So, chapter 10. You know what's really funny…yeah I have no idea. I've got nothing witty to say. By the way, you guys ever feel like asking questions, I'll be sure to answer in the funniest way possible.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, really, I don't.
Note: This chapter is also to move the story along so don't expect too much action.
Chapter 10
So, do you have a girlfriend?
The day after the arrival of the Gillian and Ichigo's encounter with Uryu was a breath of fresh air. For once, things were relatively normal. School was boring, Kiego was an idiot, and Kuroda was still being tormented by Yoruichi, a very typical day.
Oh, and Rukia and Ichigo continued arguing like some old married couple. The only thing out of the ordinary was the fact that Ichigo hadn't talked to him at all about anything related to yesterday. After all, Kuroda had promised to answer any questions the kid had.
Even at lunch time, Ichigo brought up no mention of yesterday's events. Instead he proceeded to invite Uryu to lunch, despite Kiego obviously being against the idea.
Kuroda, being the last one out every day, wasn't all that surprised when he saw that Rukia was still in the room. She had had had a very odd look to her the whole day, like she couldn't wait to do something.
As he reached the door, Rukia suddenly blocked his path.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
But finally, Kuroda asked, "can I help you with something?"
"Who are you?" she asked sternly,
"Kuroda Ryou, student at Karakura High," he replied calmly,
"Don't joke around with me," shouted Rukia, "I was there yesterday when Ichigo wounded the menos. I saw you help him along with Mr. Urahara's people! You wielded a katana, not just any katana, a zanpaktou!"
Kuroda remained silent.
"Then," she continued, "When Ichigo's reiatsu began to go out of control, you saved him."
"Did I?" he asked, "Ah, yes. I did."
"So who are you?"
"Who do you think I am?" he asked,
"I have a hunch," she replied, "your katana hilt is pure black with a red diamond pattern, and then there's that strange technique you use to grab reiatsu. Only one shinigami has ever been reported to use a technique like that."
Kuroda's faced darkened as she listed off the facts, they were all true, every single one of them.
"So you know who I am," he said, "why ask me?"
"I want to hear it from you," she replied,
"I'd rather not," he said, suddenly he lowered himself to her height and whispered; "don't think that turning me in, will save you from them."
The woman's eyes widened at the sound of his words, he body suddenly tensed up and her breath became shallow.
"How long have you been in the world of the living?" he asked, "9, maybe 10 days? That's well over the time limit. Pretty soon, they'll come after you, see what's happened. Don't think that telling them where a rouge is hiding out will save you or him from their wrath. In fact, you'd best keep my presence a secret. Sending them after me, would be like sending lambs to the slaughter."
With that said, Kuroda pushed past Rukia out to the hallway. He was just about to continue on his way, when he heard Rukia say, "Please."
"Huh?"
"When they do come, will you please protect him? He's a good person, he doesn't deserve to die," she said solemnly, "Please save him."
Kuroda paused before saying, "sure."
Without another word, he walked on outside to enjoy his lunch break, but first, he had to make a stop by the office.
$(*$&%*(#$)(*()#$*())_#)(#*$)
"Alright, where is she," he mumbled to himself, impatiently tapping his watch as he waited outside the boy's locker room, "she said that she'd be here around this time."
He paced back and forth for a bit, trying to pass the time until she showed up.
Finally he heard, "Oi, Kuroda, sorry I'm late."
"Well it's about time," he muttered as he turned around, "did you get stuck in traffic orrrrrrrrr what the heck!"
"What's wrong?" asked Yoruichi,
"What's wrong? The real question is, what's wrong with you! Why are you wearing this school's uniform?" he screamed,
It was true, Yoruichi stood in front of him wearing the school's uniform. But the uniform had clearly not been made for a woman of her…uh…figure, as it clung very tightly to her skin, which was not a good thing for Kuroda.
