Benihime didn't immediately save the kid, instead, she first modified her clothing to match the district she was in before adding some dust and grease to her ripped clothing, skin, and hair, making her look like a mental asylum patient who hadn't bathed for weeks. Finally, Benihime slipped an ordinary-looking black bracelet onto her left arm which immediately masked her Magic Body and Reiatsu, making it look like she was an average random Soul to a Shinigami's senses.
She then looked around and picked up a piece of lumber, breaking it into two pieces and picking the one with a sharper end.
Benihime finished her preparation and started running towards the thugs beating up the child and aimed at the one furthest away from the group. Her hurried footsteps immediately caught the attention of several thugs and the one Benihime was aiming for looked annoyed, "Huh? Dirty bitch, this is no-"
However, before he could finish speaking, Benihime suddenly sped up, and with a swing of the broken lumber, she pierced through his throat, spraying blood on her face.
With a gurgling sound, the thug fell and struggled for a bit before the lights in his eyes disappeared.
Everyone was shocked and stunned into silence at this unexpectedly bloody scene. The thugs were only able to react when Benihime started running away.
"Y-you bitch!" One of them shouted at the top of his lungs and started chasing after her and was soon followed by the other thugs.
Benihime turned her head around and made sure that they were following her, 'Good.' She then turned a corner and thought to herself, 'They should be around here.'
Soon enough Benihime felt the presence of the nearby patrolling Shinigamis after running for a few minutes. Once she was sure that the noise they'd be creating would be enough for them to notice, Benihime stopped and faced her pursuers, resuming her attack.
The thugs were startled but didn't back down from the challenge, however, their bravery didn't last long as they started shouting in pain and horror.
As Benihime wanted, the two patrolling Shinigamis noticed the commotion and immediately began making their way through. But just as they were about to turn the corner where the blood-curdling screams were coming from, it all suddenly stopped.
Confused, the two Shinigami looked at each other before taking a peek at what was happening.
Upon seeing the scene, one of them wanted to throw up at the sight of the mutilated bodies and ripped-out guts and eyes. In the middle of this bloody mess is a single dirty and bloodied woman standing quietly while clutching a piece of wood thoroughly soaked in blood and gore.
The two Shinigami hurriedly pulled out their Zanpakutos, but thankfully, they didn't have to do anything as the woman let go of her 'weapon' and dropped to the ground, unconscious.
They cautiously approached the crime scene and one of them said to others, "Go around and look for witnesses. Figure out what happened here."
"Are you going to be fine on your own?"
"She's already unconscious. I'll tie her up and bring her in."
"Bring her in? Why? Isn't it too dangerous to keep her alive?"
"That's why I'm asking you to ask around. Depending on what they say, the Seireitei will have a use for her."
The other inexperienced Shinigami was still confused so he continued, "It takes a talent to slaughter men larger than her with a single piece of wood. The Seireitei will want to have a talent like that and they'll have a way to discipline her."
Hearing their words, Benihime knew that she succeeded in the first step, 'I knew there was a reason why Kisuke didn't want me to meet Soifon and allowed me to play around for an extended period, but to think he'd ask me to infiltrate Onmitsukidou...'
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Kisuke made sure that his tracks were erased and returned to their base.
"Welcome home. How did it go?" Waiting for him was Serafall who intended to secure an escape route for Kisuke if things didn't go as planned.
"I'm home. Better than expected." Kisuke disabled his disguise and sat down beside her.
"Wouldn't they send down an advisory to the Seireitei? How are you going to deal with that?"
Kisuke stretched his limbs and Tiamat transformed back to her Humanoid form to get something to eat, "Chances are they wouldn't do that. Those guys are top prideful and wouldn't want to release the news that they were infiltrated and they let the infiltrator escape. Besides that, they don't want to give an idea to anyone that there's a hole in their security since it's not just me who wants to enter that place. At most, it's just going be the Captains and top noble houses who'll hear about this."
"And if the news spreads and we become enemies to them, that's fine too. The current Gotei 13 is too weak to do anything even against Claire, Kunou, and Tanis."
"...Are they really that weak?"
