Welcome to Gaia! ::

It didn't take Ikkimaru long to hone in on the reiatsu belonging to the Quincy at the hospital. He didn't know that it would be a hospital, but figured out what it was the moment he stepped inside. He looked around, still unfamiliar with modern medicine and the way things worked for the humans. He drifted about, catching the attention of several orderlies and a very angry looking nurse. She immediately approached him and began asking him questions. He had no interest in answering her... She grabbed him by the shirt and began to pull at it, but even in his gigai he was far to strong for her to ever be able to make him budge. She called for security, but before any of them could get there Dr. Ryuken Ishida appeared beside Ikkimaru. "And just who might you be?" The white haired doctor asked.

Ikkimaru turned his head and smiled at the Doctor. "I have come to see you, Dr... Ishida. May I have a word with you in private? Don't mind if some of my friends join us." Ryuken knew a gigai when he saw one. "Follow me."

Geez, this place is a dump. I'd take the 4th Squad HQ over this any day of the week. Nagaharu thought to himself as he followed Ikkimaru through the halls, giving a small grin to a rather attractive nurse just before they were stopped by one who a bit less comely, but far more angry at their presence here. Something about the hospital being for patients and doctors only, but he wasn't really paying attention, not even when Ikkimaru's quarry seemed to find them. Haru attention seemed to be on something else, or rather someone.

The reiatsu exuding from across the street from the hospital was dulled and concealed, something Haru wouldn't have thought twice about if he didn't know it already, but the fact that he did managed to catch his attention. It was the same as that Vaizard from before. Stepping over towards a window, he slid the blinds to the side and looked out in search of him, but he must have concealed himself somehow. "Give it up, kiddo. You're out of your league." he muttered, dropping the blinds as he noticed the group moving off and following behind.

Mugoi entered the hospital and checked out some of the finer nurses walking around. It had been a while since he had gotten some "tail" and even the humans seemed worth a try. However, his sense of duty was stronger than those urges and he quickly followed behind his Captain. Once they were in private with Ryuken he was able to relax a bit. "So, Ikkimaru, why are we here anyway? This doesn't seem like a good place to keep tabs on. Just a bunch of sick people..." As he finished his statement he realized that Ryuken was, indeed, a quincy, and a powerful one at that. "Oh, wait, I get it." He corrected himself as he read Ryuken's reiatsu.

Ryuken lead the group to his office and closed the door behind them. The look on his face was one of malcontent at the least. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from several shinigami? Haven't you heard that I have a hospital to run?"

Ikkimaru stepped inside and stood directly in front of Ryuken, locking eye with his. "Forgive the sudden intrusion. I was simply interested in what the Quincy were up to these days. You know, you look just like the leader of the resistance movement from when our kind decimated yours. Such a terrible and pointless war that was."

"Hmm..." Ryuken thought as Ikkimaru spoke. "You're a lot older than most shinigami, aren't you? My ancestor indeed lead that little resistance. He was such a fool. I don't know why he didn't just comply with the shinigami and lay down arms the way I have."

"Lay down arms?" Ikkimaru asked. "I knew the man. To stop fighting hollows meant death for those people, and to keep fighting hollows also meant death thanks to the Central 46. Damn good thing they aren't around anymore."

Ryuken looked at Ikkimaru with a questioning glare, "Just who are you anyway? Talking so ill of the judges of your kind is very uncommon among the dogs of Seireitei."

"Ha! Even now they have a bad reputation among those that know them but are not a part of them." Ikkimaru laughed at the idea that things still hadn't changed much. "Excuse my rudeness. I am Ikkimaru Shurajou, Captain of the once glorious 14th Squad. Even though my unit was designed to end conflicts quickly I refused to take part in the war between the Quincy and the Shinigami. I felt that a different solution could have been found if we had only remained a bit more open minded and willing to dispatch more of our elite to help keep hollow levels down near the Quincy village. In all honesty I had several friends that were Quincy, all of them were killed in that war. It's part of the reason that my squad and I were bannished from the Gotei 14." The one-eyed captain looked to Haru, Doki, and Mugoi, his proud squad. He hoped that Ryuken would get the picture of who they all were with this gesture.

"I see..." Ryuken replied. He stepped over to examine the other three shinigami. "Now that you are here I seem to recall Kurosaki mentioning a group of rebel shinigami that were forbidden to even speak of. You must be them, no?" As he spoke he was staring directly into Haru's eyes. There was something failiar about him, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I was just wondering why you aren't seeing one of our surgeons about your atrocious face. You should really get that checked out immediately." Ryuken replied coldly. He still couldn't tell where he knew Nagaharu from, but he wasn't about to dwell on it. Meanwhile Ikkimaru gave a small chuckle at Ryuken's comment and said, "Easy Nagaharu," before turning his attention back to the Quincy.

"Kurosaki, you mean that kid, Ichigo?" Asked the Captain.

"No, not that twit. His father, Isshin Kurosaki. He too was a Captain many years ago, but now he's here in the living realm, away from all of the other shinigami."

"Another Captain thrown from the Courts of Seireitei? Who could that be?" Ikkimaru thought as his memory began to blossom. Then the name Isshin rang through his head like a gong and it was suddenly all clear. A large grin grew across his face and he glanced back to Haru. "Did you hear that? Isshin... You don't think...?" He paused to let Haru make the connection.

Before more could be discussed Ryuken decided to cut to the chase. "So you have to tell me, why are you all here? You didn't just pop in to say hi, did you?"

Ikkimaru looked back and shook his head. "No. I came here because I was wondering who the strongest Quincy of these times was. I was always an ally to the Quincy and was curious to see if you would be interested in joining my little group here. We're planning to overthrow the current regime in Seireitei to make Soul Society a better place. What do you say?"

"Mmm..." Ryuken grunted slightly, "I had a feeling you'd show up here, Kazuma. Ikkimaru, meet Kazuma Kiriu, my somewhat recently acquired apprentice. He... unlike some one else, has potential for great things."

Ikkimaru almost completely ignored the young quincy and continued his question, "You still haven't answered me, would you like to join us?" It wasn't that Ikkimaru wanted to be rude toward Kazuma, it was just that he wanted to get to the point.

"Now why would I do that?" Ryuken replied. "Fighting Soul Society isn't only a death wish but it seems rather pointless to me. It won't make me any money and then there's the threat to this town that is coming. I'm sure you've heard of Aizen's war, haven't you?" Ikkimaru nodded. "Soul Society is the best line of defense we have for all the people in Karakura town. If you thin out their numbers it would vastly lower our chances of survival."

"Apparantly Isshin hasn't told you enough about us," Ikkimaru replied. "My squad is made up of entirely Captain Class shinigami, there are six of us and if we are successful only a hand full of fighters worthy of mentioning will be killed in our war. If our plans go through then there will still be a force to meet Aizen and I bet that it would actually be better than the one getting ready for him now. If you help us then it will only become an easier task to fulfill quickly and thus more time to prepare for him."

"There's still the issue of money." Ryuken added. His greed began to show here and he was not ashamed of it at all.

"Let me put it this way," Ikkimaru began, "I can't do a damn thing about money for you in this world, but when you have died and passed on to Soul Society I can make you rich for the entirety of your afterlife. Remember that whatever you do in this world financially will become nothing once the soul burial has commenced."

"I have never been one to fight. Why should I change my ways now?" Ryuken asked.

"Why haven't you fought? The answer is likely because you couldn't get paid to do it for one, and two, fighting hollows with Quincy powers is illegal in the eyes of Seireitei and you know that. But now you can fight and profit without any real reprocussion in the end. You and your apprentice would be able to test your abilities against Seireitei's best for a good cause that will in the end be beneficial to every soul in both the Living Realm and Soul Society." Ikkimaru explained.

"I see your point." Ryuken admitted, "I've normally cared more for the living than anything, but the way you put it I feel that I am doing the living a favor. I can't follow you entirely, though. I have a hospital to run. Take Kazuma with you. He will be a nice addition to your team. I'll fight when I'm needed, but he'll be there the whole time. That's the best offer I can make for you."

Ikkimaru's expression lightened up at Ryuken's words. They got not only one, but two Quincy allies. This would be an excellent addition. "You hear that guys? Not only is our squad made up of Shinigami and an Arrancar, but also two Quincies now. What do you think?"

"If nothing else, we could always use them for cannon fodder." Nagaharu replied, sharing Mugoi's opinion that this was a waste of time. Hell, their numbers had been fractioned from what they were when they were first exiled and they'd still be able to handle whatever Soul Society threw at them.

"Don't go thinking you're all high and mighty just because you think you have authority over us, Shinigami. We Quincy can be a lot tougher than you give us credit for." Kazuma said, folding his arms defiantly over his chest.

"Yes, I'm sure you can do just fine against the puny Hollows that appear in the Real World, but the Shinigami of Seireitei are on a bit higher level than the rabble strutting about around here. Of course, they'd be of little concern to us, but I'm afraid they'd be a bit out of your league, kiddo." Haru replied, taking a few steps towards Kazuma, sizing him up while his signature grin spread across his face.

"Maybe you'd like to step outside and see for yourself just what league I'm in." Kazuma said, taking a few steps forward in turn until the two were face to face, each locked on one another's gaze, refusing to be the first to look away. If one didn't know any better, they'd probably have seen a spark ignite in the space between them.

After a tense moment, Nagaharu chuckled a bit and said, "You say this boy is your protege, Ishida? He's prideful, brash, has no idea how to talk to his superiors and is completely ready to charge into a fight he can't possibly win. I like him, he reminds me a lot of myself."

Turning his back on the young Quincy, Haru returned to his previous spot and said, "Alright, you can tag along. What's our next stop, taicho?"