Chapter 10:
Hanataro led the group this time. He carefully peered around corners and led them down the less known routes. He put out his arm to warn them of oncoming Hollow Reapers. They passed by the group with moans and growls, never looking their way. Once they had passed, Hanataro led them down another street.
"Where are we going?" Linnette asked.
"I heard Captain Soi Fon talking. She said that her team have a meeting point somewhere along this route. I thought we'd start there first and see if she's in that area. I figured she'd go there at some point," Hanataro said.
"That's good thinking. At least we're not wandering around with no leads."
Hanataro stopped up ahead and looked from left to right. "Uh…"
"What's wrong?"
He pointed. "There's two roads here. I'm not sure which leads to the meeting point. Should we split up?"
Ichigo didn't think it was such a bad idea. "Ok. Linnette and Cedric will go with you so you have some protection. I guess Rukia and I will go this way together. Alright?"
"Ok."
"Where should we meet up?"
"How about back here in a few minutes?"
"Ok, I guess that'll work. Be careful you two."
"You, too."
The team split up and went in different directions. Ichigo went with Rukia down the right side of the street. It led them right to a large building. Rukia started up the steps, looking in all directions. Thinking it safe, she slowly opened the door and peered inside.
"Clear," she whispered and opened the door wide enough for both of them to walk inside.
Papers were everywhere on the floor. Broken glass crunched beneath their feet as they walked. There was torn cloth near the entrance hinting that someone's clothing had been torn off during a struggle. They walked up the next flight of stairs to the second floor. Rukia didn't look at Ichigo the entire time. Once they had traveled halfway down the hall, he decided to ask her why.
"Rukia."
"Don't talk to me."
"What did I do?"
She turned around glaring at him. "We were safe back there and you keep sending us back up! There's no guarantee that we'll find them and yet we're here. I think it makes little sense. We're doing just what Captain Hitsugaya's doing and you yourself called it stupid. So why are we here?"
"I was just trying to help. And I don't see the point in staying down there the rest of our lives."
"Not the rest of our lives. Just until we can figure something out. That's all."
Ichigo sighed. "Look, it's happening in my town, too. I know what you're-"
She grabbed the front of his kimono. "Don't give me that! No, you don't! At least you know your sisters are safe! I watched my brother turn into a monster! Byakuya's not like that! He's a noble and he has class and intelligence. To see him reduced to this… and on top of that, he came after me! He tried to kill me, Ichigo! We had to lock him in a cage like an animal! And now he's on the loose so there's no way of knowing where he is or what state he's in. And on top of that, Renji's missing now, too! I have no idea where he is or if he's safe or if he's already turned into one of them. I don't know! There are only seven members from Squad 13 left. How do you think I feel? You think you know, but you don't! I'm scared and I'm worried and I'm angry! And it's all I can do to keep it in check! The more you're bringing me up here, the more I think I'm going to lose it!"
Ichigo's face softened and she let go of his kimono.
"Ichigo… I'm afraid I'm going to turn into one of them. The more we're up here, the more likely it's going to happen. We don't even know how you get it. We know it's contagious, but to what extent and how is the problem. Not only that but…" Her voice lowered. "What if I find more people I care about trying to kill me? I'd like to think that Renji's still ok, but not knowing… But what if I do find out and it's the worst I imagined? And Byakuya… What's he going to do next?"
He wanted to comfort her, but wasn't sure how.
"This has never happened before, Ichigo and no one's prepared for it. And I've seen it. I've seen people from my Squad turn into Hollow Reapers and come after me when I was only trying to help them." Deep down, it effected her so much because it was like reliving what happened to Kaien over and over again and again. Everyone she saw turn into a Hollow Reaper was like watching Kaien's transformation. It was hard enough to see it once, but now she had to witness it over and over again in other people. The people she loved. Byakuya… When she saw his transformation, it kept fluctuating between the face of her big brother and Kaien's face. She saw him in Byakuya's face. Kaien was Byakuya, Byakuya was Kaien. She didn't know how much more she could take. And she didn't think she could bare the strength needed to kill him if it came to that. She could never bring herself to kill her brother. But what if it came to that?
