Chapter Nine, "Wicked, Wicked, Wicked"
Ichigo complained and grumbled under his breath upon realizing they missed the first train that meant to take them to Karakura High on time. He didn't expect to oversleep, but it was incredibly difficult to do so with the serene energy encasing the apartment. It was too easy to feel comfortable in what could be considered a devil's den with Nagata Taishi sleeping in the adjacent room. Even if he was sleeping, Ichigo made sure never to try anything funny under his supervision. He didn't have to follow his seemingly nonexistent rules, he knew that he didn't, but he unconsciously did.
Haruka was the only one willing to try against him and it was probably because she knew that no matter what she did, he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She manipulated the importance in her life to grate at Nagata's nerves freely, and secretly, Ichigo felt she enjoyed doing so. Before they had gone to bed, Nagata appeared at the door while Ichigo laid out the futon and Haruka immersed herself in her game to regard him properly. She had absolutely no intention of paying any attention to him and it was probably that aspect of hers that annoyed him the most.
He was practically guarding a brick wall, but then again, the wall wouldn't second-guess your sexuality for being a teacher.
Nagata was quick to berate them about missing their bedtime. "It's 10:30."
Ichigo figured his best defense was to ignore him and finish setting the futon. He was going to sleep anyways.
Haruka on the other hand, didn't. "It's 6:30 in Europe."
"Does this look like Europe to you?" he asked, annoyed.
"No," she said simply. "It's a mental state. I'll be going to sleep in four hours, okay?"
It wasn't a wonder to an observant Ichigo that Nagata had exploded, confiscating her game and tossing the blanket at Haruka's head. He shut the lights, slammed the door, and grumbled all the way to his room.
"Wakatsuki…?" called Ichigo warily.
"He's so funny when he's mad," was her meek response.
She was having the time of her life. He barely managed a wink of sleep not knowing whether she was sleeping yet or not and ended up staying up much later than planned, which probably led to his oversleeping. The problem about running late was the fact that he decided to walk slowly to be considerate of Haruka's poor physical state. She wasn't allowed to play sports or participate in any activity that would lead to physical exertion because over the years, it seemed her illness worsened with that element in the mix.
So, they turned up late to school where the P.E. teacher gave them a fit punishment for their tardiness—cleaning the classroom and practice buildings. They separated after reaching the second floor of the classroom building. Ichigo still needed to take on one last flight and Haruka braced herself to deal with whatever wrath Nagata imposed on her. It probably wouldn't be as horrifying as Ichigo may have imagined because Nagata was just an emotional terrorist.
For now, at least.
There was a slight intermission as the history teacher made the trip to Ichigo's class to start their next lesson before the lunch bell rang. So, the realization didn't really hit him yet.
There was gossip in the air, encasing the classroom in noisy clamor—speculations about the newly appointed teacher, and whether or not, anyone has seen him around—nobody claimed they had, but apparently, he's the homeroom teacher of Class 2-1.
Well...not until Yamaguchi Tomo spoke up and everyone turned to stare at the vivacious redhead with sparkling eyes. Obviously, if anyone knew about the latest news circulating the school, it was Tomo, the class gossip.
"…He's got wild blond hair and a super sharp gaze," started Tomo excitedly, "but he wears these super geeky glasses and dresses in really expensive looking suits."
Ichigo was almost ashamed he knew her as his eyes trailed away from the girl to Keigo's empty seat. He glanced toward Tatsuki, who sat in the adjacent row, two seats away. "Oi Tatsuki, where's Keigo?"
Tatsuki raised her eyes from her open notebook and shrugged her shoulders unknowingly. "Dunno. He's been acting pretty strange lately though. Guess he was sick after all."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Sick?"
Keigo was stubbornly healthy and had almost never missed school unless it was crucial. Last time he saw Keigo, he didn't look sick.
"Yeah, I dunno either," replied Tatsuki seriously. "I guess he was just acting really weird, I figured he was sick."
"Weird how?"
