Heavenly Sky Palace

Cuisine Hall
With a flash, the group consisting of Raian Getsueikirite, Mashū Getsueikirite, Echo, Hikaru Kurosaki, and Kirio Hikifune landed on the edge of one of the five giant disks surrounding the Greater Palace; the Tenkyūden. Moments later, the ground shook momentarily as something struck the ground nearby, kicking up a big cloud of dust. From the rubble, Seireitou Kawahiru comically poked his head out, looking rather annoyed and dazed.

"Where the hell is this?" he asked between sneezing the dust out of his nose.

"Tenkyūden." Kirio replied. "The Heavenly Sky Palace. Its the city Raian-chan is charged with guarding as a member of the Royal Guard."

"Looks quaint." Seireitou spat, continuing to dust off all of the dirt off of his uniform.

The group followed Kirio through the streets of the city, remaining fairly quiet as they walked. They seemed resolved to just enjoy the sights of the world around them, rather than continue speaking, which would likely degrade into bickering among the former rivals. This didn't last for long, however. Getting a quizzical look on his face, Hikaru trotted up beside Seireitou and leaned in to speak with him.

"So, Sei," he began. "Why do you suppose the King wanted Raian to join the guard?"

Seireitou's face remained serious, and he didn't bother to look Hikaru's direction, merely replying as he walked, "Only the King knows that. But... if I had to guess, there was an opening in the Guard and Raian was just best suited to fill it."

"But you're stronger than Raian-san," Hikaru continued. "Why not you, or Unohana-san?"

Seireitou sighed and finally faced Hikaru, his look still dire, "Only those who have made historic contributions to Soul Society get admitted to the Guard. Sure, I came up with a style of Hakuda, but Hakuda itself is ageless as a Shinigami combat style. In the old days, Zanjutsu combat was primitive. Raian is the man who revolutionized that."

"Huh?" Hikaru chimed. "I'm older than both of you and even I don't remember that."

Seireitou chuckled, "You were never one to pay much attention, Hikaru-san. Sometimes I wonder why you became the Yonkō of Zanjutsu. After all.... Raian was the man who invented Kendō. You would know it as the Art of Killing."

At this, Hikaru's eyes bulged, "I-Invented Kendō?!"

"We're heeeeeere~!" Hikifune sang, cutting Hikaru's line of questioning off. "Welcome to the Ryōridō!"

Directly behind her was an elaborate building, far taller than any of the other buildings around them, and much more intricate in design. It looked to be made out of some sort of marble. It was certainly a pleasing sight to the eye for the group assembled. Hikifune trotted up the steps in front of the building before turning to face them.

"Come inside and find a place to sit!" she chimed. "I'll feed you all once inside."

Several minutes later, the group found themselves sitting at a large and elaborate banquet table, filled with food and drinks of all assortments. As the group dug into the immense feast set before them, a penguin-like Mod-Soul made its way to and from the kitchen, delivering more plates to the table. Comically wary, Seireitou glanced up at the mod-soul and then leaned over to Raian;

"Oi, who's the penguin over there?" Seireitou whispered.

Raian looked up bemused, "That's Elizabeth. He's a mod-soul Hikifune-chan invented years ago for my uses. Guess he stayed here after I left the Guard the last time." he explained.

"That's right!!!" Hikifune squealed, suddenly popping up behind the two, causing them to spit out the food they were chewing.

"What the hell, Hikifune-chan?!" Raian shouted.

"Well, I heard you talking about Elizabeth-chan and I had to butt in." Hikifune replied, cheerfully. "He became my head chef after you left!"

"Something tells me our stay here is going to be quite entertaining." Echo chuckled from behind his plate.