X
"Hey, want to listen to this new album with me?" Shinji leaned on my door, holding up a new, shiny vinyl.
"O-Oh," I closed the book in my lap. "Sure." I fell for his confident smile.
Following him to the main room, I stood back awkwardly while he toyed with something. Crackling, and then a few broken notes broke free. Stepping back, Shinji held his hands out to introduce it. "Look! I got it to work again!"
T he gramophone still looked ancient. The genuine copper bell was rusted in a few spots, and the needle jittered slightly, creating an interesting effect, but it did stand on its own four feet still.
I clapped my hands. "Yay!" I closed my eyes, trying to identify the tune. "Is this 'Momentary Bliss'?" I asked, remembering the new Gorillaz song from the radio in the kitchen that almost always sat at a low volume.
"Yup!" He put his hands on his hips, smiling broadly. "What do you think?" He began to sway, drifting off into his own little world as he danced. He hummed the question again when I didn't respond immediately.
Hands held together in front of my chest, I tried to let the music flow through me. However, it seemed to almost swerve around me, completely missing the beat of my heart and neglecting to put a skip in my step.
I used to love music…
"I like it!" I chirped happily, laughing as Mashiro joined Shinji in dancing crazily, separate but together.
"Good!" He laughed even as he tripped over her. "Dance with me!" he wished, toning it down to offer a hand.
Three-fourths of a meter away, my brain whispered adeptly.
"Next time, next time," I promised, content with watching.
X
The gray buzz of static plodded rhythmically in the room. My head rested on the table, neck burning uncomfortably. Restless, jittery fingers pressed into the edge of the wood repeatedly.
My slim hand toyed with the dial of the radio, turning it up.
"What will you do now, Koi?" Aizen's whispers snuck inside me, tangling in my overgrown brambles, snagging on my barbed wires.
The single naked flickering bulb above me reflected in small strained brown eyes behind me.
X
"Going out?" Hiyori commented, shock in her voice. It'd been over a month since Shinji and I had gone outside together.
"Just for a bit. I need to pick something up," I smoothly told her.
She looked unconvinced but turned away anyway. "Watch your back," she warned me before disappearing.
I blinked after her, surprised. Even the quick-to-anger Hiyori cares, huh…
Tightening my grip on the empty bag over my shoulder, I stepped out into the light.
The area around the warehouse was usually dead. Today there were a few kittens playing deeper in one of the alleys I passed. Listening to their scuffles helped ease some of the tautness of my heart brought on by the quiet.
"Oh?" A male voice close to me had me spinning around, grabbing at the sharp hair stick on top of my head. My breath came out in gasps as I backed away from the tall, pale, black-haired man. "Did a kitten get lost?" he mocked me, snapping his book closed.
Book of the End? I questioned the cover, eyes going back up to his face as I got ready to run.
My breath stalled as I watched his bookmark spontaneously combust, a green flame livening up and growing long. Gripping the end of it, steel then crawled along the flame as it transformed into a sword.
"Can't have that," he finished, cutting me deeply. I screamed, terrified and hurt. My bag fell to the ground.
X
Checking behind me as I stepped into the outlying woods, I flipped open the burner phone Shinji had bought me the other day. The pink plastic looked a little melted, likely from when I had tried to cook dinner the other night.
Taking the small white laminated business card from my pocket, I stared at it a moment.
Am I really going to do this?
I almost felt as if I was betraying the others. How would they feel? I wondered quietly. Shinji, he…Would he be upset? The thought made my hand pause on the first digit of the area code.
Memories swam in my head as I knelt down, a headache coming on. Shinji putting a hand on mine as we sat with JuushiroJushiro and Kensei; Shinji and I having dinner; Shinji resting his head on my chest as he napped, missing a meeting; Shinji relaxing from where he had tensed, laughing as I dodged a wayward kido from his third seat.
Shinji watching me, brow furrowed and mouth pulled tight, shoulders tense, as he walked me to the warehouse with a shoddy umbrella that dripped only onto him.
Aizen, stroking my neck as he whispered into my ear.