Tatsuki stared at him suspiciously. "What's with all the questions? Why don't you just call him or something during lunch?"
The orange haired teen opened his mouth to rebuke the dark haired girl when the classroom door slammed open and in walked in Nagata Taishi.
The chatter instantly seized and Tomo looked a bit sheepish after seeing the man's hair was actually very black. Everyone looked at the redhead as though she had betrayed them.
Nagata slid the door shut just as noisily and tossed his folder onto the stand at the front of the classroom from that short distance. It landed in the center and he turned to face the students, a wicked smile appeared on his face upon noticing Ichigo sitting in the middle of the room looking horrified.
"Ah, Kurosaki, I forgot you come to this school," said Nagata gracefully. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I'm Nagata Taishi. Address me properly."
Whispers started buzzing as Nagata's address attracted Ichigo a few curious glances and a very offended Tomo, who busily mouthed off inquiries he ignored for the sake of his sanity.
Nagata glared coldly at the entire classroom, frightening the lot of chattering students into silence, and as the quiet set in, the tyrant smiled.
"So, I read through the dead guy's lesson plan—"
"Hey, he was a nice guy," protested Tomo, offended, "even if he was boring."
Ichigo shot her a sharp glare, which she must have felt considering she twitched. Shut up Tomo!
"I'm sure he was," said Nagata easily, making his way behind the stand were he leaned into it. "Everyone in Class 2-1 cried after hearing the horrible news, especially Wakatsuki Haruka."
Unconsciously, Ichigo burst out of his seat. "Leave Wakatsuki out of this Nagata!"
Everyone quietly began talking again watching as Ichigo's embarrassment began to tinge his cheeks and wondering if this Wakatsuki Haruka was his secret girlfriend.
Their wannabe teacher smiled and it was instantly obvious he had accomplished what he came there to do, which had nothing to do with teaching. "Nagata-sensei, Kurosaki-san. Please refer to me properly and sit down. There is no need for you to blow your top."
"Wakatsuki?" questioned Tatsuki silently. "Arashi's sister?"
"You know Arashi?" queried Nagata with mild interest.
"He's in the Karate Club," she replied promptly, not expecting him to hear her at the back of the classroom. She kept her face neutral.
"Isn't he a dick?"
…
A deafening silence engulfed the room. A teacher just called a student a dick. That had never happened before.
Ichigo's face met with his palm as he sank into his chair further, questioning Nagata's sanity.
"Well," continued Nagata, deadly serious as he stared directly at the dark haired girl, "I asked you a question."
Tatsuki frowned. "Are you even a teacher?"
"Tatsuki shut up!" growled Ichigo over his shoulder.
"Don't shut me up!" she rebuked.
"That still doesn't answer my question."
"Doesn't answer mine, either," she retorted firmly.
"Tatsuki!"
The dark haired girl picked up her things and tossed them into her bag as she got out of her seat. All eyes were on her as she glared straight at Nagata fearlessly. "I'm leaving."
She didn't take the back door. No, Tatsuki was proud and walked up the aisle, swept passed Nagata whose smile twitched upward for a split second. Ichigo noticed Tatsuki's expression change before she left the classroom, amazing many of her peers.
"Kurosaki," called Nagata, drawing his attention. "Go."
Ichigo grabbed his things wordlessly and moved to the front of the classroom where he stopped to look at the teacher seriously.
"Make sure to check up on Wakatsuki."
He left the classroom immediately, spotting Tatsuki making a clean break down the hallway, muttering curses under her breath.
"Oi Tatsuki!"
She spun around, eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell's wrong with that guy?"
Ichigo took a breath. "He's an asshole."
"How do you even know him?"
"Eh…he a friend of Wakatsuki."
He could just imagine if Haruka was with him at the moment, that she would stare at him seriously and say, "He's not my friend." But he didn't have a choice. He couldn't just tell Tatsuki that Nagata was a psycho, whose sole mission in life is watching everyone fail, and oh, by the way, he's also Death from the Arcana like the tarot cards. He also killed our old history teacher and the new transfer student.
