Chapter 12: Cyrus is back
Ichigo leaned against the kitchen counter in the dark, waiting for Rukia to come back with some information about the demon. It was pitch black in the room, but he could still feel Richard's eyes staring him down. He tried to ignore it, but he knew Richard wasn't going to stop until he left.
"Rukia should be back any time now," Ichigo commented.
"Good, then both of you can get the hell out of here," Richard replied. Ichigo could hear him mumble demons in my house my ass under his breath. Ichigo sighed, pretending he hadn't heard that.
There was a sound in the living room, that sparked everyone's attention. Deana reached out for Richard's arm, as Ichigo went to go inspect the source of the sound. He carefully walked side ways into the living room, scanning the room from wall to wall. One arm rested on his Zanpakuto, ready to unsheath it at any moment. The dark feeling that had encased his body when he was trapped in that room wasn't around. There was a different feeling in the atmosphere. It was friendly, and benevolent, instead of dark and depressing. A sound, like a ball rolling on the wooden floor, made Ichigo jerk around. Cyrus was standing behind him, with his usual giant grin stretched across his face.
"Oh, Cyrus, it's just you," Ichigo breathed.
"Ichigo!" he screamed. "Ichigo! You have to get the family out of here!"
"What? Why?"
"A bad man wants them dead! You have to get them out!"
"Okay, okay, just calm down," Ichigo ordered. "What bad man, and why does he want them dead?"
Cyrus took in a deep breath. "There's a bad man who used to live here,but then he died and went to Hell, where the bad people go. But, when he went to Hell, he found a way back out and he wants to live here again, but these people moved in. So, instead of just going somewhere else he's going to kill them! Please Ichigo you have to stop him!" He said, without taking a pause.
"Ichigo? What's going on?" Deana asked as she stepped into the room. She looked down, and saw the little boy standing next to Ichigo. She realized that the boy was the same one from earlier. "Who's this?" she asked.
Richard had heard Deana ask who the other person was in the room, and began to get irritated. "Great, who else is breaking into our house?" He walked in and saw the little boy. He sighed, and clipped his fingers onto the bridge of his nose. "Do I even want to know?"
"It's nothing. Both of you should go wake up Kylie and Ana though," Ichigo suggested.
"Why?" Deana asked.
"It's just important that you do, and all of you should get out of here."
"Hell no!" Richard protested. "I'm not going to leave my own home so you and your thug friends can come in and take whatever you please!"
Out of frustration, Ichigo rushed at Richard, and grabbed a hold of his shirt. He scowled at him, ready to yell in his face. Luckily, Rukia came back and pulled them a part.
"Good, you're back. Did you find any information about demons?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes. We must find it, and purify its soul," she answered.
"How do we do that?"
"I'll explain when we find it. For now, you and your wife need to get your children and get out of here," Rukia said to Richard. She looked down at Cyrus, who was hiding behind Ichigo. She bent down, so she could be at eye-level to speak with him. "Cyrus, do you know where this demon could possibly be?"
He nodded slightly, and put his hand in Rukia's. He began to lead her down the hallway. She looked back at Ichigo, as they both shared a reassuring glance. As she walked down the hallway, towards the back room, the air started to get colder. Her breath was now visible. Cyrus led her into the room in the back. He walked over to the corner of the room, and opened up a wooden door on the ground. He motioned Rukia to follow him down the stairs. The atmosphere around her gotten tighter, and tighter the farther down the stairs she went. Once she reached the bottom, she noticed a foul smell in the air.
"He's down here somewhere," Rukia whispered. She turned around, and Cyrus was gone. "Damn it. Ichigo, hurry up and get them out of here," she breathed.
