"I don't like the looks of it."
"What? But it will take way longer to go around."
"Yachiru, this town is dead, there must be a reason."
The three stood overlooking a town of mixed low-rise and high-rise buildings, packed tightly together. An old sky-train was in sight, a crumpled mess dangling from its track. The roads were jammed with dead cars. But there looked to be enough shelter and potential resources that it was strange not to see signs of life.
"We're close to Beijing," Grimmjow commented, looking at the lines on his map. They all converged on the city, a day or two from here."
"Are we going there?" Yachiru asked.
"No. The clans are farther North. From where we are here…" he traced a line with his finger, "it looks like the most direct route will take us there without entering the city."
They'd been chasing rumours about the warring clans. Rumours were becoming reality more and more every day as the violence around them increased. But here, they stood on the precipice of silence. After days of wading through packed streets and fending off thieves and scavengers, they were suddenly completely alone.
"If no one is here, they must have a reason," Toshiro said.
"But she's right, it will take longer to go around."
"We aren't in a race, Jaggerjaques. Besides, the more people we see, the better chance we'll see someone we know."
"I guess…" he folded up the map and replaced it in his bag. "But I want to know what's in there."
"Could be toxic, like Fukushima."
Grimmjow frowned. The boy was right, it might be something like that, but somehow, he didn't think so.
"You two can go around, I'll meet you on the other side."
"You want to split up?"
"Just for a bit."
"No, I want to go too!" Yachiru argued. "Let's go straight through."
Grimmjow looked to her, then to Toshiro. "Two against one, kid."
"It's a bad decision, Jaggerjaques."
"You're probably right." But he proceeded down the bank with Yachiru hot on his heels and Toshiro had little choice but to follow.
They walked for two kilometers without incident. They saw no signs of toxins or radiation. But they did see that this place had been looted to the full extent. Anything on ground-level was smashed in and emptied of useful resources. More cars than normal choked the roadways, baked remains trapped inside them. The air was foul and dry. There were no signs of water here. There was little mystery left as to why no one chose to stay in this town.
"Well at least we'll get through soon." Grimmjow pointed ahead to the inclining road. There was a merge to a highway within sight. "I think that will take us where we're going."
"Good, but it's getting dark."
"Yeah," Grimmjow cast his eyes around. This place wouldn't be pleasant to stay in, but probably fairly safe. "We should get off the ground, keep watch from up high." He nodded to a building that looked to be structurally sound. They made their way through the broken lobby of a business complex. After several flights of stairs, Grimmjow rammed his shoulder into a door and got them onto the landing of an office floor with rows and rows of cubicles.
"What's this place?" Yachiru asked. Grimmjow knew from his experience walking around Japan but Toshiro explained about the strange lives of people who worked on the now blank machines at the desks, processing paperwork and information.
"So it's Hell," Grimmjow concluded. He spotted a tall machine at one end of the room and went over to it. He gave it a hard whack but nothing came out. Judging by the indentations on the vending machine, someone had already emptied it.
"Hope we have some food left," he grumbled.
"Some." Toshiro pulled out their rations. They were getting low. Tomorrow they'd have to take time to barter for some more.
They set up camp in a corner office, where they could look out on the streets in two directions. Toshiro spread out their food and Yachiru spun around on the office chair. Grimmjow watched the dead streets. The sun set while they ate, and it was quite dark when they cleared a space to sleep.
"Is it all clear?" Toshiro joined Grimmjow at the window.
Grimmjow nodded slowly.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. I just feel like—" He caught movement at the edge of a building on ground level. He leaned closer. "There's someone there."
"Other travelers?" Toshiro's eyes weren't as sharp as Grimmjow's in the night.
"No. They moved quickly, like they knew where they were going."
"Then maybe someone does live here. It just means we must keep watch."
"Yeah. You two sleep first." Toshiro nodded. Grimmjow rarely allowed one of the children to take watch before him, always wanting to have a good lay of the land in case things went bad in the night.
The children fell asleep quickly. Grimmjow stood vigil for a long time, looking at the dark expanse below. The moon was only half full and it was high. It was barely light enough for his eyes to catch anything.