Ichigo put his hand on her shoulder, trying to show her some small bit of comfort. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do to help. In his palm, he could feel her shaking, trying hard not to cry in front of him. Fighting back her fear and whatever else she may have been feeling. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he knew she was suffering a lot more than she let on.
"Sorry. I didn't think about that. I didn't realize…"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
He wanted to say something, but what? 'Ok'? No, she might start another fight. 'I'm sorry' again? No, she would insist everything was ok and get mad at him for repeating himself. So he remained silent.
It was for the best. If he had broken the silence between them, they would have missed the dull crash down the hall. They both looked in the direction of the loud sound. There was another loud crash and four loud bangs.
"What the hell is that?"
Another bang. Two thuds. A crash.
Screaming.
"Ah!"
There was a loud bang followed by a pair of voices and running footsteps.
Down at the end of the hall came two Soul Reapers. They skidded on the smooth floor on their way around the corner. It was Ikkaku and Yumichika. They were running towards them at top speed. Yumichika kept checking over his shoulder back the way they came looking terrified. They were both yelling as they ran.
"Run, you sons of bitches! Run!" Ikkaku screamed running past Rukia and Ichigo.
Yumichika was close behind screaming his head off.
There was a thunderous crash down the hall and Ichigo and Rukia looked. Something large went flying into the wall which looked a lot like a reinforced door. A moment later came a tidal wave of Hollow Reapers. At least 50 or 60 were packed together down the hall, all growling and snarling as they came rushing towards them. The massive herd caught sight of the two in the middle of the hall and roared, all starving for flesh.
Ichigo's jaw dropped. "Go!"
They turned and run after Ikkaku and Yumichika. Ichigo looked over his shoulder. The crowd took up the entire width of the hallway. They were all keeping up with the smaller group. Their roars were deafening. Ikkaku quickly turned down one hallway and then another, making a U-turn. The others followed and hid with their backs against the wall. The herd of Hollow Reapers raced down the other hallway, still in pursuit of their intended prey. None bothered to look their way, luckily. They waited until they were all gone to speak.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I asked you first."
Rukia answered for the boys. "We were looking for survivors and supplies. And you?"
Ikkaku panted. "What does it look like? Running for our damn lives, that's what."
"We stood our ground and fought back as long as we could," said Yumichika. "We had to fight against a lot of our Squad. Then things got a lot worse when our healthy members started to turn. We're the only ones left."
"What about Kenpachi?
"Pa!" Ikkaku snorted. "He took off ages ago."
"He ran away?"
"Nah, he didn't run. He didn't see the point. After all, you can't kill them."
Yumichika went into more detail. "You see, we were given the orders not to kill them. When the Captain heard that he thought that it was a total waste of his time. What's the point in fighting them if you're not allowed to kill them? So he said that he'd go off and do his own thing and left us to do want we wanted. Haven't seen him or the Lieutenant since."
"So no one knows where he is?"
"Nope."
Ichigo scoffed. "Knowing him, he's one of them by now."
"What makes you so damn sure?"
"That's how he is. He actually lets people attack him and he doesn't run away. If he was caught in a crowd of them, he wouldn't do anything about it. He probably got infected. Yachiru, too."
No one argued that.
"We only ran once we saw how bad things were getting. Don't want to end up like them. So we took off."
"Not allowed to kill them either, so I see the Captain's point."
Rukia looked out into the hall. "They're inside the building now. A whole bunch of them."
"Yeah. We tried to block the door but there were too many of them so…"
"So that's what all the noise was about…"
Yumichika brushed himself off. "Now how do we get out of here?"
"Back the way we came, I guess." Rukia walked out into the hall. "Ok, let's go."
They walked down the hall as quietly as they could and came to the top of the staircase. Rukia started down the stairs only to get cut off by a Hollow Reaper. It made a grab for her leg but Ichigo pulled her back in time. 20 Hollow Reapers were all huddled together at the base of the stairs. They were blocking their only way out. Once the others saw them, they attacked, scrambling up the stairs.
The group turned and ran back the way they came. They went up another flight of stairs to the third floor and down the hall. More Hollow Reapers wandered into the hall in front of them.
