Hello again all, how ya been?
Nothing to put out right now, so let's head straight into some reviews.
xXSpades231Xx: Indeed, the reasons behind Timothy's possession of a zanpakutō and a shikai so early will be explained. I've gotta be honest, it's killing me right now, not being able to tell you this moment; but rest assured that the reason will be revealed in due time. But then again, please refer to my statement in the first chapter; "I'm evil!". As far as the name 'Moeru Kitsune', it basically translates into 'Blazing Fox'. Like the zanpakutō and shikai matter from your chapter 1 review, the name will be explained in a later chapter. Thanks for the review.
Now, I've got some good news for you readers. I've managed to get some extra time freed up for a while; so that means more time behind the keyboard. So, I decided to combine chapters 3 and 4 together to give you 'technically' two chapters in one weekend. This one is sitting at around 12,500 words…damn!
I'll try to keep everyone posted on any changes that could possibly affect my writing through the chapters, or temporary author's notes. Thanks for your support, and happy reading.
(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTERS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!)
Chapter 2
(Discoveries and Knowledge Acquired.)
Squad 11 Headquarters, Seireitei, Present
The halls of the headquarters for Squad 11 were quieter than normal, mainly due to most of the members and officers being out at the training field either honing their skills, settling grudges, or simply fighting for the fun of it.
For the exception of a few members doing the typical paperwork, the only other person here was the Captain, napping in his office.
Down the hall, the Captain of Squad 7, Sajin Komamura, was on his way to meet the Captain of Squad 11.
Captain Sajin Komamura was a very…unique…soul reaper, in fact that he was not human…in a manner of speaking. Captain Komamura was from a distant line of creatures that quite closely resembled that of a werewolf from the human world's folklore.
He stood at a towering nine feet and five inches, making him the tallest soul reaper in the Seireitei. While most of his body looked similar to that of a human's, his face was that of a wolf's. The fur on the top of his head and face, going down past his neck and across his body was brown with a slight hint of red to it. While the lower half of his face, and the inside of his wolf's ears was a cream color. He also possessed golden eyes that were also very similar to a wolf's.
He had a calm, yet stern demeaner, treating all of his subordinates and fellow Captains with respect. Enough so, that others never judged him by his appearance, once it had gotten out into the open.
Like many of the other Captains, Sajin really didn't get along with the Captain of Squad 11. He didn't really even want to be there in their headquarters.
But today, he had some important matters to discuss.
He came up to the doors that led to the Captain's office and knocked with a solid thump. He waited for a moment, but heard no response, so he tried again. After a second, he got a reply.
"Yeah, who is it?" he heard a deep and annoyed tone answer.
"It's Captain Komamura, Captain Zaraki. I have something to discuss with you." He waited for a minute.
"Whatever, just make it quick." It was evident that the man was clearly annoyed.
Sajin pulled the door open and stepped inside the find the Squad 11 Captain laying on the sofa against the right wall with closed eyes. "What do you want, wolfman?" he asked, his annoyance getting worse.
Sajin took a moment to stare at him.
Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, the man considered by all, even Sajin himself, to be the Seireitei's strongest, while also the most gruesome and terrifying fighter. There was no one within the soul society that could even come close to holding a candle to Kenpachi Zaraki; for the exception of the Head Captain. He was a lean built, six-foot, 7-inch man with black hair that he kept styled to look like multiple spikes.
At the end of each spike, he wore a single bell that sounded with every move that he made. He bore a scar vertically across his face, stretching over his left eye. In addition, he also wore an eye patch over his right eye.
But he didn't wear it because of an injury, as the eye was perfectly fine. No, the patch itself was a device that he had the Department of Research and Development create that would consume large portions of his endless, and monstrous amounts of spirit energy that he constantly radiated.
He wore this, as well as the bells, for only one reason…to make fighting harder for himself, that way his battles would last longer, giving him more enjoyment from it. In fact, he never really too much cared about his position, or anything for that matter, as long as he could fight. Fighting was all he cared about.
This was why Sajin Komamura had very little respect for him. He respected his fighting strength, of course, but held very little for the man himself.
"I have come to retrieve the reports and information for your sectors of Rukongai. My squad has been assigned to them now." He calmly stated.
He just wanted to get the paperwork and leave, having no interest in conversating with the man. Zaraki then opened his eye, staring at the Captain.
"Is that right? Well, if you want em, take em. They're over there on the desk." He stated and gestured to the desk with his thumb.
"Thank you, Captain." Sajin answered and proceeded over to the desk.
He saw the paperwork he was looking for spread out and disorganized, leading him to inwardly sigh. He gathered the papers together neatly, and took a brief moment to look at a few of the top ones to get a basic insight of what he was facing.
"I see by some of these reports that your men have been having some issues with tyrants." he stated, causing the other Captain to scoff.
"Tsk…no longer my concern. You said it yourself, the sectors are now your problem, not mine. So go fuss about it somewhere else."
Sajin side glanced him. "I see. Anything of importance I should know about?" he asked in an annoyed tone, losing his patience.
The tone got the other Captain's attention as he quickly sat, then stood up, walking to the furry Captain. He stopped just a few feet from him.
"Look wolfie, it's not my job to do the work of welps. If there's something of importance, it'll be in the papers. So stop bugging me over stupid things. If there's nothing else, you can leave." he told him in an angry tone.
Sajin wanted to smack him down a few notches for his blatant disrespect and carelessness, but thought better of it.
"Very well, Thank you Captain Zaraki. I'll take my leave now." Sajin stated in a low tone with a hint of a growl.
He turned back to the door and walked towards it.
It was at this time that Zaraki's Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, made herself known.
She was a small girl, standing only three-foot-seven, with pink hair and blemishes on her cheeks, just under her eyes. She always had a happy demeaner, and was essentially the exact opposite of Kenpachi in regards to personality.
She hopped up on top of Kenpachi's shoulder and waved to the furry captain.
"See you later, Bow-Wow! Thanks for visiting! Come back soon, okay?!" she yelled cheerfully.
He turned to her and nodded before leaving the room.
The Captain and Lieutenant stood there watching as the door closed. "Tsk…what a pain in the butt. Wasting my time over pointless paperwork." He grumbled with crossed arms.
"Awww…don't be like that Kenny! I like it when Bow-Wow visits." She stated with a wide smile.
He turned to her. "Be quiet Yachiru. He's nothing but a pain in the butt." he moaned, and she simply smiled more.
"Okay!"
Meanwhile, Sajin walked out of the Squad 11 headquarters and he heard the sound of a flash step behind him.
"It seems we have our work cut out for us Tetsuzaemon."
The man behind him was his trusted Lieutenant, Tetsuzaemon Iba, a man of average height with black hair in a flat top cut and a slim, long mustache. He wore sunglasses, and always seemed to have a sense of urgency about him.
"Why do you say that, Captain?" he asked, and Sajin simply handed the paperwork back to him.
"It appears that Squad 11 has become quite lax with handling reports."
"I see, should I dispatch troops immediately?"
Sajin nodded, and side glanced him. "Yes, I want them at their posts by this evening, and the initial reports by tomorrow afternoon."
Tetsuzaemon promptly stopped and bowed. "Sir!" he acknowledged, then disappeared in a flash step to complete his task.
Sajin turned back front and stopped before sighing. 'I have a feeling that this will not be pleasant.' he thought, before he, too, disappeared in a flash step.
67th District, South Rukongai, Fallen Tree, Present
Timothy stood there, in front of seventeen soul reapers with his sword extended out, pointing at their leader.
"Tease…Moeru Kitsune." Timothy commander in a low tone.
Like before, the blade burst into flames and began its transformation into a 17-inch, straight blade, before they disappeared.
