Progression Forward
(Karakura Outskirts)
The twins ran through the remains of the forest, cut, bruised, and beaten from the battle with the other members of the 15th squad. In the instant they began to fight, it was over. The swarms of Hollows were wiped out in storms and torrents of light, fire, and energy. The Arrancar themselves suffocated under the pressure of the captain, leaving them helpless against their foes. Just like against that orange haired lieutenant that came for Toshiro, there was nothing they could do against the other members of the squad. They were thoroughly crushed.
"Damn it!" Yang yelled as they stopped. Yin almost fell as she kept losing blood from a hole in her side. The red twin ripped her vest to use as an improvised bandage for her sister, hoping to stanch the bleeding. Then she froze suddenly, feeling a disturbance in the air. Somehow she knew, her master lost the Oin and was now dead. This whole thing was a trap, and they fell for it. Now here she was, losing everything all over again. Rejected by lord Aizen for being a weak Adjuchas Arrancar with only herself and her sister to rely on, only to find their new master in Kusaka. He gave them strength and purpose, he attained godly power, and now he's gone. And if she can't escape to Hueco Mundo, she'll lose her sister too. She'll be all alone in the entire world. "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! DAMN THAT SOUL REAPER!" She cried out, tears pouring from her eyes as fate seemed to condemn them for merely being in the world. She felt a hand brush away the tears, calming her down and she saw her blue twin. Yin was smiling through the pain and exhaustion as she cupped her sister's cheek.
"Don't worry." She said quietly, holding onto the remains of her strength. "We'll always have each other." She smiled, coaxing one out of her teary eyed sister as they hoped to bask in the sense of hope that came back. Only for it to soon die.
"Aww. I almost feel bad for ruining this." They heard a cruel voice call out, looking up to see a brown haired girl with a white beret wearing a sadistic smile, sitting on a branch in the trees above them. "But I doubt you'll be missed for what you did." She held up her arm and flicked her wrist, sending down a couple balls of Reishi. Yang pulled her sister out of the way and jumped back, narrowly dodging the ball as it sank into the ground in front of her. "Bye bye, Hollows." The girl sneered as the ground exploded, covering them both in a wave of fire and debris. "And that's that." Bambietta said with cheer as she jumped out of the tree, finding no trace of the two Arrancar they saw with the rogue Shinigami they believed was Ichigo's target.
"Damn it Bambi! We needed evidence!" She heard her fellow female Sternritter yell at her. She turned to see Bazz-B and Candice glaring at her for completely destroying their targets.
"Oh come on~." She groaned, annoyed with her colleagues. "Candy, you were wasting your time with your freaking make-up, and Bazz-B was afraid to burn down the forest!" She yelled in her defense. "Besides, you heard Ichigo. Some jackass was going to destroy space time, and they were helping him. They deserved it."
"Both of you shut up." Bazz-B groaned, annoyed by the two 'friends' and their constant bickering. "When things settle, they'll come to us. We can make our offers then." He said, making them shut up. The Quincy never noticed the closing tear in the air.
(Hueco Mundo: Forest of Menos)
Yang barely managed to get herself and Yin to safety, tearing an imperfect and very risky Garganta at the very same instant the explosion happened. They drifted for hours until finally ending up back in the land of the Hollows. Just barely after exiting into the dead forest they collapsed, feeling the last of their life leave. The final sounds she heard were the hungry cry of Hollows.
"Please..... anyone.... help." She managed to whisper as her eyes shut, certain that she and her sister were going to die. The only one to hear her plea was a figure cloaked in fur and Hollow masks, the one he wore on his face looking like a gazelle.
(Karakura Hospital: Underground Training Hall)
The cold lifeless room was filled with the loud hums and screeches of the vibrating Reishi arrows and blades created by the Quincy pair. Ryuken was continuing to train his son and pushed him to the limits. The ambient Reishi in the silver room was next to non-existent and Uryu had only one objective. Dodge.
'He is certainly improving,' Ryuken thought at he continued to chase his son with the arrows, 'but not fast enough. Not with those Sternritters in the city.' He knew the special power of Yhwach's chosen elite. The power of those with a Schrift. The Heat, the Explode, and the Thunder, all powerful abilities granted by those with the soul carved letter. The ace for many of Yhwach's slaves. Uryu needed to have a greater mastery over Reishi manipulation to fight on par with them, but even then he feared it would not be enough against certain Schrifts. He forgot to control his own strength and shot an arrow through Uryu's leg, making the boy stumble and collapse to the ground.
