Bleach: Heart of a Hero

by Blackdrag-rose

Soul Society: Fun with Fireworks

After Captain Gin forced the gate to close, by slicing off Jidanbo's entire left arm and knocking Ichigo in the chest with his Zanpakuto, which Sombra was convinced had elongated itself after he used the Release Call, the group turned towards Ichigo as he sat up and brushed off the dust that had gathered on him after he hit the ground near Jidanbo's left shoulder and Zangetsu landed near him. Sombra was happy to see that Ichigo was unharmed from the strike that he had suffered from the Captain's attack, and the rest of the group was happy to see that he was fine, but even as that happened he turned back towards the gate and wondered what was going to happen when Captain Gin encountered someone that inquired what happened to his arm. He also wondered if someone had asked Captain Byakuya what happened to his chest when he returned to Soul Society, as Sombra remembered cutting his chest when he got incredibly pissed off about the Captain's noble attitude towards him and a wounded Ichigo, before he sighed and shook his head, as he was sure that they would cross paths with one of the Captains in the future.

As he turned back towards Ichigo, to check on how he was doing, Orihime rushed by him and immediately stopped by Ichigo's side, clearly showing that she was worried about him, while at the same time Chad, Uryu, and Sora walked over to them as Yoruichi stared at all of them.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?" Orihime asked, though at the same time she looked all over Ichigo's body, clearly trying to find any wounds that needed to be healed, while Ichigo rubbed his head for a few seconds as he finally got over what he was feeling at the moment.

"The gate?!" Ichigo inquired, clearly ignoring what Orihime said as he turned his attention towards the now closed gate, where an annoyed look appeared on his face as he found that all his hard work defeating Jidanbo, and somehow getting him to open the gate, had been wasted, "Dammit..."

"I see you're alright." Yoruichi commented, to which she walked over to where the group was standing, but at the same time she glanced over at Sombra as well, as she was happy to see that he was completely unharmed from his very brief fight with Gin, who they might have been able to get through if the Captain hadn't targeted Jidanbo.

"Sorry, we let the gate close," Ichigo said, where he glanced at the cat that was walking towards him, because now that the gate was closed, and the only person capable of opening it knocked out, the only one among their number that knew how to get into the Seireitei was Yoruichi.

"Forget it." Yoruichi replied, where she glanced at the gate once more, knowing that the Captain that had come to greet them was likely standing on the other side of the massive structure, staring at the wound that Sombra had dealt him as she thought about what she had seen, "With Gin Ichimaru as our opponent it would have been hard for us to get inside the Seireitei, not unless we let Sombra focus on fighting him one on one while we searched for a second way to get through the gate."

"I know he's incredible, but could he really defeat a Captain at his current level?" Uryu inquired, as he had seen the sheer power that Sombra had displayed some time ago, when Rukia was being taken by the Shinigami, and had wounded one Captain in the process.

"He was able to wound a Captain, who was using only twenty percent of his power, before he even had access to his Zanpakuto spirit," Yoruichi explained, as she was still surprised when she thought about that, as Byakuya was strong and Sombra had temporarily overpowered him before forcing the Spirit Restriction Seal to be released, "now that he has released his Zanpakuto, and he and Shokyo are working together, his strength is much greater than it was before. Sombra should be able to take the 3rd Seat of a Division with ease, while a Lieutenant, depending on who it is, might offer him a challenge... though, despite how strong he is, we should avoid Captains at all costs, as some are even stronger than the others and all of them aren't to be taken lightly. Also, be glad that you aren't injured, because Gin Ichimaru is one of those Captains, no matter what Sombra was able to do to him in the brief time they were fighting each other."

"Hey Orihime," Ichigo said, though while Yoruichi was talking to Uryu he had gotten up and picked up Zangetsu from where it had landed, allowing him to turn his attention to something else, or rather the gatekeeper that had been punished for opening the gate, "Help me patch this guy up."

As Orihime agreed to help patch up Jidanbo, who was likely to bleed out if someone didn't assist him anyway, the group heard the noise of something moving and turned back towards the street they had landed on, only this time around there were other souls emerging from the various buildings around them. Sombra could tell that they were afraid, just from the looks that some of them were giving the group, and he couldn't blame them, as he was pretty sure that these souls knew that they weren't with the Shinigami and were likely to cause some chaos in what was their ordinary lives.

"What's with them?" Sora asked, as the entire group was turning to face the residents of the Rukongai that were emerging from the buildings, but he kept his hand near his sword, just in case the group found themselves under attack and needed to defend themselves, "Why were they hiding until now?"

"They were afraid of us." Yoruichi replied, though she looked at the souls that were staring at them, likely staring at Sombra, Ichigo, and Sora, as they were the ones that were wearing Shinigami type clothing, even if Sombra's was the only one that wasn't the normal black color, "Souls that come to Soul Society improperly, as in without the aid of Shinigami, are called Ryoka and are thought to be the source of all sorts of disasters."

"So they think we're enemies?" Ichigo inquired, though he frowned for a moment, because if that was the case he wasn't sure that he could actually fight them, as they all looked nothing like the Shinigami that were in Soul Society and didn't look like they could defend themselves, but that didn't stop them from preparing themselves for anything.

"Please wait," a voice said, to which an elderly soul walked out from the group and stopped when he was a few steps in front of the souls that he had walked out with, though the group could tell from his clothing that he was someone of importance in the Rukongai, though he gave them a little bow before standing straight once more, "I am the chief of Rukongai. I was watching the entire incident as it unfolded. As Jidanbo's saviors, I would like to welcome all of you."