The soul reapers looked at me with a mix of emotions, including surprise and confusion.
"What the hell?!" the leader yelled.
Their looks got even worse when the floating flames started appearing.
"What the hell is that?!" one of the men asked.
"Is that a…flame?!" asked another.
Timothy could see in the leader's eyes that he was trying to figure the situation out, but eventually gave up.
"Alright, that's enough with the firework show, get him!" he yelled, and they all went after Timothy.
Timothy glanced behind him to see that the nearest one was only a few feet from him. He then suddenly vanished and the soul reaper's zanpakutō swung through the air.
"What? Where'd he go?" he asked.
They were now all completely confused and started looking around trying to find Timothy. Only now did they notice the numerous flames surrounding them.
"What the hell?! Where the hell did all these flames come from?" the leader wondered.
They kept looking around and started to separate as they started looking around buildings and under baskets.
"Here." Timothy stated as he showed up behind the one who struck at him earlier.
The man quickly turned, only to be met to the blunt side of Timothy's sword against the side of his head, knocking him out.
"There he is! Get him!" one yelled and they started to flood towards him. He stood there with his arms at his sides and waited for them to get close.
But, like before, just before one got there, Timothy disappeared. Like the last soul reaper, he hit nothing but air.
Timothy re-appeared behind him. "Missed me." he stated and swung on him, again using the backside of his blade to render him unconscious.
"Hold still you bastard!" the next man yelled, and Timothy quickly vanished.
Instead of swinging, the man quickly caught on, turned around and swung behind him, expecting Timothy to be there. But he wasn't.
"Missed again." Timothy stated as he reappeared right where he was before and took the man out as well.
"I'm impressed…you figured out my pattern and reacted accordingly. Too bad patterns are easily changed." he taunted and turned to one right behind him.
This time, Timothy didn't disappear, he simply ducked as the soul reapers blade passed over his head, then stood back up and punched him, putting him down as well.
"Four down…" Timothy stated, then turned to the rest, coming at him with fury. "…thirteen to go." he finished.
Meanwhile, Albert sat there, watching the entire ordeal happen before his eyes. And he simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Sure, he knew for a couple years that Timothy had been training tirelessly, but he never expected this. A non-soul reaper, with a zanpakutō, and with a shikai as well.
In the years that he had been in Fallen Tree, he had never known such an instance to have happened. And not only that, but it was his friend that was doing it.
He watched as one after one the soul reapers fell to the ground.
Another thing he couldn't grasp, was the fact that Timothy was fighting several members of Squad 11, the most feared squad of the 13 Court Guard Squads.
Not to mention, he wasn't even causing them any harm.
So far, he had taken out four in the first minute, and all of them were only knocked unconscious. Time-after-time, Timothy would suddenly vanish, then shortly afterwards reappear in a different location, right next to one of the soul reapers.
It was a marvel in itself.
Meanwhile, the soul reaper leader was absolutely furious. He couldn't understand how such a pathetic bastard, in such a lowly district, could possibly have a zanpakutō.
But what puzzled him even more was how he was disappearing, then reappearing right next to one of his men. Then his senses clicked and he turned just in time to see another one of his men get knocked down.
"What the hell is this?" he mumbled.
In just a few minutes, Timothy managed to take down five of his men.
He then clenched his teeth as he figured out what he was doing. "Men, fall in! He's trying to pick us apart one-by-one! Stay close to each other and watch each other's backs!" he ordered, and they began closing in to each other.
"Tight formation men! Keep an eye out for when he shows back up!" he yelled.
"Yes sir!" they responded.
Timothy was currently at one of his flames that he kept hidden from sight as he watched the leader pull his men back into a tighter group.
'Heh, he's not stupid…he figured out my plan…or at least part of it.' he thought.
He quickly appeared next to one of the stragglers and gave him a blow to the gut with the hilt of his sword, causing the man to double over in pain before Timothy disappeared again.
"Quickly men! Fall back now!" the leader ordered, and they picked up their pace.
"Looks like they're falling for it." Timothy's sword stated, and he nodded.
"Yes. It's sad, cause it almost too easy."
The sword chuckled. "You'd think that they would know better, right?"
Timothy scoffed. "Well, they're too confused to think straight at the moment, so what do you expect?"
He saw one more straggler, so he quickly popped up behind him and since the man was as short as Timothy was, he gave him a kick to the head, knocking him forward, out cold.
But instead of disappearing, he stood there staring at the rest, now in a tight group.
The soul reapers all turned to Timothy and got ready to attack.
Timothy then held up his sword in front of him and sideways. He then placed the palm of his hand against the backside of the blade.
"Hadō #32…" he started and the soul reapers all went wide eyed.
"What…" the leader chocked.
"Ōkasen."
A small, yellow ball appeared on the blade in front of Timothy's hand, then swiftly extended to cover the whole blade before shooting out towards the group.
"What the hell?! Kidō?!" a tall one yelled out.
The yellow beam struck the first two and tossed them into the next three.
The area was then covered in dust from the attack, so Timothy lowered his arms and stood there waiting for it to clear.
After a few moments, he reached out with his mind to try and detect the group.
'Hmm…no one has moved yet. I know that didn't take all of them out…I'd be lucky if it got the three behind the initial two…' Timothy calculated.
After a few seconds more, he could now see that the attack had indeed rendered the first two, as well as one of the three afterwards unconscious. The other two were pretty banged up, but were still standing, leaving a total of seven left.
All of the soul reapers were trying to recover from what they had just seen, but the leader's head was beat red with anger.
"Enough." Timothy stated, and the men looked at him confused.
"Stop this now…You have already lost over half your men…and have yet to even touch me. Please stop this so I won't have to harm your men even further." he finished with an emotionless stare.
That was the breaking point for the leader as he was now growling with pure rage.
"You think you can defeat us?! You'll die where you stand!" he yelled, and Timothy sighed.
"One…I don't 'think' I can defeat you…I know I can. And second…you don't have the ability to even lay a finger on me. So, stop this pointless fight."
"Get Him!" the leader yelled at the top of his lungs.
They all charged at Timothy at once and he lowered his head.
"Pity…your men will suffer…because of your pride. Hadō #57…Daichi Tenyō."
All at once, numerous small objects began floating up around Timothy, causing the men to go wide eyed, but they continued their assault.
Timothy pointed to an object with his finger, then flicked his wrist towards the group.
The object, a small hand cart, flew right towards the lead man. The cart caught him in the side, shattering on impact and throwing him out of the way.
The men started to hesitate and slow down, but kept coming.
Timothy then pointed to the next object, a small boulder, and flung it to the next man, catching him in the chest. Now it was down to five.
Timothy chose his next piece of ammunition, a long board, and sent it careening towards two of them. It struck both of them in the gut and simply knocked them over, both of them holding their midsections in pain.
'Three.' Timothy thought as he chose his last piece of debris, another boulder, and sent it into another man's shoulder. He flew to the side, catching the guy next to him and bowling him over.
But after a second, the second one got back up and came running. 'Two.' Timothy continued.
Timothy quickly disappeared and let the remaining soul reapers run by. They stopped and started looking around, now back-to-back.
Timothy decided to stay hidden and let the lull of battle play on the soul reaper's minds.
Three minutes passed…then four…then five, yet Timothy was still hidden.
Both men were now very worried, giving the effect Timothy intended.
"W…where are you?! Show yourself!" the leader choked, but Timothy still remained hidden.
"I'm right here." he spoke, now on their left, causing both to turn.
"Now I'm here." he added, now from the right, where they turned again.
"I'm everywhere." Timothy's voice said from multiple angles.
And that, did the job.
The last one then took off in a full sprint down the road.
"What the hell?! You fucking coward! Get back here or Zaraki will have your head!" the leader yelled.
