My fanfic

[Undying]

Ok... So I wrote a fanfic. Comments are appriciated.
To Saw Dissension…
Cold.
It was cold. Or that was what she thought when she left that little house in East Rukongai, where her eyes-and-ears for the Material World were stationed.
Now she knew better. Unusually for Soul-Society, it was raining, the kind of rain that is not just rain, which is actually much wetter than usual rain, the kind of rain that is nothing more than a sea with slots in it. She Shunpoed as fast as she could, as she was already late for her meeting. Her destination was still some miles off, a house within the Seireitei, where her quarry was waiting. They’d be worried, she knew. She was never late. But now she was. She’ll have to explain herself. And that made her rather angry, she didn’t like being out late at night, and even less liked when it rained, and she never liked explaining herself. But these were her friends. And people do strange things for friendship.
In a house within the Seiretei, four dark forms stood or sat on the floor in perfect silence. One of the figures, a tall, slender young man with blue-gray eyes, standing by the window, suddenly turned.

“She is late,” he said with a low voice, “she is never late. Something must’ve gone wrong”.

Another figure, definitely feminine though short and slim, sitting on the floor, responded with a languorous voice: “Relax, Kazuma. You worry too much. Chiaki-chan is a very responsible person. She has a reason for being late, I just know it.”
Kazuma stood quietly for a moment; quiet long enough to let a third figure, another male, to speak up. His voice was deep and calm.

“We all know that Chiaki is rarely late, Eimiko. Kazuma has reason enough to be worried.”

The fourth figure, a tall, slim woman, spoke: “We know, Tsubasa. It’s just that her being late is not reason to worry. You know the saying – better late then never. And we agreed to meet here no later than midnight; it’s still not that…”-
She was cut of by the appearance of another woman, tall and slim, pretty yet with an air of a strict teacher around her, with her hair tied in the back like a tall ponytail and wearing glasses. None of the people in the room expressed surprise, being captains, they were rarely surprised, and they were expecting her, so they sensed her approach before she arrived.
Kazuma sighed in relief.

“Finally. You are well bloody late, so do bother to explain yourself,” was what he said.

“Still pungent as ever, I see,” Chiaki responded with a smile. No matter how long they were friends, she still clamed she hated his occasional swearing, even though her comments were usually followed by a smile to take away the sting. However, she did explain herself. “Our watchers confirm all the reports. The Hollow activity has increased, and the Hollows also appear to have increased in strength, though they are still nothing that the unseated Shinigami can’t handle. Also, we have received an unconfirmed report…” She trailed off, obviously not knowing to continue that.

Emi looked at her and asked: “What is so strange about the report, Chiaki?”

Chiaki compressed her lips for a moment, than said: “The Shinigami report that some of the Hollows they encountered had their masks off.”
Shocked silence answered her.

Then, Tsubasa spoke: “removed to what extent?” He was always one to notice thing other didn’t. Some thought him slow witted, but he was slow only in a manner of speaking, always considering every aspect before deciding. Most people conveniently ignored the fact that Tsubasa usually reached the most logical and correct decision.

“According to the reports, the masks are never more than half off. However, the increase of power is quite dramatic. Several Shinigamis have already lost their lives battling those creations. They call themselves “Arrankar”.”

For a moment, nobody spoke; chewing the information, and then Eimiko spoke: “Those… Arrankars?” she stumbled a bit over the unfamiliar word.
“They are a threat. We must learn how they removed their masks. We know that some Hollows managed to remove the masks, but never in mass quantities. And now they seem to have grown in power as well as numbers.”

Emi spoke, almost on top of Eimiko: “It appears that an investigation is necessary.” Both women exchanged glances. They mostly managed to understand each other perfectly, and thus they could speak to complete each other’s ideas.
Kazuma wore a thoughtful expression, his blue eyes clouded by thought and concern.

Then he spoke: “Ok, so we are to leave within the hour to the material World. Inform your Vic Captains and warn them to keep it secret.”

“Why secret?” Asked Tsubasa, his brown eyes thoughtful. “Why not report to the Sou-Taichou?”

“Because, Tsubasa, I suspect that a Shinigami is behind the appearance of those Arrankars. If we were to inform the Commodore, we are sure to attract his attention. Besides, last I checked in the Material World, there was an abnormally high Reiatsu that attracted the Hollows.”

Chiaki stared at him, astonished. “What Reiatsu? I never felt anything abnormal there.”

”It’s hard to feel,” he replied, “I sensed it by pure accident.”
Tsubasa looked at him.

“Then we depart within the hour.”
Everyone agreed. They mostly did. There was hardly a leader among them, but when it came to making such lightning quick decisions, Kazuma was usually the one to make them. This was because he could analyze facts very quickly, and usually he pulled off the right decision.
They Shunponed out, each towards his or hers Division Headquarters.
As they left the room, a lone shadow begun to extend from the shadow near the window. As it extended, it took the shape of a human, though it was hard to see distinguishing attributes.

The thing spoke, in a strange other worldly voice, yet definitely a woman’s voice: “They suspect. You should have taken more care.”
Another figure entered the room, wearing the clothing of a Shinigami and the robe of a captain. “They are fools. They will chase after this “abnormal Reiatsu”, and never realize that we are growing stronger. I command you to refrain from action.” With those words, the Shinigami left. The woman stood there for a moment, then vanished. She needed to give orders.
Chapter 2:
… Is to Reap Chaos.
“They what?” asked the lean, blond haired man.

“Like I said, Commodore, they have apparently disappeared from Soul-Society, because as of last night, we were unable to trace them.”

“Damn!” Thought Urahara Kisuke, 1st Division captain, captain-commander of the Gotei 13 and the Commodore of the Special Militia Force, and the rest of the dozen or so titles that have been shoved into him the day he was promoted, well over a thousand years, now. Frankly, he never gave a damn about them. He was more worried about the disappearance of five captains, from the finest Soul-Society had in the last five hundred years. They were more commonly known as the “Great Five” referring to their strong friendship and the fact that they never done anything serious without all of them agreeing about it.

“Summon the captains for a meeting now, and order a Vice-Captain meeting as well,” he instructed his vice-captain, Tessai. The burly man ran swiftly outside, calling for a Hell-Butterfly.
Kisuke stared at the ceiling of the chamber. Why did they leave? he wondered. They had no apparent reason to leave Soul-Society so suddenly.

As the captains entered the large chamber, he straightened and looked forward.
As usual, Matsuo Amon, the 10th Division captain, was the first to arrive. After him, the 6th Division captain, Nakamura Taiki, arrived as usual wearing his inscrutable face, followed by Hara Masahiro, the 5th Division captain, calm and collected as usual. The 7th and 9th Division captains, the Sakamoto sisters, were next, followed by the 12th Division captain, Hitomaru Akechi who strode in sedately. As usual, the last one to arrive was the 11th Division captain, Saruwatari Takimi, Eimiko’s half brother.

“Men!” said Kisuke, “we may be facing traitors among our ranks.”
A murmur of surprise echoed that statement. There was never an outright traitor amongst the Shinigami. Simply because there was nowhere to go, as the only betrayal a Shinigami could perform was to ally with the Hollows, and allying with them was quite useless, seeing as they were as likely to eat the Shinigami as follow him.

“True? Betrayers?” asked Amon, “this might explain a few things my Division members reported…” He trailed off under the 1st captain’s stern gaze.

“They reported something to you?” Kisuke asked in a quiet, dangerous voice.
Almost everyone who heard this voice never lived to tell the tale, since he usually used it right before releasing his Bankai and destroying his opponent. Amon, however, remained calm and collected.

“I have received those this morning, commodore. I intended to pass them to you within the hour, but you called for a captain meeting.”
Kisuke nodded. The man was right, after all.

“What reports?” he asked again, in a more normal voice.

“Apparently, the Hollows that they encounter are far superior to the former ones, and they appear in far greater numbers. Also, they appear to have hybridized.”

Taiki seemed perplexed. His eyebrow twitched, what in another man would have been tearing his hair and shouting from anger. “How can they? They need Shinigami help for that!” he sounded perplexed, that was unusual, seeing as his voice was mostly completely dispassionate. “Then that means that those who left…” “We must…” everyone spoke at once, forcing Kisuke to raise his voice: “SILENCE!” the room reverberate with his voice and fell silent.

“We will send search teams into the material world. If those five are indeed traitors, we will take further action.”
For a few moments, the silence in the room was so intense that it could be cut with a Zanpaku-to, or so it seemed to Akechi. He pushed his glasses up his nose, as he usually did when he wished to speak.

“My friends,” he said, “we should also be prepared for an all out attack by the Hollows, especially if the five who left are indeed traitors and realize that we are on their tracks.”

Kisuke nodded. “I will issue special wartime orders, allowing captains not to limit themselves while going to the Material World. The captain’s meeting is hereby dismissed.”
As the captains left, Kisuke practically fell on the high backed chair. “Damn… How I hate issuing wartime orders. Why can’t anything go smoothly for a change?”

The vice-captain’s meeting did not go as well as Matsumoto Rangiku, the 3rd Division vice-captain, had hoped. Captain had specifically asked her to make sure no one knew that he and the other Great Five have left, and where to, but that annoying 10th Division vice-captain, Akira, had claimed all of her attention. Everyone knew the man was as flirtatious as a prostitute, but the man knew that she and her captain are lovers, and yet he claims to “love” her. As if he had not told that to every third girl he met! Suddenly she heard a voice behind her.

“Rangiku-san, wait up!” turning, she smiled widely. The 4th Division captain, Isane, was nearing her. Right behind her, she caught sight of the 8th Division vice, Tomoe, the 2nd Division vice, Riku, and the 13th vice, Michiyo. They all were good friends, if not as good as the Great Five.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked as soon as they approached.

“Good thing you held that idiot’s attention,” said Tomoe. There was no need for her to say which idiot she meant. “If he was to hear that none of us knew to where our captains are…” she trailed off, leaving the implications to imagination. Rangiku shook her head, her reddish brown hair swinging. Captain was so mysterious about his destination….

“So what do you think, Rangiku-san, where are our captains?” to those words, memories sprang up, and she remembered their conversation the night before.

“Rangiku…” Kazuma Flash Stepped into the room as he said her name. She turned, surprised to see him up so late. Usually, he’d have been sleeping for hours already. “Captain, where were you?” She asked. She knew too well to question him, but she disliked not knowing where he went.

“I and the others had had a meeting. We must leave to the Material World at once.” He moved around the room, quickly picking up random sheets, his captain’s cloak swishing about.

“Why?” She asked, stunned. “Where are you going? To what purpose?” He shook his head.

“I can’t tell you. I am sorry, Rangiku.” With those words, he turned to leave. However, she was not going to let him run around without letting her know. He did that, once. And she was forced through three days of worry before he returned. She was so not going to let him do that again. Standing up and crossing the room, she caught his hand just as he turned toward the entrance.

“I’m sorry, Kazuma-kun, but I must know where you are going.”

When she used his name instead of “Taicho”, he usually listened. Usually. This time, though, he shook his head.

“Sorry, Rangiku.”
She punched him in the ribs, hard enough to make him grunt.

“Oh no. You are going to tell me where are you going and why, and
you will do that now,” she spoke firmly, yet gently. She could never shout or truly be angry with him. For a moment she thought he was going to punch her back. Impossible, of course, since she knew for a fact that he will never hurt a woman without the direst necessity, but his gaze, two pale blue, almost white eyes staring at her with no expression whatsoever, unnerved her completely. Then he sighed.

“Fine, I am going to the Material World for investigation. Please make sure no one discover where we are.” He bent and kissed her lightly.

“You might want to be careful around Shinigami; there may be a traitor among us. Oh, and please take care of the paper work.” After saying this, he disappeared. Rangiku sighed. She was in for a serious ordeal.

Isane was worried. From her conversation with Rangiku-san and the others, none knew where their captains are. Rangiku-san had no idea where did Kurokawa-taicho disappear, and if she didn’t know where her lover was… She thought about what had Nakashima-taicho said.

”Isane, please do not let the other captains know that I and the others are gone to the Material World. We must investigate some occurrences.” Isane was stunned by this turn of events. Usually, taicho always told her was did she go. However, she trusted Emi. They were friends ever since their Rukongai days, and Emi never once had failed her trust.

“As you say, taicho,” was all she said. She wanted to know more. But she knew that her captain could be as closed mouthed as a wall when she did not want to reveal anything.

And now she knew they were sent to investigate something. Perhaps it was those reports about the Hollows.
At any rate, she decided, I will keep watch for anything. Just in case.

Tomoe was terrified. Her captain was gone, and all he said was to keep watch and do the paper work. Hah! As if she did not always to it. It looked like the other captains were every bit as closed mouthed as hers. She never felt so good away from Tsubasa-taicho. She always felt protected and calm when he was around. When he was not, however… She did not want to think of that. He was as dear to her as her life, and that was that. When she met him, she’ll show him what it means to leave her clueless like this! After she finished hugging him, of course. She wanted to be next to him, but for now, she needed to make sure the higher-ups did not deem him a traitor and executed him. So she will stay here.