Sombra and the rest of the group smiled as they relaxed for a moment, as it appeared that none of the souls in front of them wanted to pick a fight with them, though that was when Orihime had Chad, Sora, and Ichigo, along with a number of the residents of the Rukongai, haul Jidanbo's severed arm over to where the giant's body was located. While they did that, and the other souls watched what was going on, Sombra stood by the Chief and learned that there were a lot of arrogant and annoying Shinigami on the other side of the wall, but Jidanbo had come from the Rukongai, which was interesting and could actually explain some of his actions earlier. One of the other souls that had been standing nearby also informed him that, since they went out of their way to save the giant from Captain Gin, that they must all be good people, surprising Sombra for a moment, as he wasn't expecting that sort of reaction, but he smiled and nodded his head, as he was happy that the residents of the Rukongai were so understanding.

When it came to the severe wound that Jidanbo had suffered, on the other hand, Orihime assured them all that she would be able to heal it in no time, to which Ichigo and Uryu got their first glimpse of her healing technique, as Chad and Sora had trained with her, Yoruichi had helped her manifest her powers, and Sombra had seen the awakening of her seemingly reality defying powers. While all of this happened, however, Chad was visited by a little boy that was extremely excited to see him again, where the group, those that weren't focused on the wound, turned and looked at the little boy, only for them to discover that it was the soul that had been inside the parakeet earlier. Chad smiled as he picked Yuichi Shibata up, let him sit with both of his legs on his shoulders while holding onto his head, and walked off to explore the part of the Rukongai that they were in, allowing the rest of the group to do what they wanted while they waited for Orihime to finish healing Jidanbo's arm.

As the majority of the group headed to the Chief's house, as Yoruichi had business she wanted to take care of before they did anything else, Sombra discovered that most of the people in the Rukongai didn't know each other and had formed family like cooperative groups in order to make a living. From what he could guess that meant that all of these souls were from difference places and time periods, but, at the same time, there was no guarantee that someone would find one of their family members from when they were living, meaning that Yuichi might not be able to find his mother at all. Sombra knew that the moment Chad heard that news, as he was about to hear it before coming back to them, he would vow to try and help the little boy find his mother, since that had been a big reason behind why he had suffered through the serial killer turned Hollow that was chasing him. Ichigo, on the other hand, moved up to a nearby rooftop and stared at the wall that was blocking their way, clearly trying to find another way to open the gate or move it, so Sombra, not seeing much to do at the moment, followed after Yoruichi and decided to be near her while she talked with the Chief about whatever she wanted to talk about.

A few hours later it was getting dark, indicating that Soul Society had a day and night cycle like the World of the Living had, and that was when Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime returned to the building that the rest of the group was staying in, but Orihime did say that Jidanbo would be fine after he had some rest... and, at the same time, Yoruichi explained the situation to them the moment they were all sitting near the Chief, where those that had swords had them resting to their side while they sat in the house.

"We're giving up on breaking through the gate?!" Ichigo asked, as he couldn't believe that Yoruichi was so willing to give up on the gate that was in front of them, because he was sure that there might be something they could do to the gate to open it and get into the Seireitei.

"We're not giving up." Yoruichi stated, because that wasn't what she had told them, but, at the same time, she knew that Ichigo needed things explained to him before he understood what someone was saying, though she could see that Sombra was listening with a look of interest in his eyes, "Since the gate has been opened once, the interior security will be tighter than ever before. That means that using the same tactic twice is not a good idea. And there would be no differences in the other three gates, as they'll be reinforced as well, in case we decided to try passing through them. Since the gates are no longer an option, that just means that we'll have to break into the Seireitei from someplace that isn't one of the four gates."

The group glanced at each other for a few moments, as most of them were surprised that there might be another path for them to take to get into their destination, while at the same time Sombra knew that Yoruichi had likely thought of several different ideas on how they could get inside the Seireitei, before she turned towards the Chief.

"Chief, do you know Kukaku Shiba?" Yoruichi asked, though the way she asked the question told Sombra that this person had to be important, especially since it appeared that they needed the person's help in breaching the wall and entering the Seireitei, "Apparently, Kukaku likes to change residences at the drop of a hat, and, unfortunately, I haven't been able to tell where the fool is located now."

The Chief seemed to be getting ready to explain something to them, as he mentioned something about 'using that' to get inside the Seireitei, but before he could actually say anything they heard the sound of hooves running on the ground and turned towards the door for a moment, as they were confused as to what was going on. That was quickly followed by someone being flung through the door of the building for a moment, though that person crashed into the ground in front of them and the group stared at the man in question, finding that he was tall and muscular with chin length black hair, and that part of his left eyebrow was missing. The man was wearing a black vest, with normal white clothing underneath it, a white bandanna with red spots on his head, and pair of glasses that happened to be resting over his eyes, though he brushed the dust off himself as he started to get up off the floor. A few seconds later a boar, one that happened to be wearing a bow, walked into the building and stared at the surprised group, as none of them were even expecting this sort of thing to happen, before they turned their full attention to the strange man that was standing in front of the door.

"Man oh man, my Bonnie-chan threw me off again." the man said, to which he finished brushing off his clothing and got rid of the rest of the dust, before he stared at the Chief that was sitting nearby and seemed to smile for a moment, as he grinned and raised his hand for a moment, "Yo. Long time no see, Old Dude."

"Ganju!" the Chief stated, staring at the man that had burst through the opening of his building, and had brought a boar in as well, because he knew that this particular person was a nuisance and would only cause problems for him, the rest of the souls that he watched over, and their visitors, "What are you doing here?! Go away!"

"What the heck?" the man, Ganju, replied, apparently not happy by the Chief's response to his arrival and the first statement he made, but at the same time, as he shifted his stance, Sombra noticed he had a blade attached to his belt, in a different manner than what he and Ichigo did since it was behind his back, "I visit you for the first time in ages and that's how you greet me? Your guests are shocked... what's this!"

Ganju, who happened to glance around the people that were around him, stopped moving his eyes when he spotted Ichigo, though at the same time the grin that had been on his face shifted into an angry frown, especially when he noticed Sombra and Sora as well, telling Sombra that their clothing might be the cause of his new expression.

"Why are there three worthless Shinigami in a place like this?" Ganju asked, revealing that he had an anger of some kind for Shinigami and was thinking that they were members of one of the Divisions, even though Sombra's attire was a different coloration than the ones that Ichigo and Sora were wearing.

