A/N: And here is the next chapter! I thought for a while about whom to pick. At first I'd thought to have one case per chapter with some flashback about Mirai with Orihime first and then Sado. But then I decided that meh, they didn't have enough perspective to things and I in general didn't feel like writing entire chapters from their pov. At least on in this point of the story.
Tatsuki was quite suitable candidate since she is in the know.
Created Life from Death 14
Arisawa Tatsuki
She felt it happen. While Tatsuki was no way as powerful as Ichigo or Mirai, she was able to feel hollows if they were close enough.
Close enough being for example the distance between Kurosaki Clinic and her own house. The screams that pierced the night were horrifying and she could only hope that Ichigo and his sisters were alright.
"They are fine." Mirai said. She was sitting on the windowsill of Tatsuki's room in her spirit form, holding a violin. "Not unharmed but fine." She played more notes of a haunting melody that she seemed to be making up as she played.
"There is someone else…" Tatsuki said quietly. "Someone else with Ichigo. Who is it?"
"A Shinigami." The blonde's eyes were distant as she gazed to the direction of the clinic. "They appear around the same level than the previous one. Probably unseated or then a junior seat…"
The amazing thing about Mirai was the accuracy of her sensing. Ichigo could get a general location even from greater distance but Mirai could pinpoint the hollow or ghost for him…
Suddenly Mirai flinched and the speed she played the melody increased.
"What is going on? What are you doing?"
"Echolocation. My zanpakuto is all about vibrations. Sound, light, movement… they all are detected through different sort of vibration and wave patterns… They all cause ripples which I can manipulate." Mirai replied. "With the aid of my violin I can monitor the situation even from distance. Because I'm in my spirit form, only those with ability to see ghosts can hear it."
"Alright…" Tatsuki was… honored. She knew that Mirai hadn't told anyone else about her soul slayer's abilities. Not even Ichigo.
Like reading her thoughts, Mirai smiled grimly and spoke up again, "I'd planned on telling Ichigo. But things got in the way. And with that Shinigami knowing Ichigo now, I don't know when I'll get the chance."
"Can you tell me what is going on at the clinic then?" Tatsuki asked when the hollow screamed again.
"Goat-face, Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan are all stationary, probably injured and unconscious. The Shinigami is injured too. Ichigo…"
Reiatsu spiked. Tatsuki could feel it. She could also see the light several blocks away, easily seen as the street lamps weren't working after the hollow walked through some of the cables, snapping them.
"Wha…" She could only stare. Even after being introduced to it all formally, things were still a bit unclear to Tatsuki. Especially when the exact limits of spiritual events were unknown. "What's going on?"
Mirai stopped playing and stilled. Her eyes closed for a moment and then the space in front of them was full of white ribbons. She reached out with her hand and one white ribbon fluttered upon her palm. Ribbon which was rabidly turning blood red. The red color was flowing from another ribbon that in turn was turning white with only a single red strand running through it.
"Ichigo has gained the power of the Shinigami while the Shinigami themselves has been rendered nearly powerless." The blonde stated solemnly, yet once again she wasn't surprised. Tatsuki could only stare at her friend while on the background the hollow's reiatsu vanished. There was no doubt in her mind as to who had done it in.
"What will happen now?" She knew how scared Mirai was with anything to do with Shinigami. How scared she was of 'Shironeri-san' going back in his word and reporting her. And with Ichigo in contact with a Shinigami and apparently now having their powers…
"We keep our eyes open. And I'll make my report tomorrow." A reassuring smile was given even though it was fake. "Go to sleep, Tatsuki-chan. You'll definitely need it. We got school tomorrow."
"Saturday and school… joy…"
The transfer student appearing at school wasn't suspicious. Not at all. Not even when she and Ichigo vanished somewhere right after the third period. Definitely not.
Kuchiki Rukia. All lady-like grace and impeccable if old-fashioned manners. Charming people left and right.
And bossing Ichigo around and trying to coerce him to do her job for her.