But he did. He saw another shadow, skirting a building, dodging between cars and then disappearing through a broken window of a shop. He wondered why they bothered running in such a way, as if they were hiding.
Hiding from someone who could only see them from above.
He glanced at the other buildings around them. They had chosen the tallest in this part of town. He saw no signs of light or life in the other high rises. He took a step back from the window and looked at the door to the stairwell.
Was it possible the people were hiding from them? If so, it meant they knew where they were taking shelter.
"Boy." He shook Toshiro's shoulder. Sharp eyes shot open at once. He was never groggy from sleep, unlike Yachiru, as if he never truly let himself slip under. "I think they know we're here."
He sat up at once and followed Grimmjow's gaze to the far end of the pool of cubicles.
"I'll barricade that door. You check for other entrances," Toshiro said.
"Okay."
"Yachiru!" Toshiro had to shake her awake. He put her in charge of watching the window. She yawned and stretched and leaned against the large pane. Grimmjow and Toshiro split up to get the doors.
Grimmjow heard Toshiro moving something by the door. He scanned the dark and checked several doors but they all lead to other offices or storage rooms.
"That's the only one," Grimmjow called back. All he heard was grunting. He moved back over to Toshiro and saw him struggling with a filing cabinet. He half grinned.
"Need a hand, squirt?"
Teal eyes shot to him in anger. Toshiro stepped away from the cabinet in annoyance and opened his mouth for some retort, but before he could speak, the door he'd been trying to block flew open.
"Toshiro!" Grimmjow warned but in a second the door slammed shut again. He blinked in confusion, and stared at the shut door. "Toshiro?"
The teen was gone.
"YACHIRU!" He screamed over his shoulder but raced forward and threw the door open. He stared into the dark of the empty stairwell. "Toshiro!" His voice bounced off walls, but it was all that returned to him. Where the hell had the kid gone?
"Grimmjow." Yachiru was hurrying his way. "Where is he?"
Her voice was unusually quiet. He saw the panic in her eyes. The children were never separated. They always had one another's backs.
"I don't know. Come here. I think something took him."
She glanced around and started toward him. Then she stopped dead, eyes widening.
"Girl?" Wind rushed past him. Something struck his shoulder and he fell to the ground. He was unhurt but confused and looked up to see a swirl of papers left in the wake of a high velocity wind. He shook himself and squinted into the dark. "Fuck! YACHIRU!"
The room around him was empty. He was alone.
Where the hell had they gone? He'd seen nothing, and yet, he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the feeling of wind rushing past him like that. It happened all the time when Yachiru and Toshiro used flashstep around him.
"Yachiru!" He tried vainly again and stood up, standing at the top of the stairs and staring down into the spiralling darkness.
He saw nothing, but he had no choice. He ran headlong down the dark flights of stairs.
Just a few steps down something struck him again, and just as he fell he knew for certain—the precision of the strike, the rush of wind—someone was here, and that someone did not want him to follow.
He certainly couldn't when he rolled down several hard steps and face planted against the wall.
Grimmjow woke face down on gray tile. His legs were still on the stairs behind him, the rest of him sprawled on the landing. He tentatively pressed his hands into the floor and sat up.
He groaned loudly and sat with his back to the railing, taking a moment to catch his breath. The stairs hadn't actually done him much damage, but the wall at the end of the landing had knocked him out cold. He touched the lump on his forehead and felt only a little blood dried there. He looked at the next flight and knew it could have been much worse if he hadn't stopped there.
"Fuck." He used the railing to help him stand. His ankle throbbed but took his weight. His ribs ached but nothing was broken. He had to shake it off and figure out what the hell had just happened.
It was still dark. He took this as a good sign that he hadn't been out too long. He reached for his sword. Fuck. He searched around the dark but it was gone. He started patting himself over and realized other things were missing too: concealed knives, a lighter, and his soul pager. Shit.
He returned to the office and found the packs still there, but they had no weapons, just some water and food. He grabbed what was left and then made his way carefully down the rest of the stairs, but his instincts told him he was alone now. He indeed saw no signs of life anywhere in his descent.
In the lobby he stopped to take stalk. He drank some of their dwindling supply of water and ran his hands over his eyes trying to clear some of the lingering grogginess from the strike to his head. He listened for a long time, trying to distinguish any noises in the dark, but again, he felt he was alone. Whoever had taken the kids was gone and now he had to find out where.
