Macho "Radio" Manny

An old phonograph played in the background while an man sang along in a monotone, "Why is it some of us are destined to live, And some of are here just so that we'll die.." The room he was in small and rather barren. Only the chair he lounged in, an old locker, and the table where the phonograph sat were not dusty and run down. Opposite his position stood large steel door; a light fixture most often seen in old-time police interrogation rooms hung above it. Over the music, a slight rustling could be heard coming from the other side of the door. "I guess he's finally come to," said the man as he moved the needle from the record. Standing to his feet, a patch on his chest could be seen that read: Attendant Rank 2. Shifting the zanpakto at his hip, he lazily ran his thumb along the center of the record removing the dust that covered the name..."Fate's Warning," he said, "...classic."


The rustling noises grew louder, as the attendant approached the door. Placing his ear against it, the attendant called out to the person inside. "You ok in there?" he asked listening attentively for a response. After three minutes of waiting the guard decided that he must have been hearing things, and began to make his way to his seat. Half way back to his seat he heard a reply. "Let me out!," a muffled voice yelled from behind the door. "Damn, why did I have to take this shift?" thought the attendant as he walked back to the door. "There's no use in me waiting around,." muttered the attendant while unlocking the door. Taking hold of the zanpakto at his hip in his right hand, he swung the door open, and with a brave face he said, "Lets get this over with..."

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A silhouette stood in the door way as the smell of blood and coconut oil wafted out from the room. "Yare yare...you really left me to roast in there huh?"said the figure as he stepped pass the guard heading towards the locker. Stepping under the light you could make out a sling that held the mans arm securely in place. Taking an even closer look it became apparent that his mid section was heavily bandaged and his injured arm had a long scar on it. In a normal situation that would be distracting but the fact that the man was naked made it hard to wonder where he got those injuries. "I always have the worst luck with shifts," thought the attendant as he tried to look anywhere but at the man who just passed by him.The attendant stood in a state of uncomfortable silence while the man opened the old locker retrieving his clothes. The man got dressed a lot quicker than you'd expect from someone with one arm and before the attendant knew it the man was again standing before him. The attendant shook like a leaf as the two started each other down in what only be described as a very tense situation.

"Oii, you just gonna stand there or are you gonna use it?" the man asked with a nod towards the sword in the attendants hand. The attendant had completely forgotten that he was holding the sword and immediately dropped to a knee with his head bowed holding the sheathed zanpakto out towards the man. Instinctively the attendant went into a rambling apology..."Sorry Kurosaki-sama. I lost my head for a minute. It wi..."

Isshin placed his hand on the attendants shoulder and with a goofy smile that only he could manage he told the attendant not to worry about it. Taking hold of Kage Suzume Isshin quickly went to work getting it set on his hip. Taking advantage of the bit of time Isshin took to secure his zanpakto to his waist the attendant stood to his feet dusting himself off still visibly embarrassed. Once he finished with his sword Isshin turned to the attendant, his smile replaced by concerned expression..."Have they located him yet?"

"Yes.." replied the attendant.

Isshin gasped with surprise and his mind began to fill with questions. But above all the questions in his mind only one was important enough to ask..."Is he still alive?"

The attendant shifted his weight back and forth clearly not wanting to answer the question. There was silence in the room only broken by the creaking of the lamp swinging over head. Reaching out, Isshin poked the attendant in the shoulder.."Is...he..still...alive?" he asked again his voice growing more concerned.

Letting out a regretful sigh the attendant finally responded, "Yes..."

Slowly an unexpected smile formed on Isshin's face before he broke out in a fit of laughter not at all appropriate given what he was just told..."Hahahahaha, of course he is." He continued to chuckle as he headed towards a door on the far side of the room that was so hidden by the shadows that you wouldn't notice it unless you knew it was there..."How about we go pay him a visit?"

Just before Isshin headed out of the door the attendant called out to him.."Wait, Kurosaki-sama, Hikifune-sama said she needs to speak with you." Opening the door Isshin nodded acknowledging his summons. "Well to Hikifune-san we go," Isshin said with a smile motioning for the attendant to join him on his trip. The attendant nodded and quickly turned off the light following Isshin out of the door. "Kurosaki-sama, why do you tan in the nude?" asked the attendant.

"Because the ladies hate tan lines of course." said Isshin shutting the door behind them.
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Not too far from Isshin's location there was another room. This room however glistening marble floors and golden chandeliers it was truly a sigh to behold. Inside the room stood four men of equal size and rank, or at least that's what the patches on their robes would lead you to believe; "R Guard". The guards stood at attention facing a large steel door much like the one from before, the only difference being a sliding slat on the front of it at eye level. Whispers of conversation filled the air as the men nervously looked at the door from time to time.

On the other side of the door a man regained consciousness while laying flat on his back. A low groan crept through the mans lips as he planted his right hand on the floor, pushing himself to an upright sitting position. "Hado #31, Shakkaho," chanted the man, as he formed a small red shot of fire in the palm of his hand illuminating the room. Looking around the room it quickly became obvious that he was in some sort of holding cell.

Noticing the light coming from under the door he moved closer trying to hear who or what was on the other side. He could hear a few people chatting, but he was pretty sure they weren’t anything he couldn't easily handle. Letting the red shot of fire fizzle he used the door to steady himself as stood to his feet. Instinctively he reached down for his zanpakto only to find that it wasn't there. "How irritating.." he thought to himself as decided he'd just use kido to blow his way out. He went to take a step back only to find that his left leg didn't respond causing him to tip over. On his way down he attempted to extend his left arm to stop his fall, but that too was paralyzed. With no way to stop his fall the man slammed face first into the ground with a dull thud.