"I don't like it any more than you do, but we must keep our distance." Mirai said, breaking Tatsuki's train of thought. She flipped her denreishinki shut. "Help me lift Ichigo's body elsewhere. Who knows when they'll be back."
"What did your… boss say?"
"Shironeri-san happens to be Kuchiki-san's direct superior… He requested me to keep an eye on the situation and report him once a week. If needed, I'm to assist her…" Mirai made a face as they lifted Ichigo's body – dead weight – behind some storage buildings, out of sight.
"I'll keep our classmates distracted then. Ichigo really doesn't need any more things to worry about. With the bullies and teachers and now Shinigami stuff too…" Tatsuki sighed.
"You're certain that he'll humor Kuchiki-san then?"
"Of course. It's Ichigo! He wouldn't just leave this be. If anyone knows the situation in Karakura, it's him. And if a Shinigami isn't here to do their work, someone has to pick their slack. In this case, it's Ichigo."
"Very true."
Tatsuki didn't ever want to be helpless again. Seeing Orihime in danger and being tossed around the ditzy girl's apartment while unable to do anything… It was horrible. And being showed out of her body was painful and made her feel all heavy. Not to mention the reiatsu of the hollow – Orihime's brother – and Ichigo – so much wilder than before – was making it harder to breathe.
And it had been just a few days after the Shinigami had arrived to Karakura town.
"Ichigo…" Tatsuki groaned.
"Stay still Tatsuki. You are injured." The orange-haired boy stated. And Tatsuki could only obey. In her state, she'd only be in the way and would cause Ichigo to divide his attention between herself, Orihime and the Hollow.
So she just laid on the floor and watched Ichigo fight, get tossed out of the window, give a lecture to the hollow and wound it. In the end though, it was Orihime whose word got through Inoue Sora and made him cleanse himself with Ichigo's sword.
And why an earth was it so big anyways? Even the handle looked too thick to have a good grip on.
That night was nightmarish. And it didn't help that Kuchiki used that memory-thing on her and Orihime. While Orihime seemed to have her memories replaced completely – or glossed over as Tatsuki saw it – Tatsuki in the other hand was experiencing double set of them. At one hand, she saw Ichigo battling the hollow. In the other hand, she remembered a sumo wrestler with a bazooka. Very annoying.
"If your reiryoku reserves increase… And I think they will with the way Ichigo is leaking everywhere, you can eventually overwhelm the false memory." Mirai smiled sympathetically at her next day.
"Things are just going to get more and more complicated around here, aren't they?" Tatsuki sighed. "No matter what we hope for, there will be consequences."
"Most likely, yes." The child of Shinigami sighed, trying to hide defeat in her voice but not quite succeeding in it.
The next strange case was of the parakeet that Sado acquired. A cute bird but…
"It actually talks whole sentences and replies like actually understanding us?" Tatsuki asked Mirai during lunch break. Thanks to certain motormouth named Asano Keigo, about the entire class already knew about the bird. And the fact that Kuchiki was eating lunch with Ichigo.
"Yeah. And Chad-kun was injured soon after getting him." Mirai muttered. "Apparently a steel beam fell on him and later he was grazed by a motorbike."
"If it were anyone anyone else but Sado, they'd been dead."
"True."
"And the parakeet?"
"I haven't seen him myself yet but… There is a faint spiritual pressure hanging around Chad-kun. Like that of a regular ghost."
"Are you going to investigate the matter then?"
"…I think Ichigo and Kuchiki-san are already on the case. I'll follow from distance though."
Next day Sado didn't come to school. Neither did Mirai. From Ichigo Tatsuki heard that Sado had been in an accident near the clinic but disappeared during the night.
"It's a hollow, Tatsuki. It's chasing him." The orange-head muttered with a low voice and chill ran down the girl's spine.
"Do you think Mirai is tracking him then?"
"Probably. Dina-basan called and told me Asagi didn't come home for the night."
"I really don't like this."
