Welcome back to another chapter of Fate and Destiny! Hope the summer holidays are treating you well, 'cos they're doing pretty good for me! I'm going on holiday to Rhodes (that's in Greece, by the way), AND I have my results. That's right! I officially have a degree! And it's a pretty good one, too! Now, without further ado, here's the next chapter!
Chapter 25
SURPRISE!
"What do you want?" Ren asked calmly.
"Nothing much." Etheline said with a shrug. "I made a promise to myself that if Epona screwed up, you were mine. And after seeing what you've done today…" Etheline's smile widened, her eyes full of lust. "I want you even more."
"Okay, lady. Creepy." Ren said flatly.
"I'll say." Toshiro muttered, remembering all too well what his first meeting with her was like. It made him shudder just thinking about it.
"I feel introductions are in order. I am the Master of Illusions…" Etheline bowed with one hand over her heart, and tilted her head up to look at Ren with a smile. "Etheline."
Master of Illusions? Toshiro thought. He remembered back when he faced Etheline in the park. That explains why that tree vanished and reappeared again. She was using an illusion!
"Nice to meet you. I'm the Who of Gives a Crap, Ren Conner." Ren said without missing a beat. "Get outta here, Etheline. I don't have time to deal with you."
"Is it that you don't have the time, or you don't have the energy?" Etheline asked.
"…" Ren raised her other hand up and made it waver a little, showing that she was either somewhere in the middle or she was a little of both.
"Well, that makes things easier, doesn't it?" Etheline outstretched her hand and a whip appeared in it. She cracked it, and the snapping sound it made rang out through the street.
"Etheline, it's over. You don't have to do this." Epona said.
"Why should I listen to someone who lost to a human?" Etheline asked. "You are clearly too weak to finish the job, and since you two have become so chummy, I don't think you'll be laying a finger on her anytime soon."
"I am not weak." Epona retorted.
"Oh? The sky says otherwise."
"…" Everyone looked up. Sure enough, the dark clouds were slowly clearing away to reveal the blue sky and rays of sunlight, and since everyone had already adjusted to the darkness, they had to shield their eyes a little.
"I believe I have made my point. Now…" Epona pointed her palm at Ren, smirking. "Come at me."
"Nah." Ren said.
"Hm?" Etheline raised a thin eyebrow.
"I'm not gonna fight. I've already used up enough energy to destroy quite a few buildings, so I gotta fix that. And, there are all the Feather cores I left behind."
"You mean these?" Etheline created a transparent sphere, revealing all the dozens of gold Feather cores floating inside it.
"Yeah, those are the ones." Ren said, not even considering where Etheline could have got them.
"Here." Etheline threw the sphere at Ren. She caught it in her palm, and it vanished, making the Feather drop into her palms.
"Great. Thanks." Ren quickly pocketed them. "Now that that's out of the way, I'll bid you good day." Ren said politely, starting to turn around.
"Hold it!" Etheline cracked her whip, but Ren deflected it away by swatting it with her gun. "I told you, didn't I? I want you."
"Not for sale, bitch!" Etheline chuckled at Ren's retort.
"My, so much attitude. So much spirit. I like it. I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I have fun breaking them." Suddenly, Etheline was right in front of Ren, their faces so close, they were almost kissing. "And I will break you with immense pleasure."
"Hey, back off!" Ren tried to punch her with the back of her fist, but she vanished, going back to where she previously stood. Ren resumed pointing her gun at Etheline. "I don't belong to anybody! And why are you so interested in me, anyway?"
"During your fight, your mental process was focused on anger. But, before your Shackles broke, I noticed a strange disturbance inside you. As the Master of Illusions, I specialise in these types of disturbances. I saw it again when you were talking to Epona. Something about not treating people like toys."
"You mean like you?" Ren snidely asked.
"I suppose so. And, I must ask, who is Rosalie?"
"Nobody I know." Ren said.
"Now, that's odd." Etheline said, feigning surprise. "Why would you say her name and not know who it belonged to?"
"You're making this up. I never said her name."
"Oh, but you did. And your denial only confirms my suspicions." Etheline narrowed her eyes, never losing her smile. "Little girl, you are under the effects of complex illusions. Illusions of the mind."
"Illusions of the mind? What are you talking about?" Ren demanded. The Soul Reapers looked at each other, not sure what this meant.
"Do you know what she means?" Toshiro asked the humans.
"Uh, no. No, no idea."
"Yeah, we don't have a clue." Tom and Steph said quickly. A little too quickly for Toshiro's liking…
"Oh, it's simple for humans, but it's complex to create with Cielvian magic. You might know it as dementia, hysteria, or even amnesia."
"Okay, I know you're making this up now."
"Am I?" Etheline said. "Are you sure? Don't you have a few…gaps?"
"…" Ren glanced away, thinking about this.
"I can tell you now that you do have illusions inside your mind. And I'm going to find out what." Etheline started to walk towards Ren, which snapped her out of her daze long enough to grasp her gun even tighter.
"Stay back! I'm not afraid to use this!" Ren warned.
"Then, by all means, use it." Etheline challenged, confident that she would be able to dodge any attacks Ren made in her current state.
"Fine! I will! But don't say I didn't warn you!" Ren pulled her trigger several times and…nothing happened. All it did was click. Etheline stopped walking, surprised. "What the hell?" Ren looked at her gun, thinking there was something wrong with it.
"Ren, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked. Ren looked over her shoulder at the group, an extremely worried look on her face.
