Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Visored
AN: Hey everyone, so the poll is looking like it's heading towards changing the Rating to M. I'll leave the poll up for another day or two, but just wanted to let you all know.
And yes, I know I updated a Chapter not too long ago, but what can I say? You all are awesome!
So a few things:
1. Thank you to everyone who already voted.2. The poll is still up and will be up for another day or two.3. REMEMBER, the focus of the story will not change. I don't even know how many M Rated scenes there will even be.
As always, thanks for your continued support!
Reading the story:
-Scene change: "888"
-Hello, how are you? (Someone in their own thoughts)-Hello how are you? (Zanpakuto Spirit speaking in a Shinigami's mind)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach.
Chapter 20
It was currently the break of dawn in Karakura Town. The sun slowly began to peak above the horizon casting a faint light across the sky painting it in a light pinkish orange hue. Somewhat like a peach fruit. The atmosphere in the air was both serene and peaceful, but the temperature was on the cooler side seeing as it was the beginning of autumn. On a small dirt lot stood an unassuming little building. It was the Urahara Shop, and currently a thin line of white smoke rose in the air above the roof, however it wasn't any ordinary smoke. Rather than the smell of tobacco, the smoke produced a vanilla flavored scent. It was precisely generated from the thin white reigar currently resting between Kishin's lips.
He sat on the dark gray colored roof of the shop in silence and simply took in the sight around him. Instead of donning his shihakusho he wore a well fitted white colored dress shirt leaving the collar and upper chest portion unbuttoned. The sleeves were rolled back to his elbows and a slim black tie loosely hung around his neck. A slick black watch was also strapped around his left wrist. As for his pants he wore a black colored skinny fitted khaki with a black belt around his waist. The main reason for his change of attire was because he was in a gigai and would need to occasionally interact with Humans to buy food and drinks. Since he was the Lieutenant of the 13th division and it was their job to oversee Karakura Town he figured he probably needed to have the decency to at least buy stuff instead of wandering around in his Shinigami form and take stuff. If he did that it would only freak people out since it'd look like a thieving ghost to them.
Kishin took another whiff of his reigar as he recalled his conversation with Urahara from the other day.
Flash Back To Yesterday
Currently sitting around a small wooden table on some tatami mats were both Kishin and Urahara. They silently and leisurely drank some warm sweet tea for a few minutes before Urahara amiably inquired, "So Chigetsu-kun, you're finally back. It's been awhile since we last saw each other. How have you been?"
Kishin just took another sip of his tea and smiled approvingly of the taste before he responded, "I've been doing well more or less."
"I see I see. That's good to hear. Oh, congratulations by the way."
Kishin just smirked and stared at Urahara with curiosity. "So you know already? Word sure travels fast. It hasn't even been a month."
Urahara just grinned. "Come now, you know me. I like to keep up to date on my information. To think that you've been promoted to Lieutenant of the 13th division already. That's a big step, Chigetsu-kun. That must be why you're here in Karakura Town, am I right?"
Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "Aren't you banned from Soul Society? I thought Yoruichi wasn't going to be back there for a long while so how'd you get your info?"
Urahara just grinned even larger. "Hehehe, that's a trade secret."
Kishin raised his eyebrow suspiciously before a thought came to mind. "Trade secret huh? Well...I have a pretty good idea anyways."
"Eh? You do?"
He just grinned and took another sip of his tea. "You were the previous 12th division Captain and very first president of the R&D department. You probably have a whole bunch of secret programs and tools hidden there letting you pull up information whenever you want."
Urahara could only rub the back of his neck with a facial expression that showed as if he was a kid caught doing something bad. "Ahahaha…" He then attempted to steer the conversation away. "Ahem. So...how long will you be in Karakura Town?"
Kishin just smirked at his reaction. "Don't worry. I won't say anything to Captain Kurotsuchi. Even if I did, I doubt he'd find all of your hidden devices and programs anyways. Instead it would only drive him mad and I can only imagine what sort of suffering the rest of the 12th division members would have to endure."
"Ahahah...much appreciated. Ahem, so? Will you be here for a few days? Weeks? Months maybe?"
"Right, I'll be here for the next 2 months."
"Oh? 2 months huh? Then, do you need a gigai? Or maybe a place to stay?"
Kishin thought about it for a good long minute. "Well, a gigai? No. But if you're offering a temporary living quarter, then that depends."
"Depends on?"
"On what the catch is."
"Hahaha, catch? No no, nothing like that. Feel free to stay here during the next two months. No cost."
Kishin shook his head in amusement not believing for a single second that there wasn't some sort of price to pay. "Come on Urahara-san. I'm not an idiot. What's the rent?"
A few seconds passed by in silence before Urahara answered, "Well, there's no rent or price per se. I can't think of something off the top of my head right now, but how about we do this. If I need some help later on I'll let you know. Other than that you're free to live here and use this place as you see fit."
Kishin just placed his hands on the floor behind him and relaxedly leaned back as he replied, "There's no way I'd agree to something like that."
"Eh? Why not? It's not such a bad deal for you is it? You get a place to stay and you can ask me any questions that you want to while here."
"That's true, but your condition is too vague. Even if you can't think of something right now, what if I stay here and then a few days later you ask me to do something completely outrageous? Or maybe you'll put something in my food? The tea maybe? Hide something under my bed? Try to subject me to a weird experiment of yours? God forbid I got enough of that from Captain Kurotsuchi."
For several long moments a deathly silence hung in the air before Urahara let out an awkward laugh. "Ahahaha...well, then how about this. You're free to stay here and the price is having a chat with me every now and again."
Kishin raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "We can do that already whether or not I stay here."