Isshin.
My hands began to shake, my pulse erratic. No. I can't be weak anymore.
I pressed the digits in.
X
"Yo," Ginjo greeted me. He sat deeply on a plush black couch, a glass of scotch in hand, tipped slightly. "Welcome to Xcution." He smiled. A large gaudy cross necklace rested on his chest.
"Thanks." The door clanged shut behind me ominously.
Looking around, I squinted into the dim lighting. There was a bar to my right. Sleek oak wood reflected the dazzling sparkles thrown by crystal glasses. The lights fell away, absorbed by the black vest of the older man shining a wine glass. He nodded at me before turning around and replacing the glass.
"Want a drink?" Ginjo tempted me as I sat in the chair farthest from him. One and a half meters, my brain helpfully supplied.
"I'm fine." I poised my legs politely as my hands folded in my lap.
"Come on!" He smiled at me mischievously. "We have scotch, vodka, sake…juice?" he listed off on his fingers, tacking the last one on as he looked at me questioningly.
"No, thank you," I refused again.
His cup clinked against the table as he put it down. "Fine, then," he agreed before leaning back again. "So you decided to join us?" he asked, a sly look on his face as he leaned on the armrest.
I frowned. "I don't want a commitment." I tried to play it off.
His mouth twitched as he picked up on my humor. "Well, well, maybe I can convince you," he continued to press. Taking the necklace around his neck into his hand, he squeezed it.
It was bathed in a deep purple fire, the metal oozing out from his fist. Elongating, the metal cooled into a new shape, an oversized blade with a dual handle. Yellow fabric decorated the hilt.
I froze, my breath lodging as I stared like a deer in headlights. One and a half meters. One and a half meters! I tried to calm myself down.
"This…is our power," he explained confidently, enjoying the look on my face. Jealousy roiled in my gut as he explained further, talking about being attacked by hollows at young ages and subsequently developing abilities. He talked about the curse they felt their powers were, and how one of their members, a man named Tsukishima, had killed many people with his powers.
"You want to give me your powers," I deadpanned despite leaning forward into the conversation.
"Basically, yes," he agreed.
I squinted at the table, noticing how spotless it was. Not even a wisp of dust. Nor the bar either. My eyes slid to the bartender, looking him up and down as he pittered around.
"How many?" I asked, unconvinced.
"Six."
How many are men? The question stilled on my tongue. "I want to be trained by a woman."
"Huh?" he asked, surprised. "I'm the leader. I'll train you," he insisted, dismayed.
"Then I won't do it." Hand swaying near the ground, I belatedly realized I hadn't brought a bag out with me today as I stood. "Thank you for your time." I cut him off as I strode toward the door.
"Wait!" He stopped me as my hand twisted the door handle. "Fine. Fine." He shook his head at the odd request. "Jackie!" he called into the shadows, surprising me.
A woman, darkened by deep red-set leather, stepped forward. My eyes narrowed, upset with myself that I hadn't been more observant.
"Sure. Whatever," she agreed, flipping her short hair. "Want to start now?" she asked me, surprising me.
I stalled for a moment, thinking.
Shinji…
"Yes."
X
The training had been brutal. So brutal, in fact, that I had overslept by a full eight hours, trained for an additional ten, slept for twelve hours, and gone on to train six more hours.
Jackie glared at me with narrowed eyes as I stared at my palm.
This…this feeling…
A cold tingle was stretching into my fingers, not as friendly as it had been, but present all the same.
"I feel it," I whispered to myself. I looked up to her, my eyes watering. "I feel it!" I shook my fist at her.
She smirked with me, sharing in the victory. "Good!" she bellowed, raising her fists. "Then we'll—"
"That's for another time." Ginjo stood from leaning against the wall of the back room we were in.
Jackie frowned at him while I panted, wavering sloppily on my feet.
"I have homework for you." I tried to pick myself up as he walked toward me. "After you shower and head home—" I flinched as he took a step too close. One and a half meters! My brain forced me to back up. He heedlessly ignored my stress. "I need you to bring a few things that you care deeply about back here." He put a hand on my shoulder.