"My gun. It's not working!"
"That can't be right." Renji pulled his own gun out of his sleeve. "Mine's working fine. See?" Renji pulled his trigger to demonstrate, but again, all it did was click. "Eh?" Seeing this, Ichigo, Steph and Toshiro got their own guns out to check.
"Hey, mine's not working either!"
"Neither's mine!"
"What's going on here?!"
"Well, I don't know what's happening, but lucky me!" Etheline cracked her whip, and Ren was too distracted to notice, and the whip wrapped itself around her right wrist, stunning her enough to drop her gun, where it disappeared in a small burst of flames that vanished as quickly as it came. "You may as well drop those toys. They're useless now." Etheline said to the group. After some hesitation, Renji, Steph and Ichigo dropped their guns, letting them vanish into flames. Toshiro was the only one who held onto his, hiding it behind his back.
She didn't notice. Toshiro thought. I know it's not working for some reason, but I'm not going to let go of a weapon at the drop of a hat. Toshiro tucked the gun behind the waistband of his trousers before Etheline could get suspicious.
"Now, I believe I was about to find out what your illusions are." Etheline raised her hand up, white sparkling swirls flowing around it. "And to uncover them."
"Nice try, Etheline. But you forget…" Ren clapped her hands, and the second her Lightning Shackles appeared, the whip disintegrated and the rest landed on the ground, cracking with electricity. "I have more than one Shackle." Ren said with confidence.
Although right now, I don't think I can keep these out for very long. Ren thought. If my use of the Wind Shackles is anything to go by, I don't have long. Ren created her lightning sword, unsheathed, in her right hand. She looked up with determination in her eyes. I'll make this quick.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Etheline said enthusiastically, jumping back when Ren attacked her with her sword, then again, and again, and again, and after Etheline gave another sudden dodge, Ren made her sword emit some lightning with the next slash, knocking Etheline back significantly. Etheline pushed off on her hands, and landed almost noiselessly on one knee, smiling. Ren was already worn out from her attacks, even if they were in a short span of time, and her Shackles were already starting to dim.
"Not now…" Ren whispered. "Just a little longer." She thought Etheline would be easy to deal with, since she wasn't that strong when they first fought. But, Ren never underestimated her opponent. Even so, it was strange that Etheline was this skilled now than a few weeks ago. She dodged Ren's attacks so easily, she wasn't even making an effort. And she didn't even have a scratch on her after that lightning attack. She couldn't have become this strong so quickly. Nobody could. Unless…
Has Etheline been holding back like I thought she was? Ren thought.
"It's always entertaining to see people on the verge of collapsing fight for their lives." Etheline stood up, placing a hand on her hip. "The way you are now, you can't do any damage to me. But, I admire your spirit. So…" Etheline looped some of her hair behind her ear. "I'll let you have a free strike. Come at me."
"…" Ren narrowed her eyes suspiciously. It can't be this easy. It just can't.
"Alright." Etheline took Ren's silence as a refusal. "If you won't attack…then I will." Etheline then charged straight towards Ren. With a yelp, Ren slashed at Etheline, but as soon as her blade went through Etheline, she vanished.
"What the…" Ren looked around. Etheline was gone. "Where is she?"
"!" Toshiro felt his back burn. Etheline was close. He could feel it. That's when he saw the faint pulsation floating in the air beside Ren, but she didn't notice. "Ren, look out!"
"Eh?" Ren was immediately alert, ready for any attack. That's when she noticed the pulsations surrounding her. "When did they-" Before Ren could finish her sentence, several dozen whips attacked her from almost every angle, lashing out and marking her body with whip burns and cuts, while Ren could only cry out in pain.
"Ren!" Steph cried out. After the whips stopped attacking, Ren started to collapse, but something stopped her. Ren looked up. The whips had bound her, wrapping around every limb and body part. Now, she could barely even lift a finger. Ren struggled against them, to no avail, and she could have sworn she felt the whips become tighter, making her wince. At this point, the Lightning Shackles had vanished, leaving Ren clutching her sword tightly, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to use it.
"Ren!" Toshiro started to run towards her.
"Stay back!" Ren yelled, stunning Toshiro enough to stop. Ren looked up at him, looking very panicked, if not scared. "Etheline is different from last time! I was right! She was holding back! I don't stand a chance against her right now! And neither do you! Take the others and get out of here! Now!"
"No! I'm not leaving without-"
"Correction…" Toshiro felt a hand caress his face from behind. It was Etheline. She leaned closer to Toshiro's ear. "You're not leaving here at all."
"Rrrr…" Ren glared at Etheline, and she was sent flying, and with a swift backflip in mid-air, she landed back on the ground. She looked up, and realised that Toshiro had a barrier around him. A spherical, see through barrier that occasionally shone with white stars. The others also noticed that they were protected with a similar barrier. Toshiro placed a hand on the wall. It felt like there was a breeze coming from it, but it also felt very smooth.
A telekinetic barrier… Etheline thought. So she can do that, too.
Well, at least Shiro and the others won't have to get hurt anymore. Ren thought, looking away.
"Hey! Let us out!" Ichigo yelled, pounding his fist against the wall of the group barrier.
"And do what?" Epona asked. "You heard Ren. You are no match for Etheline right now. You are all winded from battle. Anything you do will just be a nuisance to her, and she could very well kill you. I know Etheline, and she is the most merciless of all."
"Ren, what are you doing?! "Toshiro yelled, clearly not hearing what Epona said.