"That's true, howe-AH!" Urahara was cut off and rubbed his head as he was hit from behind by Yoruichi's foot.
"Oi, Kisuke! Stop messing around with the kid already. With the way the conversation is going you'll only end up driving him away." She commented as she abruptly burst into the room.
Urahara could only continue to rub his sore head in awkwardness. "Y-Yoruichi-san...you're back…"
She just let out a loud boisterous laugh and nodded amiably as she noted Kishin's awkward facial expression. "Hahaha! Yo! Kishin-kun. It's been awhile huh?"
He just gave a toothy grin seemingly amused at her speedy entrance. "A month hasn't even passed since we last saw each other."
"Hahaha! That's true, and in that time you were able to become a Lieutenant. Not bad not bad. So, you need a place to stay huh?"
He shrugged his shoulders and gave Urahara a sideways glance before returning his attention to Yoruichi. "I'm not desperate for a place to stay, but it'd be nice to have one. Although Urahara-san was nice enough to offer, his conditions are too ambiguous."
She just waved her hand in the air and said while staring at Urahara, "It's fine it's fine. Just stay here. It's been a long while since we had any guests. Especially guests from Soul Society who don't want to capture or kill us. RIGHT? Kisuke."
Urahara rubbed the back of his neck apologetically and nodded in agreement. "Hahaha, of course, of course. You're right." He then turned his attention back to Kishin and continued, "It's just as Yoruichi-san says. Just stay here. We'd be happy to have you."
Kishin smirked in amusement at how whipped Urahara seemed to be and made his decision. "Alright. Since you insist so much then I'll be in your care."
Urahara let out a defeated sigh and took a moment to recollect himself before he turned back to business mode. "So then, Chigetsu-kun. Now that the small details are out of the way I know that you actually came to see me for something else, right?"
"I did."
"Then, what can I help you with?"
Kishin paused for a moment wondering how to bring up the topic of the Visored before he continued, "I wanted to talk about something related to the Vanishing Souls Incident that happened about 100 years ago."
Urahara momentarily closed his eyes as he simply rubbed the bottom of his chin. "I see. Let me guess...you're searching for someone. Am I right?"
Kishin couldn't help but inwardly praise Urahara's intellect and deduction skills as he grinned and nodded. "Seems you already know."
Urahara just grinned in response. "I have had my suspicions. You know about me, Yoruichi, and Tessai already. You even know about Aizen and the Hogyoku. It's only natural that the only thing left that would interest you about the Vanishing Souls Incident is them."
"Hahaha, well then I guess there's no point in beating around the bush. Can you tell me where they are?"
"Why do you want to meet with them?"
Kishin just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You were able to guess this much so surely you already know the answer."
Urahara smirked knowingly. "I thought so."
"So? Can you help me out?"
"Haaaaah...I could...but they may not be so friendly initially."
"That's fine. I'm not looking for friendly. I'm looking for helpful."
"I see. To be honest I'm quite impressed that you were able to suppress your Hollowfication without any dangerous side effects for so long."
Kishin gave a thoughtful look before he answered, "I wouldn't exactly say that there weren't any dangerous side effects. After all, I was at risk of dying."
"Oh? Really? Then...what exactly happened? It seems like you never showed any physical manifestations of ever being afflicted. That's the only way you were able to hide it from Aizen and Soul Society. How did you accomplish that?"
Kishin just smiled relaxedly and shook his head. "I don't know. It just happened. Call me lucky I guess. I was afflicted, at risk of dying, and so I simply overcame it."
Urahara couldn't help but let out an amused sigh. "Haah. You really are an odd one…"
"So? Will you help me?"
"Haaah...very well. The group you're looking for call themselves the Visored. I'm sure you know who they are already. They've hidden their base quite well, but tomorrow at 8am you can find a member of their group at the shopping district for routine...well, supply shopping. Once you find them then how you proceed is up to you."
Kishin nodded in thanks. "Much appreciated."
Urahara just let out another sigh. "Haaah. I have a feeling that I'm going to get yelled at for this. Ahem. Anyways, Chigetsu-kun, do you know what they look like already?"
He nodded in affirmation. "I've seen their disappearance and exiled files in the 12th division's database. As long as they haven't majorly changed what they look like then I have a pretty good idea of what to look for."
"I see...then, I wish you luck."
End Flashback
Kishin took in a deep breath feeling the cool morning air enter through his nostrils. It was an incredibly refreshing feeling. By now his reigar had completely dissipated into pure reishi particles and the sun had now risen above the horizon line fully bathing the town in a warm bask of light. He checked the time on his watch which read 7:45am. It was nearly time to head to the shopping district so he lightly stretched his muscles before jumping off the roof of Urahara's shop. The moment his feet touched the ground he popped a green colored soul candy into his mouth which instantly separated his Shinigami soul from his gigai.
Psh!
Without wasting any time he blurred away in a dash of Shunpo leaving an artificial soul to inhabit his gigai. It didn't take too long before he arrived just outside the shopping district. He laid in wait on a nearby rooftop and simply said, "Bakudo #26: Kyokko."
Instantly his entire form as well as reiatsu vanished from sight and disappeared like a ghost leaving no evidence of his presence ever having been there. He stayed hidden within his barrier and simply waited. Patiently scanning the crowd of people for any familiar features belonging to the Visored. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Soon after a good twenty minutes flew by before he finally spotted two of the eight people he was searching for. They were both female.