"Their strongest pillars are gone and they haven't recovered from war. It's sad but that's just the truth. And with the individuals from Hell breathing down their necks, they wouldn't be able to afford to make an enemy of us. This is the reason why I chose to do this now."
Serafall remained silent for a few moments before asking, "Isn't it about time you tell me what you intend to do?"
Kisuke also remained silent for a few seconds before he answered, "Not yet. I still need to investigate Hell to figure out the feasibility of what I want to do."
"And if it's not possible?"
"Then there's no point in staying here. We'll return."
Serafall sighed at his answer and changed the topic, "By the way, I enrolled Claire, Kunou, and Tanis in another school in London. It'll be our base of operations for now since there's really nothing to do on this side with you here taking care of everything."
"Good call since I'll also be diving deep into my research. I'll probably be going in the lab and not going out for a week or two each time."
"...That long?"
"Nothing I can do about it. I won't figure out anything if I don't put in the time."
Serafall started mulling over something with a complicated expression on her face, "Hmmmmm..... Yosh! I'll help you out! I can't help with Spiritual stuff but I can sure help out with the Magic side of things! Especially the pseudo-Demonic Power from Hell which I handle better than you!"
If Kisuke was going to lock himself up, then Serafall might not be able to close the distance between them as she wanted. More importantly, she was feeling some threat from the Shinigami known as Soifon and since she's going to be with Kisuke during his research time she doesn't want to be overtaken.
'I got my chance when I managed to go with them. I'm not letting that go!'
Editors:
28th00: Ganbatte, Sera-chan~! She’s damn well gonna abuse this time to try and stake her claim, dammit! She’s been clam jammed so hard and consistently that even Soifon being a childhood friend who really isn’t interested in him that way, is threatening to her! She’s been malding since she caught Sona abusing his regeneration in bed during the desert training in Danmachi, hasn’t she? Then Yoruichi had first claim and so much BS happened that she had no real chances to advance, huh? If she can’t recreate an H-manga level scene while being locked alone with him for weeks at a time, she’s more hopeless than Irina and Akeno.
Goyya: I’m giving Serafall and Kisuke some time alone, but I’m doing it “off-screen” since there are a lot of other developments that needed to happen and to be honest, I’m not very confident in my “writing romance” skill after trying it out a few times.
One year went by after Kisuke decided to focus on his research and during that time, only a few notable things happened, surprisingly. Due to how explosive the inhabitants of Hell were when they attacked the Human World, Kisuke thought that they'd do more things. But contrary to those expectations, after the 'Nine Gates' incident, nothing else came up from their side and even after asking the [Unchained] what those who are [Chained] are up to, their area of activity was too far from them.
They tried using Yamamoto's aide, Choujirou Sasakibe to infiltrate their ranks but Szayelaporro Granz already discovered them secretly sneaking in the Human World without his knowledge and put a bounty on their heads.
Nevertheless, the attacks of the Beasts of Hell never stopped with a few Gates opening here and there throughout the whole world, making the Seireitei and even the Wing Bind busy with their random attacks.
Another thing to note is that the first Kenpachi, Unohana, and the former Captain of the 13th Division, Juushirou Ukitake, were still missing, and seemingly have disappeared from the world.
As for Yamamoto himself, he could maintain his current state even with the difficulties he was facing.
On the Eastern Soul Society's side, however, there was a big change as the Seireitei's personnel started training within the Human World a few months ago to learn more about Magic. Since Soul Society is technically devoid of any Magic Power and the Magic Power present in the Human World is brimming more than ever because each time the Gates open, a stream of it also rushes in.
Of course, the nobles of the Sereitei couldn't let their forces be left behind and coerced the Central 46 to allow their personnel to travel to the Human World.
As of this moment, most of the Shinigamis who came to train already knew how to detect Magic Power, but in terms of utilizing it even for a bit, only a very select few were capable of it.
"It became very busy around these parts, huh?" Serafall, in disguise, muttered while licking her ice cream and watching the Shinigamis running around in the sky.
"It can't be helped. They have to understand the power that Hell uses and discoveries are being made each passing day." Kisuke, also in disguise, replied while licking his ice cream.