"I'm sorry, Shiro, but I'm not letting you get any more injuries today." Ren said. The light around her darkened, and upon looking up, Ren realised that Etheline was right behind her. Ren gasped, her eyes wide with fear.
"Now…" Etheline raised a hand up, the white swirls appearing again. "Let's see what's going on in that pretty little head of yours, shall we?" Etheline touched Ren's forehead with two fingers, and the white swirl seemed to enter Ren's head, and the fingers glowed white. Ren's eyes widened a little, her mouth was partially open and the sclera of her eyes turned yellow.
"NO! REN!" Toshiro shouted, his hands pressed against his barrier. Renji and Ichigo had drawn their swords at this point, and were trying to break down the barrier with them, despite the previous warning from Epona. Etheline smiled as she worked her magic, so to speak. She was right. There were some illusions inside her mind. So, she moved the clouds around to uncover what they were hiding. Eventually, she caught a glimpse of what was there. And then a little more. And then a lot more. But, upon finding what the illusions were hiding, her smile fell.
"What the…" Etheline muttered, her eyes wide. "What is this?"
"?" Everyone went quiet after hearing this. Renji and Ichigo stopped attacking the barrier. Toshiro stopped yelling Ren's name. They just listened to Etheline. Had she found something? If so, then what? Tom and Steph were especially nervous, sharing a look before looking back at Etheline and Ren.
"What is this?" Etheline said, her face gradually becoming full of horror. Ren meanwhile still had her blank expression, as if she had no idea what was happening. "These images…These memories…What are they?" Etheline removed her fingers from Ren's forehead, the glowing vanishing from her fingers, and she stepped back from Ren, horrified. The whips fell away from Ren and vanished without a trace, and Ren's arms hung limply at her side. But, the glowing yellow sclera didn't vanish, and neither did the blank expression on her face.
"No…" Ren whispered. Ren lost her grip on her sword, and it clattered noisily on the ground. Ren took a few steps backwards, a frightened look on her face. "No…Don't…" Ren's eyes shone with fear, and Toshiro could see that tears were starting to form in them. "Rosalie…please…stop this…what did I do to deserve this?"
"What's happening?" Rukia asked. "And she said that name again."
"Who is Rosalie? Do you know?" Rangiku asked the humans. But, they didn't even notice that somebody was talking to them. They were too drawn to Ren and the things she was muttering.
"Leave me alone…leave me alone…leave me alone!" After Ren suddenly yelled, everyone could hear the windows in the general area start to crack. Ren's hands went to her head as if she had suddenly been stricken with a headache. "I don't know that girl! I don't know that place! I don't know why I was there! I don't know what you're talking about! It wasn't me!" Another audible crack from the windows. "I shouldn't be here! I shouldn't be alive! I should have died! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!" After Ren screamed, the windows surrounding everyone suddenly shattered, and the shards fell. Fortunately, everyone who was under a barrier saw the glass just bounce off and be flung somewhere else.
"She's losing it! We've got to do something!" Ichigo held Zangetsu up again, ready to strike the barrier again.
"Ren! Snap out of it!" Toshiro shouted, pounding on his barrier to try and get Ren's attention, but it was clearly futile, as Ren was still clutching her head and muttering things under her breath.
"Here goes…" Ichigo raised his sword up, but stopped himself. And so did Toshiro. A hooded figure appeared in front of Ren, their fingers on Ren's forehead in a similar fashion to what Etheline did earlier. Toshiro recognised the hood and the emblem in front of it.
White Raven… Toshiro thought.
"Huh?" Toshiro noticed how his barrier suddenly disappeared, and so did the barrier surrounding the Soul Reapers, the humans and Epona. There was silence from everybody. It was eventually broken when Ren fell forward, and the figure caught her before she could hit the ground. She was unconscious.
"What are you doing here?" Etheline almost spat.
"You were meddling in forbidden territory." The figure said, revealing themselves as a man. "The girl's mind is not something to be trifled with so foolishly. You don't know what goes on in there. There are things inside there that are best left unturned."
"I noticed. But…what were those images?" Etheline went up to Ren. "What did you do?" Etheline demanded quietly. No answer. Etheline gritted her teeth and grabbed Ren by the front of her clothes. "What did you do?!" Etheline practically screamed, shaking Ren, and Ren's only response was her head dropping backwards and forwards with each shake.
"Let her go!" Without even thinking about his actions, Toshiro pulled out the gun he kept hidden, pointed it at the pair, and pulled the trigger. A fireball three times the size of the ones Ren normally fired shot out of it, and the figure and Etheline managed to jump out of the way just in time. The man landed on the ground, holding onto Ren by her waist and Etheline landing next to him. Toshiro was momentarily stunned by what happened. The gun was supposed to be broken. But, just then, he shot a huge fireball that not even Ren could do. What just happened?
"…" The man stared intently at Toshiro. "You want the girl? Take her." The man threw Ren to the ground without any sense of care.
"Ren!" Toshiro was immediately by her side, skidding on the ground a little as he dropped to his knees, tossing his gun aside and letting it vanish into flames. He lifted Ren's upper body off the ground gently. She was unconscious, but she seemed okay nonetheless. "Ren…" Toshiro let out a small sigh of relief.
"We are done here." The man turned around. "Let's go."
"Yes, sir." Etheline vanished from the spot. Epona stepped away from the group, and after giving them, and Ren, a few glances, she also vanished from the spot. The group was finally left alone.