"Well, I thought that if I wanted to blend into the world of the living, I should adopt a disguise, like that Rukia girl," she explained,
"Yeah, that's a real good disguise. You look like some street hooker in a red light district or something!" he yelled,
"Oh come on," she said, "it doesn't look that bad."
"I didn't say that it looks bad, I just said that it's not a good disguise! Those are two different things!" he yelled, "just, get back into cat form. Please!"
"Alright fine," she muttered as she begun stripping off her clothes, "these cloths are too tight anyway."
"Hey," screamed Kuroda as he quickly whipped around, "warn me before you do that!"
"Don't be such a prude," said Yoruichi in her cat voice, "is this more acceptable?"
"Yes," he mumbled, his cheeks slightly tinted with red.
"Something tells me you did enjoy seeing me in that outfit," teased Yoruichi,
"If you don't shut up soon, I'm going to skin your hide," he growled darkly, "let's just get going already."
Together the two of them left the school campus and walked towards Kisuke's shop. They traveled in silence, only breaking it to throw in the occasional comment.
Before long, they arrived at their destination where Jinta and Ururu were busy sweeping the front of the store. Well, Ururu was sweeping, Jinta was pretending to swing a bat or something.
"Eh? It's the emo," said Jinta as soon as he saw Kuroda, Yoruichi meowed, which was essentially her cat laugh.
"Hello Ururu, could you please go get Kisuke for me?" asked Kuroda,
"Okay," she replied quietly, without another word she opened the door and stepped inside.
A moment later, Kisuke came pouncing out the front door.
"Yoruichi! It's you!" cried Kisuke as tears of joy comically fell down his face, he bounded over towards them and proceeded scoop up Yoruichi in both hands, Kuroda flinched.
"Upsy daisy, hello Yoruichi! How's my favorite little trouble maker?" asked Kisuke in a codling voice,
Kuroda face palmed, hearing a full grown man talk like that was just wrong, and on top of that, he was practically fondling Yoruichi. Sure, she's in cat form but still. She's still…a she.
"Kisuke," he muttered in a dangerous tone, "please put down Yoruichi."
"Huh, why?" asked the blonde man, completely oblivious to the horrible danger just two feet away.
"Because, I said so," he growled, Kuroda let that sink into his friend's thick head.
"Uh, alright, whatever you say man," said Kisuke nervously as he gently placed Yoruichi back on the ground.
"good," said Kuroda, "now if your done screwing around, we came here to discuss important matters."
"Later, later, first we eat! Because I'm starving! Its lunch time you know and at lunch time people eat! Just because we're soul's doesn't me we don't eat," said Kisuke as he walked back into his store.
Kuroda sighed heavily as he followed the blond man in with Yoruichi in tow. Why was he this guy's friend again?
"I'm going to go think on the roof for a bit," he announced, "why don't you go on ahead and catch up with Kisuke."
"Alright," said Yoruichi, "see you in a bit."
With that, Kuroda climbed onto the shop's roof and lay down on the most comfortable spot he could find. He wouldn't bother talking to Kisuke just yet. When Kisuke ate, it was nearly impossible to talk about anything, the man's food could hold a surprisingly large amount of food.
Eventually his mind wandered to the future. In his mind, he knew that eventually this would lead to a skirmish into Soul Society, no doubt he would be asked to go.
Unlike most things, he welcomed such an opportunity. His love for that place, had long since fled. He wouldn't mind causing some chaos in that place. The Gotei 13 needed to be taught a lesson in humility. Some Shinigami were kind hearted, that much was true.
But large majorities of the shinigami were arrogant; they thought just because they'd joined into the Gotei 13, they had the right to act superior. They strut around Rukongai as though it were their own personal playground.
Worst of all, the captains seemed to take no notice of it.
Then there was that court, Central 46. They were a joke. They were supposed to spread justice, give fair trial, and bring peace. Bunch of crap. The idea of killing all of them had passed through his mind more than once, or at the very least, causing some sort of chaos among their ranks.