"Zaraki you say?" Timothy asked, now behind him.
With his quick reflexes, the leader swung at him, but Timothy stopped the man's blade with his.
"There you are! Gonna play your tricks again?! Gonna hide like a little bitch?!" the leader taunted.
Timothy stared at him and slowly shook his head. "No…since you were so adamant about killing me, I thought I'd give you the chance."
The man glared at Timothy. "What is this? Some kind of trick?!"
Again, Timothy shook his head. "No…no tricks…just you and me, face-to-face."
The leader pulled his sword back and turned to him. "Oh really? One-on-one with me?! Do you even know who the hell I am?!" he raged, and Timothy simply tilted his head.
"An idiot?"
The man's eyes went wide, and he took a quick swing at Timothy, him ducking and rolling back onto his feet.
"Listen here you bastard…I'm the 7th seat of Squad 11…Tetzuma Ōnaido. That means that I'm the 7th strongest person in Squad 11, the strongest squad it the soul society! What do you have to say about that?!" the leader demanded.
Timothy stared at him for a moment.
"Well?!" he demanded again, and Timothy sighed.
"I take back what I said…" Timothy mumbled, and the man laughed.
"Hah! I thought so! Now you…"
"Allow me to rephrase…you're an idiot 'and' your squad is weak." Timothy stated coldly, and the officer twitched.
Timothy looked down to see the man's hands shaking with rage. "Enough! Die!"
He charged at Timothy, blade high and right, ready for a slash across his chest. Timothy could see the full intent to kill him in his eyes, a look that he knew all too well.
"It's over." Timothy stated as he simply took one single step to the right and swung straight across to the right with the sharp end of his blade.
The officer passed him and they both stopped. The officer with his blade low and to the left, Timothy's outstretched to the right. Timothy lowered his blade and turned to see the officer look down at where Timothy had struck him.
His robe had a perfect slash across it, and it separated just enough to see a perfect cut along his stomach. It wasn't a deep cut, just one of those scratches just deep enough to cause it to bleed. The officer slowly turned back to him.
W…what?" he asked.
Timothy sighed and lowered his head. "Can you see now? I could have very easily cut you open…killing you right here. But…I didn't. It's as I told you…"
Timothy lifted his head to him. "…you can't hurt me."
The officer's face then scrunched up and he growled. "Hah! You really think you've won?! You missed me, we both missed!" he yelled, causing Timothy to raise a brow.
"If you truly believe that…" Timothy started and turned to face him. "…then please…feel free to try again. But I warn you…I won't show you the same restraint as last time."
The man audibly gasped and stood there frozen. They both stared at each other as time flew by, before the officer finally lowered his head.
"Fine…you win." He stood straight and sheathed his zanpakutō. He let his arms fall to his sides, fists balled. "What's your name?" he asked, and Timothy closed my eyes.
"Timothy Durn."
The officer turned to him. "Well…Timothy…you've won…for now. But don't let it get to your head. We'll be back."
Timothy let his sword return to normal, the flames around the two disappearing, then returned it to its sheath as well.
"Warning noted. Now leave." Timothy demanded, and the officer scoffed.
The man then turned, and flash stepped away. Timothy let out a sigh of relief as he lowered his head. But what happened next caught him by surprise.
He heard cheering and applause from behind him, so he turned to see the residents clapping and praising him. He turned to see Albert running up to him and he let out a moan. Albert stopped in front of him and placed his hand on Timothy's shoulder.
"Albert…what is this?" Timothy whined, and Albert just smiled.
"What does it look like dummy? Everyone's cheering for you."
Timothy brought his hand up to his head and rubbed his temples.
"Well tell them to stop…I don't want their praise. I didn't even want to help them, and now that I have, everyone knows my secret."
Albert shrugged his shoulders. "So? It's not like anyone's gonna do anything about it. I mean…you took on seventeen members of Squad 11 by yourself, and without so much as a scratch."
"Oh yeah?" Timothy asked, then turned to him. "And what happens when Kenpachi Zaraki finds out?! You know he would more than likely come out here looking for a fight! What then, huh?!" Timothy yelled.
Albert just stared at him with worry while Timothy maintained his glare. But it was at that point that they both noticed something wrong. It was totally quiet. They both turned back to the residents to see them staring at them…but not at them.
"Uh…Tim…" Timothy's sword warned.
Timothy's eyes went wide. 'Uh oh…'
They both slowly turned around to see that they weren't alone. Much to Timothy's dismay, there where now over twenty soul reapers in front of them.
"Shit…"
No one moved for the longest time, until one of soul reapers started walking towards them. Timothy grabbed the hilt of his sword ready to draw, but the man just held his hand up.
"Hold on, wait a minute. We're not here to attack you. We just want an explanation."
Timothy rose a brow. "About?"
The man stopped and looked at the unconscious bodies littering the street. "About that." he stated in a calm and polite manner.
Timothy release the grip on his sword and stood straight. "Long story…but the short version is that they were lied to, forced to think I had assaulted someone."
The man turned his eye to Timothy. "And did you?" he asked, but before Timothy could answer, Albert stepped up.
"No, he didn't. He is innocent, but they believed the false story and tried to take him." he cleared, and the man turned to them.
"Well, they were probably going to take you in for questioning. You are aware that it's standard procedure, right?" the man inquired.
Timothy and Albert both nodded.
"Yes…but they wanted my sword…and no one touches this sword but me. And I must warn you…you try the same thing and you'll end up just like them." Timothy coldly stated, earning a nod from the man.
"Noted. Allow me to introduce myself…I am Hetoku Watashu…5th seat of Squad 7."
Timothy raised a brow. "Squad 7? What brings you out here? Last time I checked, this wasn't your sector." he stated, and Hetoku nodded.
"It is now. The sector responsibilities have changed, so this sector now falls under Squad 7. And it seems that things have gotten pretty out of hand here." Hetoku observed.
"You have no idea." Albert deadpanned.
The soul reaper turned back to his men and nodded. "Alright men, spread out and conduct your inspections." the one behind Hetoku ordered.
"Yes sir!" the rest yelled in unison.
The men all went their separate ways, leaving the three of the men standing in the street. The three of them continued to stand there for a while longer, the officer watching his men, making sure they were doing their jobs.
After a moment more, Hetoku turned back to Timothy. "Well, now that that's over, how about you explain to me what happened here."
Timothy rose a brow again, now confused as to why he was asking the same question again.
"What do you mean? I already told you what happened." Timothy retorted.
The man rose a brow back, a little surprised. "That's not what I mean…you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Timothy's stare went cold as he came to the realization of what the officer meant. "And what's it to you?"
The man took his glasses off and started wiping them.
"You see…we were watching you for a little while, ever since you used that 30s level hadō…"
Timothy's eyes widened a bit, because that meant that the man saw pretty much all of the fight.
"Tim…I don't like where this is going…" Timothy's sword stated timidly.
"Neither do I…we may have another fight on our hands…" Timothy warned.
The man placed his glasses back on his face and pushed them back on his nose. "The truth of the matter is…I'm quite impressed…we all were. After all, it's not every day that you come across a non-soul reaper that can use a 50s level kidō without an incantation."
Timothy let out an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms. "Look, why don't you just cut to the chase here? Albert here can tell you that I don't take well to lollygagging. So just state your business, and let me go my way."
The officer looked to Albert, who shook his head, then turned back to Timothy.
"Very well. Where did you learn kidō?" he asked with a serious look.
Timothy tilted his head, brow raised. "Why?"
The officer huffed and shook his head. "You said it yourself that you have no patience for 'lollygagging'…well as it turns out…neither do I. So, answer the question, please."