"Ren!" Tom and Steph quickly ran to Toshiro's side. "Is she alright?"
"It's okay." Toshiro reassured them. "She's just unconscious. After what happened today, she must be exhausted."
"Oh, good." Steph said with a relieved smile. "But still…that man..."
"What about him?" Toshiro asked, looking her way.
"We haven't met him until now, but…I know I heard that voice before."
"You know him?"
"I don't know…I just said I recognised his voice."
"Yeah…Me, too." Tom agreed.
"It's probably nothing." Ichigo said, joining the humans by their side, followed by Rukia, Renji and Rangiku. "Lots of people's voices sound the same."
"I guess…" Steph said, but she didn't sound convinced.
"…" Toshiro said nothing, suspicious. What exactly did Ren see? Whatever it was, it must have been something awful, especially since it was buried deep inside her mind like that. But what?
"Eh?"
"?" Everyone turned to the sound of the voice. Ren was awake. She sat up out of Toshiro's arms, rubbing her head. With sleepy, half-opened eyes, Ren glanced from one side of the group to the other slowly, processing what was happening.
"What is it?" Ren asked. "Did something happen?"
"Ren, how are you feeling?" Rukia asked.
"Um…okay." Ren stood up, wobbling a bit, and Toshiro quickly stood up and held her shoulders, steadying her. "I'm a little drowsy, but fine. Hey…when did the windows break?" Ren asked, noticing the glass on the ground. "And where did Epona go?"
"She's gone." Renji answered. "She left with a member of White Raven."
"Etheline went with them after you two fought." Toshiro added.
"Huh?" Ren looked at Toshiro. "Etheline is Epona's partner?"
"I guess she is. Ren, what did Etheline mean when she was talking about these 'illusions of the mind'? And who is Rosalie?" Toshiro asked.
"Beats the hell outta me." Ren shrugged off Toshiro's hands. "And judging by what you said, I guess she's the Master of Illusions or something. Now, I'd better start fixing this-"
"Wait a minute, Ren." Toshiro interrupted. "Don't you remember anything Etheline said to you just now."
"Just now?" Ren repeated, confused.
"Yes. You fought her, she bound you, she cast some kind of spell on you, you freaked out, this guy appeared, and you fell unconscious." Rangiku said, listing them on her fingers.
"It was literally just a few minutes ago. Don't you have any idea what she meant by all that?" Ichigo asked. Ren said nothing, still confused. When she did say something, it shocked everyone there, Soul Reapers and humans alike.
"You must be mistaken. I haven't fought Etheline in days."
…
"Is Ren almost here?" Rangiku asked loudly.
"No, not yet." Tom answered, looking out of the window. Everyone, minus Ren, was at the house the Soul Reapers were staying in. But, everyone seemed to be rushing around, and each with a job to do. Even Nathan was helping out in the living room, hanging up lanyards on the walls.
"Explain to me again why we're doing this." Toshiro said, his arms folded. He was the only one not doing anything, as he thought this idea was ridiculous; one of the most ridiculous ideas Rangiku had ever come up with.
"Because Ren seemed so down about the whole Epona incident yesterday." Steph answered.
"Is this it?" Ichigo asked from behind the stereo, holding a wire in his hand.
"Yeah, that's it. You need to plug it into that socket there." Steph said.
"I still don't understand why a party would help." Toshiro continued.
"Oh, come on, Captain!" Rangiku said cheerfully. "A party always cheered me up! So why not, Ren?"
"Because unlike you, Ren doesn't feel the need to indulge herself on sake." Toshiro retorted.
"Sorry, but I'm still a little lost." Nathan said, jumping down from a sofa after hanging up the last lanyard. "What exactly happened after the fight with Epona?"
"Yeah, I don't think you filled us in." Katelyn said, peering around the doorframe of the kitchen while clutching a bowl full of Doritos. "By the way, food is ready in five."
"Ren fixed the city with that healing power of hers and we went back to the school." Tom answered, looking away from the window. "That's when she apologised…"
Flashback
"I want to apologise to all of you." Ren said quietly, standing in the middle of the common room and surrounded by Steph, Tom and the Gigai-clad Soul Reapers. "The things I did as Dark Ren…they were just despicable. So…I'm sorry." Ren bowed her head as she apologised.
"Oh, it's okay, Ren." Steph said with a smile. "You weren't-"
"No it's not!" Ren yelled, interrupting Steph and surprising everyone. "How can you forgive me so easily?" Ren asked, an expression that was a mix of anger and sadness on her face. "I've been horrible to all of you! I tortured Rukia, Rangiku almost got her head bitten off, I treated Tom and Steph like they were insects, I threatened you, I cut you off, I even feel bad for insulting Renji!" Ren indicated Renji as she finished.
"You do?" Renji asked.
"Yeah, I mean, you piss me off for some reason, but I totally respect you, dude."
"Uh, thanks." Renji said without thinking.
"Ren, you…" Toshiro started, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"And then there's you, Shiro." Ren said, shrugging off his hand and turning to face him. "Out of all the things I've done, you had the brunt of it. You were hurt in more ways than one. I was willing to decapitate you, for crying out loud! I would have done it! I remember how I felt that day all too clearly! And looking back at it now, I hate it. It disgusts me knowing that I was going to do that to you. And then there's…there's…" Ren trailed off, and Toshiro noticed how Ren was gripping her wrist. He immediately knew she was thinking about her bracelet, which was still nestled in his pocket. "I know that I can never make up for what I did, but I hope you can at least know how sorry I am."