He could see the moon was lower. He didn't want to lose more time but if he waited until dawn he might be able to see some clues. He sat back in a chair behind a rounded desk with dead monitors. He opened a few drawers but they had nothing of use in them. He spun and his foot knocked something over. He picked it up.
It was a flashlight. He clicked it. A weak light came on. It was better than nothing. Now he could keep moving. He searched the dusty floor by the broken glass where they'd entered. He saw their footprints from earlier. Then he saw others: petite, three sets, running parallel to his own from earlier. Women, maybe. The prints were light, heavier towards the toes. They'd been sneaking up, trying to be quiet. But after a few paces the dust was cleared and then there were no more footprints. This confirmed his suspicion that their attackers were using flashstep.
"Great," he muttered. If anyone could have stopped their attackers, it would have been the children. He didn't stand much chance on his own. He wondered what type of spiritual beings they were—had they been Vandenreich? Maybe it was former soul reapers. That might be why they took the children and not him. But why grab them like that? He supposed it didn't really matter, what mattered was locating the brats before they got themselves killed.
He tried to follow the footsteps into the street but here there wasn't as much dust and the dirt that had gathered was too packed down to leave much in the way of marks. The sidewalks and pavement were no help either. He shut out his light and moved through the night, toward the place where he'd seen the person moving earlier.
He found the shop with the broken window where the person had run earlier. He stepped inside and scanned it with his light. There wasn't much to find, just an open back door where he guessed the person had gone, just using the shop as a way to conceal themselves. He moved out this way, and found many cars cluttering the road here. There seemed to be a path between the bumpers and bent metal: he could see streaks on the hoods of cars under the beam of his light and places where it looked like someone had pushed aside broken glass. He made his way along slowly, tracing the path down the street, to the other side. He noted an alley and decided to follow this. At the end was a chain-link fence but a trash can was pushed against it. He was sure now he was on the right path. He hopped the fence and scanned the dark. He looked above and all around for signs of life but there were none.
At the end of the alley he found a park. He hadn't noticed it when he'd scanned the city from the hill. In fact, it was a very small park, compared to ones he'd seen elsewhere, and there were odd metal shapes in the middle of it. One was a series of metal pipes connected to one another. Another one had chains hanging from high bars, linked by a curved seat. Another was a round platform with bars.
He remembered seeing such structures for the first time while on a walk with Rukia, when he'd been still recovering from his coma. She'd explained to him that the structures were a form of entertainment for children. He scanned the building that was closest to the property he realized what it was.
"A school…" he breathed. He couldn't read the characters on the front, but he was pretty sure that's what the building was. He remembered the size of the footprints which he'd thought belonged to women but now another thought occurred to him, which might also explain why only Toshiro and Yachiru were taken. "Children…" But what other children did they know who'd had spiritual pressure from before? Could be Vandenreich, he'd never known the full extent of their army or their civilians.
"Shit," he set down their packs on the front steps and stared at the doors through the dark. The sun was starting to come up. In a few minutes he'd have more light, but he didn't want to wait. They probably already knew he was here now anyway.
He left their supplies behind and held the flashlight as his only weapon. He advanced up the steps and toward the front doors. The glass was blacked out on them, he couldn't see through. He used the butt of the flashlight to break through one and undo the lock. Once inside he was very careful. If they used flashstep he couldn't even see them coming.
He moved forward a step before he caught sight of the wire. It was ankle height. He traced it over the floor but didn't see what it connected to. He stepped over it and barely saw the next one at head level. He avoided this as well. Great. He'd never get anywhere at this pace, but it was clear someone had taken exhaustive precautions against intruders.
He looked around the open space he'd stepped into. There were benches and trash cans and murals on the walls. The dawn light was revealing more to him by the second. The lobby was two stories tall. He saw a landing above that overlooked the whole place, and stepped back from it was an office with glass windows. Attached to this landing he saw gears and a long cable. It touched the floor in a loop. He shook his head—it was obviously another trap. He scanned for other, less obvious defenses. But many were blatantly apparent, like pails of rocks at the top of another landing, or the additional wires he spotted near a bay of lockers at the entrance to another hallway.
