Rukia attempted to dodge the punch, only to feel the impact of a foot hit her side as another person blindsided her. Feeling the air leave her lungs, this unfortunately left her open to the other blows.
"This will -" kick! "- teach you to mess with us!" The leader of the four teens snarled viciously. "Maybe knowing who your betters are will keep you -" smack! "- out of our business, eh!"
Though she was in pain, Rukia managed to raise her head and glare up at her oppressors, "Betters?" She spat out in pain, "You need three friends to beat up a little kid. How does that make you better?"
Her head snapped back and she felt her head swim as her head impacted the wall behind her, unable to dodge the punch to her face.
She bit back any cries of pain - she refused to give them the satisfaction, no matter how much it hurt.
Still, she didn't regret what she did… Much.
She had seen a little kid around her age steal a cup of water from a nearby vendor, only for him to be cornered by several teens who demanded a 'tax' for going through their turf.
She hated bullies who picked on kids, something that she saw way too often. Something that had happened way too often to her. So how could she simply stay back and do nothing?
She had rushed in and rammed into the leader, taking the time to sweep the legs out from under the other teens while they were surprised. After having done so, she ordered the kid to run while they were distracted, about to run away herself.
Only for her to suddenly feel the hand of the kid against the small of her back, giving a sudden push that sent her to the ground while he ran away. This, of course, led to the teens then surrounding her to 'punish' her for her audacity.
She hadn't really expected to become friends with the kid - she was too jaded for that, and she was already taking care of a couple others as well - but she didn't expect him to throw her to the wolves to save his own skin!
She felt her eye swelling painfully, which probably made her glare a lot more ineffective. Not that that discouraged her in any way, it just spared them from the worst of her fury in her mind. Still, through the pain, she found herself wondering if this was how she was going to die…
She had seen it happen before.
They weren't even that far away from the main road - she was sure that there were people that could hear what was going on. They just didn't care. And if she did die? What was one more dead kid that nobody cared about?
Oh, she had no illusion how she would one day die. She was just a street urchin. Had been one for decades with no change, despite how young she looked. Every day she was aware it could happen. Thankfully though, it was more likely that these idiots would just beat her to unconsciousness and lose interest.
Though if she couldn't get herself to someplace safe after that...
She flinched as a foot hit her already tender side and her mind cried out in pain, bringing tears to her eyes as all of the air rushed out of her lungs painfully.
She wouldn't let them. Couldn't let them. She had others that were dependent on her!
She braced herself for an incoming hit when suddenly -
"Hey! Get away from her!"
A light pressure seemed to emanate from the entrance of the alley, immediately gaining the attention of all of the occupants.
"Shit! Uki, we gotta scram!"
She blinked (ouch) in surprise, looking at what the others had seen and felt herself tense up as well.
Crap!
A man stood at the edge of the alley they were in with a scowl on his face, his bright red hair standing out amidst the dull browns of the surrounding area. He might not have had any weapons, but she could see the muscles and scars all over his body.
That kind of person never had any good interest in kids like her.
Kids would lose interest. Kids she could fight or run away from. But an adult? Without the advantage of a sneak attack, she was well aware of how well that would go.
She got to her feet as quickly as she could (which wasn't very quickly to her chagrin) and attempted to dash off as well, only to collapse when her ankle made it known that it had a sprain.
She attempted to get up once more only for her heart to freeze when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. It was over now. She couldn't run, and she couldn't fight back. She braced herself once more for more pain…
…
Why was the hand on her shoulder so gentle?
She felt a hand slowly move her face, and she opened her eyes to see a soft amber looking back at her, "Hey, it's alright now." He assured her, "You're safe now, but I see that you have a few wounds. Is it alright if I wrap them up?"
… What?
She gave a tentative nod, only to watch blankly as he carefully looked at the wounds on her face and ankle, bringing out some bandages from a sack he was carrying and carefully wrapped her ankle before putting some kind of cream on the wounds on her face.
He was moving slowly, being very careful not to startle her, and it left her absolutely baffled.
"Why are you helping?" She asked suddenly.