I hissed at him, backing up with my teeth bared as I shook. "Get back!" I yelled to his shocked face. "Get back!"
His hand hung there as he frowned. "Sorry…"
I rushed out of the room.
X
I stood in the entrance of the warehouse and scrubbed at my eyes as I hesitated. Where are the others? I wondered, looking around. I couldn't see them anywhere.
"Koi?" A voice behind me, falling low into a new shadow, made me turn around.
"Shin…?" I whimpered, face bright red with grief.
Shinji stood against the backdrop of decaying buildings and rusting roofs, the scattered light of the sunset pied against his kissed hair. His face was crumpled, eyes glistening as his mouth twisted down.
"Koi, what—where—" His hands rose up as if to hold my shoulders before he held himself back.
Wavering from exhaustion, I buried my face in my hands before falling to my knees. "Help me," I pleaded. "I can't-I can't do this anymore." My voice broke.
"I'm here." Shinji crouched before me. "It's going to be okay." He tried to comfort me, his own voice wavering as my grief sewed into his heart, twisting us both closer. "It's going to be okay," he said almost to himself.
I cried until the sun had dwindled in tune with my swirling emotions. Sniffling as I wiped at my messy face, my big reddened eyes tentatively turned to Shinji.
"Hey," I said softly, my voice hoarse.
He gave me a small pained smile. "Why don't we clean up?" he suggested.
I nodded dumbly. "Yeah…" I agreed, slowly standing up despite my shaking.
Shinji watched me with pity. "I want to help you." His voice was tight.
"I know." I looked at his feet. "I just—" My voice faltered, memories wrapping me up in thick pieces of fabric, the rags of the past. "I just need a little space," I finally admitted.
"It's okay to go slow. Take the time you need." His voice struck a chord rawly.
I followed him to the bathroom. Half of a meter, my brain chattered nonsensically.
X
Shinji stood in my doorway, hovering at the edge of my perceived safe space. My room was sacred, and the others conscientiously paid it mind.
Pausing as I toweled my hair, I took a moment to think. "You can come in." The ghost of a mischievous smile haunted my lips, a forced press against my previous humiliation.
His pensive expression turned lighter as he stepped through the doorway. "Koi…" he started, rubbing the back of his neck unsurely. He's never done that before.
" I'm sorry I left." My lips tightened as guilt weighed me down. "I got a job." I was quick to lie.
"A job?" he asked, surprised and blinking.
I nodded, grabbing at a small pile of cash on my bed. "It's under the table, but it's better than nothing." The acidic lie burned my throat on the way up.
"Oh," he answered, looking at the pile, hand hanging off his neck. "You were gone for so long," he stated.
I took a deep breath to calm myself against the light tremors that still shook me from earlier. "Yeah," I admitted quietly. "I needed some alone time," I confessed, looking down before looking back up at him. "I didn't mean to be gone that long."
He stepped closer to me, tentatively sitting on the edge of my bed. My hands tightened in my lap. "Koi, I…" He started slow, taking his time to choose his words. "I was worried when you went to Hueco Mundo," he confessed.
Shinji's eyes looked distant, clouds addling his soul as he recalled. "But you were strong. You came back fine." His eyebrow popped up as if in surprise. "You were the strongest of us, I think," he admitted quietly, running his hands together as he leaned forward onto his knees.
"You…look like someone I used to know," he continued, making my breath stall. I recalled the two of us having food at the diner. That lie still made my gut clench uncomfortably.
"She wasn't strong. Actually, I don't even think she spoke her mind. At least not to me." He tacked the last part on after a moment as if thinking better of it. "But she put her neck out for me." He let his head hang down, the awkward angle mixing with his hair to shield himself from me. "And now she's gone forever because of it." His voice was even, but his hands looked painfully tight. "That bastard, Aizen"—he spat out the name, pure vinegar on his tongue—"killed her." He leaned back.
Shinji continued, looking up into a nonexistent sky. "I should have been better to her." His voice was quiet yet rang a deep bell inside me. "I'll do better by you," he told me suddenly, looking at me with fierce intensity. "I'll protect you," he promised me.