This added to his belief he'd stepped into a den of children. Most adults wouldn't leave their traps so open, and they probably would have designed more lethal ones.
He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Maybe he should just call them out, see what happened if he faced them.
"Yo," he called into the dark. He heard a startled breath. Yep, they were watching him, somewhere above. "Listen, just tell me where you took the two kids."
Silence. He kept scanning the room, waiting for them to reveal themselves. He caught movement down the hallways. So there were more down on his level. How many, he wondered.
"Come on, let's do this the easy way."
"Okay." The voice caught him off guard. He looked up too late and barely stepped out of the way of the arrow. It clattered over the floor next to him. He saw the tip and guessed it probably wouldn't have done him much damage anyway. The person who'd shot it had ducked out of the way but another stood up. This time he was ready. The shot was weak and didn't have the speed of someone properly trained with the weapon. Grimmjow caught it out of the air. The tip was definitely too blunt to be lethal unless they were really, really lucky.
"Come off it," he tossed the arrow. "Just fucking show yourselves!"
Again, silence, but in a second, he felt that wind.
An elbow drove into the back of his already sore ribcage. He lost his breath and stumbled forward. Another strike cut across his face and a third hit his calf. He dropped to his knees. There were three of them—he couldn't see them but he knew from the different strikes, the height and the power behind them, that the attacks were all from different people. He also knew they were not from warriors. Their movements were a bit hesitant, but completely predictable. Even without spiritual pressure, he was able to catch the next strike that he knew would be coming for his face now that he was closer to their level.
"FUCK OFF!" He yanked back on the wrist he'd caught and got a scream from the figure he could finally see now that she wasn't moving at hyper speed. She looked barley older than Yachiru.
She cried something he gathered meant let go. He did, but only so he could catch the next wild fist from his right. This time he threw a punch of his own. He caught the boy square in the teeth and he staggered back.
Grimmjow didn't managed to stop the third strike, which nailed him in the back. He pitched forward but rolled up and swung with his flashlight. It caught one of them who cried out and dropped out of flashstep. It was the girl, who held her elbow tight in pain. The boy was still holding his bloody mouth and didn't look eager to rejoin the fight. That left only one—the one who'd gotten him in the back and was clearly the best trained.
He scanned for the third attacker but didn't see him. Instead he noted those at the edge of the lobby, gathering cautiously to watch the fight. There were a lot of them: bedraggled, ratty children. They were hushed and wide eyed and peering at him from behind locker doors and walls. He noticed the ones with arrows above, and a few hefting rocks from their perch, but none of them probably had the confidence to strike him without getting their allies. He guessed it was just these three with spiritual pressure if the children weren't intervening.
He took another hit to the gut, but blocked the next he'd predicted would come for his ear and jabbed out. He barely hit anything. The boy stumbled away, breaking from flashstep a moment, just long enough for Grimmjow to see he was in his mid-teens, about the same size as Toshiro. Then he was gone again and Grimmjow went stumbling back from a hard hit to the chest. He ducked, but guessed wrong this time and got hit in the ribs. He straightened again and reached out wild. He was lucky. His fist close around the teen's arm and he brought his flashlight hard into his jaw. The teen reeled back and his eyes flashed sideways to the crowd.
Dammit, Grimmjow had been wrong—there were more who could use flashstep.
He wasn't even sure which one it was, but someone from the encroaching crowd joined in and he was once again on the defensive. He only took one more hit before he realized what they'd been doing all along: they'd back him up, all way across the room to that trap he'd seen earlier. He only realized when his foot was in the loop and the boy before him gave a cry. Someone released a switch, Grimmjow felt the cable snag tight around his boot and next thing he hit the floor before he was dragged up by his ankle and hanging helpless in the air.
"Fucking kids…" he bounced on the cable, staring up at faces no older than Yachiru's who were grinning cheerfully down at him. He looked back down to the boy he'd been fighting. He wasn't smiling. He was serious and rubbing his bruised jaw. The rest of the children who'd been hiding now swelled out behind him. Some were cheering but others were frightened and cowering behind the older ones, others still just oogled at him with their friends. There had to be fifty of them at least. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
The serious boy shouted something up to him. He didn't understand it.