One was short. Even shorter than Toshiro. She had brown eyes with blonde colored hair that was tied in a spiky pigtail. She had a few freckles on both sides of her cheeks and she wore a white shirt with a red jogging suit. The other female stood at a more average height. She had turquoise colored eyes and wore red oval shaped glasses. Her hair was long and black and was tied in a braided ponytail style behind her. A few of her bangs hung in front of her face on either side of her cheeks. She wore a long sleeved sailor fuku with a teal blue collar and a matching colored pleated mini skirt. They were both carrying several bags of essential supplies in both hands as they began to take their leave from the shopping district.
Kishin had on a thoughtful expression as he silently murmured to himself. "If I'm not wrong...that must be Sarugaki Hiyori. Former Lieutenant of the 12th division and the other must be Yadomaru Lisa. The former Lieutenant of the 8th division." He watched as they both walked side by side right past the building he was hiding on none the wiser. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Let's see where you've all been hiding."
Without further ado his inner assassin and Onmitsukido tailing skills kicked in. He followed them around for nearly 40 minutes stalking from the shadows. It was at this moment that he tracked them to a private location that had several large warehouse storage buildings spread out in the surrounding area. Those buildings provided good coverage, hiding a more unsuspecting storage house in the far back by the end of the road. He took note of a person standing in front of the last building. They were male and had medium length blonde hair. They wore an orange dress shirt, a dark purple tie, and black pants.
Kishin smirked as he immediately recognized who it was. "Hirako Shinji huh? So this is where they've been hiding all this time. Can't say it's very luxurious, but who am I to judge."
He watched Hiyori and Lisa banter a bit with Shinji from around the corner of a building before he attempted to draw closer to hear what was said, however he inwardly cursed at that moment. A slight pulsating disturbance rippled out into the area the moment he had taken one step within 15 meters of the warehouse.
"A detection barrier Kido? Tsk. They're definitely cautious."
Kishin just clicked his tongue in annoyance and stood relaxedly in place. Since his presence was already made known he figured there wasn't a need to play things hidden in the shadows any longer. As he had expected. A few seconds later he was completely surrounded on all sides by the 8 Visored. Their facial expression gave away what they currently felt. Wary and cautious.
Kishin just smirked at their reaction and broke the silence. "Yo."
His greeting however only gained him a sneering glance from the Visored. He noted that aside from their clothes, they essentially looked the same as they did 100 years ago. Hacchi was still a tall giant burly man standing at a whopping 257 centimeters tall. His signature pink mustache gave him a gentle look contrasting against his olive green tuxedo.
Mashiro still had her signature green short colored hair and wore a white bodysuit along with orange colored boots, gloves, and scarf.
Kensei had short light gray hair, a purple shirt, green cargo pants, black combat boots, and fingerless gloves. He reminded Kishin a bit of a soldier in the army.
Love wore an all green jogging suit along with a pair of dark sunglasses, but what made him really stand out was his signature star shaped afro.
As for Rose, his defining features were his long wavy blonde hair and black suit.
For a good long while nobody made a move. Finally Shinji furrowed his brow and took a step closer saying with a wary tone, "Who're you?"
"Who do you think?"
"What're ya doin here?"
"Heh, take a guess."
Shinji couldn't help feeling extremely wary as he noted Kishin's look. He didn't recognize the reiatsu coming off from Kishin's body, but the clothes that Kishin currently wore were the same as the one he wore in his gigai form. It threw Shinji off a bit, but what made Shinji and the others tread lightly was the fact that Kishin carried a Zanpakuto by his waist.
In the end Shinji raised his eyebrow with a bit of curiosity and responded, "Kid, shouldn't ya be in school? It's not good t'be wanderin around a place like this." His expression then darkened a little as he continued, "Ya never know what kinda people you'll meet."
Kishin just gave a toothy grin unaffected by Shinji's intimidation tactic. "Did you call me a kid? Does that mean I should call you old man?"
"Eh?" Shinji gave a deadpan expression at Kishin's counter statement. Before they could go on and on with their roundabout way of talking, Hiyori got annoyed and pointed an accusing finger at Kishin shouting aloud, "Oi! That katana by your waist. That's a Zanpakuto isn't it? And you're clearly emitting reiatsu off your body. How'd you find us anyway?!"
Lisa fixed the glasses on her head and chimed in with seriousness, "You...followed us didn't you?"
Kishin clapped his hands in approval. "Not too shabby, although it's a bit late to take notice."
Hiyori frowned at this realization. "You were able to hide your presence from both Lisa and I. Who are you? You have an ulterior motive for following us don't you? Spit it out!"
He just placed his hands up in an innocent gesture. "Alright alright. Don't get your panties in a bunch."
A thick vein popped on Hiyori's forehead. A strong urge to want to attack him coursed through her veins. "HUH?! What did you say?! You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that baldy!"
Kishin just let out a light chuckle. "Hahaha, why are you getting so mad? Is it because of what I said? Don't take it to heart. When you grow up I'm sure you can find some panties to fit into."
Now Hiyori was seething in anger. She balled up her hands into a tight fist and dashed out, but before she could get very far Shinji immediately intercepted and restrained her by the waist.
"Let go of me Shinji! I'm going to teach this guy a lesson that he won't forget!"
Shinji just struggled to hold Hiyori's moving frame as she kicked and thrashed about in his arms. "O-Oi! Hiyori-Ah! Ow! My face! Sto-Stop movi-Ow! Hold still will ya?! Yer makin this difficult."
"Like hell I will! I told you to let me go! I'll show this kid who's panties are in a bunch! He'll regret ever crossing paths with me!"
The comedic scene lasted for another good minute before Hacchi let out a sigh and brought everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Ahem. Errr...everyone, perhaps we should get back to the main issue." He then turned to face Kishin and asked, "Young man. There is a reason why we are cautious by nature. Since you did not flee the moment you were exposed I assume that you came here with something in mind. What is it that you want?"