The sound of the thud echoed through the door catching the guards’ attention. A cold chill swept through the room as the guards simultaneously threw back their haiori’s, gripping the hilt if their respective zanpaktos. “Ready yourselves men! If Toshiba gets out of there before…” said one of the guards before trailing off, distracted by the overwhelming onslaught of profanity coming from the other side of the door.

By this time Toshiba had managed to stand himself up on the wall opposite of the door, his left arm’s wounds now open, slowly dripping blood to the floor like a leaky faucet. “Damn it Kurosaki, you really fucked me over this time,” growled Toshiba looking down at his bloody arm. “I’ll make sure to pay you back ten fold...” he continued while raising his right arm, his palm facing outwards toward the door..” Hado #33 So-katsui!” With a thunderous clap and blinding flash a blue fiery ball swirled in his palm before exploding out towards the door.

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On the other side of the door the guards grew concerned as the earthquake-like shock wave emanated through the floor. In the midst of all of the commotion a child walked into the room wearing a Captain's haori, "Calm down fellas.." he said in a playful tone stopping in front of the door.."he ain't gettin' outta dere."

One of the guards stepped forward clearly doubting the kid's claim, "But sir he ne.." But before he could finish his sent flying backward through a nearby wall. The remaining guards stood in awe of the gaping hole in the wall, none of them even flirting with the idea of commenting on what just happened. They didn't actually see the kid move, but the blood on the back of his hand made it obvious that he had something to do with the guards sudden appointment with the wall. "Watch" said the kid as he pointed at the door, and almost simultaneously with the kids words there was a deafening rumble coming from the other side of the door.

Meanwhile Toshiba, who was in the room was readying himself to burst out of the room. There was only one problem, his path was blocked, by his blast that seemed to freeze before hitting the door. About about 13 seconds of confusion something on the wall to his right caught his eye. There was a yellow almost aquatic wave traveling along the wall, growing in strength with each revolution of his swirling ball of blue fire. "A barrier?" Toshiba asked himself. The thought of a barrier made sense but the fact that his blast didn't explode or dissipate on contact worried him.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking...Whats going on in there?" asked a nervous guard, almost in a whisper. The kid strolled forward, laying his palm flat on the door before turning to answer the guards question, "Deres a barrier on the oder side of da door. It's set up for moments just like dis, when nobody want to go in and restrain our guest." While talking the kid closed his eyes as if concentrating on something.."Dere is a difference between dis barrier and other barriers though. Instead of absorbing or just outright blocking a technique it catches, and reflects. All it needs is a oompf."

All of the remaining guards looked at each other trying to figure out what "a oompf" meant. Realizing that the guards were a bit confused by his words he decided to clarify by yelling, "a push!" As he yell he rapidly raised his reiatsu causing the guards knees to buckle. His haori blew in the wind created by his flaring reiatsu as channeled the reiatsu through the pushing the blast back towards Toshiba with added velocity. Toshiba also felt the sudden surge of reiatsu but he couldn't figure out where or what it was coming from, as time wasn't a luxury he had with his attack now coming back towards him. With only a split second to react Toshiba instinctively went to raise his left arm in defense only to be reminded that his arm was paralyzed. "..Shit." groaned Toshiba closing his eyes just as the blast engulfed his body in a blue flame.

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The kid nodded toward the door, a blatant sign that he wanted the guard to open it. One of the guards quickly complied and scurried over to the door, even while fumbling with his keys he made short work of the lock. The heavy door creaked lazily open giving way to a thick smoke that smelled of burnt flesh. He who seemed calm and mature way beyond his years suddenly began to act more like the child that you would have expected at first glance. Much like any immature person he covered his mouth, muffling the sounds of dry heaves as he inched forward into the room. His eyes that once conveyed a cocky confidence were suddenly very big. He'd no doubt tell you that it was because he was being cautious, but it was obvious, it was fear. Just as quickly as the door opened, the child came to the realization of what could possibly be waiting on the other side, and he didn't dare enter pass the arch of the door way, at least not until the smoke thinned.

A little over a minute passed and the smoke finally lifted, regrettably for the ones in the room it didn't take the smell with it. Up against the far wall sat a very injured, very unconscious, and VERY charred Toshiba. The kid let out a sigh followed by an uneasy chuckle, "He he he, see? I told ya, he wasn't gettin' outta dere." With the immediate danger out of the way the kid mad a B-line for Toshiba, his cocky confidence once again very much intact. Standing about a foot in front of Toshiba the kid looked him over, "You'd dink dat if you was so fast you woulda been able to get out da way of dat blast." he said with an almost disappointed tone to his voice. No longer covering his mouth the kids face was twisted up like somebody who'd just eaten a whole lemon, the smell up was even worse than he could have imagined.

Outside of the cell the guards peered nosily into the room, trying to figure out whether or not Toshiba was alive, and what, if anything the kid was doing. By this time the kid had already gripped Toshiba's wrist and hoisted him up onto his shoulders into a position similar to a fireman's carry. Though he had a full grown man on his shoulders, the kid walked effortlessly towards the door, Toshiba's feet dragging on the ground, dusting it. Out of the room walked the kid, with Toshiba in tow, the guards were deathly silent, none of them could breath, the sight before them was too shocking. Even in shock however, one of the guards made his way to the door on the far side of the room, opening it slowly, providing the kid and Toshiba with an exit. Not breaking stride and not saying a word the kid left the room heading down the hall, the sound of Toshiba's feet sliding on the floor growing softer and softer with each step.

