Chapter Thirteen
Ryohime had not been having a good day. At school she had intended to find Vance and Herald and try to alone with them so she could alter their memories of the… Konekohime incident, but Vance hadn't been at school at all (the excuse something about his broken wrist acting up) and Herald had somehow been able to disappear every time she tried to get near him.
She must have really traumatized them.
Before that, while she had been walking to school, she had felt a peculiar reiatsu she had never felt before, and a surprisingly strong one at that. It had been some distance away, and despite the fact that it was stronger then any Hollow she had ever felt, it hadn't stuck around long. It was as if someone had been actively discharging spiritual energy for a few seconds, then stopped. And then, on her way home, she had felt it again, weaker.
If that wasn't enough, upon arriving at home she had discovered a note from her dad, saying he had gone off to some old friend to exchange advice of a medical nature. She liked it that her dad trusted her on her own, but she didn't so much like having to take care of Chikuma by herself. She always found it very awkward when she had to change the bandages on a guy. But, thankfully, Chikuma seemed just as uncomfortable about it and she had finished quickly.
Now she was washing up her supper dishes, planning to hit her homework as soon as she was done. It was the early evening, the sun was down but it wasn't anywhere near time for bed. If she worked quickly enough she should be able to finish that long essay for school.
Ryohime's eyebrows came down in a slight frown as she rinsed the silverware and put them aside to dry, sensing someone at the door. The knock came as she was wiping her hands dry, and she went out into the hall to answer the door.
She reached it just as whoever it was knocked again. She hesitated for a second, then opened the door.
It was James. He was wearing his usual dark jacket and had his hands in his pockets, but was standing rather confidently regardless. Ryohime cocked her head slightly.
"Oh, James-san. What are you doing here?"
"I needed to discuss something I believe has to do with your Shinigami side of the world," he replied. "One of my acquaintances collapsed this morning, and it felt like something was happening to his reiatsu."
Ryohime's eyes widened slightly, and she stood aside to let him in. "You'd better come in."
.
James sat silently at the kitchen table as Ryohime thought over what he had said. He had retold the entire incident, and what little he knew from the hospital, and as much as he had hoped Ryohime would instantly know what was wrong, she seemed as stumped as he.
"I felt the sudden burst of reiatsu you described both times," she said helplessly, "but I really don't have any idea why your friend would just collapse like that. I've never seen it happen before, and to be honest I've never felt that kind of reiatsu in a human before, either."
"So you have no theories?" asked James, and Ryohime sighed, dropping into the chair across from him.
"Theories, sure. I've got a few theories, but they're hardly likely. It could be anything from a mutated disease that effects spiritual energy and pressure to a tiny Hollow or soul creature using him as a host. There could be any number of bizarre answers, I just don't know how to figure out what really happened."
James laced his fingers together, closing his eyes slightly. "Souka…"
Ryohime was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "His poor family… it must be really hard, not knowing what's going on…"
"It seems like it would be," agreed James, a bit emotionlessly. Ryohime looked up, about to say something, when she stiffened.
"Is that…?" she started to say, then stopped as a dark figure dropped onto the slight ledge outside the open kitchen window.
James looked at him, then at Ryohime, then back at the new arrival. The other Shinigami stared back, looking slightly panicked.
"Yoshirou? What's wrong?" asked Ryohime after they had all stared at each other for a while without saying anything. "Is there an alert?"
Yoshirou glanced at James questioningly, and James sighed disappointedly.
"I can see you, you know," he said, and Yoshirou carefully climbed down from the windowsill.
"Can never know," he said, then bowed to Ryohime formally. "I'm sorry to drop in like this, Ryohime-san, but I was left a message that I was needed in a discussion of the odd things going on today."
James raised one eyebrow slightly, but didn't comment.
Ryohime looked puzzled. "Well, I certainly don't mind having another Shinigami to help us figure out what's actually going on. Too bad my dad isn't here…"
James noticed that Yoshirou seemed rather awkward at the mention of Ryohime's father, and he wondered why. He wished he knew more about this secret world Ryohime and Yoshirou were a part of.
"I assume you felt the two odd surges in strange reiatsu this morning and afternoon," prompted Ryohime, and Yoshirou nodded.
