Okay, it's been a week and I'm going to say this, assuming everyone has seen the premiere of Vol7. If you haven't, then please go do so before you read this.
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You guys seen it then? Okay!
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PENNY'S BACK! PENNY'S BACK! PENNY'S BACK! PENNY'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
And it's the Penny we (and Ruby) knows. She's still friggin' adorable! I'm so happy!
I was so channeling my inner MurderofBirds.
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth
Chapter 05: Espionage
Ichigo had sent a text message to Ruby, telling her that there will be no training sessions today.
"Is everyone ready?" Ichigo asked his team. He wears an orange kimono shirt like his Original but with black borders, black camo cargo pants, and black boots. He also wears a black belt and mid-arm long combat gloves with butterfly patterns. His emblem is in black and is located on the right side of his shirt.
"All set." Rukia said. She wears a white sleeveless kimono top with detached white kimono sleeves and a pale pink obi. Her periwinkle hakama shorts matches her geta-style heels and tabi socks. She still wears her tekko and the Kuchiki Bracers. Her hair is in the same style as the Original.
"Yep." Renji said. He wears a worn out rosy-brown leather jacket, a dark green shirt with the green design of a skeletal snake, light gray pants, and black boots. Instead being in its usual style, his crimson hair is let down with two, thin braids. Wrapped around is his forehead a green tie-dye bandanna with his goggles.
"Ready." Uryū said. He is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with asymmetrical hem and gradients to light blue downwards, a white long-sleeved duster jacket, white pants, and white shoes. Round his neck, he wears a cross necklace. He wears his Dust Glove and pentacle bracelet.
"All right. Does everyone remember their job?" Ichigo asked.
"I will go to Club Juniors to speak with this Ohana person." Uryū said.
"Got the exchange for info?" Ichigo asked.
"Right here." Uryū said, hulling over a large, white, trunk with a dragon symbol on it, his family's insignia. Really, how is a 127 lbs. young man able to lug that thing around?
"I'll head to the CCT to check for any mishaps that may have been going on as if late." Rukia said.
"And I'll keep an eye on any White Fang activities." Renji said.
"Got a WF mask?" Ichigo asked.
Renji pulls out a perfect replica of the standard WF mask. "Courtesy of Uryū. I'm surprised that you already have it ready."
Uryū shrugged. "I was bored one day."
"Are you sure you'd be okay without your weapons?" Rukia asked Renji.
"Ah, I'll be fine. I'm just gathering for info. I'm not gonna pick a fight or anything." Renji reassured her. "Besides, even if I do find myself in a jam, that's why I got these." He rolls up his sleeve to flex his muscled bicep. Rukia playfully hits his arm.
Ichigo smiled. "And I'll go check out the Dust shops. Let's get to work."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rukia, with Lirin on her shoulder, makes her way inside the lobby of Beacon Tower. /Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?/ a CCT AI asked at the front desk.
"I wish to go to the archives room, please." Rukia said. As a member of the Kuchiki member and daughter of Sojun, adoptive or not, Rukia can have access to certain documents the archives department of the CCT systems. Documents such as news feeds, reports, declassified documents and other things.
/Absolutely. Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?/ the AI instructed. Rukia takes out her Scroll and puts it into a slot. A holographic screen appears, showing Rukia's photo and personal/professional information. /Perfect! Thank you, Ms. Kuchiki./ The AI taps away on a holographic keyboard before a 'ding' sounded. /The archives room is now opened for you. Be sure to show the room's terminal your Scroll to verify your identity. As a Kuchiki, you have access up to Level A documents./
"Thank you." Rukia thanked before heading towards a greenlit door. Lirin looks back at the A.I. as another visitor approached the front desk. The A.I. repeated the same exact greeting in the same polite tone, which is customary as a computer program.
Her expression turned gloomy.
"Is something wrong?" Rukia asked the MOD.
"Hm? Oh! I-It's nothing."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Why the hell is there so many Dust shops?" Ichigo wondered as he walks down a street with a list of the Dust shops in hand. The first on the list is From Dust Til Dawn. Kon was with him, seating on Ichigo's shoulder.
"I don't know why I had to come with you when I could've gone with Big Sis instead of birdbrain." The plush complained.
