"Here's your tea, sir." One of the muscular twin guys that were the assistant of the woman across me said with a bow and I gave a thankful smile as I took the tea while bowing slightly.
"Ah, thank you, Koganehiko."
"You know the difference between my brother and I?"
"You like wearing a yellow top while he likes wearing a white top, right?" I asked and he gave a happy nod beforeI looked at the curvaceous woman seated across from me with one knee pulled up to her chest while the other laid flat on the floor, revealing the black thong she wore under her white skirt.
"Ahem! You can go now, Kogane."'
"As you wish, Mistress Shiba. Lord Kanonji, Lady Yoruichi." He said while bowing to the black cat seated on an exquisite pillow to the right of me and the left of Kukaku before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
"So…what took you so long?" Yoruichi asked and I sighed as I took a sip from my tea before answering.
"The Dangai. Apparently, a portal to something called Valley of Screams or something like that opened up just a few minutes after you guys went in and I went inside that one."
"A Valley of Screams?" It appears Yoruichi did not know either, but Kukaku did from the way her eyes lit up before she shook her head.
"It is called a Valley of Screams and if what you're saying is even true, you should still be stuck in there instead of sitting before us. Wanna try again?" Kukaku asked with a raised eyebrow and I rolled my eyes as I placed my tea down.
"Listen, I'm just repeating what that guy said to me."
"Give us a description."
"Fairly tall guy, long silver hair that went past his shoulders, red eyes, a scar from his forehead diagonally down to the corner of his jaw and his group called him Ganryu if that helps."
"Nope, he's not someone I know of. Yoruichi?"
"Doesn't match the description of anyone that's been helping him, but he could have just been recruiting people since we got banished so who knows?"
'Does she mean Aizen? Does this mean he might have other guys that weren't in the canon universe? Well, shit.' Gin and Tosen alone were threats that needed Aizen himself and both a captain and a lieutenant to take out respectively.
The thought of him trusting more people of that level was a very tiny concerning one, but then again…
'Aizen rarely trusts anyone so it's all good.'
"Well, let's say we do believe what you just said. The question still remains on how you escaped." Yoruichi's voice cut me from my thoughts and I looked at her before shrugging.
"They wanted to sacrifice me with an influx of spiritual energy, so I decided to use that influx of energy to power-up a gate out of the dimension while also destroying the dimension and everyone inside it with most of the energy."
"That does fit what Ichigo and Ganju described when you first arrived." Kukaku said and I frowned before Yoruichi answered.
"Ichigo said that his spiritual energy was pulled from the orb and took the form of a purple void of sorts that you then came out of right as it exploded and destroyed most of the training room."
"Ah…apologies for that by the way." I apologized to Kukaku, who snorted as she waved her hand dismissively and shook her head.
"It's all good. Besides, you just gave me a reason to do some redesigning."
"…Great to hear that. So, now that we've all been caught up on my journey so far, what happened with you guys?" I asked and Kukaku snickered as Yoruichi snorted.
"Got chased by the Kototsu, faced off against a giant, got kicked back out of the Seireitei by a captain and now we're making a plan to get back in. That's about it."
"By the way, make a sphere around your body with this." Kukaku said as she tossed an orb at me and I smirked as I caught it with a telekinetic grip before creating a multi-layered golden sphere around me with ease.
"Nice control."
"Eh, it's kind of the one thing I'm good at." I answered with a shrug and Kukaku hummed before we looked at Yoruichi as she cleared her throat.
"Well, then let's get you caught up on what the plan is."
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"So…last I saw you all, we were busy fighting against all those Hollows. How have you all been since then?" I began the conversation as Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko continued to turn a crank to raise a gigantic dark cannon up from behind the shack.
"Good/ Great./ Never better/ Can I have your autograph, Mr Kanonji?" Ichigo, Chad and Uryu were surprised by Orihime's happy question as she held out a pen and paper while I grinned and nodded as I took them.
"Of course, what's the name?"
