The City of Shinigami

[Talon]

Shive and Solranous awoke in the middle of a town street, for it was paved with stone tiles. The street was within a circle-shaped city made of gleaming white marble and shining platinum, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue, and yet the temperature was perfect. Shive stood up shakily as he glanced around in open-mouthed awe.

"This... is Soul Society?" He asked.

"Well yeah! What did you expect anything less from Heaven?" Their Shinigami guide asked them, smirking.

Shive shrugged.

"Well, I didn't know... whenever I died, I got sent to Arux di Itmen... cause of the whole draconic thing..."

The Shinigami nodded, then stated,

"Well this is the section of Heaven where most good humanoid souls go when they die. You don't have to be a humanoid to be here, but it's where most of them prefer to go..."

Shive nodded dimly, still shocked.

"Now, as for me, I have to go report to Hitsugaya. You two can just wander around the city and enjoy the sights; my captain should be able to find you on his own." She stated.

"See ya!" She shouted before bounding off.

Shive sighed, then glanced at himself. His armor had been replaced by the Shinigami vestment, and it took him a few moments to process that.

"Oh... yeah." He muttered.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

Solranous didn't bother questioning the beauty of this place.

"I'm sure Kisara would like to see this place, preferably before she died." Solranous noted, just closing his eyes. His telepathic senses could take in details much more efficiently then his other senses, and he could explore without moving a muscle.

"I'm kind of hoping Hitsugaya takes his time, I adore the majesty of this place." He also noticed that, true to the other Shinigami's word, he was feeling better, almost as if he hadn't used his finisher on the demon. Dropping thoughts on Armageddon, Solranous returned to admiring the sights, waiting for Hitsugaya to arrive, though he also had a bead on the captain's location, so he wouldn't be surprised when he arrived.

[Talon]

"Well, the place is good, but it's got nothing on where I went when I died..." He muttered, though he knew that was a blatant lie.

He glanced around, noting other Shinigami at this point. They were all strolling about causally, though there were few of them. Shive turned behind him to see where they were, and noticed it was a large building with pillars holding up it's roof, much like a temple or a bank. A large fountain stood in the front, gurgling out crystal-clear water. Two Shinigami guards stood before the pillar-ed building, before a large double-door.

Shive glanced around again, and a couple of young-looking Shinigami with green strips of cloth wrapped around their left arms looking at the two strangely before realizing what they were doing and ran off. Shive folded his arms and smirked, staring at the area.

Now I know why I was sent to Arux di Itmen... He thought.

He sighed and stared at the nearby buildings, then his eyes widened.

While we're here... I could... He thought, eyes watering over.

Meanwhile, a figure watched from the shadows, a large, sharp-toothed grin forming on his face.

Those two have high reiatsu... they might be fun to fight... The large being thought.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"Personal opinion, but I can't argue with you, considering I've never been to Arux di Itmen before. Who knows... I'm just wondering when Hitsugaya will get here, not that I mind waiting that is." Solranous replied shrugging...

He just couldn't shake the sudden feeling that they were being watched...

[Talon]

The figure was about to step forward when a voice down the street growled,

"For the last time Rangiku! They're both taken! Geez!"

"Oh c'mon! It's not like I can't at least... look..."

"You're a perv. You know that? You're the most perverted woman I know! They're not even human!"

"But, they are humanoid right? A little variation never hurt!"

"What the f*ck is wrong with you?!"

"Oh fine. I won't stare. As long as... we can bring them out with us for saki when we're done."

"NO. Not the way you act when you're drunk. my ass still hurts from the last time you pinched it! That mentally scars someone for a while, ya know! Especially when-"

"When it's someone as young as you?"

"Shut up! Oh hey, there they are."

Down the street, two figures appeared, walking towards Shive and Solranous's position. One of them was clearly Hitsugaya, who had his arms crossed and was glaring off to the side. The other was a red-headed woman with long hair, and... *ahem* a 'unique' shape. She was smirking at him as Hitsugaya stopped before the two, bowing.

"Welcome to Soul Society. I trust you're enjoying your stay so far?"

