Staring between the angry form of Shinji and the amused form of Kisuke, it was like I was caught in a Mexican standoff. Just, you know, without the mexicans. But still, you could cut the tension with a knife, and you wouldn't even need a sharp one.

"So tell me, just what the hell are you doing here, Kisuke?" questioned Shinji. Damn, he was annoyed. Not that I could blame him, since one of his friends was turning into a Hollow and Kisuke was somewhat to blame for their situation.

He did make the Hōgyoku after all. It wasn't his fault that Aizen was a power hungry dick and used it to experiment on people, but still, he did make one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe.

I mean, bravo for that, but there are some things you probably shouldn't mess with, and that seems like one of them.

"Well, you see, I was out for a little moonlit stroll when a black cat crossed my path. And wouldn't you know it, this little kitty had some very juicy gossip," Kisuke said, bringing out his fan and hiding part of his face with it.

What, was he Kakashi now? I mean, they were both lazy and I'm positive he had a stash of kinky shit hidden somewhere in that shop of his.

Shinji looked at the black cat on Kisuke's shoulder and gave her a scowl, "Yoruichi… I should have known. You know what they say about curiosity and cats, don't you?"

Sick burn. Or was that a thinly veiled threat? Either way it was a good line. I might have to save that in case I meet any other cat girls.

"I do, yes. And yet, here I am," Yoruichi said with a twitch of her tail. Yeah, good luck killing that kitty. Those claws are sharp as hell. I assume, anyway. I have no desire to find out for myself.

"So mind telling me what's going on here?" asked Kisuke, with a hard glint in his eyes, as his gaze traveled from Shinji, to the furious Hollowfied Hiyori inside my body, and finally to me.

I couldn't help but shiver at the coldness in those eyes. Didn't Hiyori used to be his subordinate? Guess he still cared about her then, and likely blamed me for what was happening.

"I do mind, actually. So why don't you just buzz off?" stated Shinji. The two of them seemed to get into some kind of staring contest, measuring each other's dicks with their eyes.

Or something like that.

"Shinji…" said Lisa, giving Shinji a look of her own.

"What?" he asked, turning to face her. Does that mean he lost the staring contest with Kisuke, forever cementing himself as he with the smaller peepee?

But Lisa didn't say a word, only continued to stare at him. He sighed, shifting his attention to Hiyori, who was becoming further encroached by the white. Obvious sex joke aside, I was very worried about it.

That was my body, damn it!

"Fine, I'll tell you. But I'm only going to say it once, so listen good you hear? We don't have much time," Shinji said, and Kisuke made a big deal of putting his hand to his ear.

"Bastard…" Shinji muttered, and I couldn't help but agree. That amount of douchebaggery was uncalled for at the moment. Normally, I would applaud such sass, but not when it was my literal ass on the line.

Shinji then proceeded to explain what was going on, and I expanded when it was necessary, being as succinct as I could be. And let me tell you, it was nerve wracking as hell.

These guys were so much stronger than me it wasn't even funny, and I've basically pissed off half of them. Not good, not good at all. Thankfully, they did seem amused by my interactions with the violent midget, so that eased the tension a bit.

"I see. And for some reason, you can't get the mask off, right?" Kisuke said, after thinking about the story for a moment. He may have acted the goof for the sheer fun of it, but it was easy to see he was intelligent just by the look in his eyes.

"You already know that. You said the kid was onto something earlier, didn't you? I think it's your turn to explain yourself," Shinji demanded. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that, what with all the dick measuring they were doing around here. If only I was in my body, I'd blow them all out of the water.

"But of course. I'd never dream of keeping you in the dark," Kisuke said from behind his fan. "That being said…" He snapped his fan shut, giving everyone a stern look.

"This is quite the unusual predicament we find ourselves in. Normally, if someone begins to Hollowfy while inside of a Gigai, they will be expelled from the body. Hollowfication affects the soul, not the physical body after all, so it's quite curious that her mask is appearing over a physical body," Kisuke said. I'm not entirely sold on the premise, but then again, he is much smarter than I am.

"So what does that mean exactly?" asked Love. Or Rose. I still didn't know which was which, even after gaining some Affection points towards them. And they were the only ones whose name was ? when I looked at the translucent box above their heads.

Guess the game was still fucking with me. Screw it, might as well Scan one of them, if for no other reason than to figure it out. Kind of forgot about that when they surrounded me.

"I'm getting to that. You see, when you tried to remove the mask, you were trying to remove something attached to the soul without having access to the soul itself. In this case, the boy's physical body is acting as a buffer between the two. You won't be able to remove the mask so long as she is inside there."

I guess that makes sense, but it kind of feels like he pulled that out of his ass, which wouldn't surprise me in the least. And it seems like I'm not the only one.

"You can't be serious?" said Shinji, narrowing his eyes at Kisuke.

"Oh, but I am. Of course, the kid's own spiritual power might have something to do with it as well. Not to mention how it has intermingled with her own," Kisuke stated calmly, while looking at me.