Sombra watched as Ganju approached Ichigo and demanded to know what he was doing there, which was repeated by him having to repeat himself for a moment before Ichigo, getting annoyed, punched him in the side of his face and sent him flying back towards the door. From there he sighed as both Ichigo and Ganju engaged each other in a series of insults with each other for a few moments, though when Uryu asked who Ganju was the man introduced himself as the 'Deep Crimson Bullet of West Rukongai', the 'Number One Want-To-Call-Him-Big-Brother of West Rukongai for fourteen years', and the 'Number One Shinigami Hater of West Rukongai', where the group discovered that all of these titles were self-proclaimed and that he likely came up with all of them. Of course Ichigo proclaimed that Ganju was a hopeless loser and was tackled outside by the man, to which the group simply sighed as they stood around the entrance and found that Ganju had a gang that had accompanied him, as the four men outside were also riding boars, and Chad even through Zangetsu over to Ichigo so he could defend himself, only for Ganju to do something and bury the majority of the blade in the ground, which seemed to have turned to sand as Sombra watched what was going on.

He also stopped Yoruichi from attempting to stop Ichigo from stopping the foolish battle he was in, because he knew that the Human was too heated over Ganju attacking him and calling him a 'worthless Shinigami', not that it mattered since one of Ganju's men had the clock chime and he pulled them all out, allowing them to go over their plan in peace while hoping never to see the man again.

---

When earlier morning arrived, and the majority of the group stood outside the building that the Chief allowed them to stay in for the night, Sombra found that Ichigo was being rather stubborn about leaving the area, as Ganju had promised that he'd be back some time today and he seriously wanted to beat the man up for attacking him and calling him names the previous night. Sombra stared at his friend for a moment, trying not to get angry over the fact that Ichigo was willing to forget the entire reason they were here in the first place, and glanced over to where Yoruichi was sitting, to which the cat sighed in frustration and approached the Human, where she clawed his face with a quick swipe and knocked some sense into Ichigo. Once Ichigo was ready to leave, and joined the others outside, Yoruichi, having gained the location of the person she needed to talk to, headed off into the wilderness and the group followed after her, where they observed the sun as it rose into the air and brought light to the area once more, while discovering that they were heading away from where Jidanbo's gate was located. Along the way the majority of the group seemed to think that Kukaku Shiba was living out here to keep his identity a secret, and Sombra even noticed that the rest of the group seemed to think it was a man for some reason, because his experience with Yoruichi told him not to label someone until he met them... and, as they walked, Yoruichi informed them that Kukaku just preferred to live out in places like this, as it was in the 'fools' nature to do so.

Yoruichi even told them that she would be able to recognize the house that Kukaku lived in if she saw it, though not a few moments later she stopped in her tracks and declared that she had found it, which seemed to be an ordinary house with a rather large chimney looking pipe behind it and two large human arms that held up a sign with Kukaku's name written on it.

"The house likely doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things," Sombra spoke up, as he could tell that the others were shocked and stunned by the house that was in front of them, and he could also tell, from just a glance and a moment of sensing the area around him, that there was more to this area than what they were seeing, "what actually matters is whatever the house is hiding from the rest of the Rukongai residents."

Yoruichi smiled for a moment, both because the theme of the exterior was different and the fact that Sombra was able to sense the fact that there was more to the house than what they could currently see, before she jumped up onto his shoulder and they walked forward, only for Ichigo and Uryu, who had stayed behind for a moment, to walk past them and approach the entrance of the house... where they were stopped by two men that were nearly identical, save for the fact that one had a yellow top on and a long face while the one with the white top had a broader face.

"HALT!" the yellow top wearing man said, though both of them started out by standing on one of the hands that were holding up the banner, before they jumped down to where Ichigo, who was at the front of the pack, happened to be standing at the moment, "Who are you infidels?"

"What strange garb you wear!" the white top wearing man added, though at the same time he glanced over all of them and seemed to settle on Ichigo, Sombra, and Sora, making them all wonder if they were people that shared Ganju's dislike of Shinigami, "And I see that three of you are Shinigami!"

"Suspicious strangers," the yellow top wearing man continued, staring down at the group like his partner was, while at the same time the two of them crossed their arms as they observed the group, who were trying to figure out what was going on at the moment, "I, Koganehiko, and..."

"I, Shiroganehiko," the white topped man stated, revealing that they had some sort of welcoming procedure that they used when people they didn't know approached the building that they were apparently guarding, though at the same time Sombra had a feeling that their routine would soon be over.

"...shall never let you pass!" the two men declared at the same time, though as that happened Ichigo immediately reached for Zangetsu's handle, because he had the feeling that a fight might break out, while at the same time Sombra didn't even bother since he knew the right way around the situation they had found themselves in.

It was in the following moment that Yoruichi, who the two men had ignored when they scanned the group, revealed herself and the two of them got excited for a moment, though that was when Koganehiko stayed outside as Shiroganehiko led them down into the house, revealing that there was a set of downward stairs that they had to use. As they walked down the stairs their guide apologized for them being so rude to them, as they had no idea that they were Yoruichi's friends, to which Yoruichi apologized in return since she gave them no warning that she was coming with friends. That was followed by Shiroganehiko saying that Yoruichi was ever so great and ever so thoughtful as they reached the bottom of the stairs, where he had them wait so he could open the door and head into the room that Kukaku was likely waiting in, though before he could do that he seemed to hear something, like a message of some kind, and said 'Yes Master', before kneeling by the sliding door and moved it out of the way... revealing a rather large room, with enough space for the entire group if they sat in a row, with someone sitting at the very end of it, resting in what appeared to be a mat with some cushions as Yoruichi jumped off of Sombra's shoulder.