Riku exchanged a glance with Michiyo. Their captains did not say more. Interesting. Usually, at least one of the captains revealed enough for them to know more. That was strange, but now they had to watch for any further action by the higher-ups. As she looked into Michiyo’s eyes, she knew that Michiyo was thinking along the same lines. They always managed to know what the other thought. They were the best friends there are since before they even thought of becoming Shinigamis. And she saw the same decision spring up in her friends eyes. Turning to her friends, she noticed how worried they were.

“Listen, everyone,” she said, and everyone turned to her, “as you know, our taichos disappeared, but we remain loyal. We will watch for the higher-ups’ reactions, and should they attempt anything untoward, we will go to the Material World and inform our captains.” Everyone nodded. “Good. Now let’s return to our Division Headquarters and watch.”

As everyone went to their respective compounds, several Hell Butterflies followed them.
And then, a message was announced to the 13 divisions: Vice-captains, seated officers, Shinigami. Please pay attention. As of the moment, a special wartime order is announced. All Shinigami of captain and vice-captain status will have no limit placed on them when going to the Material World. This is because the 2nd Division captain, Saruwatari Eimiko, the 3rd Division captain, Kurokawa Kazuma, the 4th Division captain, Nakashima Emi, the 8th Division captain, Nakamura Tsubasa, and the 13th Division captain, Akimoto Chiaky, have disappeared from Soul-Society for unknown reasons. Until such time as the situation has been clarified, the wartime orders stand.

Rangiku turned around and ran towards the others. As they met, they looked at each other and nodded.

“We are leaving at once,” said Tomoe, “We must warn our captains!” Everyone agreed. They had to warn their captains. So they ran.


Ukitake Juushiro thought he had never seen an odder collection of students. One, a tall, well built young man, with his hair combed upwards like a short, silvery-white flame, with two hairs falling in the middle of his forehead. His almond shaped eyes had a rather cold expression, their pale blue-gray, nearly with pupils looking like the eyes of a predator. His shoulders were wide, but just wide enough to fit perfectly well with his slender waist. He was about 1.80, estimated Juushiro. About my height… was the thought that passed his mind.
Another, a wide, strong looking, looked as if nothing could faze him. His perfectly calm, deep brown eyes and wide face wore an expression of utter calm. He had narrower shoulders, yet he reminded Juushiro of building, or a wall. Almost as if he has already seen everything…. Another, a short, slender dark-skinned woman, her left hand incomplete, gave the impression that she might burst at any given moment. Her long black hair spilled to her shoulders. Her dark eyes managed to appear like two bottomless holes while still looking dreamy.
The second girl, taller and with blue eyes, with silver hair and a pretty face, had her arms crossed under her bosom, with a generally bored expression. She was pretty, but not to Juushiro’s taste.
you can’t deny she has a body… he thought to himself.
The third girl was a rather tall one, with light blue hair spilling to her shoulders. She had light blue eyes and an aura of anger around her, but Juushiro still thought she was beautiful. His short white hair – growing down to his neck – swung as he shook his head. She was just as he wanted a woman to be. Suddenly he noticed they began introducing themselves:

“I am Kurokawa Kazuma,” said the tall, silver haired boy, though it was hard not to think of him as a man. His eyes made him appear more a wolf than anything else. He voice was deep, reassuring one. The kind of voice you usually hear from someone who has nothing to fear. Now that he thought about it, the man sounded almost like Sesshomaru fro the Inuyasha Anime. How he hated it! But the voice fit with Kazuma’s appearance of arrogance.

“I am Saruwatari Eimiko!” Said the short, black haired girl. She had a pleasant, languorous voice. She seemed like a nice person, a nearly perfect contrast to Kazuma.

“I am Nakamura Tsubasa,” said the fat boy. No, not fat. He was large, but that was more muscle than anything. His voice was deep and resounding.

“I am Nakshima Emi!” said the silver haired girl. Her voice bell chimes.

“I am Akimoto Miharu.” Despite her appearance, she had a voice like the sound of running water. Juushiro was attracted to her. She was beautiful. He wanted to talk to her. But that cold wait. Something about them made him worry. Not something he could put his finger on, but still… He decided to keep watch. Just in case.


Matsuo Amon, the 10th Division captain, walked through the 10th Division compound. His wide face wore his usual fond smile and calm expression. Inside, he felt like laughing and rolling on the floor from happiness. Those idiots thought the Great Five were the traitors! He nearly did laugh. Entering his room, he closed the door. And then he began laughing. He laughed and laughed, till his sides hurt. His vice-captain, Yamshita Akira, entered the room.

“I see nothing funny about this,” said, his Kansai accent strong in his voice.

“Well… you are an idiot, I know that already,” replied Amon. “Don’t you get it? When those five are found, they will be executed with charges of treason, and that will mean losing five captains for Soul-Society. Plus, when you and I disappear, that will leave 6 able captains. See how much they will weaken themselves? When we and our cohorts attack, we shall annihilate them.”
Akira though on it, his narrow, always smiling face serious. Then, his eyes widened considerably, and that was considerable, as his eyes usually appeared closed.

“I see…” he understood. Amon shook his head.

“You are a total idiot. Anyway, continue with the plan.” Akira nodded and vanished.
Amon, sitting there all alone, thought about the saying his master taught him.

“To saw dissension… Is to reap chaos.”

Chapter 3:
MISCONSEPTIONS
“…We shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight, with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be…” the annoying voice was going on rambling for hours, or so it seemed to Kazuma, sitting as he was in the back of the class. His right hand, slender yet obviously muscled, laid on the table in front of him. It twitched. And then it became a fist. He was pressing so hard his knuckles were white. His eyebrow twitched. And then he looked sideways, to Chiaki, sitting right beside him and seemed to be on the edge of her seat, listening to the annoying voice of… What was his name again? Chub? No… Chur… Something. He couldn’t remember. Shooting a glance toward the aged man who was the history teacher – why would someone be interested in something that happened over fifty years ago, especially when you lived no longer than a century at best? – He noticed the bald man was engrossed in listening to that moron. Bald, but with a very long beard that spilled down to his stomach, narrowing to a point and apparently combed. Heck, I don’t ever wan to have a beard like that. If I ever age, that is… with that thought, he turned to the beautiful, blue haired woman near him.

“Psst… hey, Chiaki,” he said in a low voice.

“What?” she asked, not turning from the teacher. What kind of name was Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni? It sounded… Plain weird.

“Don’t “what” me, idiot!” He spoke furiously, his patience having finally exhausted itself.

“Why on the bloody earth are we stuck in those annoying Gigais, and why are we being students? I can hardly stand it anymore!” Chiaki turned her face to him, her beautiful deep blue eyes looking like twin lakes.
Oh… I think I just awakened the devil… Kazuma considered bolting to the door. The woman nearly killed him once or twice when she was angry, and good looks or no, she proved once again that a leopard could have a pair of blue eyes. His first proof, Rangiku, was well engraved in his mind, and Chiaki made Rangiku look like a tamed house-cat. Despite his fears, she spoke rather calmly. The class was more interesting to her than it seemed, apparently.

“You know very well why we are here, Kazuma. Tsubasa presented his reasoning long before we ever arrived.”
Kazuma shook his head, and his short hair, combed and somehow seeming to stream backwards, shook slightly. He changed hair styles as often as moods, and in his case, it was pretty much hourly.

“Moron! Just because it will be harder for a bunch of idiots from the Covert Ops to find our Reiatsu if we bloody hide it within those Gigais, and just because no one will expect five bloody captains to be students in a regular school, and just because they will bloody search for Retais and not Gigais, it’s not a good thing!”
He spoke as loudly as he could without raising his voice above a whisper. Chiaki shook her head, and that long, blue hair that spilled down to the middle of her back shook.

“I am tired of your endless curses, Kazuma. As much as I respect you, I can’t stand it. So please stop. And you know quite well that it is a good reason as any.” Kazuma gritted his teeth. Damn! I was such a bloody idiot! I shouldn’t have agreed!
Suddenly he noticed that the annoying voice was replaced by the teacher’s old rasping one. Ignoring what the moron was speaking, he stared out of the window. He hoped the search teams of the Cover Ops will choke while searching for them. That would make it worthwhile.


Later that day, or rather, later that evening, five people sat on a roof top. Three teenage girls and one wide teenage boy sat beneath a metal tube that bent forward. The fifth, a young teenager with black hair that spiked in every way in an obviously impossible way, was sitting in front of the four others. He was shouting.

“WHY THE HELL ARE WE SITTING ON A ROOF TOP! YOU SAID YOU HAD AN EXELLENT PLACE!” His hands were clutched into fists and his knuckles were white. Chiaki thought he never looked angrier, or funnier.

“Well, you could always switch place with one of the ladies,” said Tsubasa with an evil grin. “You could just not be a gentleman for once.” He knew, of course, that Kazuma had such mannerisms engraved into his bones, and he’d rather die than see a woman hurt – unless he had good reasons not to act that way.

“Shut up! At least it’s not raining, I’d die if it rained…” he trailed off, because it suddenly started raining, and not simply raining. It was raining buckets, literally.

“I… want… to… kill… someone,” Kazuma said through gritted teeth. Chiaki giggled. It was a while since she saw Kazuma in such an inconvenient situation. And he looked funny, with his hair now lying on his head.

“Well… you always have the option of begging us to give you a place,” she said with a grin matching Tsubasa’s for evil. “

You shut up!” he growled through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing considerably and his hair seeming to stand.

“You know, I think if it wasn’t raining, he’d be black by now,” Eimiko spoke for the first time since she snuggled up for sleeping.

“One good thing comes from having it rain cats and dogs on my head…” Kazuma was desperate.


Juushiro looked out of his window, to the roof of the house opposite his, standing where two streets met and created a crossroad of sorts, were several people. He recognized them – they were the new students that arrived today. From the angle he stood, he could see the blue haired girl. The more he thought about her, the more he became convinced – she was the perfect girl for him. His favorite color was blue, and everything seemed blue about her – blue eyes, blue hair. And besides, he really couldn’t remember a girl that appeared so beautiful to him. If one did, that must mean something. A rustling behind him announced Genryusai-sensei’s arrival. The aged man, with his bald head and Taoist-like beard, appeared a usual, sleepy old man, which he most definitely wasn’t. The man had enough muscles to appear as if he was going to the gym everyday.

“What is it, Genryusai-sensei?” Asked Juushiro. The aged teacher almost never came into his room, and such a visit meant something.

“You are intending to invite that girl here, even though you know what she is?” Genryuusai-sensei’s creased face was expressionless. Juushiro wasn’t surprised that his teacher was aware of such things, he was used to it.

“I do.” Genryuusai looked at him. “They can be agents from them. We cannot trust them.”

“But sensei-” Juushiro tried to persuade him. Sensei understood.

“You like her.” That simple statement caught the white haired boy by surprise. Blushing fiercely he mumbled, “No… I…” before Genryuusai burst out laughing.

“Well, whatever. Just so long as you are aware of the situation.” The aged man turned away and left Juushiro redder than a fresh tomato. However, that didn’t make him less determined to make that girl his. He knew he still had someone to persuade. Turning, he went. He hoped that the orange haired man will listen to reason.


The next day, in school, Juushiro approached Chiaki with the proposition of staying in his house. Or tried to. He was barely able to speak, standing so close to her and having those big blue eyes rest on his. He, who never lost his tongue, was speechless. Suddenly a resounding crash summoned them to classroom A-2. Inside, standing before a shattered window, was Kazuma, with a glare that made the teacher, who was considered one of the prettiest women around and thus the best in handling male students, was keeping a safe distance of about 30 feet from him.

“Hey, Kazu, what‘s up?” Asked a startled Tsubasa, having just arrived at the scene.

“What do you mean what’s up, moron? I am going violent, ain’t that obvious?” Kazuman threw an evil glance at Tsubasa.

“Oh no, you aren’t going black on me now!” Tsubasa’s voice rang with anger.

“No one’s asking you, blockhead!” Kazuma smiled a devilish grin and charged forward. A girl was caught in his path, and he stopped, cupped her chin a brought her face close to his.

“What a cute lady,” his smile widening, which made him appear like a real life devil.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Chiaki rammed into him, forcing him a few feet away. Tsubasa ran forward, trying to force the demon-like man further back.

“Tell you what; let’s settle this on the roof!” Kazuma’s voice was filled with demented happiness. Kicking the window so strongly that the entire frame exploded outside, he jumped outside and heaved himself unto the roof without any apparent strain.

“Going black?” asked Juushiro, turning to Chiaki.

“It’s something that happens to us from time to time,” she replied with a heavy sigh, “it’s kind of like an opposite personality.”

“Opposite personality?” Juushiro wondered, obviously lost.

“Well, it’s like this,” she said, “we never had the best lives, and so, when we are very agitated and annoyed, or overly tired, we go into this “black mode”. Each one of us has his unique “black” personality, and in Kazuma’s case, it’s a twisted and evil version of himself.”

“But, isn’t this pretty much his usual behavior? I mean, he is normally evil like that”.