He remembered all too well, how they'd sentenced him and 8 others to death, and forced Tessai and Kisuke to go into exile.
Kuroda honestly didn't mind that he was in exile, but Kisuke, he was different. He could have had a truly successful life in soul society, him and all the others. They didn't deserve to be kicked out.
Kuroda frowned as the dark thoughts overtook his mind.
Before long, he nodded off into a deep sleep.
($%$#^%$!^%#$#%^$#*)%&*)
Inside the shop, Kisuke happily munched away at his food as Yoruichi sat there and watched him, occasionally licking her fur or scratching her ears.
"Are you sure you won't have anything to eat Yoruichi?" asked Kisuke,
"I'm fine thank you, not particularly hungry today," she replied,
"You've been a busy little cat," said Kisuke as he sipped his tea, "Kuroda and you always have some wild times."
"What can I say, he's a good traveling partner," Yoruichi,
"You can say that again," said Kisuke as he chomped down a large shrimp.
"Tell me," said Yoruichi, "what's he been like this past century?"
"Well" said Kisuke as he slurped down his soup, "he's been mostly the same. Moody, angry, punches me in the face a lot. He also keeps thinking about you, entire time we've been here, he comes by every week to see if I've had word from you."
"I see," said Yoruichi very quietly, "tell me, is he still mad at me for leaving all those years ago."
Kisuke's mood visibly darkened from his usual brightness, then said, "I can't say for sure. He still seems to be a bit angry, but now that you're here, I think he's managed to get over it for the most part."
"I see."
"He's a bit of a puppy you know, even if he won't admit it himself, he's still the same kid we found on the streets all those years ago," said Kisuke
Flash Back
Kuroda was just a child back then, he had originally come from district 79. One of the worst districts there could be, the streets ran red with blood on a daily basis and every moment was a struggle to survive. It was no place for a child to grow up.
But Kuroda spent his first 20 years in that horrid place. Scavenging what he could whenever he could and killing whenever necessary.
A child killing, perish the thought. But that's what Kuroda did.
It was on his 11th year that he summoned enough courage to travel elsewhere. He wondered for many weeks, surviving on a little more than scraps.
He way young back then, and couldn't understand why other people seemed fine when they didn't eat for weeks.
He tried to keep his own sprits up by entertaining himself with a small trick he'd learned. If he concentrated hard enough, he could make an orange sized ball of glowing light.
He never noticed that he felt hungry after each time he did it.
Eventually he reached the 10th district. To him it felt like stepping into another dimension. No one tried to jump him, people offered real smiles, and food was not that hard to come by.
He had been of a truly kind heart back then, despite his battered exterior. His face always seemed to keep some sort of hidden happiness.
He joined with a small group of children. Together they would steal food, cause mischief, and just have fun. It was a nice time.
And whenever they made a successful swipe, Kuroda made sure everyone else had more food than him.
Then one day, they had a run of bad luck. The steal had been unsuccessful and they got themselves cornered. The store owner had beaten them, badly.
One of the children, a girl, had taken it extra hard. After that day she gained a fever and her wounds seem to become infected.
Kuroda had opted to steal some medicine and bandages.
He'd gotten the both, but now he was on the run.
He ran through the streets, swiftly maneuvering through the crowd as he held on to his prize with a death grip. His lungs worked on over time as he tried to keep up his speed. He could still hear the men behind him, shouting at him, their anger almost palpable.
He winced as he felt his leg injuries cry in pain. But now was not the time to cry, he had to get this to his friends.
With that in mind be rushed forward, praying to whatever deity that would bother to listen that he would be successful.
Hoping to lose his pursuers, he turned hard into an alley.
No good, they had seen him go in.
He rushed forward, turning into another alley.
He remembered that just up ahead was an open market that was usually crowded. His small size would give him the edge in maneuvering and help him blend with the people.
He could lose them there and-
OOF!
Crap, he'd bumped into someone and lost his footing.