"Well, I suppose we should get to the main topic. I came here to meet all of you."
They all narrowed their eyes in focus after hearing his words. Hiyori finally stopped struggling and settled down letting Shinji step into the conversation again. "And why are ya lookin fer us?"
"You call yourselves the Visored correct?"
They all flinched at his comment, but they didn't deny it. Instead they became even more wary and cautious.
Shinji frowned and asked, "What if we are?"
"Heh, then I've come to the right place."
"Meaning?"
"I've come seeking advice."
His answer threw them all off a bit. Shinji couldn't help rubbing the back of his head in confusion. "Alright. Enough with the beating around the bush. Get to the point."
Kishin nodded in agreement. "I asked Urahara-san where you all were. He told me about your routine supply run so I waited and tailed two of your members back here."
"Eh? Kisuke did? So? What do you want?"
"I already told you. I came seeking some advice. And maybe some training."
Now everyone's wariness turned into curiosity as Hacchi chimed in, "What kind of training? And what advice do you seek?"
Kishin placed a reigar between his lips before responding, "Hollowfication."
Everyone immediately had a stunned expression on their face. Their expression then turned serious as Shinji cautiously asked, "Hollowfication? You? What's going on exactly?"
"Well. Since I'm here asking for some advice and training there's no point in hiding it. Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Chigetsu Kishin. I'm the Lieutenant of the 13th division and an acquaintance of Urahara-san's. I have a Hollowfied soul and would like some guidance on how to access its power."
Everyone could only stare in shock and silence. A good ten seconds ticked by with no one saying a word until Shinji let out a loud troubled sigh. "Haaaah...Tsk. So Kisuke gave us up huh?"
Kishin shrugged his shoulders unconcernedly. "Yeah, he did."
Shinji just clicked his tongue. "So you say." He then grabbed a denreishinki from his pocket and dialed Urahara's number. It didn't even ring once before the call was answered. Shinji just clicked his tongue again. "You bastard. You knew I was going to call didn't you?"
Urahara just gave an awkward laugh on the other end of the line. "Ahahaha...so I see you've met him then."
"Tch. Then he was telling the truth. You sent him here?"
"Now now Hirako-san, it's not like that. I know how much you guys are trying to lie low, but I couldn't help it. The only ones who can help him now are all of you who have experience in this field."
Shinji just let out a defeated sigh. "Haaah...damn it. This sounds troublesome."
"Ehhh? I thought you'd be happier."
"Idiot, why would I be happy about having to teach some stranger how to control Hollowfied powers?"
Urahara smirked before becoming serious. "Well, you'd gain another member of the Visored right? Or ally at the very least. And also...he knows the truth."
Shinji's eyelid slightly twitched. "Eh? Really?"
"Yeah. And that's not all. He not only knows about all of you, but he even knows about Aizen."
Shinji furrowed his brow in deep contemplation. He slightly paused before he continued, "You sure he isn't on that guys side?"
"I guarantee it."
In the end Shinji just sighed once more. "Alright. Got it."
Urahara beamed on the other end of the line after hearing that. "Oh? Great! Then I'll leave things in your hands. Good luck!"
Click.
Shinji just stared at his denreishinki for a bit and shook his head at the whole ordeal. He took one more glance at Kishin before turning around and started walking towards the warehouse at the end of the street. "Guess you're legit. Come on. Follow me if ya truly want to learn more about Hollowfication."
Kishin grinned, inwardly elated that things went more smoothly than he had anticipated. Before coming here he had half expected them to be the type that punched first and asked questions later. Instead they turned out to be more civil than what he had imagined. Well, for the most part anyways as he took one glance at Hiyori and smirked.
She's a bit hot tempered.
The moment he stepped foot inside the giant warehouse he took note of how spacious and empty it was. There wasn't much. A few stacks of giant wooden logs on one end, some metal poles and blocks on another end, and several broken floor levels up the building. It was then that the garage-like metal shutters completely closed, locking them all inside. Everyone stared at Kishin to see what his reaction would be, but they all just curiously raised their eyebrow to find that he was completely relaxed.
Shinji just grinned and said, "Kisuke tells me that you know who we are already. In fact he tells me that you happen to know even more than that. To be honest I'm a little shocked seeing as I don't ever recall meeting someone like you."
"What can I say? I'm exceptional."
His answer caused Shinji to smirk in amusement, but Hiyori slightly scowled in annoyance.
"Well, even if you do know about us I guess we should introduce ourselves anyways. I'm Hirako Shinji." He then proceeded to go down the list of everyone else's names including Hiyori, Lisa, Hachigen, Love, Rose, Kensei, and Mashiro. After that he took a seat on the edge of one of the broken top floors and continued, "Just so you know we don't really trust you Shinigami."
Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine. I don't expect you to outright trust someone you just met. Though the way you said Shinigami made it sound like you completely renounced yourself as one."
Shinji furrowed his brow. "We are Visored now. Out of curiosity, how much do ya know 'bout us anyways?"
"I know enough."
"Like?"
"I know that you are the former 5th division Captain. That Rose was the previous 3rd division Captain. I know that Love was the previous Captain of the 7th division and Kensei was the previous 9th. Hiyori was the 12th division Lieutenant, Lisa the 8th's, Mashiro the 9th's, and Hachigen was the Lieutenant of the Kido Corps. I know that it was Aizen's doing that caused you all to Hollowfy. I know it was Urahara that managed to stabilize your souls and brought you all here to the World of the Living in order to hide from both Soul Society and Aizen."