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Toshiba had been unconscious for two days, and in that time he'd been moved about four times, examined about eight times, and gawked at about a million times. For all intent and purposes he was on tour, an unconscious bed ridden tour, but a tour never the less. Out of all the places that his body stopped, he spent the most time in the medical bay. The doctors there were top notch and well read, but even with their accomplished resumes they had no streets smarts. If they did, they wouldn't have worked day and night healing Toshiba's wounds. But even with all of their work and expertise, they were still bound by the limits of modern medicine, and because of that they were unable to fix the damage done to his appearance. His appearance didn't matter though, they just needed him able bodied and in a position where they could talk to him, and hopefully healing him would give them that opportunity. And so it continues.

A song with some pretty cryptic lyrics blared through walls, waking Toshiba for the first time in days. He sat up to find himself, this time in a comfortable bed, silk blue sheets flowed over him like an ocean. The bed frame resembled a golden chariot, with winding bronze vines donning shimming silver leaves. It was as impressive as it was tacky. Laying on the ground to the right of the bed he saw an old friend, Hyakujuunoou, clean, sheathed and ready to roll.

Swinging his legs out from under the sheets and onto the floor Toshiba quickly noticed that he had feeling in all of his limbs, and also that he had on black pants that were standard issue to any shinigami. He reached out with his left hand grabbing Hyakujuunoou, and with a celebratory twirl he set it on his hip. While Toshiba had been rediscovering the joys of fluid movement, there was something that had been slightly annoying him for the past five minutes, and it was growing more annoying by the second. The song that had been playing started to loop in an unusual way. Instead of playing from the beginning, it just looped a particular verse..

'trace the blood back to the grave
the smoke has cleared
thousands are destroyed
they send signals no salvation
we fight in lock out
scope is ready to go
armed with explosives
spartans stand alone'

..it was almost enough drive a sane man mad. Toshiba however, was never one to sit around and let something control him, and he wasn't about to let a song control his sanity. Drawing Hyakujuunoou from its sheath he headed for the door leading to the next room. Upon arriving there, he realized that he was locked in, and he wasn't the least bit surprised. Toshiba examined the door closely, he wasn't making the same mistake twice, fool him once shame on him, fool him twice, well, somebody's gonna die. Lucky for everyone the door didn't have a barrier, just an ordinary lock, which was child's play.

With a series horizontal and vertical slashes he sliced through the door leaving a large checker board pattern on it. Though he sliced clear through to the other side, the door,still stood very much intact, but it didn't surprise Toshiba at all, in fact it would seem that he expected it, causally sliding his blade back into its sheath without giving the door the slightest confused glance. And with a click his blade was once again home, and the music that had been irking him stopped playing. It was obvious to Toshiba what was going on, the music was looping purposely, somebody was trying to get under his skin, and that somebody was Isshin Kurosaki!

Thrusting hand out, palm facing the door he shouted, 'Sho!' Blowing the door apart, debris flying out into the next room. Stepping through the newly uncovered entrance Toshiba expected to see an old acquaintance, but instead he found a startled child, who looked no more that nine years old. The kid was frozen in place, his hands on a record player, no doubt he was the one who stopped the song from looping. Toshiba's adrenaline began to subside, he had no intention of beating up a defenseless child, regardless of how frustrated he was with his current situation.

The room they stood in was much like any well off suburban families living room. A flat screen tv sat up against the wall, Mario Galaxy was paused on the screen, most likely what the kid had been amusing himself with before the record started looping. By the kid was an expensive stereo system, the only thing that looked a bit off was the old time record player that the kid was fiddling with. A bowl of pop corn and half empty bottle of Coca-Cola rested on an oak coffee table in front of a black leather couch. Draped over the back of the couch was a wrinkled Captain's haori that caught Toshiba's eye. And not to far from the haori resting against the far arm of the couch, was a zanpakto, with an orange hilt and circular guard.

From the time he came to he thought it was odd that nobody was around, then when he found Hyakujuunoou on ground next to him, nobody being on guard just seemed down right careless. As Toshiba's mind slowly began to put things together, the conclusion he came to was a little hard for him to accept. 'That haori is too small for a Captain, unless...' as the obvious dawned on him, he turned to the record player but the kid had vanished. A click by the TV caught Toshiba's attention causing his head to swivel around like a top, as he hastily grabbed at his zanpakto's sheath. Turning around he locked eyes with the kid who was now wearing the Captain haori, and even with his drawn he looked terrified. 'The kids fast,' Toshiba thought to himself.

'Yo, Itoguruma!' yelled the kid, causing his zanpakto to glow, while emanating a grinding noise.


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The glowing grew more intense as the zanpakto shrank, eventually to a point where the kid could hold it in the palm of his hand. Toshiba went to draw his zanpaktou, but was halted when the kid threw the yo-yo, causing Toshiba to quickly pull his hand back. On its trip back to the kids hand Toshiba the noticed that the yo-yo had four wing-like blades on it that rotated quickly with the body of the yo-yo. The blades retracted into the yo-yo's body only milliseconds before it reached the kids hand to prevent injury. With a smirk Toshiba reached again for his sword, and again kid threw the the yo-yo at his hand, only this time Toshiba side stepped it completely.

With a twist of his wrist the kid redirected the yo-yo towards Toshiba's zanpaktou's sheath, wrapping the yo-yo and string around it in an instant. 'Yes,' exclaimed the kid as he yanked Hyakujuunoou from Toshiba's hip. Normally Toshiba would be irritated but, he was actually growing more amused by the second. After all it wasn't everyday that a kid got the best of him, plus from the kids movements he could tell that the kid was scared of him, all of his actions being more defensive than offensive. To a normal person somebody fearing you automatically makes you believe that you can beat them, but Toshiba wasn't normal, nor was he stupid. He wasn't sure where he was, but if they left a kid to stand guard then there is very little chance that they kid couldn't take him down if need be. So using common sense, Toshiba came to the conclusion that the kid was scared of him due to the information he was given on him. Despite their position, a child is still a child and at the moment the kid was face to face with the boogy man.