"Aren't you gonna introduce me?" The woman asked, smirking again.

Hitsugaya's eyes clamped shut in visible frustration, then straightened himself and sighed.

"And this is Rangiku Matsumoto, my lieutenant. Rangiku, the green one is Solranous, and the brown one is..."

He paused.

"Um, Shive." Shive he stated, holding up a finger before dropping his arm again.

"-Shive, the Vizard." Hitsugaya finished.

Rangiku stepped closer to the two, bringing her hand to her chin and tapping her finger on her lips as she inspected them up and down, then stepped back and smiled, replying,

"It's a pleasure to meet you two."

Hitsugaya muttered something to the side, and Rangiku rested her elbow on his head.

"What was that Whitey-chan?"

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME THAT?!" Hitsugaya exploded.

"Oh, lighten up. You wouldn't want to make a bad impression on our fine-looking friends, would you?" She asked, smirking again.

Hitsugaya grumbled, crossing his arms again.

(( www.bleachanime.org/wallpapers/albums/hitsugaya-toushirou-wallpapers/hitsugaya001.jpg

i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb269/laharl777/Rangiku%20Matsumoto/chara_rangiku01.gif ))

[Azure_Ghidorah]

Solranous shook his head.

"I may not have been in this position before, but I feel for ya, Hitsugaya, having to deal with her as your lieutenant. She must really get on your nerves when she calls you... that..." he said to the young captain through telepathy, keeping it from the red-headed pervert, and making sure he didn't say the little 'nickname' she gave him.

"Yes, I myself am enjoying this stay, though I can't say for my psychotic friend here. And Rangiku-" the dragon paused, leaning forward enough to glare at her, "-If you make any, and I mean any attempt to satisfy your perverted desires on me, you'll be dragging yourself back home with everything below your waist removed. As Captain Hitsugaya already said, we're taken, and that's final. Aside from that, we may be on good terms. And that's a major 'if.'" Pulling back, the dragon huffed.

"Forgive me if I was a bit too gruff, but I feel the need to get my point across as clearly as possible." he continued, seemingly an attempt to apologize if he offended anyone.

"Now, Captain Hitsugaya, whenever you are ready, shall we go to this meeting that should be going on soon, assuming it is a meeting?" Solranous asked, turning his gaze to the younger Shinigami, truly respecting him for his position, having tasted first-hand his true power.

[Talon]

"I completely understand." Rangiku stated, huffing a bit.

Hitsugaya broke out into a broken grin, and Rangiku cocked her eyebrow at him.

Thanks. That's one of the few times someone has gotten her to shut up. He thought to the dragon.

He snapped back to attention, face back to it's natural stony expression.

"Close. For you-" He stated, glancing at Solranous.

"You just have a small bit of paperwork. As for your friend-" He turned to Shive.

"He has to go to a 'meeting' of sorts."

Shive scratched his head and asked,

"Um... ealier you called me a 'Vizard'. What does that mean?"

Hitsugaya seemed shocked for a moment, then cooly (no pun intended XP) replied,

"A Vizard is a Shinigami who has gained a Hollow side and has beaten it. This gives them limited access to their Hollow side's power, giving them a boost over that of a normal Hollow or Shinigami. And you've released your Bankai, right? Then you, my friend, have the potential to rise above the class of Vasto Lorde or a Captain..."

Shive's eyes widened and his blood ran cold. He stared at his hand in amazement, and thought,

That much? I... I didn't think...

He shrugged.

"Okay, I suppose we should take you to your respective areas." Hitsugaya stated lazily.

The two blinked, and Shive was gone; Solranous was now in what appeared to be a Japanese room, but it had a desk with a thick stack of papers. There was only one door, and one window. Hitsugaya gestured to the desk and stated,

"Fill that out, then go down the hall and drop it off at my desk. I have papers I need to work on too."

He spun around and walked out of the sliding door.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"I never was one for paperwork, oh well, the sooner I start the faster I'll get done." the dragon mused to himself taking a seat and starting on the paperwork. It was kind of pointless for him to sit down, he could have read and worked on the papers from where he was standing, but staying upright for too long while using telekinesis did tend to make him fall over. In reality, the dragon didn't even lift a finger to do the paperwork, letting his telekinesis take care of that, and with it he was able to read the next page while working on the previous page, and so on and so forth.

