Chapter 392: Chapter 355
"Well....that's odd."
"The sudden emergence of what looks like Germanic-Gothic architecture? No, it's completely normal." Izzy deadpanned. "I'm sure the Shinigami here who take inspiration from Japanese culture just decided to redecorate."
"It's always something, isn't it?" I admired the pillar of light that lingered for a tad before it dissipated.
"I think this is only a you thing."
"Me?" I said with faux offense.
"There is a list I could recite. When a pattern forms, there's usually a constant variable."
"I didn't have a single hand in this."
"Uh huh."
"Well, wanna check it out?" I offered.
"Sure, let's go see what mess you caused this time." She replied with a little grin.
"There's a weird building just over there." I eyed our surroundings. It wasn't particularly big, but it was a tad taller than most of the regular buildings that were the norm around here.
Izzy shrugged and we began walking towards it.
From the looks of it, this little section of....weirdness would be on the opposite end from where the kids were running towards, so at least they had that going for them.
"I believe that people are fighting up ahead." Izzy paused in her steps, tilting her head as if gazing into the distance.
"What do you see?"
"See? Nothing. I can feel several people dying."
"....that's probably not good." I gave it a moment of thought. "Right, let's speed up."
"I can keep up, go as fast as you want." Izzy gave me the go ahead.
With a nod, I gathered my lightning and kicked off the ground with a burst of speed. My Shunpo still wasn't up to par, but I can at least move in a straight-ish line with some effort. Actualizing my Lightning also seemed to help me a tad in that regard, as it kept me from stumbling and falling on my face.
Jumping over a wall, and running across a few rooftops, I could make out the sounds of battle as we approached.
The sounds of explosions and shouting got louder and louder until we saw the source.
Shinigami were in a fight with a group of people in some strange white uniforms and almost all of them were wearing similar masks. But the thing that made me furrow my brow was that the white-uniform people were wielding bows. As in, Bows formed from Reishi similar to how Uryū did.
".....are those Quincy?"
"I did not know what Quincy were until literally today." Izzy replied.
"Right then...erm....who do we help?" I asked.
Technically, the Shinigami were our enemies...but at the same time we sorta had an agreement with them to not actually be enemies. And not to mention we had no dog in this fight....for whatever was happening.
"I have yet to pass judgment on this place, so for now, I would assume we should aid the owners since you struck a deal with their leader."
"Works for me." I mentally went through my Swords within my ring and decided to take out my Zanpakutō. I had a feeling that using it would speed up the process by which it develops.
I leapt off the building, landing next to a man with his hand drawn back, producing a bow made of Spiritual Particles. He was about to fire off towards a group of Shinigami who were on the back foot, to put it politely.
He was immediately startled, reeling back his arms and his 'Bow' dispersed in the action. I noticed a cross similar to the little regalia that Uryū used around his wrist and flicked my sword, slashing it in half.
There was a small burst of Reiryoku that exploded outward from the epicenter, sending him flying backwards onto his ass a few feet away.
That's interesting. Maybe I should steal a few of those for research? Later.
I turned my head to see dozens of more of Quincy's comrades.
And they obviously noticed me if the bows pointing in my general direction were anything to go by.
"Bakudō #44, Sekisho!" I quickly chanted as a literal barrage was shot towards me.
An invisible barrier sprang up in front of me, somewhat reminiscent of a standard Bounded Field. It was more so a line that separated one side from another.
Not bad overall.
As soon as my barrier disappeared, my vision was entirely filled with arrows made from Reiryoku. Their timing was impeccable, and they seemingly had good coordination. These weren't your run of the mill mooks, no, these were trained.
Depending on how many there were, I'd almost call them an army, but surely there weren't that many.
Regardless, I took that moment to take a step forward and used a burst of my bastardized Shunpo to maneuver to the side. I was surprised when I saw that they could sort of perceive my movement. As soon as I moved, they too started moving as if to change their formation.
They were nowhere near as fast as what I've been experiencing lately, but even so, credit where it was due.
My other swords shot out of my ring, swiping through the air before they could react. Despite the praise I had mentally given them, they were just nowhere near strong enough to resist my attacks.