"Japanese," he called down. The boy frowned and reformed his words.
"Why you here?"
"For the kids you took!"
"Why?" he said again. "You father?"
"No."
The boy frowned. Grimmjow let out a frustrated noise. What was his fucking problem?
"Just let me the fuck go."
"You adult."
"Yes, I'm adult, now listen to me and let me go!"
He lurched up, trying to swing himself upright and grab the cable that held him. The movement violently shook the wheel to which the cable was attached. He stilled and glanced down again. It was a full story drop and he'd probably land on his head. Dammit. These kids might actually kill him.
"You better stop," the boy warned.
"You better let me down."
"You danger. You adult."
He let out a sigh. He wasn't getting anywhere and his head was starting to throb from the blood pressure being forced into it. He'd pass out in a matter of minutes. He decided to give up trying to reason with this kid.
"TOSHIRO!" he screamed out. "YACHIRU!" If these messed up kids thought they'd rescued the reapers from him, maybe they weren't actually being held prisoner.
He had to hope, because otherwise, he was fucked.
"Stop shouting!" the boy warned him.
"Fuck you." He felt a jolt and looked up. The homemade trap was definitely letting go. The children below him backed up. Great. "You plan on killing me?" he challenged the boy.
"You adult," he shrugged coolly, like it explained everything.
Grimmjow glared at him, then he felt the contraption give completely.
Fuck. He hated kids.
This time, he woke on his back. He didn't even remember striking the floor, but he'd know as he was falling it might be enough to snap his neck. He knew he hadn't moved from where he'd fallen—he could see the remains of the trap dangling from the landing above him.
"Don't move."
He didn't, but his eyes travelled sideways and he saw the serious teenage face—the one he'd come here to find.
"Toshiro."
"Just stay still," he said again, putting a hand on Grimmjow's chest. "You may have broken your neck."
"What?"
"Don't worry, it's mostly better."
"What?" he just said again but Toshiro nodded behind him. He couldn't see the person there, just fingers stretched above his head, a faint light emanating from them, just like when Yuzu healed him.
"They've been healing you all day."
"Who, reapers?"
"No." Toshiro looked past Grimmjow. He wanted to turn and see but he also wanted to make sure he didn't end up paralyzed so he didn't move. "These children have already learned to use healing techniques with their spiritual pressure. It's really quite amazing."
"Yeah, so glad they're healing me after nearly killing me."
"They have their reasons for mistrusting adults."
"Well you're still a brat so what happened to you?"
"They thought you'd snatched us. It seems adults in the region—particularly these clans we've heard so much about—have been exploiting children for labour for years. When they found out some of these children have spiritual pressure, they started abducting them. Several have banded together here, to protect themselves."
"Who are they, though?"
"They were children from the rukongai—far from any districts near the Seireitei. Judging by their abilities here, they could very well have been soul reapers had the Clash not occurred. We're very fortunate they've honed their skills so much, or you might have died."
"Yeah, 'cause you two got yourselves caught."
Toshiro glanced away. They were both embarrassed to have been apprehended by these children, so they both decided to let it drop.
"So I take it you intervened," Grimmjow continued.
"Yes. I heard you call our names. I did not know they had confronted you. We were told you'd simply been stripped of your weapon and left alone. We wanted to find out who these children were before we left. We didn't think you'd be in danger."
Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. The only reason he'd been in danger was because he spent all night trying to save these two. He should have just left them to it.
"Whatever. Just tell me how much longer."
Toshiro looked him over, then he held out his own hands. Neither Toshiro nor Yachiru had tried healing very much. It seemed to tire them out very quickly and since they had been receiving frequent visits from Yuzu it hadn't been important to retrain their skills. But Grimmjow knew Toshiro could use enough energy to read injuries. He concentrated a moment, then his features relaxed. "You're fine, but if she continues, she'll undo the concussion as well, so stay put."
"Fine."
"I'll be back."
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I want to speak with their leader again. They know much about the goings on up North and your arrival interrupted our discussion."
"So sorry to be an inconvenience," he grunted.
Toshiro paused then and looked down on Grimmjow. "We appreciate the fact you searched for us."