"…" Nobody said anything. Or rather, they couldn't think of anything to say.
"So then Rangiku thought a surprise party would cheer her up." Tom finished, going back to looking out of the window.
"Huh." Nathan said. "Never thought Ren was the type to fuss over stuff like this."
"Right! Everything is set! Now, where's the booze cabinet?" Rangiku wondered aloud, looking around the room.
"Are you nuts?" Steph exclaimed. "Ren hates alcohol!"
"But it ain't a party without liquor." Renji smirked. "Rangiku, check the hall."
"No alcohol!" Toshiro ordered.
"Aaaaaaaawww!" Renji and Rangiku whined.
"Most of us are underage, you know." Ichigo pointed out.
"Sorry, Dad!" Nathan said sarcastically.
"You're underage, too." Tom said.
"Yeah, but if there's a responsible adult in the room, then I'm fine." Nathan said with a smile.
"I hardly think any of them are responsible." Toshiro said.
"We're right here, you know." Renji said, a little insulted.
"I think Nathan is referring to Ren." Rukia said. "She is eighteen, after all."
"Don't you have any shame at all?" Toshiro asked Nathan, who just grinned.
"Hey, she's coming!" Tom said, spotting Ren walking up the path towards the house.
"Everyone in position!"
"But the food isn't done yet!"
"Worry about that later. Come on!" Everybody hurried to a hiding spot in the living room, with Toshiro being dragged to one by Steph. Tom clicked the lights off and got in his own hiding place. Everyone was quiet, and listened as the front door opened.
"Hello? Anybody home?" Ren's voice called out.
"This is stupid. It's going to freak her out." Toshiro whispered.
"Shhh." Steph shushed Toshiro, a finger over her lips.
"Anyone?" Footsteps went up the hall. They were getting closer to the living room archway. Nobody could resist peeking over to see Ren's silhouette appear in the archway.
"It's dark. Did you guys have a blackout again? I already showed you where the fuse box and light bulbs were." Ren fumbled the wall for a light switch, and when she found it, she flicked it up, illuminating the room, which was everyone's cue to burst out of their hiding places, pull on a few party poppers and yell:
"SURPRISE!"
"NYAAAAAAAA!" Ren yelled, quickly hiding behind the wall.
"…" Everyone stayed silent, sweat dropping a little as the coloured paper of the party poppers floated around them and landed on the carpet. That reaction was…new. Usually, people were thrilled by a surprise party. They were never scared of one.
"See?" Toshiro said. "I told you she'd freak out."
"Well, she's never really had a surprise party before." Steph said with an embarrassed smile.
"Uh…Ren?" Tom called out. "Are you okay?" Slowly, Ren peered around the corner with a fearful look on her face, and most of the boys in the room couldn't help but think how cute she looked just then.
"What are you doing?" Ren asked, finally recovering enough to enter the living room, but she still kept one hand on the wall. She was wearing her Nyan Cat outfit once again, and any signs of battle had vanished. It was like everything was brand new.
"We're throwing a surprise party for you!" Rangiku said happily, pulling on another party popper.
"I understand that. But, why?"
"Because you were so upset after that Epona stuff." Steph answered.
"I was?" Ren blinked.
"Yeah. We just want you to know that you may not be able to forgive yourself for what happened…" Toshiro flashed Ren one of his smiles. "But we forgive you."
"Thanks, guys." Ren smiled back, touched.
"And that's not all." Toshiro reached into his pocket, pulled it out and opened his palm out to Ren, revealing what was in there. Ren gasped.
"My bracelet!" Ren took it out of Toshiro's hand, looking around it for any sign of damage. "Where did you find it?"
"It landed in front of me right after you threw it."
"Omigod, this is such a relief." Ren slipped the bracelet onto her wrist again, feeling the same as the day she first got it. "Thank you so much!" Ren threw her arms around Toshiro's neck in a hug.
"I'm not done yet."
"Huh?" Ren pulled away. "You're not."
"No." Toshiro looked away for a moment before looking back to Ren, deciding once and for all he was going to reveal Zena's existence. "There's something I've been keeping from you for too long, and I want you to know."
"Is it that you've been secretly communicating with this Zena person everyone's been talking about since her spirit is inside my necklace and she told you not to say anything about it because she thought it would freak me out?" Ren said quickly and in one breath.
"…" Everyone in the room felt their jaws drop after that explanation. Ren figured it out already? How?! Nathan and Katelyn were the only ones who didn't let their jaws drop, since this was all a first to them.
"Okay, someone's gonna have to fill me in." Nathan said. Nobody responded. He looked at Katelyn, who merely shrugged.
"…" Without saying anything, Ren closed Toshiro's jaw for him.
"How did you…" Toshiro started, raising a hand feebly to point at her.
"Figured it out." Ren said with a shrug. "I mean, you got an Amber before everybody else did. I can see it stick out of your pocket every so often." Toshiro looked down and realised that the shape it made in his pocket was kind of obvious. "And my necklace is the same shape as my birthmarks. I thought it was nothing but, since we're dealing with an organisation, I thought assumptions would be harmless."
"You…" Toshiro closed his eyes for a moment, getting himself together. When he did, he opened his eyes and smiled at Ren again. "You really are something else."
"And how!" Ren said happily, giving Toshiro her signature smile. "Just tell me the next time something like that happens, okay?"