"They felt really strange and I wanted to check it out, but the source was hard to pinpoint before it faded. Do you have any more information?"
Ryohime nodded towards James. "He believes one of his friends was the source. The first surge occurred at the exact same time this friend collapsed on the sidewalk in front of James' house, and as I've heard it the pressure seemed to be emitting from said friend."
She proceeded to retell everything James had told her to Yoshirou, with James cutting in to correct or add things once or twice. By the end, Yoshirou seemed as confused as they did.
"Coming from a human… that is strange." He looked like he had something more to say, but shook his head and looked away. "That is very strange…"
"Very," agreed Ryohime. "I don't think we can figure anything else out just sitting here, though, so I'm going to see what new information I can get about this." She reached into her pocket, then paused. "Umm… how about we meet back here tomorrow after school to discuss it again?" she said, and James stood.
"Alright, I'll be going home, then. Good night, Ryohime-san, Yoshirou-san."
Yoshirou put his hands together and bowed to James, then Ryohime.
"Indeed, I shall see you both tomorrow. Thank you for letting us meet in your home, Ryohime-san."
Ryohime blinked a few times. "Actually, we should probably not meet here tomorrow…" she said after a second. "My dad will probably be home then and I'm not sure he'd be happy with me talking about Shinigami stuff with James. Do either of you know this area of town very well?"
"Not well, but well enough," said James, and Yoshirou nodded.
"There's a little park about halfway between my house and Karakura High School," said Ryohime. "It's right off the road, so it should be easy to spot. How about we meet there?"
Yoshirou nodded again. "I think I know the place you're talking about," he said. "I fought a Hollow that was trying to eat a little spirit girl there the other day."
"I'll find it," said James, "but it will take me longer then you to get there. I go to South Karakura Academy, it'll be a long walk."
"We can wait."
James looked at the two Shinigami for a moment, wondering if they really would, then turned away. "Until tomorrow, then."
"Until tomorrow."
.
Ryohime turned off the light and climbed into bed, one hand clutching her Shinigami Daiko badge. Closing her eyes, she pressed in against her chest.
A moment later she was standing next to her limp body, satisfied that to all but the closest examiner, she would appear asleep. Her arm was hanging over the edge of the bed, her badge in hand. If her dad got back before she did and looked in, he'd know at least that she had gone out.
Preparations completed, she slid the window open and jumped out, soaring neatly through the air onto the deserted road below. She hadn't gone out in soul form at night for several days, and she smiled as she enjoyed the peace and solitude.
Nighttime was her favourite time, especially warm, clear nights in spring and fall. The light breeze brushed against her face as she ran, arms stretched out behind her. She jumped from the street back to the rooftops, imaging for a minute what she must look like from below. Just a black figure against the moon, robes and hair flying behind her, the hilt of a sword rising over her shoulder…
She was nearing the hospital when she began feeling the strange reiatsu again. It was weaker now, erratic and unstable. But as she drew closer, she began to realize it felt almost familiar.
A Hollow's reiatsu felt like the reiatsu of a Hollow, regardless of the individual feeling. A Shinigami's reiatsu felt like a Shinigami, though varying from person to person. But this was neither the feeling of a Shinigami, nor a Hollow, nor even of a human with high reiatsu. This felt alien, but at the same time like a combination of all of them.
And she had felt that strange combination of power only once before.
She landed on a roof and did not immediately jump again. She crouched there, one hand touching the tiles of the roof, the other resting on her bent knee. It was different and weaker, yes, but still…
The hospital was in front of her, close enough that she could reach it in a few more short jumps. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but unfortunately the spirit ribbons she had been hoping to get never appeared. With a scowl of annoyance she gave up and went to search the hospital the good old fashioned, Kurosaki way.
Peering in the windows.
Fortunately, the reiatsu was strong enough that she could roughly pinpoint which direction it was coming from, so she only had to peer through about seven windows before she finally figured out which one held the person she was looking for. She dropped down onto the little window ledge and carefully slid the window open, the curtains rustling in the light breeze.