A long silence followed Kishin's words for an undetermined amount of time as everyone took in what he said. In the end Shinji smiled and stood up nodding in approval. "I see. Then you pretty much know the whole story. Fine. Even though you're a Shinigami and affiliated with Soul Society, after learning from us you'll be considered a Visored as well. I don't know how you managed to keep your Hollow under radar from detection all this time, but I won't pry." He then turned to Hacchi and said, "Can you put up a barrier?"
Hacchi immediately nodded. "Yes. No problem." Hacchi clapped his hands twice as he said, "Ura Bakudo: Ichinodo-Hachigyo Sogai!"
Kishin's eyes slightly widened in a bit of shock as he heard Hacchi chant his spell.
Ura Bakudo? To think that Hacchi knows a Hidden Kido spell. I've never heard of Hachigyo Sogai. He definitely deserves the title as the former Kido Corps Lieutenant. He's quite accomplished.
Hacchi's spell immediately placed an invisible barrier on the outside of the warehouse, cutting them off from the awareness of all those looking on from the outside. Kishin then turned his attention back to Shinji and commented, "Well, I'm ready to start whenever."
"Then...I suppose we should just get started." Shinji gripped his sheathed Zanpakuto and was just about to get in a battle stance when Hiyori jumped in and stood in the air blocking the way.
"H-Hiyori?" Shinji stammered out.
She simply huffed out and drew her sword first. "Hmpf. I'll do it."
Shinji just gave her a deadpan expression. "B-But ar-"
"Shut up baldy! It's fine isn't it? Besides, I need to teach this guy a lesson for talking back to me earlier."
Kishin just cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Are you going to explain what we're doing?"
Hiyori mischievously smirked and pointed her blade at him. "Isn't it obvious? Even if you say you came here to learn from us there's no way we'd teach you if you're unworthy. Draw your sword. Let's see if you got the mettle to withstand the training."
Kishin just blinked at her words before he let out a light chuckle. "Hahaha! So that's how it is." He leisurely stood in the air opposite of Hiyori and said relaxedly, "Alright. Bring it on."
She frowned in seriousness and anger. "Why didn't you draw your Zanpakuto? You mocking me?"
"Not at all, but I can sense the level of your strength. You're better off benching on the side."
His comment immediately incensed her so she gripped her sword tightly and retorted, "You're gonna regret that."
Kishin just smirked and motioned with his pointer finger taunting her to attack. "Make me."
Hiyori was instantly filled with rage and dashed out with her greatest Shunpo striking with her blade full force at his head.
FWISH!
Her sword easily tore through the air, however she widened her eyes in extreme shock when she hit nothing. "Huh?" She exclaimed in confusion. She then felt her heart skip a beat in fear and shock when she heard Kishin say from behind her, "Not bad, but too slow."
She immediately attempted to swing her sword backwards, but Kishin just stuck out his hand and blocked her elbow from performing any range of motion. Her attack failed just as fast as it began.
"I told you that you should bench."
Hiyori grit her teeth and quickly dashed away to put some distance between them. She narrowed her eyes in focus and seriousness as she grumbled aloud, "You bastard." Her hand rose up to the side of her head and caused some white reishi matter to condense on her face. Kishin's eyelid slightly twitched as he watched incredibly intrigued.
What exactly is she doing…
Not a second later a white colored wide skull mask with a horn centered on her forehead and a row of diamond shaped markings over the eyebrows appeared on her head. Kishin cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow in curiosity when he felt her reiatsu not only skyrocket in density and volume, but also slightly change in nature between a mix of a Shinigami and a Hollow.
"Ehhh? So is this how you control the power of Hollowfication?" He asked bemused.
Hiyori just scowled, noting his unfazed attitude. "Still not gonna draw your sword?" She remarked with an echoed voice.
Kishin gave a pondering look for a quick second before he shook his head. "True...your reiatsu definitely feels much stronger with that mask on, but...even amongst the Captain's of the Gotei 13 it's sorta average."
Hiyori couldn't take it anymore. His condescending and provocative way of speaking to her made her seething mad. She really wanted to cut his head in half and so she dashed out again, but this time even faster than before. All of her physical attributes had greatly increased after donning her mask. Once more she swung her blade to bisect Kishin in half, however in the next moment she truly felt fear in her heart. She had no idea what happened, but she lost sight of him at the last moment. She cut nothing but air again. Like deja vu she heard Kishin comment from behind, "Better this time, but your movements are too predictable."
She immediately tried to turn and slash, but Kishin gripped her neck from behind and tossed her into the pile of metal poles.
WHAM!
CLANG!
The loud sound of her crashing into metal along with the poles dispersing from the impact rolling on the ground echoed inside the warehouse.
"Ugggh!" Hiyori groaned as she attempted to get back up, but the moment she was able to reorient herself in a standing position she felt her heart stop in cold fear. Kishin was already standing in front of her. His cold, bloody, ominous reiatsu rolled off of his body like a demonic killer. He simply pressed the tip of his pointer finger against the middle of her mask and said, "Hado #1: Sho."
Bam!
Crack!
Clank!
The force of his Kido caused her head to roll back and hit the ground while at the same time causing her mask to break a part. The sound of her shattered mask hitting the concrete floor rang in the air. Everyone watching the match could only stare in disbelief at how easily Hiyori was defeated. A single thought flashed into the surface of everyone's head.
Didn't he say that he was a Lieutenant? What kind of monster is he?!
