Chapter 348 (Patreon)

Kisuke Urahara POV

It’s not often I find myself utterly confused.

And it seems like it’s been happening quite often the past couple weeks. It started off with Yoruichi telling me about a new friend she made. I didn’t think much of it, my interest was a little piqued, but I was busy with other things such as keeping an eye on Kurosaki. I needed to make sure there were no problems with the exertion of Shinigami powers he had been lent by young Kuchiki Rukia.

That boy was….something special. He constantly threw away all my preconceived notions on what was normal. For instance, I did not think it was possible for someone to have two Zanpakutō spirits without having two swords.

But I digress.

I was happy to see my old friend a bit more enthused lately, so I lowered it on my priority lists even further. I know that Yoruichi isn’t one to ignore any big red flags even if she has a rather playful personality. So if she didn’t bring anything major to my attention, I didn’t think much of it and continued as I was.

She continued to tell me a few things, and I admit that my curiosity nearly got the better of me. But she was not subtle in her warnings to let her ‘friend’ be.

What did she call him again – a Wizard? That lone almost made me drop what I was doing and go pay this young man a visit. And I seemed to miss my opportunity when Yoruichi asked Tessai to help him practice Kidō of all things.

I could feel my hands getting itchy.

Even Tessai only had good things to say about him.

That begged the question, what exactly was this young man? Tessai clarified Yoruichi’s early statements, he called him a Magus. Meaning someone who practices Magecraft. It wasn’t a term that was impossible to find throughout history, but it was usually uttered by those in myths and legends. Perhaps stories passed down by humans who had enough Reiryoku to see Shinigami at work and formed their own beliefs.

Well, that was my thought atleast, however, I’m starting to question that logic now.

I admit I never paid much attention to…..humans. Sure, there were a few that popped up and were worth watching every century or so, but rarely do they stand out enough to be worthy of my attention. The fact that there are several in this town recently aside, I didn’t care much.

Not only that, I rarely looked at things in other parts of the world. Soul Society focused the vast majority of their effort on Japan and eastern countries for a reason. The Americas out west….they have very little ambient Reishi in comparison. It’s to the point where a Hollow appearing is rare. And once they do form, they almost always instinctually travel to Hueco Mundo or away from that part of the world and unconsciously navigate towards the east.

Sure, there are places in other countries that have abundance, and Soul Society does have a presence there. Many of those places are such that humans over the years even noticed the peculiarities. Stone Henge, The Easter Islands, The Mayan Civilization, certain Tribal Grounds for the Native Americans. Even Egypt is such a place that is a noteworthy ‘hotspot’ for spiritual activity.

However, in comparison to Japan and the neighboring countries out here, they require very little presence of Shinigami to properly manage.

It was the reason we chose to settle down in Karakura, this small and out of the way town that had nothing seemingly special about it on the surface. It was one of the most abundant natural sources of Reishi in the world. Perhaps the only place that could match it was Kyoto. It made for hiding away much easier.

It’s….understandable, with my previous mindset, why I never paid attention to both the places outside of this area of the world, and the humanswho lived there.

But now, I have to rethink all those previous connotations.

Especially with what happened recently.

With how a Human managed to change the weather on such a large scale with so little effort.

I admit I could maybe achieve something similar with some effort and time. Perhaps create my own Kidō spell to mimic what he did, but I keep thinking about the effort that would require me to do so and I’m reminded that Yoruichi said he merely spoke a few words and thunder clouds rolled in almost out of nothing.

He was an enigma, something I didn’t even know existed. That isn’t to say such things of a similar nature didn’t exist in the past. The legends about the Onmyoji and such in the past had more than a smidgen of truth to them.

But this was another matter entirely. From what he told Tessai, there is an entire organization or society of similar people with such capabilities gathered in the west.

That piece of information is significant if this Wilhelm Schweinorg is a basis for their abilities.

How did such a people go under the radar for so long?

