382 Chapter 346

"This isn't what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" Yoruichi asked as she led me into the building.

"Maybe….taking me to the wilderness where there wouldn't be many people. Not….an office building?" I replied as we ascended the stairs.

"Hollow attack a couple years ago, the company moved out and it hasn't been rented out since." Yoruichi jumped onto my shoulder. "It should be fine."

"Right…." Maybe there was some reason for it, I didn't know.

"Here we are!" Yoruichi jumped off my shoulder and bolted down the empty hallway to a certain door and kicked it open.

I followed behind her and saw the faces inside.

"Well, this is a surprise." I noted the one familiar face in particular. "The little quincy."

Ishida Uryū scowled at my nickname.

"Didn't think he'd be one of the people you were 'training'." I added air quotes. "How'd you convince him to come along?"

"I told him that you'd be here and that made him interested." Yoruichi replied simply.

"…..but I didn't agree to come until right before we came."

"Anyways!" Yoruichi ignored my comment. "You three agreed to my training. It's going to be tough, so I hope you're prepared."

"I'm not participating." Uryū stated, pushing up his glasses.

"Then why are you here?" I looked at him.

"Don't misunderstand. While I question the ability of a cat to train me, I will be training on my own. I simply wished to verify something."

"What's that?" Yoruichi asked.

The Quincy looked at me. "Fight me."

"Why?"

"I want to understand the gap between us." He said quietly. "I witnessed your battle with that Shinigami on the night that Kuchiki was taken away. If you had not stepped in, I would have. However…." His fists clenched. "I wanted to mock Kurosaki for his pitiful attempt but….then he attacked you. And that was…"

"Ah, you saw what the peak was like for the first time." I could pretty much understand his feelings. I could understand that part, I was confused about something else. "But why are you involved in this? From what I understand, you have no liking towards Shinigami, which extends to both Ichigo and Rukia."

"I have a debt to pay." He crossed his arms, not elaborating. However, I could easily guess his thoughts again.

Did he feel guilty about the whole Hollow thing and thought this was an opportunity to redeem himself?

I wanted to call him an idiot again, but I couldn't forbid him from jumping into this stupid situation.

"I won't fight you. But I'll let you hit me with one of your strongest attacks. If you want to see where you stand in comparison, this is your chance." At least he would have something to work towards.

"You two watch as well. And stand to the side." Yoruichi voiced, jumping to the corner as she ushered the other two who hadn't introduced themselves yet.

"Right here?" Uryū asked.

"It doesn't matter if it's here or outside." I gestured for him to continue.

"You're underestimating me."

"Then prove me wrong. You can wear a smug look if you actually manage to hurt me. So stop pussyfooting around and take your swing, this is the only freebie you're getting."

He scowled but took a few steps back. He held his hands out and his Reiatsu gathered into the form of an Energy Bow made of Spiritual Particles. He pulled his hand back, basically nocking an arrow as it also appeared. He seemed to gather a decent amount and let it loose.

The whole room was filled with that blue light as the arrow was released which shook the surrounding windows.

I held up my hand and gathered my Aura. The arrow collided with my own defenses in a burst of cascading light. I merely flexed my wrist and twisted, dispersing the gathered Reiatsu and shattering the arrow.

He slowly lowered his hands, his bow disappearing. I did notice a cross around his wrist and it seemed to resonate with him. Was it some kind of catalyst that helped him 'create' that bow of his?

Curious.

"I was told ten days. I will return at the end of the tenth day." He took a deep breath and began walking out the door.

I held my hand up to block him.