"Uh, Orihime. Orihime Inoue."
" Orihime Inoue. To the loyal fan and may the spirits be forever-!"
"What is that presence of yours?"
" with you…Anyone wanna explain the little people floating around me?" I asked as I finished making the autograph for Orihime, to which she gave a nervous giggle and scratched the back of her head.
"T-These are my Shun Shun Rikka. Sorry about this. They're not usually this close…to anyone really."
"That's because most of the people you know are irritating. This one on the other hand has a nice smell to him." The one in an all-black bodysuit with a bandana covering the lower part of his face said and I snorted and crossed my arms.
"I would hope so. That's ¥600,000 worth of cologne right there."
"That's why you smell like a damn arrogant prick." Ichigo said and snorted as I gave a thumbs-up.
"Exactly."
"That's not what we're talking about, idiots. We're talking about your spiritual energy. It smells foreign…yet sweet at the same time." The pixie with the bright pink hair and blue bathing suit said and I blinked before creating a Kan'onball above my hand.
"Does this smell any different?"
"Kind of. It's like a sickly sweet scent now." The pixie with the large robotic eyepatch answered and I hummed before snuffing out my spiritual energy and nodding.
"Thank you spirits and you too, Ms. Inoue. This has proven to be quite the useful discussion."
"O-Oh, it's my pleasure."
"…Where did she even get the pen and paper for the autograph?"
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"So, everyone ready?!"
"Ready! Fire at will!" Yoruichi answered back and Kukaku nodded before the door shut closed, leaving us six humans standing in a circle with the orb held by all of us while Yoruichi sat on top of it.
'Memorize the incantation. Feel how her energy moves.' I repeated those two sentences over and over to myself as I focused on Kukaku's words, thankful for my sensitive connection to the Reimyaku of the dimension as I could feel her energy wrapping around us.
"Alright, everyone! Start fuelling your energy in!" Yoruichi spoke and we all fuelled our spiritual energy into the orb, with me still focused on Kukaku as I felt her spiritual energy flare out under us.
The moment we covered ourselves in the barrier, I had to brace myself as we got shot out of the cannon at a reasonably fast pace and yet, it was not as fast as I expected.
"Huh, that…wasn't as strong as I expected." Uryu said and I snorted as Ganju grinned.
"Second impact incoming." The moment he said that, I had to grit my teeth while the others screamed in fright as a powerful eruption sent us careening through the air and right at the large dome of energy that surrounded the Seireitei.
"Ganju!"
"On it! Everyone, keep the barrier steady!" Ganju shouted and I focused on the flow of everyone's spiritual energy inside the orb while frowning as I felt Ichigo's fluctuating the moment Ganju let go.
Looking out the orb, I watched as the Seireitei grew closer before looking back as Yoruichi spoke up.
"Ichigo, pull back a bit!"
"I'm…trying!"
"Less, Kurosaki! Less!" Uryu spoke and my frown deepened as they all began to ask Ichigo to pull back, who was growing more frustrated by the second before shaking my head as Ganju misspoke.
"Ganju! Give that here and keep your flow up! Ichigo, think of the orb as a bomb that could go off at any second and kill your family if you don't keep up a constant flow of spiritual energy into it, okay?!" I ordered as I took the paper from Ganju.
Keeping my concentration up on the barrier while unfolding the big scroll entirely, I gave a nod and a smile to Ichigo as I felt him concentrate entirely on keeping his spiritual energy output steady before looking back at the scroll.
"The fate of the three sparrows, the fate of the four dragons, enclosed on five sides, unable to return six ri. Winds of heaven, orangutan, spoon, cane of elm…A thousand ashes and a thousand wisdoms, the plan of the white clouds…Close to the moon, not stepping on the shadow of scarlet. Flower Crane Launch Method Two: Step Two Activate!"
"Nice!" Ganju shouted as I felt myself linking up with the Reishukaku floating in between us all, angling us to make sure we hit the top of it before everyone's eyes widened as I rapidly accelerated us even more.