Making the decision that he wasn't going to fight with the kid Toshiba began walking over to the stereo. From behind he again heard the grinding noise that filled the room when the kid intially release his zanpaktou. Toshiba looked back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. 'Don't take anudda step!' Shouted the kid who was now spinning the yo-yo in a motion similar to the around the world trick. The situation slowly started to become less amusing as it became apparent that the kid had every intention of opening up a can of whoop-ass in the middle of the room, and if Toshiba's guess about the kids ability was correct this wouldn't end well.

'I guess I have to use this kids own expectations against him,' thought Toshiba as he turned with a smirk on his face. 'Why don't you just put that toy of yours away?' Toshiba asked in the nicest voice he could manage given the current situation. Toshiba's words must have be code for "spin that faster" because right after Toshiba asked the kid to but the yo-yo away he started spinning it faster, causing slighty breeze in the room.

Careful to not make any sudden movements, Toshiba continued to speak, 'Don't be stupid. I'm letting you know that I don't feel like fighting you.' With that the kid started spinning the yo-yo a bit slower, not much, but enough that Toshiba knew he was making progress. Feeling more confident Toshiba turned around again heading back over to the stereo. 'I'm sure you know who I am, and that you know what I'm capable of. If I wanted to I could have killed you by now if I -wanted- to.' His tone of voice was such, that you'd think that he was doing the kid a favor, and it would seem the kid bought it.

Flicking his wrist the kid pulled the yo-yo back into his hand, reverting it back to its sealed stated before sheathing it, a relieved look on his face. The kid picked up Toshiba's zanpaktou off the ground, deciding to hold on it for while, showing that even though he chose not to attack he didn't fully trust Toshiba. Shrugging Toshiba looked over the stereo and record, trying his best to not show how nervous he was and how relieved he is that a fight didn't break out. As Toshiba flipped through the dusty records by the stereo he called out to the kid, 'Hey, whats your name?'

'Kousu Isai..." the kid said as he tried to calm himself down.

Toshiba looked away from the records for a minute to address the kid...'Legendary huh?'

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"Yeah, dats what people say at least." Replied Kousu, the cocky demeanor he displayed at the holding cell slowly returning. Kousu made his way over to the couch, kneeling on the cushions as he rested his chin on the back of the couch, still eying Toshiba who was over by the stereo.

Toshiba walked slowly around the perimeter of the room, dragging his hand across the wall as if he were feeling for something. He passed over the door, which he assumed led out of the room and eventually arrived at the couch where Kousu sat. Taking a seat on the arm rest he noticed that the kid shifted his own position so that he was facing him. "Where are we?" asked Toshiba deciding it was pointless to beat around the bush.

"Ina room Sherlock." exclaimed Kousu, a sarcastic tone in his voice that screamed 'punch me in the mouth,' or at least that's what Toshiba got from it.

"Nobody likes a smart ass," said Toshiba, his face very serious.

"Eh, you need to loosen up. Bet you wish you had dat jug of sake you use to always carry around huh?" asked Kousu with a smile, "I know I wish you did, then maybe you wouldn't have such a scary face."

A cool chill suddenly went up Toshiba's spine at the mention of the jug of that he use to carry around with him everywhere. He use to have a bit of a drinking problem, but ever since he cheated death and possessed Xerxes he hadn't touched the stuff. For Kousu to know that he use to carry that around meant that they knew a lot more about his history than he first assumed.

In the blink of an eye Kousu disappeared from the couch, reappearing by the stereo almost too fast for Toshiba's eyes to follow. Pulling the stereo console away from the wall Kousu revealed a small wooden door. The door looked really out of place in a room that seemed so modern, the wood was cracking and looked as if nobody had messed with it in years. The only thing that Toshiba thought could be even close to the age of the door was the record player, but even that seemed slightly newer, or maybe it was just that the record player was maintained better.

Kousu pushed the door in until he heard a click that signaled him to let go of the door, allowing it to creak open. He reached into the hole in the wall pulling out a jug, and after looking over it for a second he tossed it to Toshiba. Caught off guard, Toshiba was nearly hit in the head, the only thing that prevented him from a sure concussion was the natural instinct to block anything coming towards him before realizing what it was, and in this circumstance blocking the jug actually gave him enough time to gather himself to catch it.

"Heads up," yelled Kousu very much after the fact, the smile on his face letting Toshiba know that he was trying to hit him in the head. "I know it ain't yours, but it serves da same function."

Kousu was right, it wasn't his, but the resemblance to his own jug was uncanny, the only real difference being that his jug was old and worn when he found it and this one was brand new. Sure there was also the story that went along with his own personal jug claiming that it once belonged to a noble warrior that some only referred to as 'The Hero,' but none of that ever really mattered to him. Toshiba nodded towards Kousu, his way of thanking him for the jug, "Now back to my question..where are we?"

Having already closed the wooden door Kousu was pushing the stereo back in place when he finally responded, "We're in da King's Realm."

Toshiba had only heard about the King's Realm through the grapevine in Soul Society. It was a place where great Captains were sent in order to protect the Soul King as part of something called the Royal Guard, but by that description Toshiba couldn't gather why he'd be there. It was also said that the people who went to the Royal Guard(aka Division 0) weren't allowed to go back to the Soul Society or the real world. "I think there must be some mistake. I'm not the Royal Guard type, nor do I intend on staying here for eternity," Toshiba said, his calm serious voice turning to more of a demanding, combative one. Toshiba wasn't going to be confined to some realm against his own free will, and he was leaving now. Toshiba stood to his feet, his eyes fixed on Kousu, his stare cutting through Kousu's soul like a hot knife through butter.

