Ch. 7 –

"Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone."

- Mahatma Gandhi

...

Sasuke's breaths were heavy, thick, and there was a black smudge of soot across his cheek from running through the fire. He recomposed himself as he stared down the two hooded figures standing before him. One was big, with a goofy grin on his face. The other, who wore a scowl much like his own, looked to be the smarter of the two. It was a bit biased, but it was the truth.

"So who are you?" Sasuke asked. His eyes stayed fixated on them.

"Doesn't matter," the shorter of the two said, he had long white hair and wore strange looking armor reminiscent of medieval garb.

"Can I play with him, Lance?" The brute of a man said. He had slicked back brown hair and wore a bandana of a similar color.

Sasuke focused his eyes on the large one, readying his grip on his zanpakuto. He'd only had one training lesson with Urahara but to be fair he was itching for a fight. If they wanted a fight then he'd give them one, and he wouldn't lose to these two.

The shorter one, Lance Sasuke guessed, stepped forward and put his hands behind his back. Sasuke didn't ease his tense muscles.

"We've come all this way for you, Sasuke." Lance said, and pulled two long knives from where his hands had been resting.

The taller one frowned. "I thought I was going to fight him, Lance."

"Shut up, you ape. This is personal."

Sasuke raised an eye brow at that statement. "Do I know you two?"

"No, not yet anyway, but you will." Lance said and ran towards Sasuke.

Sasuke had his sword out just as Lance's knives connected with it and sent sparks flying up at him. Sasuke looked into the still scowling face of Lance and pushed him back before he dashed in for another attack. Sasuke dodged and blocked with an ease he hadn't expected, not that it wasn't helpful, just not what he thought his first fight would be like.

Lance threw a knife at Sasuke's face but it was easily dodged as Sasuke bent backwards and back flipped away.

"You're good – I didn't expect that." Lance said.

Sasuke smirked. "What a coincidence, me neither."

Lance smiled and held his empty hand up to Sasuke. Sasuke titled his head but heard the whirling sound approaching from behind him. He jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the knife that flew into the spot where his head had once been and landed back in Lance's hand.

"Neat trick," Sasuke said.

"You like that? Well how about this." Lance jumped back into battle swinging left and right but was still easily blocked by Sasuke.

Sasuke caught Lance's swing with his free hand and flipped him through the air and into the wall of the building next to them. Sasuke smirked as he readied himself for another barrage of attacks.

...

The buildings and people passed by Tatsuki like they had every day since she's taken this route home. The only difference was Sasuke's kid sister tagging along beside her. She had a happier demeanor than she was used to, and was far more talkative than Sasuke was.

"So can I ask you a question?" Isami spoke and broke the comfortable silence they'd fallen in to.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?"

"What do you think of my brother?" Isami asked.

The question caught her off guard. "What do you mean? He's cool, I mean, he's a really nice guy."

"Okay, I see." Isami said.

The question seemed a little out of place. It would have been passed off as nothing more than a sister being a little nosey if not for Isami's stern and serious look. It seemed like she and her brother really were related with that look.

"Why do you ask?" Tatsuki looked at girl's demeanor shift back to her happy and innocent one but the look from before hadn't been an accident.

"I was just curious about something," Isami said. "Do you know if Sasuke likes any of the girls in your class?"

Tatsuki blinked for a second, turned and put a hand on her chin. "Well, he's been sort of chummy with Rukia, but that's about it."

"Who's Rukia?" Isami asked.

"She's the new girl, but I don't think there's anything there between the two. Her and Ichigo sort of have this thing going on, I think. You know it's hard to tell what Ichigo is feeling sometimes."

"I know that feeling. My brother is harder to read than hieroglyphics sometimes. He has this hard, stern, and serious look to him most days, and sometimes he's completely different." Isami said, "He's been kind of different ever since the move though, but that's to be expected, a lot changed."

Tatsuki nodded to that. A change in scenery could change anyone, even the seemingly phase proof Sasuke. She remembered the talk they'd had outside of his house about where he used to live. He seemed a little confused at the time though.

"He told me a little about where you guys moved from and some of the friends he used to know." Tatsuki said, "He mentioned a Naruto I believe and a girl named Hinata."

"Wait, who did he mention-"

Isami stopped and looked up from where she and Tatsuki stood. Tatsuki followed her line of sight and saw two figures jump from the roof of a building to their right. They landed and stood with their backs to the harsh sun light.

Tatsuki's eyes adjusted and she saw what looked like a blonde man in armor with a girl to his right in similar armor. Was a convention happening somewhere?

Tatsuki looked to Isami who was just glaring at the two. "Do you know these two, Isami?"

Isami didn't answer for a moment but kept looking at the strangers.

Before Tatsuki could speak, the man with the blonde hair said, "Hello, princess, it's been a long time."

...

Sasuke blocked the knives again but was kicked in the chest and sent back into the wall. He ducked as a blade cut a chunk out of the wall behind them. Sasuke kicked him back and brought his zanpakuto down and disarmed the man.