“But he’ll never break something, or even touch a girl like that. And unfortunately… the only person capable of dealing with it is not here.”
She shook her head, blue hair swishing

“Who’s that?” he asked, startled. As far as he was concerned, no one was able to convince Kazuma to stop doing something once he had decided doing that, he never let someone else’s thoughts interfere.

“Well…” Chiaki shook her head again, and then she said: “sorry, I have to go and help Tsubasa. He’ll never stop that demon alone.”
She ran.
Suddenly it dawned on Juushiro that he had a perfectly normal conversation with the girl that precisely five minutes ago was making him blush and stammer. Well, he thought, maybe I can talk with her normally. The thought made him brighten, maybe he could get her to date him, if her could talk with her normally. Turning, he ran after her, thinking to ask her again.
Meanwhile, on the roof, Kazuma was smiling, and was giving Tsubasa a hard time over how to stop him from crashing the two huge iron towers that were supposedly there for “Air Cooling”, whatever that was. Being slimmer, Kazuma was faster, and he was far better at tag anyway.

“Hey, Tsu-san, you’re so slow!” he laughed out loud, dodging one of Tsubasa’s attempts to grab him.

“So, Now---“ he never finished the sentence, because his head was suddenly trapped between a pair of rather large breasts, and his eyes were covered.

A female’s voice spoke: “Gue~~~~~~~ss who~~~~~o?” Kazuma froze for a moment with a blank expression.

“Rangiku, quit that annoying behavior!” He snapped, agitated.

“Wyyyyyy! You guessed from the first time, Kazu-rin!” Matsumot Rangiku, with her hour-glass like frame, bent on Kazuma’s left, smiling, most of her marvelous bosom and long, slim legs exposed, because she wore a Japanese school uniform. Smiling widely, she made the cutest face she could and looked into her Captain’s face.

“Why the amazement, taich-o-kun?”
Chapter 4:
Lessons
“LOL”.
“OMG”.
“WTF”.
“IMO”.

“Hey… what do there mean, anyway?” Emi was confused more after the boy’s rather enthusiastic explanations about “Internet” and “Web”, and those short words that meant so much.

“Well… I will explain again the, Emi-san” the brown haired boy said, looking at her with admiring eyes. Emi was used to men staring at her – she was well aware of the fact that she was a beautiful woman, and not new how to use it when necessary. However, this boy’s eyes held something more. She disliked the hunger she saw there. Regardless, Asano Keigo was probably her only way of learning the ways of the material world. She sincerely hoped that Kazu and Tsuabsa were doing better than her in learning. Well, there was nothing to worry about with Kazuma, being handsome and attractive; he rarely had any problem acquiring information when there were girls about. Shaking her head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts, she returned her attention to Keigo, whose brown hair swung unbelievably after each time he jumped with excitement.

“So you see, “OMG” means “Oh My God”, and “LOL’ is “Laughing Out Loud”, and…” He kept on rambling, and Emi was tempted to beat him. The guy just wouldn’t shut up! She thought what would she have done to him had he been in her division. He’d learn to talk slower and in a more civilized manner. Suddenly she heard someone calling her name. Turning, she saw Chiaki and Eimiko running towards her, both seemed slightly… afraid.

“Emi! Bad news, Kazu’s black!” Gasped Eimiko as soon as they were near enough to speak.

“He’s what?” Emi’s worst fears were realized. “Damn! Where is he now?”

“On the roof, he challenged Tsubasa for a match. This was the best way to keep him away from any girls around.”

“Ok, let’s go!” Emi, Chiaki and Eimiko ran as fast as they could in their human-like Gigais, which was rather slow, in their estimation.

“Oh… why are Gigais made to have the same abilities as a normal human body?” Eimiko complained. She disliked being handicapped in any way, since she was already restricted with her incomplete left arm. That did not hinder her speed, though.
As they ran, Emi couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was following her. She never liked that feeling, and if she was feeling it now…


Keigo watched as the most beautiful girl he ever saw was running away to help that Kazuma guy. He didn’t think there was something there… but Kazuma was really good looking, and if he decided to make a move on a girl, very few would have refused. Clutching his fists, he went into an empty class room and looked outside the window.

“Kurokawa Kazuma… huh? I will beat you! I will make that silver haired beauty mine!” He shouted, raising his fist into the air.

"Oh, Keigo, you got yourself a new “love”?” a voice asked. Keigo turned, to his friend, Mizuiro.

“It’s not a “love”!!!! It’s true love! Love at first sight!!!” Keigo was adamant at his position.

“Keigo… be honest.” Mizuiro was rather skeptical. “You aren’t the best-looking guy, after all, with that plain face and weird looking hair, what girl will fall for you? If not for your excellent ability at talking to girls, you wouldn’t have every girl in our class – even the all out lesbian, Chizuru! – fall for you. So what makes you think it’s a love at first sight, Mr. No 1 womanizer of the Karakura high?”

“It’s not womanizer, it’s the “Self Proclaimed No 1 Don Juan of the Karakura High!!!!!!!!!” Keigo’s voice rose and rang with pride, though Mizuiro had no idea what pride could there be in getting almost every girl in class to sleep with you. If you can’t stay with one, you shouldn’t even try, that was his opinion.

Deciding once and for or to figure out his weird friend, he asked:
“Look, Keigo, what exactly are you so proud about?” The other boy jumped.

“PROUD ABOUT WHAT? ABOUT GETTING THE No 1, MOST HARDOCE LESBIAN IN THE KARAKURA HIGH TO SLEEP WITH A GUY, ME! GET THAT, Mr. I AM SO SKEPTICAL?”

“Just because you got Chizuru to sleep with, you are as proud as a hawk?” asked a quiet, deep voice. Turning so fast he blurred, Keigo spun towards the door, where a tall, black haired and black eyed man stood. He had slightly long, perfectly chiseled face, and long, slightly wavy black hair.

“Haruka-nii!” Keigo jumped straight at the suit-wearing man, who danced nimbly out of the way, resulting in Keigo crashing headlong into the nearest wall.

“Ha… Haruka…” Keigo was bleeding from his forehead. Had Mizuiro been an Anime character, he’d have a very large sweat drop on his head, showing just how stupid he felt Keigo was. The man was an idiot, and despite numerous such injuries, continued to do the same. hmm…I wonder why… He just ends up in the nurse's office… an idea struck Asano Mizuiro.

“Keigo! You want to lay the NURSE?” he was so perplexed he shouted the last word, forgetting that the nurse’s office was just a short distance away.

“Shut up!” Keigo punched his friend’s mouth with enough force to send him flying, smashing the nearby tables. “Don’t you dare reveal my innermost plans for-“ before he could complete the sentence, a bat crashed into his head, and blasted him to the same spot he lay before. Looking at the bat, Haruka realized that there was a hand holding it that belonged to girl, with black hair that was tied into a braid.

“Dare to do that again to my boyfriend and I will murder you!” she said, her voice, a bit high pitched, was filled with menace and distaste. She truly did hate Keigo.

“Li…Li… Lisa… Keigo said, hardly able to talk. “You… you… why?” instead of answering, Lisa stepped towards him, which made Haruka, who decided that having the boy with the brown hair that seemed to be turned upwards in the back killed by the often murderous girl who seemed to have a temper of a lioness, step forward and grab Keigo by the collar.

“We’re leaving!” He said, turning towards the door and dragging Keigo after him. Lisa looked after them, blue eyes narrowed and filled with contempt behind the slim glasses she wore.

“Lisa-chan, why are you so mad?” asked Mizuiro, standing up and moving towards her. “You rarely react like that to Keigo’s idiocy.”

“That’s because he’s totally overboard! Going after the NURSE?”

“So you heard, huh?” Mizuiro chuckled.

“Yeah, I heard. Look, I don’t care if it’s Haruka or Byakuya; they are closer in age to her. But he’s a freakin’ school-boy! He’s 16! She’s what, 30?” She was working herself up, Mizuiro could see that.

“Stop, will you?” he decided to stop her before she punched him through the nearest wall. His last three months in hospital were bad enough. She turned on him, blue eyes flaring.

“WHAT did you just say?” Mizuiro stepped back. She stepped forward, pressing narrow, pretty face to his wider one.

“Listen, idiot, I can do whatever I like, so you don’t tell me what to do, get that, asshole?”
Her voice was pregnant with menace. Mizuiro decided that he needed to use extreme measures. He really liked her, and he planned to confess to her today, but if she beat him… suddenly an idea struck him.

“Hey Lisa, what do you say we go to that Ramen place you like so much? My treat?”
At that, Lisa froze. After porn Manga, which was her favorite past-time, IchiRuki Ramen stand was the best. However, being quite poor, she couldn’t afford going to there that often. She stared at him, and suddenly she done something she rarely done – she smiled.

“Really? You’ll take me there?” Her voice was enthusiastic and filled with… awe? No… could it be affection? Mizuiro nodded. And then Lisa did something she had done once before and swore never to do again – she hugged him. Mizuiro gave a faint smile. Tonight was going to be special.


Keigo struggled futilely against Haruka’s iron grasp.

“Oh come on Haruka-nii! Let me go! I can walk on my own!” he said, finally despairing.

“Quit calling me Haruka-nii!” Haruka’s voice became hard steel, the mask of softness it usually possessed disappearing. “I am not your brother!”
Keigo shrunk away from the older man’s cool gaze. Suddenly, another voice, cold and emotionless, yet somehow amused, spoke from somewhere to the right.

“You two act like an old married couple.” Haruka turned, allowing Keigo to see the cold, handsome face of Kuchiki Byakuya, the Kendo and English teacher. He wore a tuxedo similar to Haruka’s, but it was missing the lace embroidery at the lower neck and had no red string at the collar. Byakuya spoke once more.

“Why do the literature and mathematics teacher dragging the No 1 Womanizer of the Karakura high school?” despite its coldness, Byakuya’s voice had a hint of amusement. Haruka didn’t immediately react, so Keigo went for the opening.

“Haruka-san is dragging me away from Lisa, even though I’ve done nada!” Byakuya’s head turned to him, the long black hair swished a bit, creating an effect similar to a curtain opening. Keigo knew for a fact that those girls who didn’t like Haruka – and some who liked him as well – all had a serious crush on Byakuya.

“He was about to get himself beaten again by Lisa, so I decided to intervene before we ended up with another hospitalization.” Byakuya shook his head. His cold, gray eyes fixing on Keigo, he seemed to see through everything. There were far too many girls who liked it, in Keigo’s estimation.

“Why were you in that classroom anyway? I thought you never left a computer if you had the chance to sit before it.” Keigo stared for a moment and then blurted before he could stop himself:

“It’s this new girl, Emi. She’s just too beautiful! I fell in love!”

“You? In love? Asano Keigo, your idiocy has finally reached its peak, I see.” Keigo, hurt by Byakuya’s cold attitude, decided to take a shot at the man’s weak spot.

“You know, I heard that one of the new girls has blue hair and is very good at English… she’s also super hot. And that guy is trying to get her to date him. You’ll lose to that guy…” Byakuya’s eyes widened. Not only was blue his favorite color, but if he was trying to hit on a girl, and succeeding, especially if she was good at English, he couldn’t afford to lose to him. He had a goal, to become better than the white haired former Shinigami in everything, and he intended to succeed.
Turning, he walked away, leaving Keigo staring stupidly at the door. Haruka looked after the black haired man. He knew.


Tsubasa felt quite relieved after Matsumoto’s sudden appearance. He knew that she was the only one who could stop Kazuma’s black side from doing any damage. And when he looked at her, sitting on Kazuma’s lap and hugging him, talking, he really felt happy for his friend. Turning, he walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. Suddenly, an obentou box was pressed before his face, and Yukihiko Tomoe’s smiling, beautiful face appeared out of the blue.

“Hey there, Tsu-taicho!” she said, her face split with a broad smile. Tsubasa winced at the usage of his old school nickname. He disliked anyone using it… well, with the exception of Tomoe. She was probably the closest person to him, after the Great 5, not only as Vice-captain, but also as a friend.

“So… what are you doing here?” he asked, suddenly realizing that she wore a school uniform as well. She really looked good in it, he had to admit.

“We’re all here.” Her face suddenly grew grim. “Listen, Captain. There is wartime orders now, the limit on Captains venturing into the Material World have been removed until they are sure what’s going on with you five.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now that I mention it, what is going on with you five?”
Tsubasa was trapped. He promised the others he won’t tell anything to anyone until hey all agreed, but he could hardly refuse when Tomoe stood so close to him. He noticed she smelled faintly of flowers. Upon realizing what was he doing – he was trying to smell her neck – he tried to focus on her eyes, deep black and yet lively and with a slight sparkle. They looked sad. He didn’t know what to do, until he suddenly remembered that Kazu was nearby. Turning to look at him, he saw that he and Matsumoto were in the middle of doing something that didn’t allow talking – namely, kissing. Tsubasa nearly despaired at seeing that. He couldn’t ask Kazu anything if the latter’s attention was on Matsumoto, and he desperately needed to get away from Tomoe’s scent and warmth.

“Yo, Tsu-chan, first time standing close to a girl?” Kazuma’s voice was rather taunting. As Tsubasa turned to look at him, he saw that he had donned a blindfold and his hair was now white a spiked in all direction – even though it was no more than shoulder length at its longest.