Kukaku, as Sombra and the others soon discovered, was actually a youthful-looking woman of average height, in terms of what he knew from the World of the Living, with green colored eyes and that she happened to be wearing some bandages over her long messy black hair that parted down in half at the small of her back. What was a little shocking was that the person they came to meet was wearing a white skirt and a rather provocative red robe that exposed her ample bosom, something that Sombra hadn't seen back in the other world. The only other things he noticed was that Kukaku was missing her right arm, as it appeared to have been replaced by a wooden one of some type, that she had a tattoo of some sort on her left arm, and that she wore bandages around her right shoulder and both ankles.

"Long time no see, Yoruichi." Kukaku spoke up, as Yoruichi was the first one to enter the room that she was resting in, which actually brought a smile to her face for a moment, before she looked at the mostly shocked group that was standing in the hallway, clearly shocked that she was a woman, "What's with the kids?"

"Actually, Kukaku," Yoruichi said, to which she took a seat on the floor and stared at the person they had come to see, while at the same time knowing that the group was going to be interested in hearing what her grand plan to get them inside the Seireitei was, "I've come today to ask a favor."

"You generally do when you come here." Kukaku stated, showing that there was some relationship, in the business sense, between the two of them, though before she said anything else she stared into the cat's eyes for a few seconds, as if she was trying to figure out what she was doing here, "Is it trouble?"

"Of course it is." Yoruichi replied, not even bothering to try and conceal that what she had in mind was going to cause some chaos and trouble for some people, even if it was mostly the Shinigami that were on the other side of the wall that they tried to pass through earlier.

"Long time since we've talked like this, too." Kukaku said, closing her eyes for a moment so she could think about something that had happened in the past, something that brought a smile to her face, before she opened her eyes again and turned her full attention to Yoruichi, "Okay, let's hear it. I love trouble."

Yoruichi nodded as the rest of the group entered the room and sat behind her, with Ichigo, Sombra, and Sora keeping their blades resting to their right, before she started to explain the situation to Kukaku, or rather the reason behind why she returned to Soul Society and why the group behind her had accompanied her as well. During this time period Kukaku pulled out a long pipe that people used to smoke with, one that she lit and used every now and then when she listened to the tale that Yoruichi was telling her, while at the same time revealing what everyone behind her was, just so she had a brief understanding of who they were. One thing that Sombra noticed was that Yoruichi seemed to have nothing but praise for his actions, as he had been a good student and followed her teachings perfectly, and that even caused Kukaku to raise an eyebrow for a moment, but since she was the only one that could see Yoruichi's face for the moment Sombra had no idea why she was doing that. Even then it didn't take Yoruichi long to explain things, even if she was giving the woman in front of them the shortest version possible so they could get the show on the road, before Kukaku closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about what she had been told.

"Okay, I think I understand the situation." Kukaku said, to which she took another puff of her smoke and blew out a small cloud a few seconds later, before she snapped open her eyes and stared at the group that was sitting in front of her at the moment, "Alright, I accept."

"Really?" Yoruichi inquired, as for a moment she had thought that Kukaku might not be interested in what she had to say and they's have no hope of getting inside the Seireitei, not without finding an area where souls didn't gather near the gate and tried using Sombra's black Cero to take down the gate, which had been a last ditch effort type of plan that she didn't want to use at all.

"Yeah." Kukaku replied, though a smile appeared on her face, as it was rare to see Yoruichi like this, surprised by something that someone did, though she was fairly sure that it was no longer as rare as she believed, not when she had spent her time teaching such an excellent student, before returning to the topic at hand as she got up from where she was sitting and slowly walked over to the wall on the right side of the entrance, "And if Urahara's got his teeth in this, too, I couldn't say no even if I wanted to. One thing though... I trust you, Yoruichi, but I don't trust any of the kids sitting behind you. Among other things, as insurance, I'm going to stick one of my minions with you... well, I call him a minion, but he's actually my little brother. He's still a useless brat, though. Hey, you ready?"

"U-uh huh, wait a sec." a familiar voice replied, though Sombra easily recognized Ganju's voice, though at the same time it appeared that the rest of the group, save for Yoruichi, was having a little trouble placing the voice of the person that they were hearing, even though they only met him last night.

"I'm opening it, so be on your best behavior." Kukaku stated, which seemed to freak Ganju as he hurried into the position that he was supposed to take, before she gripped one of the doors and moved it out of the way, revealing Ganju, in clothing that was more appropriate than what he was wearing earlier, sitting behind where the door used to be.

"A pleasure to meet you." Ganju said, though he was in a sitting position, with both of his knuckles resting on the floor in front of his knees, and his head was bowed at the moment, though it was the fact that they could see him that caused the others to realize who was sitting before them, "I am called Ganju Shiba. Please think of me if you need anything."

It was in that following moment that Ichigo and Ganju, recognizing each other immediately, got up and tackled each other, resuming their fight from where they stopped it the previous night, though that surprised Kukaku for a moment, as she wasn't expecting her brother to know their new clients, something that Yoruichi had chosen to leave out because Ganju never said his last name and thought they would never see him again. A few seconds ticked by as the two of them continued to attack each other, without regard for what was happening around them, but as that happened Sombra let out a sigh as he stood up and readied himself, as he was going to intervene before the two of them did something that would ruin what Yoruichi had done. Neither of them seemed to realize that he was standing up, and those that were sitting near him noticed what he was doing, before he waited for the two of them readying themselves to punch each other in the face, which was the perfect opportunity to put a stop to this before it got out of hand... and, as they got close to each other, he flashed forward and put himself between them, where he raised his arms as they barely had time to realize that he was standing there.

"Bakudo Number 8: Seki." Sombra said, though as he raised both of his arms his reiatsu flared as two small balls formed on the edge of his arms, exactly where Ichigo and Ganju would be hitting in a few moments, and he braced himself for what was coming next.

As he thought neither Ichigo or Ganju were able to stop themselves in time, as their fists struck the balls he had formed and were knocked backwards immediately, forcing them in two separate directions while surprising the rest of the group, before he lowered his arms and walked over to where Ichigo was resting.