The knives fell behind where Sasuke stood. He grinned and stood where Lance couldn't get to his weapons. A loud thud changed Sasuke's mind as he dove to avoid a giant hammer slamming into the ground where he once stood. The tall man stood over him with a sick glimmer in his eyes.

"Ivan," Lance said. "What'd I say? This is my fight still."

"Sorry, Lance, but you know how I love a good fight." Ivan said.

Sasuke rubbed the sweat from his brow and stood with both hands on his zanpakuto. "Are you two going to get serious or do I have to slap you around a little bit more?"

Ivan jumped towards Sasuke with a ferocious swing, giving Sasuke just enough time to dodge before he had to block Lance's knives. Sasuke could feel his inner strength pouring out of him now. He stood face to face with Lance, who still held strong against Sasuke's zanpakuto.

A swing of Ivan's hammer and Sasuke jumped above them both. He reached out his hand and mimicked the ability he'd used before and shot a short burst of lightning from his palm. The lightning missed both of them but caused them to separate, which gave him enough time to get Ivan and punch him in the face. He fell on his back with a heavy thud and Sasuke jumped back into his fight with Lance.

Sasuke dodged Lance's, seemingly slow, strikes and returned his own at speeds that he knew Lance couldn't dodge effectively. Sasuke jumped and pushed off of Lance's chest, sending him flying onto the pavement. Sasuke landed on the building above them and looked down at his hands.

"This feels right," Sasuke said.

"I'm happy for you, really I am, but we're still going to kill you." Lance said, "I promise you that."

Sasuke smirked. He'd never imagined he'd be this good at fighting or that he would enjoy it this much. He danced around them like they were new to this.

Ivan got up and started to charge Sasuke but was stopped by Lance. "What do you want now?"

"We can't fight him now." Lance said, "Our job was just to investigate, not to kill. Sasuke, we'll be seeing you very soon."

"I thought you were going to kill me?"

Lance growled low in his throat.

Sasuke jumped at them but they were gone before he touched the ground. This was getting strange, Sasuke thought. He went back to his body and proceeded over to where the fire was being taken care of by the firemen. The fires danced across the sky and sent smoke swirling upwards in tufts of black clouds.

Sasuke walked through the crowd of people gathered around the burning building and saw the ambulance where he'd left Kira. He walked over to find her being checked still for injury.

"Sasuke, where'd you go? I-I was worried." Kira said.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "I needed to check something. Are you okay?"

Kira smiled. "You already asked, and according to the paramedics I'm fine, except for a small pain in my side from when we landed. But how are you?"

"I'm alright, nothing major, save for a few cuts." Sasuke said, "I need to get home to see my sister, will you be okay here?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, what a first date, huh?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said as he raced away from her and ran home.

...

Tatsuki stared at Isami. She was in shock, like she couldn't move from their sight, and she didn't know if she should be scared or ready for a fight. She wished Isami would say something or do something. Man, Sasuke was never going to trust her again.

"Do you know these two, Isami?" Tatsuki asked.

Isami's arms shook before she recomposed herself. "I've never seen these two in my life."

The blonde haired man laughed and looked around. "Don't play games with me, princess. Where's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke - well he's not here, so just go away." Isami almost yelled at them.

Sasuke, Tatsuki wondered, what could they want with him?

"Look, we're not here to hurt you, just tell us where Sasuke is and you can go. It doesn't matter to me what you're doing here." The blonde man said.

The wind blew by them and seemed to only increase the tension that flowed from them to Isami and Tatsuki. The two didn't seem like they'd leave until Sasuke showed up or they knew where to find him.

Tatsuki didn't want to think about why they were looking for him but the thoughts still crept into her mind. Sasuke is a nice enough guy most times but she didn't understand why they'd need to find him this badly. Thinking back, she'd met similar people with Ichigo.

"Sasuke isn't here, okay? I don't know where he is." Isami said, it was clearly a lie but she was trying to protect her brother, so it was a noble cause.

The blonde's demeanor dropped and he prepared to walk toward them but stopped when two more people appeared next to them. They were also dressed in medieval garb, must be a convention in town.

"What do you two want? Did you find him?"

"Yes, but we were outmatched, he's still too strong."

"That's fine, we'll come for him later." The blonde man turned to Isami and said, "We'll be seeing you later too."

The four vanished as if they'd never been there to begin with. Tatsuki looked to Isami for something but her face was blank, as blank as Sasuke's at times. They really were related.

"Isami-"

"Can we just not tell Sasuke about this?" Isami cut of Tatsuki before she could say anything.

"But why would you want to keep this from him?"

"I don't want him to worry and he has enough to deal with right now." Isami said.

Tatsuki opened her mouth to speak but thought better of what she was going to say.

Isami looked to Tatsuki with a pleading look. "Will you promise me you won't tell him?"

Tatsuki tightened her fist. The thought of lying to Sasuke wasn't what caused her distress but the fact that this may come back to bite them both.

"Please, Tatsuki, promise me?"

