Rukia's POV

The sound of somebody walking nearby woke Rukia, her entire body tensing as she leapt up.

At least, that was the plan… Until her body became tangled in both a piece of cloth and the two smaller bodies that were clinging to her. Instead, her leap turned into a clumsy tumble, both Homura and Shizuku crying out in alarm as they were suddenly woken up.

"Are you guys up?" A voice called out from the kitchen, and Rukia felt herself freeze before relaxing slightly as she recognized the voice. Memories of the previous night and all that it entailed coming back to her in a rush.

"Uhm, y-yeah! We are!" She called back, managing to get untangled just as Shirou walked into view, mixing something in a bowl.

"Good," He said approvingly, "We didn't discuss it yesterday, but I prefer to train in the mornings. If you're up, then we can get started soon." He hesitated, "If you guys still want to, that is."

Rukia frowned while Shizuku and Homura nodded sleepily, the ache in her side and ankle reminding her that she wouldn't be doing this training with them yet.

Homura let out a loud yawn with a stretch, "Wha' are you doing?" She asked curiously.

He shrugged, "Just making breakfast." He replied easily, "We can eat after we train."

The three kids looked confused, "But we already ate yesterday." Shizuku pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

True, they would get hungry again, but rationing was an important skill everybody learned out here. As spirits they didn't need to eat very often, and could make it a couple weeks without eating if the situation truly called for it.

An expression she couldn't place seemed to cross Shirou's face before he gave a gentle smile, "Eating after a workout is important for your body. Remember, hunger is the enemy."

Rukia found herself biting her lip as she looked at the bowl. It did make sense - if he could get a 'deer' as fast as he did last night, then he could probably eat every day. That concept though…

She shook her head in an attempt to distract herself, "I thought that exhaustion was the enemy?" She commented archly, causing Shirou to give a chuckle.

"It is," He assured her, his eyes dancing in amusement, "But there's more than one enemy out there."

Homura tilted her head curiously, "So how many enemies do you have?" She asked, a bit of playful challenge in her voice.

This time he let out a loud laugh, "Quite a few," He admitted, "Maybe I'll write out a list for you. But for now, you guys go ahead and get ready. I'll be done with preparations in a moment." With that he turned back and walked into the kitchen.

Rukia shared a look of confusion with Shizuku and Homura. What preparations would they need to make?

As if sensing them, "I made some stuff for you last night and left it next to the… Uhm, what used to be the stairs." Shirou called through the doorway, "Let me know if they fit or not."

All three of them looked at the doorway before making their way to the wreck of the staircase, and Rukia felt her eyes widen in shock.

Homura squealed in delight and launched herself at them as Shizuku picked one of them up hesitantly and turned it about. Rukia bent down and carefully touched it, running her fingers across the leather, almost half afraid that she was going to wake up.

This… Everything was happening too fast, everything was changing so quickly... what was she supposed to think?

She had lived in Inuzuri for years on her own - had for as long as she could remember. She was well aware of how cruel reality could be, and as much as she tried to help other kids, she hadn't ever found anybody that was willing to help her. It was only recently that she had even found Shizuku and Homura, two children that actually wanted to stay with her, and whom she had grown to cherish.

So how could this be anything but a dream?

"You… you made us shoes." She murmured in disbelief.

She hadn't ever seen them before, but she had heard of the concept. Something worn to protect your feet, an item that people in the lower districts had apparently.

"Not really," Shirou's voice came from right behind them, startling all of them. "They're more like moccasins honestly, and poorly done ones at that." He gave them an apologetic look, "footwear and leather crafting aren't my usual forte, but I've picked up a couple things over the years."

Who cares what they were called? It was protection for their feet that she had only ever heard about in all the years she had lived in Inuzuri! Nobody in the district had shoes!

… And now they did.

"What did you make them out of? And when?" She asked faintly, still having a hard time believing everything.

Shirou shrugged, "I had a lot of stuff on my mind last evening, and decided to work it out." He explained casually. "I had most of the materials with me. I already had the basics done, I just needed to change the size and finish them." He hesitated, "If they don't fit, then I can -"

Homura instantly clutched the shoes to her chest protectively, "Nooo! They're perfect! You already gave them to us, no take-backs!" She cried out before pausing with an intense look, quickly grabbing the third pair and shoved them into Rukia's hands, "No taking Rukia's either!" She quickly tacked on.