He paused slightly in his work before giving her a sad smile, "It sounded like you were in trouble." He responded simply, as if the answer should have been obvious.
She raised a (non-injured) eyebrow at him, "That's it?" She asked incredulously.
He gave an unconcerned shrug, "Is it wrong?" He countered.
She continued to look at him in disbelief.
Now, it would be a lie to say that there weren't any 'nice' Spirits sent to Inuzuri. They came, just like any other spirit did, but in her opinion they were like a shooting star. A rare occurrence that wowed the few people who managed to catch sight of it, only for life to continue on the moment it passed.
Still, if this was actually a good man, then she might as well take advantage of it while she could. If it wasn't…
The man finished wrapping her injuries and looked at her once more, "Is there anybody that I can take you to to look after you?" He asked, "Or someplace I can bring you to?"
… Well, if he wasn't then she was pretty much dead and there was nothing she could do about it, so she was really hoping that he was good.
It wasn't like she stayed in one place very long anyways. Once she reached her friends they could help her move around and they could move to another hideout. It wasn't like they had any belongings tying them down anyways.
So she nodded, "I have a place on the outskirts of the district." She replied, accepting his hand as he lifted her up gently. She tested her ankle, slowly applying pressure to it, and hissed when a spike of pain accompanied the movement, her side then burning at her sudden intake of breath.
She found herself braced by the strange man, and he lifted her slightly, giving her wounded side some reprieve. "Careful," He cautioned as he looked at her in concern, the emotion paradoxically filling her with indignation and warmth…
She had spent decades looking after herself and others, she certainly didn't need him telling her when to be careful!
At the same time it was kinda… sorta nice that somebody was concerned about her. Even if it was faked. Nobody else had even put in that sort of effort for somebody like her.
Still, she did her best to give him a glare as she righted herself, "I'm fine. I don't need any help." She huffed.
He gave her a wry look, "I'm sure you don't." He replied, and for the life of her she wasn't sure if he was mocking her or not. "But would you like some help?" Bringing out his arms to indicate he could carry her.
She glared at him for a few seconds, eventually giving a small nod. It wasn't like she could stop him if he wanted to follow her, so once again she might as well take advantage of the weird generosity while it lasted.
Once again moving slowly, he carefully picked her up in his arms, and she couldn't help but tense once more at the odd feeling of somebody carrying her like this before she could relax.
"So are you going to tell me your name?" She asked as she tried to ignore the feeling of oddness, and he paused for a moment before giving a small huff of laughter.
"I'm sorry, I seem to be making a habit of forgetting to give that detail," He stated wryly, and she could see that he looked a bit embarrassed. "My name is Shirou Emiya. I'm new to the area."
Huh. She wasn't sure that he would give a name, and so readily at that. Though he didn't need to say he was new to the area - that part was obvious.
She nodded seriously, "I'm Rukia." She returned. He was helping her after all, and it was only polite.
He looked down and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you Rukia." His look turned inquisitive, "So where would you like me to head?" He asked.
"I have a place near the outskirts." She explained, pointing in a direction. "Go that way till the houses start thinning out."
He nodded, and the next moment it was all she could do to prevent herself from screaming as he suddenly jumped onto one of the houses they were next to, and the next moment they were moving faster than she ever had, and she grabbed onto his shirt as tightly as she could as she felt the air rush through past her clenched eyes.
The wind suddenly stopped, "Where to next?" He asked in an amused voice, and she cracked her eyes open to see that they had made it all the way to the edge of the District in a fraction of the time she would have been able to on her own.
She glared at Shirou furiously, "W-what was that!" She growled, and he gave an apologetic shrug.
"I ran?" He replied as if that answered everything, feigning innocence but with mirth clearly dancing in his eyes.
She glared at him, but more than that she was furiously trying to figure out what the heck he just did. That was NOT normal in any way shape or form. If other people could move that fast, then why hadn't she seen anybody do so? There was no way that she'd have been able to get away from anybody if that were the case.
"Sooo, where to next?" He asked once more, his tone polite but she could swear that she still heard amusement in it.