"Yes." Toshiro nodded.
She figured it out already?! Toshiro heard Zena exclaim in his head.
That's Ren for you. Get used to it. Toshiro thought back, amused.
"Now, I do believe that there is a party to be had."
"Yes, there is!" Rangiku clapped her hands together.
"I'll get the rest of the snacks." Katelyn went back into the kitchen.
Thirty minutes later
"Singin' Radiohead at the top of our lungs!"
"With the boom box blaring as we're falling in love!"
"Got a bottle of whatever but it's getting' us drunk!"
"Singin' here's to never growing up!" Tom, Steph and Katelyn sang loudly, clanging their bottles together as they sang the last line. All three of them were rather drunk, and so was everybody else in the room. Rangiku was dancing around the room and waving a bottle of wine in the air, not caring if some spilled. Rukia was bickering with Renji in a rather slurred voice. Nathan was leaning on the wall, grumbling sentences like 'Why doesn't Toshiro like me?'. Ichigo was the only one sober, sitting in the middle of the room with a blank expression. He wasn't sure whether to be exasperated, embarrassed or laughing his ass off at the drunken antics going on around him. But, when he saw Ren and Toshiro enter the room, he felt relieved that he wasn't the only sane one.
"…" Toshiro was speechless at what was happening. He explicitly ordered them not to drink alcohol!
"Huh." Ren said calmly. "Well, this is a thing."
"Renji, what happened?" Toshiro almost demanded, dragging Renji away from Rukia.
"Oh, hey Captain Hitsugaya!" Renji said happily. "Wow, you're so tiny."
"I'm going to ignore that if you tell me why you're drunk." Toshiro grumbled angrily, an anger mark clearly visible on his head.
"Who're you callin' drunk?! You're not drunk, I'm drunk!" Renji exclaimed.
"That's what I just said."
"Shiro, it's hopeless." Ren led Toshiro away from Renji gently, just as Renji was pounced on by Rukia. "People are impossible to talk to when they're that drunk."
"Heeeeeeeey, buddy!" Nathan suddenly had his arm wrapped around Toshiro's shoulder, and Toshiro wrinkled his nose at the smell of Nathan's breath. "How ya doin'?"
"I'm not your buddy." Toshiro grumbled, pushing Nathan away from him. "And two words: breath and mint."
"Aw, don't be so mean." Nathan whined.
"You don't seem too drunk. What happened?" Ren asked.
"Okay, well, uh, basically there, uh…there was a uh…cabinet, and the uh, um uh, booze!" Nathan muttered, exclaiming the last word with open arms.
"Okay, I got the words 'cabinet' and 'booze'. Did Rangiku find the alcohol cupboard?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, that's it. And now, everyone is tretty much potally fitshased. Wait, wait, I said that wrong. I meant to say everyone is sretty much fotally pittased. No, no, hang on, I got this. I meant to say…"
"Okay, okay, okay, you don't have to tell us!" Ren said quickly, covering Nathan's mouth with both her hands. "We're already beyond the PG mark, so let's try and keep it between 12 and 15!"
"What are you talking about?" Toshiro asked, confused.
"Nothing." Ren wandered away from Nathan.
"Well, it looks like we're the only two not drinking anything."
"Make that three." Ichigo said, raising his hand up for Toshiro and Ren to see.
"So three of us are not drunk." Toshiro corrected.
"I swear to drunk I'm not God!" Rangiku exclaimed, staggering past the pair with her bottle of wine and a tumbler half full of wine, both of which kept spilling over.
"Isn't it meant to be the other way around?" Toshiro asked, sweat dropping at how Rangiku had predictably proved his point.
"I'm gonna put the carpet stains on their rent." Ren said matter-of-factly after seeing how much of a mess Rangiku had made.
"Why aren't you drinking anything?" Ichigo asked Ren.
"Why aren't you?" Ren retorted.
"Underage."
"That's not stopping Steph. Or Nathan, for that matter."
"Nathan is a special case." Toshiro muttered.
"I heard that, Shiro. Besides, I don't really drink alcohol. It's gross! Plus, I don't wanna make an ass of myself in front of my friends." Ren glanced over at Steph, who was clinging on to an embarrassed Tom. "Clearly they don't share my worries."
"I'm glad you're the responsible one here." Ichigo said.
"Someone has to be." Ren shrugged. Ren took a can of Coke off the table in front of Ichigo and opened it, taking a swig. "Believe me; I've dabbled in drunken antics before. And, I've noticed the different types of drunk."
"Types of drunk?" Toshiro repeated.
"Yup." Ren nodded. "Boys, allow me to educate you. Exhibit A…" Ren indicated Tom, Katelyn and Steph with one hand. "We have two different types of drunk. Katelyn is a happy drunk."
"I now pronounce you man and wife!" Katelyn said happily, pointing at Steph and Tom.
"You may now kiss the bride…" Steph said with a smile, placing her hands on a nervous Tom's shoulders, who didn't know how to react.
"Steph is a flirty drunk. Tom appears to be a dizzy drunk, since his eyes occasionally wobble and his head keeps drooping."
"…" Ichigo and Toshiro nodded at Ren's words as though they were students and Ren was a teacher. They were even sitting in front of the coffee table.
"Exhibit B" Ren indicated Nathan with another motion of her hand, and he had resumed slumping against a wall and muttering under his breath. "From what I've seen tonight, Nathan goes back between happy drunk and gloomy drunk, but both of those depends on the mood of the person. Exhibit C" Ren indicated Renji and Rukia, who were nearby the trio "Renji also qualifies as a happy drunk, and judging by the headlock Rukia has him in, I'd say she's an angry drunk."