"So dis is dat murderous intent dat I heard so much about," Kouse tried to stay calm but he was visibly shaking, "Calm down, ain't nobody tryna keep ya here for eternity."

Regaining his composure Toshiba sat back down, causing Kousu to say more than he should have, "Its not like you're Isshin Kurosaki, we don't need you." Seeing that Toshiba was again getting that murderous look in his eyes Kousu held his hands in a submissive manner while laughing hysterically, "Chill, chill, I'm kiddin'" he said, even though they didn't really need him.

"Speaking of Isshin, if he's part of the Royal Guard how was he allowed to return to Soul Society in order to fight me?" asked Toshiba, still a bit confused by the rules of Royal Guard.

Lowering his hands into his lap Kousu twisted his face up, as if he was digging through the dark recesses of his mind, trying to come up with the answer. "Probably cause you were a problem dat he caused. By not killin' you in Las Noches, you came back and nearly destroyed Seireitei," while talking Kousu's face lit up like a light bulb went off in his head, "Hey, how did you manage to survive a whole realm collapsing on itself anyway? You returned so long after it had been destroyed that we all assumed you were killed.."

Kousu stared at Toshiba with questioning eyes, but all Toshiba could do is respond.."I don't know." It wasn't a lie, he really had no idea how he managed to survive Las Noches' destruction.

And after about 60 uncomfortable second Kousu decided to continue what he was saying, "You're here because Isshin chose not to kill you in Seireitei, despite ya desire to kill him, he don't seem to hate you. He told us dat you could be useful and dat is why he couldn't bring himself to kill you."

A deafening tone suddenly filled the room, causing both guys to cringe, covering their ears to alleviate the pain. After around 3 seconds the noise went away and Kousu stood to his feet.

"It's time old man," Kousu said, tossing Hyakujuunoou back to Toshiba. The sound of several locking mechanisms came from the door on the far side of the room, before it opened up into a dark hallway. "Don't go laggin' behind," said Kousu as he bolted out of the door. With a sigh Toshiba secured Hyakujuunoou and his jug on his hip and set out after Kousu.

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As Toshiba exited the room, he tripped over Kousu's outstretched foot, causing him to stumble out of control before gaining his balance with the help of a nearby wall. Meanwhile Kousu was doubled over laughing hysterically, even though he was a high ranking member of the Royal Guard he frequently exhibited the behavior of a child his age. Toshiba thought it was a refreshing sight, a stark contrast to the tight ass Hitsuguya Toshiro he knew.

"Right this way Clumsiba!" Kousu said while still laughing, Clumsiba being a nickname he'd just come up with for Toshiba.

With a slight chuckle Toshiba followed Kousu the hall. They walked at a leisurely pace, something that wasn't expected since Kousu told Toshiba he'd better not lag behind. For a place where such important people stayed the walls were bare, possibly because the ivory and gold flower wall paper had a pretty decorative look to it. Their steps down the hall way were almost silent, muffled within the very much out of place red shag carpet under their feet.

Before too long they arrived at two large mahogany doors, the crest of the Royal Guard on each, outlined in gold. "We're here Toshiba," said Kousu, his manner of speaking much more dignified than usual. Then without any prompt from either of them the doors gradually opened, giving away to a blinding white light. Toshiba was forced to close his eyes and even turn his head to avoid from being blinded. Kousu on the other hand seemed totally un-phased by the light, staring directly into it without flinching. Kousu was the first to step into the room with Toshiba following close behind him.

Once in the room Toshiba opened his and was shocked to see that the room itself seemed to be completely comprised of light. Around them stood several cloaked hooded figures, their reiatsu collective felt heavier than anything Toshiba had ever encountered.

"Thank you for escorting Toshiba here Kousu-kun," said what sounded like a woman's voice. "Now I'd like to kindly ask that you wait outside." Kousu was visibly disappointed at fact that he was asked to exit the room right when things were getting good.

"Don't worry, you've already been briefed on everything we'll discuss here. Just wait patiently outside and Toshiba-kun will join you shortly," the woman said reassuringly. Then with a nod, a still disappointed Kousu did as he was told and left the room.

"Interesting.." thought Toshiba to himself. He was under the impression that Kousu was one of the higher ranked people there, and to have him sent away like a mere child really stunned him. However, he didn't have time to get lost in his thoughts as one of the figures called out to him.

"Hello there Toshiba. I've heard a lot about you, but I never thought you'd be standing before me, here of all places..." the voice was gruff and raspy, nothing at all like the woman's. "Honest I hoped you would have been killed long ago, but that just wasn't case, now was it?" said the voice joking, with an underlying resentment that Toshiba could sense clear as day.

"So how did you manage to survive that -unfortunate- incident in Las Noches?" The voice asked with the same tone that Kousu had, undoubtedly hoping for a response. Needless to say his hopes were destroyed when Toshiba did nothing but stand there in silence, not even nodding his head one way or another. "No answer?..Fair enough. I didn't expect you to say much, and quiet frankly your input isn't needed...Do you remember many years ago, when you use to say that the key to a progressive future was dissatisfaction with the present?.."

Toshiba remembered, it was something that he saw on a wall of a cave on the outskirts of Rukongai while exploring as a child. He thought it was a cool saying so he adopted it as his own. As a matter of fact it was also where he found his original sake jug, the gateway to a habit it take him decades to break. That saying was actually what caused Toshiba to become a shinigami in the first place, dissatisfaction with the present. Thinking back on it and seeing how things eventually turned out was actually pretty depressing.