He wasn't a bad kid, he had his own sense of honor and pride. Just…misguided previously, I supposed. I reached into my Ring and flipped my hand over, holding a few bottles between my fingers. "Red ones are Health potions. They heal a decent amount of damage but won't heal anything ridiculous. Green ones are Stamina Potions. They'll give you a significant burst of stamina that will last several hours." I explained. It's a shame that the Stamina potions don't work that well on stronger beings such as myself. Once my Stamina reached beyond a point, it wasn't even worth mentioning, but for him, it would most likely still have a significant effect. "Don't drink more than one in a 24 hour period. And expect to be lethargic the day afterwards, potentially longer. However, it can be good for pushing past walls in your own training. I only suggest drinking one the entire time you're out training. The second is for an emergency in case you're drained and a Hollow pops up."

"….thank you." He accepted without complaint and quickly left.

Yoruichi hopped back over. "Did you have to destroy his self-confidence so thoroughly?"

"Will any Shinigami care if his ego is bruised or not?" I retorted.

"Point." Yoruichi acknowledged. "Almost makes me think you care about him. Odd considering how much you berated him before."

"He's just a stupid kid." I shook my head. "He was spouting that crap about Quincy this and Quincy that trying to compare himself to Shinigami. Hopefully that won't hold him back."

"Maybe, maybe not. But don't underestimate Quincy. There's a reason that it was called a war when the Shinigami fought them in the past."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She didn't elaborate, but that just made me a little more interested. I suppose there is more to being a 'Quincy' than I had originally thought.

"Anyways, how about you introduce me to the other two kids you're trying to send to invade the afterlife."

There were two of them, and they'd been quietly watching thus far. One was a girl, obviously in her mid teens, and she was on the…..voluptuous side. Long, burnt orange hair and a sweet looking smile that made me want to give her a head pat.

The other, well...I was questioning how many years he'd been held back in school. He was huge and had some very visible and rippling muscles.

"Introduce yourselves." Yoruichi waved at them.

"Hello.." The girl quietly greeted me. 'I'm Inoue Orihime." She added with a little bow of her head.

"Sado Yasutora." The big guy introduced himself with a really smooth voice.

"Please don't take offense to this, but…how old are you?" I asked him, with Yoruichi snickering to the side.

"….Fifteen."

"Well, puberty hit you hard and fast. Have you considered a career in voice acting?"

"…Huh?" He looked at me strangely.

"Your voice, it's very smooth and has a unique accent while also not being too foreign. I'm guessing one of your parents is of Spanish descent. I'm guessing the South American variety."

"Mexico." He nodded.

"Ah, must have been hard. Half Japanese, Half German myself. Had to deal with all the crap that came with it." I emphasized my hair. "But honestly, you have a great voice for voice acting."

He turned to Orihime. "Do you think I have a good voice?"

"Oh, definitely!" She smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically.

Well, honestly, he had the face for regular acting. But I think it would be weird if I started talking about his looks….even in an objective sense.

"Well, nice to meet you both. My name is Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I don't much go by normal Japanese conventions these days, so feel free to call me Wilhelm." I held my hand out to the big guy. Honestly, he was taller than I was.

"Everyone calls me Chad." He responded with a very gentle smile and shook my hand.

Right, I'm sure they do.

Wait, what year was it? I don't think that meme existed here.

….that just makes it all the more hilarious.

"You can call me Orihime!" Said girl happily replied.

Her bubbliness reminded me of Kunou.

"Alright." I clapped my hands. "So, what can you both do that gives you confidence to invade Heaven?"

"Uh… I don't know." Orihime cheerfully replied.

Chad sheepishly scratched his cheek.

I turned to look at Yoruichi.

"Wait, let me explain –"

I didn't, I grabbed her tail and walked towards the window as she struggled in my hand and tossed her out.

It took but a moment for Yoruichi to burst back through the door, none the worse for wear. "Rude."

@***@

"Alright, I need you both to try and access your power first." Yoruichi started coaching them.

After she returned and explained to me that they hadn't gotten to the point of consciously accessing their powers. Which, considering they were going to literally invade Heaven in ten days, was kind of a big deal.

God…it's like watching a slow motion train crash….but it's on fire, and I was somehow convinced to ride along.

"Just try to feel it like how you did before. Try to summon it out, just do what comes naturally."