She kept up her glare for a moment before her various aches and pains forced her to let it go. Glancing around, it was fairly easy to identify where they were, and she pointed in another direction, "A couple streets that way." She stated, holding on tightly just in case he decided to go fast once more, giving a quick sigh in relief when he simply walked the remaining distance.
Her current hideout was a derelict house that once had aspirations of being a two story building. Sadly, it appeared that somebody had given up halfway through, as portions of the roof and second story were incomplete. Still, what sections there were that were done were decently made. Nobody else lived nearby, and the conditions of the rest of the area was bad enough that none of the local gangs were interested in it yet. That made it good enough for her.
They didn't have the chance to walk through the door however. As soon as the house came in sight they heard a panicked cry of "RUKIA!" And suddenly things became a blur.
Literally.
In front of Shirou a plume of dark smoke appeared, and a blonde haired girl with a pink stripe appeared lashing out with a kick towards Shirou's head with a snarl on her face, while another swish of smoke revealed a black haired boy who was reaching his hands out towards Rukia, ready to grab her.
Suddenly Shirou (and by extension she) was spinning, twisting out of the way, easily avoiding the kick while moving Rukia away from the grasping hands of the boy. Gently shifting Rukia to one arm, his other lashed out and grabbed the other girl by the back of the shirt while kicking out and launching himself away from the boy.
All of that happened in an instant, and as soon as Rukia realized what was happening she shouted out, "Wait! Don't attack him!"
Fear clutched her heart - no matter how nice a person was, surely there were limits, right?
The other girl growled, hatred in her eyes as she glared at Shirou, "What did you do to Rukia!" Even as she lashed out and kicked him with what she could, "LET US GO!"
Rukia saw the boy tense up and prepare to make another move and she reached out and grabbed the girls arm, "No! Stop! He's just helping me!"
Both slowly calmed down, giving Rukia a confused look, "He's… Helping?" The girl asked incredulously, shooting another glare at the man.
"That's right!" She stated quickly, gratefully noting that the boy no longer looking like he was going to attack.
Carefully she raised her eyes to look at Shirou, almost afraid of what she'd see, only to let out a grateful breath when she saw that he didn't look offended. Just slightly bemused.
"I take it you know each other?" He asked dryly.
It had taken some explanations, but they eventually made it inside the hideout and Shirou carefully laid her down on a pile of threadbare cloth that was clearly being used as a bed near the fireplace. As soon as he did so, both the girl and the boy latched onto her, and she positioned herself to be slightly in front of him.
Even if she was trusting him, it made the two more comfortable this way.
She watched as he looked around the building with a frown, "Is it just you three around here?" He asked, and she looked at him with narrowed eyes before shrugging.
"We manage." She replied, and the girl behind her nodded furiously.
"Yeah, Rukia is the best, and is the only person that we need!" She declared proudly, leveling another glare at the man. Though the boy remained quiet, she could sense that he was in agreement.
The man remained patient and gave her an approving look, "I see that she's done a good job so far." He replied, and she was once again struck by how warm his golden eyes were. "So I know Rukia now, but what are your names?" He asked curiously, and both girl and boy flinched.
They remained silent for several moments, and Rukia grabbed both of them and pulled them closer, "They don't have any yet." She replied defensively. "... They've asked me to give them some, and I've been working on coming up with some."
She had been debating various names for a while, and it was starting to frustrate her. She didn't want just any name - this was something that meant something important to the two!
Shirou nodded in understanding, his eyes crinkling with sorrow, "I see. I can understand - I lost my memories when I first arrived in the Soul Society as well. But whatever names she chooses, I know that it will be something the two of you will treasure." The words causing both boy and girl to beam, clearly their impression of the man raising a few degrees.
… Great, thanks for adding more pressure!
"So what happened back at the alley," he continued, bringing her out of her thoughts, "Does that sort of thing happen often?"
She felt both arms grip her arms possessively, the girl almost growling, and Rukia attempted to wave it off. "Not really. I usually try to help other kids if I see them in a situation. That's how I came across these two," She smiled at the two. "It's usually not long term though. I help them, and then we'll both go our own way."