There were a lot of things he just couldn't say.
"Is he even a teacher? He doesn't even look old enough."
That's' cause he's twenty and he isn't.
"Apparently." He paused for a few seconds before remembering something. "What did he tell you on the way out?"
Tatsuki blinked. "Eh? I don't know. Something stupid."
"What?" he pressed.
"Why do you want to know so badly?" She looked at him strangely, but shrugged her shoulders, knowing he was too stubborn to let it pass. "Well, it didn't really make sense. He said my fortune changed and that I should watch out for assholes like Wakatsuki Arashi."
"…So you think Wakatsuki's brother's an asshole?"
Either way, the words didn't sit well with him.
Tatsuki frowned. "Shut up." She paused. "Where are you going anyway?"
Ichigo had started on the stairs with his friend following close behind. "I'm going to check on Wakatsuki."
He was surprised he didn't have to go very far to find her as she was sitting on the floor in front of the girl's bathroom trying to pick up the contents of her bag with a very snobbish looking girl reaching out to grab her by the hair.
"Get away from her!" shouted Ichigo, startling the unknown girl into fleeing the scene.
He reached under Haruka's arm and heaved her back onto her feet, noticing her clothes were dirty and crumpled. He brushed her shoulders and glanced down at the mess on the ground. There were traces of her bento on the floor and stuck in her hair and an obvious bruise forming over her cheek.
"Damnit Wakatsuki," he grumbled impatiently.
Tatsuki appeared beside Ichigo, looking down the hall cautiously. "That's Wakamura. She's trouble." She then turned to Haruka and blinked. "Whoa, you look nothing like Arashi. I think you might be a little taller too."
Haruka looked at the dark haired girl blankly. "Who are you?"
"Oh," she said, suddenly sheepish. "Arisawa Tatsuki. I'm a friend of Ichigo. I'm also in the Karate Club with your brother."
"He's an asshole, isn't he?"
"Eh?"
That question certainly came up often, catching her off guard.
"Oi Tatsuki, help me pick this up," called Ichigo, crouched down near them, picking up Haruka's things. He saved his friend the trouble of answering the obvious question.
With a shrug of her shoulders, Tatsuki said, "Yeah, fine."
Ichigo reached for her vandalized schoolbooks all scrawled with unnecessary abuse. Her PSP and MP3 were broken beyond repair and when he reached for her schoolbag, he realized it was dripping. Somehow, when Haruka first named Wakamura her bully, he didn't exactly believe that it was true. So he was shocked to see it was and that Haruka wasn't really reacting as one would in her situation. She was quiet and expressionless, always lost inside herself and never exactly aware.
He stuffed everything else in his bag, even her broken electronics.
"What happened to your face?"
"Oh?" she started absently, touching the area gingerly. "Wakamura-san pushed me into the wall during gym."
His eyes narrowed. "I thought you didn't have gym."
"I don't have to do anything or even go outside, but I still have to go."
"What happen to your clothes?"
"They just got dirty," she said dismissively.
Ichigo clucked his tongue in frustration. "Why can't you just stand up for yourself, dammit? You stand up to Nagata and your brother all the time, but you can't go up against one girl? Why don't you tell her to shove off or punch her or something?"
Tatsuki watched in silence after handing everything in her hands to Ichigo.
"Nagata is dead. Arashi is an asshole. Wakamura is human."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Dead people don't have feelings."
"That's not what I meant!"
"If I tell Wakamura-san to shove off or even gather the appropriate amount of courage to punch her, don't you think it would make the situation worse?" she asked tonelessly. "I'd rather deal with whatever she may have planned for the future than force myself to be the bully."
Ichigo bristled. "I'm not asking you to be the bully! I'm asking you to stand up to her. Tell her to stop bothering you."
"I don't think you understand, Kurosaki, but I am not going to give Wakamura the pleasure of accomplishing what she wants."
He was taken aback. So she's letting Wakamura bully her…
"Besides, she won't be able to bully me anymore after I die this weekend." Haruka shrugged her shoulders and reached into Ichigo's pants in search of the phone Kazumasa returned to him.
