Chapter 6

The chill of the morning had given way to a modest warmth that beamed in through the closed door of the master bedroom. The room itself was at the perfect temperature, where Nyruki could have the thick covers up to her chin and be cocooned in pod of warmth that was neither too hot, nor too cold. It was because of this that Nyruki refused to get up.

That was until she noticed that she was the only one in the bed.

She shot up bolt upright with wide golden eyes, furiously looking around the bedroom with the hopes of learning of her lover and future husband's location. The bathroom door was open, but no sound came out and his captain's haori was missing from the free standing rack next to the open closet. It made her think that, perhaps, he had left without saying goodbye.

She sprang from the bed and quickly dressed in her usual Shihakushō with shortened sleeves. The black bandaging still wrapped her modest chest, and her neck was still wrapped with the black collar that aided in the restraining of her spiritual pressure. She threw her hair up in her usual high ponytail that she wore whenever Byakuya wasn't available to braid it, before she slipped her Zanpakutō, Kibōyūwaku, into her obi sash.

Dressed in record time, she stepped from the bedroom and looked about the gardens in search for Byakuya, but the garden was completely void of others. Only a few birds that were too stubborn to leave for the coming winter chirped in the trees that were nearly devoid of any of their leaves. Even the fish in the pond were quiet and reserving themselves to staying below the surface.

Nyruki's shoulders slumped as she began to think that he had left for the Royal Realm before she had awoken, and she returned to the bedroom to see if he left a note. She looked on his pillow, nothing. She looked on his nightstand before looking on hers; again, there was nothing. She looked in the bathroom just out of the hopes of finding a small note, but there too, was nothing.

She frowned as she stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door softly before she walked the long porch on her way to the kitchen. She wanted a cup of morning tea, despite it being well into the morning hours. She hadn't planned on sleeping so late, but all had had a trying night and she couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to get up.

However, as she rounded the corner to enter the estate and go to the kitchen, the very man she had been hoping to find stood in the middle of the hallway, talking with his attendant whom had turned clan elder.

"And you're positive about this?" Byakuya asked, but his tone was disconcerting as he loosely crossed his arms and rested his chin on his knuckles.

"I am, My Lord. In order to restore the boy's life, you will need the Blood of a Fate." Said the elder with large, saddened eyes.

Byakuya placed his hands low on his hips and hung his head, "I was hoping I was only going to need the Soul King's permission. If that had been the case, I could have sent a simple message requesting that the boy's Chain of Fate be restored."

"I'm afraid not, My Lord. The texts were quite clear. You will need to go seek audience with the Soul King and make the request in person." The elder said.

"Then I must depart immediately. There is no time to waste." Byakuya said as he began to pace.

"If I may make a suggestion, My Lord." Said the elder with a shallow bow.

"That would be why I appointed you as head of the clan elders council and advisor." Byakuya said, slipping his hands into his sleeves.

"I would suggest you ride, My Lord. I can have the best steed prepared for your immediate departure. If you flew, by the time you reached the Dejan'Ra, you would be too exhausted to even stand. You need all your wits about you for when you confront the Soul King." The elder said, following Byakuya's slow pacing.

Byakuya lightly sighed, "I am aware, but it would be a two days hard ride if I took a steed. Flying would afford me a grace period should my time with the Soul King take longer than anticipated." He pressed his fingers into his forehead as he continued to pace and think.

"And I agree, My Lord. However, the concentration and energy needed to maintain your Hakuteiken for long periods of time would be immense. I fear that would be far more detrimental to your task then spending an extra day traveling." The elder said.

"Two days there, two days back, with a day in the middle to speak with the Soul King. That does not leave a lot of room to dawdle." Byakuya said with a heavy sigh.

"And you have six days left, My Lord." The elder said simply.

Again, Byakuya sighed heavily as he gripped both sides of his neck and stared up at the ceiling, "Perhaps you have a point. Prepare the fastest steed."

"Very well, My Lord, but if I may make another suggestion?" The elder cracked a lopsided smile.

Byakuya simply shifted his gaze to the side and waited for the man to speak.

"Take the horse with the most endurance. He will be able to run longer at a steady speed, therefore, you will get there in better time than if you took the fastest of our horses." Said the elder.

Byakuya huffed a weak smile, "Again, you make a point. See it through and have the horse meet me at the Northern gate. I'll depart here as soon as I say goodbye to Nyruki."

"Very well, My Lord. Give Lady Nyruki my best." The elder bowed.