He rubbed his thumping head and looked up to see a man dressed in a black Shihakusho and face mask.
There were at least five of them, all surrounding an elaborately designed carriage, the kind used for transporting nobles and other people of significance.
"Watch it street rat," growled the man, "this is the Shihoin clan's princess here, stay out of the way and show respect."
"Uh, S-Sorry," Kuroda sputtered,
"There he is, get him!" he heard from behind,
Kuroda's heart skipped a beat as he tried to get up, but was immediately stopped by a pair of strong hands grabbing him by the arm.
"Got ya," growled the man,
Kuroda's eyes began to clench his teeth and his eyes began to water. He would not accept this outcome, without thinking he sunk his teeth into the man's fingers.
The man immediately recoiled in pain.
The other took his friend's place and grabbed Kuroda by his shirt; the boy lashed out and viciously beat against the man's chest, but to no avail.
"What's going on out here?" asked a voice,
The two men and young boy froze as the door to the carriage opened, revealing a young and beautiful young girl. Her hair was a dark purple, wrapped into what looked like an elaborate kind of bun, and her skin was a very dark tone.
"Princess," said a startled guard, "please, get back inside, you need not concern yourself with these peasants."
"I said what is going on out here," she repeated, this time in a much more stern tone.
"Uh, of course," said the guard, "you two, the princess is addressing you! Explain to her your predicament."
"Uh, yes. We simply caught this street rat stealing medical supplies from our store," explained one man,
"Yes, we were just chasing him down," said the second,
"What about you?"
It took a moment for Kuroda to realize she was talking to him, "I stole the medicine."
"See, he admits it!"
"Why?" she asked,
"My friend needs the bandages and stuff," he replied shyly,
"That's no reason to steal," shouted the first man.
"I don't care" was his reply, "she's my friend, I'm willing to do anything for her."
"Little bastard," growled the second man, who then proceeded to punch Kuroda in the back of the head.
"STOP," commanded the princess,
Almost immediately a guard had his wakazashi against the man's neck. All fight having suddenly left him, he remained frozen for fear of that blade inching any closer.
"I'll pay for the medicine and bandages," said the Princess,
End of Flashback
"Good times," said Kisuke as he took another sip of tea.
"Yeah, he was so different back then," said Yoruichi, "though some things never change."
"Yeah," said Kisuke, "like him being a prude."
They shared a laugh at the thought.
"Though, through all the years that I've known him, I've never been able to understand one thing," said Yoruichi,
"What's that?"
"Why does he hate taking off his arm bands so much?"
Though few would have noticed it, Kisuke visibly winced, his hand unconsciously rubbing his right shoulder.
"Uh…well, you know him, he likes to challenge himself," said Kisuke,
"Hm, I guess he does," she said, "Still, I find it weird."
"Oh, that reminds me, where is Kuroda?" asked Kisuke,
"On the roof," replied Yoruichi, "I do not believe he wished to see you eat again."
"Could you go get him for me? I need to talk to him about something,"
"Sure."
Yoruichi stood up and pounced through the open window and onto the roof. There she found Kuroda, sleeping on the roof, softly snoring as the wind brushed over him.
"Heh, as much as he'd like us to believe, he's not as tough as he says," whispered Yoruichi as she quietly crept over to his sleeping form. As she did, a sly thought crept into her mind, a small grin spreading over her feline face.
Kuroda for his part was unaware as to what was about to befall him.
At the moment he was having a rather nice dream in which he wasn't a fugitive and just a normal human. Then, the world suddenly lost its supply of oxygen and everyone suffocated.
"Are you awake yet?"
Kuroda opened his eyes to see a black mass of fur obscuring his vision and blocking his windpipe.
"Wha vha veck!" he shouted,
His hand immediately grabbed the black ball of fur and lifted it off his face. He coughed violently as his lungs tried to regain the air they had been so cruelly deprived of.
"Ah, you are awake," said Yoruichi, quite pleased with herself.
