Uryu swore sparks would literally start flying between his father and the red-haired woman on the ride from the airport. From the tense way Renji held himself in the seat next to him, he knew the reaper felt much the same way.
When at last they'd arrived at the run-down apartment building, a black Grand Victoria twin to the one Di drove – right down to the small "Interceptor" decal on the trunk - was parked in front of the squat building with a rental company car idling behind it.
As soon as the blonde boy leaning against the car door saw Ryuken unfold himself from the passenger seat into the bright early winter's day, he'd rushed over, handed over the keys and explained that was the car their 'friend' had rented on their behalf.
More of Urahara's work, no doubt.
The young archer smirked at his father's scowl as he climbed the grimy steps after the tattooed reaper. Their fair hostess stayed at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed as she watched the silvered man sign the paperwork and hand it back to the nervous young man. Her breath rose in gentle vaporous clouds into the chill air.
Uryu shook his head and followed Renji to the drab little apartment. He glanced around with a frown. The living room was very small – only big enough for a free standing couch opposite a television nestled into the far corner, and an undersized coffee table tucked between couch and TV. To the right of the entryway, there was a small hallway leading to a tiny bathroom, and another closed door – presumably the bedroom. The living room itself opened into a modest kitchenette. Decoration was sorely lacking, but boxes stacked in the corner parallel to the door through which he and Renji just entered indicated that was likely either because she was moving in or out.
Despite the fact he'd only just met Urahara's 'contact', the dwelling did not feel like a place she would stay in for a long period of time at all.
Renji had wandered out of view into the kitchenette, once he slid free of his boots, leaving Uryu to move to the couch after removing his own footwear. Upon looking down, he blinked at finding Shunsui lounging on the couch. A strange green laptop whirred away on the coffee table. The youth repressed a shudder at the strange pulsating tubes lining the sleek body of the machine. He wondered just why the Twelfth Division had to include such grotesque ornamentation to their technology. With an effort, he shoved that ponderance aside, instead opting for a surprised, "Captain Kyoraku?"
The brunette looked up and favored him with his trademark grin. "Morning, Uryu." The broad-shouldered man sat up and turned to afford more ease in looking up at the young Quincy. "How was the trip?"
"Fine," he covered a sudden yawn, and dropped down on the end of the couch furthest from the shinigami. The young man was far more tired than he thought he was going to be. Still, he frowned lightly at the much older man, "Don't get me wrong, but I would have thought Captain Ukitake would be here."
"Ah," he offered the other two a grin when Di finally closed the door after herself and Ryuken. "Jyushiro wanted to come, yes, but I'm afraid he's too ill."
Di arched a brow, and motioned the elder Ishida over to the couch. "He gets sick often, doesn't he?" She brushed a hand over the top of her old friend's head as she passed him to help a quietly cursing Renji in the kitchen.
The reaper never was particularly good at domestics.
Shunsui shrugged and offered the scowling Ryuken a jaunty grin. "Only at the most inopportune of moments, it seems."
Once mugs of tea had been passed out and an offering of hastily prepared bagels set on the table, Diana dropped down between Uryu and Shunsui, since Ryuken seemed content to stand behind his son. Renji leaned against the back of the couch between the human and reaper.
The captain reached forward to hit a button on the computer, then lent back as the screen came to life and draped an arm casually over the back of the couch behind Diana. "Hey, Yama-ji."
"Good to see you all made it," the Captain Commander's deceptively sleepy image intoned from the computer's screen. "Diana Kimora, thank you for playing host."
Di nodded slightly and laced her fingers together over a knee. "No problem. Now, why am I playing host, exactly?"
Yamamoto almost smirked. "It had come to the soul society's attention that a very valuable young woman is being targeted by Hueco Mundo. Lieutenant Abarai and Uryuu Ishida know her best of your group. We need to retrieve her before Sousuke Aizen can capture her." He held a hand up at Di's confused expression. "Shunsui can fill you in there."
The lone woman nodded and rubbed the back of her neck with the scarred hand. "Ok. So, do we know where she might be? This is a big country. Much bigger than Japan."
The Captain Commander nodded. "According to Kisuke Urahara, who is tracking her progress, she is currently in New Mexico. Your group is to rendezvous with her in New Orleans, Louisiana."
"I've always wanted to see Mardi Gras," Shunsui rumbled wistfully from her side.
Di bit back a comment about how he really just wanted to see the topless girls with an effort. Instead, she regarded the screen, a grin tugging rebelliously at the corners of her mouth. "How long do we have?"