Timothy straightened his head and moved his hands to his hips. "Look…that's my business, not yours. If it is a crime to know and use kidō without being a soul reaper…"
Timothy spread his arms out. "I'm right here…take me away. Or that is…try to." he taunted, and the officer glared at him. Timothy lowered his arms and returned the glare.
After a few moments, the Hetoku started laughing. "Alright, that's enough. I guess my intimidation won't work on you."
Timothy rose my brow and shook his head slightly. "Apparently not."
Hetoku calmed down to simple chuckles and stroked his hair. "Truth is, you're right. It's not illegal to practice kidō without being a soul reaper. But my curiosity got the better of me, naturally, and I couldn't help it. My apologies."
He finished with a slight bow, that Timothy returned with a nod.
Hetoku then held up a finger. "However…"
Timothy gave a heavy sigh, mentally begging for it to end. "Possession of a zanpakutō is." Hetoku cautioned.
Timothy's eyes widened, and he lowered his hands. "I see…so what do you plan to do? Try and take it? Look behind you…you can see what happened to the last group that tried. Hell, you even saw the fight. So, let me ask 'you'…do you really think you can take it?"
The officer started to chuckle again. "No…I know that, even with more than 20 squad members here, I wouldn't be able to take it, that is…not easily. That's what impresses me the most. So, at this point, I'm left with only being able to file a report to the Captain. It would then be up to him on what to do about it."
"And…in 'your' opinion…what do you think he would do?" Timothy inquired, and Hetoku simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know, I've never came across a situation like this. I've come across individuals with swords before, but those were swords without a zanpakutō's spirit. Yours however, obviously has one, making it a zanpakutō. So, I couldn't tell you. Just let me give you a warning…if the Captain does decide to take action…it won't be pretty."
Timothy lowered his glare and nodded. "Warning noted."
Hetoku nodded back. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some inspection reports to write for the change in responsibility." He stepped back and gave a deep bow. "Thank you for your assistance."
Timothy returned the officer's bow with a slight one. The man then straightened himself and walked around the two.
Timothy and Albert looked at each other for a moment, then the officer stopped and glanced back. "Oh, and one more thing."
Timothy and Albert both turned to him.
"I'll be sure to include in my report what happened here over the past few years. Judging by the words of the residents, you've been doing some good things around here in regards to the local thugs. That may or may not be of some benefit to you. Take care."
He turned back and continued to walk down the street.
Timothy crossed his arms and Albert turned to him. "So…what do you think will happen?"
Timothy shrugged his right shoulder. "Who knows? Either way, it might be best if I left Fallen Tree and found somewhere else to live."
"So…you're gonna just up and leave?" Albert asked in worry, causing Timothy to sigh.
"At this point…I really don't know. I'll think about tonight and I might have a decision in the morning. For now, I think I'll go to bed. Two fights in one day is enough for me."
Timothy's stomach then started to growl causing Albert to chuckle. "I guess not yet, huh?" Albert commented.
Timothy turned to him with a growl. "Shut your mouth, Albert. I've already got them to worry about, so I don't need any grief from you." he stated in a monotone voice and Albert chuckled more.
"Alright. How about we go find you something to eat?"
Timothy rose a brow. "And how would you know what's edible?" Albert simple huffed.
"Pfft…please. So now you're gonna take me for the fool? I thought you would have learned by now that I'm not an idiot. Now let's go."
Albert starting walking and Timothy let out an annoyed breath while closing his eyes and tilting his head.
"Why can't he just leave me alone?" he moaned.
"Maybe cause he likes you?" his sword teased.
Timothy inwardly growled. "Don't you start."
"Hey, I was just answering your question." the sword pointed out.
"Clearly not helping…" Timothy warned.
"Oh, quit crying you big baby. Anyway, nice job on the fight, you really gave it to em."the sword complimented.
Yeah, well…they're the ones who had no teamwork. Clearly it was a fight they were destined to lose." Timothy cleared.
"Teamwork? Hah! That's rich coming from you."
Timothy flinched and growled. "Shut up!"
The sword started laughing. Calm down Tim…you know I'm just messing with you."
Timothy let out a sigh. "Just shut up."
"Fine then, Mr. Grouchy."The sword stated in an offended tone.
"I sooo want to slap you right now." he mentally whined.
"Hmm…I'm sure you do~" the sword said in a suggestive tone.
Timothy opened his eyes, blushing, and held his sword up to his face.
"Just shut up!" he slightly yelled out loud.
"Tim…"
Timothy turned to Albert who had a confused look on his face. "Uh…who were you talking to?"
Timothy flinched from falling for his sword's taunt. "Uh…no one…just getting some pressure of my mind."
Albert shrugged his shoulders, then kept walking, Timothy in tow. He held my sword back up.
"I swear I'll get you for that!" he whispered.
"Oh…I'm sure you will~…he he he." The sword replied, continuing the suggestive manner.
Timothy let out a sigh and tucked his sword back into his sash.
"Damn fool." he whispered, and the two men continued their walk to find something to eat.
Squad 11 Barracks, Seireitei, 2 hours later
Sixteen members, and one officer, stood bowing, frozen with fear.
"Alright, so let me get this straight…the seventeen of you were screwing around in Rukongai…fought a 'single' man…AND LOST?!"
The entire building shook, and books fell off their respective shelves from the sheer volume of Captain Zaraki's voice. The seventeen men flinched, but didn't move while their Captain berated them.
"Y…yes sir…C…Captain. H…he just kept d…disappearing sir. It was like fighting a ghost sir." the officer frightfully explained, causing the Captain to raise his brow.
"A ghost?! What the hell are you blabbing about?!" the Captain asked with confusion.
It took a few seconds for the officer to gather his nerves, then he explained.
"W…well sir…he released his sword…then all these weird…flames…or something started appearing…every time one of us got close, he would just…vanish."
Zaraki tilted his head. "What do you mean 'vanished'?"
The officer gathered the courage and looked at his Captain. "It's just that simple sir…he just…disappeared…no longer there."
Zaraki turned to the rest and they all nodded quickly.
He turned back to the officer. "Go on…"
The man nodded. "Then…after a few seconds, he would just…re-appear where we least expect him, then attack."
Zaraki again turned to the others and they again quickly nodded.
"I see…So tell me…" he started, then turned back to the officer. "Is he strong?"
"Y…yes sir. He took all of us out and…" The officer froze, and Zaraki raised a brow.
"And…? Go on…" he ordered with annoyance.
The man swallowed. "Well it…it didn't even seem like…he was even trying sir...Like…he put no effort into it. So…yes, I would have to say he is very strong."
This earned an evil, sinister grin from the Captain, and they all knew exactly when that grin meant. It meant that man was going to end up fighting him…and dying.
"Excellent. And his name is…?"
The officer thought for a moment, then it came back to him. "T…Timothy…Timothy Durn, sir."
Zaraki started to lightly chuckle. "You are all excused. Now go train yourselves until either I come back for you…or you die, whatever comes first."
They all quickly bowed. "YES SIR!" they yelled in unison and quickly left the room.
Zaraki remained standing there, filled with the utmost happiness. His Lieutenant Yachiru then popped up on his shoulder, hanging off it.
"Ohhhh…You look happy Kenny! Did what Red Man say make you happy?!" she cheerfully asked, and Zaraki chuckled.
"Do I? Well…Ichigo's gone back to the world of the living, so I don't have a good sparring partner anymore. But now…"
He laughed a second, then started walking down the hallway to head back to the headquarters.
"...I think I may have found someone to fill that spot. And his name is Timothy Durn!"
Zaraki finished with his 'happy' grin and Yachiru started bouncing up and down.
"Yay! Kenny gets to have fun!"
67th District, South Rukongai, Fallen Tree, 2 hours later.