"Uryu!" Kanae cried out as she restored the ambient Reishi to normal levels and ran to her precious child. "Uryu, are you alright?"
"I'm fine mother." Uryu said through gritted teeth. The arrow dispelled from his leg as the parents got around to patching up their son. "Guess I need to work harder, right father?" Uryu chuckled out, trying to liven up the situation. Kanae merely glared at her husband for hurting their son.
"Ryuken, he needs a break!" She said adamantly. "You've been doing this non-stop for two days and you're being much harder than when he crippled his powers." Uryu tried to say something but his father started before he could.
"I know, but we can't afford that." He said, berating himself as he defended his stance. "Yhwach already sent his spies and they'll try to take him and Ichigo by force if they can't convince them." Uryu tried again, but his mother already had her rebuttal.
"He can't defend himself if he's dead on his feet exhausted." She returned heatedly.
'Screw it.' The archer thought as his parents began to argue in earnest. He brought his fingers to his mouth and loosed an ear splitting whistle, getting the desired result of shutting up his parents. "Thank you. Firstly, mother, I appreciate the concern. But father's right, time is running out and I need to get as strong as I can as fast as I can." He then turned to his father and used common medical knowledge. "And father, you know constantly pushing me like this will have the opposite effect. I need some time to rest and recover. And don't worry about the other Quincy. Ichigo and I already have an idea on what to do with them." He said, with an evil smirk as he thought over their simple but effective plan.
(Inoue Apartment)
Sora watched his sister sitting in the lotus position and meditating into a trance, balancing her inner self and gaining full control on her emotions, the main key to utilizing contract spirits. The Shun Shun Rikka were easy for her to practice with as they only went to someone with a certain purity and kindness. Infinitely powerful, but hard to fully utilize because of the constraints of emotional ties. All she really needed was the strength of will to fight back and she'd be nigh unstoppable. Sora knew that and promised to help her have the strength to fight back.
"Alright Orihime, time for the first step of the Onmyoji." He said, snapping her out of the meditative trance. He sat in front of his sister as she watched him with full attentiveness. "Contracting spirits is a rather difficult task. In order to do this, you must show your resolve to the spirit you're creating the contract with. They can issue any number of tests to see that resolve, either through combat, philosophical questions, or illusions. If you pass their test, you share with them a fragment of your soul and they become bound to you. Mostly, their strength becomes reliant on the amount of spiritual power they use from you." The white serpent he summoned earlier when revealing himself appeared and coiled around his body. "The more you can give, the stronger they become." He explained as Hebi went from a white python with horns and grew until the apartment became claustrophobic. "However, that is a dangerous line because not all spirits are amicable. You must build your bond with them and see them as your partners." The serpent faded from the physical world as he finished. "Remove your hairpins and let's start with you contracting the Shun Shun Rikka."
"Okay." She did as was requested while he slowly waved his hand over the pins, the small script slowly disappearing.
"Flower of the heavenly princess, the petals that reject events, attacks, and enemies, you are freed from your service of this human master." Sora chanted as a paper tag manifested in front of Orihime. On it was a six petaled flower with each one being a different color that signified the Shun Shun Rikka. "Now concentrate your soul into your hand and call them out." Following her brother's command, she did so and summoned out the six fairies.
"Flower of the heavenly-" She started the incantation for the contract before she was interrupted.
"We accept." Shun'o said with a smile, the other sprites nodding in agreement. The sibling felt a sweatdrop at the disregard of normal ceremony these contracts were supposed to be following. "Orihime already passed our test when we first manifested to fight that Hollow at school."
"And from there she's only proven herself more and more." Tsubaki chimed in. "I was worried she would just be a pushover but that fear was unfounded." He said, looking at the auburn haired girl with pride.
"We of the Shun Shun Rikka, accept this contract." They said at once before disappearing onto the hairpins, with the contract script returning. There was a pause between the brother and sister as they processed what occurred.
"Well," Orihime said as she got up, "that was easaah-" then collapsed from exhaustion from having the six sprites bound to her personally.
"Yeah, that happened to me too." Sora sighed, feeling a little jealous of his sister passing this test so easily. "And she's already got some of the best spirits too."