"You just did." Nyruki voiced up from the corner, having crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

Byakuya immediately halted his pacing to wheel around, setting his silver eyes on her that grew a small smile across his lips. The mere sight of her eased the tension of what he faced, and it afforded him a small place upon which to catch his breath before the quickly approaching journey.

Nyruki pushed off the wall and walked up to Byakuya, exhaling a sigh of relief that he hadn't left yet. His arms wrapped around her and held her close as a hand threaded into the lengths of her hair along the nape of her neck, where he tilted her head up enough for him to capture her lips.

The kiss was only a mere peck, but it was no matter, as he still loved the taste of her in any form. It helped to settle his mind so he could focus on what was coming.

"I thought you left without saying goodbye." Nyruki said softly as she parted their gentle kiss.

"I would never dare such a thing. I fear very little, but your wrath is the very thing I fear most." Byakuya said, resting a hand along the side of her neck and jaw.

Nyruki lowly chuckled, "I don't think I could actually be mad at you."

"That eases my mind, My Love." He smiled down at her before turning his gaze to the clan elder, "I will meet at the Northern gate."

The elder bowed, "Understood, My Lord. I will have Kurohidzume* prepared immediately."

As the elder left, Byakuya allowed himself a moment with his beloved before the coming journey. He didn't want to part from her, and if he could, he would bring her with, but he needed to travel alone in order to traverse the distance in the least amount of time. There just simply wasn't time to waste.

"I'm sure you heard." He said lowly as he placed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I did. What's the Blood of a Fate?" Nyruki asked, resting her hands on his chest, over his heart.

"Just that... The Unmeinoken* is wielded by the Fates. When it comes time for one's chain to be severed, it is those Fates that bring the blade down. In order to reverse that, the blood of those Fates is needed. The only way to acquire it, is to confront the Soul King and make the request directly." Byakuya explained as he clutched her hand and began to walk with her down the hall.

"That's within your power?" Nyruki asked.

"No... I am overextending my reach as clan head. My hopes rest in that the Kuchiki clan has earned a favor for our eons of work with the keeping of Soul Society history." Byakuya said as he released a slow exhale.

"I see. What're your chances?" Nyruki asked as she clung to his arm.

"If I knew, it would help settle my mind." Byakuya said as he reached across his chest to softly brush the pads of his fingers across her cheek.

"Is there anything I can do?" Nyruki asked.

Byakuya lightly smiled, "If you could, I would welcome it. But as this is my task to undertake, I need you here to maintain the estate."

Nyruki's brows furrowed, "What?"

"You're the lady of the house. It falls to you in my absence. All you have to do is listen to the elders, the head of which is a wise man and will not lead you astray." He said softly as he leaned down enough to place another kiss.

Nyruki blew out a nervous breath once his lips lifted from hers, "Alright."

"I have faith in you, My Love." He said softly as he guided them out of the front gate of the estate.

"And I you, My Sweet. I hope your journey is fruitful." She said as they walked.

They walked in relative silence, hand in hand, towards the Northern gate of the Seireitei. It was entirely abandoned, as the whole of the Gotei 13 were out searching every corner, every hovel, every inch of every district of the Rukongai. Nothing had come back yet about whether anyone had been able to get a lead on where the boy could be, which meant, he was still lost.

The Northern gate came into view, flanked by a pair of guards that were dwarfed by the sheer size of the heavy lift gate, and even more so by the gigantic elite standing right in front of it.

"Good morning, Captain Kuchiki!" The guards barked in unison as the elite simply stood statue still and glowered down at them.

"Good morning." Byakuya said as he slipped his hand free from Nyruki's that she allowed without an ounce of resistance.

It was clear that his horse had not arrived yet, but not even a minute passed before distant clops sounded against the stone of the ground. They were heavy, firm as they planted themselves and the air was pierced by the sharp whinny of an animal with an attitude. Deep, guttural huffs of air blew from wide, flared nostrils and as the animal they were waiting for drew closer, lead by its white reigns, Nyruki got her first sight of the massive beast.

The steed that had been called Kurohidzume, was a giant horse, standing nearly two feet taller at the withers than the stablehand leading the horse towards them. It was entirely black with thick legs that coursed with muscle, riddled with lines of veins that pumped firm with blood. Its hooves were crowned with light feathering that flowed in the soft breeze and its mane fell to its broad chest with slight waves. Its tail swished from side to side, trailing all the way to the ground with several long braids that had been woven into the fray, if at all to keep it from getting too knotted.

