Thank you for such awesome reviews! I know this story is a bit slow, but I swear that it will get better.
Chapter 2
Early Plans
"No," Ichigo refused flatly the next day before school had started.
"Why not?" Keigo whined. "You never go out with us anymore."
"Because the only one who could possibly persuade me to go see some stupid movie with you was Shiro," he replied without any heat. The orange-haired student was merely stating a matter of fact. Rukia overheard their conversation and went over to investigate. She had a strong curiosity towards these two for some odd reason. Or rather, for the orange-haired teenager.
"What's going on?" she asked with practiced pleasantry, something Ichigo saw through with ease. He said nothing about it however and she was thankful for that.
"This moron won't go out with his friends anymore," complained Keigo.
"Lay off my case," sighed Ichigo. He was sick of hearing the complaints for what had to be the thousandth time. If one adjective could be used to describe Keigo, it would have to be tenacious.
"I see no problem with that," Rukia remarked honestly. She was a relatively new student and had not known these two until she came here at the beginning of the school year. The only thing she DID know was that Ichigo got into many fights and that he was considered to be somewhat of a delinquent.
"He used to go out with us, but then he stopped. Now he doesn't even eat lunch with us. He sits in the library reading!"
Rukia still didn't know why that bothered the brunette so much, but she decided to be diplomatic anyways. "Has anything caused you to change, Ichigo?"
"My oldest friend died and my twin brother ran away," he replied honestly. There was no hesitation. Rukia felt surprised at the forwardness and decided to look into his eyes, reaching out with her gift. She searched for anything that she could see through those windows of his soul, thoughts, and emotions. She found pain, grief, guilt. Worst of all she found a gaping emptiness that traveled deep into his soul. A large part of him was missing. It took no genius to know the missing half was due to the disappearance of his twin brother.
"I take it you miss them very much." Rukia winced at the understatement of her words. She could recall Tatsuki now. They had been partners for some school project not too long ago. Rukia could also recall the presence of a male albino that had stopped eight guys from beating up a student with flame colored hair. Both people had been...well, closer to this teenager than anyone she had ever seen together before, or after for that matter. The latter memory felt vague, but the anger in his attacks brought to mind something akin to a vengeful angel. She supposed now that the victim had been Ichigo and the savior his brother.
"More than you could possibly know," Ichigo finally admitted. "It makes me feel better to know that Shiro is still alive. I can hope that he is happy."
Keigo began to feel out of place with the conversation existing only between Rukia and Ichigo. He reluctantly broke away from them, not that the two noticed or paid him much heed.
"Would you mind telling me what happened?" the raven haired girl asked. "I think talking will help you. And I'm a little curious as well."
Brown eyes narrowed at her for a moment before relaxing.
"You're pretty nosy but at least you admit it," he murmured. He leaned back into the desk and crossed his arms.
"I found Tatsuki on my way home. All the reports say that an animal attacked her, but I saw her body myself; cities don't have animals that could maul someone like that, let alone a martial arts champion," he said bluntly, laying out the bare facts as well as his own opinion. He spoke quickly, barely touching on the subject. Rukia didn't blame him. "Shiro is a very simple case to explain. He wanted to do something stupid. It was so irrelevant that I can't even remember what it was about. He stormed out, screaming how much he hated my father and I."
"I think he loved you very mu—"
"Oh, I know that," Ichigo interrupted. "I know he loves me as much as I love him. It doesn't make it any easier to deal with his absence."
The girl said nothing more. There wasn't anything really that would make him feel better, or to ease whatever he was going through. Besides, she was busy with her own thoughts. She was a slayer stationed at this place as a result of its centralized part of Karakura's school zone. She was its appointed guardian, and Ichigo's description of Tatsuki's body made her wary. There was a possibility of it being from a werewolve or vampire. Either one was cause to worry because it meant the slayers' capital was compromised. For now it seemed as if the Kurosaki brothers had no connection to the supernatural. But if Ichigo had discovered the body, it could possibly place him as a witness, therefore endangering his life. Rukia would have to do some investigating to rule out those unpleasant possibilities. She would rather not lose yet another classmate. To unnatural causes at least.
"I'm doing fine, Kuchiki," he assured her. She met his eyes, noticing how empty they seemed.
"You aren't fine," Rukia replied. "Your friends are worried about you, and for good reason. You need to go out, have a little fun."
The orange haired student looked ashamed and he glanced over to the corner where his friends had gathered. A small amount life lit his gaze. He turned back to Rukia.
"You're right. Thank you," he told her with open warmth that surprised the girl. Then he stood up and approached his friends.
A satisfied smile formed over the slayer's face. "Mission accomplished," she whispered.
。o.0.o 。o.0.o 。
~Back With Gin~
Aizen studied Gin and Kaname. He possessed much more composure than he had at the meeting, a likely result of his concern for Shiro who was now under his wing, no matter how new t teenager was. The Espada were far different than other members of vampire/werewolf covens. Humans were seen as equals, not a single one was supposed to be turned against his or her will. And fledglings were coveted, not used or abandoned. If one harmed any fledgling, it was considered punishable by equal, if not worse, treatment. Aizen made sure of that.
"I noticed that young Shiro was very upset yesterday," Aizen said. His expression remained a pleasant facade, if not tempered by a touch of darkness. "How is he?"
"It's just a little homesickness brought up by yesterday's discussions," Gin assured him with his signature smile.
"It is not uncommon for recently turned vampires," Kaname added. "It will be something that he will undoubtedly over come."
Aizen tilted his head in acknowledgement and agreement. He himself had changed a few people and was familiar with the common behaviors, but then again he was talking about a different species than his own. It seemed logical that vampires would react differently to being Changed.
"That is good news, however it is not what I have called you two here for."
As if on cue the doors opened and in walked a blonde man of apparently young years and dressed in a school uniform. Beside him stood a silver haired man with a thick, worn, leather coat that zipped up to under the chin.
"Shinji," Gin greeted. "Kensei."
The said duo came over to stand next to their superiors, Shinji wearing a grin full of teeth that would put piano keys to shame.
"Is this what you wanted to tell us Aizen?" Kaname wanted to know. The brunette smiled gently.
"Indeed it is," he confirmed. "These are my two infiltrators. Kensei will be posing as a member of the slayers, Shinji as a high school student. They will be telling me about what is occurring in Karakura. Hopefully it will give us some knowledge of what the slayers are up to."
"To actually go into the boundaries of our enemy, you both must be very brave,' Kaname admired."Don't you agree Gin?"
Gin wasn't listening. He tilted his head to the side. Something tickled the back of his mind, something to do with the albino who was supposed to be sleeping. It almost felt like...distress. Fear. Perhaps Shiro was having a nightmare?
"I have something I need to attend to," Gin murmured. He walked out of the room without consent, heading towards his fledgling's room with a growing sense of dread.
