DANCE WITH FIRE

My name is Akhito Bishamon. I'm a Shinigami currently residing in Seireitei. My family was killed just as I was getting to know them but some Captain friends of theirs looked after me. Thanks to them, I enrolled in to the Shin'o Academy and graduated with high scores. I joined the 11th Division after my graduation and have been patrolling since the day I joined them.

One day, I was patrolling as usual again when I heard some weird voices coming from the direction of the doors. They were sounds of steel colliding with another steel, I immediately realized someone was fighting. Without hesitating, I started to run towards 11th Division Barracks. I was nervous and holding one hand on the hilt of my zanpakuto. After I reached the barracks, I found the captain.

"Captain! I saw some Ryoka entering the Seireitei," I said, alarmed.

"Where?" he asked simply.

"At the Northern Wall, Captain," I replied, more composed. He smiled, a real one.

"I'll take care of it," he said and went to the Meeting without haste. Minutes later, there were alarms going off everywhere. People of all levels immediately started running without a particular direction. It was when I was trying to decide where to go when I saw Captain Kyoraku. He was walking among all the panic stricken people, with his usual calmness. I shook my head and ran after the first person I saw next. As we were running, we saw the Ryokas and they saw us too. At that, they scattered around to avoid us. One had a zanpakuto on his back. It must have been the human who took Rukia Kuchiki's powers. I saw captain following him, so I decided to pursue the girl and another boy. After a while, I sensed Lieutenant Yachiru beside me.

"Lieutenant, I can take care of these two Ryokas," I said.

"Ken-chan was very happy, so I wanted to come with you, Akhito, if it's okay with you."

"You don't need to ask for my permission, Lieutenant. You're welcome anytime." We fell silent after that and kept following the Ryokas. Ten minutes passed and I was really having a hard time keeping up. I had been deprived of sleep for who-knows-how-many days. It finally started taking its toll on me. I fell to the ground head-first. Where was Lieutenant? My body was refusing to move no matter how hard I command it. I could taste the blood in my mouth. It was just then that I felt a burden on my back and fainted because of the pain.

I was at the 4th Division's Barracks when I woke up. Hanatarou and the Lieutenant was standing beside me.

"We were running, you, on the road and me, on the roofs. I could see you were very tired and finally, you collapsed. I was going to jump beside you but I accidentally jumped on your back. When I saw you faint, I brought you to the 4th Division's Barracks. I hope you're not mad at me, Akhito," explained the Lieutenant Yachiru.

"It's not a problem," I said and tried to sit up but Hanatarou stopped me.

"I'm sorry but you can't get up for a few days. Some bones on your back was fractured when the Lieutenant Yachiru jumped on them and they plunged in your lungs," he said. He would always address me formally as he was a few levels inferior to me.

"Alright then but I can't stay here without my zanpakuto beside me, and of course, my clothes," I pointed to the dirty clothes I was wearing.

"Okay, I'll get them for you," said Hanatarou and came back with my stuff after a minute. When he left, I fell asleep and woke up when it was dusk. I wanted something to eat which they brought without a delay. As I was eating, I realized my throat was aching while swallowing but I was not going to give anything fort. I called for Hanatarou after finishing my meal.

"I will get worse if I don't get out of this place," I said after realizing he wouldn't let me go. According to him, it would take time for my wounds to fully heal. Nevertheless, I couldn't just stay here and lie down while those Ryokas were roaming in Seireitei. So, after a long speech, I could finally convince Hanatarou to talk to his captain.

I waited for a while for him to come back and when he did, he had a relaxed expression on his face. He said it was okay for me to go out now. So I got up, wore my clothes and marched off. My legs hurt while walking and my lungs would ache every time I breathed deeply but I didn't care about them. I found the Lieutenant after I got to the 11th Division's Barracks. I was wondering what happened when I was not around.

"Ken-chan found him!" she said with excitement.

"Found who?" I asked curiously.

"The Orange!"

"The orange?"