Hiyori just lay on the ground flat on her back in shock. No. That wasn't the only thing she felt at this moment. She felt fear. Genuine fear. The ominous reiatsu that leaked off of Kishin's body had seeped its way into her mind. She had never imagined that even with her Hollow mask that she stood no chance. The difference in their skill level was simply too great. After laying still for several long minutes in silence, her fear and shock went away and was instead replaced with disappointment in herself. She just now realized that Kishin never once drew his sword. Even after she donned the Hollow mask. She recalled how she talked a big game and fought with seriousness, but she realized now that to Kishin, she seemed more like a joke.
Kishin simply let out a nonchalant, "Huh." As he noted how Hiyori's Hollowfied reiatsu disappeared after her mask broke. "It's more similar to a Hollow than I thought. Once the mask breaks the dual pressure of Shinigami and Hollow reiatsu dissipates."
It was then Shinji arrived before Hiyori and asked concernedly, "You okay?"
She had on a frustrated look before clicking her tongue in defeat and annoyance. "Tch. I'm fine."
Shinji just breathed out a sigh of relief before turning his attention back to Kishin. "You...you're not normal."
Kishin pointed to himself with a confused expression. "Me?"
"Who else am I talkin to."
"I don't get what you're trying to say. How am I not normal?"
Shinji just stared at Kishin with a strange gaze. He inwardly felt a little fear himself as he finally realized just how monstrous Kishin's potential was and just how strong he already was in order to effortlessly defeat Hiyori in her Hollowfied state. Shinji then ventured to ask, "You...you said that you're the Lieutenant of the 13th division right?"
"That's right."
"How did you arrive in the World of the Living?"
"I came through a Senkaimon."
Shinji then hesitatingly asked, "Then...right now. You-"
Kishin smirked as he had a feeling that he knew what Shinji wanted to ask, so he nonchalantly interjected, "Of course. All Lieutenants and Captains have one when they come here."
Shinji felt a bead of cold sweat drip down his back at Kishin's confirmation. In fact it wasn't only him. Everyone except Mashiro felt shocked and slightly nervous after hearing what Kishin said, so she just scratched the side of her head and asked with confusion, "Errr...what are you guys talking about? Lieutenants and Captains have what when they come here?"
Lisa furrowed her brow in seriousness and said, "Gentei Reien."
Mashiro just cocked her head to the side and asked, "So?"
Kensei rubbed the bridge of his nose at Mashiro's cluelessness and filled her in. "It means that this kid defeated Hiyori in her Hollowfied state even though he only has access to 20% of his total power."
Mashiro was about to retort when she finally let the weight of Kensei's words sink in. Her expression went from confusion, to shock, to seriousness, to finally a bit of fear.
Shinji narrowed his eyes in focus and said, "Kishin. There are three main levels to go through in order for you to obtain control over your Hollowfied powers."
"Okay, I'm listening."
"One, you have to enter your inner world and subjugate your Hollow, merging its soul with your Zanpakuto's by defeating it. Two, learning to focus your Hollowfied reiatsu into a physical mask that you can wear in order to access the power of your Hollow. And finally three, training by combat while using your mask in order to extend the time limit that you can remain in a Hollowfied state."
"Eh? So that's how it is. Then I guess I already passed stage 1."
Shinji couldn't help but let out an awkward sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck and clicked his tongue. "Why didn't ya say so earlier?"
Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not the one who attacked without fully explaining things."
"Haaah...fine fine. It's my fault."
Hiyori finally got back up and crossed her arms with mixed emotions. Kishin put on a gentle smile and stuck out his hand innocently asking, "No hard feelings?"
Hiyori turned to stare him in the eyes and wanted to scowl, however she didn't really know what came over her. When she saw his large hand stretched out to make peace with her she couldn't help recalling how it felt to have her neck grasped by him. Contrary to what she had imagined, instead of the image of him viciously tossing her around, instead the image was that of his current gentle and warm look that he was currently giving her. She mentally cursed herself as she felt her cheeks begin to blush.
Damn him! Is this the famous "use good looks to get out of any trouble" tactic?
Hiyori's face turned beet red all the way to her ears as she quickly stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked away. "Whatever. I guess you pass."
Kishin watched her walk off inwardly amused at how she could still act like she had given him a proper test after taking a beating like she did. Shinji then coughed to grab Kishin's attention. "So? Have you tried to summon your Hollow mask before?"
Kishin just shook his head. "Nope."
Shinji then grinned. "Well, you saw how Hiyori did it right? So give it a go."
Kishin nodded and brought his right hand up to the side of his face as he closed his eyes and focused. Deep within his soul he felt a strong primal force. That force accentuated one thing. Instinct. The instinct to live. The instinct to kill. The instinct to want, to take, to ruin, to grasp, to rule. He focused on that. Unbeknownst to him some white reishi matter had begun to condense on the side of his face. It was slow, but it was building. The seconds passed by. Then a minute. Everyone watched with both bated breath and incredulity. They all wondered what Kishin's mask would look like, but they were stupefied because it was taking so long for him to completely summon it. In the end it sort of ruined everyone's excited mood and instead they all just awkwardly scratched the side of their face feeling a bit foolish for having such high expectations.
Finally Hiyori couldn't take it anymore so she shouted, "Oi! The hell is wrong with you?! Why's it taking you so long to summon a damn mask!"
Her loud shout broke Kishin's concentration and immediately the half mask that he had successfully summoned completely shattered back into pure reishi particles. A thick vein popped on his forehead as he glared at her.
"I was almost there."
Hiyori just smirked in triumph. "Hoh? So there's something that you do suck at huh? Hahaha! Not so tough now are you?"
Kishin just gave her a not so innocent smile as he commented, "Someone's looking to die early."
That immediately shut her up as she just huffed and quietly grumbled, "Tsk. You're no fun."
