Chapter 2: Confinement 2

I felt an angel's kiss, soft upon my cheek.
And oh, without a single word of caring did it speak.

*******

"He's not telling us everything," Yoruichi said as she lounged on the beach chair in the sun, nude like her companions. Whatever this subdimension thing was, it sure replicated the heat of a sunny beach rather well. Much better than anything Kisuke had ever made.

"He isn't," the blonde to her right answered. "Everybody is always hiding something. Is it going to fuck us over? That is the important part." The shinigami eyed her drinking partner lustfully. She was going to get her hands on those tits if it was the last thing she did.

"I do not think it is too important," the brunette to her left answered as she flipped a page in her book. While not as bodacious as the blonde, Yoruichi had no set preference and wouldn't mind a tussle in the sheets with her either. "As far as I'm aware, he has responded to every question we asked to the best of his abilities. I'm sure he hasn't told us everything, but neither have we. Mikael seems more desperate than traitorous. At least the first time I was summoned, it seemed so. This morning, he kept asking more questions, specifically about the time between summons on our end and any discoveries we had made about the Island."

Robin was one of those who talked to their jailer the most. While everybody got summoned, once they appeared before their 'jailor,' they could return to the Island at will. The first few times Yoruichi had been displaced, she had stuck around a while to get a feel for the old man in the cell. After a few times, however, since there was not much to do, she shared a few words with Mikael and returned. From her understanding, that was the same for most of the other women on the Island. The Witch and Robin were the exceptions.

"Not much to explain, really," Yoruichi responded. "It's an island paradise with the most advanced luxurious mansion I've ever seen. There are enough books to make any library jealous, more food than we could ever eat, and any sort of device we could ever need. Medea says there is enough magical material to build some kind of superweapon. Since, you know, magic is apparently real."

"Missing the Biju in the room, aren't you?" Her blonde companion said as she took a sip of her sake and pointed upwards. "Or, you know, the dragon in the sky?"

"Of course, how could I forget the Dragon? The one the size of a country?" Yoruichi replied sarcastically as she took a sip of her fruity alcoholic drink. One of the perks of the mansion was any sort of alcoholic drink they could ever want was available at a moment's notice.

The giant beast was rather well hidden in the light of day. The sun and the few clouds in the sky made it hard to tell, but as soon as night fell, it became apparent that this Island was not attached to any planet. Instead, it seemed to be held between the claws of an enormous white Dragon. Really, the only way they could tell it was a Dragon (since all they could see were the claws wrapped around the Island) was because of Robin. Her nifty little ability to sprout her appendages on places she could see made for great scouting. Even those with the ability to fly (Yoruichi, Diana, Raven, and even Artoria with her horse) hadn't been able to approach. An invisible bubble kept them trapped.

That hadn't stopped Robin. She had spent quite a bit of her time exploring the great beast over the last week. Thanks to her, the group of women knew about their rough situation.

According to the pirate, the Island was slightly over 240 km in diameter. It was ringed in on all sides by the ocean for about 10km. All of it was held in a massive jewelled bubble around which the Dragon had curled. Since the scale was so massive and the beast wasn't at full length, Robin hadn't been able to give an exact number on size but had estimated it to be about three times the length of the bubble. That put it at about 750 km in length.

Which was insane.

It was also floating in space, and from what Robin could tell, there had been no planet or star nearby. It had taken so long to piece this all together because Robin's separate bodies hadn't been able to survive for more than a few moments in the vacuum.

"When I described everything to Mikael, he believed that the Dragon was supposed to be the body he was supposed to transform into. Or at least one form of it." Robin answered as she turned another page in her book.

"How was that going to work?" Tsunade asked, taking another swig. Yoruichi watched intensely as a drop spilled from the jug and made its way sensually down the woman's pale breasts.

"Apparently," Robin said as she put down her book to take a sip of tea for a moment. "The form he filled out as a setup for this little adventure was based on points. He spent most of his points on purchasing us, but the rest he put into "becoming the Dragon." He explained that it was supposed to have a whole bunch of benefits. Making all of us stronger and allowing us to travel between dimensions and thus home. Obviously, things didn't turn out like he planned."

"No shit," Yoruichi said sarcastically as she flipped herself onto her front. She wasn't going to be getting a tan from this. She just liked the feel of the heat on her body. "What else did he buy with these points?"

"Mikael claimed to not remember the specifics; he insists that it was mainly a joke story he planned to write, so he didn't take careful note of the extras. It was also a while ago. Most of it was focused on purchasing things that would upgrade the Dragon or make life more bearable such as our new skill with cooking. He also claims that this Island and mansion shouldn't be this large. He did not have enough points for it. However, there is one purchase that he remembered that I believe everyone should know about, something called a Warranty Plan. He wasn't too specific on the mechanics. Essentially we would come back to life within three days if any of us were to die. So long as he is alive, that is."

