Gatonden was comprised from a number of adjoining, pillared rotundas. While the exterior of these structures were largely open, they had walls constructed from several, gigantic noren. Within was a large dining hall that contained a single, enormous dining table that was surrounded by chairs and lit from above by several lanterns suspended from the ceiling. The table had huge amount of food enough to feed more than ten people. But as scrumptious as they looked, Ichigo and Renji gazed at them with much suspicion, while Asa merely blinked.

"What's this?" muttered the orange-haired boy. "I thought she said "entertain" as in she was going to work us hard, but she's actually treating us to a meal."

"So it seems." was Renji's response.

"Wow!" shouted Kon, who drooled at the sight of the food. "This is great! Let's eat! Wah, I'm so hungry right now!"

"Idiot!" yelled Ichigo, grabbing the stuffed-lion before he would dig in. "There's no way they'd give us something like this for free! It's probably an excuse to train us hard! Don't let your guard down!"

"Oh, I see Urahara Kisuke made you quite suspicious." noted Kirio, who was at the kitchen doorway and overheard him. "Don't be worried! Gaton Palace is the Palace of Food! My job is to fill your bellies. And your job is to fill your bellies! Come on. Eat as much as you like. I'm sure you're incredibly hungry." As if on cue, their stomachs growled loudly.

"O-Oh?!" said Ichigo excitedly. "Now that she said it, I feel hella hungry!"

"O-Okay!" agreed Renji. "Let's eat, Ichigo!"

"Yeah!" cheered Kon.

Thanking her, the three of them began to gobble down their food while Asa took some dishes and put them on her plate. When she was about to eat, someone placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up and see Kirio standing behind her. "After you've eaten, come to my kitchen." she instructed quietly, not wanting the others to hear her conversation. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay." responded Asa with a nod. Giving her a firm grip and a smile, Kirio went back to continue cooking. Once she had enough, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and went inside the kitchen, leaving the three hungry Souls to devour their food. "Kirio-san, what is it you wanted to talk to me about-" She abruptly stopped her sentence when she saw a slender woman with big breasts and long hair let down. Asa blinked owlishly at her before hesitantly asked, "A-Are you Kirio-san?"

Upon hearing her name, she stopped decorating the three tier cake and looked behind her, smiling. "Oh, you're done!" she noted chirpily before quickly returning to the task at hand. "Just give me a few minutes, then we can talk." Asa patiently waited for a few minutes until Kirio connected the last bit of icing on the cake, putting the bag down and turned back around. "Okay, I'm done! Now we can talk."

"Um, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Asa.

Kirio's cheerful smile turned into a frown, and she looked serious. "I need to talk to you about your parents." she began. "Or rather, who your family really was." A quiet gasp was elicited from Asa's lips, and she was too stunned to even say a word. So Kirio decided that she would have to start off. "Let's begin with your paternal side. The late Captain-Commander was your grandfather, and your grandmother was the late Yamamoto Emiko, who died shortly after your grandfather took the position of the Captain-Commander. Your father's name was Yamamoto Tetsuo, and I know him back in the days when he used to work with me in the 12th Division. A very handsome man, I would say." She then had an emotionless expression on her face as blue lines appeared on top of her head. "And he was the laziest Shinigami I've ever known. It's not that he was weak or anything; his powers were as superior as a Captain's. But he just preferred sitting inside the lab and do research instead of going out to patrol. It would take us almost an hour to convince him to get out of the lab and go for a mission." Asa could only sheepishly laugh at this, picturing Kirio having to drag her lazy father out of his comfort zone and send him on a mission.

Kirio's expression then changed into one of nostalgia when she continued, "But it never ceased to amaze me when I found out that he was marrying 6th Division's 3rd Seat named Matsushima Kazumi. She was so beautiful that she was popular among men and women. Everyone used to say that Tetsuo-chan and her were a match because of their good looks. Anyway, moving on to your mother, she was the daughter of Matsushima Yoshio and Risa; and it was the Matsushima Family that treasured the Soul Necklace. It was a manifestation of Risa-sama's desire to protect her husband, so she used a fraction of her Reishi to create this necklace, which eventually was passed to your mother, then you, who gave it to Kuchiki Byakuya."