"Wakatsuki!"
Tatsuki's eyes bugged out, but the thin girl pulled out his phone.
"I need to call my dad."
"Just say so!" he said, face flushed. "Don't just stick your hand in my pocket!"
Haruka merely stepped away from her upperclassmen and dialed her father's number by memory.
"She looks like a handful," commented Tatsuki, folding her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't think considering she's always so quiet and mild mannered."
Ichigo sighed deeply. "Guess you're right."
A sly smile appeared on Tatsuki's face, one that he noticed right away and dreaded. "You two seem awfully close, eh?"
"Whatever," he waved dismissively.
That's 'cause we have a lot to deal with.
She looked annoyed, knowing better than to continue probing him. He wouldn't respond.
"…And what's with her saying she's dying over the weekend?"
His expression turned a bit worrisome as he started to hear snippets of Haruka's conversation with her father.
"She has a morbid sense of humor. Forget about it."
He sounded believable, yet Tatsuki was not sold.
"My phone, PSP and MP3 player are broken again…"
Ichigo suddenly remembered something and felt it convenient to be in Tatsuki's presence. "Oh hey, Tatsuki, can I ask you a question?"
"…How did it happen?"
Tatsuki looked at him evenly. "Well that depends on the question."
"Well Nagata-sensei threw my phone—wait, what? His name? Taishi."
"It's about Wakatsuki's brother."
"Why are you coming over?"
"Wouldn't you be better off asking Wakatsuki herself?"
Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck contemplatively. "Well, yeah, but Wakatsuki doesn't care for her brother that much."
"Stop talking so fast."
"Harsh," mumbled Tatsuki. "Well what do you wanna know?"
Ichigo was too focused on asking his question to realize that Haruka just singlehandedly unleashed a sort of apocalypse against Nagata Taishi, who was probably the most sought after member of the Arcana.
"Does he have a tattoo?"
"Tattoo?" she asked quizzically, holding her chin curiously. "I think he might, on his arm, just below the shoulder."
"A roman numeral eleven?" he said subconsciously.
"I've never seen it clearly, so I wouldn't know." She tilted her head slightly. "The Wakatsuki twins are spoiled, aren't they?"
"They live alone together. Their dad is never home. Guess he'd much rather spoil them so they don't feel bad." Ichigo shook his head, regretting what he said. He had to omit details to make the story passable. He wasn't supposed to have any connection to the spirit realm, yet Death had given him the Sight to help him see shinigami (though there weren't any around now, which was peculiar, to say the least). "Wakatsuki is spoiled." He shook his head disapprovingly. "She's so spoiled."
Tatsuki laughed aloud. "Spoiled?"
"She does it on purpose." He was staring at the nearly emotionless girl standing in front of him still talking on the phone. "She's so meek and quiet, you would never know."
Haruka finished her conversation and returned the phone to Ichigo, looking very shameful. "Kurosaki, my dad's rushing back from the city."
"What for?"
"He sorta lost it when I mentioned Nagata."
"Tatsuki, we've gotta go," said Ichigo quickly, barely regarding his skeptical friend as he tapped Haruka's shoulder and headed upstairs. "Let's go Wakatsuki."
Haruka inclined her head in Arisawa Tatsuki's direction before following Ichigo up the staircase. "Where are we going?"
"Your dad is probably planning to kill Nagata."
"But he only broke my phone and talked about my body type."
Ichigo felt the heat crawling up his neck and into his face as he turned, quite mechanically, in her direction with an inscrutable look on his face. "…You heard that?"
Blue eyes flickered to meet with his. "You were noisy."
"Nagata was just—"
"How do you kill someone that's already dead? Isn't that redundant? Can't dad pretend he doesn't exist like the rest of us?" She sounded a bit annoyed at the end, mostly because she didn't understand.
The unknown never piqued her interest until she was directly involved. If the secrecy continued, she became livid. It was a horrible personality trait, she always thought, the absolute worst in her gene pool, but she could do nothing about it.