"Well, shit," Tsunade replied after downing her entire bottle. "There goes my plan of drinking myself to the grave." Yoruichi chuckled to herself, and Robin cracked a smile. "If he could control that giant beast, I bet it would make any challenge a joke. Makes a Biju look tiny. But yeah, the rest should probably know about immortality. Where is everybody?"

"Princess is currently sparring with the Titty King and Scathach," Yoruichi replied as she felt for their spiritual power. She really needed a nickname for the Queen of Shadows. It wasn't fair otherwise. "Teach is in the library, and the Witch is still in her workshop. The goth is in the kitchen. And Queenie is in her room. As far as I'm aware, she has not come out of it since she got back last night."

"Do you think he used one of those command spell things on her then?" Tsunade asked as she reached for another bottle.

"Probably," Robin answered. "I think that would be the only way she would know to ask Artoria about it. Mikael still had all six when I was summoned this morning. When I asked about them, we experimented. I think they recharge since he didn't see any problem using them. Everything else lines up with what Medea explained. The more specific the order, the more powerful it is. It could be used to override normal limits and force us to do things we don't want to."

Yoruichi and Tsunade looked concerned before the blonde asked: "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Robin waved their concerns away with nonchalance. "He kept it open-ended, just ordered me to tell him a secret I didn't want him to know. I went with an easy one, so we have leeway in interpreting his orders if he decides to use the seals."

"Can he use them to summon us? Physically, I mean? The Witch said it was one of their uses." Yoruichi asked. "If we can get him out of that cell, we would probably be able to make some progress."

"Unfortunately not. Whatever is summoning us ensures that no matter what, we cannot physically interact with him or the world around him. There is some good news, however. While we were experimenting, he seemed to get an idea about how to get out of his cell."

"That's good," the tanned beauty said. "I felt bad about relaxing and enjoying the beach while he is imprisoned."

"It's not as if any of us asked for this," Tsunade commented, idly rubbing her throat. An action the former special forces commander had noticed her doing unconsciously on occasion. "While it sucks for him, none of us asked to be kidnapped to this island either."

"Still, if he is to be believed, then our best chance at freedom is for him to complete whatever sort of task he was summoned to that asylum to do. I do not believe whoever set this all up did it to leave him a cell forever." Robin pointed out.

"Speaking of which," Yoruichi piped in. "Do either of you have the time? I've been waiting for a while but haven't been summoned yet. I wanted to get out of the way before meeting with the others for a spar, but it's been hours."

"It's about three. I thought your turn was at noon?" The blonde Hokage asked as she looked over at the mocha-skinned woman.

"It's probably him trying to test a few more things," Robin explained. "We wanted to see if he could try and summon someone in a different order or at different times. More than likely, one of those two worked."

"Dammit, we had the board up and everything," Yoruichi complained. "If I'm going to be interdimensionaly kidnapped, make it consistent."

So far, the summoning had followed the same pattern. Starting at 9 AM with three-hour intervals between and ending at 9 PM. It also followed the same order. Starting with Robin, Yoruichi, Raven, Scathach, Medea, Diana, Tsunade, Artoria, Glynda, and finished with Emma. This two-day cycle had been the pattern for the last week and a half. The women on the Island had gotten used to the schedule. They had settled down and had fallen into a rough routine of keeping themselves occupied while waiting for something to change. They had already tried all their means of escape, and since they had failed, there wasn't much they could do but relax and enjoy themselves.

Most of the time, the more intellectual ones, such as Robin and Glynda, gravitated towards the library, and Medea seemed to be doing a lot in her workshop. Still, everyone else was finding themselves rather bored. They may do with sparring, exercise, getting to know each other, sometimes watching stuff on TV, playing games, and relaxing in one form or another.

Yoruichi had noticed everybody had been very tense at first. More than a little bit jumpy, but that tension disappeared over the week. It was replaced by a sense of bored ease.

"The more we know, the more options we have to get out. I just found out I am immortal. As lovely as this place is, I would rather not spend eternity trapped here." Tsunade said after finishing her second bottle and standing up from her beach chair. "I'm going for a swim."

Yoruichi admired how the sunlight reflected off of her pale skin. Her figure was voluptuous, to say the least. Out of all the women on the Island, she was probably the most busty. There was no denying that everybody on this Island was beautiful, and the cat woman would love to 'test' everyone's size to get the exact ranking. If Yoruichi had to be stuck somewhere for a while, this was certainly not the worst place nor the worst company. Who knows what could happen while they waited.

