Chapter 367: Chapter 333
After getting used to it, I didn't really mind this Kimono. The uniforms of the Shinigami had a certain appeal, I had to admit.
It would be better if it wasn't tainted by the thoughts of those thugs.
At the moment, I really did not have a good opinion of Soul Society. Was feeling pretty shitty about the whole situation in sending that little girl here. I was hanging onto some shred of hope that maybe this was just an extreme case and it gets better.
Fingers crossed.
I've walked through what appears to be several of these 'districts'. This place is absolutely massive, easily millions upon millions living here but they didn't have high-rise buildings or apartments like they did in the living world. So, everyone was spread out with houses nearly back to back, making it look even bigger from a certain perspective.
Yet, the vast majority I've seen were at best barely above the perceivable poverty line. Granted, my views may be skewed from living in the modern era, but when a significant portion of the people don't even have simple sandals to wear, there's a big fucking problem.
Not to mention that every single look I got was one of trepidation if not outright fear due to the uniform I was wearing.
Granted, the closer I got to this Seireitei, the less it became obvious. Sure, there was still caution with my approach, but as the area got further in, and poverty got notably lessened with each passing minute, it seems like the sight of a Shinigami wasn't one of immediate caution.
I'm not even surprised that the more well off and wealthy don't fear the Shinigami.
I could basically scope out the layout so far. This place was like a giant circle, with Seireitei sitting in the middle. And obviously the better off places sat closer to the homes of the Shinigami and supposed Nobles.
It took forever to finally make it, but I could see a sort of.....disconnect from where the Rukongai ends and the Seireitei begins. I took a quick look around, and steadied myself.
I highly doubt anyone would notice I'm a living being. I mean, how difficult would it be for a living being to sneak into Soul Society in the first place?
Not to mention I look exactly like a normal Shinigami and there was no one around to question me.
Just project confidence and no one will question you.
I puffed up my chest, and carried myself as if I belonged here.
[You think this will work?] Ddraig asked, a bit sarcastically.
Oh yee of little faith.
"I have absolute confiden—"
Boooooooom!
The wind howled, my hair was blown back and dirt immediately flew up all around me. Thunderous and explosive sounds rang out as if something heavy and big hit the ground. Not to mention the shockwave that was sent through the earth in all directions.
I blinked.
And I blinked again.
There was a massive gate a few inches in front of my face.
.....did it fall from the sky?
[Absolute confidence, huh?]
I ignored the dragon, tilting my head up. The Gate was atleast a few dozen feet tall. And not only that, there was now an equally large wall that shot off in both directions, completely encompassing the Seireitei for as much as I could see.
.....I understand why there was a bunch of empty space between these two regions now....
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.
I did an about face and quickly skedaddled.
[***]
Well, it was a good thing I took a moment to hide myself, because people started poking their heads out. And not just the residents of the Rukongai. Shinigami came flooding out looking very annoyed. Shouting commands and such, they started spreading out and searching through the area.
I don't know why that massive wall and accompanying gate suddenly appeared, but I'm guessing there was some way to detect an intruder?
"Well.....shit."
[Just have confidence. I'm sure it'll work a second time.]
Fuck off Ddraig.
Seriously, I didn't wanna cause a massive commotion, but....here we are. Now....how to sneak in.
[Have you tried having more confidence?]
"I hate you sometimes."
[Do your best, Watermelon! I'll cheer you on.]
I let out a long sigh at Ddraig's snickering.
Shaking my head, I started walking in the opposite direction of the gate, keeping the massive wall at the corner of my eye.
It would probably take me a couple days of casual walking to reach the opposite side if I had a straight path, so after a few minutes, I found a rather isolated spot behind some house that I could take a moment to step out and inspect the wall properly.
With another quick look around, I didn't see anyone nearby so I walked forward and touched the massive wall.
"Oh, that's interesting." I muttered, feeling my Aura scatter upon touching the wall. "Complete rejection it looks like." I pulled on my Reiatsu a miniscule amount and pushed it against the stone wall. Like my Aura, it was repulsed without any chance to resist. "Conceptualized Anti-Spirit properties?" I hazard a guess.
Maybe I was going too far in one direction. It could just be significantly resistant to Spiritual energy of any kind to the point where I would have to bring significant force to overcome it.
Just to test, I gathered my Aura and slammed my Palm against the wall. I felt a faint reverberation, but my Aura splashed harmlessly before dissipating.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance and thought of an idea. I knelt down and started digging a hole to see if I could tunnel below. It'd be easy to displace some dirt with a few spells even in this environment.
However, once I got about a foot down and tried to go under, I met a barrier that seemed to contain the same properties as the stone.
I had a feeling that this 'barrier' extended in every direction and the Stone structure in front of me was more a solidified conceptualization rather than the whole of the barrier itself. Maybe it anchored the effects around itself, but the stone walls themselves were not the entirety of the barrier.
[Just fly over.] Ddraig grunted.
"Fly over?" I responded. "I'm pretty sure they wouldn't overlook such a glaring issue if there's even something stopping me from underneath."
[No you idiot. You said this thing probably rejects are spiritual stuff. You're a living person, why would it stop you?]
".....I would have had this thought after going through my own tests."
[Whatever you say.]
Gods, he's going to be so smug about this if it works.
Despite what he said, I wasn't going to fly over. That would require my Wings making an appearance, and I don't want that kind of attention if I was seen.
No, I just Reinforced my Leg and jumped upwards, landing at the very edge of the wall's top. Literally an inch forward and that shimmering field of energy made an appearance.