"Sombra, what the heck are you doing?" Ichigo asked, as he glared at the man that he had been fighting, who coughed a few times as he started to get back on his feet, though at the same time he repeated the gesture, even though Sombra rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment.

"Stopping the two of you from wasting time that we don't have," Sombra replied, to which he stared into Ichigo's eyes for a moment, knowing that he wanted a piece of Ganju for what he had said earlier, but right now he knew that there was something else they needed to do and this wasn't it, "Look, we came here to save Rukia before her brother, not to mention the rest of Soul Society, executes her, not to pick a fight with someone that's going to help us get into the Seireitei... but, if fighting Ganju is important to you, then fight him once we've saved Rukia."

Ichigo stared at the Arrancar for a moment, as his statement was sort of identical to what Yoruichi had told him to get him to leave the Chief's house earlier, before he sighed and nodded his head, to which Sombra smiled a little and turned towards Kukaku, where he apologized for their rudeness. Suffice it to say that Kukaku was actually surprised that he had stepped in and stopped the fight before it could get out of hand, where she said that she would have had to blow a hole in the roof, as well as char the entire room, to stop something like that from happening, though that was followed by her commanding Shiroganehiko to join Koganehkio and begin preparations. She then led the way down a lit corridor and told the group that the way was lit because of some Firefly Creepers that they had caught and put in the containers that currently lined the ceiling, all because Uryu asked how the path was lit when there weren't any power facilities down here, though Ichigo shook his head and stopped him from asking too many questions, especially after he and Ganju got into the fight and what their guide had told them. It didn't take them long to reach the area that Kukaku was leading them to, as they soon reached a door that she had Ganju open, though they found themselves staring at a large open room with what appeared to be a vertical cannon of some sort.

Sombra raised an eyebrow in surprise as he and the others followed Kukaku into the room that she had brought them to, as none of them had any idea what sort of plan Yoruichi had for getting them inside the Seireitei, but Sombra had the feeling that they would find out soon enough.

"What the heck is that?" Ichigo asked, as the object in front of them was larger than the entire house and seemed completely dangerous, but he was sure that Yoruichi had picked this for a very specific reason and wasn't about to back down, not after Sombra reminded him of their mission.

"It's how I'm going to get you guys into the Seireitei," Kukaku replied, as she had continued walking after the group had stopped partway to the platform that the cannon was resting on, before she turned back and stared at all of them with a smile on her face, "From the sky, that is. Since you don't really know me, allow me to properly introduce myself; my name is Kukaku Shiba, and I'm Rukongai's Number One Fireworks Maker!"

"F... Fireworks maker?" Sora inquired, voicing the question that everyone was thinking about, though he was the only one that dared to ask it, especially since Ichigo was still in trouble for his fight with Ganju, something that Kukaku wasn't going to forget about for some time.

"That's right." Kukaku stated, though her smile turned into a grin, as it was always fun to see people who only knew her name, and nothing about her, become stunned when they learned that she made fireworks for a living, even if they were unaware of the specifics behind what she meant, before she turned her attention to the ceiling and raised her voice a little, "Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, raise it up!"

Not even a moment later the group found the room they were in was rising before their very eyes, while at the same time the ceiling split in half and revealed that the chimney they had seen outside the house was just a decoy for the cannon that was in front of them. As they got closer to the surface of the backward they heard the sounds of both Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko saying 'yes' repeatedly over the course of a few moments, though once they reached the surface, and were no longer beneath the ground, both of them men pointed towards the cannon with a look of excitement on their faces, before the group turned back towards Kukaku.

"This is my own personal giant fireworks platform..." Kukaku started to say, and it sounded like she was going to do something interesting, to tie it all together, which was why the group was willing to give her their attention because she was interesting, in different ways, to each member of the group.

"The Kukaku Cannon!" Ganju stated, clearly interrupting his sister while she was in the middle of introducing the cannon herself, to which Kukaku kicked him in the back and knocked him to the ground with a look of annoyance on her face, showing that, since it was her pride and joy, that she would have preferred to say the words herself.

"Don't say it before me!" Kukaku commanded, as she hated it when her brother did stupid things like this, especially when she had a plan for how to reveal something that she put together herself, before she sighed, let the annoyance leave her for the moment, and turned towards the group once more, "I see your speechless."

"How you can joke at a time like this?!" Uryu stated, clearly not realizing that Kukaku was already annoyed and a single slip up could easily make him the next target of her rage, before she finally exploded and knocked them all out of her house, forcing them to try another approach, "I don't know if you're a fireworks maker or not, but shooting us into the sky with that thing is insa..."

That was followed by Kukaku lifting a light blue ball of some kind and hurled it at Uryu's distracted face, hitting him between the eyes and shattered his glasses, which he claimed he had a spare of as well, before the ball landed on Ichigo's outstretched hands as Uryu hit the floor of the platform. Ichigo then inquired as to what the heck the ball he was holding was supposed to be, where they all discovered that it was a spirit orb and that someone could put their palm on it and pour some of their reiatsu into it, only to discover that, since he had no knowledge of Kido, Ichigo couldn't follow her instructions very well and that he needed practice. As such she had Ganju take the orb and show them how it was done, after Sombra shook his head to Ichigo so another fight didn't break out between the two of them, and soon enough Ganju was standing near his sister, where he poured some of his power into the orb, which glowed light blue for a moment, before a light blue sphere formed around Ganju with some space to spare. Kukaku explained that this was the cannonball that she intended to fire out of the cannon, which would allow them to get into the Seireitei, before revealing that the wall they had fought Jidanbo at earlier was made of a special material that created a power barrier, called the Shakonmaku, that happened to completely block reiryoku.

She explained that this cannonball, once powered by some reiryoku from all of them, would be able to momentarily punch through the barrier protecting the Seireitei, and before anyone could ask any questions she told them to head to the underground training area and practice Ganju had done.

