A/N: A special thanks goes to lette4127 for becoming a follower to the story. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this and I hope you enjoy this new chapter, let me know what you think.
Chapter 3:
Locating The Soul
Shūhei
Arriving back in the Soul Society felt different. I felt a slight twinge of guilt when it came to my mission. It was almost like I failed in completing it, even though I did exactly what I was told to do. A flash of Taya's scared face appeared behind my eyes. I've never been this affected by a job in my entire existence as a Soul Reaper. She had such strength, even if it was uncontrolled. The flames that had been released by her to kill all those hollows were nothing but her spiritual energy. An energy like that needed to be harnessed and controlled or it would spell disaster to the entire world.
"Welcome back, Shūhei." A cheerful female voice greeted.
I turned my head to see Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of Squad Ten, standing there. Her shorter blonde hair curled under her chin. I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that she cut it short after the defeat of Sōsuke Aizen a little over a year ago. "Thank you. Where is your Captain now?" I asked, trying not to stick around too long for a chat.
"The last time I saw him was in his office." She replied, placing a single finger on her chin.
"I'll head over there then."
"Are you okay? You seem distracted."
I stopped walking almost instantly. Was I that readable? I should have known that someone would be able to tell that something was off with me. Over the years, we gained this friendship that usually was bonded over glasses of sake. Of course, the Lieutenant of Squad Three, Izuru Kira was present for these get-togethers. The three of us were close and I cherish that friendship dearly.
"I'm fine, things just didn't go as planned in The World of the Living."
She didn't push further, which I was thankful for. I tried to give a reassuring smile; but it just came out pathetically weak, so all I could do was walk away. My mind kept going back to the events that took place in The World of the Living. It made me wonder just how the Department of Research and Development only now discovered Taya recently. There was no way that she just developed that kind of power overnight.
Once I got to Captain Hitsugaya's office, I stood outside the door and announced my arrival. His voice answered a response quickly, so I opened the door to see him sitting behind his desk with a stack of papers at his left side.
"Oh good, you've returned."
"Yes, unfortunately it didn't go as planned."
"I'm aware. We now have a new mission to accomplish now that the soul in question is in the Soul Society."
The soul in question? It sounded like they weren't treating her like a person at all; but rather a subject that needed to studied. I clenched my hands at my sides, biting my tongue from speaking such words to my superior. It wasn't my place to voice my opinion on the matter. "What is the new mission?" I asked.
"We are to locate the soul in the Rukon District."
"That could take a while, especially if she was sent to any of the districts further out of the Seireitei."
"She? So the soul is a woman?"
"Yes, her name is Taya."
The Captain looked at me a moment before smiling. Underneath his ice cold exterior, he was a gentle person and that was one of the reasons I had no problem doing things he asked of me. I respected him greatly just like my own Captain. "Alright, we need to located her and then enroll her into the Academy for training. That is decision of the Head Captain."
Well that was indeed better than having her wander the Soul Society with that kind of uncontrolled power or worse, the Soul Society deciding to imprison her out of fear. Hollows would be drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Rangiku stepped into the room and met her Captain's gaze. "Rangiku, you will be joining us on this mission as well."
"Understood, sir."
"Shūhei, what does she look like so we have a better idea of what we are searching for." Captain Hitusgaya asked.
"Long Sakura Pink hair and bright blue eyes. She has small scar near her left eye." I answered informatively. The tone of my voice was that of a soldiers; but on the inside I was just a normal person with emotions like everyone else.
When we got to the edge of the Seireitei, I could feel that something was different about District One. Junrinan was the first district of the Rukon District and it dwell right outside the gates. The people made eye contact with us and then quickly went about their own business, not really caring why we were there.
"Spread out, we must locate her."
"Yes, sir." Rangiku and I answered at the same time.
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Taya
Walking along the dirt pathways, I found myself on the edge of a forest. The sound of birds chirping and the smell of clean air was comforting; but it did little to erase the pain I felt for leaving my parents alone to deal with my human death. I couldn't imagine what they were going through and then there was fact that I had this power that scared the hell out of me.
The light breeze blew through my hair, whipping it around me in all different directions. The old woman that found me when I arrived had taken me in without question. I've learned that they never got hungry; however, my stomach growled. All she did was smile at me and called my hunger a gift. "You will do great things, my dear." She said.
How could I do great things when I had no idea what was going on around me? Warm tears rolled down my cheek as I reached up to quickly wipe them away. Closing my eyes, I let myself soak in everything around me. Warmth caressed me, similar to when I was sent to the Soul Society by Shūhei's sword.