But that was for the future; now, Yoruichi was in the mood for some wet fun with the blonde. She smiled a little joke in her head before standing up and answering. "If I'm not going to be summoned, I might as well have some fun." She stretched a little after hours of inactivity, enjoying how her companion's eyes roamed her naked body before she started making her way toward the water.

"Oh, come on!" She complained. Between one step in the next, she disappeared.

******

After her teleportation, Yoruichi did not even take a moment to realize something had changed. Gone was the cramped cell and dark hall. She had appeared in some sort of grassy ruin. Judging by the statue, arches, and vaulted ceiling, it had once been a temple.

It had seen better days.

The roof was almost completely destroyed, exposing the interior to the elements. A pool of water had gathered on the floor, and plants had taken over every surface. Beyond an arched doorway, Yoruichi could see green grass, more ruined walls and a massive cliff face.

A man was sitting on the base of the stairs near the entrance, dangling his bare feet in the water. He was unfamiliar. Like someone had tied pieces of metal together in an approximation of armour, he was wearing the tattered remains of metal and leather. He was large. He would tower over the shinigami's 5ft 1' by at least a foot if he was standing. Dark hair and eyed, his face was solid but plain. Maybe low thirties? Mortal ages were always confusing. He was also staring right at her.

"If nothing else, the eye candy is nice." He said as he eyed her naked form. Emotions passed through his face quickly. She recognized lust, longing, fondness, and something else. Then, it flickered into a grimace before going completely blank. "It's good to see you again, Floof."

"Old man?" She asked. The old prisoner had been the only one to call her by that nickname. He blinked at her before a look of realization came over him.

"This is what I actually look like." Mikael waved a hand over his profile. "I was... transformed while in the cell." She expected he was hiding something, but he pushed on and waved grandly around the ruin. "Welcome to Firelink Shrine. Please leave no footprints and take no pictures. Shanking guaranteed. An existential crisis is included in your experience. Our health insurance package is extra. All suicides are to be at the cliffs, per regulations."

That was the Mikael, alright. From what Yoruichi had heard, only Robin enjoyed his dark humour.

"How'd you manage to get out?" Yoruichi asked.

"Squeezed through the bars," he shrugged the question off. "How long has it been on your end since Robin arrived?"

"Six hours, I thought I wouldn't be summoned, so I was at the beach with the girls." She stretched her body provocatively to tease him. He eyed her appreciatively but, beyond that, did not respond.

"As you can see, I enjoy a five-star resort too." He replied sarcastically.

"At least it smells better here." It was delicious. Yoruichi couldn't put the finger on the exact scent, but it reminded her of some of the better times. Of silk sheets and her Little Bee. She inhaled deeply again, lost in fond nostalgia.

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"Couldn't tell ya, can't smell anything." Mikael shrugged. "Anyway, you can tell the others that the time between summonings should be six hours now. It will be a bit inconvenient, but it should lower the time you all are trapped on the Island. I'll be trying a few more tests. I can make some actual progress. Before you go exploring, can you help answer a few questions?"

"Sure," Yoruichi answered with a deep breath. She was in no rush. The following few minutes were occupied with a back and forth. Like always, the man had a million and one questions.

Could she sense him now that he was out of the cell? No.

Could she sense anyone or anything around him? No.

How far could she travel in a straight line without going through anything? 50 meters.

Did passing through matter lower the distance? Yes, irrespective of material and thickness, every time she passed through something, it reduced her total length by 10 meters.

Could she still use her powers to fly, transform, etc.? Yes.

Could the cleric in the other room, the woman in the cell, or the downtrodden man see or hear her? No. Though Yoruichi did have a few questions of her own about those people.

"Not counting that mountain, the city goes beyond my eyesight," Yoruichi reported. Mikael had asked her to go as high as possible and use her superior vision to estimate the size of the city below. This Firelink Shrine was about a fifth of the way up this massive cliff. An absolutely enormous metropolis was sprawled out at its foot, and she had spotted the hints of a wall on its peak. "Which means it is bigger than Tokyo, I think around the size of Shikoku. I can't go far enough to verify, but it is enormous."

"Shikoku's one of the islands, right? The smallest of the main four?" He asked. She nodded. "Larger than I thought, though I guess it makes sense. Gods wouldn't do anything but overcompensate."

"Why'd you do it anyway?" Yoruichi couldn't help but ask as she sat down beside him. At his questioning look, she explained. "From what Robin told me, you could have chosen any world you were familiar with, right? Why this one?"