Somehow, his thanks only annoyed Grimmjow more. "Yeah whatever, just go."
He lay still for a long time, eventually shutting his eyes and drifting off again under the tingle of power. Someone shook him awake later and he knew he must be healed. He sat up, a girl, maybe ten, was pointing to his neck and saying something he didn't understand. He tested it out, moving his head this way and that, then nodded. She smiled, but quickly backed away, as if he made her nervous.
He looked around. There were other children nearby, but they also kept their distance. He saw someone helping the little girl. She was exhausted and they took her to lay down by other sleeping children. He wondered if all of them had had a hand in healing him—probably, since the required energy would be significant. He stood up, feeling no after effects of the fall from the trap.
He didn't bother asking for directions. Many of the children glanced nervously in the direction of the stairs and he knew that's where their leader must have gone with Toshiro. He ascended to the second level, but found Yachiru instead. She was half way down the hall, in a large open room full of chairs and desks. He looked at the black board behind her and saw a drawing of a tall figure with spikey hair. He paused in the doorway, smiling at the unmistakable outline of Kenpachi Zaraki. She was speaking in Japanese, but waving her hands expressively and acting out her words for the crowd of tiny children sitting cross-legged on the floor. She was telling them of an adventure before the Clash. Her eyes were lit up with excitement, as were theirs. Grimmjow did not interrupt them, but listened just long enough to hear her describe Kenpachi's violent take-down of the former captain of his squad.
He moved on, and found Toshiro in a quieter hallway. He was just finishing with the leader, who was—as Grimmjow had guessed—the serious faced boy who'd spoken to him earlier.
Grimmjow didn't feel like engaging with him. Some form of apology was made but Grimmjow just gave him the finger. Toshiro glared at him but let it go. So did the leader. He returned to Grimmjow his weapons and his soul pager.
"Just tell me we're leaving." Grimmjow said when they were alone.
"They've offered us food and shelter. I say we take it for the night."
Grimmjow shook his head but Toshiro argued there was barely an hour of daylight left. Grimmjow rolled his eyes but he wasn't stubborn enough to make them launch out in unfamiliar territory in the dark.
"Have you seen Yachiru?" Toshiro asked.
"Yeah, back that way. I'll meet you later."
He didn't have any intention of staying in this place for the night without checking it out first. He moved alone down dark hallways. The school was very large, and much of it was empty. He paused in many doorways, peering in on emptied rooms. A few had cushions and blankets spread over it. Another had chalk drawings from floor to ceiling. He entered what must have been the meal hall. It was large and still set up for eating. A kitchen in back had large pots of water and several empty jugs lined up next to it. They must have been collecting rainwater because it didn't seem they had any electricity here.
In the next hallway, he found some of the occupied rooms. When he looked in on one classroom, he saw several children laying on their sides on thin mattresses. One older girl was making the rounds with a dish of water. One child was crying quietly. Sickness was common in this world, and often fatal. The girl briefly made eye contact with him and froze. He raised a hand, to show he was no threat, and moved on.
His anger had faded by the time he made his way back to the lobby. By then he'd seen more beat-up, barefoot children, less lively than the ones who'd been with Yachiru, and he'd lost some of his bitterness.
"Over here!" Yachiru waved him over excitedly. She usually had little to say to him so he was curious when she brought him over to the crowd of children with her. "Best fighter in Japan!" She said, boxing empty air. "Never lost, not once!"
"Ooo…" Some of the ones who understood her gazed at him in awe. Who knew what wild tales she'd told them about him. Then one of them said something and pointed up at the ceiling and there was much giddy laughter. He glanced at the trap and realized they must be laughing at the fact they had caught him. His eyes narrowed and they all went silent immediately.
Yachiru gave him a scolding look then disappeared. He flinched when her foot landed on the top of his head and she made him stagger. "But he's slow." She said cheerily when she landed and suddenly the children were laughing again. He rolled his eyes and left them. He made his way carefully through the traps and back outside where he'd left their belongings. He sat on the front step and watched the sun disappear below the high-rises. When darkness fully settled on them, a few children left the safety of the school. They must fear being seen, and only scavenge for supplies at night. He watched them move almost silently through the clogged streets until they were nothing but indistinguishable shadows.