Orihime lifted her hands up into the air and started making strange sounds.

Chad looked at her….and immediately followed suit.

I slowly turned towards Yoruichi. "I see you've only chosen the best."

She covered her face with her paw. "Alright, stop, stop. Please, for the sake of my pride." She quickly got between them. "Let's try something else. Your powers came about due to strong emotions. The heart is linked to the soul, so remember the feelings you were experiencing right when your powers manifested. What was running through your head at the time?"

"….I wanted to protect Tatsuki." Orihime looked thoughtful. " She was in danger, and the monster was going to get her. I just…."

"Your hairband is glowing." Chad pointed out.

And it in fact was. I didn't even notice anything unique about it.

"Oh yeah, I remember that something happened with them after what happened!" She giggled as the glow intensified.

I resisted the urge to face palm, instead, looking down at Yoruichi.

Yoruichi sighed reluctantly.

Though we both looked back at Orihime and the hairband burst outwards, six new figures appeared hovering near her head.

There was a moment of silence as they appeared, I think everyone took a moment to register their existence. I wasn't quite sure what they were off the bat because they didn't quite register as normal life forms to my senses.

"You stupid girl!" One of the little floating figures grabbed onto her hair and started pulling. "Why the hell did you call us out for no reason!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Orihime whined as it continued to tug on her hair.

And I felt a little tug in my heart as I saw that.

I yanked the little figure out of the air.

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are!?"

I held it up to my face. "Don't bully her." I said sternly.

At first glance, it seemed like a fairy, but it most assuredly was not.

"Hey you stupid girl, get this idiot –"

I held up my finger to his face, flaring up just a tiny bit of my Power of Destruction. "Do you want to know what Conceptual Destruction tastes like?" I didn't know what it was, but it clearly had some manner of sapience and emotions if the annoyance it had was genuine.

Seeing a girl close to my Daughter's age getting bullied touched buttons I didn't even realize I had until this moment.

"Don't hurt him." Orihime sniffed, looking tearful at the prospect of me harming her little…fairy.

"I won't." I quickly dismissed my bloodline power, giving a small smile. "Because he's going to behave." The little thing was sweating in my grasp.

I did let it go and it quickly hid behind Orihime.

"Well, that was amusing." Yoruichi jumped up to my shoulder. "That fact that her powers can actually talk should help things."

"Right…so is that weird? I feel like that's weird. She didn't just…..create life or something, did she?"

"I'm a mom!?" Orihime exclaimed.

"No, you stupid, girl you –"

I glared at the little fairy that was kicking up a fuss again and it cowered.

"Shinigami's Zanpakutō have spirits of their own, I'm guessing this is similar." Yoruichi clarified.

"Makes sense. So….introductions then?" I gestured towards her other floating companions.

"I'm Ayame!" A cheerful little female fairy waved.

"I'm Baigon!" A bulkier male member of their tiny little sextuplet introduced himself.

"I'm Hinagiku!" A more scrawny male member also excitedly introduced himself.

"And I'm Lily!" Another female fairy introduced herself with a peace sign.

"Greetings, I'm Shun'o" Another male fairy spoke, more reserved in his introduction.

"…and I'm Tsubaki." The ornery one that I had to give a talk to gave his name last with a snort.

"And we're, the Shun Shun Rikka!" Several of them posed happily.

"Oooh!" Orihime clapped in excitement.

And honestly, I can see how they would be the manifestation of her powers…..besides Tsubaki, they're very similar to her.

"And what can you do?" I asked.

"Oh, I can answer that!" Ayame flew forward. "We can heal, we can attack, and we can shield!"

"And how do you go about doing that?" I asked again.

"Um…..Orihime needs to just chant the right incantations and that's it!" She smiled.

"No, I mean… how do you work?" I clarified.

"Um…." She looked at Orihime and back to me. "I don't know?" She shrugged.