Sombra, Ichigo, and the rest of the group spent the entire day, what was left of it from the moment they arrived at Kukaku's place, practicing how to concentrate their reiryoku into the spirit orbs that they were holding onto, while at the same time Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, and Ganju helped them, with Ganju simply watching from a distance. When it got time for the twin men to see how well they were doing Orihime was the first one to step up, though since her power revolved around creating special shields that rejected something, and using reiryoku, she was able to manifest a sphere in no time at all. Sora, who had been practicing with her, was able to do the same thing, but while he was able to get the form of the sphere to appear it shook a few times, showing that he still had some training to do but would be able to leave the training area with his sister when she departed. Uryu was able to create an extremely narrow shaped barrier around his body, showing that he also had some practice he needed to complete before he was ready, and Chad was able to create a powerful sphere that was a little unstable, which impressed the men in the process. Ichigo, being near the end of the line, found that he still had no idea how he was supposed to do something like this, as he was unable to even get a small sphere out of his hard work, and the two men told him that he had no talent for this sort of thing, which only served to piss him off and lose his concentration anyway.

What really annoyed Ichigo was the fact that Sombra, who had an entire month of training with Kisuke and Yoruichi, even though he didn't believe the cat taught him anything, and could do what Kukaku asked easily, especially since he could use some of the Kido spells Tessai had taught him.

Another hour or two passed before the cook opened the door and told the group that dinner was ready, though while Chad, Uryu, and Orihime actually needed to eat food, despite the fact that they were currently souls at the moment, both Sora and Sombra, being Arrancars, didn't need to eat anything, though Sora went with his sister while Sombra stayed down here with Ichigo and Ganju. After a few more stunning failures Ganju interrupted Ichigo and asked if Rukia was really that important to him, where Ichigo said she really wasn't, but he owed her, because in order to save his family, people she barely knew, she gave Ichigo her powers, despite knowing that it was a crime to do so, and he revealed that he wasn't going to be a worthless guy who just sat back and let the Shinigami execute her. That seemed to influence Ganju's next decision, as he took the spirit orb and said that he was going to 'practice' the trick he came up with, though as he moved through the steps, however, Sombra found that Ichigo was listening to the sequence he went through and used to create the sphere that Kukaku wanted them to make, before powering down and tossing the sphere to Ichigo as he headed outside the room.

What happened next was both good and bad, because the good part was that Ichigo was able to follow Ganju's 'advice' and created the sphere that he was supposed to be making, only for it to be even bigger than everyone else's and the pressure that emitted from it shook the entire building, causing everyone to run to the outside of the room he and Sombra were in... though as Sombra attempted to regain control of the situation, and it seemed to work for a few seconds, Ichigo's premature celebration shattered his concentration and the entire sphere exploded. In the wake of the destruction both he and Ganju received no dinner for their actions, as Kukaku was annoyed with that they had done, even if it was slightly accidental on their part, before she ordered the group to rest up for when they put their training to work.

---

Gin stood in front of the door to the Captains Assembly Hall, located in the barracks of the First Division, for a few seconds as he slightly wondered if the rest of the Captains had already gathered or if some of them were still absent, but from the sounds of the room the Lieutenants gathered in, which he walked by on the way here, it sounded like all twelve of them, not counting the Lieutenant of the Eleventh Division, were present. He already knew what the meeting was going to be about, especially after seeing the Ryoka overpower Jidanbo and convince him to abandon his duties as a gatekeeper by opening the gate he was supposed to keep closed at all costs, before thinking about two of them for a few seconds. It had been interesting to see Ichigo Kurosaki standing there, full of power and determination, which was the main reason he had acted swiftly and stopped them from entering the Seireitei, but then there was the powerful Arrancar that stood next to him, an opponent who was just as fast and just as strong, if not even stronger, than Ichigo, especially with how easily he had found an opening and cut his arm in the process. He could tell, from that simple exchange, that he had been dealing with a powerful Adjuchas ranked Arrancar, potentially the same one that Captain Byakuya reported having killed when he and his Lieutenant Renji were recovering Rukia Kuchiki.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sound of the door in front of him opening, which meant that they knew he had been standing outside and had been patiently waiting for them to allow him entrance, though that caused him to switch to what was happening in front of him and what he was going to say.

"You've come." an old voice, one that was full of both power and authority, said, where Gin found himself looking at the other side of the room, or, more specifically, the elderly Captain that was the Captain of the First Division and the Captain-Commander of the entire Gotei 13, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, "Captain of the Third Division, Gin Ichimaru."

Gin took a moment to look at the Captains that were gathered in the room with the Captain-Commander, because to Captain Genryusai's right was the Second Division Captain Soi Fon, the Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu, Sixth Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, the Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, the Tenth Division Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, and the Twelfth Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. To Captain Genryusai's left stood the Fifth Division Captain Aizen Sosuke, the Seventh Division Captain Komamura Sajin, the Ninth Division Captain Tosen Kaname, and the Eleventh Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. The only Captain not present, no doubt for health reasons once more, was the Thirteenth Division Captain Ukitake Jushiro, but Gin knew that this was likely either going to be about him being late or the Ryoka that were outside the Seireitei.

"What's all this?" Gin innocently asked, though at the same time he stepped into the room and stopped after taking a few steps, as all of the Captains were staring at him and he knew that each of them were judging him as they thought about what had happened recently, "I suddenly get called in and come to find a big ol' hoot'nanny. The Captains that run all of Soul Society have gathered here just for little old me? I guess not. I don't see the Captain of the Thirteenth Division... did something happen?"

"He's on sick leave." Tosen commented, informing Gin of what was going on with Ukitake, even though every single one of them knew that he was sick a good majority of the time and only came to these meetings when he was able to leave his Division's barracks, or wherever his Lieutenants kept him when he was this way.

"Again?" Gin replied, continuing his innocent act, as right now it appeared that this was working and he intended to keep it that way, but at the same time he knew that one of the Captains was going to say something to him before this meeting was over, "I hope he gets well soon."