(With Tatsuki)
"HA!" The fire wielding martial artist yelled out as she practiced her forms. She didn't want to say it, but the encounter with the Arrancar rattled her. The Hollows she first encountered? They weren't human anymore and she had her friends. The Soul Reapers? That became a game of combat hide and seek and no one was trying to kill the other... except Aizen. But these Arrancar? They weren't animals, there wasn't any stopping at unconscious. Now it was kill or be killed. She was fighting someone that wanted to kill her. That threw her off her game and put her on the receiving end before she got her head out of her ass. What if she came across another Arrancar like the first two that came to scout the area? Ichigo said that the strongest Hollow he knew became the 4th ranked Arrancar and she was never more afraid in her life when she saw that piercing green eyed stare. Like everything before him was nothing but trash. She had to get stronger, needed to get stronger.
"Looks like you're trying to push yourself." She heard her teacher say, looking over to a tree branch to find Yoruichi in human form just watching her. Beside her were two short swords, a wakizashi, with a simple round guard and was otherwise unimpressive and a kodachi with a rectangular guard. "Don't you know the concept of trying too hard?"
"Yeah, putting forth too much effort that it becomes counter productive instead of helpful." Tatsuki replied, relaxing and catching her breath. She was a stubborn girl, but not stubborn enough to discount the advice of her teacher. "What were you doing these past months?"
"Ugh." Yoruichi sighed tiredly. "Dealing with my relatives. Some were okay with me returning, others were ecstatic, but a good number were still pissed at me defying traditions." She explained as she grabbed the two swords and jumped down towards her fiery disciple. "But it wasn't all reunions and trying to not punch a bunch of old people in the face, I was thinking about your next lesson." She threw the unimpressive wakizashi to Tatsuki, who caught it with ease. "I was thinking of your next lesson should be swordplay." Tatsuki looked at Yoruichi and the sword in her hand with evident confusion on her face.
"But, sensei, I've never seen you with a sword. You're a martial artist." Tatsuki said, trying to understand the logic in this new lesson.
"I was also the leader of the Onmitsukido, the black ops of Soul Society, and captain of the second squad." Yoruichi explained to her student. "Zanjutsu was one of the required fields of being a Shinigami. I eventually got so good with my martial arts I didn't need it. Especially since I had over a century to practice. Had to leave it behind when we had to go into exile." She said, reminiscing on a dark day in her and her friends' life. "Yuushiro kept my Zanpakuto for safe keeping until I returned." She unsheathed her short blade and held it in a reverse grip. "Now, I'm going to teach you how to fight with a blade, so you will learn how to adapt and fight opponents with swords." Tatsuki nodded and unsheathed her new sword. "That is an Asuachi, a blank Zanpakuto. The more you use it, the more it will adapt to a weapon fitting for you. So let's see what becomes of it." Yoruichi said with a smirk as she began Tatsuki's new lessons.
(Las Noches: Aizen's study)
Aizen tapped his fingers on his desk, watching the fool Kusaka die because of his jealousy and madness. Both terrible traits if one wanted to accomplish a plan as lofty as his. He'll admit to playing with the idea of stealing the Oin, but even he knows better than to mess with something like that. Creating a tool to break down the barriers of limitations was one thing, but manipulating time and space came with a heavier price than he was willing to abuse. The temptation would be too great and the eventual cost would be too much. Sure he'd have the chance to kill Ichigo, but some innate pride in the boy's progress stopped that. The one perfect culmination of his work that he needed to copy onto himself.
"So, you just left it at that?" Gin asked, coming into the study and avoiding some discarded mask fragments, clothes, and Arrancar Zanpakutos. "You had a mini rebellion and just fed them to the Hogyoku? What about Baraggan?" Aizen let out an amused chuckle as he thought about Arrancar under his command.
"Baraggan is patient and will wait until Soul Society is beaten before trying to rebel." Aizen explained, watching Ichigo's 'battle' with Kusaka and his forces. "Patros and his cronies didn't even wait for that. They wouldn't be able to get me any new data against Kurosaki and his squad, but they did become useful in feeding the Hogyoku." He said, prompting Gin to glance at the shifting black sphere. "How's training the loyal Arrancar coming along?"
"Grimmjow is making some real progress." Gin told his hated enemy, wishing he could run him through with his bankai. "The various Fraccion are improving as well. The rest of the Espada might make some headway if they actually trained with each other, but they still kind of hate one another." Aizen hummed as he continued his plotting, waiting for the chance to make his move. Ichigo would pay for humiliating him, but he needed to be careful with that. His lone scar from their fight still burned on his chest.