It was mostly against those she deemed to be bullies - older kids like the teenagers from earlier. They were trying to survive as well, much like she was, but they did so by stealing from others.
Which wasn't like what she did at all! She just stole from the vendors who already had way too much and yet refused to share with kids!
Bullies, in her mind, stole from other younger kids just because it was easier. They waited for others to do the hard work, and then ambushed them and forced them to give up whatever they had. If the victims were lucky, they'd leave them alone right after that.
"I see." He mused, seemingly coming to a decision and giving her a small smile, "I'm going to go out for a bit, but is it alright if I come back in about an hour?"
The three looked at him suspiciously. With the help of the other two they could head before an hour was up and find another place to hole up for the evening, but it wouldn't be a pleasant trip with her current injuries. She had been hoping for at least a day to recover before he decided to check up on her again. Still, she nodded.
At least he was giving her the illusion of control.
He gave her another reassuring smile and left the house, and through the cracks she could see a brief flash of blue as some sort of energy activated around him.
"He has Reiryoku, just like you Rukia," the girl said in surprise.
Looked like it… But somehow he's using it to make himself faster.
Rukia brought up her hand and focused, eventually creating a small orb of swirling blueish-white light. She stared at it for a while contemplatively before letting it dissipate.
How did he do that?
She had stumbled upon the power one day without having any idea what it did. She just knew that she could do it, and most others couldn't. She used it as a distraction sometimes - she'd shoot it at a vendor, causing them to panic enough for her to quickly grab some supplies and run away. Not that the energy ever did anything, it would usually just vanish after hitting something solid. It was after doing it to one vendor and he had shouted that she had reiryoku that she realized what it was even called.
Ultimately she had ignored it. It was useful as a distraction, and messing around with it kept her entertained some evenings, but other than that it was worthless to her.
Apparently it had a few more uses that she hadn't realized.
The boy got their attention, "Are we relocating?" He asked seriously, and Rukia grimaced, eventually shaking her head. "No, I don't… think that he means any harm. Still, we should be careful around him."
The other two nodded, taking a moment to settle down and began fussing over Rukia and her injuries, much to her irritation. She was the one that took care of them, not the other way around.
He came back sooner than she had expected, though he walked to the back of the house and remained in the yard for some reason. After waiting for a moment she found herself standing up (much to the displeasure of her self-appointed nursemaids) and walked to the door. Looking out, she felt her mouth drop at the sight.
"W-what is that?!" She demanded in awe and slight fear, both girl and boy behind her crying out at the sight.
The redhead that had helped her was kneeling over some strange creature and was doing something to it with a knife. It was a furred, four legged creature with a small tail, like some of the stray dogs she had seen across the district. This thing, however, was much larger, and instead of paws it had some sort of sharp, hard material at the end of each leg. On its head it had dangerous looking antlers.
"Is… is that a Hollow?" She asked tentatively.
She had heard of Hollows of course. Had heard them even, though it was mostly through distant roars. She had heard that Shinigami were responsible for taking them out, and she supposed they must have been doing their jobs as those roars had never managed to make it into the village.
Shirou looked startled for a moment before giving a small laugh, "No, not at all," he assured her, "Have you never seen a deer before?"
She looked at him skeptically, "A… deer?" Nope. She had never heard of something like that. Was he making fun of her?
"Yeah," He said as he continued to cut into the animal, causing the three of them to blanch at all the blood, "People hunt them for food."
All three continued to look at him blankly. They were dependent on stealing for any food they ate, and even then it was never anything fancy (not that the people they ever stole from had much else), usually just rice balls.
"Ah, this part is pretty messy," Shirou explained with a sheepish look, "You don't need to watch this, I'll be finished in a moment."
Stubbornly, she stayed and watched, trying to figure out what he was doing, though the other two retreated back into the house while keeping a close eye on her.
She watched as he stripped the fur from the meat, carefully placing it aside, and then started cutting up the meat itself. He then took those pieces and brought them inside to a room that had an oven and started a fire, and with a flash of blue created several blades that made her tense up.
More stuff to do with Reiroku…
He arranged the blades in some sort of grill over the fire and placed the meat on them, bringing out some stuff from his bags and placed it on the meat. Within moments she could start smelling it, and her mouth began to water.