Well, that was rhetorical, because the reasons are obvious in hindsight. Soul Society doesn’t really care about those parts of the world, and what they dabble in has apparently little or nothing to do with the Spiritual Aspects of the world.

Their Magic was something that operated on a completely different paradigm. There were of course other things Yoruichi told me about, but they all fell under the same umbrella of me having no idea of their existence prior to his appearance.

I wanted to call it a scheme by Aizen, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t so blatantly reveal a trump card like this. Regardless of the strengththese people wield, something completely unknown to Soul Society – and myself – would also be a significant advantage on his part.

No, it’s obvious that Aizen isn’t involved in the slightest. Which makes the whole thing that much more exasperating.

A puzzle that I couldn’t solve because Yoruichi was slapping my hand away. The few times I have spoken to him….he either deflect with an amusing strategy – I was aware of the persona I created. A candy shop owner with a white van and such – or I simply am unable to coerce anything of importance out of him.

I would be foolish to not see the danger he presented. I certainly was not lying when I said that his threats were scary. I felt that he would follow through on them, or at least try his best.

Not to mention he somehow managed to learn Kidō. Something I didn’t think possible for a human to learn without help from someone such as myself. I didn’t want to inflate my own ego, but I was pretty sure even Tessai couldn’t help him learn with his own mastery over the art.

So many thing I didn’t understand, so many new things I wanted to learn and yet, they all seemed to fall to the wayside this evening.

Because as much of an Enigma that Schweinorg was, that was nothingcompared to the thing he brought with him.

I had to forcibly filter certain thoughts out once I merely laid my eyes on it.

Was it reverence? Fear? Uncertainty? I don’t know what emotions were invoked when I saw her for the first time.

There was only one time in my existence that I felt something similar.

When my curiosity got the better of me and I broke a taboo, sneaking a peek at the Soul King.

“Kisuke, you alright?” Yoruichi jumped onto my shoulder. “You’ve been kinda spacing out for a little while now.”

“Sorry, I’ve just been…preoccupied.”

“Right. Does it have anything to do with that woman that our Wizard brought over?” She asked, rhetorically at that. “Cause the moment I saw her, I felt like I should lower my head. Which….was a weird feeling.”

So it wasn’t just me….

“I don’t suppose your friend mentioned anything…?”

“Nah, this was a surprise to me too. He just said he wanted to bring a friend with him, and I didn’t think much about it. Just told him to take responsibility for their own safety. I didn’t expect….that.”

And by that, she probably meant how the thing in the form of a woman casually flicked away Kurosaki’s Zanpakutō.

The same one that required I use my own to defend against. Granted, it took me by surprise, but no one can deny he has a substantial amount of Reiatsu at his disposal. He doesn’t quite know how to wield it properly yet, but quantity is a quality of its own.

That young man not even an adult by human standards. He had the potential to easily match a Captain if he trained a bit more. Give him a decade? And I’d wager money that only a few like the Old Man of the first Division could even threaten him anymore.

And despite that….even if he could barely be consider a noviceby our standards, but he had the raw power in strides here. Yet for all of that……

“Did she bleed at all?” Maybe I should obtain a blood sample? Because I was fairly sure she was not a spiritual being. She had absolutely no Reiatsu at all. You could usually tell when someone was restraining their power. As you got closer, it became obvious. But this….she was completely and utterly devoid of any….which made no sense whatsoever.

Not a Shinigami.

Whatever she was, she was not a Shinigami.

And she was certainly not Human. My instincts were telling me that enough.

A hollow is right out as well. That would be more obvious to see. And, well, the lack of Reiatsu was a big giveaway. Even a Vasto Lorde level Hollow couldn’t dream of giving off that same kind of ‘presence’ that she did on our first meeting.

Even now, after getting ‘used’ to it, and my conscious mind fighting back against this foreign instinct, it was still scratching at the back of my head.

