Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Chapter 19: Deeper In

"We've arrived," The coachman announced, stopping the horses. Before them is the 100-year-old lighthouse. The lighthouse tower and the building attached to it are mostly white with green vines growing on the walls and the roofs and balconies are blue. The structure showed signs of aging, but it is still sound.

"Is it possible that the lighthouse keepers got lost in the swamp?" Ichigo asked.

"Maybe, I highly doubt it though. There are alligators, venomous snakes, and piranhas in there," The coachman told them.

"It can't hurt to check though," Ichigo remarked.

"I refuse to traverse into anything that would sully my clothes. That includes swamps," Yumichika said.

"Look at Ishida. He's walking through it in white clothes!" Ichigo pointed out, thumbing at Uryū. Yumichika was still unwilling.

"Alright, alright. How about coming with Renji and I to check out the wood work?" Ikkaku asked, trying to compromise with his friend.

After some thinking, Yumichika answered, "I suppose that would do."

Rukia turns to the coachman. "Will you be fine on your own?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be in the stables. I need to rest my horses for a bit."

"Everybody has their comms, right?" Ichigo asked. After everyone confirmed it, Ichigo said, "Then Rukia, Ishida and I are going to check the swamp. Ikkaku, Renji, and Yumichika are going to check the forest. Shuhei and Rangiku will stay at the lighthouse in case something comes up."

"Alright. Have fun! In the meantime, Shuhei and I'll see if there is any rum here! Toodles," Rangiku said. She takes Shuhei by the arm and headed to the lighthouse. The dark-haired male smiled a little at the idea of being in a building alone with Rangiku.

"Is booze all she think about?" Renji couldn't help but ask.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The swamp is silent, the only sound being that of croaking frogs, chirping crickets, and buzzing mosquitos. One of the latter landed on Ichigo's cheek. He smacks it before it could get a taste of his blood.

"Oi, Ishida, see anything?" Ichigo asked his partner perched in the trees near an algae infested river.

Uryū shook his head. "No, I don't see anything."

"Have you sensed any unknown Aura Signatures?"

"Gee, I've never thought of that before."

"I was just asking!"

"Guys! We don't have time to argue," Rukia said tiredly.

"Damn it!" Ichigo cursed. "We're getting nowhere!"

Rukia gets an idea. "How about using the new tech Kisuke gave us?"

Ichigo looked unsure. "I don't know. Last time we used something from Hat-and-Clogs, we got stuck with Kon."

Uryū leaps from the tree branch and lands near his two teammates. "I'd say we use it, considering you left Kon behind." Ichigo glares at him and Uryū glares back, challenging him.

Ichigo rolls his eyes and takes out the container. He knelt to the ground and opens it. He reaches inside and pulls out what looks like a bird. A rather realistic looking bird too. Its feathers felt real, but after giving it a light squeeze, he knows it's more like a machine on the inside of the soft layer. The bird looks like a cockatiel, its body a vivid sky blue color with a light yellow chest and orange cheeks. Still, Ichigo is weary of this new MOD. If this thing is anything else like the lion, then he'll chuck it in the nearest trashcan. Or the swamp. Then again, what did the trashcan and swamp ever did to Ichigo to deserve it?

He looks around the bird to have a better look at it. Blue/white 'eyes' blink open. Its head turned left to right before focusing on Ichigo. Ichigo blinks. The bird blinks back before it narrowed it's 'eyes'. It kicked its talon feet Ichigo's face. While it didn't hurt, Ichigo let go of the plush to hold his scratched face. The angry MOD flies in the air.

"Is that any way to treat a lady?" it, or she, scolded at Ichigo.

"Wha...?" Ichigo said.

"You need to work on your manners, human!" the bird barked.

"Well, this is different compared to Kon," Uryū commented.

"I sort of wished Kisuke could of use something more cute than this ugly thing," Rukia said.

"Excuse me!? Who are you calling ugly, ugly!?" the bird shouted.

"Ugly?!"

Ichigo tries to make amends. "Hey, listen. We've got off on the wrong foot, so I would like to-"

"I'm not going to listen to a pervert like you!" the cockatiel said.