In an attempt to distract herself from the smell and the effect it was having on her stomach, she asked a question that she had been curious about.
"So what exactly brings you to this District?"
He said earlier that he was new to the area - and he didn't have the confusion that new souls would have. This meant that he purposefully traveled to this District.
Nobody traveled to Inuzuri on purpose. Heck, she was determined to leave with the other two as soon as an opportunity presented itself.
Remaining focused on the meat, "Actually, I'm trying to find somebody." He replied seriously. "Somebody that I used to know."
The boy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "And you're trying to find them here?" He asked skeptically.
Shirou nodded, "Why not here?" He countered. "It's just as likely a location as any for souls."
Rukia nodded in understanding. With that piece of information things made more sense - he helped her because she was a local and would know the place better than he would. He was continuing to help them so they could help him later. That was fine - that form of exchange was something she could understand.
"So what does the person look like?" She asked. Regardless of his reason, he did help her, so she didn't mind helping him.
He nodded towards his bag, "I have a picture of her in my bag, if you want to look at it."
… Just like that, he's trusting me with his bag?
Maybe he was crazy.
She went over to his bag and looked it over. It was a fairly large one, kinda like what she had seen some merchants carry. She opened it up and saw multiple containers of stuff similar to what he was putting on the meat, followed by a couple sets of clothing and writing utensils. Carefully folded against one side of the bag was a paper, and she picked it up and looked at it.
The woman looking back at her from the paper was beautiful, the drawing managing to convey a sense of warmth, completely lacking the snobbishness that she associated with most adults.
A low whistle sounded next to Rukia's ear, "Wow, is she your girlfriend?" The girl asked with wide eyes.
"Yes." He immediately replied, a look of sadness passing over his face that caused the girl to falter slightly.
Rukia coughed, carefully putting the picture back, "Well, I hope you find her." She stated awkwardly.
She didn't recognize her, but, well, the District WAS pretty large…
He gave her a small smile, "I know I will," He stated confidently, "It's just a matter of time."
He continued to work with the meat for several minutes after that while the three kept silent, eventually putting the meal on improvised plates. He created some chopsticks with his reiroku once more (she was carefully watching, and yet she still couldn't figure out how he did that… But she would.) and handed both to her. "Careful, it's hot." He warned, and she scoffed at his warning. She had eyes, she could clearly see it was hot.
She took a small nibble, pausing for a moment as she tentatively moved the food back and forth in her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as she immediately took a larger bite, promptly ignoring how hot it was in favor of the amazing taste as she took more and more bites.
What is this? She thought incredulously, W-why doesn't everybody eat deer if this is how good it tastes?!
"... This is good." The boy stated as he ate at a more sedate pace, though clearly it was only through great effort. Meanwhile the girl didn't even bother with words as she immediately began shoveling the food into her mouth with gusto.
Shirou hadn't been out for even an hour before returning, so it wasn't like the deer was hard to find. If that was the case, then deer must be fairly dangerous creatures, like Hollow's, otherwise everybody would be hunting them for food.
She looked at Shirou, who was now cooking more of the meat with a content smile on his face. "Teach me." She demanded, causing him to look at her in confusion.
"Teach you to cook?"
"No!" Well, maybe later… What use was cooking without something to cook? "Teach me how to become as strong as you are." She repeated, looking intently at him, and the two others paused in their eating to look at her. "You don't have a place to stay, right? You can stay here if you can teach me how you became as strong as you are."
Easy promise to make - it wasn't like the place was hers, and with Shirou around it wasn't like any of the gangs would try to kick her out. In turn, that would make it easier for the others.
He looked at her carefully, "I have no problem teaching you," he stated as he carefully removed the meat from the grille, giving her his full attention. "But why do you want to become stronger?"
Wasn't it obvious?
She could have given any number of answers, but she truly wanted him to teach her, so she wanted to make sure she gave a good answer.
"... I don't want to be weak." She stated firmly, clenching her fists in frustration as images of the past came to mind. She tried to help where she could, but she was just one kid. "I have others that I need to protect, I can't afford to be weak! I tried to help someone and got beat up. YOU just walked in the alley, and all those bullies ran away!"