Right now, they are in a park to rest after Serafall dragged Kisuke out to play around, "But a few of them aren't being careful. Many strange reports are coming out in the Human World, you know? Sooner or later, specially gifted Humans will be able to feel these fluctuations of Magic Power and some of them might even be able to use it instinctively."
Kisuke looked at Serafall in surprise and asked, "Is that how it goes?"
"Yes. Never underestimate normal people because you don't know what they are capable of once they discover their talent. It's also because of this that Mephisto-chan decided to help Humans form a Magic system because he's afraid that these few individuals destroy themselves and those around them by playing with fire. Well, it was also because of his personal interest."
At that moment, both of their phones rang and when they opened it, they saw what seemed to be a burnt cake with the caption [Kunou doesn't know when to stop burning things. (≧▽≦)]
They both received the message from Claire within the messaging app that Kisuke developed.
One of the biggest changes during this past year is that Claire, Kunou, and Tanis have already graduated high school and entered a higher level of education.
Kisuke thought that they'd be going to a single university but was pleasantly surprised that they opted for universities that specialized in their choice of course.
Claire went for an engineering degree, while Kunou went for an arts degree, and finally, Tanis decided to go to a medical school.
"It seems that they went to Ku-chan, Lanna-chan's place." Serafall commented and turned her head to Kisuke, "It's been a while since we've all been together. Shall we go?"
Kisuke nodded, "Alright. Soifon is also coming today for her regular check-up so I'll ask her to bring Ophis and Lilith with her."
"By the way, I heard they got a promotion. How did it go?"
"They took the 3rd and 4th seats respectively. Though that's probably as high as they could go for now since they can't call the names of their Zanpakuto."
"It's still amazing that they could get as high as that when it's only been half a year since they entered the 2nd Division."
While tapping on his phone, Kisuke answered, "Well, despite not being able to release their Zanpakuto and the occasional failed Kidou, their basic specs are still at least on Captain-level so slaying a bunch of Hollows and Beasts of Hell is pretty easy for them. On top of that, their stealth technique is topnotch which gives them even more achievement points for the 2nd Division. And if you're surprised to see them rise in such a short amount of time, don't be. While the Seireitei is very rigid, they won't stop someone's promotion just because they are 'young'. As long as they have what it takes, they'll give them a proper position."
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Later that day, Soifon came with Ophis and Lilith as planned.
"Thanks for bringing them out. They must have been troublesome." Kisuke said while patting the heads of Ophis and Lilith who were wearing their Shinigami uniforms and had ran towards him and Serafall.
Soifon shook her head and said, "It's not that troublesome. As long as someone proves that they can learn Magic, it's easy to get permission these days."
Kisuke asked Ophis and Lilith to go with Serafall first and took out several syringes, a knife, and multiple test tubes to take some blood and flesh samples from Soifon.
Thanks to Soifon's very stable condition, all the in-depth check-ups only happen once a month now and Kisuke only requires some samples weekly.
And while sealing the samples, Kisuke asked, "How long can they be absent?"
"I can cover their communications for up to a month. If you want it extended, just give me a heads up and I'll do something about it."
Kisuke couldn't help but smile at her answer, "I never thought that the Captain of the 2nd Division would allow something like this. If Captain Commander Kyouraku hears about this, he'd be very proud~!"
Soifon immediately scowled at him and said, "Don't compare me to that lazy bum." She then turned around and started walking away.
"You're leaving already? You're not going to force me to treat you to a very expensive dinner?"
"As much as I want to do it, Central 46 and the 5 Great Noble Houses are strangely wary of my position and activities so I can't risk prolonged contact with you." Soifon waved her hand at them and disappeared among the passing crowds.
The group stared in the direction she disappeared to for a bit before leaving. As soon as they left the narrow alley, Serafall turned to Kisuke and asked, "Are you not going to address that strange man staring?"
Kisuke's expression didn't change and kept his walking pace, "Not yet. Let him do it for a while. He probably thought that he's hidden from our senses so he'll approach us on his own once he's done observing."
Ophis and Lilith's situation was never exposed to the Seireitei after all this time so Serafall also doesn't mind the stare, but she's wondering who that guy is and why Kisuke is ignoring him.
Editors:
28th00: The dragon twins are sustained by headpats and bananas. It’s been a year, Sera better have made some damn progress!