“None of your business. Anyway, Kazu-chan, should I tell my Vice why are we here?” Tsubasa was rather annoyed at Kazuma’s precise understanding. Kazuma scratched his head. Despite the blindfold, he seemed as if he could see everything. Tsubasa recalled him donning it beforehand, when he was training to become a Shinigami.

“Sure. I already told Rangiku.” Now Tsubasa understood the kiss. Turning to Tomoe. He told her the whole story, about the Arrancars and their mission. He found it hard to concentrate on talking while staring straight into those beautiful eyes. Once he finished, he turned to Kazuma.

“Why did you tell Matsumoto-san everything?” Instead of answering, Kazuma turned his face towards the roof they spent the night on.

“Something… Someone is coming. I don’t know who it is, but this power… I can sense that it is the same as we are, and it is every bit as powerful. I think we should all be on our guard.”
Tsubasa’s eyes narrowed. If the crazy haired, fight loving Captain was talking about being careful… the something was definitely amiss.


As Chiaki, Emi and Eimiko ran through the corridors, a strange sensation overcame Chiaki. For some reason she could not fathom, she was convinced that they shouldn’t go on running. Somehow, she was sure. Unsurprisingly, though, when she commented on it to her two friends, they told her that they should still go. What stopped them were several voices calling to them. As they turned, Chiaki was stunned to see Sheu, Isane, and Riku, all three wearing school uniforms and running towards them.

“Yo!” they said in unison, all three girls smiling broadly.

“Huh? What are you three doing here?” asked a stunned Emi. As the three explained, Chikai’s feeling of uneasiness became far too strong to ignore. Turning to Sheu, she asked: “Is Matsumoto here? Because Kazu’s just gone black, we are on our way to see him…” Sheu nodded.

“She’s already here, we saw him jump outside from the window, so she went straight up for him.” That set Chikai really on edge. She had to run through almost the whole school, which was quite large, had to miss her favorite lesson of arts… she was going to kill Kazuma for that. Big time! She saw Eimiko and Emi climbing up to the roof, and followed, leaving her vice completley ignored. Upon arriving, she immediately neared Kazuma, who seemed to purposefully ignore her and use his blindfold – a red blindfold? She decided Kazu needed some fashion lessons. White shorts, a red, sleeveless T-Shirt and a red blindfold weren’t good with white hair. Once she was near enough to touch him, she kicked him straight in the small of his back, sending him flying across the roof to the nearest wall. Running towards him, she missed her second kick, which he dodged, raising his hands for defense.

“Chiaki-chan… I don’t want to fight…. Why did you have to go black now?” he asked desperately trying to avoid her kicks and punches, which he knew would break more than just a few bones. What deiced his fate, though, was Eimiko, who grabbed him from behind in a German Suplex, stopping him.

“Oh… Shit.” Was all he said before he was pounded to near death by the enrage Chiaki. With a spinning kick, she sent his face upwards, followed by a quick punch to the gut, making him spit blood. A kick to his crotch and two kicks to his ankles, were followed by a combo of swift punches and kicks, all aimed to break and shatter. As her rage began to subside, the blindfold flew away, torn into at least three pieces. Kazuma’s eyes were no longer pale blue, but rather deep, ocean blue. Matsumoto’s eyes widened.

“I see… so he was in Yin mode… That’s why he hardly even dodged.” She said quietly to herself. Tomoe heard her though, and inquired as to what this “Yin mode” means.
The one who answered was Tsubasa, though. As he explained, Tomoe began to wonder what kind of person was Kazuma really. What was “Demon Eyes” anyway?

Chapter 5:
De-Ja-Vu
Sheu Michiyo stared at the cloud of dust left by her Captain’s sudden leaving. She felt quite stupid. Why did Captain have to go black now? Turning, she bumped into someone who was walking behind her. She expected a hard fall, but instead felt as if someone just caught her. Looking up, she found herself staring into one of the most beautiful faces she ever saw. Slightly long, perfectly chiseled with the almond shaped, gray eyes placed to fit perfectly. He also happened to have long, black hair and as much expression as a stone.

“Erm…” was all she said before he set her back on her feet and kept on walking, without so much as giving her a glance. Michiyo was stunned. These face… those eyes… that way of walking… Michiyo heard of De-Ja-Vu before, but this was impossible. Tears formed in her eyes.

“You… no… you are dead… I know it… I saw you…” she whispered, trying desperately to wipe the tears away. They were still flowing, though. It was impossible. “Shin…” she whispered, her throat feeling like it had a rock stuffed through it. She shook her head, trying to avoid the memories that stubbornly attempted to rise. No matter how hard she tried though, the picture of that night seemed to have etched it self into the backs of her eyes, forcing her to look at it. Desperate, she grasped her head. “Stop… don’t…” she moaned, trying to shut the images out.

“Hey Michiyo, what is it? Something wrong?” asked Ishimaru Riku, placing a hand softly on her shoulder.

“Remembering something bad?” She continued, speaking just slightly above a whisper. She knew about the Sheu clan’s history, and she knew enough of Michiyo to know that if the woman was acting like this, something awful must’ve happened, something in Michiyo’s past, most likely. Michiyu shook her head.

“It’s… nothing. Nothing. Probably just my imagination.” She mumbled, her red-tinged, puffy eyes revealing the lie she was telling. Riku’s left eye twitched.

“You are going to tell me what happened, and you are going to do it now, or else I will tell Captain Akimoto about a certain “this and that”.” Michiyu’s eyes widened.

“No… not that… have a heart, will you?” she pleaded.

“Tell. Me. What. Is. Going. On.” was the “one word at a time” tone reply.

“Well… ok. It’s my uncle, Sheu Shin. He died around a 100 years ago, right on the day I graduated from the Academy. That man… he looked exactly like my dead uncle. That’s why I was so stunned… I remembered my uncle’s death, which I saw with my own eyes, and… I just… couldn’t bear with it…” the last words were a sob. The black haired tomboy vice-captain’s face softened.

“Now now,” she said, hugging Michiyo.

“Riku-san…” mumbled the black haired, slim and pretty vice of the 13th division, sobbing against the tomboy’s chest. Riku caressed her hair until she calmed.

“Hey, I don’t want to disturb you two, but we should join our captains, they will be worried. Besides, I have a feeling that Kurokawa-taicho will need medical care after meeting with a certain blue haired Captain, so let us go.” Isane followed her own words by turning and walking towards the roof. Riku’s eyes followed the tall, silver haired vice of the 4th division. She nodded, and asked Michiyo if the latter could walk.

“Of course I can!” replied the black haired woman, her braided, middle-back length hair swinging as she shook her head fiercely. “Such a trivial matter… is nothing!” her eyes sparkling, Michiyo rose, and walked along Riku after the 4th vice. She was determined, though, to find the identity of the person who looked so much like her beloved uncle.


A short while later, namely around half an hour, Kurokawa Kazuma run a hand through his hair.

“Damn… she was so horrible.” He said aloud, pretending not to notice the blue haired Chikai nearby. That blindfold was definitely a useful tool when it came to ignoring people. For some reason, almost everybody believed that if a person can’t see them, they weren’t even aware of them, which was untrue. Though he couldn’t see, he could easily sense everyone around him, and his didn’t need his eyes in order to fight someone. Merely his sense of touch would be enough, if it came to that. Now, he sensed Chiaki’s raised fist, and awaited its fall, ready to dodge. The fist, however, never descended. With a sigh, Chiaki turned to leave, seeing as there wasn’t much she could do here. As she walked down the stairs along with Emi and Eimiko, both of whom decided to leave Kazuma alone for the time being, fearing he might decide to retaliate, which, considering they didn’t have access to their Shinigami powers, would prove rather problematic to deal with. On their way to the English classroom, they ran into Michiyo, Riku and Isane, all three of whom were squatting easily near one of the unused classrooms.

“Hey, what’s up?” the tall, blue haired and blue eyed captain of the 13th division requested of her slightly shorter, black haired and black eyed vice-captain, seeing that the latter had something to say.

“There’s some guy there who wants to talk to you, Chiaki-san,” replied Michiyo, a tiny smile on her timid face. That smile seemed to be rather… condemning? Strange… thought Chiaki to herself. Why would Michiyo smile like that? Something is definitely strange here… Turning, she saw the white haired boy that she talked with earlier. He seemed trying to hide behind the nearest wall. Walking up to him, she looked straight into his face. He had a handsome, slightly round one, with rather large brown eyes and the air of a person with whom you couldn’t associate anything evil of underhanded. She never thought such a face could even exist.

“So? You wanted to talk to me?” She asked, determined to finish this conversation as soon as possible. His face was unnerving to one who swore to follow the code of a captain – to never have emotions.

“Yes,” he responded, his voice a deep, melodious one. It had warmth that suggested a good heart and a caring personality, something Chiaki had rarely met in any human, living or dead. “I’ve noticed you five… or, I should say ten, those five new arrivals seem to be connected to you, have no place to sleep, and since I don’t like seeing any fellow student devoid of a proper roof above his or her head, I though about inviting you to my house. Do you agree?” Chiaki blinked at the long sentence. He seemed to be trying to squeeze as much words as he could into each breath, as if, should he stop, he won’t be able to complete his sentence. Realizing that she was staring, Chiaki pondered his proposition. They didn’t have a place to stay, and given Kazuma’s reaction, it will be worse in the near future. Those points considered, Chiaki deduced that accepting would be best.

“Yeah, sure,” she replied, surprised to see a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. The white haired man visibly relaxed, which was something to ponder about. Why would he have proposed such a thing? Chiaki’s blue eyes narrowed. She was not going to get herself into a trap.


On the roof top, Tsubasa was feeling ill at ease. He now realized what had Kazu so troubled. This sensation of an encroaching threat caused him to shift uncomfortably. Something was approaching them, and he just couldn’t shake of the feeling it was something bad. Tsubasa suddenly remembered something Kazu said before they left for the Material World, There’s an abnormally high spiritual pressure that is attracting the Hollows this could be it, he concluded, and suddenly, and exceptionally high spiritual pressure engulfed them causing Tsubasa’s eyes to widen in shock.

“It’s at least captain level!” he remarked, his voice revealing his complete confusion. The blindfolded captain turned his head northeast.

“It’s here!” he exclaimed, as the rooftop suddenly exploded. Seizing Tomoe, Tsubasa rolled sideways, even as Kazuma rolled to the other side grabbing Rangiku’s hand and pulling her towards him.

“Yo!” sounded a voice above them, and once the dust settled, it revealed an orange haired, tall and muscular young male, with brown eyes. He wore a normal Shinigami suit, complete with the white Haori of a Captain, and an insolent grin on his nearly triangle like face.

“Who the-,” questioned Kazuma, unable to complete the sentence due to a stab aimed at his shoulder, which he just barely dodged.

“I ain’t answering some pansy who can’t fight back!” retorted the orange haired man, swinging his huge Soul Cutter sword. Tsubasa noted that the sword was an elegant cleaver, slightly curved and hand-width at the beginning of the blade, thinning to near finger width at the end. It lacked a formal hilt, instead the stranger was holding a white-cloth wrapped metal tang, from which dangled a shirt length of the same cloth. Kazuma’s face contorted with his internal rage. He was one to quickly lose his temper should he be accused of being unable to fight back, and this was no exception. Dipping his hand in his pocket, he fished a Crest of Soul Separation outside; similar to the emblem given to substitute Shinigami, though it lacked the Hollow-mask like emblem, instead having a just a cross like mark. Pressing the emblem to his chest, he exited his Gigai, wearing his normal white Haori, signifying his rank. Though, unlike the other Captain’s Haoris, which were mostly plain white, perhaps with some small decoration, his was completely different. Instead of the usual robe-like in front, it was divided into two long pieces, each about a hand in width, each adorned with a small Yin and Yang symbol on each shoulder. His Hakama also differed from the one Shinigami usually wore, as it was adorned with a pattern of black and white lines, whereas the usual Hakama were plain black. The upper part of his Kimono wasn’t the usual plain black either; rather, it was decorated with white lines at each sleeve. His flamboyant style indicated his attitude of setting himself apart from the rest of the Shinigami Captains, though only those who knew him not would have fell for the beauty of the clothing. It was actually his cunning mind at work, since the freer form of the clothing allowed quick changes of stance and speedy maneuvering, which was usually restrained by the solidity of the garments worn by others. The Shinigami who have just appeared afore them was no fool, however, so he did not fall for the flamboyance of the clothes. His stance changed, becoming defensive, placing the huge sword in front of him, in an angle, the tip touching the ground and both hands holding the metal tang he used for a handle. His grin vanished, and his eyes narrowed, following each movement his adversary made.

“Hm. You aren’t some ragtag moron.” noted Kazuma, a smile appearing on his face, widening by the moment. He was obviously happy to have found an opponent whom he could fight on equal terms, a kind of battle he rarely had, given his power.