"Can it." Ichigo ordered. He notices the shopkeep of From Dust Til Dawn packing some crates into a small delivery truck. He's probably delivering Dust to the guys Ironwood brought with him from Atlas, Ichigo thought. The old man struggled to put a big crate on top of the other before he lost his footing and started to fall, the crate following behind. Thanks to reflex, Ichigo dashed forward, catching the man and stopping the crate from falling on the shopkeep. "You okay?" the shopkeep nodded his head. Ichigo let's go the old man and proceeds to push crate in place. "You were lucky that I came by. You'll have something more than a few splitters." The Shopkeep nodded in agreement. Ichigo glances inside the delivery truck. "I'm actually surprised that you managed to pack everything." The Shopkeep chuckled in pride. The man waves Ichigo goodbye. "Waitwaitwait. I need to ask you something." The Shopkeep rose a brow in question. "It's more about the recent Dust robberies orchestrated by Roman Torchwick. Can you tell me everything you know about it?"
And so, the Shopkeep goes on a long rant about the incident many months ago, well mostly in grunts and Ichigo nods every now and again. After about ten minutes, the Shopkeep was finished and is ready to drive off with his delivery.
"Thank you for taking your time to tell me." Ichigo thanked. The Shopkeep grunts a 'you're welcome' before driving off.
"Ichigo, did you understand a single word he said?" Kon asked.
"Nope, not one." Ichigo said. "Let's go to the next store."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You really didn't have to come with me… Byakuya." Uryū said to the human man. "I'm sure that you have better things to do."
"General Ironwood is aware of the situation." Byakuya said. "That is why he has assigned me for this investigation." Instead of being in his Atlesian uniform, Byakuya is wearing civilian attire consisting a beige suit, a white dress shirt, and a black ascot. He also wearing a pair of white framed sunglasses with white tinted lenses. It was strange to see the Kuchiki head without his family's hair accessory. Actually, it's strange to see him out of uniform. His Senbonzakura, a kyu-ginto, is attached to his belt.
"And you're fine with going to Club Juniors instead of going with your sister ?" Uryū asked.
"… I thought you'd want the company." Byakuya said.
"…Thank you."
"Besides, Rukia has one of those MOD with her, as does Ichigo Kurosaki. And it would be unwise to assist Renji with a White Fang-related mission."
"That's true."
They enter the club where two big, muscular men are guarding the entrance. Uryū digs into a pocket to show them the note with the skull. After a glance, one of the men said, "You may pass."
As they moved to get in, the other guard stopped them. "What about him?" he asked, referring to Byakuya.
"He's with me." Uryū said.
The guards nodded and opened the door. Uryū and Byakuya entered and make their way to a sliding door. wait as the door opened, flinching at the pop music blaring and the neon lights. After adjusting to the uncomfortable stimuli, they go over to the main bar where the club's owner, Hei Xiong, more commonly called Junior. "Excuse me?" Uryū called to man. "I'm here to see someone named 'Ohana'." He shows Junior the note.
"She's busy with a customer now. Please wait until she is finished." Junior said.
Uryū and Byakuya decides to take a seat at the bar as they wait. Uryū slides the trunk underneath the bar to keep it away from prying eyes. He takes a moment to look around. The club didn't seem too busy at this time of day. Of course, most people prefer to go out clubbing at night. Uryū really doesn't understand the appeal. He and Byakuya were then given a glass with blue liquid and lemon slices and a lemon wedge each by Junior. "Two orders of blue lagoon cocktails with vodka on the house while you wait."
"But, we didn't order any—"
"I know." Junior said, cutting Uryū off. "But she did." Junior gestured at the second floor. Uryū glances up to see a young woman looking at them. She has turquoise eyes and chin-length violet hair, which is styled so only her right eye is visible, with a skull decorating it. She wears a dark top which covers her lower face, her neck, and her arms, close-fitting shorts, and knee length socks. Over this, she wears a purple, hip-length coat fastened at the front by a dark purple sash. The tops of her thighs and the middle of her torso are left exposed.
Uryū looks back at his drink. With a shrug, he takes a sip from the straw.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Weiss stares blankly at the time on her Scroll as Prof. Port goes on and on about another one of his achievements. 3:59 pm, this has got to be the longest minute she has ever experienced.
"Um, Weiss?" Jaune whispered. Scratch that. It is. "After our mission, wanna go to the movies? I got tickets this new Spruce Willis movie, Try Hard: Vendetta. And after that, maybe we can grab a bite to eat. I heard about this one eastern Vale restaurant that seems to make really good food." The school's shrill beep sounded, indicating the end of the school day.
"Okay, let's hurry back to the dorms and get ready!" Ruby declared.