"Wakatsuki…"
"Hm?"
"Do you hate Nagata?"
Silence.
"…Eh? No."
"…That was too long a silence."
She looked at him innocently. "Did you say something?"
"Forget it!"
Shihōin Yoruichi stood at the doorway, watching as Kisuke murmured into the phone of an important call from the suddenly famous Wakatsuki Hiko. It have been a while since the last time she heard his name or even stumbled across a conversation between both men since the day of the Thirteenth Hour. So, she remained silent and watched as the eccentric shopkeeper finished his phone call.
Today, Urahara received appalling news from Wakatsuki. It seemed the unforeseeable dread they tried hard to avoid had been sitting dormant right underneath their noses, playing nice with Haruka and Ichigo. The blond felt it was regrettable of Ichigo to have gone and involved himself in the most potentially dangerous affair that had ever plagued Soul Society. Still, it had been centuries since it had only been Soul Society, they were after something larger this time.
The Arcana was not functioning as a united group. Death was running rampant. Strength dominated Fortune and Priestess. The Magician disappeared without a trace, confirming its own death. The Lovers have steered clear of trouble. Hierophant, Hermit and Devil have been missing since the Third Cycle. The rest haven't been awakened, but with the awakening of Death, it was obvious this would be the Fifth Cycle. Except, there were obvious discrepancies in their movements. Were they at odds with each other? Was this a method to confuse them?
Many questions rushed through Urahara's head as he put the phone down and turned to Yoruichi with a serious expression.
"Trouble?" she asked leisurely.
"We located Number Thirteen," he started gravely. "He is the most dangerous member of the group and I'm going to need all the help I can get."
Yoruichi's expression hardened. "Count me in."
"Be wary of him, Yoruichi-san, and never drop your guard, even for a second."
She nodded briefly, wondering what sort of monster awaited them. She still felt incredibly angry about knowing nothing at all.
"If Wakatsuki-san and Kurosaki-san are present, I encourage you to take them as far from him as possible."
For a moment, she envisioned Wakatsuki Hiko and Kurosaki Isshin. Her expression changed. "Eh?"
"Haruka-san and Ichigo-kun."
Oh.
She relaxed with a sigh.
Right…
"We need to somehow grab his attention," whispered Ichigo as they crawled along the hallway to avoid being seen through the large glass windows facing in.
It had been Haruka's idea after hearing he stormed out after his friend, Tatsuki, who valiantly stood up to the zombie. She only wished she had been in that classroom to witness it, but Ichigo admitted that it didn't faze the fake teacher as much as something she would have said.
"What if I walk back and forth until he notices—?"
The door to the classroom slammed open and out stepped Nagata, glaring at both furiously. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he snapped in a low grumble.
"What do you think?" asked Haruka tonelessly, eyes narrowed.
Ichigo ran a hand across his face. There really was no compromising between these two. Haruka would continue poking at Nagata until he literally exploded. It's as if she had a death wish.
"Wakatsuki's dad is rushing over."
Death's face suddenly grew dark, tone no different. "…He knows I'm here?"
"I accidentally mentioned your name and he went ballistic," explained Haruka lowly. "I didn't know you and dad were drinking buddies."
Where the hell did she get that from? Ichigo shot Haruka a questionable glance.
He was certain Wakatsuki Hiko and Death were enemies from the story the older male divulged last night, but Haruka did not. She firmly stood by her father's side and if she were forced to choose between them, she'd pick her father. Ichigo wasn't sure what side was the right one, but he had a gut feeling Soul Society had a better chance against the Arcana. If he was still a shinigami he would probably be taking Nagata head on, as recklessly as he had his previous opponents and wouldn't relent until he emerged the victor. This was different. He was powerless. Haruka needed protection. Nagata had been the only person willing to tell them the honest truth, as harshly as he may have put it. He had yet to determine which side was right and what was wrong.
