A/N: Mores stones = more chapters! Deal?
***
Upon Shirou's request, which was filled with sincerity and desperation, Kuukaku explained to him how the canon worked. Based on what she said, they would be launched from here to breach a barrier that surrounded Seireitei, called Sekkiseki Barrier.
It was an impenetrable wall that could block both spiritual energy and physical interference from the outside, covering Seireitei in a sphere shaped shield.
To break through the shield, Kuukaku had a solution, Reishūkaku, a special cannonball made from special material.
It would be a tool to break through the Sekkiseki barrier, as the cannonball would form a barrier strong enough to withstand the Soul Shield Membrane covering Seireitei when infused with reiryoku.
Because of how sensitive the barrier was, a shift in concentration would cause something to happen.
Boom!
Just like now.
Shirou watched Ichigo's training to control his reiryoku with a worried look. While he could control it pretty well compared to the past, his concentration was the source of the problem.
"You suck at this, Ichigo." Yoruichi grinned. Her cat face was smug. She was enjoying his failure way too much. "Your reiatsu is leaking."
"Damn you, Yoruichi-san." Ichigo cursed in frustration. He glared at the small black cat with his brow furrowed.
"Damn you too." She smirked, her tail swayed from left to right playfully. "Now concentrate. Don't let your mind wander. Or we will fail."
"I know!" He shouted and closed his eyes again. Sweat appeared on his forehead and he looked strained. His expression scrunched up into a grimace.
The cannonball that was in front of Ichigo glowed blue as his spiritual power filled the orb, causing it to shake. The surface of the orb crackled with electricity and it glowed brighter as his power poured in.
Then, a spherical barrier formed. However, the orb exploded after the barrier expanded for a second. It shattered into millions of pieces and Ichigo cursed again.
"God damn it!"
Seeing another failure, Shirou couldn't help but ask, "Is there a need for everyone to do this? Can't we just do it alone?"
"No, that won't be enough." Kuukaku said, her lips curling down into a disappointed scowl, "The barrier surrounding the Seireitei is strong. It will require a large amount of spiritual pressure to even break a small hole, so we'll need everyone's help."
"I understand." Shirou replied. "So, how much longer?"
"Give him one more try. If he fails again, I'll move on to another one."
"Alright." He sighed.
"Ichigo, one more try." Yoruichi said to Ichigo, "If you fail this, you won't be able to come with us. So do this right or go home."
Ichigo nodded, his expression turned determined.
Once again, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The orb glowed and a blue electric spark appeared on the surface. His face strained from concentration, his fist curled tight, his teeth gritted hard. The barrier formed once again and the orb was enveloped in the sphere, and the barrier held.
At first, it was only 1 meter in diameter. But as he inserted more and more, the sphere grew bigger and bigger, reaching the diameter of 2 meters. Then, 3 meters, 5, 6. Finally, it stopped growing and the cannonball glowed brighter.
Shirou nodded in approval as he felt the amount of reiryoku that Ichigo had. As expected, his twin brother had way more than him. It wasn't even a competition, the orange-head's spiritual power had reached Captain level, maybe even beyond.
Though the difference wasn't that much, at least that was what he felt.
Opening his eyes, Ichigo shot Kuukaku a shit eating grin, "See? I can do it too!"
"Hmph." She snorted. "Now let's see the other two."
Following that, Orihime and Sado tried it. The former could do it pretty easily while the latter needed a few tries—three times to be precise. The barrier he created was a bit unstable but strong.
When it was his turn, Shirou stepped up and held the cannonball. His control over his spiritual power was better than anyone in the group, and his focus was better too.
The cannonball glowed blue, and soon it was covered in a sphere. It reached 2 meters in diameter and shone brighter than the other three. The density of his spiritual power was far higher than theirs, and it was the reason he could reach further.
"Good enough." Kuukaku grinned approvingly. "Now let's launch you guys. It's time to go."
"Right now?" Shirou exclaimed, surprised by the sudden decision.
"Yes, now. Time is ticking." She replied and grabbed the cannonball. "Go, you guys. To the cannon."
The four of them went toward the tower and stood in front of it. Meanwhile, Ganju arrived from behind and joined them, a sour look still visible on his face. He had changed his clothes into an easy to move robe.
"What is that guy doing here?" Ichigo asked, his brow furrowed.
"I will accompany you, to make sure you don't do anything funny." The black-haired man answered, glaring back at Ichigo. He looked like a kid, with the way he held his grudge against them.
"Right..." Ichigo sighed and shrugged.
Shirou nodded in agreement, remembering the fact that Kuukaku said he would follow them.
They watched as Kuukaku opened a hatch to the side of the tower and pushed them inside.
Obviously, because they were inside a cannon, the interior was nothing but a large empty space. Now Shirou understood why Reishūkaku was called a cannonball and created a spherical barrier. They were the bullets that would be shot toward the Seireitei.
Realizing it didn't make him feel any better though.
"Stand here and activate Reishūkaku. Kuukaku will activate the cannon, so be ready." Yoruichi, still in the form of a cat, ordered them. Her voice echoed loudly in the empty space, telling everyone that it's the time to do or die.
The six of them gathered at the middle of the tower, and everyone began pouring their spiritual power into the orb, filling the empty space inside with a blue glow. Yoruichi also joined by jumping on top of the orb, and she added her spiritual power into the mix.
Everyone closed their eyes to focus and control the amount of spiritual energy they poured, while Shirou was the only one who didn't need to. His eyes were still wide open as his reiryoku flowed into the orb.
Soon the barrier had been created. It started small but it grew bigger and bigger until they were enveloped in the blue spherical barrier, protecting everyone inside.
"Sis, we're ready!" Ganju shouted to notify Kuukaku.
"Good! Let's do it!" She shouted back. Chants flowed through smoothly "Kakaku Hō!"
Boom!
As soon as she spoke, they felt the whole tower shudder. Then, an explosion followed by a loud boom rang as they were propelled forward to the air. They flew into the sky at breakneck speed, leaving a blue trail of energy behind.
"I-It's shaking so much!" Ichigo groaned in annoyance, trying his best to concentrate.
The barrier instantly became slightly unstable as soon as they were launched. It didn't stop shaking and vibrating, as if there was turbulence.
"We need to concentrate or we will crash without protection." Shirou said as he looked around. The barrier was getting more and more unstable by the second.
"Yeah, you guys, calm down." Ganju growled in irritation.
"We're going to make contact!" Yoruichi warned in a worried tone. "Stay steady!"
***Chapter End***
Short chapters.
When I read the manga, I read the mastermind's rambling carefully, how he manipulate everything so this is the only way to enter Soul Society.
So, they got launched!
Anyway, new week arrived!
And if you're curious about Soul Society arc (Almost finished) and don't want to wait, visit my pat -reon / ShuviLily.