I swallowed reflexively, heat building up behind my eyes. That's me! I wanted to cry out. That was me too!
"Shinji—" I leaned forward, our hands touching. My brain shook the bars of its cage.
"I know you're not her," he told me fully, shifting so that he was facing me. "But I—" His eyes searched me desperately, looking for something. Anything. The moment stretched out, my body frozen by indecisiveness between shying away and pressing forward. "I owe you that much," he settled on, seeming to come down from his high.
"Shinji…"
He stood, our hands falling apart as he stretched. I watched as he left, frown deepening.
"Get some sleep," he warned me from the doorway, not turning around. "You look exhausted."
T he heavy door clanged shut behind him.
You won't have to worry about me soon. I gathered up the small pile of cash I had gotten from Isshin when I had first arrived to the World of the Living, my heart heavy. Shinji, you won't have to protect me soon.
The idea of being protected by a man made something deep in me revolt, even if it was someone who respected and cared about me.
I needed to stand on my own two feet.
I needed power.
Sneaking under my pillow, I fished around for the combat pass that Ukitake had given me. Finding it, I ran my finger along the wooden edge as I lay down.
I resolved myself to keeping the recent developments to myself, the idea of Shinji trying to stop me out of his feelings of responsibility cutting me deeply.
X
"I brought those things you asked for."
Ginjo was sitting at the far side of the bar this time, a shot of vodka before him. "Good." He tipped it back before standing from the stool. He leaned on the counter while he looked me up and down.
It'd been several days since I fled. I'm not sure how I'd be received after what had happened, and I shifted somewhat nervously at his lingering gaze.
Shaking his shoulders, he turned and apparently let the issue drop. "Jackie's in the back room. She'll explain the process to you," he told me gruffly.
Jackie was no less fierce than she had been prior, apparently undeterred by what happened. After introducing me to the four remaining Fullbringers and being shrank down by Riruka's powers in to a dollhouse, I placed my chosen items in a line before us.
She spoke as I picked them up. "These items are your most important?" She picked up my hair stick and dropped it. I grabbed at it as it rattled on the ground. I bit my tongue. "Whatever," she scoffed.
Jackie continued. "The most important item among these is going to be the basis for your Fullbringer powers," she explained. "You can only draw out your true power from what you are the most familiar with."
I stared, stuck. I've had my hair stick forever. But Ukitake gave me this pass… I rubbed it as I looked down. But JuushiroJushiro also gave this hair stick back to me…! My mind struggled as I held them both.
"This one." I gripped the hair stick tightly, thumb catching on the sharp end.
"Right," she started. Squirreling my items away, I stood and held my hair stick like a sword.
J ackie circled me, smirking. "Ready for a fight, huh?" she asked, cocky. She stomped around in the muck that we had brought into the dollhouse. "You can't even see my technique," she sneered at me, my lack of spiritual sight apparent.
My face twisted at how brutally she dragged my weakness into the open.
"You couldn't even see it when I did that, right?" she mocked my midsection.
Frowning, I looked down and gasped. I had been sliced deeply, blood running out of me. Feeling lightheaded, I wavered lower until my knees hit the muck. I grunted as I fell onto one hand, cupping the spilling with my other.
"Help…!" I whispered, eyes shaking and large. "I'll die…!"
"Good."
I looked up at Jackie in shock. "What?" My voice echoed hollowly.
She smiled at me evilly, shadows throwing her facial features as I looked at her. Revelations worked in my mind. Ginjo coming to me when it's convenient. Ginjo taking me in to "give me" his powers.
"You brought me here to kill me," I whispered the endpoint.
"So what if I did?" She put her hands on her hips, head tilting back as she laughed deeply.
I don't want to die. I looked down as warm masses pressed against my hand, my heart thundering out of my chest. I don't want to die. I tried to push them inside as I hyperventilated. I don't want to die! Aizen's silky hand touching me lightly. His cool breath on my ear. I don't want to die! Rukia looking at me tearfully as we said our goodbyes.