"Well, I suppose since you're the manifestation of her powers, basically given a physical form, you wouldn't know things she wouldn't know." I rubbed my chin. "It stand to reason you wouldn't know your own underlying mechanics if she didn't."

"Alright, well, let's see what you got." I clapped my hands. "What do you think, Yoruichi?"

"I was about to say the same thing." She nodded. "We'll start with Orihime's powers then get to you Chad."

"No problem." He gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, Orihime. Show time, let's see what your shield can do."

The Fairies around her glowed and returned to the form of her hairband. "Oh, I remember what I'm supposed to say now!" She held her hand up. "Santen Kesshun – I reject." She stated and three of her hair band pieces shot off forming a triangle as a golden-like shield formed between them.

I walked up to it, giving it a light flick.

Yoruichi also pawed at it a few times.

"What do you think?" I asked her.

"For a first attempt, it isn't bad. It can take a mild strike by a seated Officer most likely. But…" She raised her paw and slammed it down, shattering it completely. "Still fragile."

"Oh…" Orihime looked dejected.

Heart pain returned with a vengeance. "Don't worry, it's your first try. It's going to take some time and effort to make it stronger." I found my hand patting her head without even thinking. "We have an idea of where to go from there, but let's see how you attack now." I looked around the room and walked over to the wall, giving it a quick punch to crack and pull some pieces out. "Just give this a quick strike."

She looked energized and nodded vigorously. "Koten Zanshun – I reject!" She chanted and two of her fairies flew out, and between a similar construct formed, but instead of a shield, it seemed to slice the piece of wall in two.

"A little slow and predictable, but we can work on that." Yoruichi spoke.

I blinked though, staring at what just happened. I walked forward, picking up a piece of debris, holding it close to my face to inspect intently.

I quickly took out Mirage and stabbed it into the ground and held up both flat sides of the rubble to it as Calculations began going.

"What're you doing?" Yoruichi jumped over to me.

I tapped her on the head to be quiet for a moment. Even with my calculations going, I held the flat side up where the attack happened to my eye to see the surface. I couldn't see a single abnormality, it was completely and utterly flat.

"Orihime, what does it mean when you say 'I reject'?" I asked her.

"Uh, they just said that I need to reject things when I use my power." She replied.

I picked up Mirage to confirm my suspicions. And I was genuinely surprised.

"You destroyed the matter between two points." I blinked. "That is honestly very impressive and horrendously deadly."

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked.

"I mean…..that there's basically no defending against her attack on a physical basis." You would need something conceptual in nature to physically defend against something like that. Even my Aura would be just completely sheared through if I let her attack me. "Basically, everything between the two points of her…fairies, is completely and utterly destroyed on a molecular level. Or to use her own term – she rejects everything between those two points. What that means for spiritual matters, I honestly couldn't tell you."

"…Oh, that's dangerous." Yoruichi muttered. "Alright, we're going to instill some basic safety lessons into you as well!"

It made me wonder if her shield was a simple shield as well. If she got better at it, could she simply 'reject' anything from one side to the other, as in an impenetrable barrier?

Just this made this whole time spent here helping Yoruichi with these kids worth it. An ability like this just popping up was….ridiculous.

I wanted to study it some more.

"Alright, so….how does this healing work?" We had just barely scratched the surface of her ability, it seemed like it should also be something spectacular. "Should I cut myself and let you have a go at it?"

"Oh, I can just heal the wall thing that I cut up." She said happily.

"Heal…this?" I looked at the piece of wall that was on the ground, giving it a little kick.

"Uh huh." 'She nodded.

….I don't think she quite understood what 'heal' means….. " Alright then." Who was I to stymy someone's potential?

"Sōten Kisshun – I reject!" She chanted once more. Two more of her little fairies flew out and they formed a shield around the two pieces of wall that were cut in half.

And I watched, in absolute dumbfoundedness as they returned to the state they were in before she cut them.

There were…..so many things wrong with what was happening, I was honestly speechless.

"Time reversal?" Yoruichi exclaimed.