With in about half an hour, mostly because he was working slowly to make sure he caught every little detail, the dragon stepped out of the room, taking care to avoid anybody passing by. He traced Hitsugaya's steps to find the captain's room. The dragon waited a few seconds, before knocking on the door to alert Hitsugaya that some one was here. After all, how many times a day does a dragon come walking in through someone else's door? Either way, after knocking, Solranous opened the door and stepped in, setting the papers down on a clear area of Hitsugaya's desk.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting too long, though I have considered the offer you gave me when we first met." Solranous smirked, and finished, "If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to join your squad, it's always good to get an extra helping hand here and there, right? Not to mention I can do a lot more."

[Talon]

Hitsugaya smirked.

"Well, that's good to know, considering you just signed the paperwork to let you do that." He stated smugly.

Hitsugaya stood up and grabbed Solranous by the scruff of his Shinigami uniform's collar, then pointed a finger at the inside chest pocket. A kanji suddenly appeared on it, and Hitsugaya let go, smirking.

"You're now a honorary member of the 10th squad, of the 13 Gotei of Soul Society. Congratulations. You're 4th chair in this squad."

Hitsugaya picked up his paperwork, which seemed to be a stack as large as his torso, and walked briskly past Solranous.

"If you want to find you friend, he's outside, asleep. And no, it's not nighttime. He's just..." Hitsugaya paused.

He didn't know what the Vizard's initiations were like... but he knew they were tough, considering what he heard from Ichigo.

"He's tired. His Vizard initiation wiped him out. But he said something about wanting to go somewhere before leaving for Earth again."

He leaned back in the doorway, his papers delivered.

"And if you're wondering how to do that, just shove your Zanpoktou's tip into the ground and will yourself back to Earth. Simple."

He then dissapeared from view as Solranous found himself outside, Shive lying on the ground, asleep, his robes tattered, torn, and burnt.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"...Shive..." Solranous didn't bother trying to wake the dragonkin up physically.

"Shive, get up already." Solranous growled into the dragonkin's mind, hoping it would wake him up.

He had a feeling it wouldn't though...

[Talon]

Shive groaned and smacked his jaws together, eyes fluttering open.

"Urgh.... I'm hurting right now... oh, hey Solranous. You ready to go?" He muttered.

A puddle of dried blood was on the ground beneath him, and he scratched his head, standing up. He had a massive gash in his back, the Shinigami robes clinging to it as well as large amounts of dried (and partially dried) blood. He glanced around, and Hitsugaya's head popped out of the window above them.

"I figured you didn't realize I was lying earlier, so here: Take this!" He shouted.

He threw a small stone cube to Solranous and shouted,

"A Matter-Alteration Gate. It'll allow you and three others to come to Soul Society, even if those with you aren't Shinigami."

He glanced at Shive's blood puddle and cringed, before retuning his head back indoors. Shive's eyes seemed glazed, and he was a bit wobbly, but other than that, he was fine.

"Are we going or what?"

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"Yeah, see you there!" Solranous said, before he paused.

"You do know how to get back home from here, right? Well, if you don't..." Solranous closed his eyes, even as he caught the cube, and imputted the way to exit Soul Society into Shive's memory, "... You do now. I say we throw a party for our victory over the Aparoids and 'you-know-who.'" The dragon then held his Zanpoktou, blade down, and igniting it, putting the tip a few centimeters into the ground, before he dissappeared. With stuff that he needed to 'will' himself to do, it was pretty easy to accomplish. He mostly did that because he had a feeling it wouldn't work like Flash Step in a sense that it wouldn't effect anybody who was in physical contact with him.

[Talon]

Shive sighed as he glanced off to the West. His eyes watered over, and he brushed at them, muttering,

"Some other time, dad... sorry."

He whipped Hakaisha around and stabbed her into the ground, almost 'disintergrating' as he re-entered the Material Plane.

((End thread))