"Pervert?!"

Uryū pinches the bridge of his nose. Maybe he should have stayed at the lighthouse. He does have a project he liked to work on. Then, his eyes flashed a light blue color as a familiar hollow sensation came over him. He moves to the river edge, gaining the other's attention.

"Ishida, what is it?"

Uryū turns to him. "A Grimm." At that, Ichigo and Rukia brandish their weapons. The cockatiel lands on to the Quincy's shoulder. Uryū leaps back into the trees.

"Be ready, Ichigo. It's coming closer," Rukia said, sensing it now it was nearer.

Back up in the trees, with his bow ready, Uryū sees a large, elongated figure swimming in the water towards their direction. He could also see the faint red glowing marks in the swamp river. The Quincy aims an arrow at it. "Can you tell what kind of Grimm it is?" He asked the bird. She shakes her head.

"The water's too murky."

Uryū greeted his teeth. Shooting it without knowing what it was is a risky move. However, he can't let it continue onward. This river may very well lead back to Yudaki. He releases his arrow at the Grimm, the projectile make a small 'plump' when it hit the water. The figure and red glow faded into the gritty depts. Did he kill it? It can't be. Uryū can still sense it. Is it gearing to attack or is it escaping? He doesn't know how deep the river is. In almost light speed, the Grimm burst from the waters, its hundreds of teeth within a round mouth ready to swallow Uryū and the cockatiel whole. The Quincy jumps away and the cockatiel take flight in time as the Grimm instead hits the branch. Uryū lands next to Ichigo and Rukia. "A Bloodletter," Uryū identified. "And a giant one at that." Bloodletters are aquatic Grimm that generally is the same size of their animal counterpart, the sea lamprey. Now, imagine a 50-foot version of that. It'll do more than suck your blood.

The Bloodletter let out a screech and it attacks the three on the river edge. They run out of the way. "Rukia, freeze the water before it leaves!" Ichigo declared urgently. Rukia runs over the river and dips her sword in it. She uses her 'Juhaku' technique to freeze the Grimm in place. It wiggled and thrashed wildly as it tries to break free.

"Kill it! Hurry!" Rukia shouted. Ichigo lefts Zangetsu and cleaves the Bloodletter's head. Uryū backs away further from the black smoke.

"Well…That's taken care of," Ichigo said.

"So, now what are we going to do?" Rukia asked. "Where should we go next?"

The blue cockatiel perches on Ichigo's shoulder. "If you want, I can scan the area," The bird responded, "After you apologize to me for being rude." Ichigo glares at the bird.

"You can do that?" Uryū questioned.

"It doesn't work when it's dark out, but as long as there is sunlight shining over a wide area, I scan the area in a one mile radius." She closes her eyes as she does her scanning. "I detected a facility down that way." She points her wing at the denser parts of the swamp. "It's about 30 meters away."

"Thanks…Hey, what's your name?" Ichigo asked. "We didn't get a chance to get it before that Grimm attacked."

"Oh. My name is Lirin."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ikkaku, Renji and Yumichika find themselves deep in the woods just north of the lighthouse. The latter had just tripped over another log. He lets out an aggravated huff. "Why are these things everywhere?"

"Uh, it's called the woods for a reason," Ikkaku said.

Yumichika climbs back to his feet and dusted himself off of dirt, twigs, and leaves. "They should have at least cleaned the place for travelers."

Ikkaku rolled his before he did a mock bow. "Whatever pleases His Highness." Yumichika walks briskly pass the two in annoyance. When Ikkaku stood normally, he said, "Sometimes, I wonder if he's really a chick in disguise. But then, I remember that I've seen him naked in the showers." They walk on as to keep up with Yumichika. "So, what's going on?"

"Huh?" Renji said.

"I already know about you lot saddled with freshmen, but what was that thing Kisuke brought up about?"

"It's…probably best if we wait for the time being before I could tell you anything."