Shinji just face-palmed and flicked her on the head. "Enough teasing Hiyori. Go and prep the equipment."
"Hmpf. Fine. I was just saying what was on everyone's mind. Seriously, one minute and he can only summon half the mask?" She turned and gave Kishin a doubtful look as she commented, "You sure you were Hollowfied?"
Kishin gave her an amused look and flared up his reiatsu causing Hiyori to immediately dash out of sight and disappear deep into the warehouse. Her voice echoed in the building somewhere as she said, "Take a joke will ya!"
Several Hours Later
Shinji and the others lazily sat around not doing much. Lisa was reading some swimsuit magazines while Rose was reading a book. Kensei was in the middle of doing some bench presses and Mashiro stood to the side chatting away with him. Love was reading a manga, Hacchi, despite his incredibly large frame, was knitting, and Hiyori and Shinji were fighting over the last piece of their snack.
Meanwhile in front of all of them in the spacious warehouse was Kishin as he continued to awkwardly run in place on a strange yet simple looking rowing machine. He had already been rowing and running on the equipment for the past couple hours. At first he was a bit intrigued by the machine that was supposedly called the Hiyori Super Trainer, but the more time he spent on it the more he got bored. The training was too static and he had already deduced the purpose of the machine. In the end he huffed out a breath and stopped in place.
"Eh?" The Visored all paused what they were doing and turned to Kishin.
"Why'd you stop?" Shinji asked.
Kishin just hopped off of the machine before replying, "I understand that the machine utilizes my reiryoku to work. Its purpose is to measure the amount of my reiryoku before I tire out right?"
Shinji raised his eyebrow and responded, "Maybe."
"Well, then since that's the case should we just move on to the next part of the training? Even with a Gentei Reien I can row on this thing for 3 or 4 days straight before I exhaust myself. Is that sufficient for the next step?"
Shinji gave him an awkward look semi-disbelieving and semi-shocked. "You...really are a monster huh? What hole did you crawl out from?"
"What? Me? I'm just your average Shinigami who's trying to avoid a storm."
"Yeah right. Your soul is unnaturally strong to be able to handle so much of your reiatsu. If at 20% of your strength you can row for 4 days straight then at 100% of your strength you can row for 20 days straight right? Just so you know how abnormal you are, I can only row on that thing for 14 days before getting tired."
Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "You say I'm abnormal but what's considered normal anyways to compare? If anything, the abnormal ones are the Captain Commander Yamamoto, Aizen Sosuke, and Kenpachi Zaraki wouldn't you agree? They could probably row on this thing for an entire month. Maybe longer. Besides, this Hiyori Super Trainer machine isn't really accurate."
Hiyori's ears perked up at his comment and interjected, "HUH? You mocking my machine?!"
Kishin just shrugged. "All it does is absorb reiryoku. It's only useful for measuring the reiryoku of amateurs who don't know how to finely control their spiritual energy. For people who have a good control over their spiritual energy they can just feed this machine the most minimal amount to keep it running. In doing so they could row several times longer if they wanted to. Like me. Even though I have a Gentei Reien, my control over my reiryoku output is sufficient enough where I can row for nearly 4 days straight even at 20% of my strength. I mean, you can throw Captain Zaraki on here if you want. The machine would do wonders measuring the amount of reiryoku he has. His control over his spiritual energy is awful."
Shinji could only let out a sigh. "Haaah. Fine. We can skip the prep since you seem so confident in your ability, but there is just one little thing that you need to do before we start the actual training."
"Hm? What's that?"
Hiyori then chimed in as she pointed at Kishin and remarked, "Dumbass! You need to be able to at least summon your mask in under 5 seconds or there's no point in the next part of the training!"
Kishin just clicked his tongue. "What a bother…"
Several Days Later
Bang!
Boom! Bang!
Whoosh!
Deep beneath the warehouse was a rocky terrain similar to the one underneath the Sokyoku hill. Currently the Visored sat on the side watching a battle take place between Kishin and Kensei.
Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff.
Kensei panted for air trying to catch his breath as he stood a few meters away from Kishin. His muscles had begun to ache and multiple bruises marred his body. His white colored hockey-like six eye slitted Hollow mask slowly began to fade away from his face as he reached the time limit of his Hollowfication. Kishin on the other hand was only slightly out of breath. Some dirt stains marked his body in different places as a white mask slowly eroded from his face as well. His mask was white in color and showed a ferocious row of sharp teeth by the mouth area. Some blood stain markings were painted on the tip of some of the teeth. Two jagged horns protruded from the side of the mask and one smaller horn protruded from the middle of the forehead. Black scar lines ran through the horns with the pointed tips having a blood red tint. A red scar ran across the mask that began a little to the left of the middle horn and down across the bridge of the nose in between the eyes stopping just a few centimeters away near the bottom of the right eye. Two holes appeared around Kishin's eyes to let him see. Currently his eyes were black in color with red colored irises, a side effect from donning the mask. Crimson colored blood tear droplets and lines ran down from the eye to the jaw of the mask as well. This was precisely the manifestation of Kishin's Hollowfied powers as a Hollow mask.
After the both of them took a minute to catch their breaths Kensei narrowed his eyes and commented, "Learn to hold back a little you bastard."
Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm still getting used to the amplification effects the mask provides. I haven't adjusted to it yet."
"Tsk. If I hadn't utilized my Hollow mask I could have died."
"Well then, it's a good thing that you have a Hollow mask."
Kensei was at a loss for words as he didn't know how to reply to Kishin. In the end he just let out a deep sigh and walked off to the side as he said, "Oi. Who's next?"