"What was that for," asked Kuroda, his lips curled into a frown
"I was trying to wake you up," Yoruichi replied casually, "I figured I might as well have some fun while I was at it."
"Sitting on my face and depriving me of air is your idea of fun?"
"Yes, yes it is," smiled Yoruichi,
Kuroda let out a low growl that would have made most people wet their pants. But Yoruichi was a cat and therefore, not a person.
"So why did you wake me up?" asked Kuroda as he set the feline down.
"Kisuke said that he wanted to talk with you," explained Yoruichi as Kuroda combed his hair with his fingers, "he sent me to get you."
"Of course he did," said Kuroda, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "he's too lazy to do it himself."
Kuroda jumped up to his feet and leapt down from the roof and pounced through the window.
"Jeez, don't you people use the door?" asked Kisuke from his seat,
"No," replied Kuroda as he sat down next to the blond man, "from where I come from, using the door usually got you killed."
"Why's that?"
"Well, there'd usually be a person with a sword behind it, ready to cut off your head and take all your possessions," explained Kuroda,
"My, such a horrible place," chuckled Kisuke,
"You have no idea," murmured Kuroda, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Kisuke smirked, he reached under the table and pulled out something, "I've got your new arm band."
"Great," said Kisuke as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the two he still had, "go ahead and put it on."
Kisuke scooted over to his friend and began carefully wrapping the band around his friend's arm.
"Will my reiatsu go back to what it was before?" asked Kuroda as he watched his friend work, "I feel…weird, without it."
"Not surprising," said Kisuke as he continued to work with the band, "your body isn't used to such a large output of reiatsu. It would take some time, but eventually you'll adapt."
"But, won't the band fix that?"
Kisuke winced,
"Unfortunately no," admitted Kisuke, "I'm afraid that if I tried to put on another limiter that pushes you back down, it's just be torn to shreds. After being bottled up for so long, your reiatsu isn't going to be pushed back."
Kuroda sighed heavily, then asked, "So what's the new band going to do."
"I'm fitting it between your third and second band, it's essential that you be split into 3 levels in order to combat your…problem," explained Kisuke who had finally finished fiddling with his invention, "by the way, have any symptoms appeared?"
"Well, I feel weird around Yoruichi, does that count?" asked Kuroda,
"Uh…no," replied Kisuke, a sweat drop rolling down his head, "that's…pretty natural."
"Then no, I've felt relatively normal these past few days," replied Kuroda.
"Honestly, I don't know what's normal for you Kuroda. A couple of centuries ago, you smiling was normal," said Kisuke, Kuroda blushed slightly at the memory.
Flash Back
"Whoa!"
A young Kuroda gaped in awe at the Shihoin manor. He had never seen anything like it, to him it was like having an entire district to themselves. He'd heard about how nobles lived of course, but still, nothing prepared his for this.
The princess who'd paid for the bandages and medicine that had undoubtedly saved his friends, had said the only way to pay her back was to play with her for one day.
Kuroda had happily agreed.
"What's amazing?" asked a young Yoruichi, "it's just my house."
"Yeah, but your house is soooooooo huge!" Kuroda pointed out, his arms flailing about as if to emphasis it's hugeness.
"Whoa, look at that!" he said pointing at the paintings on the wall.
"Wow, what's that?" he asked, pointing at the expensive vases decorating the hallway,
"What's that cool thing?" he asked, pointing at a few decorative katana,
"Oooh, who are they?" he continued, pointing at Yoruichi's serving girls.
Yoruichi smiled nervously as she continued to watch the boy explore her house. She had to admit though, it was highly entertaining; her serving girls even giggled a little.
"Kuroda, stop fooling around and have some tea," said Yoruichi,
Kuroda turned, perplexed at first, but then smiled when he saw the cups of warm tea at the table. He quickly rushed over at sat down.
"Wow, this chair is really comfortable," he commented, with that said, he grabbed a cup of tea and sipped its contents, "wow, this tea is really good."