I want… The emptiness, the absence of the Soul Reapers I had spent so long coveting and protecting.
I want… Isshin holding me up by my neck well above the floor.
…to see!
The metal burned my hand as I gripped it tighter. I want… It began to glow, illuminating my spilled guts on the ground.
…to be able to save myself!
Jackie gasped as the lights shut off, the AC screeching to a halt as the darkness pounded down on our heads. I felt the wet shift, slowly receding as my body burned.
Eyes burning, I looked up and through the shadows. There. I could see her outline, faint and dusty. Reiatsu. The familiarity heated me up, a burning ball in my core.
My hand squeezed as I felt my hair stick shift, growing and lengthening. Silently standing as the deep slice in me stitched itself back together, I held my new blade away from me.
N ot a blade. I ran a hand up it, admiring its length and sharp point, the dullness of the twisted metal on the sides. A wand.
As I pointed it at her, the lights flickered back on.
"Oh…?" she asked cautiously, hands up as she looked me up and down. "You succeeded." She smiled broadly at my success.
"You tried to kill me," I informed her, hand tightening on my wand. I raised it farther.
She held her hands up, expression faltering somewhat. "It was the only way," she told me, looking tense. "A soul can only gain powers under extreme duress. Considering last time, there's not much we could do short of this." She gestured to my redness floating in the muck.
I frowned, weighing her words. She watched me tensely. Faintly, something familiar touched at me lightly. I can sense the others, I realized, looking up. The towering bodies of the other Fullbringers crowded around our dollhouse.
Even farther? I hoped, reaching out. Like overstretched sand on a beach, my abilities faded away into the shoreline.
I slowly lowered my wand, face firm.
Jackie relaxed somewhat at this. "Well?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip. "What does it feel like?"
Looking down at myself, I admired how my powers extended from my wand to wrap around me, forming a heavy black cloak. Carefully, I stretched out my legs, then my arms, then tipped my head side to side. There was a small undercurrent, something small I couldn't quite detect. But other than that…
"I feel the same." I deflated slightly.
X
I hid under the blankets in my room, hands toying with my hair stick in the dark. I thought it'd be something grand. I couldn't help the small bee sting in my heart. I thought I'd…get it all back somehow.
I shivered against the cold of the metal bracelet Ginjo had given me. To hide my new powers, huh…I contemplated it suspiciously.
I couldn't deny the skepticism I held for Ginjo and the rest of the Fullbringers. The circumstances were just too perfect. But I need power. My jaw clenched. If it comes to that…
My thoughts swam to the nondescript box hiding deep inside the closet across town.
I bit my lip nervously.
X
"Shinji!" Kensei's stressed voice roused me from my deep sleep.
"Shh!" A quick shush.
"I'm not in a gigai. I can be however loud I want!" Kensei simmered, but slightly lowered his voice. "I just want to know." His voice continued to slip under the large crack under my shoddy door. "Are you helping her because of that courtesan from before?"
I held my breath soft, knowing very well this was not something I should be privy to. Should I stop them? No, they'd know about my powers then. They'd ask questions.
Shinji…Shinji would be worried about me again if I told him…
"What's it to you? Jealous?" Shinji flaunted, his voice dipping as he teased.
"Of course not." Kensei shot him down, too serious, as always. "Just…I'm not sure if it's the right thing, to bring this girl into a nonhuman life. She doesn't have power anymore," he warned. "She's weak." An ice pick blossomed into my chest.
"She doesn't want a human life. She told me," Shinji immediately countered. "And she's still one of us, Kensei."
Kensei sighed. "Shinji…we're worried about you. We're worried you're taking your guilt for that woman and pushing it onto her."
"I'm not."
"Then what do you like about this girl? Huh? Name one thing."
A brief pause. "She likes my music," he started hesitantly. "She…She likes the same books too. Same ideas." A second pause. "She gave me peace, Kensei." He put an exhausted emphasis on the word. It hung in my head. Peace?