“Not bad! You’re spiritual pressure, though suppressed, is extremely high. I think I’m gonna enjoy this!” remarked the orange haired Shinigami, a smile identical to Kazuma’s reappearing on his face. Kazuma drew his sword, grasped the hilt with both hands, and held it in an angle, the point towards the stranger. Both looked at each other, not moving. A perfect stalemate… none of them knows his opponents ability, therefore for them to attack blindly is folly. This isn’t going anywhere anytime soon… Matsumoto Rangiku was quite right in her thinking. Both opponents had no idea about their adversary’s ability, so they couldn’t attack before carefully observing each other. The fight was a stalemate, now a contest of patience and emotional endurance rather than a combat of arms.


Nakamura Tsubasa, 8th division captain, was worried. This new enemy, appearing out of nowhere, and boasting strength thought unimaginable to Shinigami not trained within Soul Society, made him narrow his deep set, dark brown eyes in suspicion and worry. This was not good, not good at all. They agreed to leave their Gigais only in a matter of life and death, and Kazu just had to give in to his hate to being accused of inability to retaliate to an opponent, and use this much power. He wouldn’t have been surprised to see the Onmitsu Kidou or the Kidoshuu appear like some Jack o’ the mists and start attacking. Luckily though, none of that occurred. Suddenly his eyes widened. Where was Tomoe? Turning his head he searched for her, seeing nothing. Where could she have gone? he questioned himself, furious that he was unable to keep her safe, that he was unable to fulfill the promise he made to that person, whom he greatly admired and respected. Ignoring Kazuma and his adversary, he turned, searching desperately for her Reiatsu. Nothing. Either she was unconscious, or dead. The thought made him shiver. If she died… suddenly, he sensed a slight tingle of Reiryoku somewhere nearby. The amount used was so tiny, the two gigantic forces that stood before him nearly washed its feel away. Had he not focused so much searching for Tomoe’s Reiatsu, he’d never have felt it. Turning, the brown skinned, muscular Captain ran towards it, trying to see his vice-captain’s familiar figure. To his imminent surprise, he noticed that someone, a male with green hair and wings, was carrying his vice up into the sky. He was using a minute amount of Reiryoku to float, but he was unmistakably a Kuro Tengu, one of the rare and powerful Black Goblins, more commonly knows as an “Oni Kui”, an Ogre Eater. Those rare species had a very wide variety of abilities, ranging from the ability to eat souls in order to prolong one’s life, to the ability to use Hollows for their own purposes, and finally with abilities similar to those of Shinigami. This one… this one, he was strange. He had overly human features – for the Tengu usually additions to separate them from humans, such as red eyes, horns, and other demon-like additions, and he seemed intent on separating the two Shinigami Captains. Tsubasa’s deep set, dark brown slightly tilted eyes narrowed.

“Hey! You! Yes you there! What are you doing!?” he cried, his furious anger making him drop his usually placid manner and tone, and assume a tone that is usually reserved for making little children cower and whine in fright. The green haired man-like being turned its head towards the captain, smiled, and turned, using the magnificent, raven-like wings on its back to fly away. Tsubasa’s eyes widened with shock. The creature was carrying his unconscious Vice-captain! Enraged to near insanity, the muscular Shinigami captain used his own Crest of Soul Separation to exit his Gigai. He wore a regular Shinigami kimono and hakama, with the Captain’s haori having a decoration in the form of a lily on each shoulder. Turning his head towards the insolent Ogre-Eater, he crossed the distance between them with a single Shunpo, and, drawing his sword with nearly untraceable speed, which was thanks to his mastery of the iaijutsu arts, he cut at his adversary. The Ogre-Eater, loyal to his specie’s tradition of avoiding unnecessary damage, avoided the attack, though he was forced to let go of Tomoe’s body. That, of course, was the Shinigami’s aim, since he immediately grabbed Tomoe and jumped back, landing easily on the rooftop.

“Well, well, well. A Shinigami captain and one of surprising strength at that!” called the Ogre-Eater’s voice. Raising his head, Tsubasa saw the creature floating in midair, supported by his great wings.

“Why would an Ogre-Eater, of all beings, attack a Shinigami?” he demanded, his voice as cold as a hailstorm. “Why would you have tried to abduct my vice, and furthermore why would you even be in a human school!? I though that you creatures avoided humans from ages long lost!” The being was still unfazed.

“Why? Well, why should I tell someone who is about to die?” the last words were a shout, as the Goblin lunged at him with a diving attack, his nails lengthening into claws.
Tsubasa had no trouble dodging the devastating attack, but, along with his growing anger, there was also growing surprise. Why would a Goblin attack a Shinigami? They supposedly avoided any and all contact with both Shinigami and humans. The thoughts rocketed through Tsubasa’s mind, even as he gently placed Tomoe on the roof top and drew his sword.

“I’m sorry, but the time for talk is over. Whatever information I want from you, I will drag it out, by force!” he shouted as he charged forward, swiftly and viciously slashing at the handsome monster.

Chapter 6:
Kazuma stared into the ceiling of the room, his arms crossed behind his back. The clock that hung from the wall some distance away showed it was midnight, but he didn’t care and didn’t feel like sleeping anyway. He sat there, unmoving, pondering. This fight, this encounter, that so luckily gave them a roof to sleep under, to his and the others’ obvious relief, seemed planned, somehow. It didn’t make any sense, of course – in fact, Ichigo claimed that he accidentally noticed them as they entered into the town, before donning their Gigais, which made sense. But he still could not help but feel a pattern, a planning. A stirring on the futon beside him made him glance sideways. Matsumoto opened a sleepy eye and raised her head.

“Don’t fidget so much. You woke me,” she said, her tone accusing. Kazuma turned his head.

“Fidgeting? ‘Scuse me? I haven’t moved in the last hour, so shuddup,” he replied, stung a bit by her words.

“Don’t start it,” came her cool reply, “I can feel you move even if I am asleep, and besides-“ he shut her up with a kiss.

“I-haven’t-moved-in-the-last-our,” he said in a one-word-at-a-time, brook-no-nonsense voice he usually used on his lower division members.

“But you are troubled, and it feels as if you were tossing and turning to me,” she replied, breathless and her gaze seemed glued to his eyes.

“Really?” he inquired, and she gave a small laugh.

“Silly, you could never hide anything from me,” she responded, playfully pinching his nose, “I know every thought that passes through your mind,” Kazuma was glad she didn’t, because otherwise he’d be dead by now, or at the least abandoned by her, for some of his thoughts were not something she would like to know of, and some were such that he did not want her to know of. Suddenly it occurred to him that she had indeed felt his uneasiness, his troubled mood and his suspicion, and that he could share it with her. He returned his attention to the conversation just in time to catch her last words “and I know, too, that something is troubling you, and has been for the last week. What is it? Tell me, please,” her gaze pleading, he was hardly able not to answer. He then proceeded to share it with her - not all of his trouble, and certainly not all of the facts, but enough so she got the entire picture.

“You never told me that this guy, this Kurosaki Ichigo, was your Captain! And how come I never met him? I only knew you were the vice of the 3rd division before you were nominated Captain, but I’ve never heard the name of Kurosaki spoken!” she said all the sentences so quickly – exclaiming surprise so much Kazuma blinked several times before replying: “well, I am not overly surprised at that. Kurosaki Ichigo, the most feared, dreaded Captain of the Gotei 13 since the infamous Zaraki Kenpachi. His named wouldn’t be mentioned without great need – or great fear. He was renowned for his unbelievable strength, his incredible fighting skills and the fact that he never lost a fight. He also just happens to be part hollow.” Kazuma’s voice was very dry on the last statement.

“You mean…” Rangiku’s voice showed her shock, “he is a hybrid, like the ones you came here to chase?” Kazuma measured her, pondering how much he could tell her. He loved her with all his heart and soul – indeed, she was the only person he ever met, including the Goyusei he was now part of, that have truly managed to wander deep into his soul and force out kindness, love, and friendship to such a selfless extent. He would not - could not, in fact, for he was dependant upon her – lose her, or even let her even be farther of him then absolutely necessary. And now he was lost. He could tell her, but he would risk losing her. He could not tell her, and he realized that her insight into his emotional state would swiftly reveal the fact that hides something to her.
A great situation, indeed! a furious thought came through his mind. What’s wrong? Scared that your lovey-dovey girl would leave you? asked yet another voice, and he could practically see the self-satisfied smile upon his Zanpakutou’s avatar face. For this was indeed the voice of his partner, of the being that inhabited his mind from the day he became a Shinigami.

“Well?” the woman’s voice held a definite edge.

“Yes, he is. This is the reason why you’ve never heard of him, and you’ve never heard his name mentioned. He was banned as soon as they discovered about it, for it is the ultimate taboo.” No emotion. He felt it would be better if he appeared as if he didn’t approve of it either. You need to work on camouflage skills… the voice within his soul sounded again, this time it was taunting. Shutting it into a buzz, Kazuma forced his focus on the woman lying beside him.

“I met him only briefly, but we got to know each other rather well, being similar in personality,” and in other traits, he added mentally. “After his sudden departure, I became the Captain, and his name was banned from being mentioned ever again.”

“But…” she began, trying to dig deeper, as she sensed that he was hiding something from her, something in the way his voice sounded, something about his gaze.

“But me no buts, dear,” he replied in a sing-song voice, sounding so unnatural from him. “I’m afraid we have school tomorrow, and since we are posing as high-school students, we cannot be late,” his ocean blue eyes had a rather mesmerizing effect on her, almost drowning her in their endless depths.

“Not without answers!” came the stern reply. Kazuma turned and closed his eyes, thinking to avoid further questions. He was sorely mistaken.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tomoe felt as though someone has put a stone on her head and tied it there. Her head felt as though it will explode, even as she walked to the class, her straight black hair swishing gently. Her Captain’s recap of events wasn’t very clear, and she suspected he didn’t tell her all that has happened. Perhaps he had failed in some sort of way – something she could not believe would happen, but still – and didn’t want to tell her. Yes, that was it, she decided. He must’ve failed somehow and now he was too ashamed to tell her, which was a stupid thing. She’d always adore him and accept him as he was; failures or no failures. She stopped dead, rewinding her thoughts back. “Adore”? No… it could not be… she never thought of Nakamura Tsubasa, her Captain and senior in any such way! But still… she knew he was there, and it was a comforting thought, in a strange way. Turning the corridor, she suddenly stood face-to-face with the stocky Captain.

“Err… high there, Captain…” she said, blushing for no apparent reason. Luckily, her Captain’s eyes seemed to avoid her face, and so
he never noticed the red that was on it.

“Err… Igottagonowso…” he said, saying all the words in one sentence, and quickly running off. Why, wondered Sheu, was he so embarrassed? Why was I so embarrassed, for that matter? I don’t… like him, do I? the thought gave her a pause. Was she thinking of Captain in such a way? Did she, perhaps, like her Captain? She did not think it possible, but something in her head just kept on screaming that she did. Shaking her head – as much in denial as trying to clear her head, she entered the class. Spotting Michiyo’s surprisingly bent way of sitting – something in it just tipped her off that the woman was depressed, she neared her.

“Erm… Michiyo? Is everything alright?” when no response came, she patted her on the shoulder, gently.

“Hmm?” Came Michiyo’s reaction, without raising her head.

“Hey… it’s me, Tomoe…” replied Tomoe, stunned that Michiyo’s voice sounded so sad, and it appeared as if she was crying, at least if this throaty voice didn’t mean that she had caught a cold. Upon closer inspection, it became evident that her friend’s eyes were red. Yes, she cried.

“What happened?” asked Tomoe, horrified that he staunch and normally stoic companion was under such emotional stress that she let her control over herself slip.

“Err… nothing….” came the hurried reply, so obviously hiding something.

“Oh yeah, sure, and I just grown horns,” she replied, grabbing Sheu’s shoulder and forcefully turning her face to hers. She was surprised to see the definite redness of a sleepless night along the redness of a night filed with tears.

“Yeah, nothing…” her voice dripped with sarcasm. Michiyo’s shoulders sagged and she practically buried her face into Tomoe’s bosom, crying. Tomoe shook her head, letting her friend cool off, and then she gently whispered:

“Meet me behind the gym after classes, ok?” Michiyo nodded. The teacher entered the class, and the usual command of “stand!” and “bow!” were voiced by the class ref. Tomoe’s thoughts turned from the (rather boring) class to her Captain again. Did she love him? What were her feelings about? She wished that life would be simpler.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Michiyo felt as though she had a rock down her throat. She was crying again - luckily, her seat was situated near the back, so she was almost unnoticed. She really couldn’t understand her own feelings regarding the matter – her endless nightmares of Shin’s death and that person whom she met so briefly were quite confusing – but all of her sadness, forced inside for… how long? A hundred years? Maybe more. She was trying to remember something, something important, bur just couldn’t. She hoped that her talk with Tomoe might help her find the answer.
Several hours and several crying fits later – one of which resulted in the a run to the nurse office and a plague of rumors concerning a supposed boy-friend, a supposed affair and a supposed fight – although the best basis for those rumors was found in the girl’s talk before third period – Michiyo was heading to the back of the gym, which was a place rarely visited except for confessions of love, meeting between lovers and the occasional invitation for a fight between delinquents, and thus best for a private talk. Turning a corner, she bumped into someone.