"Eh? But it's just normal tea," said a surprised Yoruichi,
"Really? This is normal?" asked Kuroda, "then, what do I usually drink?"
"haha, your funny," giggled Lady Yoruichi, "I like you."
"I like you too Lady Yoruichi," said Kuroda,
Yoruichi's cheeks puffed up and said, "aww, don't call me that!"
"Then, what should I call you?"
"Just Yoruichi!" she ordered,
"Uh, okay," replied Kuroda,
"Good," said Yoruichi, who suddenly smiled for no apparent reason.
Kuroda raised an eyebrow, but then proceeded to smile as well.
Flash Back ends
"Remember that? Huh? Huh? Do ya?" asked Kisuke,
"Yes, I remember," growled Kuroda as a vein popped on his forehead,
"Now quite, bugging me!" he roared while batting away at the blonde haired man.
"Alright, jeez," muttered Kisuke, "try to kill a guy for brightening the mood."
"Get over it," grumbled Kuroda.
Kisuke just smiled.
"Are you two done with whatever you're doing?"
The two men turned to see Yoruichi sitting at the door, tail casually waving in the air.
"I think we're done here," said Kisuke, "why don't you two go wait out in the front. We can discuss business there."
"All right," said Kuroda as he stood up and started walking.
Together the two of them walked out the store and sat down at the front porch. No conversation was passed between them, they simply watched as the clouds went by.
After what seemed like forever, Yoruichi finally broke the silence.
"So, how's your love life?" she asked,
"WHAT!"
"Was I unclear?" asked Yoruichi, "I wanted to know how you were doing romantically."
"I heard you the first time," growled Kuroda, "but why are you asking something like that? That's kind of personal!"
"Oh, so you haven't been doing well?"
"I didn't say that!"
"Your avoiding the question a lot, so I can only assume that you haven't been doing well, "explained Yoruichi, "unless, you've gotten yourself a girlfriend."
"Well…no, I haven't," he admitted, "I really don't think I need one."
"Why?"
"Why are you taking such an interest in my love life?"
"I just am."
"That's a really great answer."
"Are you going to answer my question or not?"
"Fine," he said, "my first reason is, getting a girlfriend means I have to take on more responsibility. I don't think I can take on more responsibilities, I already have a boat load of them as it is considering my current situation."
"Second," he continued, "I don't think I'd make a very good boyfriend. I'm barely good at being a friend."
'This guy has no self-esteem,' thought Yoruichi,
"Third, I haven't really found anyone that I like."
"No one?"
"No one," he replied,
"No one from school?" asked Yoruichi,
"What the heck? Do you know how young they all are?"
"What about in your business? Any cute secretaries?"
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," he mumbled,
"What about back home? Anyone?" she continued to ask,
"No," he replied, "even if I did, I'm quite sure our relationship would be sorely strained if not completely over. Time has a knack for deteriorating and changing things we once knew."
Yoruichi grunted in agreement.
"Are you trying to get with anyone?"
"Why do you keep asking these kinds of questions?" asked Kuroda in an exasperated tone.
"I'm just curious," replied Yoruichi,
"Haven't you ever heard, curiosity killed the cat?"
"No," she proudly responded. It was a lie, but there was no way Kuroda could prove that.
He sighed once again, getting very tired of his purple haired friend's antics and weird questions that continued to annoy him to no end.
"I'm not 'trying to get' with anyone" he answered, "I don't have time for that kind of thing. Besides, how many girls would want to go out with me? I'm not exactly someone you want to go have dinner with."
After a short pause, Yoruichi said, "I'd date you."
Imagine if you will that your computer just crashed. Everything's frozen, nothing works, and the only way to fix it is that you reboot the system.
That is more or less what happened to Kuroda's brain. Everything just suddenly shutdown, he was simply unable to handle what he'd just been fed.
By the time he was capable of thinking without pain, Yoruichi had been staring at him for a solid 2 minutes.