If the horse's beauty wasn't enough, then its attitude was even more so. The horse huffed angrily, prancing and tugging against the reigns to be allowed to roam on its own. It tossed its head and whinnied loudly, grunting with more huffs of air through its wide nostrils. The horse was rearing to go and its attitude only got worse as it set its black eyes on its master.

"Easy, Kuro... Calm yourself." Byakuya said evenly as he stepped up to the giant beast and placed his hand on its long nose.

The horse huffed once more as it eased its prancing, instead, stomping a large hoof into the stone to paw at the ground.

"Ssh-... Good boy. It's been a long time, old friend." Byakuya said softly as he pet the large head of the beast, running his hand up and down its nose.

"That is a hell of a horse." Nyruki gaped, feeling rather tiny next to the animal that weighed no less than 1,500 pounds.

"A pastime I haven't partaken in for longer than I would care to admit. There's something freeing when riding a beast such as this." Byakuya said calmly as he offered his hand out towards Nyruki.

She placed her hand in his and let him guide her to the horse's head, where the beast tossed it again and huffed with a grunt. He calmed almost immediately when Byakuya gently placed her hand on his nose, and to her surprise, it was as soft as silk. The steed pressed his giant nose further into her hand and flared his nostrils as he continued to huff, digging his hoof into the stone that rippled the beast's muscle even more as he shifted his weight from leg to leg.

"Cool." Nyruki exhaled as she removed her hand from the horse's nose.

Byakuya smiled softly at her, "Perhaps another date is forthcoming where we will go for a ride."

Nyruki's smile broadened, "I'd like that."

Byakuya allowed himself another short lived kiss before he took the reigns from the stablehand and hiked a leg up into the awaiting stirrup. He tightly gripped a fistful of the horse's mane as he hoisted himself up and as if he was vaulting over an obstacle, he swung his other leg over the black and gold studded saddle and sat down atop the large beast.

"Ride hard, My Love." Nyruki said, looking up at him as her smile died.

"If the boy is found, help him remember who he is and hope I return in time." Byakuya said, leaning over far enough to flight his finger tips under her chin.

"I will... I have an idea, but I need to converse with Kibōyūwaku first." She said, resting a hand on his leg.

"Then do. Do whatever it takes to give the boy the best chance." Byakuya said as he sat up.

"Of course... I love you." She said.

"And I you," he turned his gaze ahead, "Open the gate!"

The gigantic elite grunted as he turned around and jammed his hands into the bottom of the lift gate. His arms the size of tree trunks flexed hard with unbridled muscle as he began to lift, the metal and wood grinding against the slider frame on either side until the gate was lifted up to his waist where he stopped and held it.

With one final glance down at Nyruki, Byakuya snapped the reigns against the horse's neck with a sharp crack. The beast whinnied and rocked back on his hind legs, arcing his front with a shallow rear before those same, powerful and thick rear legs launched him forward into a full gallop. The heavy weight of the beast made the pounding of its hooves hitting the ground echo and sound like earthquakes, each one kicking up small puffs of dust from the ground the moment the stone ended and the dirt began and the horse was so fast, that it carried Byakuya far into the distance before the gate was even lowered.

With her lover out of sight and on his journey, Nyruki turned and resolved herself that in order to help Ichigo the best way she could, she needed to have a long chat with Kibōyūwaku.

*Black Hoof

*Sword of Fate

His stomach was roaring and it hadn't stopped. He was so hungry that he had resulted to munching on reeds that Haru had found for him, if at all to get his stomach to stop putting its two cents in. The reeds tasted disgusting, too earthy and too bitter to satisfy his hunger and as such, he had been chewing on them all afternoon.

Forcing another mushy clump down his throat, the boy mashed another bite as he helped Haru weave a new floor mat from the very same reeds he was munching on. It was nearly finished, and was big enough to cover most of the cottage's floor to only leave a small, half inch border around its edge. The twins, Jirū and Jirō were hard at work repairing the roof, having broken off branches from the surrounding trees and shaped them as best they could with sharp rocks they had found in a nearby rocky pit. Several of the holes had already been patched up, leaving only the largest hole to be repaired, being over the top of the still broken window.

With one, final knot that tied the mat together, Haru beamed as she stood and dusted herself off before bending down to grab a corner of the new mat. The boy stood and grabbed the other and both lugged the heavy mat into the cottage and set it down on the floor that Haru had swept with a leafy broken branch.

"There!" Haru smiled as she cleaned her hands on her robe and placed them on her hips.