“Her finger wasn’t even pricked. Literally, kid didn’t even break the skin.” Yoruichi said quietly. “Kisuke, any idea what kind of monster he brought with him?”

“…..force once, I am completely clueless.” I pulled my hat down a little bit as I noticed her glance this way. I felt a shiver, almost like disapproval and it made me react without thinking.

“….Quincy?” She offered.

“No.” I shook my head. That was the last on a very short list we were aware of. We were of the very few Shinigami aware that the Quincy weren’t quite so extinct as many would believe. But even still, there was no way she was a Quincy.

A Quincy, even their king in ages past, was someone who dominatedReishi.

It’s almost as if……she exists above it and it doesn’t even react to her presence.

“Shit.” She hissed. “Y’know, I’m not like you that can’t leave something alone. But….this is making me kinda nervous. I don’t like notknowing something like this.”

“Just…keep an eye on them for now.” I lightly pat her head. “I’ll get started on making the gateway. See if you can’t find anything out.”

“Roger.” She chirped, disappearing over towards the others.

One enigma after another….

It’s throwing my own plans into disarray as it were.

I can only hope that it’s beneficial to us in the long run.

@***@

Izanami POV

I have not had this much fun in awhile. I suppose the only other mark of that was the last time Wilhelm took me to do something ridiculous.

Everything just seems so much….brighter when he is around. The mundane things I do around my house become something else entirely when he drops by. The passing of time also seemed to slow down to a crawl these past months.

I barely noticed how the years have gone by beforehand as I carried myself from one thing to another to preoccupy my mind.

Another world. It was something I didn’t even consider previously and look at me now?

I was in another world where….I didn’t truly exist. So many strange and wonderful things that appeared around me.

It was refreshing that someone as old as I could experience this feeling of discovering something new.

This was the happiest I can remember myself being in many – many years.

And I have almost all of it to thank at the foolish boy who was just smiling next to me. A smile that….made my heart pick up pace when it was directed at me.

What a strange place he brought me to. This Spiritual world that seemed so happy to greet me once I took my first steps. I could feel the land practically cry out once I touched it with my Divine Power and it responded to my call just as it would back home.

And the denizens of this world – the ones behind the curtainare almost entirely Spiritual beings. I could feel the weight of my Authority press on them every time we met. I didn’t even have to intentionally let it out, just their existence was one subservient to mine own.

It was interesting to see Spirits able to shrug it off with some effort. Especially these ones here who continued to stare me when they thought I wasn’t looking.

Wilhelm did warn me that there were some that were exceedingly powerful. Even with my existence being objectively above theirs on the hierarchy of Kami.

I could vaguely feel their level of power even if their strengths were drawn from something I wasn’t too familiar with.

The one with the hat who continued to try and pry open my secrets with his eyes. I could vaguely say he was around the top of Ultimate class – for whatever that was worth. While the system the Devils created wasn’t’ exactly thorough in its ability to gauge someone’s strengths, it was enough to give a rough idea.

Even if someone near the peak of the class could handle thousandsof those who barely entered. I suppose it was better than nothing because we never really had a unifying system of measurement beforehand.

“Is everyone ready!?” The man in the hat whispered something to the Spirit hiding in the form of a cat before exclaiming happily, that fan of his waiving around. “I’m about to get started if no one has any complaints!”

No one did speak up. The….children were more or less stoic or nervous. The young lady of the group the most out of the bunch.

She seemed very kind, I would not allow anything to happen to her. The Half Japanese boy next to her as well, he had a good heart from the few moments we’ve interacted. I do not know about the one in the glasses, but Wilhelm didn’t say anything. And the orange haired boy was scowling and sulking after not being able to hit me.

They were all children born under my Daughter’s sun, I would not allow them to die on this venture, as irresponsible as it was to send childrento the supposed afterlife to siege it.

Yes, being told the details of this endeavor made me realize why Wilhelm asked for assistance when he usually handles things on his own. This was a monumentally idiotic goal they set out on and it would wind up with all of them killed.