Limbs went flying with my swords slashing through flesh and cleaving through bones. In another time and place, perhaps I would have been gentler, but with the still warm bodies of Shinigami on the ground nearby, my pity was nonexistent at this point.
Sure, I didn't care much for Shinigami as a whole, but I felt like I owed it to the few I got along with.
"You missed a few." Izzy stepped onto the ground next to me, two bodies floating next to her, struggling as much as they could while being wrapped in actual shadows.
"I noticed you move towards them." I shot her a smile. "You don't particularly care for fighting, do you?"
"Not really."
"Would you mind holding onto them then? Figured I could hand them over to Shunsui or someone, and try to clear any misconceptions they might be having at this point." I made sure to grab a few of those cross-like regalias they were using to examine for later.
"Ryoka!" I blinked, turning to see the origin of the shout as reinforcements had apparently arrived.
About twenty or so Shinigami of varying strengths came flooding through the nearby entrance to this little courtyard area.
I was about to dismiss them, but one presence loomed over the others.
"Raise your head – Wabisuke!" A roar resounded and a weight of Reiatsu weighed down on me.
A man with blonde hair covering half his face jumped out of the crowd. And the noticeable Lieutenant badge on his arm was enough to relay his status.
His normal Zanpakutō morphed into something angular. Instead of a tip, it hooked downwards at a 90-degree angle, completely removing the ability to stab.
I brought up my Zanpakutō to block his attack which I admit was fairly decent.
"....did my sword just get heavier?" I noticed the slight change as the edge of his blade skirted off my own.
There was a gleam in his eye as he followed up with a flurry of slashes. I blocked them a couple more times to verify and I could say without a shadow of a doubt, my sword became significantly heavier.
Huh.
I took a step and moved with a burst of Shunpo backwards to look over my sword to inspect the changes.
How interesting, I wonder if –
"Wilhelm, not the time or place." Izzy interrupted my thoughts.
"Right, right." I quickly squashed the mental tangent I was about to lose myself in. I looked back towards the Shinigami who was about to attack me again. "Peace." I held my blade up, though I called over my other swords as they hovered nearby, at least giving him a pause for concern. "I wasn't the one who attacked your people, in fact, I even helped."
"Like I would believe that, Ryoka." He frowned, gripping his weapon.
I rolled my eyes, just settling on kicking his ass quickly and moving on, but another Shinigami ran forward, practically collapsing onto the ground.
"Wait, please!" His clothes were a mess and he had some blood streaming down his chest from a wound. "Lieutenant Izuru, he's telling the truth!"
The Lieutenant hesitated.
"Captain Shunsui can verify." I offered again.
His eyes flashed as he looked around. "Take any wounded to the fourth Division, immediately. Anyone who has any life-threatening injuries, I have some basic healing knowledge."
"Can you....undo this weight thing?" I asked.
He turned back towards me with a scowl. "You're the Ryoka who fought my captain."
"....Mayuri?" I really hoped he wasn't his lieutenant.
"Captain Ichimaru."
"Oh, silver hair? Yeah....I wouldn't really call that a fight." I scratched my cheek. "Anyways, gonna go investigate who these people are. We good or are you gonna try to 'arrest' us? Cause it seems like you have much bigger problems and I already spoke to your higher ups and sorted things out."
He sighed, his Zanpakutō returning to normal and so too did the weight of my own sword. It wasn't unwieldy, but it was sort of uncomfortable for it to be that heavy.
Well, he didn't seem all too pleased by my presence.
"I'll pass on my report to the others so you don't get attacked." He suddenly spoke up, kneeling next to a wounded Shinigami as his hands glowed that familiar green hue. "Thank you for saving my men."
I nodded my head and gestured for Izzy to come with me.
There seemed to be quite a few powerful Reiatsu in the distance, I'm sure something interesting is happening there.
[***]
Shunsui Kyōraku POV
Well.....this was not a good situation.
"Nanao, what's the report?" I glanced at the Hell Butterfly on her finger.
"I'm coordinating with the Lieutenants from nearly every division....bar the obvious exclusions. We have some strange sort of invasion that appeared in sectors 2 and 3."
"....you don't say." I mused, deflecting what looked like an arrow made of Reiryoku and quickly cut down the offender.
One of many thus far I've had to deal with.
"Anything helpful?" I asked.