Shirou instantly stepped back and raised his hands in surrender, "All right, don't worry," He quickly reassured her with a soft smile, "But if your feet feel uncomfortable at all, let me know and I might be able to fix it. I'm almost done with the food, so once you guys are ready then we can head out to find a good place to teach you guys."

He protected her from those bullies and helped fix her up. He made food for them. He made shoes for them. He wanted to help make them stronger…

H-how would they ever be able to repay all of this?!

She shook her head. Right. Sparring. Focus on that, process everything later.

"Um, Rukia?" Homura looked at her with a sheepish look on her face, the shoes already on her feet, "How do you tie a knot?" Gesturing at the laces of the shoes.

Ok, knot tying first. Then sparring.


"You know, when you said that you would be teaching them to fight, I kind of thought there would be more… Fighting."

Rukia sat with her back against a large rock, the four of them in a wide grassy field several minutes outside the residential area of the district. She was, to her annoyance, relegated to simply watching, but that had proven to be more boring than she had expected.

Well, she was also guarding the food. A self-imposed task, but still very important. Not that it did anything against the boredom.

Both Shizuku and Homura stood in stances that Shirou had shown them, repetitively swinging wooden swords. Shizuku had a look of concentration as he carefully made each swing, while Homura looked like she was swiftly developing a grudge against the piece of wood.

Shirou heard her and let out a chuckle, "That wouldn't be nearly as productive right now," He replied while keeping an eye on the two. "Swords use different muscles than the brawling that you've done in the past, and it's important that you build up your endurance and form. Once that has happened, then we can move towards actual fighting."

Rukia looked down at her own muscles carefully with a frown. She knew she was stronger than either Shizuku and Homura, so maybe she wouldn't be too far behind when she healed.

She was the one that took care of them. It felt… wrong, to have to rely on them like this.

She watched as Homura and Shizuku continued diligently, with Shirou stepping in every once in a while to give different instructions or to correct something. Unfortunately, with nothing else to do she grew bored fairly quickly.

"How long have you been in the Rukongai for?" She asked, as much to banish her boredom as it was to satisfy her curiosity. Shirou was so different from every other soul that she had met before. She wanted to learn more about him.

Shirou paused for a bit and looked up in thought, "About… Ten years, give or take a few months I think." He eventually responded.

She tilted her head curiously, "Only ten?" She asked, feeling surprised. After everything that he had shown, she was expecting that he had been around for a while longer than that. Most newer spirits were completely hopeless when it came to surviving, only learning the necessary skills later through necessity.

She totally wasn't upset that he was so much taller than she was despite her 'technically' being older than he was.

Also, from what he talked about the night before…

"And you've been searching for your girlfriend this entire time?" She asked, eyes furrowed as he nodded silently.

Ten years was… Well, it probably wasn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but it was pretty long for a single goal.

Her thoughts were interrupted, "It's not my only goal," He said as he gave her a soft smile, and he gestured to the area around them, "Seeing the Rukongai and the state that it's in?" he let out a heavy breath, "It's just… I refuse to accept it. Even if I'm searching, that doesn't mean that I'm just going to stand aside and do nothing.

She looked at him skeptically. "Refuse? What's there to refuse?" She gave a bitter laugh, "This is what it's like out here. It's been like this for as long as I remember."

Sure, she helped out kids when she saw the opportunity, but that never impacted anything on a large scale. Most of the time she never saw them again. Never changed the fact that the district was a terrible place to be.

Shirou shrugged lightly, looking contemplative, "If I don't try, then how will I ever know that it can't change? Besides," He rubbed the top of her head briefly, causing her to cry out in protest and glare at him, "I've already managed to help you guys out, so clearly it's not a total loss." He finished with a smile.

She ducked out of range from his hand and continued to glare at him. In the back of her mind, she marveled that she could so easily talk with and glare at the man with whom the day before she had dreaded the idea of offending.

