my test bok for fanfiction so i can use the tts

Shiro is excited . It's not often they get fights like this--not spars, more serious than that, but also not with the entirety of existence on the line, either. Grimmjow was a good opponent, and if he doesn't piss off anyone and get eaten in the next few decades he stands a good chance of giving them a run for their money… assuming, of course, that their own wild growth rate will slow down a little now that no particular wannabe-god is driving them ever upwards. 

In the in-between, though, they have an old dragon who's overstepping his territory. Ichigo is keeping the heavy wash of the man's reiatsu clear of the field with nothing more than his own reserves. It's a wonder that the clash hasn't flattened the entire battlefield and its combatants as well, but Ichigo has been fighting an opponent who would have simply disintegrated anything in his presence. Ichigo's gotten very, very good at dispersing force instead of simply resisting it directly. His careful application of his reiatsu is what's letting everyone even move on the field. Shiro, well, Shiro is a sword at his core, the purest manifestation of Ichigo's soul with all that entails, and this is fun to watch, but he wants to fight . Ryuuken Jakka is old, and dangerous, and Shiro--and the old man, too, he can tell --cannot wait to test themselves against his wielder. 

It will be soon. The battle does not sway in favor of the shinigami, and their commander grows steadily more impatient. It's quite obvious that they were not expecting this level of competency from their opponents, which is stupid of them, considering that the base extermination order covered eight basically-captains, and at least one of those is older than Seireitei and known to conceal his abilities. Then you add on the head of the kido division, the head of the ninja division, and the best assassin-scientist the Gotei's ever seen, and adding Ichigo's ridiculousness on top is a little overkill even for them . 

But only if you're not counting the Soutaicho. Shinji and Juushiro and Shunsui are powerful, stupidly powerful, but none of them were even close to Yama-jii's power. Unohana-- probably could take him, or at least match him, and after Shinji's recent powerup, he might even be able to hold him off for a good few minutes. But even though the geezer has let himself go a little, it doesn't mean he's sloppy. Or stupid. Or in any way weak . He's a canny opponent, they remember from last time, and if he doesn't quite have Unohana's control he can make up for it in sheer volume of reiatsu he can bring to bear. Not to mention Ryuukin Jakka's abilities, most of which they still don't know. 

Oh, this is going to be so much fun . 

Shunsui doesn't know what's going on and he does not like it. It's disorienting, like something small but fundamental in the world shifted while he wasn't looking. It's like seeing Unohana for the first time in her calm healer guise after knowing her as the Kenpachi, except exactly backwards. Where is the serious, slightly anxious young man who he'd known a short while ago? The Urahara before him bears little resemblance to that captain. He looks older, somehow, despite that his body has not quite filled out into true adulthood. It's the eyes, Shunsui thinks, that are both warmer and cooler. Anyone coming from Onmitsukido, especially one strong enough to be made Captain, has seen and done things that most other Shinigami-- younger Shinigami, post-Seireitei- founding Shinigami, softer Shinigami-- could never conceive of. Shunsui knows that Onmi takes the dirty work of the entire Gotei onto their shoulders, the shadows balancing the light, and he knows what that can do to a person. Urahara had eyes like that, despite his general mildly puzzled and sheepish air about him-- hard, and tired, and looking at the world as if expecting to have to block a blow in the next second. 

His eyes are different now. They're older, sure, tell of more experience and death and personal loss than most shinigami will ever know. They hold weight to them, a grounded confidence that results in a feeling of presence. 

But they're softer, too. That confidence only comes from having someone at your back, at your side, who knows you inside and out and still look at you and see something worth saving. Who can tell you when you're nearing the line for those ethics you hold to without instincts for. Shunsui is very, very lucky to have that in Juushiro. It looks like Urahara is one of those lucky few, as well. Given the bits he's managed to piece together-- and the blatantly obvious bit he witnessed himself-- his money is on the rogue Shiba.

He wants the next pieces of this puzzle, but he wants himself and Juushiro to survive this fight first before they even think about it. Because it's becoming very clear, very fast, that the two students of Yamamoto himself, facing off against a single opponent centuries younger than they are, are desperately, hopelessly outmatched. 

It's not like the man is throwing excessive power around, either! It's that every single move is made with such efficiency. The amount of skill and precision it takes for that type of finesse is… mind- boggling. Unohana could do it, of all the shinigami he knows, and maybe, maybe , the assassin-trained Shihouin heir.

It gives the term prodigy a whole new dimension. 

And he's toying with them. Not particularly maliciously, Shunsui thinks, but still. Every time they try to disengage or change the battleground to something more advantageous to them, they're either redirected until they're back in the center of whatever ground Urahara has determined to be his for now, or else simply… rebuffed. Thus far the edges of their battleground have spit knives at them, spontaneously sprouted razor wire, and blown up on them. Twice! 

For a ninja, Urahara seems to be disconcertingly fond of explosions. Even his shields have the tendency to blow up! It's not fair , and yes, Shunsui is aware of the irony of him saying that. But, well. Shunsui likes being in control of things. It's a holdover from Rukongai, and he's certain that he's not the only one to react that way. Yamamoto and Unohana reached for stability. Shinji plays at being a harmless eccentric. And Shunsui and, apparently, Urahara, look to control their surroundings, force them into situations that each can make work to their advantage. 

