Not A Good Day

Throughout the night and into the wee hours of dawn, snow fell as the citizens of the Soul Society slept peacefully. The world was covered with a blanket of white, even the Red Meadow; the heart of all Levi's troubles with Vegeta. The Red Meadow, so aptly named for the red tint of the grass, was the place where a giant hollow had appeared and both Squads 9 and 10 were sent to deal with it. But a simple mistake was made and Levi nearly cost many lives- including his own, something the saiyan prince found revolting given the soldier's skill and talent. Some of the other captains also believed that Levi's mistake was a foolish one, but they could all see that he was sorry for it and that mistakes happen. It was a part of life, a part that was not solely exclusive to the young and inexperienced. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. But the great prince did not see this. As the weeks went by this was pretty much the picture. Life went on regardless. During the winter, Vegeta started patrolling and checking areas all over the Soul Society. There have been reports of people going missing and no evidence has been found of what happened to them. It was like they just vanished. The saiyan prince knew something was going on, and he intended to find out what. Every day the great prince set out early in the morning and returning late at night. Sometimes Toushiro went with him, but not always. For one he knew the prince needed some alone time now and then. A second reason was obvious, disappearing people was never good. Another was that he had his little siblings to look after and that took up some time. However, this didn't mean that Toushiro had something planned. Just after the sun rose one morning, Toushiro called Levi over. When he got there, Toushiro was not only waiting but so was Vegeta. The human soldier sighed with a hint of fear as he inched back a little while staring at Vegeta. The saiyan just stared at him with unreadable eyes and a blank face, perhaps the scariest of all his expressions.

Toushiro: "Hey, Levi! Vegeta's going on patrol and I thought you'd like to join him today! An extra set of eyes is always nice."

Levi: "Um... I guess... But why can't you?"

A little boy and girl suddenly came running out and jumped all over Toushiro.

Toushiro: "I think this is self explanatory- ow!"

Malana: "Big Brother we want to build a snowman! A big one!"

Toboe: "Can you help us?!"

Toushiro: "Yes, ok! Just give me a minute, go on and get started."

The two kids ran off to the gardens where there was plenty of room and snow to use. Toushiro chuckled before turning back at Levi. The soldier was still hesitant about going with Vegeta.

Toushiro: "You'll be fine, look I talked to him! All you have to do is follow him and look around, that's it!"

Levi: "... If you say so..."

Vegeta: (With a stern voice) "Come! We're wasting time."

Toushiro: "What did I say about using a stern voice?"

Vegeta: "Hmph... Whatever. Come, Levi."

And Vegeta headed off. Levi hesitantly followed, passing Toushiro as he did.

Toushiro: "Yeesh! Pissy-pissy-pissy!..."

Levi glanced back at Vegeta. It was still hard for him to tell if the saiyan prince was agitated or not from time to time, with his eyes always looking angry and all. This time... not so much. The snow crunched with every step. Vegeta walked through the snow with ease, his heavy frame somehow defying gravity as his feet never sank very far into the snow. Levi, on the other hand, was having some difficulty trudging through the shin deep snow. Despite being much lighter than Vegeta, his feet sank all the way down. There were times where he found it a whole lot easier to just literally follow in Vegeta's footsteps, using the already compacted snow to keep up. They headed into one of the larger forests outside of the rukon district, the giant trees dwarfing the soldier. They weren't as big as some of the giant trees from his old world, but they were still fairly massive compared to the average tree. The human heard a thud and looked back. There didn't appear to be anything so he kept going. Another thud and again Levi looked back! But nothing again. What was going on? He got his answer when a small blob of snow landed on his head. The soldier looked up and was just barely able to avoid having a pile of snow fall on top of him! This is what was causing those thud sounds, piles of snow falling from spindly tree branches. And there were plenty of them. Levi jumped clear as another pile came falling down! And again and again! But luck, or rather gravity, was not on his side. Suddenly Vegeta heard a yell and looked back just in time to watch Levi slide right passed him after slipping on the slick snow! Down the hill the soldier slid until he came to a stop at the bottom and on his back. Levi breathed in relief it was over, what a ride.

Levi: "Phew..."

But when the soldier opened his eyes and stared straight up-

Levi: "Oh no..."