"The only thing I found out so far was that Captain Aizen was seen with the appearance of these strange buildings and there seemed to be a large group of these Ryoka chasing after him...."
"Huh....what did Aizen do?" He's usually very likable, even treating Hollows respectfully when he purified them.
"Hang on, I'm getting that now from Lieutenant Momo." She looked like she was concentrating. "Reporting, Captain Aizen identified the intruders as Quincy. He claims that they've been....hiding in the shadows of Soul Society, sir!"
"....what?"
"I....that's all I got, sir."
"I guess this makes a little sense then." I pushed off my hat. "The Bows, and the hatred they seemingly have for us."
"Sir?" She questioned me.
"It was before your time. I thought they'd been almost wiped out, guess we aren't so lucky." I shook my head, looking at the dead bodies. "Just know we have bad blood, and there's no talking things out. Be prepared to kill any Quincy you see, Nanao."
"Yes, sir." She replied with a frown.
"Stay back, Nanao." I gripped my Zanpakutō. "These aren't enemies you can deal with. I'll be heading towards the higher levels of Reiatsu in the distance."
"I'll report your movements, sir." She nodded firmly.
"I'll leave it to you." I gave her one last look before disappearing.
I couldn't hold back in a situation like this. This was not like with those kids that were just...playing around and not causing any real problems. I already had too many dead of my own division, I would be seeking an answer from those responsible.
What a mess.
I didn't understand the thoughts of these...Quincy. Why did it seem like there was barely a rhyme or reason for their sudden entrance?
A foreign building here or there, and they looked completely unorganized. It's as if they didn't intend to reveal themselves and got forced to.
Did Aizen have something to do with it?
Leave it to our most soft spoken Captain to unveil a conspiracy right under our noses and bring it right into the open.
Speaking of Aizen, I could feel his Reiatsu increasing rapidly. He's most likely in a fight, and if the report was anything to go by, he's probably at the center of the action and has their attention the most.
He should be able to –
It disappeared.
His Reiatsu completely vanished.
Either he used some method to mask his impressive Reiatsu or...
I ignored my own laziness and moved as quickly as I could. Towards a large concentration of those foreign buildings that seemed to overlap onto the Seireitei.
I landed on a rooftop at the spot where I last sensed him and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Sōsuke Aizen, you were a good Shinigami and a good friend." I paid my respects. "I'll make sure to bring the ones responsible to justice." I promised towards his body that was impaled to the side of the building with an arrow sticking out of his heart.
"What the fuck!? Who the hell killed that bastard! I said he was mine!"
Wonderful, I didn't need to go searching.
There was a woman with bright green hair and very little clothing to speak of. However, her Reiatsu was oppressive, very easily on the level of a Captain.
"Bullshit, he was mine!" Another appeared with speed that would match an expert at Shunpo. He had a bright red mohawk and was touting a little bit of fire around his finger.
"Why does it matter? He's dead, now let's deal with anyone else around before time runs out." A third appeared under a hood and similar attire. There appeared to be a sort of claw-like weapon on his right hand though.
"Fine, I guess there's another bastard I take my anger out on." The young woman looked at me and all their eyes turned towards me as well.
....this may be more problematic than I first assumed.
I hoped I wouldn't have to resort to my Bankai.
"Oh, this one is scared." A voice whispered into my ear.
I felt a shiver down my neck to see a fourth Quincy I hadn't noticed before, sitting on the edge of a rooftop not too far away. He had long black hair and a spiky mask that covered the lower part of their face.
"Tsk, great, now this bastard is going to make things weird." The Mohawk one clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Oi, bitch, you can play your fucking creepy games after I take out my pound." The Green one growled.
"Ara, this isn't a good situation at all." I sighed, readying myself. "It's polite to introduce yourselves before a fight."
"I'm Bazz-B and his Majesty bestowed 'H' for the Heat onto me." The Mohawk one introduced himself with a flick of his fingers, a burst of flames appeared. "And my flames are hotter than even your Captain Commanders."
Doubtful, but good information.
Also....his Majesty?
Really going to need to talk to the Old Man after this.
"Fuck, I'm Candice Catnipp. I got 'T' for the Thunderbolt. And that bastard messed up my hair, so you're gonna pay the price since I can't kill him myself!" She growled.