Looking around, this was definitely a good angle to view what was going on down there. This place looked like an old Japanese style castle in its architecture. Walls that went every which way forming almost like a maze, and an uncountable number of buildings set up everywhere.
I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going for now, so here was as good a place as any.
I pulled my Aura in as tightly as I could. My Reiatsu was also reeled in as best as I could manage even if I was still not too familiar with this type of energy I could somewhat manage this much.
Without a second thought, I took a step forward and harmlessly passed through the barrier.
I chuckled at how simply I overcame it.
There wasn't really much blame that could be placed on these people. How likely was it for a living person to even come here? I had to jump through several, almost, paradoxical loops to do so. I'm sure they're only defending against the likes of Hollows or some rogue Shinigami.
I just shook my head, taking another step forward and dropping off the wall onto the other side.
Landing on my feet was no arduous task, even from this height. I simply dusted myself off and was about to set off, but I paused, looking up to see another pair of eyes not far away from me. A Shinigami was literally stepping out of the nearby building right as I landed on the ground.
"Carry on." I nodded to him, turning and walking away.
[Nailed it.]
"Hold it!" I mentally groaned as he shouted towards me. "I saw you jump down from the Seireiheki!" I turned to see him pointing at me sternly. "State your name and Division!"
"Uh...Division....Eight?" I offered. I mean, there's the number eight sowed into the inside of this Kimono, same with the other one so....I'm assuming. "And the name's Kurosaki Ichigo." I made sure to add on.
He looked at me for a moment before abruptly drawing his sword. "Surrender yourself, Ryoka!" He shouted. "I am the Ninth Seat of Division Eight. I order you to stand down!"
Just my fucking luck. Of course, the random Shinigami I run into is from the Division I just blurted out.
"I think there might be a misunderstanding here." I held my hands up, taking a few steps towards him. I'd rather he don't keep shouting and potentially drawing more attention.
He held his blade up in a stance, looking noticeably timid. "If you won't surrender, I'll be forced to take action!" He declared, raising his sword up as if he were going to attack me.
Well, this is going nowhere. "I'll surrender peacefully. But can you answer one question of mine?"
"What are you –"
"Have you ever been hit in the face with a brick before?"
"What—"
My trusty Brick covered the distance in the blink of an eye, slamming into his face, knocking him down for the count.
He didn't really seem that experienced or powerful, really. Honestly, from what I've seen so far, it seems like the lower end Shinigami are something like canon fodder. Or maybe I'm just overestimating Shinigami in general?
But then again, I met Tessai who gave off a much different feeling. He was actually powerful, I could tell that much. And Yoruichi was able to slip through my perception multiple times, that's not something a mook could do unless I was being very careless.
I needed to find my bearings, just wandering around was going to do me no good with such a massive place.
Let's see if I can't get some information from the next person I run into.
[***]
"There he is!"
I ground my teeth, leaping up to the nearby building and getting out of sight.
These Shinigami, like fucking ants that don't stop crawling out of the woodworks.
They could at least treat a guest more politely.
How many did I have to beat up with my brick so far?
Funnily enough, they're calling me Ichigo at this point.
Heh.
"He's over here –"
I threw my Brick again, smacking another in the face who spotted me before he could alert the others.
Why was I still using this Brick? I honestly couldn't give a valid reason. I think that maybe I was just annoyed enough at this place that I was taking my frustrations out this way.
Why is there poverty in fucking heaven!?
It was a sentence that should never have been even conceived.
My Brick demands answers.
Watching a dozen or so run past and turn the corner, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It's not that I was being pressured, but I didn't want to instigate things any further by causing actual damage. At this point, there's probably only a couple dozen or so Shinigami suffering some headaches that some quick healing will fix.
And asking any of them anything is like pulling damn teeth. They're all so damn stubborn and won't give me any information. Not that I'm going to torture them or anything, but it's like asking them what color the sky is and they'd refuse to answer.
And every Zanpakutō I've run across so far was already 'claimed' and was useless to me.
I was starting to get kind of frustrated.
Was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I suppose I could just cast an illusion over myself, pretend to be one of the Shinigami that I knocked out. Maybe find the nearest headquarters and go from there.
It was a good thought, but it got pushed to the side as I felt a weight descend on me.
A foreign Reiatsu enveloped me, pushing down violently.
It took me by surprise more so than actually made me stutter in my steps. It was definitely a significant weight that descended, enough to make me cautious, but I didn't feel like I was pinned against my will. Someone was watching me, and it felt like they were giving me a warning...?
No, I felt the sensation drag away as if to lead me somewhere...
Well, I can't say I don't enjoy a polite invitation.
Whoever was doing this, it was obvious the path they were telling me to take, I could practically taste the Reiatsu they were throwing out as I came upon a large building with a sign in front that read 'Division Eight Barracks.'
I didn't realize how close I was to something like this, I guess it makes sense considering all the Shinigami I've had on my tail.
I pushed open the large doors at the beckoning of the Reiatsu that was continuously pushing down on me. And as soon as I stepped forward, it dissipated nearly instantaneously.
I was greeted with a strange scene. A man was sitting at a small table on the ground, a bottle of Sake and two cups placed on it.
The man looked up with a hazy expression, clearly having been drinking for a bit now. He wore the standard Shinigami attire, but there was also a white haori, but it was covered by a second haori decorated in pink and with flowers. And there was a sugegasa straw hat atop his head.
"I've had a couple reports about my subordinates being sent to Fourth Division for treatment. Something about head injuries?" He looked at me. "You wouldn't happen to know something about that, would you?"
I looked at him, then down at my brick that still had some blood on it, then back at him. "Nah, It must have been someone else."
[***]
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