I could see a completely different image in front of me. It resembled a desert. There were flames everywhere but they didn't burn my flesh when they touched me. Narrowing my eyes, I could slowly start to see something approaching me. "So you can see me. I've been calling for so long…" Her voice rippled over me.
Her voice was muted. The form continued to approach until I could fully see what it was. It looked like a fox, except the fur was nothing but glowing flames. A sudden feeling of dread washed over me and I opened my eyes to see the same place I had been standing in before closing them happened. A familiar howl was heard, which would explain the feeling dread I had felt.
The sky darkened and split open to allow a hollow through. The white mask was a dead giveaway. It had serpent body with two arms that claws the shimmered against the sunlight. I took a step back out of reflex. I supposed that I shouldn't be surprised that hollows would find me here as well. Maybe it was my destiny to always been on the run from theses creatures.
"You smell absolutely delicious." The hollow said, roaring loudly.
Sneering at the comment, I held my ground knowing that it wouldn't do any good to run. All it would do would put the people in the village below in danger. The hollow before me started to charge at me with an open mouth. Smiling, I outstretched my arms letting go of all defense and resistance of my fate. Closing my eyes, I awaiting the finishing blow.
What I heard with a the sound of metal against metal, so I opened my eyes to see Shūhei blocking the attack from the hollow with his sword. From the sky, a woman dove down with her sword in hand and sliced the head open. She landed on the ground just as the hollow's body started to disintegrate. "Is she alright?" The woman asked.
"She's fine, thank you Rangiku." Shūhei said, turning to look at me fully.
"Oh it was not problem at all." She said with a smile, turning to look at me as well.
My eyes couldn't seem to tear away from either of them. The woman was absolutely beautiful and I could tell that she was strong. Another person appeared out of nowhere. He was shorter with white spiky hair. His uniform was covered with a white haori coat. His weapon was placed at his back and he held himself with such grace. "He was definitely import." I mentally told myself.
"You must be Taya." The smaller man stated.
"I am." I answered, holding my hands close to my chest.
"We've been tasked to locate you and bring you to the Shin'ō Academy. It's there that you will learn to control that power that you have dwelling within yourself."
Academy? The ironic nature of his words hit close to my heart. I was a school student before I was killed. I supposed it was better than them saying I was just far too dangerous to be allowed to live freely. The woman named Rangiku smiled at me before stepping closer. She wrapped an arm around me, pressing the side of her left breast into my shoulder. "Don't worry, we all went there and became Soul Reapers. There is nothing to be concerned about."
It sounded like I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I knew deep down that I needed to learn to control this power and to be able to defend myself without the need of someone rescuing me all the time; but that didn't mean I was happy about it. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I? You can't exactly leave someone like me unchecked." I snapped, starting to walk passed them towards where the path to the village started.
Rangiku appeared in front of me, blocking my exit. Her cheerful smile was no longer there. It had been replaced by a look of sympathy or pity. She tucked hair behind her ear before she opened her mouth to speak. "Don't you want to be able to defend yourself and protect souls all over the world. With the kind of power that is inside you, you would be a great asset to our cause."
"I don't want to sound ungrateful but you need to understand that all of this is a lot to take in. I just lost everything…my life…my friends…my family…it's all gone."
Shūhei appeared next to her. His dark grey eyes captured mine and held them. This was my opportunity to thank him for saving me; but the words refused to come out of my mouth. Instead, more tears rolled down my face and I collapsed to the ground on my knees. "We understand how you are feeling. It may not seem that way to you; but we do have your best interest in mind. Ichigo asked me to make sure that you were taken care of and I intend to do just that." He explained.
Gasping for a breath in surprise, I looked up at him. He extended his hand out for me to take. I held my hand out to grab his. The feeling of his hand on mine sent a shock throughout my entire body. He pulled me to my feet and I stood only inches away from him. Close enough for his scent to wave under my nose. The wind blew a little stronger this time, flowing through my hair and tossing it across his face.
Heat crept to my cheeks when he took hold of the hair that had been touching his face into his hand and then tucked it behind my ear. "There is no need to be afraid." He assured.
"Come, we are going to escort her to the Academy." The smaller man stated, walking passed us.
"Of course, Captain." Rangiku commented, following after him.
Shūhei moved away from me and started to follow after them, slightly looking back to see if I was following suit. My legs finally moved to do just that. I wondered what exactly this Academy was going to be like. Hopefully, it wasn't like high school at all. I didn't want to deal with bullies in the afterlife as well.