HALCYON DAYS
Volume Five: Drowned in the Rain
Chapter Four

A fly flew straight at Ichigo's forehead and phased right through, none the wiser as it fluttered onwards.

The Strawberry sat in the motorcycle's sidecar, cramped and discontented, while Chappy drove him and Rukia along the country road.

It was a vast stretch of grassland, with mountains looming in the far distance and a few cars zipping across the lonely strip of turf while a bullet train ran on parallel tracks. There was a yawning gulf of rural terrain between Karakura Town and its neighboring cities, like islands floating amidst a desolate ocean.

"According to these directions, we're still about an hour away from Kagamino City!" Rukia shouted over the motorcycle's purring engine, the wind buffeting the map in her hands.

"Oh, great!" Ichigo shouted back with a touch of sarcasm.

He glowered at the endless expanse of fields, already missing the density of Karakura Town with its apartment buildings and convenience stores and trees and telephone polls. He missed the thrum of people and spirits mingling in the soundscape.

While he gazed out at the whirring countryside, he felt a heaviness grow in his chest that practically pinned him into his seat. It was as though he were leaving something precious behind in Karakura Town.

Rukia glanced over at Ichigo and saw a profound anxiety gripping him. Her brow crinkled with concern.


Yuzu stepped gingerly before Kon, blocking his view of the television.

"Nii-chan, may I ask you something?" she prompted with a nervous smile. She was hiding something behind her.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" Kon said impatiently, craning himself to try and look past her and continue drinking in the sight of a buxom hottie on the screen.

"Well, I was wondering if I could borrow Bostov for tonight?" She produced the lion plushie: Kon's receptacle.

His eyes nearly popped out of Ichigo's head.

"Where'd you find that?" he barked.

"You left your bedroom door open and I saw Bostov lying on your dresser," Yuzu blushed, not expecting her big brother to react so strongly. "I didn't go snooping for it or anything. But Karin and I have a sleepover at Midori's tonight, and Bostov's ~so~ cute and I think he'd have a lot of fun playing tea time with us tonight. I'm bringing Cookie and Melon, too."

Kon remembered the time Yuzu cleaned him up with a bath, only to dress him up like a little baby and appointing the dolls Cookie and Melon as his parent. She even glued a totally lame plastic flower onto his ear. The whole ordeal had haunted him ever since.

"Can I take him, please nii-chan?" Yuzu asked with starry eyes.

"No!" Kon hissed, wresting the lion plushie away from her. He cradled it protectively, as if it were his own child.

"But... but why not?" she whispered, her eyes welling up with hurt.

"Because tea time is totally lameand Bostov wouldn't like it!" Kon harrumphed.

Tears streamed down Yuzu's face. She burst into an uncontrollable sob and ran way. Kon watched her flee, realizing too late he had messed up big time.

Aww, dammit. Shoulda just stayed in bed.


Chappy drove the Yamaha FZR600 into a bustling side street and put it into park. "We're here! Hop!"

Ichigo couldn't climb out of the sidecar faster. He spilled out onto the cement, let out a deep sigh and stretched his legs while looking around.

Kagamino City looked much like Karakura Town, slightly smaller and more compact, being the least populous of the three cities in the region. It's distinguishing features were more planted trees, making the sidewalks thick with foliage, and an abundance of billboards.

"Alright, so where do we start?" Ichigo asked.

He turned to Rukia. She was agape, her eyes wide and staring up at the sky with awe.

"W-What is that?" she whispered breathily.

Ichigo looked up in the direction she was drooling towards and saw a billboard with a cartoon flying squirrel hovering above them. The cartoonish critter had a jolly face and was wearing a ball cap, its webbed arms outstretched as if offering a hug.

"Oh, you mean Nuts?" Ichigo said. "He's the mascot for the baseball team around here, Kagamino Flying Squirrels. They're actually pretty good"

"Squee!" Rukia cried, her body trembling from the sheer kawaii. "Do they sell merchandise of this creature? I must have it!"

"We're here to find and kill Grand Fisher, remember?" Ichigo barked.

Rukia's expression of delight cracked and turned pink while she collected herself with a cough.

"Ahem. You're right. Perhaps we can seek out a token of this Nuts fellow after we accomplish our mission? In the meantime, follow me."

She bounded up onto the adjacent building and skipped across the skyline, Ichigo keeping beside her while Chappy followed along on her motorcycle below.