"...Whatever," Ikkaku shrugged. They see Yumichika ahead of them, his back towards them. "What is it, Yumichika?" Ikkaku asked. He looks in the direction Yumichika is staring. To his surprise, there is a statue of a woman surrounded by red spider lilies. In its cradling arms is an infant and at its feet is a bouquet of purple hyacinth flowers and some sticks of lit candles. "It's a statue," He observed.

Yumichika was the first to walk closer to the sculpture, and then Renji and Ikkaku follow. Now closer, Renji takes a look at the face. It was smiling sweetly at the infant. He gasps. "It's her," Renji said. "It's Erika Llorona."

"You're right," Yumichika said.

"They made a statue for her?" Ikkaku wondered. "I thought they hated her 'cause they thought she was killin' babies and summoning Grimm."

Yumichika glances at the bouquet. "Those are purple hyacinth."

"So?"

"These flowers alone symbolize regret. For a person to leave a bouquet of them means that they are asking forgiveness."

"Forgiveness? For what?" Renji asked.

"Neither of you have a single romantic bone in your body, do you?" Yumichika asked. Ikkaku and Renji stared at him blankly. "I rest my case. If the story of Erika Llorona is true, then her husband has probably felt guilty and made the statue in her honor and gave her the flowers to ask for her forgiveness. The island was named after her."

"That ain't romantic. It's stupid," Ikkaku said. Yumichika sighs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"How the hell is there a building all the way out here?" Ichigo asked. The house in question

"Mistral is known for having a criminal underworld. Perhaps it's used to smuggle drugs and the like," Uryū hypothesized. "Or, since Menagerie is not far from here, it may have been used for Faunus trafficking. Whatever the case may be, be careful. There is no telling what could happen."

"Don't worry about me. I'm ready for anything," Ichigo said confidently.

"The time you a triggered a trap in ruins back in Vacuo say otherwise."

"You're seriously gonna bring that up again?" Ichigo asked. "It's not like you were any help when that floor caved in."

"I thought you needed to learn from your mistakes," Uryū said. Seeing where this is going, Lirin rolls her eyes and flies off Ichigo's shoulder and to Rukia, who is a few steps behind.

"What about when you tripped an alarm and a giant boulder came rolling towards us?"

"Th-that was…I mean…" Uryū stammered, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Does this happen often?" Lirin asked Rukia.

"Unfortunately…"

"I don't understand how two people opposite of each other can work together," Lirin said.

"You could say that they're two sides of the same coin," Rukia said. "They have more things in common than they let on."

"I see."

"They're also family."

"Really?" Lirin inquired, her cockatiel crest rising up with curiosity.

"Ichigo's mom was adopted by the Ishida family when she was a baby," Rukia said. "So, that made her Uryū's father's sister."

"Huh."

"Just don't bring it up to those two."

"Why?"

"Because then they'll be reminded that they are related and vehemently deny it."

"Huh?"

"What you guys talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing," Rukia said.

"There it is," Uryū said. He's right. Before them is a log cabin, covered in moss. They reach the door and Uryū knocks on the door.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"…Force of habit?" Uryū opens the door cautiously to a crack. He peaks through it. Not seeing anything, he pushes the door wide open. They walk in. The room was small. There is a single bed, a small table next to it with a flower vase, an old sofa, a table with one chair, a small fire pit in the floor with a pot hanging over it, several candles, and books. A lot of books.

Ichigo walks over to the small table near the bed. The flowers in the vase appear to be wilting, purple hyacinth. There is a framed photo next to it. Closer look at it, it's a photo of a man wearing, what Ichigo could believe, a lighthouse keeper uniform. His hair is light-colored and is combed back with a few strands framing either sides of his face and he wears thick-framed black glasses.

Uryū picks up a piece of charcoal from the fire pit and studies it. "It's still warm."

Lirin flies to his shoulder. "Somebody actually lives here?" Lirin wondered. "Who would want to live in such a hovel?"

Uryū eyes flash a light blue again. "A Grimm!" He dashes out of the cabin, the others following. Outside, they look around for the creature within the trees and the waters surrounding the area.

"Look!" Lirin shouted.

Ichigo spots a cloaked figure watching yards away. "There's someone there!" The figure runs away. "Wait!" He runs after the person.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called. She moved to follow him, but noticed Uryū standing still, looking off somewhere. "Uryū? What is it?"