"Weiss, did you hear what I said?" Jaune asked.
"No, no, and yes." Weiss answered.
Jaune looked confused for a moment before putting it together. "Oh…" Yang walks by and pats Jaune's back.
Watching it, Pyrrha sighs in sorrow. Something Nora caught on.
"Girls, I got a text from Ichigo." Ruby told her team. "We don't have a training session today."
"That's good." Yang said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That means we are free to go do our investigation."
"Right. And team TAIM is currently on a mission, so we can help." Ren said.
"Ruby, how did you respond to Ichigo's message?" Weiss asked.
"Oh, I just told him that we'll be doing a group study."
The two teams hurry back to their dorms to change and met up in Ruby's and Weiss' dorm. Instead of their usual combat attire, they wore alternate version: Ruby's Slayer, Weiss' Snowpea, Blake's Intruder, and Yang's Hunter. Even Zwei is ready, though his Chaser outfit is merely a red/yellow plaid bandanna scarf.
As for team JNPR, Jaune's clothes, called Knight, consists of a long black shirt and a pair of darker blue jeans with beige chaps and black boots. He also wears brown leather gloves and a brown cowboy hat. He wears his Original armor and belts. Nora's CottonCandy consists of pink/white varsity jacket with her emblem in white on the left breast side, a blue shirt, a black poodle skirt with a sloth patch instead of a poodle, and brown boots. Pyrrha's Spartan has her wearing her headdress, leg armor, and heels. She wears a crimson red, off-shoulder blouse with long bishop sleeves, bronze-colored underbust corset, and black trousers. Attached on the bottom-left side of the corset is her bronze plate with two red, long, billowy ribbons and a brown belt containing two pouches. On her arms are bronze-colored bracers, black gloves, and she wears a bronze-colored metallic choker with a green gem. Lastly, Ren's Tranquility has a mesh shirt with sleeves that reaches to his elbows under a green ninja-style shirt with a pink lotus design on the right side, white kung fu trousers, black gloves, and magenta eastern flats. His hair is in a braid held together with a green hairbow and around his neck is a dusty pink forehead protector with his emblem engraved on the metal.
"Okay, guys. Today's the day~" Ruby sang as she leaped off her top bunk. "Does everyone remember their roles?"
"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said. Zwei barks twice at her. "And of course, you can come with us too, Zwei-wei." Yang mouths the nickname in confusion.
"Pyrrha and I are going to check out the Dust shops themselves so we could talk to any workers about their experiences, one-to-one. Right, Pyrrha?" Nora asked.
"Huh? O-Oh, yes. Yes, yes." Pyrrha said.
"Is everything okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, yes! I am~" Pyrrha's grin was so fake, it was painful.
Blake clears her throat. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."
"Ren and I will go to the warehouse area to look for any clues from Roman's attack at the end of last semester." Jaune said.
"And I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Hopefully she might know anything about Roman." Yang said with confidence.
"Great! We'll meet back here around midnight to go over what we've found." Ruby said. "Let's do this!"
"Yeah!" Nora, Yang, and Jaune exclaimed.
"Alright!" Sun Wukong exclaimed from the window.
"Sun? What are you doing here?" Blake asked.
"Oh, I was just hanging out in this tree and overheard you guys from the opened window." Sun told them, jumping into the room. "So, what are we gonna do to about getting back at that Torchwick guy."
"Um, thank you, Sun. But, we already have enough people for this investigation." Blake said.
"Pfft, come on. The more the merrier. That's why I brought Neptune." Sun said, thumbing at the window.
The goggle-wearing young man poked into the room. "'Sup."
"As well as Sage and Scarlet." Sun added, point at the door.
"Hello, everyone." Scarlet greeted.
"Good evening." Sage said.
Weiss turns to Ruby. "You didn't close the door."
"And you didn't close the window." Ruby retorted. She sighs. "Okay, slight change of plans. Sun, you're going with Blake. Scarlet, you're going with Pyrrha and Nora. Sage, you're with Jaune and Ren. And Neptune, you'll go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner."
"Uh, Ruby? Why won't you go with Yang? She is you're sister after all." Weiss said, wanting to be paired with Neptune.
"But then, who'd go with you?" Ruby said, confused.
"Well, I guess Neptune can go with me." Weiss insisted, trying to give Ruby a subtle hint. Neptune seemed to have caught on and winked at her way. Jaune noticed the exchanges and glowered grumpily.