"Would ten days be reasonable?" The old man queried.
The woman lightly bit at the inside of her cheek in thought, before speaking a little uncertainly. "Well, that wouldn't be a problem for us, but if this girl is on foot, it might take her a little longer than that."
"Perhaps." All eyes turned to Uryu as he lowered the mug from his lips. "But I have confidence that if she doesn't make it by then, we'll still be able to find her through our bond."
Determined sapphire met considering emerald, before the young woman conceded with a shrug.
After that pause, Renji's voice rose from his place behind the couch. "We'll make it happen, sir."
"Very well." Yamamoto nodded. "We will keep lines of communication open. Thank you."
With that, the screen flickered to darkness.
Over the next few hours, Ryuken and Uryu had been left at the small apartment to get a little sleep, while Di took Renji and Shunsui out to tie up loose ends necessary before their trip began.
Through the outing, Shunsui was surprised at just how lonely her life was. Indeed, the apartment she was staying in was not her own, but an acquaintance's who was dealing with a few personal problems and needed a house-sitter for a while. It appeared that the young woman had been living on the go for quite a while, and working via online communication as a translator. There were very few friends involved, and those were not particularly close. While the head sensei of the dojo said he would miss her assistance, it was easy enough to tell that they would do fine without her.
It was no wonder their Lil' Bara was so world weary.
At the moment, the three had just claimed a small table in a little hole-in-the-wall Italian place when the captain slid a hand over Di's, then caught her startled gaze.
"Ah…" A fiery brow rose, "Yes, Shunsui?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Renji watching them contemplatively. "Diana, are you alright?"
She blinked. "Well, I'm thrown a little off balance by all of this, but…"
He shook his head, cutting her off wordlessly. "What happened to your family?"
She cringed and slid her hand from the warmth of his. Slowly, she took a sip of water, a spot on the table suddenly appeared to be very interesting. "Sensei and okaa-san died about five years ago. I'm still gaijin to most of the extended family, outside of a cousin or two. It's not really all that unexpected." Green clad shoulders shrugged. "Sensei was much respected, but his decision to adopt me wasn't particularly popular." Her blood relations were apparently not worth mentioning. She looked up and tried for a smile. "I'm ok. Really. So," she continued before either man could respond to her words, or the resignedly sad tone in which they were delivered, "fill me in on what's been going on with you guys."
As they dined, the two shinigami quietly told her about the betrayal, war and Meg's appearance. It was handy that they were the only ones in the establishment who spoke Japanese.
When finally the words faded and the food was gone, Di leaned back in her chair and tapped her half full glass of water with a fingertip. She barely knew Tousen, so there was little shock there – even less where Gin was concerned, considering she always felt as if she needed a shower every time the man looked at her, but Aizen's actions were very hard to swallow. Despite the chaos of the time, she had really liked the unassuming captain. These ere feelings to be lingered over another time, however.
The winged woman tugged at her, though. Something stowed deeply within the jumble of memories from her days between worlds nagged at the back of her mind. "How do you guys know she's not just a lure for a trap? It doesn't sound as if Hueco Mundo has its claws in her, but those black ops types…" She shuddered, "They're tricky."
"True," Shunsui intoned softly, "but I've the feeling our young Quincy friend would be able to sense changes in her energy if that were the case."
She gave him a skeptical look. "From this far away?"
Renji shrugged and leaned back, chewing idly on a toothpick. "How far away can she be?"
Di laughed and snatched the check just before the tattooed man's fingers could touch it. "Nope. My treat." She held the check close to her chest after looking at the total, and shook her head at any argument from the men. "The US is a big place, Abarai. It's going to take us at least two days to get to Louisiana as is, and that's assuming that nothing gets in our way. We'll be in cars – she's on foot, so I honestly don't know how long she'd need."
Shunsui slung an arm around her shoulders once they'd started on their way from the restaurant after paying. "Lil' Bara," his grin widened at her cringe. "What could go wrong?"
The woman chuckled and reached up to pat the stubbled cheek affectionately. "You always were the optimist, weren't you?"
His chuckle rumbled deeply in his chest. "If I wasn't, who would be?"
Renji just shook his head with a smirk as Di unlocked the car doors.
Zounds! A chapter!
...one in which not a whole lot happens. I'm sorry if it's dissappointing. I just felt like I had to get a little bit of this background stuff out of the way before I tossed them onto the highway.