He curses as he has to throw himself sideways to avoid a kido that looks like an odd ripple of light--he doesn't know what it is, but like hell does he want to find out. Juushiro looks about as frustrated as Shunsui's ever seen him, currently fighting a tangle of whiplike vines and getting precisely nowhere. None of these things are going to pose a real threat unless they do something really stupid, but they're very clearly also not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Unfortunately for their opponents, the battle is about to end one way or another. At the far end of the field toward Seireitei, Yamamoto is growing restless. The Soutaicho is, perhaps, less than pleased at the showing his soldiers are making. Of course, they're against opponents who were part of the group that practically wrote the Shinigami textbooks, so Shunsui doesn't know why Yama-jii is so surprised, but the old warrior is gearing up to take the field himself, so it's a moot point really. 

The Shiba really is doing an admirable job of keeping the battlegrounds safe from Yama-jii's reiatsu. Shusui is used to feeling like he's breathing in water, at this point, but most Shinigami-- and all of their usual enemies-- most certainly are not , and it's an advantage he's not used to dealing without, in conflicts important enough for the commander to stir from his fortress. Frankly, Shunsui has no idea how the boy is managing it, and even trying to wrap his mind around the skill and power needed for… whatever he's doing, is enough to make his head ache.

He wants his fucking hat back, honestly. Urahara wears it surprisingly well, and it somehow manages to match the deep black-and-crimson haori the man has procured. It's mirrored by the crimson-and-black one worn by the Shiba (how does that somehow work with orange hair ?) and it's disgustingly cute and, again, those two are not subtle. 

There's no way Urahara hasn't felt the stirring of the Soutaicho's reiatsu, but he doesn't look concerned, which means the scientist is either actively suicidal, or he knows something they don't. Or he just has stupid amounts of trust in his partner, which… fair, Shunsui would trust Juushiro with far more than his eternal soul, but this is Yamamoto they're talking about. The old Shinigami redefines the word monster in a way only Unohana has ever been able to touch. 

Shunsui, who is one of very, very few who has seen the Soutaicho fight seriously and lived, knows more than enough to be appropriately terrified. But he can't clear the battlefield, can't even get his comrades out of here, because of this stupid rigged ground. Across from him, flanking Urahara--for all the good that's done them--Juushiro looks as wild-eyed as Shunsui feels. 

Urahara sends another string of what looks like fairy lights after them, and those chase them around for a bit before exploding merrily into a chain reaction when Juu tries to deflect one. Both of them lost sight of the inventor once it became clear that the lights were tracking them individually. That's never good, in his short but comprehensive experience. 

His fellow Shinigami will have to get themselves off the battlefield. Shunsui has no attention to spare for anything other than survival. 

Perhaps it's time to take his own efforts up a notch. 

Yoruichi could get used to having this sort of power. The Clan heads are hanging onto her every word, practically begging her to tell them how to save themselves. She's the Shihouin head, sure, but that clan isn't a part of the C46 by virtue of being Onmitsukido. Apparently no one wanted to chance ending up as a political enemy of the assassin clan, who knew. Either way, clan head or Onmitsukido queen, she's never been respected like this. Stupid old farts--it figures the only thing they'd really care about is protecting their own hides when it came down to it. That being said, however, it's useful in this particular instance. She can leverage that desperation and singlemindedness--the priority on themselves will override even their distaste for anything Other. And, well, she doesn't really trust them not to go back on their word as soon as they no longer fear for their lives, but there will be time to work out checks and balances after no one's in immediate danger of termination-- not that they have any true chance of success.

The cannier members of Ichigo's group had sat down and put together a plan that might actually work, on the off chance that the nobles listen to her advice. The ceasefire is a simple thing, but it makes several, critical stipulations that will hopefully be key to both peace and the future of Soul Society. She just has to be good enough to sell it to the Central 46 on the spot. If they want to cause trouble after that, well. Yoruichi has quite a few tricks up her sleeves with her knives. One of them in particular that she's been wanting to try for a long, long time. 

Now, with pompous nobles and entitled clan heads all but throwing themselves at her feet, Yoruichi wields a weapon that she's been taught to use since birth, regardless of whether or not she cares to exercise it most of the time. 

Words are deadly instruments, after all. She is as skilled with this as she is with anything else, driven by ruthless Shihouin politics and honed by protecting and keeping up with two geniuses, regardless of who tried to steal them. There had certainly been attempts, both politically and otherwise. 

Every last one of those opponents lies defeated on the path behind her. This will be no different. 

Muramasa watches the battle progress as he skirts the field, slowly flanking the enemy unnoticed. They, much like the rest of Ichigo's soul, are not particularly concerned with any of the matches, except perhaps their own. They have been inside Yamamoto's soul, have looked into the mind of Ryuuken Jakka herself, and they know better than anyone else alive what type of enemy they have set themselves. Their opponent is tricky, decisive, perceptive and ruthless. They have heard from Urahara, alongside Ichigo, of the man's actions during the Karakura siege. That is not a being they want to go head-to-head with, even if they wouldn't bet against their wielder if it truly came down to it. The costs would be… high. It would upset Ichigo and his partner. This is unacceptable. 

So Muramasa has a backup plan. Well, mostly, they are the backup plan. This plan, anyway. They have no doubt that between Kisuke and Ossan there are many, many contingencies, cascading with each change of the playing field. But it is highly likely that Ichigo will be fighting the Soutaicho in some capacity. 

Muramasa's job is to ensure that no one else interferes, and that there is no collateral damage. 

They smirk. Perhaps living in Ichigo's soul with two battle-crazed spirits has affected them, but…

They rather think that this might even be a little fun.