Ruby, after a moment of silence, cracks up laughing. "Nah." Yang shook her head at her little sister's obliviousness.
Weiss, no less than unamused, struggled fruitlessly as the silver-eyed girl dragged her out of the room. "Bu-But…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pyrrha, Nora, and Scarlet…
Vale Outlet Mall…
"Okay…" Pyrrha started, looking at a list of Dust shops in her Scroll. "We can try out the Nature's Mineral store first and then we can check Gaia's Jewels."
"Do you have a thing for Jaune?" Nora blurted out. The unexpected question made Pyrrha fumble with her Scroll.
"…I don't think that was a good idea." Scarlet said as he watched Pyrrha struggling to have a firm grip back on her Scroll. It was an interesting sight, seeing the famed Pyrrha Nikos flustered.
"Eh, it got her attention." Nora said.
With both hands, Pyrrha finally caught her Scroll. "I…don't know what you are talking about…" Pyrrha said, her face still as red as her hair.
Nora scoffs. "Come on! It's sooo obvious! You are head over heels for Jaune!"
Scarlet clapped his hands together. "You are? He is quite the looker."
"Oh, you should have seen him before. He was practically a marshmallow before Pyrrha here beefed him up."
"Really?"
"I-I was helping him!" Pyrrha said. "It has nothing to do with my feelings for him."
Nora and Scarlet looked at eachother before looking at Pyrrha coyly. "Sooo, you admit that you have feelings for him, huh?"
Pyrrha's face turned redder. She swiftly turns around. "L-let's get going. We need to gather information like we're supposed to—" She collides into Ichigo just as he exited Nature's Mineral. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"No biggie." Ichigo said. "What's with the get up?"
Nora looks at her person. "Oh! You mean this? Just something for a day out. Heh-heh…" Nora said with a cute pose.
Ichigo raised a brow. "With your weapons?"
Nora realized her posing made her grenade launcher hammer attached to the back of her waist standout. Nora quickly straightened up. "Well…what about you?" She questioned, pointing at Zangetsu.
"Official business. Business that I need to get back to. Let's go, Kon. Kon? Kon!"
"Please. Just one hug, ma'am! You wouldn't say no to an adorable plush toy, right?" Kon asked the ample and rightfully perturbed female cashier.
Ichigo stumps back into the Dust store and grabs the plush by the head, saying, "Ignore him," to the clerk before walking back out and passed the younger three.
"Official business, huh? That just proved the fact that something is going on." Nora said.
"Let's go." Pyrrha said before they entered the store.
Hiding behind a corner was Ichigo, eyeing them suspicious before walking away to his next destination.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ruby's eyes twinkled in awestruck at the Beacon Tower. "It looks so much cooler up close!"
"You should see the one in Atlas. It is a marvel to behold." Weiss said.
"That's the first one, right? The first to be created after the Great War?" Ruby asked.
"That's correct." Weiss confirmed, happy to see that Ruby has been listening to Dr. Oobleck. "It was Atlas' gift to the world after the war."
"Ooooh, I'm gonna take a picture!" Ruby declared as she took out her Scroll. However, she winds up dropping it. With a bark, Zwei goes after the bouncing device. The Scroll soon hit someone's leg, whom picks it up. Zwei skids to a halt.
"Hello, little guy." The person said, patting Zwei's head. "Excuse me. Did you drop this?"
"Penny?" Ruby realized.
Bright green eyes blinked in shock. "Um…" Ruby runs over to give her a hug.
"I was so worried! Where were you? I've been trying to call you for weeks! Were you kidnapped?"
Penny gently pries herself out of Ruby's grip. "I'm sorry. I-I think you are mistaken." She hiccups.
"What? Penny, it's me, Ruby Rose." Ruby urged.
"S-Sorry. I think you got the wrong person." Penny said, resulting in another hiccup. She hurriedly gives Ruby back her Scroll. "I've got to go!"
"Wait!" Ruby shouted, but the girl was already gone.
"What was all that about?" Weiss asked, confused by Penny's behavior as much as Ruby is.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go make your call! I'll be back later!" Ruby said as she ran off. Zwei follows in pursuit.
"Ruby! Zwei! Come back!"
Thankfully, Penny didn't go far and Ruby was able to keep up with her. "Penny! Penny, wait! Stop!" She shouted. Ruby grabs Penny's arm to stop her. "Penny, I don't know what's going on. But you have to listen to me. Remember Roman at the docks? Me and the others think he is up to something big, something bad. Please, tell me what happened to you that night." Ruby couldn't help but remember Ichigo telling her how Uryū was once taken by the Bount Group and with the recent kidnappings lately… "Please, as a friend."