"Of course you remember, and that's a good thing because I'm dissatisfied with the present, and its your fault and you're -going- to fix it."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who do you think I am?!" yelled Toshiba. If there was one thing he hated more than Isshin, it was being told what to do. "I'm not a goon for hire. I'm not here to do your dirty work.." Toshiba continued to yell his hand now on the hilt of Hyakujuunoou. "I'm your worst nightma..." Toshiba was halted mid-sentence when the previously heavy reiatsu swelled into a suffocating blanket that slammed him to the ground.

"NO, the question is, who do you think you are?" the man asked with such a tone that it would make you believe Toshiba had been annoying him for hours. It was partly true, Toshiba hadn't been annoying him for hours, but many years. The higher ups in the Royal Guard had a crystal ball that allowed them the view the events taking place in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and Las Noches, and they'd been watching Toshiba's actions for a long time. The hooded mans outburst was brought on by years of pent-up frustration from watching Toshiba's actions without the opportunity to do anything.

"For some reason you think that you have a say around here. Well let me be the first to inform you that this isn't a democracy and you are going to do what you're told to do." spoke the man, now regaining his composure. "So before get the idea to disobey, remember how you feel right now, pinned to the floor, struggling to breath, and completely powerless to change your situation, and know that its only a preview of what can happen to you." Upon completing his sentence the man eased up on his reiatsu, allowing a disheveled Toshiba to stand to his feet.

"Understood.."muttered Toshiba helplessly as he stood to his feet. He might have once again been on his feet, but his pride remained on the ground, shattered and destroyed. Vicious as he was, he knew that he was at their mercy and it killed him inside to admit it.

"Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, your being alive has set in motion a series of events that will lead to the eventual destruction of Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and Karakura Town. You led the Espada into Soul Society confirming what they already suspected to be true, that they could fight on par with the Captains of the Gotei 13. Also you've indirectly weakened the Gotei by corrupting Captains, ultimately leading to some of their deaths..." trailing off mid-sentence the man sighed, a sound that led Toshiba to believe he was a bit emotional over the deaths of the Captains.

"Why don't you just send one of your people?" asked Toshiba. "Also if I can be honest, you not killing me here seems a bit strange, especially since you just said that all of this stuff happening is due to me being alive." Looking around at the various cloaked figures Toshiba began to smirk as he spoke. "Why not just abolish the source of corruption as he stands before you? From your display earlier its evident that you're stronger than me, and I suspect Kousu is as well, so you sending me to do something that any of you could easily do seems like a waste of time."

Chuckling a bit the cloaked man answered Toshiba's questions, "We don't make a habit of cleaning up peoples messes. That is why we aren't going down there ourselves, that's why we didn't kill you when you came in here, and that is why Kurosaki Isshin brought you here instead of killing you like we wanted. Seeing the destruction of Seireitei he made a spur of the moment decision and felt that it was your job to make things right." Part of what the man said conflicted with what he actually believed Isshins reason for sparing Toshiba was, but he didn't dare speak it in such a forum.

The mention of Isshins name always made Toshiba's blood boil, but not this time. This time he only felt mild resentment accompanied with a bit of thankfulness. Even in the midst of a fight to the death Isshin somehow managed to save both their lives."Always the hero..." he thought to himself. Maybe Kousu was right, maybe his feelings of hatred towards Isshin weren't mutual, but even if that turned out to be the case it wouldn't erase the fact that Isshin tried to kill him in Las Noches, and Toshiba would never be able to overlook that. His mind began to wander, thoughts of his past encounters with Isshin flowing through it like a rushing river. His eyes became fixed on what would be the floor in this bright void of a room, his brain trying to figure out why Isshin wouldn't just try to talk sense into him before doing something as drastic and destroying the dimension. It wasn't a mess to clean up yet, he might have been able to turn back...

"Hey!" bellowed the man, snapping Toshiba out of his trance on set by deep thought. "Don't go spacing out while I'm talking to you, its disrespectful." His irritated tone of voice re-emerging as he spoke. "You aren't going back just yet, you're not ready. The whole time that you inhabited Xerxes' body, you gave him your strength. He was young and he never had the opportunity to get in touch with his zanpaktou and with your abilities at his disposal he never had any reason to. And while what I'm saying might seem pointless because Xerxes is dead, its very relevant because he's not. You are well aware that when somebody dies their body turns into spirit particles, thus ceasing to exist. Xerxes' body however didn't do that, and that's how you were able to reposes it after the training dummies spell wore off."

Utterly dumbfounded was the only way to describe the expression on Toshiba's face. He understood what the man was saying, yet it still made no sense to him. He'd been in complete control of this body for a long time now, and he hadn't seen or felt any sign of Xerxes.

"Seeing as you look stupider than normal, I'm guessing you don't quite get where I'm going with this. You need look within yourself and find Xerxes and awaken his Zanpaktou's spirit," the man paused for a moment, getting the feeling that Toshiba would have interrupted him otherwise.

"Why help me to get stronger only to beat the very people that I'm already stronger than? Who's to say I won't take the new found strength and just kill you?" Toshiba spoke those words partly as a joke, but the first thought in his mind was that he'd be able to kill them.

"In the time that you've been here those 'people' have been training in order to defeat each other. There is a very good chance that many of them are nearly as strong or stronger than you were before your fight with Isshin. We aren't sending you there to die. You're going back in order to make sure the destruction of those places doesn't happen, so we are helping you in order to widen the power gap again, while assuring that you succeed." The mans voice showed no signs of humor, he didn't take Toshiba's words to be a joke, "As for you killing us, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We've already set you up with somebody who specializes in helping others find kinship with their zanpaktou spirits. And with that we're done, get out.."