"This way! Hurry!"
They ducked into the nearest office they could find and slammed the door shut. They locked it, but that alone wasn't going to be enough to keep them out.
"The desk!" Rukia pointed. Ikkaku and Yumichika grabbed it turning it on its side and dumping the papers to the floor. They lifted it and put it against the door with a thud. It was a heavy desk made of thick wood. They needed more.
"That!"
They grabbed a bookcase and dragged it over to the door. As they were laying it against the door, the wood splintered and a hand reached through grabbing Yumichika's left arm.
"Ahh! Let go! Let go!"
Ikkaku looked over the side of the bookcase and was already unsheathing his sword.
"Help! Get it off! Let me go!"
Ikkaku raised his sword.
"No, no! Wait!" Ichigo held him back.
"Get off me!"
It was unneeded. Yumichika managed to twist his arm free and pulled away from the door. A pair of hands reached through the small opening and tried to grab him again. They blocked the opening with the bookcase and started to barricade the door with anything else they had on hand.
Yumichika fell to the floor with a tumbling breath.
"Are you alright?"
He looked at his arm. "Y- yeah. I'm ok. It just grabbed me. That's all." He held his arm close to his body while he fought to catch his breath. "Whew! That was close. I was afraid I was going to turn into one of them."
"That would suck."
The pounding on the door grew worse as more Hollow Reapers began to show up. They threw themselves against the door, desperate to get inside.
"Shhh! If we're quiet, they'll go away."
"Really?"
"Yeah," said Rukia. "I've seen it before. They'll lose interest if we make no noise for a while."
They sat on the far end of the office without another word and waited. It was agonizing, having to wait while listening to the Hollow Reapers pounding on the other side of the door. But after four minutes had gone by, the pounding began to quiet. Some of the Hollow Reapers started to leave and wander elsewhere. However, others decided to stay and growl just outside the door.
"Is there another way out of here?" Rukia asked softly.
Ichigo looked over his shoulder at the window. "We could go out this way."
"But we're on the third floor."
"Doesn't matter." He stood up and looked outside. "… Or maybe it does."
Down below were even more Hollow Reapers. They covered the street just outside the building. If they were to jump down, they would get torn apart in moments. There were far too many. And there was no way they could jump to a roof nearby. There were no other buildings near this one. Their only hope was to jump and hopefully land on the narrow tops of the walls that separated the streets. But they were too far away and it was very risky with the number of Hollow Reapers out there.
"Looks like we're going to have to wait until they start to wander away."
"And how long's that going to take?"
"I don't know. A few minutes… an hour?"
Yumichika shuttered on the floor.
"Well, sorry, but I can't help that."
"No, not you." He huddled over. "A shiver went up my spine. That's all."
Ikkaku listened outside the door. There were still growls going on outside. "Even if they were to leave, we're still stuck. With so many in the street, we'll have to wait until they all leave." Ikkaku looked at Ichigo. "So how long have you been here?"
"A day I guess."
"Well, welcome to shit land." He put his back to the wall behind him. "It all happened so damn fast… What about your home?"
"About the same."
"Hm. Sorry to hear that. But what are you gonna do?"
Yumichika looked up at Ichigo. "So where have you been staying?"
"Underground in the sewer."
"Sounds lovely," he snorted. "Wouldn't catch me dead down there. Filthy. What about your home? Is it like this, too?"
"Yeah. Ikkaku just asked that."
"Oh. I thought he asked something else. I wasn't really listening." He looked back at the door. "Think it'll hold?"
Ichigo shrugged. "For a little bit at least."
Yumichika shut his eyes as if he were in pain. "How's it… looking out there? They gone yet?"
"It's only been a minute."
"Just check, will you?"
Ichigo looked out the window. "Still there. All of them."
"Oh." Yumichika shut his eyes and doubled over. "Oh!"
"What? What?" Ichigo bent down. "Are you ok? What happened?"
"Oh, nothing… Nothing." Yumichika panted. "Just a cramp. A bad one."
"Cramp?"