Unfortunately, she could also read between the lines in what he said, and it bothered her more than she wanted to admit. He came here searching for his girlfriend after not finding her elsewhere. That meant that if he couldn't find her here, then he would look somewhere else and leave them behind.

She didn't like how bothered she was at that thought. Despite having only known him for a day, his actions that day and the evening prior had proven to her that he really was a good person.

Somebody that she didn't have to fear was going to backstab them or her charges for what little they had because he had gone so far as to give them his blanket to sleep with, and had gone to the trouble of making them shoes.

Somebody that made them food even if they didn't need it because he wanted to make them happy.

Somebody that was taking the time to train them for no other reason than they had asked.

Dang it, it was only one day! She was a veteran of Inuzuri District, it should take longer than a day for her to get attached to somebody like this! She was tougher than that!

"So how exactly do you plan on doing that then?" She asked, banishing those thoughts from her head. "You're already going to be busy searching for your girlfriend, aren't you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Who says I can't do both?" He asked, causing her to frown.

"The district is huge." She replied flatly, "Whether you're going to be searching or trying to change things, it's going to take forever!"

He just gave her a smile, one that just screamed that he knew something that she didn't.

"That depends entirely on how I'm searching, and how I'm trying to change things." He replied.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She hated being left out of the loop.

Before she could demand more answers he called out, "Alright you two, that should be enough for today. Let me show you some stretches to finish up, and then we can have breakfast."

Both let out moans of relief, dropping their wooden swords as they mimicked Shirou carefully.

Rukia watched for several seconds before calling out another question, "So when do you want me to show you around?" She wanted to see how exactly he intended to try helping the district, as silly as the idea sounded.

Shirou looked up as he continued to stretch, "I'll head out after breakfast." He replied easily, performing the stretches with ease while Shizuku and Homura made expressions of discomfort at attempting the same. "You're still wounded, so you can stay at your place while I scout around."

She looked at him, affronted, "Hey, I can still help!" Sure, she might still be a little sore, but so long as she was careful then she'd be perfectly fine. And she was insulted at the implication that she was too weak to show him around.

He shook his head, but before he said anything she narrowed her eyes at him, "You still don't know the areas to avoid, or the various gangs." She retorted stubbornly. "That's the whole reason why you wanted me to show you around, isn't it?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "I can handle myself, but it'll take longer for you to get better if you aggravate your injuries," He informed her with a worried look.

She gave a huff of annoyance, "It's not like anything is broken, and I've travelled with much worse in the past. I can take care of myself as well!"

"I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't." Shirou returned calmly, "but that doesn't change the fact that you'll heal faster if you spend the day resting."

He might be right, but Rukia couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation at his words. Honestly, she was the native here, not him. Who was he to try to stop her from acting if she so chose?

"If you leave without me, then I'll just follow behind you." She said bluntly. After everything that he had done to help her, Shizuku, and Homura, she had to do something to pay the debt back, regardless of whether he wanted it or not!

That seemed to surprise him, and she felt a sense of victory from that.

"And what will you run into trouble?" He asked.

She smirked, giving him a victorious look, "Well I guess you better take me along then so you can protect me in case something like that does happen."

Shizuku gave a wince at a particular stretch, "If we go with you, then Homura and I can get Rukia out of there if something bad happens."

"Yeah!" Homura cheered before giving a small yelp, "We'll protect her!'

Shirou looked at the three of them for a second before giving a rueful laugh, "Well, I guess I'm outvoted then." He admitted with a small smile, standing up as he finished with stretching. "We can head out after we eat. Though I think you're making a bigger deal out of it than it really is though."

"Well that's our choice to make." Rukia declared as she brought out the food which was eagerly taken by the others.

Regardless of how much of a good person he was, she had to do something to pay him back - she refused to simply take it for granted.

That, and even if she didn't believe it was possible she was genuinely curious as to how he intended to change things around here.


Shirou's POV

As Shirou followed Rukia through the maze of dilapidated houses, he could practically feel the eyes of the inhabitants watch them with clear paranoia and confusion.

After the four of them had had breakfast, Shirou had asked Rukia if there was a marketplace nearby that they could visit. While he would have preferred that she remain back at the house, there wasn't much he could do if they followed him.