I was starting to notice a little bit of a pattern.
"I'm As Nodt, and I have 'F' for the Fear." The voice of the one sitting down sent shivers down my back again as something grated against my mind.
"Is there a reason to introduce ourselves?" The last one asked.
"Fuckin rules, you dumbass. His Majesty wanted them to know who was killin them when it came time. Even if it is fucking early." The girl shot back.
"Fine." He glowered before moving, very quickly. A familiar movement, to appear behind the enemy and finish them off in one blow. And his speed was excellent, even amongst Captains. "Cang Du, 'I', The Iron. Now you can die."
I didn't move, not because I couldn't, but because I didn't have to.
His...claw blade weapon was deflected, and not by me. I followed up immediately, slashing my own blades. One high, and one low.
He noticed, retreating as soon as he had the opportunity, but there was a thin line of blood flowing from his chest.
"Sui-Feng, I owe you one." I smiled towards my companion who appeared next to me.
"Save it." She huffed. "You should have ended him in that opportunity I gave you."
"Ara, you know it's not that simple."
She clicked her tongue and didn't argue. "Who the hell are these guys? They're all at least Captain level."
"Quincy." I said simply.
She grunted. "I thought they were all dead."
"We're right here, ya flat chested bitch." The Green haired woman hollered.
Sui-Feng's eye twitched, but didn't immediately jump out.
"Each takes two?" I offered.
"Neither of our Bankais are good in a situation like this."
"Haha, doesn't seem so." I chuckled. "But we just have to stall for a little at least. I'd wager that we got reinforcements coming soon."
"Fine, I'll take the creepy one and the one with the claw. You take the prostitute and the mohawk."
"Who the fuck did you just call a prostitute you slut!?" A very large amount of Reishi poured towards the green-haired girl. The surroundings were broken down and she assimilated the Reishi as Lightning that formed around her fist.
"Did you really have to make her upset?" I sighed, knowing how troublesome this was going to be.
However, something strange happened.
A bolt of lightning fell from the sky. In a clear weathered sky, it slammed downwards onto the gathered lightning that this Quincy woman had.
It clearly wasn't her doing as It dispersed her own gathering of lightning and she let out a little yelp of surprise.
I did find myself smiling once I realized who the Reiatsu belonged to.
"Well, well, what a fun party you got going on here. I hope you don't mind If I join in?" The Ryoka I'd had the pleasure of getting to know recently.
"The more the merrier." I chuckled.
"Which son of a bitch!?" The Quincy girl recovered quickly, though she looked a little frazzled. "You bastard! I barely fixed my hair after that other asshole fucked it up and now look at it! Die!" She roared, throwing all the Lightning she could gather in a moment and it coalesced, shooting out.
He just stood there, with a little smile on his face as it collided with him.
I blinked as I realized that part of his body had turned into Lightning and seemed completely unscathed from the blast.
"I kinda feel bad. I'm just the absolute worst match-up for you." He chuckled, lightning began crackling all around him.
And he felt more....dangerous. I didn't quite know how to label it, but I felt that for equal measure, I'd much rather take on the Quincy girl's lightning over his.
"....friend of yours, Captain Kyōraku?" Sui-feng eyed me suspiciously.
"I will gladly say so in this situation." I didn't think the Old Man would get after me in a dangerous spot like this.
".....priorities then." She accepted it quickly.
Well, the Old Man did give the order to only capture the Ryoka, but I'm fairly sure he doesn't expect us to apply that to these other invaders.
"By the way, I also brought a friend."
"Oh?" I looked around and my body froze up.
"Hello, would you like some help? I can handle one of them to even things up." A woman walked over and I couldn't sense her beyond her actual presence in front of me. "I'll take this one in the mask, if you don't have any objections."
....and I somehow felt that the Quincy who had an epithet containing the word 'fear' and seemed to radiate a chilling feeling was less scary than this woman who looked like a modern housewife....
"Who put this fake dead body here?" The very dangerous woman that I felt myself not wanting to even look at commented towards Aizen's still fresh corpse. "Never once housed a real soul, honestly if you're going to try and intimidate someone, at least put effort into it. ."
"...what?" I found myself blurting out.
[***]
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