"Yeah…" He held his middle as if he were in great pain and rocked back and forth slightly. "We haven't eaten anything all day."
Ikkaku agreed. "We're both starving. But what can you do?"
"Ohh!" Yumichika held his midsection with both arms. "Ow!"
"Shh! Shh!" Rukia waved her arms at him. "Be quiet, Yumichika. You'll attract more of them."
He winced in pain and rocked to the side. "It hurts! Ow! My..! Oh!"
The pounding resumed. The Hollow Reapers must have heard him and knew that their prey was inside. They had to keep Yumichika as quiet as they could.
His loud moaning quieted somewhat but he was still making a good deal of noise. After another minute, it was reduced to small whimpers and slow panting. He hung his head, sitting slumped on the middle of the floor. "I'm so hungry…"
"Ok. I know."
"I'm so very hungry..!"
"Shh, shh. Ok, I get it. Ok."
Yumichika whimpered. "I had no idea someone could be so hungry. No idea. I had no idea someone could be this hungry. It's painful. It hurts. It hurts, I'm so hungry."
"Ok, ok." Ichigo got up and started checking drawers in the desk they had propped against the door.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for food. It's an office, right? Don't people in offices usually keep food stashed around in places like these? I'm just looking for something that will keep him quiet for a while." He dug around in all the drawers. He had to find something, anything, no matter how small it my be. He was hoping for a lunchbox of some kind. "Ah-ha!" Under a folder in one of the top drawers was a lone pear. It would have to do.
"I'm hungry… I'm so hungry… I want to eat…"
Ichigo hurried over and knelt in front of Yumichika. "It's ok. I got you something."
"I want to eat…"
"Ok. Look. I got you some food. See?"
Yumichika lifted his head and looked at him. His eyes were watery and his skin was pale. He was covered with sweat. Strands of his moist hair lay sticking loosely to his forehead. "… I'm so… hungry…"
"I know."
"I want… I want to eat…"
"Ok." Ichigo held up the pear. "Here. I got you some food. You can eat this."
Yumichika was looking at Ichigo's outstretched hand. "I want to eat…"
"Go ahead."
"I'm… so… hungry…"
"Eat this."
Yumichika moved a little closer. "I'm so… very… very… hungry…" He brought his face closer to Ichigo's hand. "I want… I want… I… I want… to… I want to… Eat." He opened his mouth wide and Ichigo jumped back, dropping the pear to the floor.
He scrambled back.
"Ichigo, what's the matter?"
He panted and quickly got to his feet. "He…"
"I want to eat."
"He tried to take a bite out of me! He wasn't going for the pear, he was going for my hand!"
Yumichika fell forward onto the floor as if he were bowing for forgiveness. "Eat!" He scrapped his forehead along the floor. "I want to eat!" He threw up his head with a roar. His yellow eyes burned into everything he looked at.
"He's one of them!"
"B- but how?" Ikkaku backed away. "They only touched him. All they did was touch him! You mean you can get it from a simple touch?"
Yumichika lifted himself onto all fours and let out a screech that cracked the windows and sent them shattering to the floor. He snarled at them and lowered himself, preparing to pounce.
"Yumichika, snap out of it! It's us! Remember?"
He roared and leapt at them, slamming into the wall behind them as they made a hasty retreat.
His transformation was quick. A lot faster than the others. Why did it happen in so little time?
"Yumichika!"
He roared again and leapt at Ichigo. He dove out of the way in time. Yumichika got up, standing on two legs and turning with a wicked glare. His glowing eyes landed on Ikkaku. "What's wrong? What's the matter, Ikkaku? It's your old pal, Yumichika! Don't you remember me? Don't you know me at all? It's me! You're old buddy! Old pal!" He threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"You're not yourself. You're not the real Yumichika."
"What are you saying, Ikkaku? I am me. I know who I am. Don't you? It's me. Why do you look so scared?" He leapt at him again and slammed into the bookcase, knocking it over. He rolled to his feet and stood up. His twisted look of insanity shifted to a look of intense pain and misery. "It hurts! It hurts so bad! Please… Please help me! Help me, please! It hurts!" He reached towards them with his right hand. In a flash, his expression changed again to pure insanity. "Won't you help me?"