"Quit joking around." Zaraki stated, to which he glared at the Captain that was standing between the two rows of Captains that had assembled in front of the Captain-Commander, "You think that's why you've been called here? You bastard, I heard that you went off on your own to play with some of the Ryoka. Not to mention the fact that you failed to finish even one of them off... what the hell is wrong with you? Someone with your skills shouldn't break a sweat over four or five Ryoka."

"Oh, they ain't dead?" Gin inquired, doing his best to sound like this was news to him, though at the same time he thought about what he had seen back at Jidanbo's gate and what he had done, before rubbing the back of his head for a few seconds, "I could have sworn that they were dead... especially the Arrancar, since I dropped the gate on his head."

"Cut the act," Mayuri spoke up, to which several of the Captains turned towards him for a moment, while at the same time he noted that Captain Byakuya opened his eyes at the mention of an Arrancar, which was very interesting when he thought about it, "There hasn't been an Arrancar for the last two to three hundred years, when we killed the last one when it appeared in the World of the Living, and if there was a new one one of us would have killed it by now."

"Is that so?" Gin replied, as that was an interesting thought to have, especially when he know what he had seen back by the gate, before he reconsidered what he had seen and what he had fought before the gate closed, "Well, that doesn't change the fact that the creature I crushed under the gate had pony type ears, a pony tail, hooves instead of feet, and a white crown that resembled that of a Hollow."

Byakuya didn't show any reaction to that description of the Arrancar that Gin had seen, as that sounded like Sombra, the Adjuchas ranked Arrancar that he had fought, and killed with his own hand, back in the World of the Living, but he knew that it had to be impossible, as he was positive that he finished the creature off earlier. As he thought about the Arrancar once more, for the first time since he and Renji captured Rukia, both Zaraki and Mayuri continued fighting with each other about who was talking to Gin at the moment, though that came to a stop as the Captain-Commander opened his mouth so he could talk.

"Stop your shameful actions!" Yamamoto stated, his voice easily causing the Captains to stop what they were doing and return to where they had been standing moments ago, while Gin, who was currently in trouble, stood in the middle of the two rows, which was who his attention was focused on at the moment, "But I suppose that their exchange explains the reason why you have been called here. Your recent independent actions, and letting the targets escape. How about it? Do you have any explanations, Gin Ichimaru?"

"I do not." Gin answered, knowing that the Captains were turning towards him with a variety of emotions and expressions on their faces, though at the same time he rubbed the back of his head once more as he felt the intense glare of the Captain-Commander fall on him once more, "I ain't got no explanation. It was my absent-minded mistake. I've got no excuse for my actions, and I'll take any puni..."

"Wait a moment, Ichimaru." Captain Aizen spoke up, speaking for the first time since Gin had entered the assembly hall that they were all gathered in, though at the same time Gin stared at him for a few moments, "Before that, I want to ask you somethi..."

It was in the following moment that the emergency alert was sounded, causing all of them to look at the door that was behind Gin at the moment, as the sound of this specific emergency alert meant that something was definitely happening and that it might need their current attention, before hearing that there were intruders in the Seireitei... and Zaraki, ever eager for battle, charged out of the room before anyone could stop him, causing the Captain-Commander to sigh for a second as he addressed the rest of the Captains.

"Tis unavoidable." Yamamoto stated, his voice causing the other Captains to turn back towards him and await any commands he might have in regards to the current situation, as he had words for them before he dismissed them, "The Division Captain meeting is temporarily dismissed. I will notify you all later of Ichimaru's status. All Divisions, proceed to internal defense positions immediately."

Aizen smiled for a moment as the Captains began to file out of the room they had been gathered in, because things were getting interesting and it was only a matter of time until they figured out what was going on in the Seireitei, and if there really was a powerful Adjuchas ranked Arrancar among the Ryoka.

---

Sombra and the rest of his group gathered around the area in front of the Kukaku Cannon's platform after a decent night's sleep, as they had been given a fair number of hours of rest after Ichigo was able to finally master making a cannonball with the spirit orb and the technique that Ganju had shared with him. Of course one of the things that happened after that was Ichigo falling asleep, where Yoruichi happened to sit in front of Ichigo and he pulled on her tail, no longer making it straight and annoying her in the process, though that didn't stop her from explaining what they needed to do when they breached the Seireitei. Of course when Ichigo got up, and the group pulled themselves together, he couldn't remember damaging Yoruichi's tail in such a manner, even though it annoyed the cat for a few moments, before she sighed and called them to attention in front of the cannon, where Kukaku and her team readied themselves for what they were about to do to get inside the Seireitei.

Eventually Ganju arrived, dressed in a completely new attire from what he had been wearing earlier, and started to make a big deal about about his big brother, who was a genius who had been accepted into the school that all Shinigami went to on the first try and that he managed to graduate from that school, which had a six year teaching period, in a whole year before joining one of the Divisions. In the following five years his brother was able to climb all the way to Lieutenant, showing that his brother had been quite skilled in all elements that Shinigami had been trained in, before he was 'betrayed' and killed by his comrades, where Ganju, when he was younger, could only remember the face of the person that dragged his brother home and the face of his brother being happy that the Shinigami in question had been the one to bring an end to his suffering. He then revealed that if he went with the group, to go save their friend that was going to be executed, that he might get some closure into why his brother was still so trusting of the Shinigami, even to the moment of his death, and Ichigo gripped his shirt and pulled him close before saying thanks to him, as he was happy to get all of the help they could at the moment.