"She did tell you it was supposed to be a joke, right?" He tried to scoot farther away from her, but she followed him. Partly for the lovely smell, somewhat to tease him. It didn't seem to work, he seemed unconcerned with her nakedness, but he did flash an annoyed look at her. She smiled smugly. He stopped trying to run. "This world was originally a video game in my world. You familiar with them?"

"I know the basics. Kisuke went on a brief kick of them for a while. Never saw the appeal."

"In the challenge I filled out, all worlds were assigned a difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the more points to spend. This world was rated at 9, the second-highest possible. It is filled with Gods, Dragons, Demons, and Magic. It is in a constant cycle of destruction and rebirth, spanning hundreds of thousands of years. We are currently at the tail end of the first cycle, one of the bleakest times on this planet. There are worlds at the same level which would be safer in many ways."

"Then why?" She asked again.

"Because of the foundation of this world, its core philosophy. Anyone can overcome anything, so long as they have the will and dedication. The strongest of Gods can be felled by the weakest of beings. Even me. I've been in three fights my entire life, got my ass kicked in every one. Imagine a world like that, but suddenly there are ten new people. Each is more potent or more versatile than the last. Some are strong enough to kill the strongest beings with barely any effort."

"So what? We come, destroy everything in our way, and go home?" She asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much. The story I wrote was about ten thousand words, most spent getting everyone on the same page. While Diana is probably the most dangerous in a one-on-one, you all were picked for various uses. Artoria could carpet bomb this entire city into rubble in an afternoon with enough magic power. Scathach made the equivalent of a rocket ship on a desert island in a week. With Medea's help, one of the greatest mages to ever live, who knows what they could accomplish. Those two are probably the most versatile.

You and Raven are great at information gathering and mobility, to say nothing of your fighting abilities. Tsunade would be around to heal anyone up. She can also destroy most buildings with a flick of her fingers. Emma would be in charge of coordination between all the disparate people. Glynda would aid by her excellent terrain control, unlocking everyone's Aura and teaching them how to use it. With her Devil Fruit and Haki, Robin would be our best scout. She is categorically the weakest of you ten, but I would still bet her against all but the best armies this world offers.

After kicking ass, I use one of the abilities of that dragon body and teleport everyone home, including myself. It would take a week, maybe a month at most. We all get Aura, some new friends, and a fantastic story. I become a dragon to travel the multiverse, perhaps visiting you every once in a while."

"Sounds like a good plan, if it worked." She couldn't help but point out. If there was anything she had learned with Kisuke, no plan was foolproof.

"If it worked," Mikael nodded to her point. "Now it seems like it is up to me to get us out of here. We are lucky. With enough willpower and time, even I can overcome this. I had been torn between this world and a cultivation world."

"A what?"

"Think of a place where everybody has the power of the Spirit King at the minimum, will genocide for the slightest perceived insult and who can measure lifetimes in billions of years." Yoruichi shuddered at the image. That sounded like hell. "Exactly. This world is no longer a game and is much larger than it was portrayed. But the fundamental mechanics of it are the same. I can get strong enough to overcome pretty much anything here."

"So long as you don't die."

"I can one hundred percent guarantee I will not die." He smirked at her as if he knew she wasn't getting a joke. "You girls can sit tight, it might take a while, but I will get out of this. Trust me, I hate this more than you." Mikael looked severe enough that Yoruichi decided to change the subject. A better one. Teasing.

"So," she leaned closer to him. Her boobs would be pressed against his arm if she could touch him. "Ten beautiful women? All from your wildest fantasies? Somebody was thinking dirty thoughts?"

"More than you can possibly imagine," he deadpanned in response.

"You definitely have a type," she raised her bust enticingly. She again saw that flash of desire on his face, but it disappeared quicker than before.

"I do," he admitted. "I do prefer women with curves, both butt and breasts. Hips and thighs as well. Height doesn't matter, but I guess I would like tall women if forced to choose. Bite-sized can be fun, though." She refused to blush as he eyed her hungrily. She knew when she was being teased in turn. "Lollies are fine, but not really my preference."

"It's no fun if you are so open." The cat woman pouted. "Berryboy was way better, all blushing and stuttering."

"I know what I like; no reason to be ashamed of it. Besides, my choices only matched my physical preferences this time because of coincidence." At her disbelieving look, he explained. "More than body type, personalities and powers were the main factors in my decision. I explained why everyone would be helpful, but the personality types were also significant. All of you are competent, mature, skilled, and willing to work with others to achieve your goals. It would take minimal convincing to get everyone to cooperate."