Ichigo and Ikkaku ran to the other side of the room. "We can't dodge him forever!"
"I know that! And this is a small room!"
Yumichika roared again. The pounding grew louder outside and the desk started to move aside. The Hollow Reapers outside were starting to break their way in. Rukia threw herself onto the desk to keep the door shut.
"Someone do something! I can't hold it forever!"
"But there's no way out! We're trapped in here with him!"
Ichigo looked outside ignoring the growls coming from the street below. "There's only one way out of here now." He ran to the window and stuck his head outside. "Cedric!"
At once, their savior showed up, perched on the windowsill. "What's wrong?"
Without words, Ichigo pointed back at Yumichika who was now going after Rukia. She jumped away from the desk and fell back with a scream. Yumichika's mouth opened wide and he prepared to rip her apart. In a flash, Cedric delivered a swift kick to his rib and sent him flying into the door. Cedric picked Rukia up in his left arm and returned to the window. A loud noise made him turn back. The door broke apart and the Hollow Reapers from the hall started to pile inside. Yumichika led them in the attack, jumping from off the desk and over to Ikkaku.
Ikkaku held up a chair in defense and held back Yumichika. "Go! Get out of here!"
"But-"
"I'll catch up! Go!"
Cedric was not about to let this man sacrifice himself and become one of them. And in such a stupid unnecessary way. He grabbed Ichigo, threw him over his shoulder and then grabbed Ikkaku by the collar of his kimono and pulled him out the window. Cedric leapt through the air, high over the heads of all the Hollow Reapers below and onto one of the narrow wall. Then he jumped to another and another and then to the roof of a building and ran to where he had left Linnette and Hanataro.
Ichigo clung to Cedric's shirt as he bolted feeling as if he were about to be thrown off any second. Ikkaku kept struggling to get himself free, but Cedric had a good grip on him. He came to rest on another roof and set them all down. Linnette was waiting for them with Hanataro.
"Are you guys ok? What happened?"
Ichigo slid off Cedric's back and stumbled a little. It took him a while to answer. What had just happened was starting to sink in. Yumichika became one of them. He attacked the group. He was grabbed. He attacked.
"All they did was touch him," Ikkaku muttered. "All they did was touch him. That's all they did. Only a touch. That's it."
Ichigo caught his breath and answered Linnette's question calmly. "Yum- Yumichika was attacked and turned into one of them. He's a Hollow Reaper now and attacked us. Cedric saved us."
No one spoke.
Rukia looked over the edge of the roof to the street. "We can't stay here. We have to go back. We lost one person, let's not lose anymore."
"Yeah." Ichigo looked at Ikkaku on the ground. At least we can bring back one person, he thought to himself.
Ikkaku got to his feet. "Guess that means I'm tagging along with you guys, huh?"
"Where else would you go? You're the only one left…" Rukia held her tongue. "What I mean is… It's safe in the sewers."
Ikkaku didn't say anything but the grip on his sword tightened.
"Let's get moving."
They went as far as they could across rooftops then went to the streets. Rukia led them back towards the manhole. It was more or less uneventful. Ichigo kept looking over his shoulder, not at the street, but at Linnette and Hanataro. They were whispering to each other and giggling quietly. They seemed to be having fun. Hanataro took her hand and she tugged at his, playing a game. A fast friendship, Ichigo could tell already. They were getting along great. He wondered how things went while they were separated.
Then his eyes caught some movement behind them. A small group of Hollow Reapers had discovered them and started to follow.
"We gotta move! Now! Go!"
The two turned around and saw the group. Gasping in fear they ran for it. The group chased them, snarling and growling. Linnette couldn't keep up and started to stumble over her heeled shoes. Cedric fell behind the group and picked her up under his arm and continued running. Lifting her in mid-step caused one of her shoes to slip off her feet.
"Oh!" She looked over Cedric's arm and watched it fall to the ground.
Hanataro who had been running alongside her turned back. "Don't worry, I got it!"
Ichigo's eyes widened.
He bent down and picked up her fallen shoe and held it in both hands. "I got it!" He smiled proudly.