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Toshiba walked back out into the dark hallway, his mind still working to comprehend what had just happened. A few feet away from him Kousu staggered around doing his best impression of a circus performer, as he tried to balance his sheathed zapnpakou on his chin. Noticing Toshiba presence he tilted his head allowing the zankaptou to drop into his waiting hand. Securing his blade on his hip he walked towards Toshiba, a huge grin on his face.

“Did dey fill ya in?” Kousu asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet, looking like he might shoot through the roof at any moment.

Toshiba didn’t speak, he only nodded, the act of swallowing his pride left him unable to speak, for the moment anyway.

Kousu noticed that Toshiba wasn’t as happy as he was about what happened in the room, and it kind of put a damper on his mood too. “Cool, den lets go. I’ma show ya where you’re gonna train,” he said starting off down the hallway. “If you’re as good as da old perv Isshin said ya are dis shouldn’t take too long.”

Toshiba didn’t break stride at the mention of Kurosaki’s name. In fact it barely even registered, his mind was too cluttered at the moment to even try and decipher random compliments Isshin had given him to other people. As they walked down the hall there were some gradual yet not to subtle changes to his surroundings. The once shaggy carpet under their feet had turned to a brown dirt floor. The wall that was covered in nice wallpaper was now jagged rock, resembling the side of a mountain. Eventually the sound of their footsteps caught Toshiba’s attention; he’d become so use to walking on the carpet that the sound startled him. He turned around to see where the carpet had ended, but he saw no signs that he was ever carpet They were now in what resembled a dark cave, and frantically Toshiba’s head spun around, trying figure out what had just happened and how they got there. Toshiba was so caught up in trying to figure out where he was he hadn’t noticed Kousu stopped walking, and as result he ran into the child.

Oddly enough Kousu didn’t even budge, he just calmly said, “We’re here.”

When Toshiba looked to see where “here” was all he saw was a stone wall. Kousu turned his head slowly looking at Toshiba, and given his size, anyone passing by would have easily mistaken him for a large ventriloquist dummy, especially with the stupid grin on his face. Ever the show man Kousu extended his arm through the wall which rippled like water when his hand pierced it.

That was something Toshiba had never seen before, but he wasn’t about to look impressed, he wasn’t giving Kousu that satisfaction. Then suddenly Kousu’s eyes grew wide with concern as he turned looking at the rippling wall, before getting violently yanked through.

“Kousu!” yelled Toshiba as the young shinigami disappeared into the wall. Without hesitation he drew his zanpaktou, “Lacerta, Hyakujuunoou.” he roared, the then blade morphing into a claw, securely attached to his right hand. Normally he wouldn’t immediately release his shikai to start a battle, but if something was strong enough to pull Kousu through unwilling, then it would definitely warrant him being serious from the beginning. And with a deep breath followed by a controlled exhalation he jumped through the wall, almost instantly arriving on the other side.

Landing on another dirt floor Toshiba he was greeted with a most regrettable sight. He stood instinctively at the ready, his heart sunk, full of dread and hopelessness. Things would only get worse from here and there was a part of him that wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle it.

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What Toshiba saw was Kousu standing on the other side of the cave, he wasn’t harmed, and to top it off he had that stupid grin on his face. He was now wearing a haori similar to the ones wore by the teachers at the Shinigami Academy in Soul Society. Right away Toshiba realized that Kousu would be the one helping him get in touch with Xerxes’ zanpaktou spirit, and he had mixed emotions about it. On one hand he’d be training with someone he was familiar with, but didn’t necessarily like. On the other hand he was happy the kid wasn’t dead, but he hated being made a fool of.

“Aw look at ya. You’re all hot under da collar, because thought I was in trouble,” Kousu said mockingly as he ran his hand across under his eye, as if to wipe away a tear, “It makes me soooooo happy to know ya care.”

Pausing for a minute Toshiba contemplated his next move. Then out of now where Toshiba turned around in the motion of a spinning backhand releasing three waves of reiatsu from his claw.

“Hey whata ya think your doin?” cried out a shocked Kousu who rapidly back peddled away from the destructive waves of reiatsu. The cave-like room shook violently as the waves tore through the through it like a runaway train, heading straight for Kousu, leaving deep rigged grooves in the floor.

Eventually Kousu found his back literally against the wall, and he had no choice but to draw Itoguruma from its sheath. Without its name being called Itoguruma morphed into it’s shikai state, a common occurrence when dealing with captain class shinigami. Kousu flicked his wrist outward causing the Itoguruma whirl in mid air, his goofy grin replaced by a more resolute expression. As Itoguruma’s rotation increased it slowly began altering the course of Toshiba’s blast, drawing it in, almost like a magnet. Intrigued Toshiba watched his blasts connect with the yo-yo, freezing, and then shattering like glass. At first it seemed like the fragments of reiatsu lingering in the air would drop to the ground, but instead they were hurled back towards him. Toshiba quickly drew back his arm in preparation to deflect his own attack, but the thorns of reiatsu abruptly slammed into the ground, a dust cloud rising in their wake.

---------------

The whirring sound that previously filled the air had subsided, leading Toshiba to believe that Kousu had resealed Itoguruma,, and going on that assumption he sealed his own blade, re-sheathing it at the same time. Kousu's ability to deflect the attack really impressed Toshiba, he knew he was strong but his techniques were unlike anything he'd seen before, especially from someone of his age.

"Hey you coulda killed me!" screamed Kousu from across the room, his eyes struggling to hold back tears. Kousu was under the impression that he and Toshiba had become friends and the fact that Toshiba attacked him really hurt his feelings.