When they got ready to get underway, and step inside the cannon, Ichigo made a comment about wondering whether or not Yoruichi could form a cannonball, only to find that, as she jumped on top of the spirit orb, that she could definitely do what everyone else had been training to do, upsetting Ichigo at the same time, though he had to put those feelings on hold as Kukaku and Ganju ushered them into place. As they all stepped inside the cannon, and formed a circle around the spirit orb that they would be using to form their cannonball, the group learned that the launch procedure would be staring soon, as dawn was the signal that they were waiting for, though as Ganju joined them the entrance they used to get inside the cannon was sealed, allowing Kukaku to make some of the final preparations on the outside before dawn arrived. As they waited Yoruichi insisted that they listen carefully, as she told them that, under no circumstances, should they become separated from each other once they enter the Seireitei, and that if someone were to encounter a Captain while they were trying to find Rukia they were to flee immediately, save for Sombra, who had wounded two of them so far. That part still annoyed Ichigo, that Sombra was allowed to fight them if he desired and the rest of them were forced to flee, but he said nothing as Yoruichi finished explaining the rules to them, after which it became quiet inside the cannon as they waited for dawn to arrive at last.

It wasn't long before they got their wish for dawn to arrive, before when it did, and Yoruichi confirmed that it was while also ordering everyone to gather their reiryoku into the spirit orb, thus preparing them for when the cannon fired their cannonball, and them, into the sky.

"Beyond! Bronze-colored greed desires thirty-six degrees of control!" they heard Kukaku call out, though both Yoruichi and Sombra, more versed in Kido than anyone in the entire group, knew that it was the incantation to fire the cannon and launch the cannonball that they were forming around them, "Seventy-two pillars of illusions. Thirteen pairs of Horn Flutes. The right hand of the Monkey grasps the Stars! Embraced by twenty-five suns, the cradle of sand will spill blood. Kukaku Fire Method Number 2: KAGIZAKI!"

Not a few seconds later the group found themselves being launched from the cannon that they had been standing inside, with their cannonball surrounding them, and that they soared into the sky for a few moments, though when they reached a certain point the cannonball, instead of going down, changed course and headed right towards the barrier that protected the Seireitei... and Ganju, knowing what was coming next, pulled something out of his shirt and stared down at the writing that was on the paper in front of him, before glancing at the group. Ganju explained that he was staring at the continuation spell, as the Kukaku Fire Method Number 2 is a two-part chant, and that the beginning spell that Kukaku had spoken controlled the time from launch and the direction they wanted to head in, while this part of the spell was designed to control their acceleration and trajectory. He then stated that if they wanted to get into the Seireitei safely they should focus on making all of their reiryoku uniform, to stabilize the cannonball so they could enter their destination, and that the spirit orb would allow them to sense how much someone else was emitting, so they could work together to regulate their power down so they didn't get hurt.

Unfortunately, as Sombra soon discovered as Ganju started to speak the continuation spell, the only one among them that couldn't regulate his reiryoku down to the level that everyone else was on was Ichigo, leading to Chad, Uryu, and even Orihime asking him to lower it further and him shouting that he was lowering it to the best of his ability. At the same time the shouting caused Ganju to repeat a line of the incantation that he was speaking, ruining the entire thing in the process, before Yoruichi told them that they now had no choice but to pour their reiryoku into the spirit orb and strengthen the cannonball in preparations for when they collided with the barrier. Everyone braced themselves and did as they were told, as they were worried about something happening to them, though that was quickly followed by the cannonball striking the barrier and causing ripples to form as it battled the reiryoku that the group was pouring into the spirit orb, while also showing the Shinigami exactly where they were at the moment. After a few seconds of them battling the barrier Ichigo told the cannonball to go through the barrier, which seemed to work for a moment as they actually punched through the barrier that had been stopping them... though that was followed by the cannonball unraveling and everyone found themselves in the air, suspended for the moment before they fell to the ground.

Yoruichi, knowing what was going to happen, ordered everyone to stick together least they be separated from each other when the shockwave finally ripped the rest of the cannonball apart, though even as she told them that it appeared that the whirling motion that she was worried about was starting anyway. As that happened Ichigo and Ganju, who glared at each other grabbed onto one another's shirts as they prepared themselves, while Sora grabbed onto Chad as he grabbed Orihime before she could fly away, though while Uryu started to float away both Sombra and Yoruichi joined Ichigo's group. Chad, seeing Uryu being the first one to be thrown out of the sphere they were trapped in, left Orihime and Sora together before throwing himself towards Uryu, where he hurled his friend into the siblings and allowed himself to be the first one to truly depart from the rest of the group. As that happened Orihime and Ichigo's group attempted to join together, but, as fate would have it, the unraveling of the cannonball was finished in that moment and their two groups were flung apart from each other... and, in another cruel twist, Yoruichi was knocked off of Ichigo's shoulder and went flying in a fourth direction all by herself, much to Sombra's annoyance.

As the group was forced to travel in four different directions, to four separate locations scattered throughout the entirety of the Seireitei, Sombra had the feeling that each and every one of them were going to face some tough tests after they landed... and, hopefully, they managed to meet up somewhere so they could rescue Rukia and get out of Soul Society before one of the Captains got involved with their invasion.

Comments

[Emperorxeno]

Yet another good chapter. Good job!

[Firefoxino]

And now I wait for Zaraki VS Sombra!

[Black--Soul]

After Captain Gin forced the gate to close, by slicing off Jidanbo's entire left arm and knocking Ichigo in the chest with his Zanpakuto, which Sombra was convinced had elongated itself after he used the Release Call, the group turned towards Ichigo as he sat up and brushed off the dust that had gathered on him after he hit the ground near Jidanbo's left shoulder and Zangetsu landed near him. Sombra was happy to see that Ichigo was unharmed from the strike that he had suffered from the Captain's attack, and the rest of the group was happy to see that he was fine, but even as that happened he turned back towards the gate and wondered what was going to happen when Captain Gin encountered someone that inquired what happened to his arm. He also wondered if someone had asked Captain Byakuya what happened to his chest when he returned to Soul Society, as Sombra remembered cutting his chest when he got incredibly pissed off about the Captain's noble attitude towards him and a wounded Ichigo, before he sighed and shook his head, as he was sure that they would cross paths with one of the Captains in the future.

right arm - last chapter it was his right arm

[Black--Soul]

Pretty mutch smooth chaos all over the place.