"Hanataro!"
The warning came too late. He was grabbed behind by a Hollow Reaper. Another one grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. A third grabbed the bag he wore on his back and pulled. Hanataro fell back, his face frozen in terror.
Ichigo turned back to help him.
"Leave him!"
Ichigo looked back. Ikkaku was yelling at him.
"Just leave him behind! It's too late now!"
Ichigo looked back. He saw Hanataro's hand reach out for them, begging for help. Ichigo's legs shook. "I can't just leave him! Not like this!" He ran back.
Rukia turned around, calling his name.
Ichigo reached out and took Hanataro's hand and pulled. The Hollow Reapers pulled him back. A forth was on his way towards them. Ichigo heaved and yanked Hanataro free. He pulled him into his chest and ran with him back to the group. The Hollow Reapers gave chase. Hanataro hobbled, trying to keep up with Ichigo's quicker steps.
"Cedric, help them!"
Obeying her command, Cedric went back for the two Soul Reapers. At the last moment, he set Linnette on the ground and tucked his body. Like a football player, he dashed past Ichigo and Hanataro and rammed into the Hollow Reapers, knocking them into the air. They landed on the ground at the far end of the street, moaning in pain. They were unable to stand. Cedric turned back and picked up Linnette.
"Move."
They ran down another street and into a narrow space between buildings. It wasn't much, but it was all the cover they had.
Ichigo set Hanataro down and checked him over. "Did they bite you? What happened?"
Hanataro panted, shaking. "Uh… Uh…" He swallowed. "Uh… They grabbed me, that's all. They just grabbed me. They didn't hurt me at all." He held up the shoe. He managed to hold onto it after all. "Oh, this is for you. I got it for you, miss."
Grateful, Linnette hopped over and offered her bare foot to him. He helped her put it back on. "Thanks a bunch."
"You just went back for her shoe?" Rukia groaned. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? What were you thinking?"
He gave a nervous shrug. "I don't know. I wasn't thinking. I just saw it fall and thought I could get it for her. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to slow down the group."
"I was more concerned about you than any-"
Rukia was shoved aside by Ikkaku raising his sword above his head. He took aim at Hanataro.
"No! What are you doing?" Linnette threw herself in front of Hanataro, shielding him.
He followed through with the attack, even with her there. Unable to allow it, Cedric stepped in and grabbed the sword in his right hand, holding it in place.
"Let me go! Stop it!"
"No, you stop it, Ikkaku! What are you doing?"
Ikkaku took his left hand off the handle of his sword and pointed at Hanataro trembling on the ground. "You heard him! You saw it! He was grabbed! He's going to turn into one of them!"
"So you're going to kill him?"
"It's better than him coming after us!"
"But kill him?"
"So what? He's from Squad 4! He doesn't matter! He's a weakling anyway! Trust me, he won't be missed."
"No! Don't!" Linnette held Hanataro tightly, throwing her arms around his shoulders and placing her head against his. "That's no reason to kill him! Please!"
Cedric took Ikkaku's weapon away.
"Being from Squad 4 makes him a doctor, doesn't it? He can heal people. He's valuable."
"Not in this situation. When he can cure this, we'll talk."
"Look," said Rukia. "Just because he got grabbed doesn't mean that he's going to change."
"Why not? That's what happened to Yumichika and look what happened to him!"
"That doesn't mean it'll happen to him, too."
"You saw what happened. A simple touch can turn you into one of them. I'm not risking it."
Linnette didn't budge an inch. She was protecting Hanataro.
Ichigo frowned. "Just give it a few minutes."
"Yeah, a few minutes, great. That's how long it took for Yumichika to change. What are you stupid?"
"No. What I mean is if he doesn't change by then you can assume he's fine. Ok? Will you give me that at least?"
Ikkaku huffed and turned away. "Do what you want. But if you all get infected because of him, don't come crying to me."
Linnette loosened her grip on Hanataro and sat beside him. He gave her a fearful look. "Am I… I'm not really going to change, am I?"
"We'll just have to wait and see. That's all."