When he could finally form words again, the only thing he could say was, "Oh."
Again, there was a short, but awkward pause.
Yoruichi then said, "What about you? Would you date me?"
Another crash, except this time, he fell onto the ground.
Uh…I don't think his arm is supposed to bend that way…maybe we should call a doctor…anyone?
…MEDIC!
!*(#^(*&$*(#^)(*!&^$()!*&#!(*)&(*!^!$()
"Hey there Yoruichi," said Kisuke as he walked out on to the front steps, "I brought you some milk."
"Thank you Kisuke," said Yoruichi,
"Eh! What's wrong with Kuroda?" asked Kisuke, noticing that his friend looked particularly moody, like, more than usual.
"Not sure," replied Yoruichi.
"I don't want to talk about," murmured Kuroda,
"Your face looks kind of red, have you been out in the sun too long?" asked Kisuke,
"Leave me alone," warned Kuroda
"Fine, yeesh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," muttered Kisuke,
"Stop bothering him Kisuke," said Yoruichi, "we've got more important things to talk about."
"Such as?"
"The two of them are already here."
The air seemed to suddenly become heavier as both men tensed up, the mood around them changing instantaneously.
"Do you want to talk about this before or after you have your milk?" asked Kisuke,
"We talk about it now," demanded Kuroda, "I've wasted enough time as it is."
"Very well," said Kisuke, putting down the bottle of milk as he sat down, "who did they send?"
"Officers," replied Yoruichi, "a Captain and his Lieutenant, we actually know one of them."
"Is it Ukitake?" asked Kuroda,
"No."
"Kyoraku?" asked Kisuke,
"No," she replied again, "It's Byakuya."
"What? That arrogant little kid's a Lieutenant?" asked a surprised Kisuke,
"He's actually a captain now," corrected Yoruichi,
"Doesn't matter who they are," said Kuroda, "the real question is, how do we handle this?"
Kisuke sucked in a long stream of air, then released it all at once, "that's a good question. No doubt Ichigo will soon become involved."
"Agreed, the kid's in too deep to crawl away now," said Kuroda.
"I suggest, a wait and see approach," said Kisuke, "if Ichigo is anything like I've learned about him, then he'll charge right at them. We'll have to be on standby to save him."
"Are you suggesting I let my friend get chopped up?" growled Kuroda.
"I'm afraid so," said Kisuke, "I hope you understand."
Kuroda's hands formed fists, his teeth clenched together. But he said nothing.
"No, I don't understand." He replied and for a second it seemed he would completely throw the idea out the window.
"But I'll go along with it." He finally said as he stood up, "I'm used to sending people to their deaths."
With that, he began walking.
"Eh, Kuroda, where are you going?" Kisuke called out.
"Sun's going down," he replied bluntly, "time for me to go home."
As soon as Kuroda was out of sight, Kisuke let out a large sigh.
"Goodness," mumbled Yoruichi, "I hate it when he's like that."
"Considering who he is, I we shouldn't be surprised," Kisuke pointed out, "but don't worry, he's still the same kid we used to invite over to play with."
"I know," replied Yoruichi, "but still, I'm still reminded that he's also the kid I found with blood on his hands."
Flash Back
It all happened when the tree of them were in what could be considered their early teens.
It was raining that day, which was strange for Soul Society, it almost never rained. But Yoruichi had snuck out anyway, she'd foregone her formal attire that had bogged her down, in exchange for pants and t-shirt. They still marked her as a noble, due to their pattern and obvious higher quality, but still it was better than the dress.
She didn't mind the rain really; she just wanted to play with Kuroda. She could always find him hanging around the same alley. Today would be no different.
She rounded the corner and started shouting, "Kuroda? Kuroda? Where are you!"
"Yoruichi?" she heard someone say,
She instantly smiled and turned to say hello to her friend but found herself unable to when she saw him. He looked horrible.