It took quite a while, but things were finally starting to calm down. Most of the new soul reapers had already left town, spreading throughout the district to continue their 'inspections'. Only a few remained, and they were spending the time with residents getting information about the district and recent events.
Albert and Timothy were just now walking back into town, when one of the soul reapers, who was talking to the woman from before, stood up and walked over to them.
The man stopped and gave a slight bow before starting. "Excuse me gentlemen, do you have time that I may ask you a few questions?"
Albert returned the bow, where Timothy just nodded. "Uh, I can…but I doubt that Tim here would want to." Albert answered, causing the man to turn to Timothy for a second.
"Might I ask why not?" he inquired.
Timothy closed his eyes and slightly shook his head. "I don't have anything to tell. Besides, I already talked to your officer, so if there is something you want to know about me, ask him."
The man rose a brow, but nodded in understanding. "Very well, then I'll speak with you." he answered now looking at Albert, who nodded.
Albert turned to Timothy and held his hand up. "I'll catch you later Tim. Go get some rest."
Timothy turned to him and nodded before he left with the soul reaper. Timothy continued to stand in place for a moment more before he turned and walked to the shack.
The sun had already set, but there was still a little bit of light in the sky. It had been a long day, and at that point, all Timothy cared about was laying down and getting some sleep. He walked into the shack and strode over to his bed area.
Like it was for everyone else, Timothy's 'bed' consisted of a sheet tossed over a pile of straw to act as a mattress, with another sheet for a blanket. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Not like it mattered much to him as he only really stayed there two or three times a week.
Timothy set his sword down next to the bed and laid down on top of it, rolling onto his side to try and sleep.
He laid there for a while, waiting for sleep to take him over, but it just wouldn't happen. There were too many thoughts flooding his mind about the day's events, and wondering about the near future.
The secret about Timothy's training was now out, and now he also had to worry about possessing a zanpakutō being illegal. He didn't care about the repercussions, no one was getting his sword, no one, but he really didn't want to fight either.
Timothy rolled onto his back and slipped his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. Getting sleep was starting to become less and less likely. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes to think better.
But just then he heard the rag door get pushed aside, so he turned to see who it was. Albert walked through the doorway and let the rag door close back before he turned to Timothy with a hand up.
"Hey Tim." Timothy nodded back to him. "Can't sleep?" he asked, and Timothy gave him a slight head shake.
"No…too much on my mind."
Albert gave a slight chuckle. "I bet. The rest of the soul reapers have left except one. He said he's staying to keep watch tonight and see how things are at night here."
Timothy thought about for a second. "Makes sense…if what they said is true, and their squad really is taking over this sector, why wouldn't they want to know everything that goes on."
Albert nodded in agreement, then walked over to the wall near the fire pit. He sat down and let out a relaxing breath as he leaned back.
"What a day…at least we don't have to worry about Squad 11 bullies anymore."
Timothy scoffed at him. "No, now we have to worry about Squad '7' bullies." he retorted, and Albert waved him off.
"I don't think so…if they wanted to cause us grief, they would have done so by now. Especially after watching you fight those Squad 11 guys. I mean…they don't take to attacking their comrades lightly."
Timothy turned back and shrugged his shoulders. "Good point…either way, it's not looking too good for me in the near future." he pointed out.
Albert let out a sigh. "Cheer up Tim, everyone here will back you up. You've made their lives easier over the past couple of years, and they're thankful to you."
Timothy scoffed and turned onto his side, facing away from Albert. "Yeah…whatever."
Silence followed for a while, until Albert broke it again. "Can I…ask you something Tim?"
Timothy gave an annoyed sigh. "Sure…" Albert didn't speak for a moment, so Timothy turned back to him in a side glance. "What?" he asked, and Albert sighed.
"Well…" He choked up and Timothy rolled his eyes.
"Spit it out, Albert." Timothy demanded.
Albert rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Where exactly…did you learn kidō?"
Timothy rose a brow. "Why?"
Albert scoffed and held up his hands. "Look Tim…I know how you feel about me…and I know you don't want any friends. I'm alright with that, I'll still be here to give you a hand. That's the kind of person I am…But you're gonna tear yourself apart if you don't at least let someone help you out."
Timothy turned back to him and sat up. "Albert…"
He held his hand up again, stopping Timothy from continuing.
"Hold on…I can tell by the way you act…how you're always training…just your demeaner in general, that you are on a personal mission."
Timothy's brows both rose.
"Like I've kept telling you over the years…I'm not stupid, Tim. You've got a mission, that's fine. You don't want anyone close to you cause you're afraid it might make the mission more difficult, I accept that. But the truth of the matter is, it doesn't matter what the mission is, or what goal your trying to accomplish, or whatever. You can't do it alone while pushing people away. If you don't want my help, that's fine, but don't push me away Tim. The more you push people away, the harder your mission is going to be." Albert stated in a serious tone.
Timothy let out a sigh, lowered his head and closed his eyes.
He sat there thinking about what Albert said. He wasn't wrong, everything that he said was true. But the problem Timothy had was he still had a secret that he knew for certain that Albert didn't know, that nobody knew.
And Timothy was dead set and determined to ensure it stayed that way, regardless of the consequences.
"Albert…I thank you for telling me this…and I thank you for trying to be there for me. You really have been a pain in the ass."
Albert let out a chuckle. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Timothy couldn't help it, He let out an amused scoff. "Whatever…what I'm trying to say is that…ohh, how can I put this…?"
Albert shrugged his shoulders. "Just 'spit it out'." he retorted, and Timothy glared at him.
Not an evil one, but one to show that he was annoyed. "Smartass…anyway…there are things about me that no one knows…that no one will EVER know…I'm fighting with everything I've got to ensure it stays that way." Timothy finished in a determined voice.
"So, you push people away to try and keep it hidden…" Albert stated, and Timothy nodded.
"It's not that I don't want friends, Albert…it's simply that I can't risk anyone finding out my secrets, nothing more."
Albert gave an understanding nod and Timothy took a deep breath.
"Ok, I won't ask about it at all…promise." Albert stated with sincerity. Timothy nodded back and tilted his head back. "So…with that out of the way…" Albert started. Timothy brought his head back down to him. "Where did you learn kidō?" Albert asked again.
Timothy scoffed and shook his head. "This again?" he moaned, and Albert nodded with a determined look.
"It's no longer a secret that you know it, so what does it hurt to tell me how you learned it?" Albert pointed out.
Timothy sighed and started rubbing his temples. Albert did have a point, and how Timothy learned it didn't have anything to do with his secret…in a way.
"Fine…I'll tell you, but keep it between us, alright?" Timothy asked in a serious manner.
Albert held up his right hand. "I swear. Also, could I ask you about your sword as well?"
Timothy quickly scoffed. "Hah! Not gonna happen, and don't ask again."
Albert nodded in understanding. "Fair enough, so go ahead."
Timothy took a deep breath and started recalling the events. "It started 11 years ago…"
67th District, South Rukongai, 11 years ago.
The woods were quiet and peaceful, unlike it was back in town at the moment. For some reason, the Seireitei's Shin'ō Academy decided to have a field day in a few sectors of South Rukongai. There were students everywhere, asking residents about their lives, learning about being on assignments, among many other things.
Albert stayed in town, but Timothy walked off into the woods. He had no interest in getting hounded by non-stop questions, plus he didn't want to deal with them inquiring about his sword and risk it being taken away from him.
The risk was always there as at any time one of the thugs could try and take it, but as he usually kept himself hidden when they were around, so they never noticed he had it.
Timothy was a couple miles outside town walking towards the creek, when he suddenly heard someone scream. He froze and started looking around, trying to find out where it came from.
"Help! Someone help me!" he heard a feminine voice yell.
The voice sounded like it was coming from right in front of him, so he started running towards it.