The lone occupant of the room was a teenaged boy, Ryohime estimated he was about seventeen years old. He was lying flat on the bed, a monitor next to him tracking his heart rate and blood pressure. The reiatsu Ryohime and the others had been feeling was pulsing off him in jerky waves, and standing so close to him Ryohime realized it was definitely the strongest human reiatsu she had ever felt. If, in fact, he was human…
He moaned slightly in his sleep and Ryohime jumped. Remembering why she had come here in the first place, she began searching around for any records that would give her a hint as to what the doctors believed the problem was. If she knew what the medical professionals thought of his state when he had first come in, she'd have a better idea what was actually going on.
The young man shifted again, groaning weakly. Ryohime winced, she had always hated the sound a person made when they were in pain like that. She glanced back at him, breathing heavily, twitching in his sleep, and could hardly resist the urge to heal him right then and there.
But I don't know what's going on… she reminded herself fiercely, determined not to accidentally make things worse with healing kido. This was no regular accident he had had.
His breathing became increasingly agitated as she worked, and every now and then she would glance nervously at him. He was still asleep, or more likely unconscious, but he was tense and twitchy. Almost as if he were fighting something in his mind…
"Shi...ni…gami…"
Ryohime spun around again, heart jumping at the unexpected word. The young man was propped up on one arm now, staring at her with rather glazed, confused eyes.
"Kuro…saki?"
Her eyes widened further. "You… you know me?"
The patient seemed not to hear her, but his eyes narrowed in an almost angry expression. "Kuro…saki…" he gasped, breathing hard. She held up her hands, trying to calm him down.
"It's okay, sir, you… you had an accident, but you're in the hospital now. You can calm down, okay?"
He looked around him blankly, not appearing to take in his surroundings. He was blinking, shaking his head, and to Ryohime it looked like he was close to passing out again.
"…is… wrong…" he gasped, looking back up at her with uncomprehending eyes. "Kuro…saki… all this time… and… you're… a girl?"
.
Dikayumi sat by the window, wide awake despite the late hour. He had slept most of the day, even if he had tried to sleep now he wouldn't have been able to.
He sighed and sank into a more casual position, elbow resting on the windowsill, chin in his hand. A book was lying nearby, one he was supposed to be reading but somehow didn't feel like it. This in and of itself was odd, Dikayumi usually loved to read.
But not tonight.
The large house was quiet, the housekeeper and cook had gone home long ago. The grounds were dark except for the moonlight and the dim light from the office, where Dikayumi's father was talking with a friend.
He suspected he knew what they were talking about. It was painfully obvious, really. There was only one reason a "personal friend" that had never visited before in Dikayumi's memory, and also just happened to be a medical professional, would come to visit now. This visit was about him.
He felt incredibly self-centered when he thought it, but he also dearly hoped it was true. His own father didn't know what to do, and that scared him. His father knew everything…
"He can't read your mind, you idiot boy. If you don't tell him, how is he supposed to know?"
"You really are a weakling coward, aren't you."
He shook his head hard, mentally muffling the voices in his head. They would make him doubt himself if he let them keep talking, and he had had enough of that years ago. He closed his fingers around the charm on his wrist, tightening his grip so that the edges dug into his skin. They were wrong. It wasn't fear or cowardice that kept him from telling his father. It was…
It was that he honestly believed that part of him was something no one needed to know about. If his father knew he heard voices, remembered things that he had never done, what would he do? Dikayumi wasn't scared he would be rejected or mistreated, his father wasn't that kind of person, he just didn't think he needed to involve anyone else.
But it was getting harder to think that as the world of his dreams and shadowed memories interfered with his real life.
He was idly staring out into the night as he thought, and suddenly he perked up. For a moment, just a moment, he thought he had seen something flying through the air. He widened his perspective, not looking anywhere in particular, and at the edge of his vision he saw something moving. He focused there just in time to see a vaguely adult-sized figure running across the lawn, disappearing into the shadows of the forest outside.
He blinked. Burglars? Spies?
But it didn't feel like a burglar. It didn't feel human at all. It felt like a Shinigami.
He fiddled with the charm around his wrist, wondering if he should tell his father. But the Shinigami presence was already fading… maybe it was just someone passing by. No need to be alarmed…
But he was alarmed, just slightly. This presence felt familiar, and not just in that it was a Shinigami. The individual feeling was familiar…
Who are you?