The usual light in his eyes was replaced with darkness. His face that usually carried a large and bright smile, instead showed a deep scowl.
However, the minute he saw her, he immediately tried to put on a smile.
"Oh, hey there," he said, "it's raining today, why are you out here?"
"Is something wrong?" asked Yoruichi, not buying the façade.
"Huh? Of course not, what makes you think there is?" he asked,
"What's on your hands?"
Yoruichi's eyes had drifted to Kuroda's hands, they were covered with something dark and viscous.
"Uh, nothing," he stuttered, quickly putting his hands behind his back.
"Hey, come one, let me see," demanded Yoruichi as she stepped forward.
"It's nothing," he assured, "just some…mud, I've been playing in the mud."
"Mud doesn't drip like that," she pointed out as she grabbed his right hand. She gasped when she saw what was really on his hands, blood, and a lot of it.
"You're hurt!" she cried, "you idiot, we need to get you to a doctor right now!"
"Uh…no," he managed to say,
"Idiot! You're bleeding!" she screamed,
"It's, not my blood," said Kuroda, each word striking him like a knife.
"What?" asked a confused Yoruichi, it was just then that she noticed what was behind Kuroda.
Behind him, in an offshoot alley was some sort of dark mass. As she inspected closer, she realized that the mass had a shape, the shape of a man, it was human.
She stepped a bit closer, despite Kuroda warning her not to.
She sincerely wished she'd listened to him.
On the ground, just a few feet away from her, was the body of a man.
He was middle aged, starting to bald, and dressed in typical clothing for this district. But it was not him that was horrifying, but rather, what had been done to him.
Just under his collar bone, a knife had been brutally stabbed into his body. His nose was bent into an unnatural angle, and his right eye was missing.
Yoruichi felt as though she were looking at a picture of death.
"I, didn't have a choice," she heard him say.
She did what anyone in her position would have done, she screamed.
A/N
Well, I think that was a decent chapter. I apologize for the lack of action, but I felt that this was a good opportunity to make things a little deeper.
Next chapter will deal with Rukia's imprisonment and Ichigo's training.
I'm excited to get on to the Soul Society Arc, I've got some great ideas.
Here's an omake
Kuroda sat peacefully on the nice Japanese style porch on his nice Japanese Endo style house. The sun was shining brightly, a few clouds floated blissfully over head to provide some shade, and he was finally getting some time off.
Kuroda let out a large sigh of contentment.
Of course, with his luck, it didn't last.
"Hey!" shouted a voice,
Kuroda looked up to see a man with a long red duster, with a wide brimmed red fedora, and shadows covering his face.
"AnShen, what do you want?" he asked his zanpaktou,
"I want to know when you're going to use me properly," replied the sword,
"What are you talking about?" asked Kuroda, "I always use you when I'm in a fight. You're a sword, it's not hard to use you the right way."
"I mean when are you gonna use shikai, bankai, my true powers! I'm getting tired of being stuck in a normal katana form, it's been so long I've almost forgotten what I look like!" complained the tall man,
"Here's a mirror," replied Kuroda as he held it up to the whining man,
"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!" screamed AnShen,
"Well, if you were to just push away the shadows so we don't have another anime character that never shows his face, maybe you could get other people to remind you what you look like," suggested Kuroda,
"ARGH! I cannot believe you are my master!" screamed AnShen,
"Well, you'll just have to bare-with not seeing your Shikai for at least another week," said Kuroda as he returned to cloud watching.
"What? Why?"
"Because, Dreamerboy84 is going away for a week," said Kuroda,
"Going away? Where?"
"I don't know man! I didn't ask!" replied Kuroda, "but he did say that he wasn't looking forward to it. He hates traveling."
Somewhere on a plane
"If they sing O Canada one more time," growled DB84,
Yup, I'm sorry guys and gals. I really am.
Please comment and subscribe, tell your friends, tell your friends friends. Tell your friends, cousins, brother, on their mothers side!