Well, there was, but he had no desire to force them like that.

Spirits aged differently than humans did, something that he had to remind himself of repeatedly. Rukia was older than she looked (He wasn't as sure about Shizuku nor Homura honestly) and had lived in the district for years.

And yet…

He sighed heavily.

Despite her maturity, he still saw a child when he looked at Rukia. One that had been forced to grow up far faster than she should have in order to survive in a cruel environment, much like many other children he had found throughout the districts, and a part of him wanted to protect her all the more for that. To try to give her a portion of the childhood that she had missed.

Unfortunately, he had to be patient. It had only been a day after all. Honestly, he was surprised that she was so insistent on joining him, most people would still be wary of him.

"Ok, I've been trying to figure out what your plan is… But you've completely lost me." Rukia stated dryly, interrupting his thoughts as she continued to lead.

"Oh! Oh! Maybe he's trying to attract his girlfriend with the smell of his cooking!" Homura suggested brightly. Despite her arms being sore from the exercise earlier, she remained a bundle of energy, skipping along near Rukia.

Shirou rolled his eyes, "Not quite," He replied, ignoring Bakuya's delicate laughter in his head.

"From what you do remember, that might not be that bad an idea," Bakuya said slyly in between her snickers.

Eventually they arrived at a crossroad where multiple stalls had been set up and a small crowd were looking over various wares. Clay containers both empty and filled it's water were available, and it actually looked like somebody had managed to import some rice balls from one of the lower districts.

The moment they entered the street, everybody in sight paused and stared at them.

He was aware that his own appearance and demeanor caused him to stand out quite a bit, and they were no doubt further suspicious at the presence of three children who would normally be there only for the chance to steal something.

He ignored the stares with practiced ease, lowering the bags that he carried and calmly started setting up a fire pit, not bothering to explain his actions to the crowd.

The entire street was quiet as they observed him silently, nobody stopping him as he built a fire in the middle of the makeshift marketplace, followed by coating the meat with various spices and herbs he had brought with him before making a spit roast with sturdy blades.

Focused as he was on the cooking he might not have been able to see the reactions of those around him, but he could easily imagine them. He had seen variations of it in the other districts after all. Confusion as to what he was doing, followed by surprise when they realized what it was, and then nostalgia and longing when they actually smelled the aroma.

The small crowd finally broke into murmurs when he found a large piece of wood and carved the words "Free Food", placing it above where he was cooking.

The afterlife was not kind to those in the outer districts, especially to those who barely arrived, for two reasons in Shirou's opinion. The first was that the skills learned in life were rarely the ones that allowed one to survive in the Rukongai.

Those who hunted in life did so primarily with a gun, something that didn't exist in the Spirit World. Those who could use a bow and arrow didn't have the knowledge to create one. People who knew how to cook didn't have access to the ingredients and tools they were used to, and food that was imported was worth more than the average spirit could afford.

Since a spirit didn't need to eat unless they had sufficient spiritual power, this meant that it was entirely possible for a spirit to have gone for decades without a proper meal. And without that need, that meant that they didn't have as much motivation to actually change anything, especially if they didn't think they could.

To see somebody offering free food like this… Even before Shirou finished cooking the first round of meat, everybody present was salivating at the smells, though experience and paranoia kept them from taking the first step.

That was fine, he was expecting it and thought of countermeasures for it. After all, what was the best way to advertise food?

You showed somebody who enjoyed eating it. And he had three very willing accomplices for that.

As soon as some of the meat was ready, Homura skipped to the front of the makeshift stall with two empty plates and an eager smile. He looked at the two plates, and then at her with a raised eyebrow.

"We just had an intense training session, and isn't hunger the enemy?" Homura explained with (fake) wide eyed innocence.

He couldn't help but let out a laugh. When they actually opened up to him, Homura and Rukia were quite the spitfires.

Though if she thought that that morning was an intense workout, then he really hoped that she didn't get discouraged when he actually began pushing them… "Only one plate per person for now," He responded with a smile, placing food on both plates, "Go ahead and share the other with Rukia or Shizuku."