They stopped nine blocks over at a vacant lot tucked between two abandoned buildings. Chappy stood by on the street and patiently waited by the puttering motorcycle.

They're really letting this town rot, Ichigo thought while surveying the neglected surroundings.

"So Grand Fisher killed somebody here?"

"Yes, a woman during rainfall," Rukia replied, squatting down and running her hand through the muddy soil. "This was also Saidō Eikichirō's last known whereabouts before he disappeared. His body hasn't been recovered, but the patrolman for this region was discovered dead several neighborhoods over. Soul Society hasn't sent a replacement yet. They will only do so after we've flushed the Hollow out."

Ichigo looked out at the field. There were holes in the ground, as if a tree trunk root were violently ripped out.

"Grand Fisher hid beneath the ground and sprung a trap," he intuited. "He can shape-shift parts of his body. Maybe he tricked Saidō by impersonating a friendly face?"

Rukia looked up at the Strawberry and nodded. "Perhaps. Saidō was the only Shinigami who had gotten the better of him. It's possible that all of Grand Fisher's killings in this city were intended to draw Saidō out so he could exact revenge."

"If he wants revenge, then why's he terrorizing this place and not Karakura Town?" Ichigo wondered. "Wouldn't I be on the top of his list?"

Rukia rose back up and dusted herself off. "Maybe he knows you're too strong for him now, so he's exacting his petty grievances on whoever he can, wherever he can. Either way, he's a coward – "

An explosion erupted several blocks over. Ichigo and Rukia both snapped to attention, sensing a spiritual pressure spike.

"That's not Grand Fisher," Ichigo said.

"No, but it's a Hollow," Rukia rejoined. "Come!"

They bounded towards the mayhem while Chappy revved up the motorcycle and followed. After dashing across a dozen city blocks in mere seconds, they came upon a scene of calamity: several upturned cars and a shattered fire hydrant, with a geyser of water shooting up and raining down on the devastation. Scores of bystanders were running around in panic, fleeing some invisible force that had crashed from the sky like a meteor.

Ichigo and Rukia could see what the humans couldn't: a winged Hollow with leathery pinions of black and green, its talons a polished pair of razor bone tridents. It was a massive, hulking beast, its mask pointed forth into a buzzard's beak and scarlet eyes smoldering with hunger. It skulked across the cracked pavement and honed in on a bowled-over family of three.

"I recognize this Hollow," Rukia said breathlessly. "He's called Skulldover."

Ichigo reached back over his shoulder to grasp Zangetsu's handle. "Well he picked a bad time to score a meal. I've got him –"

"No, you don't." Rukia placed a hand against his chest and shook her head. "You are authorized to slay Hollows in Karakura Town and you have special permission from Captain Ukitake to engage Grand Fisher wherever he may be. But you do not have jurisdiction to slay Hollows outside of Karakura Town's border. I will handle this monster."

"But... Rukia," Ichigo mumbled, flustered while he watched her approached Skulldover. Can she handle this guy? The Hollow that attacked us on the night we met got her good, and this one's a lot stronger...

"Do not underestimate Lady Rukia!" Chappy declared. "Hop!"

Ichigo flinched, startled that the Artificial Soul had skulked right up next to him without his notice. Chappy looked on with a casual confidence, her arms akimbo.

"Many Hollows have underestimated Lady Rukia at their peril. Stand back and witness what I mean. Hop!"

Ichigo gave Chappy some grumpy side-eye before returning his attention Rukia. Just be careful.

Skulldover opened its beak and let out a steam of rotting breath, its talons digging into the pavement as it approached a teenage girl trying to get her two younger siblings back up on their feet. The Hollow felt a tingle of excitement as it came within inches of gobbling them all up.

The sound of Rukia unsheathing her Zanpakutō drew his attention. The Hollow spun around and let out a piercing hiss at the approaching Shinigami.

"Skulldover, right?" Rukia said, her eyes shining with the light reflecting off her brandished sword. "You thought Kagamino City was undefended, didn't you? You thought wrong."

"Buzz off, Shinigami!" Skulldover hooted, spreading its tattered wings and exuding malevolent Reiatsu. "I've killed many of your kind before!"

"Then I will take great satisfaction in avenging them."