"Help! Please, someone!" the voice yelled again, but much louder, meaning that he was close.
He came up to a wide tree and stopped when he saw what was wrong.
It was a female student, wearing the academy's standard white kosode and red hakama. She was on her back, supported by her arms, trying to back away.
In front of her were four men, one had a sword while two had similar length wooden poles. Her school books were behind the men in a crude pile.
"He he, so what's a girl like you doing way out here, huh?" one asked.
"Looks like she's lost boss." the second added.
Timothy quickly backed up and hid behind the tree, moving to where he could peek around it. Two of the men walked around behind her to keep her from backing up more.
"It's looks like she could use some help, don't it boys." the third man, Timothy assumed to be the leader, stated.
"Yeah…so how bout it girl? Want some help?" the second one taunted and she backed up a few inches.
"Please…just leave me alone…" she begged.
Timothy could now see that she had an empty scabbard across her back. It looked like the leader was holding her sword.
'They must have snuck up on her and took her sword before she could react…' Timothy concluded.
The leader then walked up to her and held her sword up to her chest.
"Yeah, I think she does need help. We should give her a hand." the fourth one coldly stated, causing the leader to grin.
"Yeah…but help around here don't come cheap. So, what you gonna pay us with, huh?" the first one asked and the leader chuckled.
"I could think of a few ways…" he hinted in a suggestive tone while tucking the blade of her sword under her garment. "Lots of ways." he added as he started to push aside her robe to try and expose her chest.
She quickly pushed the blade aside and held her robe shut tightly. "No! Get away from me!" she cried, causing the men to laugh.
"Oh ho, looks like we got a fighter here, boss." the second one teased and the leader nodded.
"Indeed it does…but that's how I like em…feisty!"
Timothy turned back behind the tree and held his head low.
"Tim…we have to do something…" his sword stated in a low voice.
He slowly nodded. "But what…? I don't know what to do…"
Timothy started to cry, knowing that he had to do something, but couldn't. Sure, he had his sword, but he had no idea how to use a sword.
He heard the woman scream again and he quickly peeked again, and his eyes went wide. The two men behind her were holding her arms while the fourth man was holding her legs. The leader was trying to strip her of her garments. Timothy turned back and clenched his teeth.
"Tim! Do something! his sword yelled, and he choked.
"What?! What 'can' I do?! I'll be killed!" he stated in a sad tone.
He heard my sword growl in anger. "She will die after being humiliated if we don't do something! We can't just stand here and do nothing!"
Timothy twitched, and his hands started shaking. he lowered his head and stared at open palms.
'What can I do?! I have to help her! I have to!' he thought.
He quickly swallowed and slowly drew his sword.
"God help me…" Timothy whispered, then fully drew his sword turned around the tree. "Hey! Stop it!" he yelled and the men all stopped and turned to him.
"This is none of your business runt! Now leave, before we kill you!" the leader yelled.
Timothy started slowly walking towards the group.
"Sir! Please, help me!" the woman yelled.
"Do you want to die punk?! I said leave!" the leader ordered again, but Timothy just kept walking.
The leader growled then faced one of the men with poles. "Kill him!"
The man nodded and released the woman's arm. He stood up and started walking towards Timothy. "Should have left when you had the chance, stupid."
Timothy held the sword with both hands in front of him in a weak stance.
"S…stop it…now." he meekly ordered.
The man laughed. "Or what? You gonna kill me? Look at you! Can't even hold a sword right. You probably just found it somewhere."
Timothy's body started shaking more and more the closer he got.
The man then swung at Timothy and he held his sword up to block it. But the man simply knocked it out of the way and the pole struck him in the shoulder. Timothy fell over and scooted across the ground, his shoulder stinging in pain.
"Heh, what a weakling…can't even block a wooden pole." he taunted and started walking towards Timothy.
Timothy slowly stood back up and held his guard again.
"Want more? Fine by me." He swung again, and again broke Timothy's guard, hitting him in the stomach.
Timothy was forced back a few steps, and he bent over, clutching his stomach in pain.
"What a waste of time." the man stated as he set his pole on his shoulder, waiting for me to recover.
"I almost feel bad hitting you cause you're so pathetic." he taunted.
Timothy leveled himself and took up another guard. He looked over to the woman and could see fear in her eyes as she watched the whole ordeal.
"I know, she's a cutie, right?" the man asked, and Timothy turned back to him.
"Shut up." Timothy weakly warned.
The woman then yelled, and Timothy quickly turned to see the leader groping her and kissing her neck while she tried to wiggle away.
"Leave her alone…" Timothy growled.
"Or what? What the hell you gonna do? There's nothing you can do. And, if you ask nicely, I may let you stay alive just long enough to watch."
Timothy turned back to him. "Shut up!" he ordered through clenched teeth.
"Sir…please…!" the woman pleaded, and Timothy lowered his head.
No one noticed it, but the blade of Timothy's sword started emitting steam off it.
"He ain't gonna do nothing. He's nothing but a little runt trying to play hero." the man taunted again.
"I said…" Timothy started, then looked up to the man. "Shut up!" Timothy yelled.
It was at that moment that the blade burst into flames catching everyone by surprise.
Timothy glanced over to the sword to see it slowly change shape. The blade was starting to straighten out, while at the same time becoming shorter.
"What…what's happening?" Timothy whispered in surprise.
The blade stopped transforming, then the flame vanished.
"What the hell?! What did you do?!" the man in front of me yelled.
"I…I don't…" Timothy started, but his voice was choked by his shock.
The man lifted the pole off his neck and got into a guard stance.
"W…what did you do…?" Timothy asked his sword.
"I don't…I don't know…but it feels good!" it growled.
Suddenly, a small flame lit up, floating in the air next to Timothy.
"W…what the hell is that?!" the first man yelled, and Timothy turned to it.
'What the…' Timothy wondered, confused by the sight.
Then another flame lit up next to the man in front of him, causing the man to quickly back up.
"What the…?!" he choked.
Another flame then appeared next to the group.
"What the hell?!" the leader yelled, then turned to Timothy.
"Kill him!" he ordered.
The man in front of Timothy came after him, and swung, causing him to stumble back into one of the flames. Before Timothy knew it, he was, somehow, now behind the man, next to the flame that appeared next to the man before.
"What the…" Timothy started in shock.
Everyone was confused as to what was going on, Timothy being the worst.
The man quickly turned around to him. "How the….how the hell did you do that?!" he asked, and Timothy turned to the flame next to him.
"Could that…" Timothy whispered in wonder, then the man growled.
"I'm done with this…now die!" he yelled.
Timothy turned to see the man running at him, and an idea came to mind.
'I wonder…'
Timothy decided to chance it, so he waited till the man was a few feet from him, then stepped over to the flame. Like last time, Timothy suddenly found himself next to the opposing flame, again behind the man. Timothy took this chance and ran at the man, swinging his sword and cutting the man across his back.
"Yahhhhh! he yelled as he fell forward onto the ground.
"What?!" the leader yelled.
Timothy froze and looked at the blade that now had blood on it.
'I…I killed him…' he thought in shock.
He was too frozen in shock to see the next man get up and run after him.
"You're gonna pay for that!" the next man yelled.
The man's voice brought Timothy back to his senses and he turn just in time to quickly dodge a fist to the face. The man turned and swung again, hitting Timothy in the same shoulder from before. Sore muscles roared with pain, causing Timothy to yell.
The man swung again, this time hitting Timothy in the chest and knocking him back into the flame behind him. Timothy then found himself behind the men and woman where the third flame was.
Because it was behind them, they didn't notice Timothy at first. He took this moment to recover from the hit to his shoulder, but the fourth man turned and saw him.