Asa at least was able to get the family tree completed inside her ind, but she couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Sure, Kirio gave her the names of her parents and grandparents. Excluding her paternal grandfather, she knew that both grandmothers and her maternal grandfather passed away because of incurable diseases. What about her parents?

"May I know what happened to my parents?" she asked.

Kirio was silent for a fraction before she replied, "I don't know, Asa-chan." But the said woman could tell that she was hesitant to answer. She knew that prying for one would be pointless, so she brushed it off and continued listening to what Kirio had to say. "What you need to know right now is that your grandmother's name wasn't Risa. Her real name was Liesa." Asa didn't know where this was leading, but Kirio continued, "What I'm trying to say that your grandmother was the daughter of the Soul King. Which means you are the direct descendant of the Soul King."

At that moment, so much of emotions overwhelmed Asa, mainly shock and bewilderment. To put it in simpler terms, she's the great-granddaughter of the Soul King? She couldn't even process that information well. It came as a surprised just like that. But now that she thought about it, it made sense why the Soul King called her to his Palace, though she wasn't sure if she would meet him.

Kirio watched the stunned woman with sympathy. As much as she wanted to let her take a seat and keep herself calm, time was running out, and Asa need to know this crucial piece of information on her life. Carefully approaching her, she placed a hand on Asa's shoulder, prompting her to look at her, and gave an assuring smile. "I know this comes as a shock for you, but the truth cannot be kept away for too long. You will know in the future, but I'm not the right person for you to ask for answers. I only told you what I know and what I'm ordered to tell you. I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

Asa looked at her and smiled meekly, giving her a curt nod. "I understand." she responded. "But thank you, Kirio-san. At least I know more about my family. If I want to know more about the truth, I'll have to find it myself."

The said woman nodded back before removing her hand to grab the large spatula and let it rest on her shoulder. With Asa trailing behind, she walked towards the door, just in time to hear the last bit of Renji and Ichigo's conversation. "I see you understand what I meant to say!" The moment they, along with Kon, saw her, they spat out their food. "You're right! What we're doing is the same you would normally do to get ready for training. However, we're doing it in a scale worthy of the Soul King. Our "ceremonies" are filled with the power of the Soul King and a million years of history of Soul Society. Even simple things like "treatment" and "food" are on a whole different level. Now just be quiet and prepare your body. So that you don't die in the next palace." Stepping aside, she presented the cake she was decorating earlier. "Here! If you got it, have this dessert too!"

"WHO ARE YOU?!" yelled the stunned Ichigo and Renji, while Kon swooned at her figure, especially her large breasts.

"Ah, I see." she said nonchalantly. "I forgot to tell you. When I cook, I end up using my whole Reiatsu. So by the time I finish all the dishes, I've lost a lot of weight. I always try to get as fat as possible, otherwise my body can't endure it." Ichigo and Renji's flushed faces had emotionless expressions, while Kon was smiling from ear to ear.

As she watched the Shinigami walk towards the disc where they used to move from palace to palace, they heard her call their names, prompting them to look at her. "I said that our "ceremonies" are filled with a million years of history of Soul Society. All of us members of the Zero Division are people who created something in Soul Society. In other words, the Soul King acknowledged that all of us are "part of the history of Soul Society". What I created is the "Temporary Soul" and the technique to incorporate inside the body. Before I created it, the idea of "Gikon", or "Temporary Soul", didn't exist. It's thanks to the concept of "Gikon" that eventually, the "Gikongai" was invented.

"The essence of a "Gikon" is to take something with a complete separate Reiatsu than ours and incorporate it inside our body to raised our power level. You are food made with the same idea. Now your bodies should contain a completely different kind of Reiatsu than before. I hope you can sense it." The Shinigami looked at themselves, seeming to able to understand what she was saying as they felt their Reiatsu had improved.

"But still, be careful." she warned. "I don't know what he will do in the next palace. Oetsu Nimaiya of the Houou Palace, is the man who created the Zanpakutou."