'Soon Kurosaki.' He thought, feeling the burning sensation spread slightly. 'Soon...'
(Soul Society: Division 1 training grounds)
Yamamoto was enjoying a small respite of peace with his two oldest pupils, Ukitake and Kyoraku, with Urahara joining them for tea, all while watching his current disciple spar with his Fullbringer friend. The two were exchanging blows, testing their strength, speed, and skill in their martial arts. The ancient dragon believed in a firm foundation to build on, so Ichigo had to fully master his basics before moving on to the more complicated move sets while Urahara was gathering data on the two. According to the other Fullbringers, Chad reached his peak evolution with his arm Fullbring and they had to check how much he improved. Ichigo was in a state of constant growth so the needed all the data they could get with his development.
"Hey~!" Shunsui called out to the two friends. "Lighten up. You can afford to take it easy for now." He advised, Ichigo and Chad were already dripping in sweat after just a few minutes of sparring. "Take a little break you two. Making me feel old."
"He does have a point." Ukitake chuckled slightly, pouring himself another cup. "Take a moment to breath and relax."
"You heard your seniors." Yamamoto said with a rare smile, actually joking with his students. "Take your break." Ichigo and Chad looked at each other before going to join some of the longest serving captains of the Gotei. Chad shared a drink with Kyoraku while Yamamoto had Ichigo make him tea... again. After he finished, Toshiro came by.
"Ichigo!" The young captain called out to the hybrid. With a nod from his teacher, Ichigo went to meet the ice wielder. "I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for helping me out. Talking with you those past few days really helped."
"Hey, I understand." Ichigo told him. "I'd feel conflicted if I was in your situation. Probably do the same things too. Get into so much trouble." He mumbled the last part, not wanting to feel the old man's walking stick on his skull again. "Anything else troubling you?"
"I'd like to spar again." Hitsugaya said with a determined look in his eyes. "I can't be solely reliant on my ice abilities in a fight. I need to practice my swordsmanship." He said as Ichigo pulled out his sword suddenly, forcing Hitsugaya to react desperately.
"And they've started again." Kyoraku sighed as Chad got up to join in. "Really making me feel old."
"I can't complain." Urahara said with a smile. "I'm getting so much data from this." Yamamoto merely smiled as he enjoyed the tea he had Ichigo make. Finally tasting a balance and harmony in the warm drink.
'Now for the harder lessons.'
(Karakura Funft Feld)
The two Geminscht cousins wandered throught the heavier forest section of their old Quincy training grounds, almost upset that they were meeting any of the enemy in the place where they built happy memories with grandfather Soken. But, they had to do this, see what they could learn from the other Quincy and keep things in their favor. There was no way they'd ever side with the Quincy emperor unless it was to serve their mission to kill him. Ichigo lit up his Reiatsu to act like a beacon, signaling that they were ready to meet their fellow Quincy. They waited until Bambietta finally revealed herself.
"Bout time you finally came to this meeting." She said, mildly annoyed. Her two companions and herself saw how powerful the two were, but being a Sternritter gave her a measure of arrogant confidence. She was convinced she could blow them away before they figured out her power. "Now, let's-"
"All three of you together, in front of us, or no deal." Uryu demanded, breaking her stride as he laid down their terms for the meeting. "I'm not exactly keen on meeting other Quincy, especially ones that have been in hiding for who knows how long. Either all three of you are together in front of us, or we leave." There was a pause for a couple of seconds before the two began to turn and walk away.
"Wait!" The Explode called out. "Fine. You win." She said as Bazz-B and Candice appeared at her side. They planned to ambush them, but the two never dropped their guard. It was going to be a race between reaction times, and they didn't like their chances. "There, all three of us from the Vandenreich, sent to return you to your proper family. But why are you siding with the Shinigami?" She demanded, working with the 'making them see the light' objective of their mission. "They had committed genocide on our race!"
"Because they had to." Uryu said, completely stonefaced as he explained their stance. "When they kill Hollows, they purify souls for the cycle of reincarnation. When Quincy kill Hollows, they are completely destroyed. They may have been murderers and thugs, but it was our pride that led to that massacre."
"They forced us into inaction when we would've been more useful against the Hollows." Bazz-B defended. "And even after the war, where are the rest of the Quincy in this world? All killed by the Soul Society."