The weak were dependent on others. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but she had two that were reliant on her, so she had to be the strong one - she couldn't afford to be dependent on others. They were her responsibility in a District that was determined to grind them to the dust.
"Rukia…" The girl murmured, grabbing and taking hold of the sleeve of her kimono.
She stared at Shirou intently as he looked at her, eventually giving her an approving look that made her breath easier. "I can teach you how to fight and defend yourself," He stated before letting out a breath, "I'm afraid I'm not good at much else though. Do you know how to fight?" He asked curiously, and she gave him an affronted look.
"I've survived in this district for years." She retorted in a bland voice. Of course she knew how to fight!
He didn't say anything about Reiryoku… Did he think she didn't know about it? Or perhaps he thought she didn't have it?
Still, now wasn't the time to bring it up. He agreed to teach her, and that was enough for now. She could talk to him about it later.
He ignored her tone and nodded thoughtfully. "I'll test you and see where you're at later, and we can go from there." He stated, "But all of that will have to wait till your wounds are healed and you are well rested. Exhaustion is the enemy."
She nearly snorted at the odd phrase. Still, it wasn't exactly wrong, and she was tired and still hurting. However, the girl at her side jumped up, "Hey! If you're going to be teaching Rukia, then I'm joining as well!" She declared, and the boy nodded seriously.
"Are you sure?" Shirou asked them with a measured look tinged in concern, "It's not going to be easy." He cautioned.
The girl growled, "What, you think we can't take it? Hah! Rukia's not the only one that can fight you know! I was taking it easy on you earlier 'cause you had her in your arms, but tomorrow I'll really let you have it!"
He looked at her with an amused expression and chuckled, "Well then, it sounds like I have something to look forward to tomorrow." He replied with a small smile. He reached over and rubbed her hair, causing her to stiffen and surprise before growling at him once more. "Tomorrow I'll cook some lunch and we can go out to the fields to train. I'll put you through some tests to see where you guys are, and we can go from there. You, however," he turned to Rukia, "as I said, will have to wait till you're fully healed."
Rukia nodded in understanding, though she still frowned. She disliked the idea of the other two fighting without her. The girl gave her a bright smile, "Don't worry Rukia," She said enthusiastically, "This time we'll be there to protect you!"
Before she could respond Shirou interrupted them, "Alright, if you really want to train tomorrow, then you've got to be well rested for it. I was serious when I said that exhaustion was the enemy - it's not nearly as beneficial to train if you're tired."
Rukia huffed, this was certainly the first time that she had ever had an enforced curfew. Still, she humored him, and with the assistance of the other two made her way to the pile of cloth, the three of them huddling close together as Rukia hugged them close.
For the first time in her entire afterlife, she was actually looking forward to something other than surviving. It was irrational - just because the guy said he was going to teach them didn't mean that he was going to stay for long.
And yet, despite herself, she felt hope.
Shirou looked at where the three huddled together on the floor and he sighed at the sight, reaching into his bag and pulling out a blanket and very carefully laid it over them.
They were sleeping on the hard floor while wearing the rags they had been wearing before and curled against each other. And yet despite that their faces showed contentment.
A single warm meal, a blanket to sleep under next to a gentle fire, some affection from a stranger… Honestly, they probably felt like they were on top of the world with just that.
He didn't think that the quality of his cooking was truly as great as people made it out to be. Instead, it was probably more likely that many of these souls hadn't actually had a good meal in years. Souls did not require to eat unless they had a certain amount of spiritual power after all.
But just because they didn't need to didn't mean they couldn't, and after years of not eating anybody would think that a simple meal was a feast. For children who didn't remember their past life? It was quite probable that they never had had a good meal.
Very carefully he left the building, walking down the road and past several other deserted houses. Only when he was a suitable distance did he let his anger and frustration loose a little. A pale blue aura expanded his body as his muscles clenched, his spiritual pressure expanded and pressed down against the buildings causing them to creak and groan under the pressure. After a moment carefully focused and reigned it back in.