"Jaggerjaques." Toshiro joined him on the steps. "Food." He offered him a bowl of something. Grimmjow eyed it.
"Did you already eat some?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"Probably best not to know."
"Great," but he ate it because they were already running very low on their own rations.
Toshiro stood and stared into the black before him. "I think we should stay here."
Grimmjow stopped eating and stared up at him. "What?"
"I think these children have the right idea, but they aren't properly trained. We could teach them things that would help them protect themselves better."
"Well they fucking did a good job on me."
"But they didn't kill you—they didn't even have the intention of killing you—and if you really were one of these people they fear, then killing you should have been their first goal."
Toshiro was always serious, but not usually as dark as this. Grimmjow watched him carefully. "What did that kid tell you?"
Toshiro sat with a sigh. "He told me these two warring clans have been looking for any way they can to get the upper hand over the other. They've forced some children to fight for them and others…they've just tried to extract their power, through terrible, cruel means. That's why when they saw you with us, they thought you'd captured us for one of the clans."
"I see. And did he tell you any details about these clans?"
"Just their names: The Zhanshi Clan and the Xue Long Clan. They are not families, as it was in the old days. They are just two very hostile groups trying to take control."
"And now they know some people are regaining their spiritual abilities."
"Yes. But not just people, Jaggerjaques—children. By all accounts, it has only been children to show spiritual abilities thus far."
At this, Grimmjow reacted. "What? Are you telling me I ain't gonna get my powers back?"
"No. It just appears children are regaining the ability first. It doesn't mean you won't eventually get yours restored."
"But we don't know," Grimmjow spat bitterly. "Fucking great."
"We've stumbled upon something important here. These are the first people other than Yachiru and myself that we've met with spiritual powers. I think it's worth it to stay for a while."
Grimmjow let out a long, tired sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right…"
"So you're okay with this?"
"Yeah. You two stay here, do what you have to do."
"Wait, what do you plan to do?"
"Well, by the sounds of it, you and Yachiru will be targets the moment we leave here. I think I should go on alone for a while, scout things out. A couple weeks maybe. That would give you time to train these kids enough, right?"
"I don't know, Jaggerjaques. I'm not sure you should go off on your own. You didn't fare too well last night."
"Fuck you, Toshiro, it only happened 'cause I was trying to save your ass. When I'm on my own, I'll only have my back to watch. It will be easier."
Toshiro pursed his lips, not entirely convinced, but he seemed to understand it was the only compromise he'd get. He nodded. "Two weeks maximum, or we come looking for you."
"Two weeks," Grimmjow agreed.
"Then you better get some sleep tonight. Come back inside."
"Fine." He returned inside the school with the boy. The children were quieting down, but some still listened with rapt attention while Yachiru continued to tell stories of her adventures. She was making zigzagging motions with her hands and then made a loud noise, mimicking an explosion. Grimmjow was quite certain she was relaying their flight from the lightning storm. Grimmjow scanned the rest of the children. He locked onto the leader. "How old is that kid?"
"I don't know. Sixteen, maybe."
"Is that how old you are?"
"Something like that, I suppose."
Grimmjow said nothing, but looking at Toshiro now, or that leader, he saw nothing of the size or strength Ichigo had possessed when he'd first met him in the human world. These children, growing up malnourished and overworked, hadn't seemed to have developed or grown as fast. Toshiro was still a runt in Grimmjow's opinion and Yachiru was starting to catch up to him. He almost grinned at the thought of the pink haired girl someday looking down on her stern-faced companion.
"Well, wake me at dawn," Grimmjow set his pack on the floor and used it as his pillow.
"I will."
Grimmjow still lay awake for a while, his mistrust of strangers deep, but soon the whole room quieted, everyone settling in for the night, only a few keeping watch at the windows. Knowing Toshiro was among them, he gave in and got what rest he could before he struck out on his own.
Thanks for your reviews and help with my question! I've decided what to do and it will be addressed a little more specifically in the next chapter. And to answer a question from a guest review: I am planning to release a Point Blank sequel but I have rewritten much of it so it's going to be a bit longer before I publish it. I am also working on other things as well as my current story POW. Thanks again to everyone following this story!
Riza