"T…there he is!" the man yelled, causing everyone to turn to Timothy.
"I'll get him!" the man stated, then got off the woman and charged at Timothy. He held his pole high and got ready to swing down.
Timothy rolled to the side as the man swung, rolling on his hurt shoulder and causing more pain as he hissed.
"Hold still, you bastard!" the man yelled.
He charged again and as he swung, Timothy dove under him, ending up behind him. Timothy rolled onto his back and swung as he turned, causing his sword to hit the man's side.
The man dropped his pole and held onto the wound screaming in pain. Timothy let out a sigh of relief, but stopped and turned to see the second man right behind him, swinging down with his fist.
Timothy rolled to the side and the man's fist hit the ground. The man grunted in pain, but still turned and swung with his other fist. He hit Timothy in the face, and Timothy's world became blurry.
"Got ya!" the man sneered.
Timothy was dazed and trying to come back to his senses as the man came up and put his foot on Timothy's sword hand. He yelled in pain as his hand was being crushed between the man's foot and the handle of his sword.
"I'll admit, you caught us off guard…but now it's over." the man growled.
Timothy's senses finally started to clear as the man pulled his fist back, getting ready for the knockout punch. But then they heard the leader yell in pain.
Timothy lifted his head to see the woman getting up and the leader's ear bleeding. As she turned to them, Timothy could see blood on her lip, making it evident that she hit bit the man.
She ran up to them and punched the man standing over Timothy, knocking him over. She then knelt down next to Timothy and grabbed his arm.
"Get up! Hurry!" she ordered, and Timothy rolled over to get up.
He managed to make it to his knees and was in the process of getting to his feet, when she suddenly gasped. It wasn't a gasp of shock, or surprise… it was a gasp of pain.
Her eyes went wide, then they both looked down to see a blade sticking out of her chest. Timothy's eyes went wide as saucers, as he came to realize what happened. He looked up to see the leader behind her, holding the sword that was run through her.
The leader then pulled back, pulling the blade out from her chest and she immediately fell forward onto Timothy. They both sat there for a second while Timothy tried to recover from what just happened.
"T…thank you…" she stated, then simply slumped over and slid off Timothy's shoulder, landing on her side.
Timothy looked down and saw her blood on his clothes, then looked up to the leader. The man had an evil grin on his face.
"Stupid bitch! That's what you get! And now you're next!" he stated and brought the sword high.
Timothy quickly flinched and raised his sword to block him. Timothy was now on one knee holding his sword up, blocking the man who was standing above him trying to bring his own blade down on top of him.
"I'll kill you for that!" Timothy growled, and he laughed.
"Ha! Try it!" he taunted, and Timothy coldly glared at him.
"As you wish." he replied.
Timothy let the end of his sword drop a bit, so the man's blade would slide off the end. Once it did, Timothy now had his sword above his left shoulder. Timothy swung around and across to the left, going right through the man's midriff.
After a split second, Timothy could see the gash where he had cut the man as it began to bleed profusely. The man dropped the sword and backed up, holding onto his stomach trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was no use. Timothy had slit him wide open and there was no way the man was going to survive.
Timothy got back to his feet, walked over to the man, and kicked him over onto his back. The man was howling in pain as Timothy stood over him.
"Help…help me! Don't let me die!" he begged.
Timothy gave him a cold, deathly glare.
"Like you helped that woman?" he asked through his teeth. "Very well." Timothy stated, then held his sword facing down and stabbed the man through.
The man looked at Timothy with terrified eyes, then after a second, they lost the life in them as the man slumped against the ground. Timothy pulled his sword out and stood there with his head lowered.
He was so lost in his grief that he didn't notice that his sword started to emit steam as it slowly returned back to its original form.
Timothy continued to stand there for a moment more, then his senses came back. He quickly remembered the woman and ran over to her see if see was alive.
When he got to her, he knelt down and dropped his sword next to him, then slowly picked up her body, resting it against his chest.
"Hey…are you alive? Talk to me." Timothy pleaded.
He looked at her face and saw her eyes slightly opened, but lifeless.
"Come on…don't die…" he begged, but he then realized it was too late.
Tears came to his eyes as he buried his head in her hair and started crying.
"I'm sorry…I couldn't…I couldn't help you…" he whispered.
He sat there cradling her body for a while.
"Tim…" his sword started, bringing him to his senses.
"Tim…we should go…If someone sees us like this…they may think we killed her…" Timothy's sword advised.
Timothy sniffed then nodded. "Alright…" he whispered and lowered her body gently down on the ground.
After a second more, Timothy grabbed his sword and slowly stood up.
He was about to leave, but then noticed her books lying only feet away. He wiped his tears away with his sleeve and walked over to them. He knelt down, grabbed one of the books, and opened it.
He took a quick look inside, and instantly could tell that the woman was a third or fourth year. Some of the books were introductions to arts and skills, while the rest led on the more advanced methods.
Timothy briefly flipped through it and saw that this particular book taught something called kidō.
"Tim…what are you doing?" his sword asked.
Timothy closed the book and looked at the cover.
"I think…I may have found a way to help us." he whispered, and the sword sighed.
"Come on Tim…do you really think you could understand that stuff?" the sword asked in a sarcastic manner.
"I can always try. At this point…I'm willing to try anything." Timothy answered.
He held the sword sigh again. "Alright…but I hold you know what you're doing."
Timothy grabbed his sword and put it back in the sheath. He started gathering the books and picked them up.
"Tim…what about her?" the sword asked.
Timothy stopped, then turned back to the woman.
"Nothing we can do…if we bury her, they will start sending search parties, and that could end up being bad. We can't tell the other students cause then they might think we did it." He pointed out.
"But we can't just leave her here…" the sword stated.
Timothy nodded. "I know…"
But some sort of fate or luck was with Timothy that day, because he then started hearing voices deep in the woods.
"Sounds like her friends are coming. They should be able to find her." Timothy mumbled.
He stood back up, books in hand and started to run but stopped. He lowered his head a moment, then turned back to her.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you…I'm sorry…" Timothy said in a low and solemn voice.
He turned back then started running deeper into the woods.
67th District, South Rukongai, Fallen Tree, Present
Timothy sat there telling Albert the story how he came to learn kidō. He had to lie a little bit to hide the details behind his sword. Albert sat there with a heavy look on his face.
"So…yeah…that's how I was able to learn kidō…" Timothy finished, and Albert slowly nodded in sadness.
"Did they…ever find her?" he solemnly asked, and Timothy nodded.
"I went back to where it happened a couple days later, and her body and sword were gone, but the men's bodies were still there. So, I assume so."
Albert lowered his head and Timothy saw a tear fall down. "Thanks for telling me Tim…"
Timothy turned away, but nodded. "Sure…"
They both sat in silence for a while, Albert trying to comprehend what Timothy told him, and Timothy trying to get over recalling a painful memory.
"Well…" Albert started with Timothy turning to him. "I guess we better get some sleep."
Albert stood up and walked over to his bed. "See ya in the morning, Tim." he said with a wave, then climbed in bed.
"Yeah…" Timothy mumbled.
Timothy laid back down on his side and took a deep breath. He laid there staring at the fire pit and thought more about earlier that day. Eventually, his mind went blank as sleep finally took him over.
Squad 7 Headquarters, Seireitei, The next morning
Captain Komamura sat at his desk facing the window behind him, enjoying the sunrise and his tea. He always enjoyed the quiet and calmness that came with the early morning. It was one of the rare occasions during the day where he could relax and think about things.
This morning, as it had been since Aizen's treachery, his mind dwelled on the thought of former Captain Kaname Tōsen.
He and Sajin were close friends and shared many of the same views. Sajin was furious about Aizen's traitorous actions, but Captain Tōsen joining and leaving with Aizen had hurt him the most.