"Not bad. Already looks better in here." The boy sighed as he continued munching on the reed stalk.

"Now we just need a couple blankets!" Jirō boomed from the roof as he and his brother hoisted the thick mat they had woven up onto the roof to place over the hole.

"A reed blanket won't be very comfortable." Haru nearly mumbled as she looked up to watch the twins settle the mat.

One of the twin's heads popped down to look through the broken window, upside down as he hung over the side of the roof.

"Then go to town and see what you can get." Said Jirō, or Jirū, the boy couldn't tell unless they pointed it out.

"But we don't have any money. How're we supposed to afford anything?" Haru asked as she fidgeted with her cloth belt.

"Here! Take this!" Another twin shouted a bit too loudly from the door.

The boy turned in time to catch a weighted pouch without a flinch, catching it firmly in his hand as he continued to munch the reed stalk in his mouth.

"Whoa... Nice catch, Orenji." The twin in the doorway grinned crookedly as he set his hands on his hips.

The boy stared at his hand with a crinkle in his brow, "H-How'd I do that?" He took the reed out of his mouth.

"That was pretty slick. Maybe you were some martial arts expert in a previous life!" The twin chuckled as he threw a weak punch that only made contact with air.

"Yeah... Maybe," The boy mumbled as he opened the pouch to see a small collection of silver coins, "Money? Where'd you get this?" He asked, looking up from the pouch.

The twin grinned, "Snatched it from that guy who brought us here. Figured it would do us more good than him."

"You robbed him? All he did was bring us here... which one are you?" The boy glared.

"Jirū." He crossed his arms and arced a brow.

"He didn't do anything wrong, Jirū." The boy said.

"No, you're right. He didn't, but we sure needed a little step up to plant our feet. Use it to see what you guys can pick up in that little town just over the hill." Jirū said as he leaned against the doorframe.

Haru took the pouch from the boy's hands, "I guess we can use it. I mean, some blankets and some food for you, Orenji, would be a good idea."

"I don't know. It just seems kinda... wrong." The boy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Look, Orenji... I didn't do it to be mean to the poor sap, I did it to help us survive. What's wrong with that?" Jirū shrugged.

"I guess," he sighed, "I'll go with you, Haru."

The boy and Haru squeezed passed Jirū whom still stood in the doorway and started towards the small hill that wasn't very far away. The sun was high overhead and it had managed to warm the day to a comfortable degree. The dew had long since gone and luckily for them both, the dirt had warmed so not to make their bare feet numb.

Haru clutched the coin purse to her chest, but her eyes were a bit saddened as they walked. The boy could see she was troubled by the fact that they were heading to spend the stolen money, but there was little they could do about it. The stranger was long gone.

"As much as I'm not a fan of it, Jirū has a point. We'd freeze if we don't have a way to stay warm." The boy said, hopping over a sharp rock that stuck out from the ground.

"I know. I just wish there was another way." Haru said lowly.

The boy lightly sighed before his bare foot came down on another sharp rock that instantly send a sharp pain soaring up his leg. His weight dropped to prevent the rock from puncturing his skin, and it sent him down to the ground in a small cloud of dust.

"Ow! Dammit!" The boy hissed as he sat down and hoisted his foot up to take a look at it.

"You idiot! What is it with you and falling on your ass?"

The boy went stiff at the sudden voice, his eyes wide and shaking as he looked around, hoping with all hope that the ghostly boy wasn't there.

His hopes went unanswered.

The ghostly boy with yellow eyes against absolute black suddenly appeared and knelt down in front of him with a wide grin plastered across his face. The boy leaned back on his hands to try and put some distance between him and the ghostly boy, but the further he leaned back, the further forward the ghostly boy leaned.

"Typical teenage boy. All feet and no coordination. It's a wonder how you manage to fight the way you do." The ghostly boy snickered.

"Huh? What do you want? Why do you keep bothering me?" The boy asked with his eyes frozen open.

"It's my turn to be King. Give it up and I'll leave you alone."

"No... I won't give you anything. You tried to kill me!" The boy snapped, feeling his heart hammer in his chest.

"You've tried to kill me plenty! It's only fair you stupid, good for nothing, lazy, son of a bitch! It's my body too and you up and went and got yourself killed!" The ghostly boy snarled as he pushed the boy hard in the shoulder.

The boy fell onto his back as the ghostly boy jumped up and came down on top of him, knelt just over his chest with a long, white finger painfully jabbed into his chest.