He turns to her. "I can't sense that Grimm anymore."

"We don't have time for that now," Rukia said. "We need to catch up with Ichigo."

Uryū hesitated. He doesn't want to leave the Grimm to its own devices. Ichigo can take care of himself, but knowing him, he might slip up. Lirin flies to him. "Come on, we need to get going!" The Quincy sighs in defeat before nodding. He offers his hand to Rukia. Knowingly, Rukia accepts it. Lirin was confused. "Hmm?"

"Get on my shoulder and hold on tight," He said to the bird. With that, they vanish.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'How the heck is this person so fast?' Ichigo wondered as he continues to give chase. The cloaked individual remained a good distance away and is progressively getting farther. Is this a Semblance or maybe the person is a Faunus with heighten speed? Either way, Ichigo needs to ramp up his own speed if he doesn't want to lose the person. They might know what happened to the lighthouse keepers.

He activates his Semblance, 15-Minute Power Up, to increase his speed. Thankfully, he is starting to keep up with the cloaked person. 8 meters away… 6 meters away… 4 meters away… 2 meters away… Ichigo leaps forward, his arm reaching out to grab the individual. He hooks his arm around the person's neck, causing both of them to stumble and roll down a hill. They reach the end where their stumble stops. The cloaked person scrabbled their—her—feet but Ichigo grabs her arm in a vice-grip. She grunts as she tries to get out of his grip. In her struggle, a pair of thick-framed black glasses falls from her face.

"There's no use in struggling. I have some questions I need to ask and you're gonna answer them," Ichigo said. He takes the cloak and pulls it away to see her face. Long, wavy, raven hair spill out and emerald green colored eyes glare at him. Ichigo stares speechlessly at the bronze-toned face. He's seen this woman before. On the painting in the mayor's office, at the main street in Yudaki, in the swamps on his way here… She's—

"Hah!" The woman lands a right hook into Ichigo's face. Ichigo let's go of her and she runs off. Ichigo stood in a daze, trying to make sense to what just happened. Within the haze in his mind, he could hear…cackling?

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" He heard Rukia ask. He shakes his head and the cackle fades away. He turns to the concerned eyes of Rukia, Uryū, and Lirin. He gives them a reassuring smile.

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine." The hollow feeling in his chest unveiled his uncertainty.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yumichika looks closer at the bouquet and then the statue. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" Renji asked.

"These flowers are new," Yumichika said. He brushes his hand on the cement figure. "And the statue has been thoroughly cleaned."

"How can you tell?"

"The flowers barely showing signs of wilting and, given how dirty it is out here, the statue itself is surprising scarce of anything…foul. Meaning, someone has been caring for this."

"Who? The lighthouse keepers?" Ikkaku asked.

"But, the legend never said anything about a statue of Erika," Renji said.

"If that's the case, then wouldn't the husband be the sole person to make all this?" Ikkaku questioned. "But, he died decades years ago."

Yumichika walks through the red spider lilies. "There's even not a single weed. Somebody has been taking care of the memorial." He makes a face. "What is that smell?" He covers his nose.

Renji sniffs the air before grimacing. "Whatever it is, it smells like rotting meat sprayed with perfume."

"Bein' able to smell rancid odor. Must be one downside of being a Faunus," Ikkaku observed.

"You have no idea..." Yumichika said, his voice muffled by his hands.

Renji then hears a faint buzzing, like insects. "I hear something." He focuses on the sound to figure out the direction. "It's coming from this way."

"Great, it's in the same direction as the horrid odor," Yumichika said nasally, pinching his nose.

"Yeah." After pushing through some bushes, they come across a mound swarming with flies. Did some poor cattle die here? "What the...?" When they inched closer, the flies got spooked and dispersed in a large cloud.

"Oh my..." Yumichika didn't finish his sentence, slowly covered his mouth as horror overtook him. Ikkaku and Renji eyes widened.

Lying before them are the decomposing bodies of two of the missing lighthouse keepers.

Next Chapter: Falling Rain