"All done by one man." Ichigo responded, knowing what Mayuri did. "Who was very careful in how he did it and played the right strings. And all the Quincy happened to be mixed-blood, so where were any of you or your almighty emperor and father?" He said, stunning the three Sternritter.
"All dead, by his command." Uryu continued. "The Soul Reapers acted on orders to preserve the Balance, but what about all the ones dead by Yhwach's own hands?" He saw a flinch in Bazz-B, probably a victim of the Quincy emperor himself. "He almost killed our mothers years ago, simply because they weren't pure Quincy."
"Don't talk to us about serving the emperor when he cares about nothing but himself." Ichigo said as a sudden gust of wind came by and the three Echt Quincy seemed to stagger a little. They brought their hands to their necks, almost like something was there. "Hope you understand. We have no love for his 'majesty'."
"Trust us, he's not worth it." Uryu said, talking like they were friends suddenly. "You might want to leave too." The cousins then left the three to their own devices, smirking as the plan seemed to work. Up in the higher parts of the forest canopy, a well dressed but scarred individual was putting a bookmark in a book.
"What a fascinating read." Tsukishima said, closing his new book.
(Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers!)
Future Dress-up
After their honeymoon was cut short, due to classified information, Rukia decided to stop by the SWA's new meeting place. A normal meeting room that they used for storage. They still didn't remove all of Yachiru's candy or all of their spare... not important. It was just a major scale down from their former glory. The only other person that was in the room was Rangiku with a magazine, making use of her break time, I.E. avoiding paperwork. Rukia thought that was a good idea after what she and her husband did last night. She was still limping from the activities, something Rangiku noticed.
"Soo~, when should we expect the baby?" The busty lieutenant asked teasingly, making Rukia blush heavily.
"Rangiku! Now's not the time for us to even THINK about kids!" Rukia protested, happy that she had a plentiful supply of birth control medication. "Besides, I'm a lieutenant. I can't just abandon that duty, especially in the midst of a war."
"Aw~," Rangiku whined, "and here I was hoping to play dress-up with my future... would it be step-child or..." She said, not really knowing the link with future sister wives. "And this Chappy onesie looks so cute~." She said, looking back at her catalog with a fox like grin as curiosity gripped the married noble. Rukia caved and took a look, eyes sparking at the cute baby outfits for her future children with Ichigo. Then a thought occurred to her.
'She's teasing me.' She smiled as she figured how she might turn it around. "Well, I'm too busy to think about kids. But you can do it if you want." She said, believing she got the drop on the lazy lieutenant.
"Thanks for that!" Rangiku cheered. "I'll go look for him now! Already got the dress and ring!" She said before running off. Rukia blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Did I just give her permission to be his next bride?"
Pacifying Nanao
The current president of the Shinigami's Women Association, lieutenant Nanao Ise, was currently drowning her sorrows in the emergency chocolate stash of the former president. It just wasn't fair, she put up with Yachiru's childish antics for years, ensured that their club was well funded, tried to help morale by selling quality merchandise of the captains whom the other Soul Reapers saw as celebrities, everything was fine! When Yachiru became Zaraki's Zanpakuto full time, she had her chance... and then that Quincy ruined it all! She'll admit that abusing her authority in the budget committee was her fault, but Yachiru's crimes should not be her responsibility! Then he got Unohana's support with a gore filled picture book that she for some reason likes, most of her members are dating the poster boy of the Men Association, and their club now has the same budget as every other one. As it stands, their usual way of getting things done was no longer an option. They couldn't force their ways anymore.
"Hello, Nanao." She heard someone say. She looked to the door and saw the reason for her misfortune, Uryu Ishida.
"What do you want?" She practically growled at him through a mouthful of chocolate. He held up what seemed like a book.
"I wanted to give you this as a present." He said calmly, almost hypnotically as he walked toward her. "Captain Kyoraku told me you were feeling stressed, so I thought I should give you this since I am probably the reason you're so stressed." Nanao swallowed the mouthful of chocolate before snatching the book from his hand.
"You think I'll forgive you with just a single present?!" She roared. "You could've said no to joining the Men's Association and everything would've turned out great! But no, you HAD to ruin everything I worked for with this club!" She opened up the picture book and scrolled through the contents. "You think you can make it up to me with.... with...." She trailed off, seeing image after image of her captain in suggestive, almost X rated scenes.
"Looks like you like the 'Sleeping Flowers' book." Uryu teased, seeing a slight nose bleed form with a heavy blush.
"IT'S THE CHOCOLATE!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone