Alicia, still very much clueless as to what was happening, silently followed Yoruichi and Aizen through the door. The next thing she knew, she arrived in a white desert in the middle of the night.
'Night? Did we teleport into a different timezone?' But as soon as she thought about that, the wind hit her face and she noticed that something was amiss, "...Huh?"
As an Etoulde and a long-time spacefarer, she could survive in many, many places as long as it supports carbon-based life. Even if there isn't any air for her to breathe, as long as she has a steady stream of Magic Power, she'll be able to sustain her body for long periods of time. However, the problem right now was not the quality of the air, but its composition.
The quality of the air is akin to that of the Draconic Deus, but each time Alicia inhales, it strangely invigorates. She froze in place and carefully inspected what was happening. Naturally, it didn't take too long for her to figure it out, "Wait! A-all... All of this! All of this is made out of Spiritual Matter!?"
"Hooh... Now this is interesting." Aizen muttered softly, "This place actually has regenerative effects on you."
Yoruichi immediately took note of that and stared at Alicia too to watch out for other changes in her.
"Where are we!?" Alicia exclaimed as she looked around in disbelief. She also kicked up some sand to confirm that it was indeed all Spiritual Particles, "How is this possible!?"
"Don't you have something similar in your homeworld?"
Alicia was stunned silent and gave Yoruichi's words more thought, 'It's true... I heard that the capital has something like this and only those from the Holy Family, important court members, and a few selected people are allowed to go. Nevertheless, those are still just some rumors!'
While Alicia was deep in her thoughts, one person cautiously approached the group.
A tall female Arrancar of a curvaceous and well-endowed frame. She has olive skin, aqua green eyes, thick eyelashes, and short golden blonde hair. She wore a variation of the Arrancar jacket with a high collar, which covered the lower part of her face downward while baring a good portion of the lower half of her large breasts. The jacket has a zipper running along its entire length, which is opened from the bottom upwards. It had a beige air filter on either side just below the trim. The jacket's sleeves completely enveloped her arms, terminating in black glove-like extensions at her extremities, resembling the appearance of a cat's paw.
"Tier Harribel. It has been a while." Yoruichi greeted her.
Tier first glanced at Aizen with trepidation before returning her greeting as she landed in front of them, "It seems that you're doing well, Yoruichi Shihouin... And you too, Sosuke Aizen."
She also eyed Alicia who's staring at her as if she was some weird creature but soon ignored her and continued addressing Yoruichi, "I apologize but it's required for me to ask your purpose, seeing that you crossed unannounced."
"I also apologize for doing this. After all, it's hard to coordinate when this guy is involved.", Yoruichi turned her eyes toward Aizen while answering, "We'd like to go to the Soul Society to meet Captain Kurotsuchi."
Tier was silent for a moment before waving her hand and a slit in space was formed, revealing a dark void, "I see. I'll inform them from my side."
"Well, that was easy." Aizen chuckled and started walking through the opening.
Meanwhile, the corners of Yoruichi's mouth could only twitch, 'This bitch... She just didn't want to deal with Aizen... That's fair, though.' She sighed and grabbed Alicia's arm to drag her in, "Thanks."
Alicia's thoughts slowed down, but as soon as she stepped into the void, she panicked and thought she'd fall. Thankfully, she didn't and noticed that there was an invisible floor for her made out of thin solidified Spiritual Power. And upon further inspection, this thin floor was created by the man who kidnapped her and was walking in front.
Soon, the slit in the space disappeared behind them but strangely enough, they could still see each other clearly despite the fact that the only source of light was the fluctuating void, 'What's all of this nonsense? Even this strange void is full of Spiritual Particles and Spiritual Power.'
"She didn't have to be that scared," Aizen commented, initiating some small talk while continuing on his path.
"After you almost cut her in half and she only managed to survive through luck? I'm actually surprised that she didn't hate you much more." Yoruichi instantly retorted without letting go of Alicia, "In any case, is this really leading directly to the Soul Society? I'm surprised that they were allowing something like this."
"You can thank Kyouraku for that. He doesn't care about norms and traditions."
"Well, he's the one who released you against Yhwach so I can see that."
There were no more exchanges between the two of them after that and that caused Alicia a huge amount of frustration, 'Why stop now!? Please continue!' Her only source of information right now was what she could observe and their conversation with the latter gave her more utility. She knew that they won't answer her questions now so all she could do is wait and hope that they'll start talking again.
Unfortunately for her, the silence continued until they reached the end of the 'tunnel'.
Bracing herself, Alicia squinted her eyes to prepare for the sudden light.
The moment she regained her sight, however, she saw Aizen holding a blade aimed at his neck by a scarred, very wild-looking, muscular man with a maniacal smile on his already scary face.
"When are you going to get bored of this, Zaraki?" Aizen asked with a nonchalant voice while pushing the blade away from him.
Meanwhile, the one holding her hand until now have released her and also have come face to face with a relatively petite woman with gray eyes and black hair.
As their short blades clashed with each other, Yoruichi couldn't help but mutter, "Since when did Gotei 13 develop such violent tendencies?"
The black-haired woman smirked at her and retorted, "Who knows? It was you who left for such a long time."
The two separate clashes brought down the heavy weight of their Spiritual Pressures. And Alicia who was standing in the middle of it came to a terrifying realization, 'That golden-haired woman from before opened a tunnel using Spiritual Power... And it was the same for these four. I can't deny it anymore. It wasn't just a few special individuals... There's another race... No, another developed society that's capable of using Spiritual Power as much as the Etouldes do.'
It's a common belief in their society that aside from the Evies, only a large organization of other Spiritual Ability users of their level would be able to stand against the Etouldes if it existed. It was due to this belief that they were always watching out for such a group. As of now, the current consensus for the appearance of such a group is, '...Elimination. At least, that's what the Holy Father's faction would do.'
Editors:
28th00: I like watching her rapid mental breakdown.
The four people were about to clash for the second time when a loud clap caught their attention, "Alright, that's enough. You're scaring our little guest here."
The four Shinigami, if you could consider one of them as one, stopped and all turned their heads to the man wearing a pink, flowered lady's kimono followed by a female Shinigami, "It has been a while, Yoruichi. I didn't think I'd be seeing you this early though."
"Well, the situation really calls for it." Yoruichi sheathed her Zanpakuto, "I'd like to make sure this guy doesn't torture this poor little lady."
Alicia shuddered and Shunsui instantly became more interested and started rubbing his chin, "Oh? So the little guest is actually a little prisoner?"
Aizen smiled and peaked at Yoruichi, "If I needed that to happen, how are you going to stop me?"
Fear instantly enveloped Alicia and she hurriedly hid behind Yoruichi who is seemingly the only one interested in her wellbeing. Alicia didn't like Yoruichi for tricking and making her an accomplice to her movements within the Etoulde territory, but right now, she has forgotten all of that and was extremely grateful for the lifeline she's offering, 'I can't die here... I still have to save those two! If I'm gone, how are they going to survive that filthy house!?'
Yoruichi could feel Alicia shivering and sighed, "I'll provide you with the information I have too. Besides, I think there's a way to peacefully pull her to our side..." 'If Stralit's information about her is accurate, that is.' Yoruichi thought immediately after.
"Hmmm... No matter. We'll know whether what you're providing is enough to replace her use." Aizen then turned to Kyouraku and said, "Where's Kurotsuchi?"
"In the Special Region, neck deep in his experiments." Shunsui answered after giving it some thought, "But it's my duty to ask the reason why you're asking for him so please don't make it complicated for both of us. I'm also very tired of work."
"Urahara might have underestimated the overall situation on the other side. Whether you like it or not, this place will also be dragged into their conflict. Good enough?"
Zaraki, Soifon, and Nanao's eyes shot wide open while Shunsui tipped his straw hat lower, "And here I was hoping it wasn't that bad of news. Is this accurate?" He asked Yoruichi.
"According to my sources, yes. I was too late to realize this and Kisuke already changed things up to adapt to this. I assure you that he certainly didn't want to have this place get involved so early."
Shunsui already promised that the Gotei 13 would assist him before the problem with Ichibei evolved out of proportion and they still intended to keep it. However, they are still recovering and figuring out what they should do so immediately jumping into a large-scale conflict is really out of the question right now.