Even now, he still believed that there was something good in Tōsen, and Sajin believed that Tōsen was simply too dense to see it.
His quiet morning was disturbed by a loud knock on his door. He finished his tea and turned back around to his desk.
"You may enter." he politely announced.
The door opened, and Sajin looked up to see that it was his squad's 5th seat, Hetoku.
He then remembered that he was sent to inspect the new sectors of South Rukongai after they had been transferred to the squad.
"Good morning, Captain. I'm here to report." Hetoku greeted.
Sajin nodded and gestured for him to take a seat. "Very well. Please, join me."
The man bowed, then walked over to sit in front of him.
"Tea?" Sajin offered, but the man held up his hand.
"No, thank you sir. I'm afraid I can't stay long as I still have to put the reports down on paper." Hetoku stated with a smile.
"Very well. So, what is the report, Hetoku?" Sajin asked, setting his tea cup aside.
The man bowed again, then pulled out a small scroll from under his shihakusho. He untied the binding cord and unrolled it part way. Hetoku began to read from it.
"Well sir…the initial reports are pretty much the same 'almost' everywhere. Heavy crime, mainly mugging, kidnapping, and the occasional murder. Most residents, regardless of sector, all possess very little, to nothing at all. It was very difficult to speak with the residents at first. They were all very reluctant to speak with us. After a while, some of them opened up and told us some…pretty disturbing things."
Sajin rose his brow. "Explain."
The man lowered the scroll and looked at Sajin directly.
"Apparently…Squad 11 hasn't been doing their jobs…at all. In fact…it was quite the opposite." Hetoku clarified with a frown on his face.
Sajin lowered his head a little. "Go on."
Hetoku set the scroll on the table, took his glasses off and started rubbing them with a cloth.
"It seems that the Squad 11 members assigned to the sectors have been acting just as bad as the criminals, sir."
He finished wiping and put the glasses back on his face. "All of the residents that we talked to…or at least…the ones that would…all said that Squad 11 had been acting like bullies. Not stopping the crime…unless a higher up was there…and picking on the residents. Some even said that they saw some members beating on the residents because they were bored."
This made Sajin's blood boil. The soul reapers were supposed to be guardians, not pitiful bullies.
"Any names?" he asked with anger in his tone.
Hetoku shook his head. "No sir, and as you saw, Squad 11 didn't keep any records of who was assigned to where and when. So…I'm sorry to say sir…but there's nothing we can do at this point. All that we can do is try to gain the resident's trust back and try to make their lives better."
Sajin growled and closed his eyes. "Continue…"
Hetoku nodded. "Yes sir." He picked the scroll back up and found where he left off.
It was then that something clicked in Sajin's head. "Wait…"
Hetoku looked back at him and Sajin lowered his head. "You said that the reports were the same 'almost' everywhere. What did you mean?"
The man raised a brow, surprised that the Captain caught that. He set the scroll back down on the desk, took off his glasses again and rubbed his temples.
"Yes sir. The reports are the same everywhere…except for one." Hetoku stopped for a moment.
Sajin raised his head back to him. "Go ahead." he stated, and the man returned his glasses.
"District 67 sir, Fallen Tree. Apparently, there is a soul there, he goes by the name Timothy. When we first arrived in town, we saw the assigned members with their swords drawn." Sajin raised his brow in surprise.
"They were closing in together into a tight group, looking around like they were expecting an attack. But what we found even weirder was all of the strange flames floating everywhere."
Sajin tilted his head slightly. "…Flames?" he asked and Hetoku nodded.
"Yes sir, flames. But it gets weirder still...we also saw the soul I mentioned suddenly appear behind the group, opposite of us. He then used Ōkasen."
"Wait a minute…this soul used kidō?" Sajin asked completely shocked.
"Yes sir. And he did it with no incantation. He took out three of the members with that, then he turned around and used Daichi Tenyō without an incantation." Hetoku cleared.
Sajin held his hand up, stopping the man as he rubbed his temples. He was starting to get a headache trying to contemplate what he was hearing.
"So, let me see if I have this right…this soul used a 30s level, and a 50s level kidō?" Hetoku nodded.
"Both with no incantation?" He nodded again, then Sajin leaned back and sighed. "Go on…"
Hetoku sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well sir…he used Daichi Tenyō and took out all but two of them. And if the kidō wasn't enough, what he did next shocked all of us."
Sajin lowered his head to him. "He just…vanished." Sajin rose a brow.
"…Vanished?" Sajin asked in disbelief.
Hetoku started scratching his head, but nodded.
"I know it sounds silly sir…but it's the truth. After he disappeared, he was gone for about four or five minutes, one of the members freaked out and started running away." Sajin gave him a shocked look.
"He made a Squad 11 member run away in fear?!" he bellowed and Hetoku nodded.
"After that, he suddenly just…re-appeared right behind the last one. They talked for a minute, then after a single attack the last one gave up. He sheathed his sword and left using flash step. I managed to talk with the soul for a few minutes, asked his name, and where he got his training. But, besides his name, he refused to answer any questions."
"I see." Sajin let out a sigh and started stroking the fur on his chin.
"Not only that sir, but I believe that he may have a zanpakutō." This got Sajin's attention.
"I see. Perhaps I should have a talk with this soul." Sajin said in thought.
Hetoku nodded. "I told him that I would report the situation to you and it would be up to you on what to do." Sajin tilted his head.
"Why didn't you simply take it?" Hetoku shook his head.
"I thought that action wasn't the best course with the men I had there. I forgot to mention sir, out of those men he took out, not a single one was harmed. Every one of them was rendered unconscious. And in my opinion sir, it looked to me like he wasn't even trying to fight them."
Sajin lowered his head a bit. "What do you mean?"
Hetoku readjusted his seat. "It's as I said Captain, he wasn't even trying. He fought them all like it was second nature." Hetoku stated with a shrug.
That last bit took Sajin back a minute. Both men sat there while Sajin thought about what to do.
"Hetoku…what do you suggest?" The man raised his head for a minute, then looked back.
"Sir, I…I don't think you want to know what I think." he calmly stated.
"Yes…I do. What are your thoughts, Hetoku?" Sajin looked at him at him with sincerity.
He took a deep breath and took off his glasses. "My advice sir…induct him." Sajin raised a brow.
"He's proven he knows what he's doing, he can obviously fight, and he knows at least a 50s level kidō. That's more than enough to pass the academy. If you wanted to, you could test him yourself to determine that he doesn't need the academy and bring him right into the ranks. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be possible, but we are in a state of emergency. Because of that, certain rules can be omitted. In my opinion sir…I think this is too good of an opportunity to pass up." Hetoku pointed out.
Sajin closed his eyes and sighed.
The man had an odd, but very valid point. But this wasn't a matter to take lightly.
If he brought him to the headquarters, tested him, and found him fit for duty as a soul reaper, then he would be inducted into the squad's ranks. But if he found him unfit for duty, he would have to kill him…something that had no intention of doing.
"Alright…once you have finished with filing your reports, go back to the sector and speak with him. And have Tetsuzaemon go with you." Sajin ordered.
Hetoku took the scroll, rolled it up, and bowed. "Yes sir."
He stood up and started walking towards the door, until Sajin turned to him.
"Hetoku…" The man stopped and faced the Captain.
"Be courteous about it." The man bowed again.
"Yes sir." He straightened himself, then left the office.
Once the door closed, Sajin turned back to the window to see the sun now a little way above the horizon. 'Well…this is something I never would have expected.'
And that concludes our 3rd chapter. As I said at the beginning of this chapter, I'll be posting another 'double chapter' next weekend as well.
Looking forward to your comments and concerns, good or bad. See you fellas later.