Rukia turned her katana over and aimed its point at the ground, clapping her free hand over her sword-wielding forearm.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

袖白雪 Sode no Shirayuki (Sleeves of White Snow)

Her katana drained of color until it was pale as snow, a white tassel sprouting from its handle and extending far as a ribbon. There was a chill. Flecks of crystalline frost materialized around Rukia and she let out a breath thick as steam yet fragile as glass.

"Whoa," Ichigo said softly.

Skulldover hesitated to attack, surprised by the white Zanpakutō in Rukia's grip. It had never seen a blade like that before.

It matters not! the Hollow reasoned, letting out another hideous hiss and lunging forward, ripping up concrete beneath its talons. It charged at Rukia like a bucking bull while she maintained serene poise.

"San no mai, Shirafune," she intoned.

参の舞·白刀 San no Mai, Shirafune (Third Dance, White Sword)

The air bent itself around her milky blade, encasing it with frost and turning it into a curved shard of ice. She leapt forward and met Skulldover head-on, her Shunpo faster than the Hollow could account for. She flash-stepped right above him and drove her sword straight through his cranium.

The light in the Hollow's eyes immediately snuffed out and it collapsed with a crash, frost seeping over its mask until its head was a cracked cube, completely frozen through. Skulldover reflexively tried to pick itself back up, only to fall forward again, its chin shattering upon impact with the ground, the rest of its head disintegrating into brittle snow.

Rukia whipped her Zanpakutō to fling bits of frost from the blade while Skulldover's corpse flaked away into black smoke.

Ichigo looked on with amazement, his eyes entranced by the bone-white sword.

"That Zanpakutō..."

"That's Sode no Shirayuki," Chappy said reverently. "One of the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society. Its blade, its guard, its hilt... all completely white. Befitting its snow-type powers. It is wholly unique. Hop!"

Rukia resealed her Shikai, color returning to her katana while its tassel melted away like a wisp in the wind. She sheathed the sword shut with a clack and turned to regard the three siblings who Skulldover had targeted. They were back on their feet and stumbling away, completely unaware of how close they came to being a Hollow's lunch. Satisfied, Rukia returned to Ichigo and Chappy.

"That guy didn't stand a chance against you," Ichigo mumbled.

"Of course he didn't," Rukia replied matter-of-factly.

"OK, what gives?!" Ichigo shouted indignantly. "Where the hell was all that power the night my family was attacked? After all this time, I figured you were just a foot-soldier."

Chappy grabbed him by his ear and twisted it, making him wince with pain.

"Don't you dare speak to Lady Rukia like that!" the Artificial Soul chided him. "She may not be a seated officer, but her strength would surely merit the rank! Hop!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Ichigo yelped.

"Ichigo, I indeed wasn't this strong on the night we met," Rukia said knowingly. "I was sealed by a Gentei Reīn: a spiritual limiter that kept me at only a fifth of my full power. High-ranking Shinigami officers and those of equivalent strength are given these seals so that their Reiatsu doesn't wreak havoc in the Material World.

"If I had had enough time, I would have requested permission from SDRI to remove the seal and fight that Hollow with my full ability. However, some idiot invited the Hollow to attack them and I had to shield the fool with my body. Do you recall?"

Ichigo blushed, remembering how he had baited Fishbone D to attack him. Rukia threw herself between them and got nearly bitten in half for her trouble. The Gentei Reīn also rang a bell; he remembered Renji explaining the spiritual limiter to him when they fought in Soul Society, accounting for why he was so much stronger compared to their first scuffle.

"I'm on special business to defeat Grand Fisher, an especially dangerous foe," Rukia concluded. "Captain Ukitake gave me special permission to come here without a Gentei Reīn as a precaution against further foolish acts."

But wait...

"Are you saying you're as strong as a lieutenant, Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

She answered with a haughty smirk and strode past him. "Come along, we have more ground to cover."

Ichigo looked at her with a funny feeling: renewed admiration. He had underestimated her.

Chappy leaned over to nudge him between the ribs. "Between you and me, Lady Rukia has the skills and power to be a seated officer. Truly, if she were recognized with a rank, she'd be strong enough to stand as Captain Ukitake's very own lieutenant. However, her candidacy was nipped in the bud as early as her training at Shin'ō Academy. No official reasoning has ever been given, but many of her peers gossip that it must be Lord Byakuya's doing. Hop!"

"Byakuya, huh?" Ichigo sighed. Figures.

"Lady Rukia has always denied such rumors, to others and herself," Chappy added. "Hop."