"Ok!" His restriction didn't seem to bother her at all, and she immediately moved to Rukia's side and handed her the extra plate, the two of them happily digging in.

Seeing the two girls enjoy the food seemed to be the catalyst needed, and in moments he was dishing up food for several other people and putting more meat over the fire, the sizzling of the meat attracting even more people as word got out.

"Hey!" A gruff man called out from the crowd. Looking at him, Shirou thought it might have been the rice ball vendor. "Whatcha playin' at here? Sayin' you're given out free food?"

Shirou tilted his head, "I thought it was self explanatory," He mused as he placed more of the finished meat on some plates and placed them down, "If you'd like, then you can have a plate. Though I would ask that people limit themselves to one plate per person,"

The man scoffed, frustration clear on his face. "You expect us ta trust somethin' like that?" He asked incredulously before turning to the crowd, "Why he's probly poisoned the lot and is hopin' ta loot our cold dead corpses I say!"

The crowd looked back and forth between the two men, clearly tempted by the smell of food, and yet his explanation was indeed a possibility.

If Shirou had to guess, then his actions probably just ruined the other man's chances of selling any more food. Why pay for something if there was something cheaper right next to it?

"Does this mean that I can have seconds now?" Homura's voice cut through the murmuring of the crowd, and Shirou had to stifle a smile at the 'innocent' tone she was taking.

"Give it a few minutes." He replied, "If there's still food left over, then you can have some more."

It took a few moments, but between Homura's words and the smell of the food it was inevitable. Soon, all of the plates of prepared food had been taken and people were asking him where he got the meat and what he did to prepare it, which he had no issue explaining. The man that had tried to dissuade people soon left angrily, packing up his own stall and stomping away.

After several minutes of doing this and Shirou was placing the last bit of meat over the fire, his conversation with the remaining crowd went into a lull as he casually made small talk with them, never letting the stilted and awkward responses dissuade him.

"You're using them to help find your girlfriend." Shizuku murmured in realization, keeping his voice low to prevent the crowd from hearing him. The boy, having been observing him closely and had finally recognized a theme in Shirou's talk with the various people in the crowd.

Shirou gave him an approving smile, though it was tinged with slight embarrassment, "In my defense, this is something that I would have done anyway." He replied just as softly, "But… I can't deny that I have an ulterior motive."

As people slowly became used to him, it got easier to slip in questions about any unusual people that they had seen. It was just gossip and small talk after all - something to do while waiting for the nice chef to make another round of free food.

If there was one thing he was sure about, it was that if these people had seen Arturia then they would remember her.

"I still go out and search on my own of course," He continued quietly as he put another slab of meat over the fire, "But I would be a fool to ignore everybody else."

Shizuku nodded in understanding but looked at him quizzically, "Why not just ask them directly?" He asked.

"I used to." Shirou admitted as he slowly rotated the meat, "But it became… problematic." He shook his head in exasperation as several frustrating memories came to mind. "Quite a few people tried to get closer to me by saying they had seen her in the past. A few even tried disguising themselves as her." He scoffed, feeling uncharacteristically annoyed with those people.

He might not remember much of his past, but the thought that he would forget somebody so important to him was downright insulting.

"... You didn't have an issue with telling us." Shizuku noted curiously, and Shirou gave him a smile.

"I felt that you were trustworthy." He replied. When Shizuku looked at him in confusion he expounded, "Last night, you were willing to take on somebody that you knew was stronger than you because you thought that Rukia was in danger." He shrugged, "She wasn't, but that didn't change the fact that you were willing to do so. I suppose you could say that I've always had a soft spot for people who are willing to protect others."

"Hmph. That might have to do with the fact that you see yourself in them." Kanshou noted in his mind.

"... Perhaps." Shirou allowed.

Both became quiet when Rukia suddenly sat up in attention, "Trouble." She warned quietly, her words causing both Shizuku and Homura to tense in preparation to run while Shirou subtly looked around.

It didn't take long to see what had alarmed her. A group of people were making their way over, their stance and demeanor much different from the usual crowd, their steps filled with purpose. If that weren't enough, the moment others saw the newcomers they quickly fled the area.