It's like he blames me or something. But if it is because of my own spiritual power, which is tied to a BS Game system, then that's likely the cause. Gamer powers are overrated.

"Fine, let's assume that is the cause. What exactly are you proposing we do?" asked Shinji, with more than a hint of skepticism.

"I'm glad you asked! You see, I've come prepared for just such an occasion! And it just so happens to involve our little friend here" said Kisuke, indicating me with glee, much to the others' consternation. Guy really needs to learn to read a room. That, or he just doesn't give a fuck.

Also, how very convenient he just so happened to show up with the very thing we needed. It's like he expected something like this to happen.

"Listen, I know I'm hot and everything, but I hope your plan isn't for me to wake up Sleeping Beauty over there with a kiss," I said with a bland tone.

1 Affection to Yoruichi Shihouin (3/100)

"Oh don't you worry. I have a much better way to wake up our princess over there," said Kisuke, even as Hiyori screamed at him. Guess even in her Hollow form she doesn't like being called that. Good to know.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"And what is that?" asked Lisa, giving him the stink eye.

"This," Kisuke stated, pulling out a shimmering red string. It was about 3 feet long, give or take, and about as thick as a strand of yarn.

"And what is that?" Lisa asked again, with noticeably more annoyance in her tone.

"Shouldn't that be obvious? It's the red string of fate," Kisuke said with far too much cheer.

Silence. Dead silence. That is the sound that greeted Kisuke as his proclamation. I even face palmed at the sheer stupidity of it.

"You can't be serious…" deadpanned Lisa. She looked about ready to pull a Hiyori and whip out a chainsaw and show her love for the great state of Texas, and massacre him.

"Of course not, I'm Kisuke."

More silence at the terrible dad joke.

"Man, tough crowd…"

"Enough joking around Kisuke. How is that thing supposed to help?" demanded Shinji, and the others looked similarly curious and furious.

"It's simple, we simply tie the two together by the pinky, and viola, lover boy here will be transferred into Hiyori's Inner World," Kisuke explained. Hang on a second, lover boy? The fuck does that mean? Is it because I'm technically inside her?

"Whoa, hang on a second. Why does it have to be him?" asked Love. Or at least that's what I'm calling him until proven otherwise. Tired of calling him, afro star guy. Besides, the other guy looks more like a rose anyway.

"Simple. It's like I said before, their Reiryoku is mixed together, probably due to them swapping bodies like a pair of junkies. Anyone else would probably be rejected," Kisuke explained.

"You gotta be kidding. Are you saying we have to rely on this guy to save her?" asked Shhinji in disbelief, pointing his dirty thumb at me. Well, fuck you too buddy. I can already tell, we aren't going to be friends.

I mean I get it, I'm an unknown, but still, no need to be such a dick about it.

"This guy can hear you," I stated blandly.

"You think I care?" he responded.

"Alright, that's enough. We don't have time to be bickering like this," said Lisa.

"She's right. We need to decide on a course of action, and soon. Hiyori doesn't have a lot of time left," said Yoruichi. Everyone started to look at each other, hoping one of them had the answer.

Of course it was up to Shinji to make the final call. So with a resigned sigh, he agreed to the plan.

"Excellent! Now, come along young man, time waits for no one," Kisuke told me. He is way too excited about this. And for some reason, I doubt he was telling the truth about me being the only one who could do this. It's most likely a scheme to observe me without seeming too suspicious.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses old man, I'm coming," I said, while making my way towards the still struggling form og Hiyori. Man, she did not give up did she? I'm exhausted just looking at her.

+1 Affection to Yoruichi Shihouin (4/100)

Nice. Slow and steady wins the hottie.

"Are you sure you aren't Hiyori?" questions Kisuke as he stopped and gave me a look.

"That's what we said," commented Love. I only crossed my arms over my small, but perky chest, and gave them all a glare.

"Not helping yourself buddy," mocked Shinji.

I rolled my eyes, and kept walking towards Hiyori, ignoring the chuckling from the chuckle fucks behind me. Stopping in front of her, I suddenly realized what a daunting task I was saddled with. Not like I can say no, what with my Quest and all, and I wouldn't want to anyway.

As irritated as I am about nearly being split in half by a goddamn chainsaw, I didn't want Hiyori to die. So I would save her, whether she likes it or not, and lord it over her for the rest of her life.

"Alright, I'm going to explain what you need to do. When I tie this string to your pinky and then do the same with Hiyori, you'll be transported into her Inner World. You with me so far?" asked Kisuke. I rolled my eyes, but nodded anyway.

I know he doesn't know how much I know, but I still don't like being talked down to like a child.

"Good. Now, when you get in there, what you need to do is help Hiyori defeat her Inner Hollow, and suppress it," he continued to explain.

"And just how the hell am I supposed to do that?" I asked, with full blown conspiracy theory levels of sarcasm.

"You beat it up," Kisuke said simply. Sure, easy for him to say, but I'm little more than an ordinary human at this point. I figured I'd have some sweet Soul Reaper powers, or maybe even Fullbring ones before I started doing shit like this.

