Chapter 10

It's been a few days now. Ichigo pretended to act normal, but he was highly aware of the intense gazes following him around all the time. The only periods where he could relax were 5th and 6th where he had Bella and none of the Cullens. Jasper seemed to be a little more relaxed but still eyed Ichigo with black eyes. More and more girls seemed to gather confidence to approach him and talk to him. A few even invited him for a date, which he politely refused. And more and more guys were glaring at him. Well... He was already used to such treatment. Many sports team captains approached him asking him to join their teams, some even competed between each other for having him on their team, due to his high level of performance in P.E. He was second best after Emmett. At least that was the only Cullen in his P.E. class and top student. Some were even making bets who would best the other in speed even for regular speed tests. But for the Cullens the main event seemed to be nearing, Victoria's arrival with her army.

Ichigo, once taking a jog through the woods witnessed a scene he least expected in his life. Before then, he thought werewolves were just a myth. He saw Jacob and a few others who seemed to be native Americans, change into giant wolves. He stayed at a distance where he could barely see them, his awareness raised high. He also kept the same distance when he saw them and the Cullens training. What he witnessed was enough to conclude that they were getting ready for something big. And then the next day he over heard something about Seattle and some Victoria and some army of newborn vampires. Now it made sense. Riley who attacked him in Seattle was urging him to join this Victoria's army. He didn't know why, but he was somehow sure it had to do with Bella. The way Edward was always protective of her. So if the Cullens were attacked, they'd have to make sure Bella was safe because she seemed to be dear to them, well mostly Edward, because their enemy could use Bella for their benefit against the Cullens.

Ichigo came home from school. Today, his father would be staying at work late and his sisters were staying after school. Perfect. He had two hours before he had to go and pick up his sisters from their school. So he decided to use this chance to look over the secret storage of weapons that his father had for longer than Ichigo lived.

He went into the basement of the house and searched it thoroughly. He found a few wooden boxes which, when he opened, he discovered to contain many sorts of guns, katana swords, both long and short, bows and crossbows and arrows, daggers and kunai knives and shurikens, all sorts of things. He wondered why his father had them, but the first time he discovered these when he was 11. He didn't know whether his father knew he discovered the weapons or not, but at least his father never seemed to show that he did. They were kept in the basement at their old house, so he assumed they'd be kept in the basement of this house as well, and he was right. By what he had gathered, the Cullens and the werewolves were expecting this Victoria with her newborn army tomorrow.

He picked out a few shurikens, kunai knives, daggers, two short katanas and six longer ones, a cross-bow and a few arrows, an electric shocker, two guns with bullets, a few smoke grenades, and tear gas cans. He looked at his gathered weapons. Were these good enough to kill even one newborn? From what he over heard, newborns were stronger because of the human blood in their veins. He didn't know why he was allowed to overhear that. And why didn't the Cullens and the werewolves catch him when he stalked them that time in the forest? Where they testing him and wanted to know how he'd react to the information? Nevertheless, he behaved like he didn't pay any attention to what he found out and acted normal, when on the inside something totally different was happening.

He used the remaining hour and a half he had to try out several of his weapons. Get a feel of them, check if they were good, if they worked properly. Everything seemed fine. He decided he'd sharpen the blades sometime later, just in case. Then he got two pouches which he assumed were for holding smaller weapons and would be attached to the belt. Also he got the katana sheaths as well as ones for daggers which would be strapped to legs or arms, and the leather gun holders which would be strapped to the legs. As he took another look over the things he gathered, he decided that he would need something to cover his face with. Surely his scent would be recognized by a few, but still he didn't want those who did know him to see him in the face.

His phone rung, it was Karin. He answered the call. "Yes?"

"Ichi-nii, are you coming to get us?" Karin asked.

"Yes, I'll be right there, wait 15 minutes." Ichigo replied.

"Alright." Karin hung up.

Ichigo took a moment to think, then he covered everything up in the basement so it would look like nothing was touched, then he moved all the things he gathered to his room and hid them in his closet. He then went outside, sat in his car, and drove off to pick up Karin and Yuzu.

He got his sisters back home and went back up to his room. He searched his closet and found only a few things which he was looking for. Okay, so he got some of his attire for tomorrow. Black jeans, a leather belt, black knee-high grinder boots, leather gloves, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. But he still didn't have a mask. So he snuck carefully down to the first floor and into the basement, making sure his sisters didn't hear or see him. Okay, he pulled that one off. He quietly searched again. Aha! He found what he was looking for. It was better than what he expected. He found a black cape which seemed to be light but very water proof. It also had a large hood. He tried it on and when he pulled the hood down, not even all the way, his head was completely covered up to the middle of his chest. Hmm... He didn't know how he'd be able to see like that but he still wanted the cape. And another thing... He had no idea why his father had it but he did. It was a black tengu mask. He took the mask and the cape, folded the cape around the mask and snuck out of the basement. Then he snuck back up the stairs and into his room. Whew~! He managed to survive!

He tried on his attire with the weapons, when he looked at himself in the mirror he didn't even recognize himself. What he saw was one of those mysterious professional fighters in the action movies. But something was weird about the mask. When he tried it on, it felt weird. Familiar but not quite. And when he pulled his hood so it covered his head fully, still having the mask, he was suddenly aware of his surroundings even though he couldn't see anything thought the black material. He wondered if that's how blind people felt. They didn't see anything but they knew what was were.

He let out a sigh and undressed. He hid his gathered battle attire and dressed into normal clothing. He then went down to the kitchen and took a knife sharpener, then he went into his room. He managed to sneak with his blades into the basement and started sharpening the weapons. Once he was sure everything was sharp enough to at least place a minor cut on a vampire if not dismember completely, he wrapped his blades in a cloth he had them in before and went to his room. He then returned into the kitchen and placed the knife sharpener back where it belonged. Then he returned to his room. But little did he know that Karin saw him in the door way from the dining room when he was returning the knife sharpener.

As she watched his expression, she was sure she saw something which told her that he was up to no good. She innerly let out a knowing sigh. This was her brother after all. He was always up to something and it was always for the better, even if he suffered through it.