Penny hesitated at first before she sighed. She shifted her eyes side to side before whispering, "It's not safe to talk here."
Ruby's eyes widened before she smiled. Penny smiled back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Glad to see that you are working so hard out there, Ishida." Ichigo said sarcastically, talking to Uryū via ChatView.
The Quincy was unamused. "Not funny. I don't understand why people enjoy going to these kinds of places. The lights are an epilepsy inducement waiting to happen and the music is so loud you need to scream to talk to someone." He plants his face on the bar. "I just want to get this over with so I wouldn't have to step foot in this place again."
"I second that emotion." Byakuya agreed, his voice nearly drained out by the music.
"Stay strong a little while longer. I'm done on my end, so I'll wait for you guys to be done." Ichigo said.
"Stay out of trouble." Uryū told him.
"Haven't I ever?" Ichigo asked. Uryū glared at him. "Point taken." He ends the call and puts his Scroll away. He leans on a pole as he watched General Ironwood, well projected as a hologram, do a presentation at the city square, showing off Atlas' newest robotic creations, the Atlesian Knights and Paladin. Ichigo was unimpressed at the sight. While its all well and good to have less people dying out there, having robotic droids be the next protectors give Ichigo a bad taste in his mouth. He's not a conspiracy nut, but he has doubts of the androids' capabilities.
"So cool!"
"Ruby? I thought you said you had to study."
"Dah! Ichigo! Um…ah…wewewe…weeeee are! We, uh, are doing, uh, economy!"
"With your weapon?" Kon questioned, appearing from behind Ichigo's back.
Ruby let out a nervous laugh. "…Remember Penny? Doesn't she look great today?"
"Salutations…" Penny said sheepishly. Ichigo didn't buy their attempt to change the subject. Penny noticed the Atlesian personnel at the city square spotting her. Without thinking, Penny runs off.
"Penny!" Ruby shouted. She and Ichigo look back to see the Atlesian personnel running towards them. Unaware of what is going on, Ichigo, Ruby, and Zwei take off in the same direction Penny went.
Ruby uses her Speed to catch to Penny. Ichigo on the other hand didn't want to use his Semblance.
What's wrong, King? Afraid?
Ichigo shook his head to ignore the voice. Zwei whimpered a little, seemingly worried for the carrot top. "I'm fine." Ichigo said to the canine.
"Ichigo, look!" Kon exclaimed. They soon see that a kid had run out to the on the road to retrieve his ball in front of the delivery truck from earlier. The old Shopkeeper had little time to react as the boy practically came out of nowhere and he had the right-of-way. He stomped on the breaks, but the big automobile doesn't stop on a dime.
Ruby sees it and does a U-turn to save the boy. But she used too much of her Semblance to catch up to Penny.
"Ichigo, hurry and use your Semblance!" Kon said.
"…I…"
What's the matter? Afraid that I'll stop you like before?
The honk from the truck brought Ichigo back to reality as the truck came closer to the boy. "NO!"
Penny pushes Ruby out of the way and stops the truck with her bare hands. "Are you okay?" She asked the driver. The Shopkeeper grunted a yes. She turns to the shaken child. "And you?" the boy nodded. Penny became frantic as more people walked over to the scene. She runs off again. Ruby went after her. Ichigo picks up Zwei and holds in the crook of his arm before he followed the girl, leaving the scene behind. Ichigo manages to keep up while Ruby was gushing over what happened.
"What's the big deal? She stopped a truck." Ichigo said. "I'm sure your sister could do the same."
"The big deal is that she didn't even use her Aura." Ruby told him.
"What?"
"Now that I come to think about it, the way your Aura flow is very different." Ruby said to Penny. "It's nothing like a Human or a Faunus or even a Quincy."
"I-I-It's nothing! *hic* I don't want to talk about it! *hic*!" Penny said.
"Penny, you can tell us what it is." Ruby said.
"We won't judge you or anything." Ichigo said. "Believe me, I had my fair shares of being judged." He gazed at the tips of his amber hair.
Penny still seemed unsure. "…You're my friend, right? You promise that you're my friend?"
"I promise." Ruby said. Ichigo nodded.
"…I'm…not a real girl." Penny revealed, showing the two Beacon students her shredded hands, seeing metal underneath the fake skin.
