Chapter 1- The Chase
~Seireitei~
A large group of shinigami bustled down the road, cursing and swearing all the way.
"Where'd the little punk-ass go?!"
"I think she went this way..."
"Lil' dipstick, taunting us like that, we'll show her what we're made of! We won't let her disgrace squad 11!"
They all raised their fists and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Squad 11!". The shinigami bolted through an alleyway, each one disappearing with shunpo.
A small shadow crept alongside the wall of a storage house. Several yards ahead lay the squad eleven barracks. "There it is..." A soft female voice said, chuckling a little under her breath. "These eleventh squad guys just never know when to stop. Too bad I've beaten them to the punch."
There was an almost inaudible snap behind her.
She immediately unsheathed her zanpakutou, spun, and blocked the attacker's sansetsukan.
"Nobody likes little pests sneaking around their barracks..." A male voice came from the taller figure. A small light shimmered on his right shoulder.
"What's your name?" The small girl asked bluntly, knocking his blade away and jumping out into the open. "And do I resemble anyone familiar to you?" She sheathed her zanpakutou and stood there silently, letting the man look her over.
The moonlight revealed her fair face and long, silky black hair. A small breeze rustled the hair across her face, her bright brown eyes shining.
"Ah? I ain't gonna give my name out to any brat that asks for it... Not until I determine that they're a worthy opponent." The figure took a few steps forward into the light.
His bald head shone brightly as he gave her a large grin. A small ching sounded as he set the sansetsukan blade on his shoulder plate. "You'd better leave before the other-
The girl shunpo'd to the roof of the building to the male's immediate left. "What're you..." He turned and squinted.
"If you don't tell me your name, I'm going to let everyone in Soul Society know I'm here, ruining your chances for a good fight." The girl said, tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm not here to crash your party, but I'd certainly do it if I had to."
"You wouldn't..."
The girl took a large inhale. Almost immediately the man shunpo'd over and covered her mouth with his hand.
"P-pleaaaaase don't, I'm begging you!" He sputtered.
The girl exhaled and pushed his hand away. Crossing her arms, she rested her weight on her right leg. "Name."
After leaping backwards onto a building across from her, spinning his ninja stick a little in the air, then jabbing the end into the clay roofing, he chuckled. "We're gonna have a little brawl first. If you're strong, I'll tell you my name. If not..." His voice slowed to a stop, his grin widening.
He vanished.
His shunpo was quite exceptional, but her reaction skills caught him right before he went for a jab. She spun to the side and dodged, the man's blade cutting a bit of her shihakusho. She returned with a similar attack, landing a successful cut in the man's left shoulder.
The man jumped back a bit and stood there, looking over her again. "Now that we've started, I do sense something rather familiar abou-" He was cut off as the girl pointed her zanpakutou directly at him. "Shime, Kuroshimi."( Bind, Kuroshimi) She breathed.
The zanpakutou's colors inverted from black to white. An eerie glow emanating from the blade as it made a deep humming sound.
She swung the blade in a small circle, then lunged.
A black motorcycle whizzed down the main street of Karakura town. Skyscrapers seemed to fly by as the bike cut through traffic like butter.
Two riders sat upon the seat, one an averaged sized male, and the other a female, just a bit shorter than the male. The male's helmet was black, matching the bike, and the female's was a dark maroon.
The maroon helmet turned and looked behind, searching for something. She flipped the visor up a few inches, revealing her dark grey eyes. She squinted a little and then her eyes widened.
"Crap! She's at five o'clock!" She slapped the visor down again and tapped the male's shoulder. The black helmet quickly looked in his mirror and wove through a string of cars, taking a sharp turn onto another street, the girl leaning over the edge. The girl corrected her position and looked back again, shielding her eyes from the sunshine.
A pink vespa dodged a few cars and came up behind them. Several car-lengths away, it appeared in the male's mirror again. Auburn hair flew wildly behind the woman riding it. Round goggles flashed in the sunlight and the vespa sped up, now only five cars away.
"She's on our tail again!" The female prepared hersef for a barrage of evasive maneuvers. She hugged the male's black suit and held tight.
The male searched for an opening in traffic. No. No. There it was! He turned the handles, let off on the gas and hit the brakes, making a u-turn through the median. He immediately hit the gas and eased into the new traffic.
He glanced over at the oncoming vehicles and saw the pink vespa. The female riding it stared directly at him and he swore he could see her brown eyes glaring at him in anger.
He pulled up a sleeve and glanced at his watch. 8:54. They only had six minutes to get to the video game shop, and if he got there late... He cringed under his helmet and sped up.
The motorcycles tires squealed as the man came to an abrupt stop in front of the store.
"Thanks, Ichi-nii! I'll call when I get off. I'll probably get a ride from my friend, so you can just head home." The girl slid off the bike and walked across the street and onto the sidewalk. She pulled off her maroon helmet and brushed a hand through her short-cropped black hair. The male saluted her. "Hope you get the job, Karin!"
She saluted back with a smile and ran into the store.
The man turned and looked down the road. Here she comes.
The pink vespa came to a screeching halt in the parking stall behind him.
"Kurosaki-kun... Why didn't you stop?!" The woman moaned and jumped off the seat, stomping up to him. She lifted the goggles up and off her eyes and put them in her hair.
The man sighed heavily and pulled his black helmet off, revealing his messy orange hair. Shaking it out, he looked at her. "Inoue, I told you I was bringing Karin to a job interview today. Did you forget?"
Orihime puffed her cheeks up and crossed her arms. "Kurosaki-kun, you never told me anything about this. If you would've told me, I wouldn't have chased you, but no! Being the secluded one all the time... 'I gotta go' This, 'You guys go on ahead' That-" She stopped when she noticed that he wasn't paying attention. He was staring off behind her.
"Kurosaki?" She waved a hand in front of his face. "What's wrong?" He snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "I don't know what it was, but there was a large power spike over in that direction." He rubbed his temples a little and sighed. "Hollow has been noticing a lot more abnormal power spikes during the night too."
Orihime bounced. "You mean Shiro-kun?" Ichigo glared at her. "You named him?" He groaned and set his forehead in his hand, massaging the bridge of his nose.
"Well, you can't just call someone Hollow all the time. So I called him Shiro. He's so funny and he acts just like-" "Inoue, I'm not feeling the best right now, could you please stop talking so fast? It's making my head hurt."
Orihime's smile dimmed a little. "Oh, ok. If you're not feeling good, I'll leave you alone." She clasped her hands together behind her back and scuffed the ground with her shoe. She looked down and pouted a little. "Sorry."
Ichigo lifted his helmet and pulled it down over his head. "Don't blame yourself, Inoue. I think I'm just dehydrated." He turned and gave her a thumbs up. "I'll be better by tomorrow, I promise."
He revved the engine and rolled onto the roadway.
"Oh, tell Yuzu I wish her a happy birthday!" Orihime shouted and waved as Kurosaki drove off.
He was gone.
Orihime sighed and lowered her hand. "Well, I guess it's time to go say hi to Ishida-kun and Sado..." She hopped onto her vespa, adjusted her goggles, and pulled out onto the road.