I could mentally see Kensei frowning. "Be careful, Shinji. She's human." A pause, as if he was indecisive. "They don't live long." My eyes widened in the dark.
Footsteps faded away. And then Shinji's voice.
"Goddammit." A small noise as his back hit the wall.
X
"Goin' to work?" Shinji fell in step with me as I went to leave.
"Uh-huh. I'll be gone until late tonight," I told him, finishing my toast. My brain was strangely quiet despite our closeness.
"Hey." He paused just inside the warehouse door. "Try not to overwork yourself, idiot."
I wrinkled my nose at him before laughing. "Thanks." I waved him off as I left.
S everal kilometers from the warehouse, my pace stilled as I cautiously casted my senses out. It's just like before. The thought warmed me. I feel like a spider throwing out a web.
Feeling no one around me, I took a breath as I fiddled with my bracelet. Shinji…you're still worried for me. The thought made my heart clench. I don't want him to be upset anymore.
X
"They don't live long."
Kensei's voice rattled around inside of me as I trained, sweat pooling down. I'll live, I thought resolutely. I'll live as long as I can!
X
Jackie and I stared at the blackened ground, a small stream of smoke curling upward. She turned to look at me, smiling boldly. "Looks like we found your power, kid."
X
As dusk hit and I mentally prepared to train through the night, we took a short break. I sat at the bar, a simple glass of water to rehydrate, as I stared at my wand.
"You've uncovered your powers, then," Ginko, the bartender, spoke to me wisely from behind the counter.
"Yeah," I agreed, the recognition putting a small smile on my face.
"What is it, then? Have you named it?" he politely inquired.
"Voltaic Witch." I had settled on it earlier mid-fight, much to Jackie's amusement.
He nodded. "A good name," he agreed.
"I fry electronics." I sent an apologetic look through the wall to my latest victim, the backroom microwave.
"Does it affect people?" he asked, refilling my water.
This made me frown. "I don't know," I admitted.
"We should find out before there's an incident." Ginjo joined me, sitting several seats away.
X
I paused in waving my wand as the lights dimmed to red.
"What's happening?" I asked Jackie, who stood next to me, observing the melting fridge.
"There's an—!"
A n explosion made me gasp, my hands flying up to protect my eyes against the midday sun.
"Hello," a male voice greeted us, and I forced myself to look into the light as I stared with wide, scared eyes. A tall, pale, dark-haired man stood amongst the rubble, floating as he delicately held a long sword bathed in green flames. "It's been a while." He smirked at us knowingly as if we were in on a secret joke.
"You…!" Jackie fired up her powers, materializing the reiatsu around her into a hat and scarf, and dropped into a crouch to rush him.
"Hey, what—" Ginjo yelled as he busted through the door, nearly taking it off its hinges. "You!" He immediately gathered, and I heard his sword manifest as he rushed past us.
The stranger met Ginjo's overthrown slash with ease, not breaking a sweat as he held him back.
"Aah, what a welcome," the stranger teased, throwing Ginjo's blade to the side. "I was worried you'd forget about me," he continued, chuckling as he jumped back and clear out of the way of Ginjo's follow-up slash.
"Tsukishima!" Ginjo bellowed, stepping into the air as he followed after him. The two disappeared onto the roof.
"Take her somewhere else," Jackie ordered Ginko. My eyes widened.
"No, I—"
"Very well." He gave a polite nod.
"I can fight!" I yelled, making them both look at me as my face turned red from anger. "I have powers! I can fight now!" I gripped at my chest, my heated rage at my own weakness superheating me.
Jackie looked at me skeptically, and Ginko's placid face revealed nothing.
"Fuck you guys!" I growled, focusing my powers under my feet in a poor, mock flash step as I followed after Ginjo and Tsukishima.
"Hey!" Jackie called out but didn't chase after me.
Coming up to the top of the roof, I surveyed the destruction that had already occurred. The water tower on top of the building had been cut clean through and was draining all over the roof. The entrance to the room was in shambles, looking like someone had crashed into it. Probably Ginjo.