“Now, everyone look at me!” He posed for a moment until reality sort of shifted around him. Like something bleeding out onto the physical world, four pillars hot out of folded space, forming a rectangular gateway.

“So this is it?” The Orange Haired boy walked forward. “Alright, let’s get started.” He appeared to get ready to walk through.

“Not so fast.” The owner of this place jabbed him with his cane, setting the boy rolling on the ground. “Explanation time!” He clapped. “Now, the place you’re going to is Soul Society. To put it bluntly, only soulscan exist there. And since Kurosaki-kun is the only one among you all that can separate his soul from his body, that presents a little problem~”

“Oh no, looks like our plan was ruined before it began. Guess it’s time to head back and admit defeat.” Wilhelm chimed in with his brand of dry sarcasm.

“Don’t worry!” The Shopkeeper didn’t seem to get upset in the slightest. “It’s why I created this.” He gestured to the gate behind him. “I could bore you with he details. And the monumental effort I put into solving this problems. The sheer amount of money I had to spend. The planning and –“

“We get it.” The Orange Haired boy scowled. “Thanks for the help.”

He chuckled. “Okay, okay.” His tone turned to something more serious. “To put it simply, this will convert your physical matter into Spiritualmatter. So you can go on to Soul Society in your ‘bodies’ without any problem.”

“That actually sounds somewhat impressive.” Wilhelm replied.

And I had to agree with him on that nothing. I still didn’t know the finer details about everything here, but that sounded like something complicated.

“I will accept the compliment.” He grinned. “But be warned, you only have Four Minutes to travel through the Dangai, otherwise you’ll be trapped there forever.”

“Pardon?” I asked for clarification.

Seeing him stiffen was…interesting. “It seems I need to explain fully. Inbetween dimensions exists a sort of….pathway. This is called the Dangai. Time and space don’t always operate on the same threshold so Soul society created something to….sweep the place so its existence was not ‘abused’. If you take longer than Four Minutes to reach Soul Society from stepping inside, the Dangai itself will devour you and if you’re unlucky, the Kōtotsuwill sweep you up in its current.”

“Alright, sounds easy enough.” Kurosaki Ichigo nodded to himself. “Lets get going.”

“Remember, only four minutes from the moment you step inside. So you all may want to head in together.” The Shop Keeper glanced out way.

“A little problem with that.” Wilhelm spoke up.

“A problem?”

“It won’t work on either of us.” He said plainly.

“….It should work correctly. Unless….there’s a specific reason..?” He unfolded his fan, looking at us in anticipation.

“It doesn’t matter, I have my own means. You lot go through first, we’ll catch up.” Wilhelm gave them a wave to go forward.

“You sure?’ The Cat asked.

“Trust me.” He smiled and the Cat nodded.

“Alright, everyone, get ready.”

The Pillars that made up the strange doorway erupted in a show of light, and a portal began to form in the middle.

They all looked at each other and without any words, they all pushed through together.

I could admire their courage.

“We shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Wilhelm held his hand out as he took a step forward.

“Yes, it would be rude.” I appears he’s already calculated everything and I happily took his hand, doing my best to not let my emotions reflect on my face.

“It’s not too late to head through this way.” The Shop owner tried to nudge us again.

I shared a look with him and I held up my free hand, extending a finger. I made eye contact with the man and touched it with my finger, attempting to have it push through.

The entire thing shuddered. It immediately cracked and shattered at trying to alter my composition.

I could see his eyes widen behind that fan of his and I took a slight amount of amusement in his dumbfounded expression.

“Shall we?” I asked.

He smiled, his Aura flaring up and his sword swiped through the air, tearing through reality and revealing a strange cavern. I trusted him so I didn’t question it, and he led me right through.