"Me neither." And Ichigo run out of the classroom just when the class was about to start. Tatsuki sighed. If the incident with Orihime's brother was any indication, Ichigo would be injured again. She really wished he didn't need to hold back. But with the overload of reiatsu, he couldn't even use kidou that effectively. And that oversized sword of his was much different from the bamboo swords he used at Kotobuki-dojo.
She could only pray that the issue could be solved quickly.
In the evening Mirai was on Tatsuki's windowsill again. She was curled into herself and practically being swallowed by her cloak.
"I saw the Gates of Hell today."
"That sounds terrifying." Tatsuki began before pausing. "Wait… You mean the actual gates? Hell actually exists?"
"Yeah… The hollow that was after Chad-kun and the parakeet – which actually had a soul of a little boy inside it – was a murderer so he was sent to hell." Mirai murmured. "The feel of those gates and what was inside of them…" The blonde girl shuddered. "I don't ever want to see them again."
"Oh…" Tatsuki reached out for the girl and drew her into the room. Mirai was shaking. Tatsuki could feel it in her arms as she embraced the girl. No hollow could render her this scared so the Gates of Hell must have had some really malignant reiatsu in them. "Can you tell me about the parakeet boy then? Was he alright in the end?"
"Yeah, Ichigo sent him to Soul Society. He had been inside that parakeet for four years already. He had been alive when that hollowfied murderer had stuffed his soul into it. His mother was killed by that murderer and he'd seen it happen…" Mirai murmured, face hidden into her arms. "Karin-chan saw him when Chad-kun was at the clinic. She could see what had happened to the boy…"
Tatsuki just listened as Mirai told about the case. Apparently a lot had happened and the blonde really needed to get it all out.
"Ichigo and Kuchiki-san ran into Karin-chan when they were looking for Chad-kun. She was feeling ill so Ichigo took her home. I kept watch on Kuchiki-san meanwhile. The hollow had minions that spat exploding leeches… Chad-kun in the other hand could just barely see the hollow itself and hit it when necessary. But in the end Ichigo took care of it all…"
"I see… Did Ichigo do well?"
"Yeah… He took the hollow down with ease." Mirai sighed and leant against her friend. "Once he heard what had happened to the parakeet boy – Shibata Yuuichi – the rage he felt and wielded as a weapon… It was terrifying." She chuckled. "Ichigo will be strong. Stronger than anyone else once he learns to use his full potential and is not held down by Kuchiki-san's power."
"I can believe that." Tatsuki smiled. "And as soon as the shinigai leaves, you don't need to hide that much either."
"Kuchiki-san's powers aren't returning. Today she tried to fire kidou at the hollow and it didn't work. And when she healed Ichigo's wounds, she couldn't patch him up completely. It's as if she is getting weaker and weaker…"
"That's worrying."
"Yeah…"
Mirai fell asleep on Tatsuki's bed. The karateka looked down on her friend before turning to finish her homework.
It happened a couple of times during the next few days. Mirai would show up at Tatsuki's place and talk about what happened on Ichigo's side. How he was doing, what he should work on… And how she missed the time she spent with him. They had had only one proper conversation since Kuchiki arrived. And even that was half-staged, with Tatsuki texting Mirai when the Shinigami girl followed them out of the class and to the roof.
Things were worrying. She was worried for both Ichigo and Mirai. She was afraid that either of them – or both of them – were running themselves thin.
"It was so different before that Shinigami arrived…" Tatsuki muttered before laying down on the bed, next to the other girl.
Next morning Mirai was gone, only leaving behind a note that she was going to see where Kuchiki was going right before school.
"Well?" Tatsuki asked when they took seats in the classroom. It was weird how much they interacted now that Ichigo was humoring Kuchiki.
"She picked up some merchandise from Urahara Shoten."
Tatsuki's eyebrows shot up. Well, this certainly confirmed everything. But…
"Were you seen?"
"Tenchou-san might've spotted me. Not sure though." The currently black-haired blonde shrugged. "Anyways, I think we need to keep our eyes open today."