“Eh… So-sorry…” she said instinctively, not realized who it was.

“Ah… It’s ok, I was looking for you, actually,” replied Mizuiro, a classmate, she realized, who was sitting on the front row.

“Looking… for me?” she was bewildered.

“Yeah, I was looking for you, because I really couldn’t help but hear all those rumors and see you crying, so…”

“It’s… no, there isn’t anything…” she stammered, interrupting him.

“I’m sure,” he said, his tone sincere, “but I still would like to tell you something. Listen, no matter what, no matter what is it, I’m sure that your close friends would be able to help you, right?” his gaze locked hers, and she realized he was indeed trying to help, and also, to give advice.

“I… I understand. I‘ll tell them all about it,” she smiled at him, and with a nod, she hurried past.

“Yeah… I’m sure you will, Sheu Michiyu, because I will not let him go on running.” Mizuiro turned and went. He had another someone to talk to, and perhaps win a small victory in the field of his own love.

“Michiyo!” Said Riku, spotting the woman nearing them.
“Yeah, sorry I’m late, I needed to…” she started to say, and was cut off by Tomoe.

“No, doesn’t matter. But you are going to tell us what us going on here, especially why are you crying so much.”
Sheu took a deep breath. She understood Mizuiro’s point, and intended to tell her friends everything.

“Well, here’s how it is…” she began, letting her thoughts, along her words, to travel the path of memory and look into that mirror, to try and spot the truth.

”Uncle! Uncle!” the little girl scrambled to get on the wooden floor of the house, and then run full out towards the man sitting quietly and drinking tea.

“What is it, Michiyo?” asked the man, a tall, slender man, his raven black hair swishing gently in the wind.

“Guess what?” she asked, her tone becoming mysterious.

“What?” he asked, though he knew perfectly well what she was going to say.

“I have it, too!” her pride was evident in her tone, and in the way she puffed her chest.

“Have what, child?” prompted Shin, although he knew perfectly well.

“Power! The same power you have, spiritual one!” she replied, apparently hurt by his lack of knowledge.

“Ah… I knew not, Michiyo. Forgive me,” his apologizing tone negating her anger.

“Ok,” smiled the little girl, her face shining with excitement.

Many years later, Shin’s face, more haggard than they usually were, his grey eyes dull, still shone with excitement as he looked at Michiyo, standing proudly with the other fifty graduates of the Shinigami Academy, listening to the ending of the Captain-Commander’s speech.

“Henceforth, you are officially Shinigami. You have trained hard, studied and worked for the last six years. Now is the reward for your hard work. Now is the time when you can apply all that you have learned. Go, and good luck.”
The speech ending, the Captain-Commander descended from the upraised pedestal upon which he stood while speaking, and followed by the rest of the Captains of the Gotei 13, he departed.

“I did it!” cried an exited Michiyo, hugging her uncle tightly.

“Indeed,” replied Shin, beaming with pride.

“You’re unenthusiastic!” scolded the young woman, looking her uncle
straight in the eye.

“Oh am I not?” he asked, smiling all the wider, “I was sure I displayed just how exited was I,” he continued, then, seeing someone moving at the distance he said, “forgive me, Michiyo, but there is someone I must see,” and departed.

Michiyo’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had forever suspected her uncle had some secret he told no one, something that he hid from her family and from his friends, and now was the time to discover it, in her estimation.

Moving silently through the streets of Seireitei, Shin was following the man striding before him. He had every intention to discover he truth behind his heritage, to discover whether or not was he truly switched places with the real son of the Sheu family, and was he or was he not Kuchiki Byakuya’s twin brother. He realized soon that Byakuya was aware he was being followed, and probably intended to discover the identity of his follower through ambushing him. Shin had no intention of letting it happen, of course, and so he slipped to an alleyway, flanking his supposed superior, and making sure Byakuya followed.

“Like a fly to the fire…” he mused.

Kuchiki Byakuya, following his unknown shadow, had every intention of discovering who it was. He feared nothing, of course, but he did not like being followed or being forced to follow someone. This person, whoever he was, was in for a surprise. The second presence, far behind him, did not worry him. Rather, he coveted the thought of killing two birds with one stone.

Michiyo, standing atop a three-story building, glanced at the ravine beneath her, a desolate, abandoned part of the 55th district of Rukongai. Two forms stood there, each holding an unsheathed sword, looking at each other. One of the two men was definitely Shin, while the other… his face were hidden in the shadows. Moving closer for a better view, her foot slipped, and she plunged down the 10 feet drop.

Kuchiki Byakuya gave a derisive snort. His enemy, Sheu Shin, was blabbering about lies again. He was growing agitated, and this idiot just wouldn’t stop.

“Shin…” he said, his deep, icy calm voice just high enough to overpower the other’s endless speech, “the time for talk is over. Whatever you wish to say to me, you may say it with your sword.”
He made his attack right as the last word left his lips, flash-stepping and attacking with his favorite routine, stabbing Shin from behind with the Senka move. Shin pivoted, using his sword to knock Byakuya’s strike away, and then yanked against his momentum, slashing diagonally across, trying to cut Byakuya’s chest. Byakuya easily dodged, and then decided that this match lasted long enough.
“Bankai.” He spoke, his tone unchanging, his face as expressionless as ever, and Shin’s eyes widened in terror.

Michiyo came to, her face buried in the dirt, and every bone in her body groaned in protest as she lifted her head up, to look at the scene before her.

“It is the end, Shin,” said the man in the Captain’s robe, his voice as cold as winter’s heart.
And then Michiyo saw her uncle. He was lying in the dirt, his robes torn and blood sprouting from every part of his body. She tried to scream, but something seized her throat, and she could not utter a sound. The man turned, slowly, and then, pushed by pure terror, she humped up and ran, ran as fast as she could. And then, she saw his face.

Michiyo awoke with a start, tears glistening on her cheek and sweating all over her body.

“Kuchiki Byakuya.”

Chapter 7:
A Meeting Long In the Making
Sheu Michiyo as hard as she could, all the while trying to use something, anything, to locate Kuchiki Byakuya’s whereabouts. She knew now what she must do.

Kazuma, wearing a black T-shirt with a huge white skull of a western dragon printed on it and tight black jeans, looked out of the window, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and worry. Whatever was it that drove Sheu to go on this pursuit – and he only knew this was a pursuit because he could still remember himself once doing this very same thing – it must’ve been something very deep and painful. He heard her, gasping and moaning in her sleep, in the next room, waking because of it, and he was worried about her. Not only was she Chiaki’s best friend, for they have shared almost the same life of high expectations and almost uncaring family, but she was also someone for whom he cared deeply as a person. He always had a soft spot for the troubled young women – something joked about a lot in his early Academy days – and that was what led him to befriend Sheu, Chiaki, and Rangiku, and the fact that all three were young, pretty, smart and funny had nothing to do with it, of course! He blew a long sigh and shook his head in resignation, letting it go at that. This was none of his business, and so he turned to leave, even as Chiaki entered the room.

“Kazu!” she said as soon as she saw him, and he immediately noticed the worry in her face. She did well to hide it, but he knew her for far too long, and far too well.

“Yes?” he asked, feigning interest, even though he had a pretty good idea what was she about to say, “have you happened to somehow have yet another guy look into your robe right after bath? And were you, perhaps, wearing nothing this time?”
He was referring to an incident that happened in the night right after they had moved into Juushiro’s house, when Juushiro slipped and somehow managed to roll right to Chiaki’s feet. Unluckily for both him and her, and more for him than for her, she was exiting the bath, and thus wore only her panties and a white robe, one that although normally covered all of the wearer’s body, happened to be risen just enough for Juushiro’s head to slip under it, giving him a good sight of her underwear. The screams echoed through the entire house, and Juushiro was still nursing a black eye, and everyone were surprised with his incredible recovery, for he was bedridden for almost two days, and even optimistic Emi, who was superb at the healing arts, did not believe he will ever walk properly or even talk properly again. Chiaki blushed fiercely at the mention of that incident, and for just for a fleeting instant anger shone brightly on her face. It was replaced immediately by concern, though.

“Listen, did you just see Sheu leave?” her voice revealed her concern even more than the slight tightening of her blue-grey eyes and the balled fists. And to Kazuma, who knew every one of his friends so well, the fact that she was letting concern be in her voice made him worry himself. Perhaps this was to become his business yet.

“Yes, I did,” her replied, keeping his voice cool. He sensed that Matsumoto might hear him, and did not want to risk her suspecting him of an affair. She was agitated as it was, with him hiding so much of her and her knowing it. “I believe she headed towards the school, but like hell I’ll give a damn about her. I s’pose she’s going to meet a sweetheart or something.”

“The sarcasm there was unnecessary, my friend,” she said, and suddenly Kazuma realized she was on the edge of tears! Her! The cold, emotionless captain of the 13th Division, who prided herself on never, ever allowing emotion to be of any concern to her! Now he realized beyond all doubt that this was more than just her duty as a captain that was motivating her. Perhaps even she, who claimed to have left emotion as far removed from herself as any, still held a speck of it within her. That came as a surprise to Kazuma, for he believed that her hard and dark life had erased emotion from her, or at least made her ignore it completely. Apparently, it had not.

“All right,” he said, his voice suddenly urgent and intense, for he was battling a sudden urge to embrace her and calm her, tell her everything would be fine. “You are going to tell me this whole story, and in detail. If you want my help, I want to be in the course of things.” His voice was as stern as he could make it in the face of the nearly crying friend standing before him, but he had to know everything.

“Fine,” came the reply, and he was glad to hear that Chiaki’s voice, though still worried and definitely holding the edge of tears, was steadier. “I can’t make it long, her life is on the line, but to put it in a nutshell, she is on a personal vendetta. See, her uncle was murdered by someone, and apparently she now discovered who it is. Tomoe told me that she told her that if she ever finds who did it, she will kill him personally.”

“But…”prompted Kazuma.

“But, you remember her uncle, don’t you? Sheu Shin?”

“Ah yes… I remember. A very talented Shinigami.” A sudden thought came to him and his voiced changed from nonchalant to surprise. “But… whoever killed him must be very powerful, and skilled… wait, she can’t even be measured against her uncle! She’ll be slaughtered!”

“Indeed,” replied a third voice, coming from behind them both. Turning so fast he seemed a blur, Kazuma rotated, brining his arms before him to defend and focusing on the person who entered – an orange haired, tall and lanky man of about twenty winters, wearing a tight, black shirt striped with orange and having “Death” written on the front, and tight black pants. Kazuma immediately recognized him, and his expression turned curious. What would Kurosaki Ichigo, his former captain, gain from helping Sheu Michiyo?

“I need to discuss something with you,” he said, speaking to Kazuma, and then, to Chikai, he added, “you friend is off to meet – and probably be killed by – Kuchiki Byakuya. You’ll find them on the school roof.”
Not one to ask too many questions, Chikai immediately left her Gigai and flash-stepped out of the room. Kazuma gave Ichigo a surprised stare.

“I needed to get her out of the way,” explained the orange haired man, calmly striding to the nearest cushion and sitting on it cross-legged. Kazuma remained standing, his cool blue eyes, unblinking, never leaving Ichigo’s brown ones.

“What is it that you wish to discuss?” he asked his former superior, his tone slightly gruff. He truly wanted to help his friends, and he feared for Chiaki and Sheu. He knew how powerful was Byakuya, and though none knew Chikai’s power better than himself, and none respected it more, he still feared that the seasoned former captain would prove more than a match even to Chikai. I suggest you focus on the task at hand, came the telepathic call from inside his mind, the calm and cold tone of the other part of his Soul Cutter, a huge bipedal werewolf called Rangetsu, speaking for the first time in a long while. Conceding with this ever calm and calculating part of his soul, Kazuma sat down and looked intently at Ichigo, and repeated his question.

“I wanted to discuss the Demon Eyes,” Ichigo came straight at the point, studying Kazuma’s reaction. The latter didn’t even blinked, just kept on looking at the former. “You see,” Ichigo continued a moment later, “your other persona of Kyo the Demon Eyes, though slumbering at the moment, is in the process of reawakening.” Kazuma’s eyes narrowed at that.

“The cycle…” he mumbled, remembering the warning he received so long ago.

“Yes, that. That is what I wish to discuss with you, Kazu. Right now, you endanger everyone around you. If Kyo awakens in mid fight…”

“Then he will kill everyone around him. I know as much,” interrupted Kazuma, his voice still icy cold. “I cannot see why you would care, though. It’s not as if you’d participating in any battle involving such risk, true?” he finished the question with a raised eyebrow Ichigo’s way, indicating that he still remembered Ichigo abandonment of the fight. The former Captain of the 3rd division, however, remained calm.

“You will be surprised, Kazu,” he said, his voice steel hard ad stern, “I have every intention of fighting beside you. The reason-“ Kazuma stopped him with an upraised hand.

“I don’t care about the reason, Ichigo. I only care that I will have yet another powerful ally, and more importantly, someone who might kill me.” Ichigo’s eyes went very wide at that last statement.