Nagata suddenly straightened out, letting the fury pass and a sly smile appear on his face. He devised the perfect counterattack to what was about to occur in a matter of minutes. That left him little time to explain, so he decided on the basics.
He crouched down in front of Haruka, pulled his fake glassed from his face and slipped them on her. "Things are about to get heavy, understand?" he said, looking from Ichigo to Haruka. "I'm gonna drop you guys off at the train station. You're taking an early trip to Kyoto with your granny. Come, follow me."
Ichigo and Haruka exchanged quizzical looks, but jumped to their feet shortly after Nagata and followed suit. He moved them to the staircase leading up to the rooftop where he took a silent minute to confirm the approach of spiritual energy. It was cautious and well hidden, but still too far to reach him before he briefed these two idiots.
"Put this on Kurosaki," he stated calmly, unbuttoning his jacket and removing it. He tossed it along with the messy crop of hair on his hair, which so happened to be a wig to hide the fact he hadn't dyed his hair properly. His attention snapped back to Haruka. "Pull your hair up, get rid of that ribbon and wear the shirt you're wearing under."
"What's this for?" asked Ichigo, holding the wig in one hand and the jacket in the other.
"A disguise, idiot. Shinigami are going to be hunting you both down. That could work against all of us. Haruka's life will be put in jeopardy and you will miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"I lost my sweater," murmured Haruka painfully. "The sun is too strong. I'll get a rash."
Nagata grunted. "Fine. We'll stop by the apartment and get you something, but hurry up already!"
"Do I have to wear this?" questioned Ichigo, eyeing the expensive jacket.
"I don't have a hair tie," grumbled Haruka.
"Just do it!" shouted Nagata impatiently, earning a chorus of grumbles from the teenagers as they complied with his demands.
When they finished, Nagata grabbed each by the arm and in the blink of an eye, they were standing in the center of the apartment, feeling their stomachs lurch disgustingly and their legs wobble as they took a few steps forward. Dark smoke still lingered at their feet.
"What was that?" queried Ichigo, dizzy.
Nagata rushed into his bedroom and out again, tossing a maroon sweater at Haruka, who made no effort to catch it. It slapped her in the face and fell to the floor where she picked it up. Meanwhile, Nagata continued his rush, jerking the schoolbag out of Ichigo's hold and tossing it across the room. He packed a white tote bag with lunches and drinks for their trip and handed it to Haruka.
"Take the first train to Kyoto. Go straight to your granny's ryokan. Don't move until I give you the okay, got it?"
Both nodded firmly as Haruka busily tied her hair into a messy bun and pulled the sweater over her uniform. "How're we going to get there without money?"
Death pulled out his wallet and presented them with ten thousand yen and a black credit card, which he handed to Ichigo. "That's for snacks. The credit card is for clothes, food, and whatever else you need."
Ichigo stared at the card, befuddled. "There isn't a name here."
"It's jinxed. It'll have the holder's name when presented."
The teen frowned. "Isn't this cheating?"
"It's the Arcana's hard earned cash, don't think I stole it."
"…Gross, you have a joint account? All twenty-something of you," murmured Haruka, averting her face.
"Not—you know what? This is stupid. I'm dropping you both off at the station."
Nagata didn't bother giving them a chance to protest, either one of them, and grabbed them firmly by the arms, once again using that very odd, extremely dizzying technique of his that transported them quickly to the farthest train station from the high school. He didn't stay long, either. They were just dumped in an unpopulated corner of the station, looking a bit ridiculous.
"…Hey, Kurosaki," called Haruka as her vision started to focus.
"What?"
"…Do you think I can buy another PSP with that credit card?"
Ichigo stared down at the card in his hand and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not."
. . . .
"Omph!"
Osaki Miho, dressed in a pink and black Gothic Lolita dress, was pushed forward by Tsukamoto Kazumasa. She hopped a few steps before regaining her posture and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Death. She had her arms tied behind her back.
"You're working for Death?" she spat furiously, mostly because Kazumasa had been ordered to confiscate her phone. She had an addiction to texting and was almost never doing anything else. "Shame on you."