"I know you all want to shout, but concentrate and push even more energy into the Reishukaku!" I shouted over their cries and while no one responded, I smiled as they all did as I asked and concentrated even more energy into the orb.
Now, it was my turn and I focused as I began to shape the barrier around us, moulding it into a cylindrical shape around us before focusing most of the energy to the top part of it and forcing it into a razor-sharp and pointed drill tip.
The others looked surprised, but I was not finished yet as I began to rotate the drill barrier right as we crashed into the dome barrier around the Seireitei.
As soon as we did, I winced at the high-pitched shriek echoing in the sky when the drill began to go into the barrier, which tried its best to push us back.
Unfortunately for it, though, we had a determined Ichigo Kurosaki on our side who was still pumping an absurd amount of spiritual energy into it and I grinned as we began to push the barrier to its limits.
"Nice work, Kanonji! Keep concentrating, everyone! We're almost through!" I just gave a nod to Yoruichi's words as I made the drill spin even faster, the barrier screeching as cracks began to form at the impact point before I wheezed at the backlash when we finally pierced through.
"That's what I'm talking about, man!" Ganju spoke, but I was barely able to hear his voice as I took a deep breath and bathed in the abundance of spiritual energy inside the Seireitei.
It felt as if I had walked into paradise itself and even as I forced the drill barrier back into a ball around us, I had to force myself to not salivate as I caught sight of a large building near the prison on the mountain where Rukia was.
"Well, now what?" I asked and they looked at me before my eyes widened as a very loud crack echoed in the air, all of us slowly looking at Ichigo as he looked just as shocked before I cursed as the barrier shattered.
"FUCK!" I roared as a tornado of reishi ripped into existence around us, quickly reaching forward and clutching the Reishukaku to my body right as I felt myself being flung to the far north of the tornado.
"Kanonji!" I faintly heard Ichigo shouting my name over the raging winds around us, but I forced myself to forget about them for the time being I was up here as I had more pressing matters to worry about.
Pulling on the reishi of the air as well as my own, the Reishukaku glowed as I poured both into it before forming a thin barrier around my body, grunting as I crashed right through a building and continued on until I came to a slow stop.
"Damn…you're more valuable than I expected." I coughed as I stood up from the crater I made, waving my hand around to clear the dust before walking out of the crater and onto the well-kept pathway.
"Oh…hello." However, doing so revealed myself to the numerous Shinigami looking shocked to see me and all of us stared at each other before my cane glowed right as they all went to unsheathe their swords.
"Hado #1: Sho! Sho! Sho! Sho! Sho! Sho! Sho!" My cane was a blur as I pointed and fired at a rapid pace, knocking swords out of hands and knocking them out with precise shockwaves to their necks.
"You're a wizard, Kanonji." I whispered to myself with a grin as I lowered my cane, looking at the Reishukaku in my grasp before nodding as I walked over to the first Shinigami.
"Ouch!" The man was quickly awoke with a painful slap to his face and as he went to shout, his eyes widened when he saw me kneeling over him with a sword held to his neck.
"Alright, listen up. I'll be asking a few questions and if you answer them correctly, you and your friends can go. Nod if you understand." I said and smiled as he gave a slow and shaky nod.
"Good. Firstly, what's your name, man?"
"Aida. Aida Kumari." He responded and I smiled as I nodded in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Aida. I am Don Kanonji. So, Aida, which Division of the Seireitei am I in?"
"T-The 3rd Division."
'…Well, isn't that just my luck? The one place I land in and it belongs to the second-in-command of the big evil boss of the Arrancars.'
"Ah, I see. Aida, can you tell how to get to the Kido Corps' HQ from here?"
"N-No, no one knows. The only people that know are other people of the Kido Corps."
"…You're not lying to me, right Aida? You do remember I have a sword to your neck."
"I…I do and I'm telling the truth." He spoke and I stared at him for a while before sighing as I nodded while removing the sword.