“Kill you? Why?” Kazuma chuckled at Ichigo’s perplexed tone and widened eyes, and raised eyebrows, so different from his ever present scowl.

“Because, my dear former-captain, I will not risk harming my friends, or, more importantly, Rangiku, in any way. Thus, should Kyo awaken – and we both now that will occur – I know that you will kill me.” His voice, so very grave and serious, showed Ichigo just how deep his care for his friends ran. Or was it that? Ichigo had to wonder. He knew of Kazuma’s past, of a certain village and a certain person, and wondered if Kazuma wasn’t trying to protect his relationship with that person. But he knew Kazuma was right. Last time, when Kyo awakened six centuries past, the devastation he wrought upon Soul Society was horrible enough to make any who still remembered those days cringe in fear. “Kyo the Demon Eyes” became a known threat in the noble families, with mothers often threatening their children that “Kyo will have them” unless they gone to sleep or something like that. But Ichigo, having witnessed it first hand, having battled the horrible monster that resided within Kazuma’s soul, knew of the truth of it. Kyo was more than capable of murdering anyone who dared to come against him, and the scene of the massacre of the 80th district of Rukongai played vividly before his eyes. No, he knew, he will have to kill Kazuma – Kyo – Regardless of the man’s motives in requesting it.

In the hallway, Matsumoto Rangiku slipped backwards slowly. It was hard for her to do it, for a part of her wanted to run to her beloved captain, hug him and comfort him, and another part of her felt such a strong revulsion at the mere mention of this name, Kyo, which she was sure she had never heard… or had she? Something at her memory nagged her, something about…. about Kazuma. She froze at that thought. She felt revulsion of Kazuma, as though… as though he was this Kyo, or something similar, at least. She shook her head in denial, trying to ignore that little voice that kept telling her that there was something about her captain, something about the man she had fallen in love with, which linked him to that day, the day when she lost her foster parents, in the small rural area of the 24th district of Rukongai. Her eyes narrowed with a sudden thought. What if Kazuma knew something about it all along? What if he was hiding something about this – something that she swore to him, a few days after they first met, that she would avenge – from her? She shook her head, her mane of auburn hair flying, in denial, but she could not truly deny those nagging feelings, the anger that was now bubbling beneath the surface. If she saw Kazuma now… what would she do? Would she run to him, comforting and loving, or would she scream with anger and hate at him? With those contradicting thoughts swirling in her mind, she went for the bath. She would sort it all out there, in the calming water of the internal hot spring, and then would speak to her lover.

Michiyo sensed that she was being followed, that unseen eyes were looking at her, studying her every move. Her perfectly regular black Shihakshio swished gently as she turned her small, lithe form, searching for those prying eyes. She discovered the origin almost at once, as a handsome, tall, and expressionless man of about thirty years entered her line of vision. His long, black hair was fashioned with the Kenseikan hair bands, and three long strands of hair swished gently before his face as he strode towards her. His face emotionless and expressionless, perfectly emphatic, a slight glitter of recognition in those dark grey eyes told her it was the man she was looking for.

“Kuchiki Byakuya…” she said with all the hatred she harbored for years and years, and then slowly shifted her legs, finding her balance. The man in front of her, still as expressionless as ever, with that scarf of the Kuchiki House tied around his neck, stopped in a pool of moonlight, allowing her to study him perfectly. His narrow and strong shoulders, his long fingered hands, covered with white, finger revealing gloves. A slight wind moved his black shoulder length hair gently as he spoke, in a deep and calm voice.

“You are?” the question made Michiyo narrow her eyes in suspicion. She was sure he knew her, by that slight flicker in the otherwise cool eyes, but now she had to wonder whether or not she was correct. “Well?” he asked again, his voluminous sleeves swishing in that gentle breeze.

“You know me.” She stated, her voice shaking with anger and hate.

“Do I?” he asked, not blinking.

“You are Kuchiki Byakuya, murderer of my uncle!” she hissed, “and so you know me!”

“Your uncle?” he almost sounded confused.

“My uncle, Sheu Shin!” this time, she spat the words, and her eyes, a deep shade of blue, sparked with such intensity and anger, and her face was so contorted with anger that one could almost think her an angry cat.

“Sheu Shin…? But… he is alive…” the surprising reply had Michiyo almost falling.

“Wh-what? What are you talking about?” she stammered, confused.

“I am Sheu Shin,” the reply sounded from behind, and Michiyo swirled, her Shihakshio swishing, to see a tall, handsome man wearing a tuxedo and sporting a pair of gigantic, raven black wings from his back. His long, straight hair was black with a strange shade of green, and his intense black eyes, pools of cold and yet living darkness, shone with some internal fire.

“YOU LIE!” screamed the outraged Michiyo, suddenly so enraged she that she found she had her Soul-Cutter in her hand, clutching it so tightly that her knuckles whitened.

“I do not lie,” replied the black haired man calling himself in the name of her dead uncle. “I am indeed Sheu Shin, the true Sheu Shin, not the fraud that posed as me from the day of my birth.” His tone grew angrier with each syllable, and his eyes glowed now, not reflecting the moon light but shining with their own inner glow, of anger and spite.

“Indeed,” continued Byakuya, “I have never killed Sheu Shin. The man I killed…”

“Was an honorable and loved person!” shouted Michiyo, crouching slightly and preparing to spring on him.

“No! I-“ Byakuya tried to say, his tone urgent, but he was interrupted as Michiyo’s sword slashed right where he was an instant ago, a hit that could’ve split him in half. He realized then that this girl, already recovering from her momentum and preparing to attack again, her small, lithe form all seemed tense muscle and sinew, would not listen to him, was so entangled in the web of lies that person told her that she was beyond reason. Byakuya, his feelings of guilt washed away by sheer rage at her, at Kuchiki Daisuke, his twin brother switched with Sheu Shin upon the day of their birth, and at himself for harming her so, drew his own Soul-Cutter and prepared to fight. She will die, and before she was completely dead she will know the truth that she had lived by for the lie it was. Faster than Michiyo or any Vice-Captain could follow, the enraged former Captain of the 6th attacked. Michiyo turned in time to see the blade descending, a slash that would end her life, aimed straight at her chest. She tried to move, but her movement seemed so slow! That was it, she realized, her thoughts swirling surprisingly fast, she was going to die, and Shin will not be avenged.

Kazuma stood on the roof, staring towards the starry night sky, lamenting that the lights of the city about him obscured the true light of the starts, and longing to be on an open field again, lying down and staring at a night sky in all its shining glory, preferably with Matsumoto beside him, sharing sentiments and even making love. But now, now a sense of dread came over him every time he thought of talking with her in the past few minutes. He feared what would happen should the dark, evil side of him surface and attack her. He sighed and should his head. Reality sure was a *****.

“I thought I might find you here.” Rangiku’s melodious voice, though he was thrilled to hear it, surprised him and had him jumping upwards. “What?” she continued, smiling at his surprised reaction. “Scared that I might bite?” she asked, chuckling. But Kazuma wasn’t fooled. Perhaps it was the slight tension of the corners of her mouth, or the tightening of her eyes, or maybe some sort of a psychic method to read minds lover shared, but he knew very well that she was very tense, and that she was angry.

“I don’t think this is a good time for talk,” he offered gruffly, turning away and even starting to walk towards the descent from the roof. She was by him in a blink, her hand clasped firmly about his biceps.

“But I do,” she said sternly. “I need to know, Kazu, I need to know the truth.”

“The truth…? The truth of what?” he asked incredulously. He couldn’t know, of course, that she heard about Kyo the Demon Eyes.

“Kyo.” That one word nearly knocked him flat on his back.

“Kyo… Well, about that, I…” he started to say, but then, suddenly, he shook violently, doubled over, and then raised his head, his eyes meeting hers. What she saw there terrified her.

The sword descended towards Michiyo, and she noted many strange things – the slight movement of Byakuya’s hair, the glint of the light on the sword descending towards her chest, as though her mind knew that it was about to finish its work and so tried to get as much information inside as possible. And then suddenly, the blade wasn’t there. It just vanished. It took her a moment and a few pained breaths to register she was dead and that the sword was deflected by a flying blade, appearing to be the blade of a short and straight knife. Michiyo recognized that blade, as did Byakuya.

“Akimoto Chiaki.” He said his voice full of contempt.

“Indeed,” replied the tall, blue haired woman, standing near the kneeling Michiyo, and the contempt in her voice equaled Byakuya’s. Her shihakshio, black with a decoration of light blue lines running on the front and back, forming a blue spider’s web, and her haori, white but with slashed at the lower part and with yellow flowers on the bottom part swished violently apparently because of her sudden stop. Michiyo realized her captain must’ve been running faster than she usually did, and she felt quite grateful that this woman, standing above her, was not as emotionless as it appeared.

“I’m wondering…” said Byakuya, and after a short pause, he continued, “what are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d come to save a subordinate… it just doesn’t fit you.” Despite his apparent calm, Michiyo could see he was enraged. Shaking her head to steady herself, she rose and moved as if to help Chiaki, but the latter stopped her with an upraised arm. “This one’s mine,” she said, and Michiyo could tell from her tone there was no room for debating. Taking a step back, she tried to regain her center, when she realized that someone was calling her. It did not take her long to realize who it was, and she turned her attention away from the conversation of her captain and her uncle’s murderer.

Sheu Shin flexed his huge black wings as the newcomer and Byakuya began their chatter, apparently trying to enrage each other enough to convince themselves this fight should be on. In his thinking, if two were enemies, then that’s all the reason they needed to fight. He never really understood the strange habit of starting a conversation before or after the fight. He shook his head, his straight hair, black with a shade of dark olive green swishing, and turned to walk away. And then he had to dodge frantically, desperately throwing his body away from a slashing sword. He rose to the air and found himself face to face with the large boned Shinigami he encountered a week before, when he was testing those peoples’ mettle. The angry look on the man’s wide face told him everything, and so he backed a little.

“We need not fight,” he said, raising his hands up in a non-threatening matter. “If you would just let me explain…” he trailed off as the Shinigami laughed mirthlessly in his face.

“No talk, fool” he replied, drawing his Soul-Cutter. “I will kill you now. For kidnapping my beloved friend!” the last words, a roar, were accompanied by his sudden charge. Shin replayed their last battle in his mind, recalling the quick slashes and shirt stabs, and realized that not only was this man no novice to battle, but he was an round fighting person, perfecting mostly two complimentary fighting styles: the Iaijutsu, which focused upon quick drawing and slashing techniques, and the more westernized style of stabbing and almost dance-like movements of the body. This was going to be hard.

Chiaki was well aware that Tsubasa was fighting with that other man, and was glad that she needed not fear a stab in the back. In her hand, she held what appeared to be a metallic fan, but one that appeared to have several small sheaths inside of it. The blade she used to strike at Byakuya’s sword zoomed back into its respective sheath, and she stood there, putting her slim arms before her. Byakuya attacked, predictably attacking with a slash from behind, with his usual use of Senka. She anticipated the move perfectly, and deflected it perfectly, using her fans to pick the strike away and have the sword fly harmlessly out wide. Byakuya’s expression changed into one of respect.

“It would appear as if the Akimoto deserve their reputation of superb fighting skills,” he stated, and Chiaki was surprised. Although she knew perfectly well about the rivalry between her clan and the Kuchiki one, it surprised her that he would compliment her so. “But,” he continued, “It is time to end this battle for good. Ban kai.” With that, he dropped his sword to the ground, where it sank slowly inside, and behind him, a dozen huge blades rose to either side of him. “Scatter… Senbonsakura Kageyoushi.” Chiaki knew this has just become one hard fight.

His face were so white, his expression so horrified and disgusted, Rangiku felt as though something so horrible was coming it would dwarf her worst nightmares. He straightened slowly, and all her anger forgotten, she tried to hug him. He pushed her away, grimacing, and then turned to her, his eyes soft.

“Good bye, Rangiku,” was all he said, and then he kissed her, passionately, and then, leaving his Gigai, he turned to leave.

“Wait!” she said, her voice desperate. He stopped, and she continued, sensing her time was short. “I know all about it! I remembered now! YOU are Kyo! And even though… even though you were the one to kill my parents, to ruin my life, I forgive you! I still love you! Do not-“ he vanished, not looking back. “Don’t leave me…” she gasped, sagging to the floor and sobbing with fear, with anger, with sadness more profound than anything she had ever felt. She realized she could not have stopped him, but… she still could not help but wonder why. What has she done wrong? Has he stopped loving her? Did he find another, some girl he found more intriguing than the woman he knew for centuries? Logically, she knew these notions to be senseless and stupid, but still, they would not relent. Tears streaming from her bright blue eyes, biting her full lower lip, she shook violently with sobs. Maybe he just feared that you would hate him now that you’ve realized that the person who murdered your parents and all your friend is the same guy that you happen to be so fully in love? Heineko’s telepathic message surprised her. But it did ring with truth. Perhaps he feared that whatever she said in despair to make him stay would evaporate after she clamed and she would hate him? The notion hit her as though she ran headlong into a wall of solid concrete. Did she really hate him, and was merely unaware of it because of the despair she felt? Could she even hate him? She did not fall in love easily, but he had something in him, a sort of sadness, of weakness, hidden inside that “tough-guy” act, that simply pulled her in. And once she had become closer to him – closer than any until that time – she realized just what a wonderful man he was. But could she truly live with him knowing that he was the person who killed her parents?