Inwardly, Shirou sighed - It usually took a bit longer for this sort of thing to happen. Outwardly, Shirou turned to the three, "Homura, Shizuku, take Rukia and take cover. I'll take care of this."

Rukia looked at him in concern, "Are you sure?" She asked, "Homura can take me, and Shizuku could take you."

He smiled in appreciation, "Thank you, but that's not necessary." He assured her. "If I were to run, it would just aggravate them. Better that I meet with them now."

She quirked her brow at him, glancing at the figures as they came closer before looking back at him, "You don't really expect them to only talk, do you?" She asked in a tone that said she was questioning his intelligence, filling him with amusement.

"Probably," He readily admitted as his lips twitched, "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

She stared at him for a few more moments before nodding to Homura and Shizuku, the two then grabbed her arms and disappeared in a flash of smoke and the scent of damp earth.

He shook his head at the sight - he really needed to ask them about that. He could move fast, but THAT was actual teleportation.

That would have to wait for later thought.

He looked back at the group that had almost reached him. Five men - four muscular guys, following the lead of a smaller man with the type of quality clothing that easily set him apart from the others.

Seeing that he had caught Shirou's eye, the smaller man gave a greasy smile that caused him to internally sigh once more.

That many new spirits lacked appropriate skills was only the first reason why the outer districts were unkind towards newcomers. The second reason was the lack of support.

When somebody died, their spirit arrived in the Rukongai, appearing at random in one of the 320 districts. The odds of them arriving with friends or family, even if they had died together, was practically non-existent.

They were alone.

If they were lucky they would come across a friendly person or group, somebody willing to take them under their wing, such as Rukia had with Homura and Shizuku. However, when somebody arrived that actually had useful skills, they almost always gained the attention of the less savory groups.

While some Districts had formed groups of enforcers to help keep the peace, others had formed powerful gangs or groups of bandits. When somebody managed to catch their eye it was inevitable for them to try to recruit them, and they weren't often given the option of saying 'no'.

Looks like they had managed to find him pretty quickly this time around. He knew it was going to happen and was expecting it, but that never stopped it from being an annoyance.

The group eventually made their way to Shirou's stall, the entire street having vacated by the time they did so, and Shirou gave them a practiced smile, "Good afternoon gentlemen." He greeted politely, "Would any of you like some food?"

The leader gave him a smirk, "Why thank you," He said smoothly as he picked up a plate and took a bite, observing Shirou as he did so, his gaze falling on Shirou's shoes for several seconds.

After taking a bite his expression brightened noticeably, smiling at Shirou once more, "You cook very well. May I ask where you got the meat? It's rather uncommon all the way out here after all."

Shirou shrugged, "I hunted for it myself." He replied as he finished putting the last of the meat on plates. "There are quite a few animals in the woods nearby."

The man looked impressed, his smile growing even larger, "Is that so?" He said appraisingly, "Well, today is your lucky day my friend. My name is Lawson, and I'd like to -"

"Sorry," Shirou interrupted, "But I'll have to pass."

Lawson looked surprised at being interrupted, his smile becoming strained "If you'd let me finish, then you'd know that I'm part of the -"

"I'm afraid that I don't really care," Shirou interrupted once more with a sigh, "I'm not interested in joining any group."

The smile turned into a scowl, "Look friend, you're obviously new around here, so I'm willing to cut you a little bit of slack. You think you're some sort of hotshot who wants to change things up around here. And I respect that! I really do," The man smirked, "But without friends in the right places, you're not gonna be able to do much. Lots of brutal people out here you know - if you stand out too much without any friends, then you'd get targeted for sure, especially if you ruin other people's business."

Well, it was good to know that that vendor from earlier was part of this particular gang… That would explain how they came so quickly.

Shirou gave a shrug, "I'll take my chances." He replied, "If you guys would like me to make something for you then I'll consider it - but I don't have any intention of joining any groups."

Lawson sighed, "Well, can't say I didn't warn ya." He said with poorly faked regret, "I think we're going to have to show you how brutal things can actually get out here, for your own good." He snapped his fingers and backed up, the four men stepping forward, "Now, these men will give ya a taste of what it's like to be without having the right people at your back. Don't worry, a person can take more damage here than would be possible on Earth, though it hurts all the same."