Nagata was sitting on the slight grassy hill in the middle of a thick, dangerously populated sylvan outside Karakura Town and neighboring a ghost town. He created a trail for the shinigami to follow until they met with him there, of course, by then all last minute preparations would be complete and they would show to fight him alone.
At the moment, he was grumbling furiously, something Kazumasa barely made out. "I am a teacher, goddamnit! I've got a fake license an' everythin'."
"Taishi," called Kazumasa slowly.
"I'm telling Faye-san!" threatened Miho.
"Shut up for a second," started Nagata calmly, composing himself, taking a sip of a can of beer. "Listen up, too."
Kazumasa heaved a sigh. "Why are you drinking?"
"A sip of courage," answered Death, twirling his can and accidentally knocking the empty ones behind him with his elbow. He chuckled stupidly, carefully trying to restack them behind the nearest tree. "Well, not for me. Now you, Blondie, listen close."
"Spit it out already asshole" He head snapped back to Kazumasa. "And give me my phone back!"
Nagata frowned, crushing the now empty can in his hand, and with a deathly glare, said, "Kazumasa, backhand her."
"What?" cried Miho.
She was seriously going psycho without her phone in hand, Kazumasa could feel the emotion thick in the air. It wasn't a thrilling experience, either.
Kazumasa blinked, shifting his weight slightly. "I'm not going to hit her," he said simply, earning a sharp glare. "Glare all you want. I won't do it."
"Come 're Osaki, I'll do it." He gesticulated toward him.
Miho stared at him blankly. "Oh god, he's an idiot."
"That doesn't matter," stated Death, opening another can of beer. "It's not the point. The point is that you change Asano Keigo's fortune for two days from today. Make it an accident, too, jus' like you did with Haruka."
"Asano Keigo?" said Miho quizzically. "One of Kurosaki Ichigo's friends? What for?"
"Haven't you blasted brats noticed yet?" he berated with a hint of a slur. "There's like four of you and 'ne 'f me. I'm not even good at this skulking business, either, you lot should be ashamed of yourselves."
Miho decisively ignored the brat comment. "Noticed what?"
"Asano Keigo is showing his first symptoms. Soon, he'll start seeing things. Then the memories will kick in. Eventually, he'll live his last remaining hours in agony," slurred Death, in a way his words weren't taken as seriously as should be. "Kouyou will greet him as he's crossing, then we, as self-proclaimed rivals, will try our way to recruit him." He paused shortly. "Unfortunately, since Yurie disappeared, I haven't been in tip-top shape, so I have to rely on your impeccable ability."
"Asano Keigo? What Arcana?"
Nagata smirked. "Hanged Man."
Kazumasa looked at Death disappointedly as the terse silence set in. "…Taishi-kun, please stop drinking."
"Hell no. Nobody wants to kill the main contenders so early in the game."
The older man shook his head. "This isn't a game. You could be killed."
He barked out a laugh. "Wouldn't that be a trip!"
Thanks to: ruler of dragons and Aries01xD for reviewing the previous chapter!
x L i l i m:
Happy Holloween!
I'm glad I've gotten far enough in the story where I begin showcasing bits of Haruka's real personality. There are layers to it, but she hides particularly well behind a bland expression of them. She's actually pretty mean...a tad sadistic when it comes to Wakamura (you will see why in the next chapter). I'm pretty sure she's comfortable with Ichigo at this point, a bit at least, and they'll only get more comfortable in Kyoto with her grandmother. I'm excited to write the following chapters. I finally get to write Nagata fighting and explore a few points of view. :)
Also, I planned to dedicate a chapter to ruler of dragons who spoiled me with a lovely sketch of Nagata, but want to wait until the next chapter. Of course, you can still count this as a dedication if you'd like. :3
Thank you for reading!
P.S. - If Haruka dressed up for Halloween, she'd be a hardcore yanki! And probably force Ichigo to be the male version with a pompadour. I hope you enjoy the visuals! lol XD