"….I don't think so." I continued to watch as they slowly mended themselves back to whole.

I grabbed Mirage again, and I let my Calculations go in full throttle as they zeroed in on what she was doing and tried to backtrack it.

I picked up the now mended piece of debris and held my finger up to it, producing my Power of Destruction. I pushed it against the stone, letting it sink in and obliterate it on a conceptual level until it turned into big chunks and fell to the ground before I pulled back my bloodline.

"Can you do it again, Orihime?"

"Sure!" She smiled. "Sōten Kisshun – I reject!"

Once more, they flew out and formed a shield around the debris. Was it shock, horror or excitement that flowed through me as I saw her start to undo my damage? Granted, her 'healing' shuddered' and fizzled out, but a tiny portion of it was rejected.

"What was that." Yoruichi looked at me again for clarification.

"I have a special bloodline. Specifically, something called the Power of Destruction, it does exactly what you would expect – it destroys things on a Conceptual Level. She was able – to some small degree – undo that."

"That sounds like Time Reversal." Yoruichi replied.

"It's not Time Reversal." I pointed to my sword. "I have that checking for any temporal fluctuations and spatial fluctuations. While it's getting….readings, it's not in line with either of those."

"Then what do you think it is? Cause I have no idea otherwise."

"…I'm taking a shot here, but with the evidence I have so far…." Just based on the fact that she apparently could undo my Power of Destruction, which was no small feat whatsoever, it's clearly something on a high enough level. "….I think she's altering Causality. Or once more to use her own phrasing, she's rejecting certain events in the chain of causality."

"Did I do something wrong?" Orihime looked worried.

"Not at all." I gave her a quick pat on the head.

"What does that mean?" Chad asked. "It sounds….impressive."

"I also wouldn't mind a better explanation." Yoruichi also looked at me expectantly.

"Alright, let me see…" I tapped my chin. "Imagine I'm walking down the street, and I trip over a rock and fall onto the ground, scraping my knee. I go find Orihime here, and she uses her 'healing' on me. What she's doing is basically looking at the chain of events that transpired and rejects the moment where I tripped, thereby make it so I never scraped my knee in the first place yet the following events don't change even when they logically should."

"That sounds…." Yoruichi paused.

"Ridiculous?"

"Yeah, honestly.""

"That's because it is. It's beyond mere 'Time reversal' and is much higher up on the tier list." I was still trying to process how the hell she was doing it. "I also can do something to alter Causality. However, it would take me momentous effort, resources and time. And even then, it wouldn't be a fraction of what she's achieving with little to no effort and understanding of what she's doing."

I…..

Holy shit how am I supposed to react to this.

"Give me a moment, I need to go contemplate my life's achievements and how they fall short of what she's doing by accident."

"Oh stop being dramatic." Yoruichi slapped my shoulder. "I get it, it's a stupidly powerful ability. Should probably keep it on the down low too."

"Right, yeah." I looked at the two kids who were probably not understanding how significant something like this was. "Don't mention this outside of your little group."

The Magi back home would absolutely salivate over her ability. She would get a sealing designation faster than it would take Artoria to finish a meal. Fuck, that's something that even Gods couldn't easily mimic…..

And she's just smiling happily over there without a care in the world.

I had the urge to protect her just because of how naïve and innocent she was. It's funny that such a powerful ability landed in the hands of a girl who probably didn't even care about it.

"Please don't be as ridiculous as she is." I looked at Chad with pleading eyes. "I don't think my self-esteem can take it."

@***@

"How you feeling?" I asked, ducking my head out of the way as Chad's fist flew past.

"My right arm feels strange." He remarked, throwing his fist forward again.

I blocked it, but the weight behind it had increased quite a bit. He already had strength that was far beyond what a human should have, so it was noteworthy that it was still increase, at least in his right arm

Thankfully, he was much easier to mentally deal with than Orihime, the sweet girl that she turned out to be.