Shirou didn't bother listening to the last of what he said, instead focusing on the weapons that the men brought out.

"... To call those things 'swords' is an insult to any actual weapon." Kanshou spat within his inner world.

"They did the best with what they had." Shirou shrugged, looking at the poorly hammered strips of metal the men wielded, "If you're alright with it, then I'd rather not use either of you for this. That would be overkill."

"That is fine. I'd rather not be used to take out trash such as this."

Reaching out with his hand, Shirou focused. The men looked confused at his actions before a plain wooden shinai formed from nothing, with Shirou getting into a fighting stance with the newly created weapon.

The thugs paused, looking back at Lawson nervously, who for his part seemed to be even more interested in Shirou.

"Well, you are full of surprises it seems," He mused before looking at the thugs with a frown, "What are you waiting for? There are four of you, and he's just wielding a stick! The one that takes him down gets an extra meal!"

For a moment Shirou was taken by surprise when within his mind he heard what sounded like a tiger roaring, and he paused to consider it. 'Another Zanpakuto?'

Kanshou and Bakuya did say that he might hear more as he grew stronger. He had gotten vague impressions from the weapons in the past, but this was the first time that he had heard one of them.

'I'll have to think about that later.' Shirou refocused on the thugs in front of him, "I'd rather not fight you, but I won't hold back if you attack." He warned them calmly.

They only hesitated for a moment longer before they all lunged at Shirou, weapons at the ready.

Well, he tried to warn them.

He lunged at the largest man and struck. Instead of hitting the blade like the man had expected, Shirou bypassed that entirely and struck his hand, causing the thug to drop his own blade with a cry of pain.

Grabbing his now empty hand, a blue light exuding from underneath Shirou's shirt, he threw the man at two of his companions, causing them to fall back in surprise at the unexpected move. The three fell into a tangle of limbs with a shout, leaving their fourth friend completely open.

The man tried to back out of range, but Shirou was faster. Moving in close, he ignored the wild swing from the shorter blade and struck the man's throat, the thug gasping for breath as he clutched his throat in pain.

The two other thugs managed to get untangled and quickly stood up, but they were too slow. Shirou didn't like to show off like this that often, but it was better that he show them how out of their depth they were, to warn them off from trying again in the future.

Appearing as a blur to everybody else, Shirou appeared behind the thugs and hit them in the back of the head at the same time, knocking them out. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had correctly estimated the amount of spiritual power. These guys were just following orders - he had no interest in accidentally killing them.

He glanced at Lawson and saw the man had stepped back with a look of shock and fear. Shirou then turned and started packing up the remaining meat and spices, "I meant what I said earlier," he stated casually, "If you want my help with something, then I'm willing to do so. However, I have no desire to join any groups at this time."

Picking up his now loaded bag, he gave a nod towards the still frozen man and started walking off. Hopefully the man would take his words to heart - however much he disliked what some of the gangs did, they were a significant power in the Districts. Becoming their enemy was not something he wanted.

He made it only a block away before Rukia, Shizuku, and Homura appeared in front of him in a plume of smoke, the three giving him looks of shock.

"That was amazing! You totally destroyed those jerks!" Homura cheered with stars in her eyes, and Shizuku nodded along with her.

"That was impressive," Rukia stated before looking at him worriedly, "But won't this just make them target you now?"

"It might," he admitted, "but that would have happened anyway. Now that they've seen that I can take them on if they push me, they will be wary of doing it again in the future."

He'd still have to worry about the other gangs as well, but once again, that was inevitable. Rumors would spread that he was strong, as well as skilled, and that would paint a target on his back no matter what he did.

"... Was it worth it though?" Rukia asked, looking at him intently. "You said that you wanted to help the District, but… You didn't really do anything that would change anything." She looked hesitant, as if afraid of criticizing him. "The people you fed are going to just go back to doing whatever it was that they were doing before."

Shirou nodded, "That is a good question." He responded seriously, taking a few moments to think about a proper answer. "To be honest, I don't even know if I have the right answer, but it's the best thing that I've managed to come up with. Do you know one of the major reasons why nothing has changed out here?"

