orders from central have come," every captain looked at Yamamoto with surprise, waiting for him to finish; especially, Unohana and Toshiro as they seem to suspect something, "The execution date of Kuchiki Rukia has been changed. It has been reset to today! At noon, Kuchiki Rukia shall be executed!"
"Reschedule?!"
"Today…"
While Shunsui hid his face, sighing, other captains had their own thoughts going on in their minds,, sheToshiro and Unohana, who had suspected something remained silent while the former staring towards Gin, who waved at him - completely relaxed as if the conservation had nothing to do with him.
Soifon also didn't input anything and remained silent, same with Byakuya who didn't even flinch hearing the execution of his sister.
Thud*
The old man again struck his cane before continuing, "Pass the order; Masato Oosuki, Mamako Oosuki, and Kurosaki Ichigo - they are to be captured alive!"
"What!? Are you going to let the killer of Tosen live?!" Komamura suddenly raised his voice. He was planning to kill Masato with his hands after all.
"This is an order." Yamamoto didn't even flinch before saying, "Dismiss!"
With that, every captain left the meeting with a different thought process. Some didn't even mind the order while some wanted to take care of Masato with their hands.
Obviously, they all were unaware that even if every captain, including Aizen, attacked Masato currently, it would be useless and the fact that he had ways to destroy the whole Soul Society in a blink.
Even if Squad Zero were to join them, the ending would remain the same.
---
Ahhhhhhhhhh…!!!
Well… I have exams this month, to be more precise, in the coming week and now I have to complete all the semester projects and presentations that I've been delaying since the start of the semester.
Procrastination hurts and yet I can't help it… :feelsBadMan:
Anyway, the next chapter will probably be in… next month… yes, busy life #IwantTodie #IwantTosleep.
Adios~!
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