And sure they did when Ichigo was dragged off by Kuchiki on lunch time and later appeared as very … un-Ichigo-like. Tatsuki stared at him flirting with Orihime and then kissing her and…
Mirai made a motion with her hand by one of the desks. Like flipping it over.
Oh yeah, that she could do. Tatsuki tossed the first desk. It was easy to get enraged at that… whatever that was in Ichigo's body.
The Hurricane Tatsuki that went through the place before Ichigo and Kuchiki came back, would be talked for weeks. Ichigo's body escaped through the window though and ran away. And Mirai…
"I said sure. Now go and catch that wayward body. I'll collect my due eventually." She grinned at Kuchiki who hurried off. Just what was Mirai playing at?
Keigo, Mizuiro and Chad returned from lunch break then. And teacher arrived. He was pissing Tatsuki off with his mere presence.
"Umm, sensei… Some stranger entered from the window! This all happened when Tatsuki-chan was trying to get rid of him!" Ogawa Michiru came to Tatsuki's rescue. Friends were such a wonderful thing.
"From the window? Don't be crazy! This is the third floor! Protecting Arisawa with such a lie is…"
"It's not a lie." Kunieda Ryo added. "I saw it too."
"Uh… Well… It Kunieda says so… Then maybe it's true…"
"Sensei, please don't report Tatsuki-san to headmaster." Mirai spoked up then. "We can clean this all up but Tatsuki-san shouldn't be punished for defending us from that pervert." She gave a mild smile. "If anything, you should go make a report to police on him. I can give a description later if needed."
"Very well. If Kotobuki agrees with this I don't see why not." The teacher blustered. "Clean this mess up before 5th period. I'll report the intruder to the committee!" And he left.
Mirai let out a breath. "Saa, keeping up that act is exhausting." She sighed.
"It's still so weird how you can change personality just by a flip of a switch." Tatsuki muttered. "But thanks guys for standing up for me."
"You are welcome." Ryo nodded. Michiru nodded too with a relieved smile. "But did something happen? Kurosaki-kun was being weird."
"I doubt it was him." Mirai stated flatly, promptly cutting off whatever Chizuru was about to rage. "I've known him for too long to be fooled by an impostor like that. And Ichigo isn't capable of pulling off an act like that." She was pulling out her phone. "Tatsuki-chan, can you start cleaning up? I need to make a call."
"Sure."
When June 17th rolled around, Ichigo and Mirai were both gone. And so was Kuchiki. It was a rainy day. Tatsuki spent it with Orihime, explaining to her why Ichigo was gone and what he was like before his mother's death.
And the entire time she just waited for the night fall and Mirai appear on her windowsill again.
"Kuchiki-san knows about me. I had to step in for Ichigo today." Mirai explained once she arrived. It was almost mid-night by then. "The hollow that appeared… It was almost exactly like the one that killed Masaki-obasan. Not the same but similar enough that Ichigo lost his cool and almost got killed. In the end the hollow got away from us… But now Kuchiki-san knows about me and I don't need to hide from her that much."
"I see. How did she take it then?"
"Annoyed. But understands better now how Ichigo knows some stuff already. Naturally she doesn't know everything about me either but… she is more considerate now." Mirai shrugged. "And I'm collecting the debt from the Mod-soul incident in couple of days."
Mirai had managed to get the story from Ichigo and then relayed it to Tatsuki. (A few days later the karateka was sure she saw a walking lion plushie when she was playing soccer-baseball with Orihime but she wasn't sure.) As much as Tatsuki felt like sympathizing with the kaizou konpaku, she was still pissed how he behaved around the girls – especially Orihime.
"What did you name as your terms then?"
"She needs to collect some wasabi peanuts from Urahara Shoten and allow Ichigo come over to dojo for a spar." Mirai grinned. "I can't wait!"
"Give me the date so I can come and watch." Tatsuki smiled back. "Hey, since Shinigami use swords… do you think she knows kendo too?"