"She can get angrier?" Ichigo said in a fearful voice, turning around to look at Rukia, who noticed him staring at her.
"You threw me off the Sokyoku!" Rukia yelled, pointing at Ichigo. "I almost died again!"
"I'm not even gonna ask." Ren said calmly. "Exhibit D…" She looked around the room. "Hey, where's Rangiku?"
"Over there." Toshiro pointed to his left. Ichigo and Ren looked. After a few seconds, Toshiro went wide eyed and Ichigo's face went bright red.
"Huh. Well, I guess Rangiku is a stripper drunk."
"Rangiku!" Toshiro stood up and rushed towards Rangiku before she could lose any more dignity.
"And I believe that are all the major classes of drunk." Ren clapped her hands together once to show she was finished.
"I swear, I'm never touching a drop of alcohol." Ichigo vowed, his face becoming less red every second.
"Well, there's always gotta be a couple people sober at a party." Ren said, sitting down next to Ichigo.
"Why?"
"Designated drivers. Duh."
"Oh, yeah."
"Look on the bright side."
"What bright side?"
"At least there aren't any lightweights." Ren said with a wink. "The last thing we need is someone who can't hold their liquor."
"Finally." Toshiro sighed, coming back into the room. "Rangiku fell asleep. Judging by the amount she drank, she'll be awake in a few more minutes. Let's hope she's a little more sober." Saying this made Toshiro mentally shudder at the fact that he knew exactly how to deal with Rangiku when she was drunk, mainly when she was in the office and trying to get out of doing work. Hopefully, he won't have to do it again anytime soon.
"Toshirooooooo!" Steph suddenly wrapped her arms around Toshiro, giggling. "Isn't it great that Ren's back?!"
"Yeah, sure, it's great." Toshiro said dismissively, trying to loosen Steph's grip around him. But, Steph already had, and was now staring intently at his face. "What?" Without warning, Steph grabbed a clump of Toshiro's white hair in her fist. She tugged it a little, pulling Toshiro's head towards her and prompting a flat "ow" from Toshiro.
"Woooooow, you're hair's so cool! I thought it would be rough 'cos of the spikes, but it's actually really soft!" Steph then ruffled Toshiro's hair while laughing. "Do you use Ren's conditioner of something?!"
"Okay, okay, my hair is weird." Toshiro finally pulled himself free from Steph's grip and sat down on a chair as far away from Steph as he could go, rubbing his head. This party was giving him a headache, and in more ways than one. Steph had already got bored and was back with Tom, who was lying on the ground and moaning about how dizzy he felt.
"Ren was right. He really is a dizzy drunk." Toshiro thought out loud. "Speaking of drink, I really need one." Toshiro looked left and right across the table he was sat behind. "Ah. There's one." Toshiro grabbed a glass full of blue liquid and took a gulp. He pulled the glass away and stared at it, suspicious. "Funny tasting soda. It must have gone flat. Oh, well."
"Hey, careful with that!" Ren barely caught a vase that was falling off the table thanks to Renji's clumsiness. She placed it back where it originally stood with a sigh. "If I see any more stains or breakages, I'm adding them on your rent! Geez!" Ren proceeded to wander around the music filled house, avoiding the messes on the floor. "It's not easy being the non-drinker. At least I'm not the only one." Ren smiled as soon as she saw Toshiro sitting at another table. "And there's one now." Ren trotted over to him. "Hey, Shiro, how are things on your end?" No answer. Toshiro just looked ahead of him, his head in his hand. "Shiro, what's up?"
"Who the hell're you?!" Toshiro demanded with a slurred voice, looking up at Ren.
"Eh?" Ren stared at Toshiro blankly.
"Ah, it's Ren. Do you know how much trouble you caused me running off to Epona? I just can't take my eyes off you, can I? You really are an eccentric weirdo, aren't'cha?!" Toshiro burst out laughing, but Ren continued to stare at him blankly.
"Shiro…What have you been drinking?"
"Just some soda. Best damn soda I ever had!" Toshiro showed Ren his glass of blue liquid, which only had a little bit left. Ren took it from his hand and, ignoring Toshiro's protests, gave it a sniff.
"An alcopop?!" Ren exclaimed. "These barely have any alcohol in it at all!"
So much for no lightweights…Ren thought.
"Can I have it back now? Thanks." Toshiro took the glass from Ren's hand before she could respond and downed the rest of it, slamming the glass on the table afterwards.
"Shiro, I think you're drunk."
"You're drunk!" Toshiro retorted, hiccupping immediately afterwards.
"Denial is the clincher. You are drunk."
"I'm not drunk! Huh? Hey, who are your two friends? Aren't you going to introduce me? And why do they look like you?"
"…" Ren answered by getting out her phone and holding it up to Toshiro's level.
"What're you doing?"
"Getting video evidence, 'cos you're not gonna believe anybody tomorrow."
"Evidence of what? How awesome I am?"
"You said the word 'awesome'. You must be drunk."
"Hey, I'm not a…a uh…um…" Toshiro looked away. "Wait, what's that word again?"
"I guess alcohol really does make somebody stupid." Ren said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not stupid! I'm the freakin' captain of the freakin' tenth squad!" Toshiro slammed his hand on the table "Debbie Downer! That's the word! I'm not a Debbie Downer!"
