"He has been out for what, one hour? When is this dandelion-head going to wake up?" complained Ganju.
"He'll wake up soon," I said for the twentieth time. "Hana's doing his best, can't you just be patient?"
"Those shinigami could find us at any moment! We've got to wake him up and get moving, or else…" continued Ganju.
"Or else what? We'll protect him, that's all. Plus, none of them are going to come and he should be waking up at any moment now," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Bandana-boy is too loud. Too loud. Well, it might wake up the sleepyhead here. "And he's still not awake from Ganju's loud voice, wonderful."
I nearly dozed off a few times and I've already lost count on how many times I yawned. I wish there was coffee in Soul Society or any shop selling them.
"Ryoko-san? You look really sleepy, you should rest for a while. Ganju and I will wake you up when it's time to move," said Hana.
"Yeah, I'll do just that. Thanks," I muttered. I close my eyes and was out like the light.
Name…Who am I? Who…I don't know where I am…who's there?
Please…identity…who am I? Tell me…
ね。。。おしえてよ おねーちゃん。
(Ne…oshieteyo onee-chan)(Hey…tell me, sister)
"Pwaaaah!" I gasped, waking up. The Japanese words from my dream...sister? It couldn't possibly be…
"Ryoko-san, what's wrong?" questioned Hana, looking worried.
"N-nothing…it was just a nightmare," I answered, breathing heavily.
"Was it a bad precognition, then?" asked Ganju.
"Nothin' of that sort, bandana-boy. I'm a human being and humans have nightmares, too." I rubbed my forehead, feeling a persistent ring through my ears. That dream wasn't normal. It felt so real and those words weren't fading away.
"Then, what was the dream about?" he questioned.
"That's kind of rude to ask. Since who likes talking about their nightmares?" I said. "Anyways, berry-boy should be waking up soon. Hana, he hasn't healed enough to move, right?"
"No, not yet. Even though his wound is shallow, going out with a wound like that won't let him fight properly," explained Hana.
"Thought so. When he wakes up, he'll try to move so Ganju-boy, make sure he doesn't do that," I said. "Well, you would've already done that even if I hadn't told you."
"Sounds about right. One thing, though, I still don't approve of wasting time here. Since a certain idiot decided to take a flesh wound from a lieutenant…"
"Who're you calling an idiot, Ganju?"
"And the dead has arisen. How are you doing, berry-boy? Had a nice nap?" I greeted.
"I've slept alright, What's been happening?" he asked. He seemed a little out of it. Oh well, sleeping with a flesh wound's bound to be uncomfortable.
"Nothing much. We've all been laying low," I answered. "But before that, I need to tell you something important. It's about the mask that was hiding in your clothes."
(Meanwhile…clone Ryoko time~)
"Lieutenant Abarai of the 6th Division, you have acted on your own without orders and fought against a ryoka and lost. For this, you will be executed for your crime," declared Captain Kuchiki. This is a really bad situation, isn't it? Captain Kuchiki Byakuya in the flesh was right before me, ordering his lieutenant to die for his disobedience.
That's way too harsh.
"Wait a moment, Captain Kuchiki!" said Kotetsu Isane, lieutenant of the 4th Division. "You can't just order your lieutenant to be executed!"
"I can because he is my lieutenant," he responded. Please ignore me, please ignore me, please ignore me~! I prayed desperately that the scary captain wouldn't notice me.
Captain Kuchiki turned his head to me. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…I'm dead!
"And what's a member from 8th Division doing here? Who are you?" he asked. His whole shadow was looming over my small frame with dark glaring eyes.
"I'm Tatsunari Ryoko, I was split from my squad and encountered the ryoka. Lieutenant Abarai here protected me when I was about to be attacked," I answered. Oh, why am I making the others look like real bad guys? I hope the real me doesn't get angry!
"I see, that reason is good enough. As a witness, you shall come along with me to answer a few questions," he said. There was no way in hell I could fit that in my schedule! I had to get to Captain Kyoraku and somewhat tell him to go easy on Chad. Not just that, but I have to get to the Division Meeting to warn everyone!
"I apologise, Captain Kuchiki, but I must report back to my Captain first. I am sure that Captain Kyoraku will fill you in the details later," I responded in the most polite manner I could handle.
He didn't seem to favour my option of me reporting to Kyoraku first. I could see why as the 8th Division's Captain is pretty lazy. This was a bad situation, I knew that my chance was completely in Captain Kuchiki's hands. Please let me go, please, just this once, let me go.
I heard him sigh.
"That is fine. Go and report to him of what you witnessed, but before you go…"
What now?!
"Your reiatsu is a bit strange," he said. I didn't answer, I couldn't possibly say anything to protect myself if he found out. Oh, I am so dead. I've failed!
"Captain! We need to get your Lieutenant to aid quickly!" interrupted Isane. He turned around and I immediately felt relieved. I've been saved!
"After you have healed him, lock him up in a prison cell. He will be judge whether or not he is guilty of his crime," ordered Captain Kuchiki. I took that chance to slip away.
"Haaaaaaaaaah…I am not suited to situations like that," I muttered. I stopped walking and frowned, looking around. "Wait, where am I?!"
I was in a maze of white walls and there was nothing else in sight. I didn't really know where the 8th Division's Headquarters were. I thought to myself for a moment.
"Ooh! Maybe I'll try to sense Captain Kyoraku's reiatsu," I suggested. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. Try to feel the air, the movement in the air, the way it moves, the particles within it, where it is and how it moves. There were two big sources of reiatsu near me. One felt reckless and overwhelming, and the other felt somewhat relaxed and sleepy. The second source had to be Captain Kyoraku!
I opened my eyes to see red threads around me, floating gently in the wind. They were Reiraku, otherwise known as Spirit Ribbons.
"Cool, I can do that, too? I'm quite the prodigy, bwahaha…"
I grabbed the ribbon that I presumed to be Captain Kyoraku's reiatsu. The instant I grabbed it, every other reiatsu disappeared and I knew where to go. My mind was clear.
I started to run, following the reiatsu. There was only one thing I was concerned with, though…
"I'm too effin' slow! Why can't my legs go faster, goddamnit!"
I suddenly had an idea.
"If I could see spirit ribbons, then trying flash step wouldn't hurt, right?"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading again~! Please review/follow/favourite, it would help a lot!
P.S: Sorry for not releasing for a while, but I will get up to a quicker pace and release a lot more chapters! MaskedBlackCat here will deliver without fail~ 'til next time, bye!