"I get the feeling you're a difficult person to deal with," I started with a twitchy eye.

"He's got you there Kisuke," said Yoruichi with clear amusement.

"Who, me?" he asked in fake disbelief, pointing to himself. Everybody sighed at his obvious fake acting.

"Anyway, to recap. I need to go inside her head, which scares the crap outta me, not gonna lie. And once I'm in there I have to fight some kind of monster. Does that about sum it up?" I asked.

"Pretty much. You ready?" asked Kisuke, as he tied the string around Hiyori's pinky.

"Nope," I said, making him chuckle in response. I sat down on the ground as he tied the string to my own pinky. No going back now. Time to go punch a demon possessing an angry loli, who is also trapped in my body while I'm trapped in hers, in the face.

Yeah, that's a thing I have to do. Man my life is weird now…

"Ok, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times. If conditions persist for more than four hours, consult your doctor immediately. Would you like to hear those instructions in spanish?" Kisuke asked, with a shit eating grin.

"Will you just get on with it already!" shouted basically everyone.

"Alright, alright. Can't you guys take a joke?"

Having said that, he tied the string around my delicate little pinky and a message popped up.

*Warning!*

You are about to enter a dangerous Dungeon. Once inside, you cannot leave until the boss is defeated, you are defeated, or Hiyori is defeated. Recommended Level is 15. Do you wish to enter?

[Yes] [No]

Ok, well that's different. I thought I couldn't enter Dungeons until I awakened a spiritual power or something, so what gives?

Normally, that would be the case, but this is a Special Event. You still cannot enter normal Dungeons until you have completed the prerequisite conditions. Sorry to get your hopes up. Oh wait, no I'm not. Silly me.

Snark aside, this was interesting. So I can enter Dungeons even though I don't have a spiritual power if it's under unique circumstances? Nice, but I'm not loving the Level recommendation. That was 10 Levels higher than I currently am, so this Dungeon is going to be tough.

Not to mention I have to keep her safe as well. That just adds a layer of difficulty I'm not prepared for yet. It's basically on hard mode! Damn, no choice. Oh well, Hiyori better appreciate the lengths I'm going through to save her tight little ass.

I mentally hit the yes button to enter the Dungeon, and a new pop up appeared.

Are you sure?

[Yes] [No]

Yes, goddamnit!

Are you really sure?

[Yes] [No]

Now you're just trolling me!

Hitting the Yes button again, the effects were almost immediate. The world started to spin, and everything began melting into one. It wasn't as bad as when I was poisoned, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

Then the mish mash of colors began speeding towards me, encircling my body, and I felt the sensation of flying, faster and faster towards a brightly shining speck of white. WIthin moments, I rammed into it, or it rammed into me, I have no idea, but the sound of shattering glass followed suit.

And then, I slammed into the ground. Hard. And bounced like I was in a goddamn bouncy house. Once, twice, three times until I finally settled onto the ground, moaning my displeasure.

"Ow… Kisuke you bastard. I swear, if I survive this…"

I slowly stood up, rubbing my head in pain. It took me longer than I care to admit, but I did eventually notice something that made me rejoice. Baldness! Sweet, glorious baldness!

Looking down, I discovered I didn't just accidentally shave Hiyori. I was in my own body again! I began to touch myself all over, reveling in the feeling of my manly muscles once more.

And my manly man bits as well.

"Oh my son… Have you forgiven your foolish father for his transgressions?" I asked, while fondling myself. I'm not too proud to admit that I shed a few tears. It felt like it's been weeks since I last saw him, and I may have gotten a tad bit emotional.

But soon I was distracted by another sight. And that would be the strange world I found myself in. It looked like a feudal city, only more vibrant. The colors were shockingly bright, like someone turned the contrast all the way up, said fuck it, invented a few new levels, and than cranked it up to them.

There was one long path leading from outside the city to its center, and I just so happened to be right in the middle of said path. On either side of me were massive walls, nearly thirty feet high, with a large gate in the center. The one on the left was blue, while the one on the right was red. Looking towards the center of the town, I could see a massive, tower-like castle reaching up towards the sky.

Speaking of, the sky itself seemed to be unable to decide whether it wanted to be day or night, caught in perpetual twilight. It made the whole setting way creepier than it needed to be.

Not to mention the sheer silence of it all. I couldn't even hear the sound of a cricket, and those little bastards were everywhere.

"So this is Hiyori's Inner World huh? Not what I was expecting…"

Honestly, I kind of thought it would be some sort of gladiatorial arena or something. But this is almost pleasant. Except for how quiet it was. Isn't Hiyori supposed to be fighting against her Hollow or something? Just where the hell is she?

Don't tell me the princess is trapped in the tower? Ugh, things couldn't be simple, could they. Guess it was too much to ask that they were just there, duking it out, and I could sneak attack a bitch.

"Oh well, time to get to work."

With that said, I began to make my way towards the enormous tower.