"You don't have much time left. Six more days and your spiritual pressure is gone. It's the only thing keeping me at bay, so all I have to do is wait and this-" he pressed his finger further into the boy's chest, "will be gone forever." His grin widened.

The boy winced hard as the other boy's finger pressed down hard over his heart, threatening to draw blood the further he jammed it down. The pain was steadily growing as the ache in his heart began to throb in time with each beat, pressing back against the boy's finger in an attempt to battle against it from sinking deeper. It was like a smoldering fire, but all too soon, the ghostly boy's finger broke through.

Blood immediately began to seep from the shallow wound, and the boy screamed, trying to scurry back from the boy hovering over him, but he couldn't wrest himself free. The ghostly boy had sat down completely on his chest as he continued to press down, sinking his finger deeper and deeper until the boy couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" The boy screamed as he squeezed his eyes closed.

His eyes shot open when another hand touched his shoulder, only to see that the ghostly boy was gone, having been replaced by Haru, whom was knelt beside him.

"Orenji! Are you ok?" She asked with clear worry across her face.

The boy bit back a groan of pain as he slammed his hand against his chest where the ghostly boy's finger had sunk down into his flesh. The wound was there, it was slowly bleeding and a few drops of blood seeped through his fingers, but Haru quickly tore a length of cloth from the bottom of her robe and pressed it to his chest.

"Are you ok, Orenji?" She asked again, pressing down a bit harder to stem the bleeding.

"I-I... I-I-" The boy's voice trailed off as he sat up and took over pressing the cloth to his chest.

"Orenji... Speak to me. Are you ok?" Haru asked for the third time.

The boy nodded, "I... think so. What happened?" He swallowed.

"You fell and landed on a sharp rock. It cut your chest a bit... See?" Haru said as she opened her palm.

The boy looked at the bloody rock in her hand before looking at his feet. The spot where the rock had been, a shallow divot, was peppered with blood from having fallen, but he was confused, unsure, of why he had dropped in the first place. The bottom of his foot still stung from stepping on a rock, but he didn't know where that stone was.

"How did I fall?" The boy asked, chancing a glance at the puncture in his chest that had slowed its bleeding.

Haru shrugged, "I don't know. One minute, we were talking and the next, you had fallen forward and landed on this rock. I was scared you were really hurt."

"D-Did you see that boy?" He asked.

Haru shook her head, "What boy? There wasn't anyone."

"You didn't see a ghostly looking kid with white hair, white skin and yellow eyes?" The boy asked, taking another look at his wound which had thankfully stopped bleeding.

"No. I'm sorry." Haru said in just above a whisper, shaking her head.

"It... It must've been my imagination then. You know, from getting hurt with the rock." He said as Haru helped him to stand.

"Probably. Are you gonna be ok?" Haru asked, keeping a hand on his arm in case he stumbled.

The boy nodded, "I... I think so. I just gotta be more careful where I walk, I guess."

Haru huffed a smile, "Yeah. Come on, we aren't far from that village."

The boy nodded as he finished caring for his wound by dabbing the bloodied cloth a couple more times before carefully wiping to rid his skin of the blood. His white robe was stained, but there was nothing he could do about it. It would have to wait until he and Haru returned to the cottage, so instead of worrying about it, they started walking again.

Just as Jirū had said, the small village was on the other side of the hill and it was a quaint little town, but was large enough to have shops. Several vendor stalls with cloth canopies were erected through the town square and a small crowd had gathered to enjoy the festivities. Food was cooking and wafting up into the air, being carried by the soft breeze straight into the boy's nose that made his eyes loll into the back of his head.

"I am so hungry." The boy groaned as he gulped and stared at the small festival in the town.

"Come on. Lets see if we can get you something real to eat." Haru said as she started for the town.

The boy followed and both closed in on the town where the scent of cooked chicken filled his nose. He went straight for the stall that was producing the smell and had done so, so fast, that Haru had to jog to keep up. By the time she had caught up, the boy had already snatched a whole chicken from the stall and was devouring it without even swallowing.

"I'm so sorry. How much for the chicken?" Haru asked as she opened the coin pouch to pull some coins.

"Ten Kan... Hungry kid." The cook said as he stared at the boy whom was ripping long strips from the chicken with his teeth.

Haru quickly counted out the required amount and handed them to the cook, "Are you celebrating something?"

"Naw... Just a town get together to show and sell new goods and such. This is my new recipe. What you think, kid?" The cook asked as the boy tore another long strip of meat and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.