How could people see all of this and think that it was alright?
Time and time again he had seen this sort of thing happen in the various Districts. Children were abandoned and left for dead; adults - those who had a responsibility to look after children - had no problem with beating up kids or simply looking the other way when something of that nature happened; children forced to look after themselves or other children because the adults couldn't be troubled.
It would be one thing if the adults were overworked or something of that nature. He wouldn't have approved, but he would have at least understood. But when the majority of people had no other duties or responsibilities save to look after themselves - when they had every opportunity to do something and yet they didn't do it…
That frustrated him to no end.
He was no longer as naive as he was when he first arrived in the Soul Society. He had seen how selfish and brutal others could be, and had found some truly vile people that were more than happy to take advantage of the lawlessness of the area at the expense of all around them, children and adults alike.
On the other hand… Well, he didn't know that he changed all that much beyond that. Seeing all of that just furthered his desire to help all of these people. And in doing that, just as he had seen a lot of darkness in people, he had found a lot of good as well.
Such as Rukia.
Quite frankly it had been a huge stroke of luck that he ran into the girl, for both him and her. Usually whenever he first came into a district he would spend weeks attempting to make contact with the people. To him, offering to help people was the best way to gain their trust, and yet in the outer districts he had continually been met with paranoia and distrust.
Which he could understand to an extent. When a warrior comes by and offers to fix your roof he supposed they were allowed a certain level of skepticism. As such, making friends was often a hard won feat.
Only one day here in the Inuzuri District though and he had managed to find not only somebody that was willing to trust him (to a certain extent) but that person was one of the rare few that was trying to help others despite the horrible circumstances they themselves were in.
How could he not be touched by that? But by that same note, how could he not be saddened?
Rukia was just a child. A mature child to be sure - she had to be in a place like this - but a child nonetheless, and she was not only taking care of two other children, but finding time to help others when she could.
Children… they shouldn't have to look at the most basic of comforts and see them as luxuries. They shouldn't need to steal from others in order to survive. They shouldn't have to be forced to look after other children. How could anybody see this as alright? Why has nobody tried to change it?
Once again, he had to make sure to keep his spiritual pressure from going out of control as his anger at the situation grew. Within his soul, he felt a faint wave of both comfort and vindication from many of the Zanpakuto within.
[Two weapons in particular seemed to solidify with this sentiment - a long sword wreathed in lightning and a black and gold bow of intricate make. They flickered into existence only to fade once more, leaving behind them a wave of protectiveness of those children and hatred towards those that would abuse them.]
Regaining control of his emotions, he sent a feeling of gratitude towards the presences he could barely feel.
Even if he could only hear and see Kanshou and Bakuya, the others still existed. He had no intention of ignoring them simply because of his own deficiencies.
He made his way back to the house, taking deep calming breaths of the cool evening air, eventually going to where he had left the remains of the deer and began to treat the remains.
To distract himself from his earlier fury, he allowed his thoughts to travel to the question of his origins. Of his life. While he might not have his memories, his skills could certainly provide clues. Unfortunately, the combination of those skills downright confused him.
Cooking, basic carpentry, sewing, archery, swordsmanship… An eclectic assortment by anyone's standards. And if his looks were any indication when he had first arrived in the Soul Society, he learned all of this by the age of either seventeen or eighteen. Was he some sort of battle butler or something?
Knowing how to do various household tasks was probably common knowledge, but with how second nature they came to him was probably an indication that he was a handyman of some sort. Archery could possibly be a hobby he had picked up, though his level of skill said that he probably spent a lot of time practicing to get as good as he did.
It was the swordsmanship that really threw him for a loop. That, and his knowledge of weaponry in general. It wasn't for a sport - the moves that he instinctively knew were designed to kill or disable. He had considered the possibility that such knowledge was given to him through Kanshou and Bakuya themselves, but that idea had quickly been discarded.
The two were his friends and partners, and they clearly wanted him to become strong, but they were hardly the type to give him something he hadn't worked for, nor would he want them to. So then where did he find the time to become so skilled at his age? Especially with everything else he was apparently doing?