The three thought about it but remained quiet, watching him.

"The majority of people are apathetic." He answered their questioning gazes. "They don't change because any change needed would be difficult, and they don't see a reason to change." He shrugged, "It's not everybody of course - but the people who can make a difference usually don't have a reason to stay, and they travel to the lower districts." He looked at Rukia with a smile, "I assume that you've thought to do the same thing, haven't you?"

He gave a small chuckle at the surprised look on her face. It wasn't difficult to guess - she was attached to Homura and Shizuku, not to Inuzuri. Therefore, her goal would be to protect and help those two grow, not the District. Without any emotional ties to anybody in the district itself, that's what most people would do. This was also why the various gangs tried so hard to make sure that talent remained in the District.

Without it, there was a good chance the place would collapse even more than it already was.

"People get into a routine," He continued, "and part of that is not having to eat or drink. They just grow used to it. By giving them food that they can enjoy once more, I've disturbed their routine and given them something to look forward to. Once they get used to eating good food once more, they'll have a hard time going back to not eating anything again, which will give them motivation to actually go out and do something. Whether that's hunting themselves or cooking. And if they ask? I'm more than willing to teach them."

This wasn't something that he had come up with on his own - it was too slow paced for his liking, and there were some uncomfortable comparisons that could be made to being a drug dealer… But it was a method that others had convinced him was the best way to help everybody else at this time.

He couldn't help people who didn't want to help themselves, so he had to give them that desire once more. If this is what needed to be done to help, then that's what he would do.

He shook his head, "There's still a good amount of daylight left," He informed them, "Is there anything that you guys wanted to do?" When they shook their heads and looked at him quizzically he gave a chuckle, "Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to get your inputs on your house. I have some ideas for some improvements..."

It might be slower than he'd like, but… He was helping people. Furthermore, this method also let him search for Arturia at the same time, so that was a huge benefit. And it did work - he had already seen the fruits of that in past Districts.

He looked at the three children in front of him who were chatting excitedly as he mentioned some of the things he'd like to fix up at their house, and he felt his chest warm at the sight. This method had the additional benefit of being able to see and protect children like them.

Seeing their smiles - the joy on their faces as they became stronger - it reminded him of why he wanted to help other people. To see them smile like that, he would do all that he could.


Inside his inner world a Zanpakuto started becoming more solid with a growl of victory - the sentiments of its wielder aligning with its own. Settling down, the tiger striped shinai waited for the moment she could call out to her wielder.

Hopefully it would be soon… She was starting to get hungry.


Author's Notes:

Another chapter down. I actually had an entirely different chapter written out and ready to go, one with a time skip, but it just didn't feel right… So you guys got this one instead. Unfortunately, I'm really not sure how I feel about it… I'm not really comfortable with it, but I'm not sure what to change at this point.

Shirou will have two more chapters, each with small time skips, and then I'll switch over to Arturia for several chapters.

To answer questions without giving any spoilers:

I've always been bad at estimating power levels - but Shirou is probably at the strength of a lower officer. At the moment, the main fighting that he has done is against bandits and lower powered hollows, so he hasn't had the opportunity to fight strong opponents yet. Still more than strong enough to take on a few thugs though, which is why the fight scene in this chapter was a bit lackluster.

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, and I think I'm leaning towards Shirou NOT joining the ranks of the Shinigami. I have reasons for this, and I think that everybody will like the story that comes from it. Rukia, Renji, and the others will still become Shinigami, and Homura and Shizuku will also join them.

Shirou has not yet seen a 'named' Zanpakuto - the Shinigami he has met thus far have been pretty low in the ranks, and had not yet learned the names of their swords.

I'd also like to announce that I have created a Pa tr eon page for those who are interested in supporting me. The link to that page is P a treon . com (slash) shdowstep. (remove the spaces). I am extremely new to that site, and if anybody has any ideas on what sort of rewards I should have for those who are willing to become patrons, please let me know. I'm always interested in learning and growing. I currently have a few teasers for future chapters up.

I'd like to thank my sisters, CaptainDarkElf and CrazedWeirdo, for their input and advice for this chapter, as well as everybody who left comments. I greatly appreciate them.