For several long seconds nobody moved an inch. For the past several days they had all been chipping in by taking turns to train Kishin in the use of his Hollow mask. Firstly, Hiyori never took part in the training since they already knew that with her level of power she wouldn't be able to pressure Kishin enough to progress his training. Hacchi didn't join in since he was the only one who'd be able to heal the others injuries, Mashiro didn't join in either since her level of power wasn't much greater than Hiyori's, and they discovered that even Lisa wasn't strong enough to pressure Kishin. In the end the only ones who could properly train Kishin were Shinji, Kensei, Love, and Rose.
Finally Love let out a sigh and stood up walking over to the middle of the field. "Tsk. Guess I'm up." He commented.
Kensei just gave him a glance and said, "Don't get careless. The kid's not a pushover."
Love just nodded in seriousness. "I know."
Kishin patiently waited as Love stood opposite of him and greeted, "Aikawa-san. Then I'll be counting on you."
Love just huffed. "Heh, yeah right. I'll be honest with you kid, after observing you the past couple of days I've come to the realization that your skills as a Shinigami surpasses a lot of us. You aren't even a hundred years old yet. Quite frankly I'm a bit shocked. Throw Hollow powers into the mix and you'd become a different type of monster all on your own."
Kishin just gave a toothy grin and shook his head. "You flatter me, but unfortunately it seems my talent in Hollowfication isn't really that good. I can only maintain my Hollow mask for 3 seconds."
Love just scratched the back of his head. "Well, not sure if I should say this but honestly, I'm kinda glad that's the case. My pride would take a little hit if you were able to master Hollowfication right away."
Kishin just smirked. "Well, should we get started then?"
"Tch. Alright." Love immediately put on his mask and said, "Then let's get started."
BAM!
Kishin frowned in seriousness and sidestepped just in time before he could be hit by Love's forward punch. The giant boulder behind him instantly shattered to pieces.
Heh, this bastard isn't pulling his punches. He's serious alright.
Just as Kishin found his footing he thrust out with his palm aiming right for Love's chest. Before he made contact, Love shifted his body to the right quickly dodging and threw up a left sideways kick. Kishin responded by twisting his body performing a backwards roundhouse kick. Just as Love's kick attack missed, Kishin's kick arrived in front of Love's chest to which he responded by crossing his arms in front of him to block. The moment before Kishin's kick made contact with Love's arms he donned his Hollow mask.
WHAM!
His reiatsu immediately skyrocketed and his physical power was dramatically boosted.
BOOM!
Love was instantly shot flying through the air crashing into several large rock formations before rolling and skidding on the ground.
"UGHHH!" He groaned out from the impact. His bones quaked throughout his entire body and he felt his blood wanting to lurch out from within his chest.
Fwissssssssh!
Love was able to roll off the rest of the impact before standing back up and skidding on the ground for another several dozens of meters before stopping. He took a moment to catch his breath before spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Puh!"
He gripped his throbbing chest and commented, "Damn bastard. Even if he can only activate his Hollow mask for 3 seconds the one thing he has mastered is how fast he can wear his mask. And he knows how and when to use it to capitalize on dishing out damage. Because he didn't have his mask on when he kicked I didn't guard well enough. I hate to say it but...his Hakuda skills are better than mine."
Kishin still had his leg extended out from his kick just now and nodded in approval at the power behind it.
Although I can only wear the mask for 3 seconds right now it only takes me an instant to put it on. If I apply it at the right time I might be able to instantly kill my target. The problem is, it takes at least 7 minutes after my mask disappears before I can throw it back on.
Just then his mask dissipated as the time interval maxed out and so he turned his attention back to Love who was having a hard time catching his breath. "So, ready for round two?"
Love could only sigh in defeat as he got back in a fighting stance. "Now that your mask is gone you better prepare yourself kid. I ain't holding back."
Kishin just nodded. "If what you guys said is true and that placing me under severe pressure will help me reduce the interval time I can put my mask on as well as increase its duration, then by all means, don't hold back."
"Tch. Then here I come. Prepare yourself."
Boom!
Once more Love and Kishin engaged in a fierce battle as the other Visored simply watched the spectacle.
MISC.
Hiyori Super Trainer: A rowing machine that absorbs reiryoku for the purpose of trying to measure how long it takes someone to exhaust themselves.
VISORED (Last Name, First Name):1. Hirako Shinji2. Muguruma Kensei3. Aikawa Love4. Otoribashi Rose5. Yadomaru Lisa6. Sarugaki Hiyori7. Kuna Mashiro8. Ushoda Hachigen
KISHIN'S HOLLOW MASK:White in color with a ferocious row of sharp teeth by the mouth area. Some blood stain marks are painted on the tip of some of the teeth. Two jagged horns protrude from the side of the mask and one smaller horn protrude from the middle of the forehead. Black scar lines run through the horns with the pointed tips having a blood red tint. A red scar runs across the mask that begins a little to the left of the middle horn and down across the bridge of the nose between the eyes stopping just a few centimeters away near the bottom of the right eye. Two holes appear around the eyes to let him see. His eyes in this form turn black in color with red colored irises. There are also crimson colored blood tear droplets and lines ran down from the eye to the jaw of the mask.
KIDO:-Bakudo #26: Kyokko (Bent Light)
-Ura Bakudo: Ichinodo-Hachigyo Sogai (Hidden Way of Binding: First Path-Eight Twin Joined Cliffs)-[So originally this is a Kido spell that Hacchi created. I decided to designate it as a Hidden Bakudo Spell and gave it as the First Path. Of course it will still be Hacchi's creation, but it has now been placed in a category]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone