Six Gun Quota: Second Reunion of the Kurosaki

New Allies
Although everyone was awake, the base was quiet. Their number had dropped by two. One captured and killed, one killed in battle. Azami was still hanging around Taiki, more often now since Holgazan was dead.

"Tai, why haven't you had any missions for us?" She asked curiously.

It was at that time the white-haired male was lost in thought, sitting in a comfortable position in his favorite chair. His eyes had been closed, and it appeared as if he was simply asleep in the main room. However, in reality he was thinking long and hard about something, and that something happened to be his relatives.

Yet, his answer was totally different from such thoughts. "I'll answer that if you can answer me this, Azami - do you know just how exactly a Garganta works?"

"I'm a Shinigami, Tai." Azami replied. "How would I know?"

"Because..." Slowly, Taiki moved his head towards the girl, his eyes studying her intently. He held a neutral expression on his face, showing no annoyance, no cheerfulness. Whatever emotions he had at the moment were hidden. "You've hung around Holgazán for the longest out of all of the Jinchuu. You've picked up some understanding on how he himself uses the Garganta to move to and fro from this base."

"Well I may have learned something here and there." Azami said evasively. "Why?"

"Because...I have something to show you..."

It was seconds afterwards, that the sound of static flashed in their eardrums twice. On the opposite side of Azami, the seductive figure of Lujuria had appeared, hand on her hip, and a smile clear on her face. "Or, maybe I don't need to..." Taiki noted, turning his gaze towards her. "How is it?"

Lujuria nodded slightly. "The portal's almost ready. Care to follow me...?"

"With pleasure."

Without pausing to make sure her commander was behind her since she knew already, Lujuria turned and walked out of sight behind another doorway. After getting up, Taiki raised one hand in a "come on" gesture towards Azami before he turned around and followed.

Azami had a curious expression on her face as she got up and followed her leader. But her true feeling was apprehension. What did Taiki want to show her?

It wasn't a very long walk.

Within minutes, the Arrancar had led them to an open area which looked like the outside. What would've taken anyone by amazement was the fact that everything was a dusty orange - the ground, the sky, and even fragments of the clouds were bathed in the afternoon sun color. A constant wind was blowing, but not enough to hinder their motor movements.

However, there was one thing that was out of place - a massive swirling portal that was right in front of their eyes. The other side appeared to be another city-like civilization similar to the Soul Society, only it appeared to be more modern and mechanized.

"What's that place, Tai?" Midoriko asked, looking closely at the portal.

"For now, I'll only say that it's one that we will get new allies." Taiki explained, sliding his hands into his pockets and eyeing the civilization below them. "Ones that have much more effective fighting methods than the Shinigami and Arrancar here."

"Sounds interesting." Azami said with a smile. "But why'd you need to know about a Garganta?"

"Just wondering..."

"Alright." Azami said as she walked over to Taiki and put her arms around his neck again. "And why did I need to know about this place?"

A skeptical frown and the raise of an eyebrow was seen on Taiki's face as he felt the embrace of his subordinate. "Because they will be coming here pretty soon, after this visit." Discreetly, he nodded over to Lujuria again. "But first..."

Suddenly, he leaped!

Hundreds of feet into the air, he along with his companion were descending downwards towards the city without a care in the world. "We're going to be visiting!"

Azami's eyes widened. "What the hell???"

"Leader."

In the capital building of the mechanical city, a small conversation was taking place. At the very top of it was an office-like room, the size comparable to that of a mansion chamber. In it were several bodyguards, one of them having addressed the authorative standing dead-center between them... or rather, some sort of pillar that served as communication between the leader and his bodyguards.

"What is it? I am very busy right now!"

Undeterred, the bodyguard who spoke up continued his speech. "Around the city a fair distance away, we have been getting immediate disturbances in the atmosphere. Foreign spiritual energy is traveling through it at an alarming rate."

The leader's voice was silent for a moment, but only for a moment. "Again? That's the fourth time...." An aggravated sigh was heard in response. "Go have some of your men check it out, and be quick about it. I'm getting quite tired of these constant--"

At that moment, the doors to the room swung open, interrupting whatever conversation they were having at the moment. The leader guard's eyes widened, and he spun around to face the figures stepping through here.

"Wha--"

It was Taiki, Azami, and Lujuria, Taiki having a cheerful smile on his face.

Azami was still clutching onto Taiki like her life depended on it. She felt slightly sick. "Wh..where the hell are we?" She groaned.

As the guards readied their weapons out of alarm, the leader's voice spoke out of fury. "Who in the hell are you three?! Scum like you do not belong in my chambers!!"

As if they were no threat, Taiki stepped forward, though careful not to jog his passenger too much. Then, after gripping the hilt of his Zanpakuto and drawing it, he held it so that the blade was pointing horizontally for good viewing pleasure. "A mere man who wishes to ask something of you, oh great manager of this city." He replied coolly.

Azami was looking on with wide eyes. What was he planning to do exactly?

"And what makes you think I would give in to such demands?!" The voice demanded.

"Maybe if you saw what was outside of this society of yours, you'd see a much bigger expansion waiting within your reach." Taiki explained. "I can't help but wonder if you tire of having such a small and measly city to control, not enough power..." To Azami, he discreetly whispered, "For your safety, it is best to either take cover, or follow my lead. Either way, you'll have to get off of me."

"Awww..." Azami hopped off his back. "I'll stand next to Lujuria. I'll help you if you need it." She replied and walked off to stand next to the other woman.

"Insolent punk... how dare you barge in here and insult me and this civilization?! Guards, kill him! Slaughter all three!!--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Taiki had already made the first move. With his free hand, he had yanked out a small device and threw it onto the floor, even as some began to charge at all three. But once it hit the ground...

BANG!

Everything went dark for a second, but the only ones who could see were the three intruders. Taiki only whispered one thing:

"Smoke 'em."

''SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!''

When vision came once again, the majority of those guards were now lying in pieces on the floor. Both Taiki's and Lujuria's swords were now caked in blood, and yet neither of them had seemed to move at all from their positions. The leader himself was shocked, the rest of the guards too stunned to follow their comrades' lead.

"Wha....what?! How?!"

Azami was staring with wide-eyes. Tai and Lujuria were stronger than she had thought that was for sure. And she hadn't even done anything to help out Taiki. But then she didn't need too. He was doing just fine on his own.

"Just as I have the power to kill your elite guards...." Taiki said softly, swinging the blade to sling the blood off before sheathing it again. "I have the power to bring this entire station to its knees. Now... how about we work out a deal...?"

Half an hour later, those three were walking calmly out of the building and back towards the portal. Through some negotiation (and a little bit of threatening), Taiki had managed to pursuade "the Voice" as he preferred to put it in order for a "treaty" between the Jinchuu and the government. Now with the matter of official allies settled, he was now a step closer to achieving his true goal.

"I think that went pretty well..." He said in a mirthful manner, all three having stepped through the portal and back to their base. "Don't you think?"

Azami looked disappointed. "I didn't manage to help at all.." She muttered looking at the ground.

"That was our fault." Lujuria's hand pressed itself onto her head in an affectionate manner. "We didn't let you in on the idea, so you didn't know what to do. Sorry about that..." The Arrancar apologized, putting on a small smile to emphasize.

Azami smiled back. "I just wasn't paying close enough attention." She replied, brushing off Lujuria's self blame. "I just have to pay better attention next time."

"Glad to hear that..." Taiki added, putting on a small smile of his own. His feet, however, were directing him away from the two women and in an opposite direction. "I'll be away for a little while. Lujuria, could you watch Azami for me?"

"Certainly..."

"I'm not a child, Tai, I don't need to be watched." Azami replied huffily.

"Funny." Taiki teased. "'Cause you remind me of my daughters, the way you act." With that, he turned the corner and disappeared.

Azami sighed. "I'll get him for that.." She murmured.

Midoriko was running through the forests of the Soul Society. She had nothing to do, so she decided she might as well go look for Lujuria. Maybe she could find her around here.

A fair distance away, Taiki had already positioned himself as usual on a sturdy tree branch, not too high above the ground, but still high enough for an over watch. In his arms, he was holding what looked like some sort of instrument... but what kind? It was about to be found out...

He sat himself down comfortably, leaned against the tree trunk, and put the instrument horizontally in front of him. One hand gripped one end, while an arm hung over the other.

Midoriko yawned as she ducked a branch. "Why does she make herself so hard to find?" She muttered, nearing the area where Taiki was and not even noticing.

He began to play.

It was soon known that the instrument he was playing was an acoustic guitar. It was as if he had become a fish into water - every note was played with accuracy and beauty to the ears, and his fingers moved so quickly. It was apparent that he had been practicing, at least out of his relatives' watchful eyes.

Midoriko's ears caught the music and she closed her eyes for a moment. It was indeed beautiful music, but she had never known anyone to play so she could not truly judge. Who was playing it?

Taiki's own voice began to sound along with the guitar playing, in perfect harmony.

"The light was leaving, in the west it was blue,

The children's laughter sang, and skipping just like the stones they threw,

"The voices echoed across the way..."

"It's getting late..."

Midoriko's eyes widened. She barely recognized the voice, but knew instantly who it was. Her brother was here. She saw the outline of a person and kep moving, his long white hair coming into view first.

"It was just another night, with the sun set and the..."

"...moon rise not so far behind, to give us just enough light..."

"To lay down underneath the stars, listen to Papa's translations..."

"Of the, stories across the sky, we drew our own constellations..."

With that, a small guitar solo played itself out, courtesy of Taiki's fret fingers.

"Well, my dear brother, I didn't know you could sing like that." Midoriko said from behind him.

He could feel her presence on the branch just behind his, separated by the thick tree trunk. He could probably guess what position she was in: leaning against the bark in a "cool kid" position, arms folded across her chest. He chuckled to himself - she always did try to play the tough girl...

"Constellations by artist Jack Johnson." He replied, smiling as he rested the guitar on his lap. "He's quite the acoustic player..."

Midoriko smiled, a genuine smile, which should have shocked Taiki. "I always thought only Mother and I could sing."

Taiki scoffed lightly. "You women aren't the only ones who can carry a tune." He said boastfully.

"Never pegged you for a singer." Midoriko replied mockingly. "So why aren't you with your posse?"

"My 'posse' is where they should be, no where else." The man stated cryptically, the smile fading, and his eyes half-lidding. "I came here for some peace and quiet... though, I suppose with you here now, that's not going to happen."

Midoriko put on an expression of mock hurt. "Not happy to see your little sister?" She asked.

"Well, I can't say it's a pleasant surprise." Slowly, Taiki lifted himself up to stand on the tree branch, leaning his hand against the tree bark. The neck of the guitar was held in his other hand. "Not much of a surprise, or truthfully very pleasant."

"Jerk." She muttered sitting cross legged. "I'll remember you weren't happy to see me come your birthday."

"Like my birthday matters now. I have things much more important to worry about."

"Like what?" She asked laughing. "Getting your name added as the new definition to "evil"?"

"Oh, how clever." The man said in a monotone and dry voice. His arms folded themselves across his chest. "Was that supposed to be sarcastic?"

"Smart of you to notice." She replied, smiling dryly

"....I know you didn't expect to find me." It was a hopeful change of subject, in order to get straight to the point. "Were you looking for my subordinate Lujuria?"

"What makes you ask?" Midoriko replied icily.

Now her tone was re-gaining the hostility he recognized from so long ago. A small smile of amusement came across Taiki's expression. "It was a question out of curiosity... but with that tone of yours, I can't help but wonder if you've actually taken a liking to her..."

Midoriko's face turned red and they clashed magnificently with her eyes, which repeated the same phenomenon. "It's none of your business."

"When my subordinates are involved..." His head looked over his shoulder, although he could only see part of her due to the bark blocking the way. His eyes were rather serene, and a neutral curve was made of his mouth. "I do believe it is of my business. You see, such a pathetic infatuation would not phase Lujuria any. She is the symbolization of Lust, made to tempt and decieve. What you're allowing yourself to be is a mere puppet along her finger."

Midoriko brushed this comment off, and her eyes glowed deep crimson. "Can you do your little sister a favor?" She asked in a voice as sweet as she could make it.