A moment later, I caught his wrist and delivered another Sho to his forehead that knocked him out cold before catching his head right as it almost smacked into the ground.
"Apologies for that, but you did just try to kill me." I apologized with a smile and placed him down before looking around with a frown.
'Well, I can't exactly just walk up to everyone and ask them if I can figure out where the Kido Corps is since no one is supposed to know that…or are they?' I thought with a smirk as I looked at the one spot where there would be Kido Corps members.
It wasn't hard to miss considering it was a gigantic naginata standing tall with its blade pointed at the sky and I grinned as I nodded and began making my way towards the Sokyoku Hill.
'Time to do some interrogation, but before that…which one of these guys fit me?'
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"Okay, this…had better be worth it." I wheezed as I finally took that last step, breathing heavily with my hands on my hips while glaring at the giant weapon in front of me that had chains equally as large pinning it to the ground.
It didn't help that I was dressed in this tacky and sweaty dark Shinigami shihakusho that absorbed sunlight like a bitch and left me as gasping for air and water like a fish on dry land.
"I swear…if there's no one here, I might have to blow up something." I groaned as I started walking towards the colossal naginata and to be truthful, the awe at it was completely and replaced by frustration at the fact that I wasn't at some kind of library already.
"Halt!" As I looked at the person who shouted, I had to stifle my glee and excitement at the sight of a person dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform while wearing the signature white face-covering that hung to their lower body with the Kido Corps' logo on the front of it.
"Uh, me?" I asked as I pointed at myself, the Kido Corps member not responding as they walked closer with a hand held up at me.
"What are you doing here? No Shinigami are allowed up here."
"Oh, nothing much. Just thought this would be a nice place to train away from everyone else." I answered with a shrug while gesturing towards the katana at my left side, but the Kido Corps member just looked at me and at the cane grasped in my left hand.
"Ah, this? It's supposed to be the latest fashion sense to have a cane so I decided to buy one. Do I look good?"
"Go away and stay away." They said as they turned back around before I quickly rose a finger and fired a Kan'onball at them.
However, I was not surprised as a barrier of blue light appeared behind them to block the sphere while they themselves unleashed two Shakkaho without incantations around the barrier and at me.
Fuelling my Reiryoku into the Reishukaku while pulling on the reishi around us, several golden barriers appeared around me and blocked the attack while I fired three Kan'onballs in rapid succession.
Shooting each one with a slight curve, I dismissed the barrier and aimed a Byakurai to the ground in front of the Corps member right as they blocked the last one.
The moment they were obscured by the dust that shot up from the attack, I was already firing a Sho through the air, a Kan'onball following right behind it while floating low to the ground.
The Sho knocked the wind out of him and made him keel over right as I flicked my finger upwards, curving the Kan'onball and feeling victorious as the blast slammed into their chin with the force of the cannonball.
Quickly rushing in before they could try to get up, I slammed a double knee right into their back and followed it up with an elbow to the neck, lying on top of them and taking deep breaths as I looked up at the sky.
'Whew! No one said doing this work was easy.'
"That was hard to watch." A new voice spoke up and I looked at the one who spoke with a groan before freezing the moment I caught sight of the person.
The man had long black hair tied into a ponytail with a golden band with two long strands framing his forehead. His narrowed eyes stared at me with indifference.
However, as I caught sight of a white haori and a golden mantle with black markings wrapped around his neck and attached to the edges of his haori, I wondered just what divine being I pissed off to come face to face with a captain, even if I don't recognized him.
"…It was?"
"It was indeed. Now, who are you?"
'…Well, how am I lying my way out of this one?'
A/N: Well, Don, you had a nice run~!
Just kidding, but how is the Don going to get away from a captain himself? Does he have plans or is he planning to just say 'fuck it' and destroy everything in an attempt to get away?
Who knows? Guess we'll have to find out next week!
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 the next chapter,
Ba-Bye~!