Shunsui turned around and went towards the stairs to get down from the tower where they were standing, "That's reassuring to hear. I'll call Kurotsuchi back, but don't expect him to be in a good mood when he arrives."
Nanao gave Yoruichi a small bow before following Shunsui. In response, Yoruichi smiled and cheerfully waved her hand at her until she turned around.
"Then I'll be going somewhere else first. You take care of her, peacefully if you could, of course." Aizen didn't wait for any input from Yoruichi and directly disappeared.
Zaraki also lost his interest and jumped off the tower, leaving only the ladies behind.
"So... Any place we could relax?" Yoruichi asked Soifon after a few moments of silence.
"The entertainment industry within the Soul Society hasn't restarted so we'll have to go to the Human World. I know a good place." Soifon turned towards the Senkaimon that's just behind them and added before opening them, "It would be great if you could let me in your special talk too."
Yoruichi nodded as that's what she intended from the start. This decision stemmed from the fact that she helped out Kisuke and even hid Ophis and Lilith's identity for a while, "I'll even satisfy your curiosity. I know you have a lot of things to ask."
"I'm certainly looking forward to that."
Alicia, on the other hand, couldn't keep up. These two ladies were baring their fangs at each other but in an instant, they acted like they were best friends of many years.
.
.
.
Within a cozy and peaceful cafe in Shibuya, one table, occupied by three beautiful ladies, was not peaceful at all, "You're kidding! There are nine other women aiming for Urahara aside from you!?" Soifon exclaimed while slamming the table.
If not for the repelling barrier that's surrounding them, they would have been kicked out long ago.
"Twelve, actually. If I include the messy Goddesses." Yoruichi then took a meaningful peek at Soifon and added, "Or maybe thirteen?"
Sadly, that attempt of teasing failed as it went over Soifon's head since she was very shaken by this sudden revelation, "T-Twelve... Thirteen...? What the hell are you seeing in that bastard!?" Soifon clutched her head, genuinely confused and frustrated.
"By the way, I'm still not counting those who gave up or lost their chance."
"...Are you sure he's not hypnotizing or manipulating your heads in any way?"
Alicia ignored Yoruichi and Soifon's bantering and only stared out of the window. It had been a while since she arrived in Draconic Deus and she already had her fair share of outings and explorations to study the strange planet.
Actually, she's familiar with the street they were on since it's one of her go-to places whenever she's feeling stressed. However, shops are only similar to what she knew and some of them are entirely different. It looks like the Tokyo, Japan of Draconic Deus and it even has the same name.
Nevertheless, she knew that she was not in Draconic Deus, 'The same yet different... This is a parallel world, isn't it?'
It was theoretically possible but she never knew it could actually exist, 'Now it's settled. Draconic Deus really has the capability to connect countless worlds and even dimensions. They'll never leave it alone. Worst-case scenario, they'll take out all life on it if it means securing it.'
"I see that you've relaxed enough to contemplate. Shall we proceed with our talk while we still have time?" Waking up from her stupor, Alicia heard Yoruichi and she recognized that she's talking to her. And when she turned her head back at her, she also noticed Yoruichi's 'friend' staring at her while taking a sip from her iced coffee.
"This is where you decide my fate, huh? I don't know what you have for me, but can you really ensure that I'll be able to return?" She replied after a long sigh.
"That depends on you. To start, I heard that you only took the post in Draconic Deus because you didn't have any choice."
Alicia's eyes immediately sharpened, "Where did you hear that?"
As it pertains to her family, she instantly raised her guard to the highest it can be.
"Want to take over your clan? How about we talk with that in mind?" Yoruichi grinned after seeing her reaction.
Editors:
28th00: I think the real thought should be “If the 2 parallel worlds we see for Earth are already this strong and terrifying, how much worse can they get?” You just… really, never wanna poke a Nexus World in Sci-fi settings, that’s suicidally stupid since you could poke one of the ones that are much stronger and scarier than you.
Soifon missed the teasing entirely, due to already being at her limit, dang. Time to plan a coup! ExE is far from monolithic after all, and they’re already pulling that bullshit on DxD, so it’s time to pull it on ExE where they least expect it!
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