@***@

“This was not what I was expecting.” I looked around at the strange place. The walls looked like they were made of purple mud and it was…decaying all around us. There were even massive skeletons being devoured by the…slime flowing everywhere.

Space and Time were horribly twisted in every direction. I didn’t even need to have Wilhelm’s abilities when it came to this sort of thing to understand how utterly distorted this place was.

“Took you long enough.” The cat hopped onto Wilhelm’s shoulder. “If you had taken even a second longer, we would have left.”

“The time dilation is more evened here right where we entered. We should still have nearly four minutes even with the few extra seconds we took.” Wilhelm informed everyone. “But don’t dally, lets get moving.”

We immediately began moving, I honestly didn’t know wherewere going, my sense of direction was…. disjointed here. However, the Cat was verbally navigating for us around every corner.

….Wilhelm didn’t realize he was still holding my hand….I did not wish to inform him again.

“Shit was it this one or….left, gogo.” The cat’s paw shot up. “And don’t touch the stuff here, it’s meant to trap souls! If it touches you, it’s all over.”

She said that right as a big blob of the stuff fell down from above, and with some sort of….intelligence, it tried to grab at everyone ground it.

“This stupid thing – “

“Don’t use your Zanpakutō you idiot!” The cat slapped the Orange Haired boy before he could take his sword out. “Don’t look back, keep running!”

“Hey, what’s that!?” The one with the glasses called out.

And I noticed it as well. There was a light coming from behind it.

“Shit it’s the Kōtotsu, I didn’t think we’d run into it. Unlucky.” The cat clicked its tongue. “Hurry up, it’s the same as everything else here, don’t let it touch you.”

It looked like….a train?

“It’s moving pretty damn fast!” Ichigo shouted.

“If you have time to look back, then run faster!”

This….was not an ideal situation. Though……..I paused my steps.

“Izzy?” Wilhelm stopped with me.

“What are you two doing!?” Yorucihi hissed. “Hurry and – “

I could…feel its presence. It had a tiny amount of intelligence to it. Its existence was strange, almost like a spiritual robot if I had to describe it. I reached out, my divinity filled my words as I looked at it. “Stop.” I commanded.

It came to a screeching halt, stopping a few meters from me.

And I could faintly understand that it was waiting for orders. “Continue your duties once we leave.” I told it.

“……what.” The Cat stared wide-eyed.

“Well, that helps.” Wilhelm chuckled. “Come one, we still have plenty of time before the rest of this place tries to make us into a snack.”

“Oh, I think I see the exit up ahead!” The adorable girl declared, making us all look towards where she was pointing.

“……I don’t even know anymore. Just….let’s hurry up.” The cat sighed in resignation. “Everyone through the opening!”

I was just following Wilhelm and he didn’t speak against it. And I admit to having quite a lot of fun on this whole thing, so I happily jumped through with everyone else.

Except, I didn’t quite expect to suddenly fall down from the sky as soon as light hit my face. But I felt hands wrap me up and before I realized it, Wilhelm was carrying me in his arms.

I felt my heart beat quicken again at the seemingly inane action. I didn’t dare look up at him like this, I did not know how I would appear before I had a moment to catch myself.

I felt the shockwave of us hitting the ground through his arms as everyone seemed to land safely. The others were on a floating golden shield that the young girl made.

“….you can let me down now.” I managed to utter even if….a small part of me wished to continue.

“…..sorry for just….moving on my own.” He cleared his throat and neither of us looked at each other in the eyes.

“It’s quite alright.” I reassured him.

I steadied myself, and changed my mindset. I was about to explore an entirely different afterlife in a new world.

I took my first step onto the ground, and the world quaked.

@***@

Another chunky chapter for you all. Also, happy mothers day to everyone! Treat your momma's well this weekend!

So we have Urahara having a mini existential crisis. Then we have Yoruichi having a 'wtf' moment as Izzy fleches her Authority on things spiritual. And then she takes her first step into Soul Society, i'm sure nothing bad happened.