“You won’t know until you try,” she mumbled, and a new, determined expression found its way to her wet face. Exiting her Gigai, she followed his Reiatsu – his “scent” she could always feel – and flash-stepped with all speed. She had every intention of slapping him, yelling at him, and after that, she thought that she would make love to him. Yes, she decided, that was the best course. She would let her anger out on him as soon as she knew he was hers again, and then erase it al in a sweet storm of passion. She hoped dearly that it would work, because she realized that whether or not she could live with him, she definitely could not live without him.

Matsuou Amon, current captain of the 10th division, savored this moment of triumph. He almost had his hated enemy in his grasp, his plans were well underway, and all the stupid chatter from Yamashita Akira, his purple haired, narrow eyes vice-captain wouldn’t ruin it.

“…we can’t afford to just be gone like that!” the man was saying, his irritation actually erasing his Kansai to proper Japanese.

“Oh for the sake of love and life, don’t you think I took precautions against them finding out?” he asked, shutting the man up, finally.

“Huh? What d’ya mean?” asked Akira, reverting back to his Kansai–ben. Amon shook his head, short brown hair swishing, and snorted.

“Moron. Of course I will cover our escape. I intend to attack as soon as those six idiots who call themselves Captains arrive at the real world. I don’t think many will leave…” his evil smile assured even the skeptic Akira. “Well,” continued Amon, “I happen to have a date in a few, so I’ll just excuse myself.” He left the room smiling. Had he turned, and had he seen the dark expression that Akira wore, he might’ve changed his plans. But he never looked back. And this was his mistake, in Akira’s reckoning. “Those who don’t learn from history never learn,” was the philosophy that ruled his life, and what allowed him now to execute such a perfect scheme right under that person’s student. He turned to the window only to find a blade pressed to his neck. Smiling, seemingly unconcerned but well prepared to dodge and launch a devastating attack if anything happened, he moved away, turned his back on the figure standing in the window, open the door slightly and called to the secretary sitting a short way down the hall.

“Masaki?”

“Yes, vice-captain?” asked the slim, athletic secretary.

“Cancel all my appointments for tonight. And make sure anyone who comes by doesn’t get here.”

“All right, vice-captain-dono,” replied her slightly high pitched voice, “but what should I tell them?”

“Tell them… my seven o’clock has arrived.” His voice, though he strained to keep it cool and calm, barely covered his eagerness. Even as he closed the door, ignoring the secretary’s “Yes, Vice-Captain-dono,” the same sword pressed against his neck, and the cold voice spoke from beneath the brown hood the figure wore.

“Are you done yet, Chinmei?” the voice, a male’s, been so cold and calm it could send shivers down any man’s spine. Not in Chinmei’s, though.

“You are late… partner. Kyo will not be lingering in that rat hole of a town for long.”

You liked the fic? Want to show your appreciation of it? Rep me for it! That's one use of rep that's right.

Tear my work apart as you please. No flaming.

[Thelindra]

Characters List
Kurokawa Kazuma rep Undying

Nakashima Emi rep Thelindra

Akimoto Chiaki rep Shermy

Saruwatari Eimiko rep EiChi

Nakamura Tsubasa rep Chouji

Urahara Kisuke, 1st Division captain
Tessai, 1st divsion VC
Ishimaru Riku, 2nd Division vice
Matsumoto Rangiku, the 3rd Division vice-captain
Isane, 4th division VC
Hara Masahiro, the 5th Division captain
Nakamura Taiki, 6th division captain
Tomoe, 8th Division VC
Sakamoto sisters, 7th and 9th Division captains
Matsuo Amon, the 10th Division captain
Yamshita Akira, 10th division VC
Hitomaru Akechi , 12th division captain
Michiyo, 13th division VC

Ukitake Juushiro
Genryuusai-sensei, Ukitake's teacher
Asano Keigo, Flirt-guy,Self Proclaimed No 1 Don Juan of the Karakura High
Mizuiro, Keigo's friend
Haruka
Lisa
Kuchiki Byakuya, the Kendo and English teacher
Sheu Shin, Michiyo's uncle
Kurosaki Ichigo

(tell me if i missed anything X_X)

[alieraisu]

niiiiiiiiiiiiceness! especially the intro. I felt, however that the 3rd and 4th paragraphs were a bit meshed in order to introduce all of the characters. Maybe you could say a bit more about each character, in order to space out the introductions of the four figures. but thats just my idea. my own writing proficiency is either comatose this year, or has died altogethor, so i salute you for this excellent work of written art.

[choujiwong]

hmm..total coolness...

[Sgt.Reaper]

Really good one of the best ones i have read here at CB.

A bit more detailed description on the characters. Eimikos and Chiakis character was the only one with a descrition and it was very shallow.
You could have made a good and natural introduction to the characters when Chiaki entered the room.

Something like "... as she entered the room she was meet by a welcoming, yet slightly worried smile from her four companions.
- Finally. You are well bloody late, so do bother to explain yourself, said the tall dark haired man at the window, but she saw the worry in his steel grey eyes.
- Still pungent as ever, Kazuma, she said with asmile on her face"

Hope you see what i mean, there is a quite easy way to naturally present the characthers while still telling the story. I may not be the best at doing this but i hope you get my point.
This is quite a minor thing really but it can improve the quality drasycally if used rigth.
Waiting for the next part

[Undying]

Thanks for the advice :). I really appriciated it. I tried to be more descriptive in the second part. Once I'm done writing it (it's bloody long!) I'll post it.
Edit: chapter 2....
… Is to Reap Chaos.
“They what?” asked the lean, blond haired man.
“Like I said, Commodore, they have apparently disappeared from Soul-Society, because as of last night, we were unable to trace them.”
“Damn!” Thought Urahara Kisuke, 1st Division captain, captain-commander of the Gotei 13 and the Commodore of the Special Militia Force, and the rest of the dozen or so titles that have been shoved into him the day he was promoted, well over a thousand years, now. Frankly, he never gave a damn about them. He was more worried about the disappearance of five captains, from the finest Soul-Society had in the last five hundred years. They were more commonly known as the “Great Five” referring to their strong friendship and the fact that they never done anything serious without all of them agreeing about it.
“Summon the captains for a meeting now, and order a Vice-Captain meeting as well,” he instructed his vice-captain, Tessai. The burly man ran swiftly outside, calling for a Hell-Butterfly.
Kisuke stared at the ceiling of the chamber. “Why did they leave?[I]” he wondered. They had no apparent reason to leave Soul-Society so suddenly.
As the captains entered the large chamber, he straightened and looked forward.
As usual, Matsuo Amon, the 10th Division captain, was the first to arrive. After him, the 6th Division captain, Nakamura Taiki, arrived as usual wearing his inscrutable face, followed by Hara Masahiro, the 5th Division captain, calm and collected as usual. The 7th and 9th Division captains, the Sakamoto sisters, were next, followed by the 12th Division captain, Hitomaru Akechi who strode in sedately. As usual, the last one to arrive was the 11th Division captain, Saruwatari Takimi, Eimiko’s half brother.
“Men!” said Kisuke, “we may be facing traitors among our ranks.”
A murmur of surprise echoed that statement. There was never an outright traitor amongst the Shinigami. Simply because there was nowhere to go, as the only betrayal a Shinigami could perform was to ally with the Hollows, and allying with them was quite useless, seeing as they were as likely to eat the Shinigami as follow him.
“True? Betrayers?” asked Amon, “this might explain a few things my Division members reported…” He trailed off under the 1st captain’s stern gaze.
“They reported something to you?” Kisuke asked in a quiet, dangerous voice.
Almost everyone who heard this voice never lived to tell the tale, since he usually used it right before releasing his Bankai and destroying his opponent. Amon, however, remained calm and collected. “I have received those this morning, commodore. I intended to pass them to you within the hour, but you called for a captain meeting.”
Kisuke nodded. The man was right, after all. “What reports?” he asked again, in a more normal voice.
“Apparently, the Hollows that they encounter are far superior to the former ones, and they appear in far greater numbers. Also, they appear to have hybridized.”
Taiki seemed perplexed. His eyebrow twitched, what in another man would have been tearing his hair and shouting from anger. “How can they? They need Shinigami help for that!” he [I]sounded perplexed, that was unusual, seeing as his voice was mostly completely dispassionate. “Then that means that those who left…” “We must…” everyone spoke at once, forcing Kisuke to raise his voice: “SILENCE!” the room reverberate with his voice and fell silent. “We will send search teams into the material world. If those five are indeed traitors, we will take further action.”
For a few moments, the silence in the room was so intense that it could be cut with a Zanpaku-to, or so it seemed to Akechi. He pushed his glasses up his nose, as he usually did when he wished to speak. “My friends,” he said, “we should also be prepared for an all out attack by the Hollows, especially if the five who left are indeed traitors and realize that we are on their tracks.”
Kisuke nodded. “I will issue special wartime orders, allowing captains not to limit themselves while going to the Material World. The captain’s meeting is hereby dismissed.”
As the captains left, Kisuke practically fell on the high backed chair. “Damn… How I hate issuing wartime orders. Why can’t anything go smoothly for a change?”
The vice-captain’s meeting did not go as well as Matsumoto Rangiku, the 3rd Division vice-captain, had hoped. Captain had specifically asked her to make sure no one knew that he and the other Great Five have left, and where to, but that annoying 10th Division vice-captain, Akira, had claimed all of her attention. Everyone knew the man was as flirtatious as a prostitute, but the man knew that she and her captain are lovers, and yet he claims to “love” her. As if he had not told that to every third girl he met! Suddenly she heard a voice behind her.
“Rangiku-san, wait up!” turning, she smiled widely. The 4th Division captain, Isane, was nearing her. Right behind her, she caught sight of the 8th Division vice, Tomoe, the 2nd Division vice, Riku, and the 13th vice, Michiyo. They all were good friends, if not as good as the Great Five.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asked as soon as they approached.
“Good thing you held that idiot’s attention,” said Tomoe. There was no need for her to say which idiot she meant. “If he was to hear that none of us knew to where our captains are…” she trailed off, leaving the implications to imagination. Rangiku shook her head, her reddish brown hair swinging. Captain was so mysterious about his destination…. “So what do you think, Rangiku-san, where are our captains?” to those words, memories sprang up, and she remembered their conversation the night before.
“Rangiku…” Kazuma Flash Stepped into the room as he said her name. She turned, surprised to see him up so late. Usually, he’d have been sleeping for hours already. “Captain, where were you?” She asked. She knew too well to question him, but she disliked not knowing where he went.
“I and the others had had a meeting. We must leave to the Material World at once.” He moved around the room, quickly picking up random sheets, his captain’s cloak swishing about. “Why?” She asked, stunned. “Where are you going? To what purpose?” He shook his head. “I can’t tell you. I am sorry, Rangiku.” With those words, he turned to leave. However, she was not going to let him run around without letting her know. He did that, once. And she was forced through three days of worry before he returned. She was so not going to let him do that again. Standing up and crossing the room, she caught his hand just as he turned toward the entrance. “I’m sorry, Kazuma-kun, but I must know where you are going.” When she used his name instead of “Taicho”, he usually listened. Usually. This time, though, he shook his head. “Sorry, Rangiku.” She punched him in the ribs, hard enough to make him grunt. “Oh no. You are going to tell me where are you going and why, and you will do that now,” she spoke firmly, yet gently. She could never shout or truly be angry with him. For a moment she thought he was going to punch her back. Impossible, of course, since she knew for a fact that he will never hurt a woman without the direst necessity, but his gaze, two pale blue, almost white eyes staring at her with no expression whatsoever, unnerved her completely. He sighed. “Fine, I am going to the Material World for investigation. Please make sure no one discover where we are.” He bent and kissed her lightly. “You might want to be careful around Shinigami; there may be a traitor among us. Oh, and please take care of the paper work.” After saying this, he disappeared. Rangiku sighed. She was in for a serious ordeal.
Isane was worried. From her conversation with Rangiku-san and the others, none knew where their captains are. Rangiku-san had no idea where did Kurokawa-taicho disappear, and if she didn’t know where her lover was… She thought about what had Nakashima-taicho said. ”Isane, please do not let the other captains know that I and the others are gone to the Material World. We must investigate some occurrences.” Isane was stunned by this turn of events. Usually, taicho always told her was did she go. However, she trusted Emi. They were friends ever since their Rukongai days, and Emi never once had failed her trust. “As you say, taicho,” was all she said. She wanted to know more. But she knew that her captain could be as closed mouthed as a wall when she did not want to reveal anything.
And now she knew they were sent to investigate something. Perhaps it was those reports about the Hollows. At any rate, she decided, I will keep watch for anything. Just in case.
Tomoe was terrified. Her captain was gone, and all he said was to keep watch and do the paper work. Hah! As if she did not always to it. It looked like the other captains were every bit as closed mouthed as hers. She never felt so good away from Ts