Yoruichi suggested we just spar a little as he tried to remember the feeling he apparently had when he initially awoke his powers.

Fine by me, Ididn't mind taking my mind off the bubbly girl that could bend causality over her knee like it was a naughty child.

"Don't be afraid, and don't hold back. Trust me, I can take whatever you got." I reassured him in case he was hesitating.

He grunted, throwing his right fist again and I felt like his Reiatsu was increasing rapidly. Vaguely I could see his arm change shape, almost like it was overlaid and phasing in and out.

"Why are you even doing this? Does Rukia mean that much to you?" I flicked his arm to the side and pushed him away, letting him gather himself again for another punch.

"I barely know her." He grunted again between punches. "She helped me before and I helped her. But...I promised Ichigo that I'd use my fists to protect him."

That's honestly kind of cute the camaraderie they have. But his punches were getting more intense, so I suppose it was something very dear and important to him.

"That's it, focus on that feeling. Don't hold it back."

"I feel something building up, I don't know if I can –"

"Let it out." I reassured him, watching his Reiatsu swirl around his right arm.

With a shout, he threw another punch at me. But instead of a simple punch, his arm looked purple, it changed shape and a massive torrent of Reiatsu discharged at the blow.

My Aura Flared up and I held my hand out to catch it. I could feel the damage reverberate around my Aura and it contained it easily enough.

It had decent strength to it. If that was the standard he was working with, and if that was just him using his power for the first real time….well, there might be something good there.

"How's it feel?" I asked as he flexed his weird looking arm.

It was purple and black like a liquid formed over his arm and created an armor with two protrusions on his shoulder.

"Brazo Derecha de Gigante." He intoned, holding his arm up to the light.

"Right arm of the Giant? I can dig it."

"Round two?" He asked with a little smile.

"Hold off on that. The important thing is for you to remember the feeling of invoking it and try to get used to it in case it accidently disappears. Why don't we take a break, go get a drink of water, and try to get used to your newfound strength without breaking anything? Control is just as important as outward expression."

He nodded happily, still admiring his arm.

"Well, this is turning out well." Yoruichi hopped back over.

"His arm is interesting, I wanna see how well it works and what it can do. It's much more straightforward than her powers." I stretched my arms.

"All going according to plan." She nodded.

"Is it? Your plan is to have me do your work for you?" I ran a hand down her fur.

"That was….partially my plan."

"Was the other part where you get me emotionally invested in them so I tag along?"

"Yup." She said without a hint of shame.

"I would be upset if you were trying to emotionally manipulate me, but you're being completely up front about it." I sighed. "But I can't deny that I'm taking a liking to them and I'm somewhat invested." At the very least…my little jaunt around Soul Society was going to have a negative impact on them, so I'm implicated here regardless.

"So, you gonna tag along? It would help to have someone else look after them." She asked.

Honestly, at this point, my conscience wouldn't let me abandon them. They're goddamn kids going to take on Soul Society for the sake of their friends…

"Can I bring someone along?"

"You wanna bring someone along?"

"Yeah, I have someone I want to bring."

"….how strong are they?"

"Strong enough to be a good stick to wave around at anyone who tries anything."

"Whatever, I don't care if you bring someone. They're going to be your responsibility. I'll already have my hands full taking care of them, even with your help." She shrugged.

"I'm gonna go give them a call." I picked her up off my shoulder and set her on the ground.

"Alright, I'll be starting the next phase of their training now that they can bring out their powers at will. Just come over when you're done." She jaunted off after the two who had disappeared somewhere.

I shook my head and walked out the room to find an isolated corner to pull out my Kaleidophone and called a certain person.

"Wilhelm? Is something the matter?" They immediately answered.

"Well…. nothing is really the matter per say. I find myself in a situation where I'm feeling responsible for a bunch of kids about to do something really stupid and I wouldn't mind a helping hand." I freely admitted. "So….wanna come and invade Heaven with me, Izzy?"

@***@

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