Furthermore, even without the memories of his life, he understood that he was from the 'modern' world. Concepts like 'guns', 'computers', and 'phones' were familiar to him. But if that was the case, then why is it that all of his memories of his beloved were of her in armor using a sword?
He huffed slightly as he finished skinning the deer. In the end the mystery of his skill set truly didn't bother him - if he didn't remember, then there wasn't anything he could do about it, and it wasn't like he didn't have two purposes to fill. If he had learned a skill that would help him fulfill those purposes while he was alive, then all the better.
He stood up and stretched, making sure everything was safely put away and out of the way from any animals before making his way back inside the house. He quickly laid out his bedroll on the other side of the room of the three children - careful to give them space - and drifted off to sleep.
He hoped that the children retained their enthusiasm for training the next day. The more dangerous a place was, the stronger a person needed to be to survive, so he intended to push them hard.
Rukia had woken up to the sensation of a blanket draping over her and the other two.
Pretending to still be asleep, she watched through lidded eyes as Shirou went outside before bringing up a shaking hand and rubbed the soft blanket between her fingers.
After everything that happened, most would consider it odd that this impacted her as much as it did, but how could it not?
Everything else that the man had done, however nice, could be construed as being beneficial to himself in some way. By helping them, he gained a place to stay and access to somebody that knew the district. True, he fed them, but it was also to feed himself.
Giving them his blanket though?
Ok, it was just a blanket. Just a piece of cloth (a very nice piece of cloth that was soft and comfy and didn't have any holes in it), but he already had their gratitude and agreement. Giving them his blanket would make absolutely no difference.
Honestly, in her eyes this was the first truly selfless act he had made.
It was that action, more than anything, that told Rukia that they could trust Shirou Emiya.
With that thought that she looked towards the two that she had claimed as her responsibility, licking her lips nervously before making the decision, giving them both a light shake to wake them up.
The boy woke up almost instantly, looking at her intently, if sleepily, while the girl gave a huge yawn, "R-Rukia?" Another yawn and slowly closing eyes, "W-wuz wrong?"
Rukia took a steadying breath, "I think… that is, I've thought of names for you two… If you'd like."
She had been going through various names lately and had been deliberating between each of them, but it was only now that she had made her decision final.
The words triggered an instant reaction. The girl immediately opened her eyes in excitement, all tiredness forgotten as tears of hope shone in her green eyes, "Really?" She asked eagerly, and the boy stared at her with equal intensity.
She nodded, feeling a touch of nervousness that she plowed through. Reaching out with her finger, she touched the girl's nose, "You are Homura." She stated softly, turning to the boy and rubbing his hair fondly, "and you are Shizuku."
She looked back and forth at the two, her heart in her throat as she waited for their reactions, "Is… is that alright?"
The now named Homura continued to stare at her with tears in her eye, "Ho...Mu...Ra" She repeated slowly, as if testing it, suddenly wrapping herself around Rukia and letting the tears flow freely. "I love it." She gasped. "I love it Rukia! Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!"
"Shizuku…" The boy mumbled, smiling slightly and nodding, giving Rukia a much more gentle hug. "Yes. That is my name."
Rukia relaxed under the combined hugs of the two, feeling overwhelming relief that they liked them. She had thought of several, but in that moment those names seemed most fitting after the events of the day.
Homura and Shizuku
With the future now before us, 'The two of you shall shine brightly'
Author's Notes
Apparently I have been in a Bleach mood. That, and I am really surprised and grateful for the response that this story has gotten from everybody. Thank you so much for your comments and your encouragement, I truly appreciate them.
For future chapters, what will probably happen is I will try to alternate between Shirou and Arturia unless I get the urge to do otherwise.
I will give a warning that I do not have a regular posting schedule - my life is pretty busy as is, and I am usually a pretty slow writer in addition to this just being a hobby. I might post another chapter in a couple weeks, or it might be several months. It all depends on the whims of my creativity.
I'd like to thank my sister, CaptainDarkElf, for her willingness to beta read this chapter for me and for the recommendations that she gave, and I hope that everybody continues to enjoy the stories that I write.