"Fine, but if this comes back to us in a bad way, I'm not taking the wrap for it." Tatsuki said as she rubbed her palms together.

"Thank you, Tatsuki."

...

Ichigo sat in the corner of the small room at Urahara's shop, legs crossed, and swept another worrying glance at Rukia breathing heavily on the place mat in front of him. He eagerly awaited Orihime's arrival, and hopefully a way to ease the pain caused by the strangers in the park.

His fist clenched. He should have done something, hollowfied, or something to keep any of his friends from danger. But he didn't do anything other than rush head first into a fight he definitely wasn't ready for. Ichigo felt his scowl deepen with the feeling that burned inside of him.

He barely heard the wood door slide open. Ichigo turned to see Orihime enter and immediately go to Rukia's slumbering form.

"I heard what happened from Uryū. How bad is she hurt?" Orihime asked as she placed her hands over Rukia.

Ichigo's eyes floated from Orihime, to Rukia, and back. "They caught us off guard. The girl of the group was too fast for us to follow and they hit Rukia with some type of energy blast. It was unlike anything I've ever seen."

Orihime nodded and focused back on Rukia. Ichigo watched as Orihime's light removed the wounds from Rukia's body. Even though he'd seen her abilities many times, it always amazed him to watch them in action.

"I don't understand," Orihime said as she focused again on the girl in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

Orihime shook her head. "I've healed most of her cuts but these burns won't heal all the way."

Ichigo shot to his feet and got closer to see what his friend saw. Sure enough many of the burns were not healing as they should. They seemed immune to her healing abilities all together. What was in that explosion?

"Is there anything else you can do?"

"I'm sorry," Orihime said. "We just have to wait and see if the medicine Urahara applied earlier heals them."

Ichigo lowered his head, feeling worse for the fight now. He should have tried harder, why hadn't he? He was supposed to protect Karakura town and his friends, but somehow he'd failed both, like he'd failed his mom.

That thought struck him hard. It was always back there, in his mind, and it never failed to tear at his confidence. He looked over to his zanpakuto in its sheath against the wall, rather in the bandage he wrapped it in, and wondered how he could make this better.

"I heard my name," Urahara walked into the room, his hat atop his head, and his zanpakuto in hand. "Thanks for your time, Orihime, but if you don't mind I need to talk to Ichigo alone."

Orihime bowed her head and exited the room. Ichigo watched her go and met Urahara's eyes. "What's up?"

Urahara leaned sat down in a similar fashion to Ichigo but leaned back against the wall behind him. "I heard from a little black cat that two of the men you were fighting caused a huge explosion in down town Karakura and also set fire to the apartment building next door."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What, was anyone hurt?"

"No, everyone's fine. Sasuke just happened to be there at the time of the explosion, actually he was in it."

"Wait, is he okay?" Ichigo asked.

"He's fine as well, they just ruined his date, but I was also informed that he went after the two who set off the explosion."

"I'm guessing he's fine."

"Correct, he actually gave them a run for their money. I was surprised too, but the kid's a natural at fighting." Urahara said.

Ichigo let out a breath. There seemed to be something more here, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Uryū would have figured it out by now, but he couldn't exactly think straight at the moment.

If Sasuke fought them and won he must've been that spiritual pressure that he felt earlier. It was stronger than anything he's ever felt before. The pressure felt like it was energy that embodied Sasuke's personality.

"So what's our next move?"

...

Sasuke rushed down the sidewalk and streets that he and Isami always took to get home. She should be around here somewhere, he thought.

His fight hadn't taken all that long to complete and with the date being cut short she couldn't have made it home already. That was his only choice though, heading home, and making sure that's where she was.

It's not like she wasn't safe with Tatsuki. Tatsuki could handle herself in a fight, more than likely - maybe not a fight like he'd been in, but a normal one yes. And Isami herself was capable, that was for sure.

But, for some reason, those two had made him feel really on edge. It wasn't just their ability or the way they'd said they were her for. They had an evil air to them. They didn't just make him feel uneasy, but they sounded as if they'd follow through on their promise to kill him.

Sasuke didn't fear them, far from it, but he couldn't help but think that they wouldn't be above taking someone hostage at his expense.

Sasuke walked down a street and stopped in place. Something was there, something strong, and above him. He looked up to the buildings but saw nothing but sky and empty rooftops.

The presence got stronger as he stood there.

"Hey, you?"

Sasuke turned in the direction the voice had come from and saw a woman dressed in black standing across the street from him with her crossed over her petite body. She had shoulder length black hair and similar colored eyes. She stood with a scowl on her pretty, but definitely irritated, face.

"Do I know you?" Sasuke asked as he reached for his candy dispenser.

"No, but I think you're the one I've been looking for." The woman said.

"Sorry but I've had enough dates for one day." Sasuke placed both hands in his pockets.

The irritated look on her face worsened. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Sorry but you kind of skipped the introductions."

The woman straightened up and stared him down with her dark gaze. "I am captain Suì-Fēng of the Gotei thirteen and I'm here to retrieve you."