"Perhaps."
It was around a week later that Tatsuki received the message that Ichigo and Mirai were about to have their match. She hurried to Kotobuki-dojo and took a seat among the rest of the audience (seriously, the two classes and some stragglers were seated there), next to Kuchiki.
"Who is refereeing?" Tatsuki asked, trying to be cordial with the Shinigami girl.
"It's the other teacher here… I heard them call him Kamenozoki-sensei."
"I see. They'd probably accuse Kotobuki-sensei for favorism if Mirai were to win." Tatsuki nodded.
"Is Ichigo really that good in kendo?"
"Yes. He's participated in lessons since he was eleven or so. After he quit karate anyways."
"After his mother's death then…"
Tatsuki whipped to look at the girl who now had a sad look on her face.
"He told some when we visited her grave." Kuchiki explained vaguely. Well, she thought Tatsuki was a normal human without any knowledge of hollows so naturally she wouldn't mention that stuff.
"I see. I didn't realize you were that close."
Kuchiki was about to reply but just then Mirai and Ichigo stepped onto the floor cleared for their match. They were both wearing the full kendo gear and holding bamboo swords. Hush spread through the audience. It was clear that Ichigo and Mirai were well known at the dojo and were both very skilled. The respect coming from the students was obvious.
(Interestingly, every single one of them were sitting in seiza. Kamenozoki was holding strict school there.)
The match begun. It was very fast paced and quite even. Ichigo had the size advantage yet Mirai was holding out on her own quite well. Kamenozoki was awarding the points when hit was scored but both competitors were quite well defending as well.
Kuchiki was staring at them with her mouth slightly open, obviously stunned by the skill displayed. Maybe some of it was familiar for her. Tatsuki had heard from Mirai that the Shinigami went to school were they learnt something called zanjutsu. Maybe it was similar to kendo at least to some degree but considering the way Ichigo had been forced to wield the giant sword when slaying hollows, he couldn't have utilized the techniques that well.
The match ended in Ichigo's narrow win. The exhilarated grin that grazed his face was brilliant and something Tatsuki had missed. With things with the Shinigami and hollows pressing down on them all, it was great to have a chance to relax too.
Mirai laughed freely once she got her helmet off and gave a one-armed hug to her best friend.
"Yo, Kuchiki! Wanna give a try?" Ichigo called out to the Shinigami girl who spluttered.
"Ah… I couldn't… I've never…" She tried to collect her (fake) composure.
"Give 'er a break, Ichigo. No one can match your skill here but Mirai and Kamenozoki-sensei." Tatsuki laughed, saving the girl, as they made their way to the competitors. "Even Kotobuki-sensei is outmatched."
"And I don't regret it at all." Kotobuki Kenji smiled from behind the boy and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Kamenozoki had already left to herd the other students to their lessons. "Ichigo-kun is one of my best students I've ever had."
"Don't talk rubbish, Kenji-sensei." Ichigo murmured.
"You did very well, Kurosaki-kun." Rukia smiled, her act in place once again. "I was honored to see your match."
Maybe she wasn't that bad after all. The fake act was irritating though.
Well, not as irritating as Don Kanonji Show. Everyone was thrilled by it. Especially after it arrived to Karakura.
"Bohahahaha!" They said and put on the ridiculous pose. Keigo, Mizuiro, Orihime and so many others…
"It's giving me a headache…" Mirai moaned, her head lying on her desk and her hair spilling all over it.
"Are you going to watch the live?" Tatsuki asked.
"…Without my body." The girl muttered. "Gonna support Kanzo-iro if needed. But if there's nothing, I'll go home."
Sado and Orihime could all sense something around the hospital. Tatsuki was too far to hear what Kuchiki and Ichigo were talking about but something about the place… It was giving her creeps and not only because of that spirit.
Mirai was sitting on the roof of that hospital, her cloak billowing slightly in the wind. She certainly had a vantage point to everything from there.