Thud. A pile of snow dropped down on him, completely burying him. Gravity did not like him today.

Levi: (Muffled) "I'm ok."

Vegeta groaned while rolling his eyes. He was not amused and kept going. Levi crawled out just as the saiyan passed by. He sneezed and hurried to catch up. Nothing seemed to be going Levi's way today. They came to a shallow stream that was unfrozen by its tiny waterfall. Vegeta started walking through the ankle deep water without problem. But when Levi started going through-

Levi: "AGH! AGH! AGH!"

The water was freezing, so cold that it completely threw Levi out of composure! Vegeta looked back again and watched the man literally jump his way across!

Levi: (With every step) "Ooh! Ooh! Agh! Agh!"

The freezing water didn't affect Vegeta, he's experienced much colder. Levi hasn't, so it was no surprise that the soldier started doing an interesting dance number the second he was on shore again to dry his feet.

Levi: "Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold-Cold-Cold-COLD!"

No matter how sturdy and thick the boot is, water had a bad way of getting in. Vegeta, still standing in the water, groaned again while closing his eyes. He just continued on. Now Levi was getting a sense as to why Vegeta gave him the nickname Walking-Bad-Luck-Finder-Levi. Today was proving it and badly. The next thing they came across was a fallen giant tree. Being a much more excellent jumper than the human, Vegeta cleared it without even really trying. Now, Levi on the other hand...

Levi: "*Groan* Someone must really hate me today..."

The tree easily dwarfed the soldier. There was no way he could jump it. But there was no real way around it so he had no choice. He started to psych himself up.

Levi: "One... two... (Growing less confident) two... two!..."

There was no way he'd make it and he knew it. But then, an alternative! There was a space under the log that looked just big enough for him to squeeze himself through. He started crawling under the log. Dignity nothing, Levi just wanted to keep up with Vegeta! He got his head and shoulders through, but that was it. He was straining to get the rest of himself through, and when he did, he ended up burying his face into the snow.

Levi: (Muffled again) "I'm still ok."

This time at least, he got Vegeta to raise an eyebrow with his unamused groan. Something new. The man sat up and spat out a mouthful of snow and coughed before grinning at Vegeta, trying to recover some form of dignity in front of the proud prince. Eventually, Levi got himself out and continued following Vegeta. He had no idea where they were going but he at least knew why Toushiro was having him follow the saiyan prince today. Vegeta was still angry with Levi, but if the soldier spent a little time with him, maybe things would be patched up. Although right now Levi was just having problem after problem that really was not helping his case. Finally the dim woods opened up at the top of a cliff overlooking a distant village to the south of the Seireitei, the warm golden light of morning shinning down on it all. Vegeta stopped just at the edge, but Levi didn't get the memo and almost walked right off! Luckily he caught himself before he did, and given how high up they were, it was a good thing too.

Levi: "Whoa!..."

Down below the village was coming to life with the adults all starting their morning chores and the kids rushing outside to play in the snow. But if they were suppose to be looking for what was causing the disappearances, why were they up here?

Levi: "Um... Why are we up here?"

Vegeta just raised an eyebrow and turned his eyes toward Levi, never even moving his head. The unreadable face was still scary.

Levi: "Uh, well... Shouldn't we be looking for clues or something?"

Vegeta: "Nothing had been found of the missing victims and not a single piece of evidence has been found regarding to how they disappeared. They simply seem to have vanished."

Levi: "Oh... Ok... But then, why are we up here?"

Vegeta: "The distance makes it easier to spot danger. And we are out of sight and up wind. If something attacks these people, we'll see them but they won't see us."

Levi: "Oh!... Oh, I get it now."

Vegeta turned his gaze back to the village, while Levi pretended to do the same but secretly continued watching the prince. It was unbelievable at how wise the saiyan was. But then again, he's been through far more things than even the once infamous thug turned veteran Scout Captain. After a few minutes, Vegeta decided to move on.

Vegeta: "Come. We still have other villages to check and a lot of ground to cover today. Don't fall behind."

Levi: "Oh. Yes, sir."

And Levi followed Vegeta back into the forest to continue with the day's agenda. When it was over, Levi went to bed, tired and exhausted. He was going with Vegeta again tomorrow. Hopefully it would go better for him than today did.