The two men stood on either side of the roof, Ginjo panting and sweating despite Tsukishima standing there nonchalantly.
"You're out of practice." Tsukishima pointed his blade at him, ignoring me between them and off to the side.
"Get real," Ginjo huffed, pulling his blade up from the ground as he readied himself.
M y grip tightened on my wand, and Tsukishima's eyes slithered to me. "Oh? Going to fight?" he taunted me, the small smile never leaving.
My skin boiled in hatred. This man…This man thinks I'm weak!
I pointed my wand at him.
He laughed at this, making me grind my teeth. "Oh, my, you are." He turned his blade from Ginjo to me.
Taking advantage of the opening, Ginjo lunged.
Instinctively, my hand twitched as I recalled my long-dead shadows. A small charge built up at the tip of my wand, glowing slightly before shooting off. It raced past Ginjo, faster than any of us could see, before it sailed through Tsukishima's longer hair.
Gasping, Tsukishima jumped back as he gripped at where it had whizzed by. His face contorted, pain making his mouth twist down.
Glaring at me, he disappeared in a flash step-like technique that I couldn't see.
Slowing to a stop, Ginjo turned to look at me incredulously. "You…Was that you?" he asked, eyes wide with shock.
I nodded, a small satisfied smile on my face as the heat died down to a reassuring warmth. "That was me," I told him confidently, looking at my wand.
X
That was me. My arms tightened around myself as I sat under the shower flow. That was me!
I smiled to myself, picturing the pained face of Tsukishima, my hand going to play with the dial as the hot water got to be too much. Weird. Isn't this what I usually put it at?
I winced as I heard the water heater groan from my ministrations, knowing that the others were likely asleep at this hour. That was always a problem when I got home late like this.
X
"You seem happier," Shinji commented as we ate breakfast together the next day, the others coming and going as they started their own days.
"I like my job," I told him, trying to tone it down. My eyes drifted back to his full plate, chicken and green beans and such. "Dinner for breakfast?" I teased back.
"I've been starving lately." He took a big bite as if to prove it.
I smiled. "That's good." I played with my fork, looking down, abashed from his warm eyes as I blushed.
" So where do you work?" Mashiro asked innocently, plucking one of the premade salads from the fridge as she got ready to go to her own job.
I stamped out my nervous laugh at this. "The other side of town." I had a hard time coming up with a believable lie for this one. "I think it's actually in Kingsbury, technically." I pretended to think about it.
"Aah, that's so far!" she commented, packing the salad away into her satchel. "Bye!" she chirped, waving as she disappeared.
X
"All right," Ginjo started.
I stood in a line with my fellow Fullbringers, the small white-haired boy Yukio to my right and the red-headed Riruka to my left.
"With Tsukishima's attack yesterday, we have to move our plans up." Ginjo's words made me uneasy. I don't think they've told me everything. It all just felt too vague still. "You"—he pointed at me—"need to start training harder. That lucky shot won't work again." I held in my acidic reaction to his demeaning words.
"Is that the guy you told me about before?" I shot back. "You seemed chummier with him than anyone else." I crossed my arms.
He sighed. "I'll tell you later." He brushed me off.
"No, you tell me now," I argued. I have my powers. I don't have to be that complacent, scared little girl anymore.
He shook his head, agitated. "Fine." He waved the others off.
I glared at Yukio's back as he complained.
"Tsukishima was our previous leader, the one I told you about before," Ginjo admitted, sitting harshly at the bar. I kept a steady displeased look on him while he re-explained Tsukishima's betrayal, how the man had stolen the powers of previous Fullbringers and then killed them.
"So I'm going to end up dealing with him alone after I get your powers?" My dissatisfaction simmered lightly in my words.
Ginjo sighed again, sounding more tired now. "Not if we can get to him first." He looked down into the glass Ginko had poured him.
"It's not looking good after yesterday," I pressed further.
"I know, I know." He threw his hands up. "Yukio is working on it. Gonna track him down."
My eyes narrowed. Suspicious indeed.
My bracelet weighed heavily on my wrist.
i think there's only 6 more chapters 0.0