"So what? You love us for who we are, not our bodies?" She said it in a teasing way, clearly meant as a joke. His face contorting in rage was utterly unexpected, and she leaned away at the ferocity in his eyes.

"I do not love you! Any of you!" He snarled. "I barely know you! What I see on the screen or in a book are merely some parts of your lives and characters. That is not enough to fall in love. We've spent a few hours together, nowhere near enough."

"Woah, it was just a joke," she raised her hands placatingly. "No need to take it so seriously." Mikael took a deep breath, leaning back from looming over her.

"Sorry," he said finally. "Sore spot. One of the 'perks' of the challenge was the ability to influence the mind of your summons. It could take many forms, but they all boiled down to mind-controlling other people to love you. I hate that."

"I get ya. I couldn't stand what Aizen was doing either."

"It is not the same," he shook his head. "While I do not agree or like a lot of what Aizen did, the fundamental mechanics of his ability was only deceiving the senses. Even if what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel are wrong, you are still you. If someone messes with your mind directly, the you from before ceases to exist in every conceivable way. Someone or something else has taken your place. Reversing it is impossible. You would just be killing the new thing to create another replacement. If somebody takes over my body and moves it like a puppet, it would be better than that kind of death."

"If you say so," Yoruichi decided to drop the topic rather than argue. He hadn't had to live with the aftermath of the betrayal, the fear of your own senses turning against you. Never trusting anything. He hadn't had to help Momo put her life back together after her world was shattered. At least that instant of rage was gone now.

"Anyway, I wrote the story as if it was really going to happen. So no mind control. Our relationships with each other would be cordial and friendly, but I couldn't see any romance blossoming."

"Why not?" She couldn't help but ask. They didn't know each other too well, but that wasn't a reason to write it off. If nothing else, now that he didn't look like dried jerky, she wouldn't mind a tussle in the sheets. Nothing so far had been too much of a turn-off for her.

"Because I'm a possessive bastard. Possessive, hypocritical, sadistic, with a hint of fair play." He answered. "Possessive; I can only dedicate myself wholly to a relationship if I know the other is. Bastard; because I won't cheat, but I will coerce and manipulate. While consent is the greatest of all fetishes, consent can be extensive."

"What do you mean?"

"You know why I like competent and mature women?" Mikael asked rhetorically, his mood changing harshly once more. He loomed over her again; the intense look in his eyes captivated her. "My ideal is a woman I can have a serious talk with, intelligent enough to provide input and ideas. Then I make them into my mewling love slave. I like breaking them. That's one of the reasons I dislike mind control. It takes out all the challenges. The thrill of the hunt. Over months and years, I seduce and twist. Little things at first, you can't live without me by the end. Take you, for example."

"Me?" Yoruichi asked in a hoarse whisper. Why was her throat so dry? The smell overcame her. It reminded her of silk, but they were ropes instead of sheets. No more did she think of the worshipful touch of her Little Bee. Now she thought of a body pressing her down in passion. His voice entranced the shinigami.

"You," he all but growled. "It would start simple. A night of passion, maybe some alcohol. You are no blushing virgin, but it would still be a night to remember. Then a second night, a third. I would never force you. You are a free cat, after all." He raised his hand to caress her cheek, but it passed through without touching. She shivered non the less. "You would come back anyway, the pleasure I could provide growing over time as I learn your every. Little. Trick." She swallowed. "Then I'd escalate. Little changes. Some spanking, maybe handcuffs. By the end, you'd be tied to my bed in nothing but a collar. You would be my little pet. My little Floof."

Mikael's honeyed whispers hung in the air before he sat back with a chuckle. "Never going to happen. In the original story, we were together for a week, nowhere enough time to break any of you."

She took the chance to dive through an open portal behind her as he chuckled at her.

Both Tsunade and Robin eyed her oddly as she shook her fist at the sky, vowing revenge. They were kind enough to not mention if they noticed her erect nipples and slick thighs.

It would only be in a few hours after she had calmed down that Yoruichi would realize he completely changed the topic to avoid providing a proper explanation. Definitely hiding something.

********

Fun fact: The story I keep referencing was a real thing. I wrote it while bored in one 10-hour stretch. The computer it was on was wrecked but I kept thinking about it. Thus Rapturous Rhapsody.

A bit more exposition than I would like in this one, though I feel it is warranted. As mentioned, all these choices were made specifically to curb the Soulsborne world, (though I am sure there are more optimal purchases). Without mind control, I had to think about relationship dynamics, which was challenging but fun.

I am trying to show the characters learning about their situation together while maintaining their own interests. They are all unreliable narrators. Things are going to speed up a bit, with more time skips, but I still want to portray the relationship growth. So, let me know how I'm doing.

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