"The one who took Rukia Kuchiki's powers, of course, Akhito!" Suddenly, a reiatsu explosion knocked me down to the ground. I shot up in panic and ran to the source of the power. When I arrived to the source, I saw my captain fighting the orange haired Ryoka. Now I understood why Lieutenant called him 'Orange'. I tried to interfere immediately to help my captain but Lieutenant Yachiru who was right behind me stopped me.

"Ken-chan's having soo much fun." But I was anxious. The Orange had a big zanpakuto and he seemed to be able to wield it effectively. Fortunately, captain would counter his attacks without having any difficulties. We watched them fighting for a long time without them realizing we were there. They were too absorbed in the fight. I sat on the ground in pain. It was like captain was getting stronger with every passig minute. When The Orange got tired out, captain got the upper hand and drove him into a corner but The Orange didn't give up. They kept fighting. They were both injured very badly but they seemed like they didn't care how much blood they shed or how badly they got slashed. The ground was bathed in blood.

When I looked around after sensing another reiatsu, I saw Hanatarou but something was wrong with him. He started escaping with The Orange.

"Hanatarou!" I shouted after him. But he just looked behind him with an apologetic look. He was aware of his betrayal to us.

"I'm sorry, sir," he yelled for me to hear while running without even slowing. I looked at my Lieutenant but she wasn't even looking his way. He took Captain Zaraki who was lying on the ground to get some rest and went to the 4th Division Barracks with him. I decided to go with them. Lieutenant was smirking despite thecaptain's wounds . I looked at her disbelievingly and she noticed my gaze.

"Ken-chan had a lot of fun!" she said simply.

After we got to the barracks, Lieutenant said I could go back. I obeyed and started walking slowly towards my house. In mid-way, I saw the two Ryokas I was chasing this morning. I hid myself behind some buildings and sent a message to the Lieutenant. A reply came without delay: "Get them."

I started tailing them. I was trying to find the right time to capture them without causing a ruckuss. I was doing just fine for a while but all of a sudden, one of the tiles on the roof I was running fell to the floor and the Ryokas noticed me. Our eyes met for a second but they started running again the next moment. I, of course, forgot about the stealth and ran openly after them. I had been pursuing them for a while when they suddenly disappeared. Seemed like the energy I spent while trying to catch them was wasted after all as they were impossible to find. I had no other choice but to let the Lieutenant know. The message that came after my news of failure was saying I could rest now, so I went home tiredly and slept.

I woke up again before the day break upon hearing some strange sounds. I patrolled around the house only to find nothing but when I went outside, a shadow captured my attention. I grabbed my zanpakuto instinctly and called out to the shadow.

"Oi! Who are you?"

"Inoue Orihime from the 3rd Division!" A voice I didn't recognize answered. Hmm… Orihime… The name wasn't familiar, either.

"Which level are you?" I asked this time, suspicious.

"Immm… well… Umm… 13th…" I neared the shadow and took a closer look. This… this was the Ryoka girl I saw this morning!

"You're not a Shinigami." This time, she didn't respond to me. She just called out.

"Jidanbou!" What? Was it possible for Jidanbou to take their side just like Hanatarou?

"Did someone call out to me?" replied Jidanbou.

"We have some problem here, Jidanbou," said the Ryoka girl and backed away.

"About what?" asked Jidanbou, getting closer. Then he saw me.

"Aaaa-Ak-Akhito Bi-Bi-Bishamon!"

"Yeah, it's me, Jidanbou. The problem here is me, I guess," I said furiously.

"N-N-No, no, of course not!" stuttered Jidanbou. Everyone knew of the ability that passed from generation to generation in Bishamon family. This was precisely why Jidanbou didn't want to face me. "Of course not!" he repeated nervously.

"Won't you fight me like a man?" I said and swinged my zanpakuto. "I CALL UPON THE MORNING SUN AND THE MAGMA UNDERGROUND. WAKE UP LUMINOUS…"

-TO BE CONTINUED-