Until that idiot Kanonji caused the ghost to hollowfy and form right next to her.
"Idiot!" Tatsuki hissed as Mirai leaped down from the building and landed next to Ichigo in his Shinigami form. The shady shopkeeper had been the one to push him out of his body earlier. Tatsuki was reluctantly grateful for that since the security had swamped Ichigo and Kuchiki – Rukia – earlier.
"He really doesn't know anything, does he?" Yuzu asked mournfully. Considering how much the little girl had admired Don Kanonji, this must've been a blow to her. The twins had earlier slipped away from their father when Isshin had been caught by the security too, and come to stand by Tatsuki and Orihime.
"Well, maybe this will be an education opportunity." Tatsuki muttered.
"I don't want to feel a ghost turning into a hollow ever again." Karin said, swallowing heavily and seeming nauseous. Even after all those years, she was still much more sensitive than Yuzu who still needed glasses sometimes to see what was going on in the spiritual plane.
"Me neither…"
"Tatsuki-chan… What are you talking about?" Orihime asked. Tatsuki glanced at her friend before making a decision.
"Orihime, what exactly can you see happening over there?" Because of what had happened with her brother, she deserved to know. At least in order to have a closure. And if it fell on Tatsuki to explain things, so be it.
Mirai and Ichigo (with unhelpful aid of Don Kanonji) managed to chase the hollow inside the hospital. Now they could only wait.
Aside from the extensite collateral damage, Ichigo and Mirai seemed to handle the hollow just fine. Afterwards Tatsuki could hear Ichigo cursing his big sword in confined spaces and ignorant spirit mediums who took heroics too far, but overall they did well. Mirai was quick to disappear but Tatsuki could see Urahara watch to the direction she went.
The karateka sighed. She had a feeling those two needed to talk soon.
"Come, Orihime. I'll explain everything to you." Now that it was clear that Orihime almost seen the hollow and the spiritual pair's forms, Tatsuki would take care of everything at her end.
A/N: The reason why I had Kensei refereeing even though Rukia was at the scene was that I don't think Rukia would know anything about him. The Hollowfication incident was very hush-hush and even then, the Visored were thought to die. Rukia is unseated officer and she has no reason to have even heard of him. Kensei is using one of Urahara's special gigais anyways, so she wouldn't sense anything from him either.
I just wanter to clarify that before anyone brought it up in a review.
Next chapters will be Ichigo(June 17th case), Rose(finally), Urahara(FINALLY), Ishida(Hollow Bait) and then chapter where Rukia is taken where will be multiple PoVs. I hope you're waiting for them as much as I am.
Replies to Reviews:
-xenocanaan:
Thank you!
-Guest:
Thank you very much. :) The differences will happen, just not as quickly as people expect. Ichigo and Mirai are keeping a low profile for now but as you can guess from this chapter, during June 17th something happened too.
-Girl-luvs-manga:
That he does. In five chapters.
-DragonClanMaster:
More about that in next chapter.
-Boyy2k:
Very true.
Thank you very much :)
-Antex-The Legendary Zoroark:
Great to hear.
Ah, I have plans for Grand Fisher. Or in general what happened June 17th. But it's just easier to say Grand Fisher when referring to that incident.
Ah, how to explain it... Maybe how Mirai in general acts mysterious and all-knowing around Rukia. But there is a reason for everything. I just need to figure out how to verbalize it.
-Yatocat19:
Thank you. Great to hear you like this way of story telling. :D
-Silverlined Phoenix:
Something has eaten words from your review again but I'll try my best answering...
Meeting Mirai's who? I'm really curious as to who you're talking about. :)
I knew there were LNs (I'm guessing you mean Light Novels) but haven't read any.
I hope you like Tatsuki's thoughts here.
Mirai is too good with her suspicious act. Partly I blame her theater background. She is way too good at slipping into a role. And Yoruichi has mentioned that Mirai mirrors herself from other people. It also means mirrors their behavior. More about that in Arrancar Arc or so.