Ruby seemed speechless. "…I don't understand…"
"I'm…I'm the first synthetic entity capable of generating an Aura." Penny frowned woefully. "I'm not real."
Ruby gently grasped Penny's hands. "Of course, you are. You think that being made of nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts would make you any less real than me?"
"If you put it like that, then being an android is a lot better." Ichigo said.
"You're an AI like me~" Kon said, enamored.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Comparing you to Penny would be an insult to the poor girl." Zwei, still in his arms, barked. Almost as if he's agreeing with Ichigo.
Penny raised a perplexed brow. "You two are taking this… extraordinarily well."
"You see this little pest? You're a breath of fresh air." Ichigo said.
"Hey!" Kon shouted.
"And you're nothing like those things General Ironwood presented back there. You have a heart and a soul. I can feel it." Ruby said, placing a hand on Penny's chest.
A feeling of gladness came over Penny as she grabbed both Ruby and Ichigo and pulled them into a hug. "Oh, you guys have no idea how much those words meant to me."
"…I think I can tell…" Ichigo wheezed.
Ruby remembered something. "Wait, Penny. Remember how you told me that Oetsu Nimaiya helped make you're weapon? Did… did he…"
"Oh, no! It was someone else. Her name is Kirio Hikifune. She helped my father build me. I call her Aunt Kiki."
Ichigo whistled. "Impressive. Wait, why were those soldiers after you?"
"They wanted to protect me."
"They don't think you can't protect yourself?" Ruby asked. After seeing what the girl was capable of, why would she need any form of protection?
"They don't think I'm ready yet." Penny said.
"Ready for what?" Ichigo asked.
"General Ironwood told me that it will be my duty to save the world someday." Penny said.
Ruby looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Ichigo was confused too. He understands some of the current issues, but they're not necessarily a global problem. Save the world from what?
"I think she went this way!" They heard one of the officers say.
"You need to hide." Penny whispered.
Ichigo pans around for a hiding spot before seeing a dumpster. "Over there." He takes Ruby by her wrist and takes her over there.
"Wait. Penny, we can help you." Ruby protested as Ichigo put her in the container.
"Don't worry. I just don't want you guys to get in trouble. Just don't tell anyone about this. Promise?" Penny asked.
Ruby gives her a reassuring smile. "I promise."
"Me too." Ichigo hops in the dumpster. "And by the way." Ichigo added. Penny looks at him. "I know my Aura Sensing is nothing compared to Ruby (R: Really nonexistent), but I could tell that your more alive than you think."
Penny smiled graciously. "Thank you." Ichigo lowers down the lead, just as the Atlesian soldiers appeared. "Salutations, officers!"
"Why did you run off? What happened to the boy and girl?"
"What are you talking about? I've been by myself all day." Penny hiccups, right at the same time Zwei barked. Ruby quickly kept his mouth shut. "A-And I just wanted to go for a run." Penny hiccupped again. Ichigo smiled softly. So, she hiccups when she lies? That's… actually adorable.
One of the officers sighs. "Are you alright?"
"Just a scratch."
"Penny, your father and Aunt Kiki would not be happy with this." The officer scolded, almost like a parent would to their child. Huh. If these guys are aware of Penny's identity, they still treat her like she is a human girl instead of some machine. Ichigo felt a surge of contentment at the thought.
"Please, let's go back, Ms. Polendina."
"Of course!" They can hear footsteps walking away.
Ruby sighs in relief. "That was a close one." Her relief was short lived at the sight of Ichigo's disapproving scowl.
"You have a lot of explaining to do."
I've been to this one teenager club years ago in Myrtle Beach called the Karma Club. I went there three times before I decided I had enough of it for same reasons why Uryū hated Juniors Club. I only went to the Karma Club so that way I could get out more, as requested by my uncle. I'm more of a honky tonk gal.
I also want to say that while I'm happy Penny is back, I can't help but feel dread for her. I could be over thinking it. I mean, they won't just kill off Penny right after bringing her back…right? (looks at Itachi)…*whimpers* If they do, well, I won't be mad. Tragically heartbroken, yes, but not mad. I really don't think they'll kill her off again, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up.
Also, very much like how Qrow got a new VA, so does Sabo from One Piece. And who is it? JOHNNY YONG BOSCH. He's gonna play Sabo for at least Stampede!
Next Chapter: Tukson's Message (November 23 or 24)