"I think he likes it." Haru chuckled.

The boy nodded as he chewed.

"Good." The cook smiled.

"If I can ask, how come you're cooking so much? Are their Shinigami here?" Haru asked, clutching the pouch to her chest in both hands for safety.

The cook visibly stiffened, "There's some that patrol through here." He said flatly as he turned a chicken over to cook the other side.

"I see... What other goods are there for sale?" Haru asked, shooting the boy a look as he ripped a leg from the chicken and took a huge bite out of it.

"You're free to check it out. You folks new around here?" The cook asked without looking up from his work.

Haru nodded, "Mmhmm. Just this morning. We're fixing up a small cottage just over the hill."

"Oh? That old place by the pond?" The cook asked, this time glancing up at them.

"Yes. It looked empty so we started to settle there." Haru said.

"It is. Place has been empty for... oh realms... 110, 120 years now? Quite awhile. I guess I'll say welcome." The cook said as he returned to his work.

The boy devoured the chicken leg without even swallowing and tossed the bone aside before mashing down into the main body of the chicken. He tore away a massive chunk of the breast before even noticing that not only Haru was watching him singlehandedly devour the chicken, but a few others as well.

He pinched off the large chunk with his fingers and finished chewing his overly large mouthful.

"Sorry." He said quietly before stuffing the rest of the chunk into his mouth.

"It's alright, kid. Eat up. Got yourself some spiritual pressure hmm?" The cook asked, again returning to his work.

The boy just nodded and continued eating.

"Why not head to the Seireitei? You look able bodied enough." The cook said.

The boy shrugged, if at all to buy him time to finish chewing and swallow, "I'm still trying to get my bearings."

"Makes sense. Something to consider for later I suppose." The cook said as he accepted some more coin from another patron whom took a chicken.

Again, the boy nodded, but didn't make a sound other than his eating.

"Well, thank you, Sir. I appreciate letting us buy a chicken." Haru said with a bow.

"Of course. Kan is Kan. Enjoy yourselves."

Haru waved goodbye as she and the boy stepped away to explore a bit more of the small gathering. There were a couple more food stalls, but there was one that caught their eye. An older woman was selling knitted blankets of every color that were thick and certainly good ones to have for the coming winter. They were soft, edged with small tassels to give the blankets frilly edges and the smile that spread across Haru's face was wide and made the boy smile through his mouthful.

"Hello, Dear. Interested in a winter blanket?" The older woman asked sweetly as she smiled.

"They're very nice. How much are they?" Haru asked, still clutching the coin pouch.

"Ten a piece, my dear." The woman said.

Haru smiled as she began to dig around in the pouch, but too soon, her smile vanished as she realized she didn't have enough.

"Oh no... I only have enough for three." Haru said with a slump in her shoulders.

The boy finished what remained of his devoured meal and cleaned his mouth on his sleeve, "I'm sorry. If you didn't have to buy that chicken, you'd have enough."

"No, no... It's ok, Orenji. You were hungry and needed to eat." Haru sent him a reassuring smile.

The boy dried his mouth again, "Is there anything we can do to earn another one, Ma'am?"

"I can think of something." Laughed a voice from behind Haru and the boy.

They turned around to see a group of five men, all grinning evilly at the pair with arms crossed. They all wore plain black Shihakushō with swords on their hips, but they were heavy set and not all like the other ones he had seen in the same garment. However, it was the one in front whom garnished most of their attention.

He was tall and fat, with a face full of a shaggy brown beard that reached down to his chest. His hair was nonexistent, as he was entirely bald and the only thing that broke up the shiny was a long healed scar that carved over his head from front to back. His arms were the size of his thighs and his eyes were angry, set hard into his head and shone the color of a swamp; Murky.

"Who're you guys?" The boy asked, furrowing his brows as he studied the men.

"They're the riffraff of this town. They bully and steal goods and things of value from everyone because they abuse their power as Shinigami." Said the older woman selling the blankets, whom was cowering into herself.

"You have to pay for our protection, old lady. That's how this works." Said the big man with a grunted laugh.

"What gives you the right to bully these people?" Asked the boy as he turned to fully face the men, half covering Haru with his own body.

"What gives you the right to stand up for them? They're maggots compared to us. We're Shinigami. They owe us." The big man laughed.

"Owe you?" The boy scoffed.

"Look at this kid, Boss! He thinks he can take us!" One of the other Shinigami laughed.

"Is that so? Lets show him he can't... Get him!"