The group sat and waited. Time slowly ticked by and all eyes were on Hanataro. After an hour had passed, Ichigo felt that it was safe enough and turned to Ikkaku. "There. It's been a whole hour."
"So what?"
"So… it took Yumichika less than ten minutes to change. Hanataro hasn't changed at all. He's fine."
Ikkaku snarled. "I still don't believe it. You assume too much."
Ichigo had a feeling it would come to this. "Then we'll put it to the test. We'll have Linnette sing to him."
"Huh?"
The girl on the ground looked up, surprised.
"You heard me. Linnette's voice only effects Hollows and anyone with Hollow powers. If he's infected, then her voice should effect him. If not, then he's fine. Ok?"
Ikkaku stood up. "She can do that?" He looked skeptical.
"You've seen it before. Whether or not you remember is your problem."
He nodded once with a sneer. "Ok. Fine. Have it your way. Let the kid sing and then we'll see for sure."
Ichigo looked at Linnette and got on his knees, knowing what was about to take place. "Ok, Linnette. Sing to him. Let's see if he changes." He shut his eyes and covered his ears, even knowing it was pointless.
Linnette inhaled and turned to the boy at her side. He looked at her in return. She closed her eyes and started singing to him. He watched her lips move up and down, forming the sweet angelic melody. While Ichigo writhed on the ground, trying to resist, Hanataro remained unchanged. He listened to her whole song without even a twitch. Satisfied, Linnette stopped singing.
Hanataro blinked. "What was supposed to happen?"
"Something like that." Rukia pointed to Ichigo on the ground, his eyes shut tight and wriggling around on his back. She turned to Ikkaku. "There you have it. Are you satisfied now? He's fine. If he was infected at all, he would have reacted to her song. There's your proof."
Either hating being wrong or disappointed that he couldn't kill Hanataro, Ikkaku turned away with a scoff. "Fine. Whatever."
Hanataro turned to Linnette. "Does that mean… am I ok? Am I really ok?"
She nodded, holding his hand. "Yeah. Yeah, you're fine. It's ok."
He let out a heavy sigh. "Whew! Oh, that's good. What a relief! I was worried there for a minute."
While Linnette comforted Hanataro, Rukia went to see how Ichigo was recovering. He had stopped writhing and was laying quietly on his stomach. He looked up when he saw her stand above him. "Are you ok?"
His answer was slurred. "Bedder…" He was trying to say 'better'. He sat up giving his head a shake. "I'm fine. I'm alright."
She helped him to his feet. Together they turned to Ikkaku who had his back turned to them. Still outraged by what he had tried to do to Hanataro, Ichigo walked up and put his hand on Ikkaku's shoulder. "Look, I know you guys in Squad 11 hate people in Squad 4, but come on. Are you really that willing to kill him?"
Ikkaku shrugged him off. "It makes it easier to kill him, but that's not the only reason."
"Then what is?"
He turned to him. "Just how much do the infected Soul Reapers remember? I heard that they lose their memory and forget ever being Soul Reapers."
"Well… yeah. It sure seems that way, too."
Ikkaku looked him in the eye. "But Yumichika knew my name. If he lost his memory, why would he know who I am? He even knew that we're friends. Explain that."
He couldn't.
"He was just beginning to change," said Rukia. "It only just started. He was still able to speak. Soon he won't be able to. Just like the others."
Ikkaku looked at her. "But what I want to know is how much do they remember."
"What are you getting at?"
"You don't get it? It's so simple." He pointed at Hanataro. "What if he did change? I want to know how much he remembers after he changes to know whether or not he'll follow us into the sewer. Think about it. What if he remembers that we have people, healthy people, underground and goes down there?"
Ikkaku had a good point. What if Hanataro remembered that and came after them? They had every reason to worry about something like that. Luckily, it hadn't come to that.
Rukia sighed. "The point is, it didn't. Now let's get going before we lose anyone else."
"But what about Toshiro?"
"We'll look some other time. We really should get back. At least to get Ikkaku to a safe place and inform the others."
Cedric gathered up Linnette and Hanataro and carried both of them on his shoulders following after Rukia and the boys.
What the hell's going on? No one knows!
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