"Yeah, but I didn't, so stop your whining," replied Toshiba. Seeing the tears in Kousu's eyes made him feel kind of bad for his knee jerk reaction, but it was the kid's fault for acting like his life was in danger in the first place. Still he was just that, a kid, and maybe a life threatening attack was overkill. But even though he attempted to kill him he couldn't help but wonder what kind of stupid training Kousu had planned for him.

"I guess you are what dey said ya were," whispered Kousu as he looked down at Itoguruma. He hadn't sealed it yet, instead he just retracted it, holding it in the palm of his hand. "I thought dis coulda be a fun experience, but getting this ova with quickly seems to be the best thing to do." Kousu's whiny tone of voice was long gone, replaced with a somber tone. For a second time they locked eyes, this time Kousu's eyes were full of disappointment, he expected more of Toshiba and it was a shame that things had to go in such an unpleasant direction.

Then with a pained sigh Kousu flicked Itoguruma into the air uttering the word, "...Bankai" as the string popped and the body of Itoguruma flying higher into the air glowing brightly.

-------------------------------------------

Completely opposite of its shikai Itoguruma started to grow, slowly turning on its side it eventually hovered parallel to the floor. As Itoguruma continued to rotate Toshiba made note that it resembled the fictional flying saucers that he'd seen on TV while on patrol in Karakura town. It looked to be about four feet wide and he could tell that the edges were sharp like a sword, but overall it looked too large to be that effective in battle.

"Would he try and kill me?" thought Toshiba as he stood looking across the room at the silent Kousu who's weapon was spinning wildly over his head, eclipsing him like beach umbrella.

"Itoguruma Mojisousa(Spinning Wheel of Character Manipulaton)," said Kousu breaking his silence to recite the name of his Bankai.

"Character manipulation?" Toshiba asked himself as he gradually began moving his hand to the hilt of his zanpaktou.

Eying Toshiba's hand reaching for his zanpaktou Kousu yelled out, "Konsui joutai(comatose state)" sweeping his hand outward towards Toshiba.

Appearing to have disappeared, Itoguruma reappeared above Toshiba spinning more violently than ever. Noticing the shadow on the ground Toshiba looked up, but before he could react he was blinded, falling unconscious soon there after. With Itoguruma screeching above the unconscious Toshiba, Kousu began making his way over to him.

"I wish I coulda made you aware of what was about to happen to ya, but after your attack, you couldn't be trusted." Kousu said has he paced around Toshiba's body, making sure to stay out of the radius set by Itoguruma's shadow. "One of Itoguruma's abilities is too knock da target into a coma. Den while in dat coma it forces you into self destructive battle, dat ultimately leads ya destroyin' ya psyche, or in otha words, brain dead. Da old farts believe dat by usin' its effect it'll bring Xerxes out...I don't know if it'll work or not, but I do know dat it's pointless for me to keep talkin' since you can't hear me."

Kousu took a seat on the floor, leaning up against a nearby wall as he thought to himself, "But I hope it does work, for my sake..."

--------------------------------------------
Within The Mind Of Toshiba
[color:a60b="#0000FF"]
"DAMMIT KOU.." Toshiba started to say before stopping mid-sentence, realizing that he was no longer in the cave with Kousu. Anxiety began to set in as Toshiba realized he was in the very same place that Isshin locked him away in an attempt to seal him away from Xerxes.

[color:a60b="#0000FF"]"I guess Kousu's Bankai works as some sort of seal..." he said, slowly pacing off into the endless white void. As far as he could tell there wasn't any help coming and to make things worse he couldn't remember which way was out. It then occurred to him that it might not be that he couldn't remember, it could be that something there was different. Before it was easy to tap into the main conciseness when it was Xerxes', but with him now the in charge it was a lot harder. Suddenly off in the distant there was the a loud snapping noise followed by what sounded like a vacuum. With nothing else calling for his attention Toshiba sprinted off in the direction of the noise, hoping to find a possible exit. As he ran he continued to hear loud cracking sounds followed by rushing air, it eventually getting to the point where he could feel the wind rushing over him, causing his clothes to flutter in ever changing directions. Finally arriving at the source of the initial noise he was stunned to find a fracture the size of a school bus, leading into a black abyss. He also became aware of the walls that began breaking off little by little falling into the hole, almost as if being swallowed up.

[color:a60b="#0000FF"]"No, not again," thought Toshiba as he backed away from the hole, reminded of the incident in Las Noches. He began to wonder if Kousu knew what he was doing when locked him in here. Did he know that locking him in here would lead to something like this? The sounds of more holes forming began to fill the air, and all the while Toshiba couldn't come up with a plan to escape. [color:a60b="#0000FF"]"If I wouldn't have attacked him I wouldn't be going through this..." he said, again sprinting aimlessly in search of an exit. Stopping to catch his breath he scanned the area, it was mine field, holes leading to nowhere popping up everywhere. "I should have killed him," Toshiba growled, as he begrudgingly began to realize his search for escape was futile.

"How serendipitous for me.." a man said from behind Toshiba, before smashing their fist into the back of his head, sending him stumbling forward.

Placing a hand on the ground Toshiba steadied himself as he swept around facing his attacker. Giving them a quick once over he caught a glimpse of a Quincy cross hanging their wrist. Then from that cross a bow formed in their hand, glowing bright blue the bow loosely resembled a spiders web.

"Its time for you to pay for what you did to me," the Quincy said, drawing back on the bow while taking aim at Toshiba.


"Ya don't get into a position like mine without having abilities daat far exceed daat of anyone in history... Five months after I was born I gained a zanpaktou, which was an unheard of occurrence, at least in most circles. But it was said in da ancient text of Soul Society dat da infant who brandished a zanpaktou would ultimately lead a Utopian society. Which is what led da Royal guard take me from my parent as an infant....