"You really cannot hold a conversation. And Debbie Downer is two words. Plus, I don't think that applies to you."
"You shut up!" Toshiro stood up, but promptly tripped over his own feet, making Ren drop her phone on the table and catch him. "Whoops!" Toshiro laughed and hiccupped again.
"Okay, come on, Mr Awesome." Ren wrapped Toshiro's arm around her shoulder and started to lead him out of the room. But, she left her phone behind, which was picked up by none other than Rangiku, who was a little more sober than before. She saw her captain being led out of the room, and smiled. This could be fun.
The next morning
"Urgh…My head…" Steph slowly walked into the room, rubbing her head. Everyone, except for Ichigo, Ren and Toshiro, were also in the living room, groaning. Some had passed out on the floor, but the humans had the sense to go upstairs.
"God, it feels like there's a knife in my head." Nathan collapsed face first into a sofa.
"I think I'm dying…The room's all spinny…" Tom said in a voice that was still a little slurred.
"My friends, you have hangovers." Ren said, entering the room.
"Ren, not so loud. My head hurts." Toshiro said in a quiet voice, appearing beside her. Upon realising Toshiro was right there, Ren's cheeks went pink and she edged away from him, much to his confusion.
"You've obviously never had one." Ren said, pointing at Toshiro. "Alright, if anyone has a splitting headache, raise your hands." Everyone raised their hands, even Nathan, who was still face down on the sofa, and Tom, who was flat on his back on the floor. "Hands down." Everyone did so. "If your throat is dry, raise your hands." More hands went up. "Yup. Hangovers. It's fine. There's some painkillers in the cupboard next to the cereal, get plenty of water in you and you'll be fine." This prompted a lot of groans and complaining from everyone in the room.
"Come on! Can't you use your healing power on us?" Renji moaned.
"Yeah, then we'll be better like that." Steph snapped her fingers, and that same hand went to her head after the snap.
"Daaaaaaaaame!" Ren insisted. "You brought these hangovers onto yourselves, so you're gonna have to nurse them yourself."
"Pleeeeeeeease." Everyone said at the same time. Well, everyone except Toshiro.
"Oh, fine!" Ren finally relented. "But only because you're my friends."
"Yaaaaaay!" Everyone cheered, and seconds later, they were all groaning from the pain that cheer gave them.
"Bakas." Ren sighed. "Shiro, since you didn't know you were drinking alcohol, I'll do you first."
"Wait, what?" Toshiro said as Ren's glowing hands went to his head. In mere seconds, his headache immediately went away. He still felt a little thirsty, but other than that, he felt good as new.
"Right, who's next?" Ren said, wandering away from Toshiro a little quickly, which Toshiro noticed. Why was Ren acting like this?
…
"Alright, that's the last one." Ren dusted her hands off. Everyone was already feeling a lot better, since their headaches were gone and all that was left over was their dry throats.
"Who wants water?" Ichigo came out of the kitchen with a box full of bottled water, and in less than a second, it was instantly empty. "What the?!"
"Man, last night was wild." Steph said after taking a huge gulp of water and feeling instantly better.
"Too bad some of us don't remember it." Renji said.
"Well, at least I wasn't drunk texting my ex." Katelyn said.
"Check your recent calls." Ren said, overhearing what Katelyn said.
"?" Katelyn got her phone out of her pocket. Silence. "Damn it!" She exclaimed angrily.
"Wait, what about school?" Tom gasped.
"It's Saturday."
"Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ren."
"And if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go to my theatre group." Ren turned around to leave, but a beeping noise stopped her. "Hm?" Ren took her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. Silence. "Son of a…" Ren shoved her phone pack in her pocket, grumbling.
"What's wrong?" Katelyn asked.
"Altair wants to see me."
"Now?" Tom asked.
"Well, in a few minutes. I gotta go to one of his 'therapy sessions'." Ren made quotation marks in the air. "Damn bastard always wants to see me for therapy at this time. I mean, it's not like there's a virus that comes around every March."
Every March? Toshiro thought, paying attention to what was being said. That's the same as the anniversary and the blank fortnight.
"Well, it'll only be for a fortnight." Steph said, trying to lighten Ren's mood a little.
"I guess. But, it's not the therapy that bugs me. It's more the fact that I never seem to remember the sessions. Do you guys know what he does?"
"…" Katelyn, Steph, Tom and Nathan looked at one another, neither one wanting to answer. And this certainly didn't go unnoticed by Toshiro. But, Ren paid it no mind.
"Guess I'll be missing my theatre group. Again!"
"Ren…" Toshiro started. "If I may ask, why exactly do you see this man? Is there something wrong?"
"Why do I see him?" Ren repeated. "Why do I see him?" Ren folded her arms in thought. "Huh. You know, I have no idea. I've been seeing him for a fortnight every year for a while now, and I can never remember…Gh!" Ren suddenly moved her hands up to her head, and Toshiro could see how her fingers were clenching her skull. She had somehow been stricken with a headache.
"Ren!" Toshiro went to Ren's side when she collapsed on her knees. Toshiro got down to her level and grabbed her arm before she could fall any further. "Are you alright?" Toshiro asked. He saw Ren's cheeks go pink.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just got a headache is all. I'm probably just tired after last night." Ren said quickly, avoiding eye contact with Toshiro at all costs.
"Are you sure?" Toshiro leaned closer towards Ren, placing a hand on her forehead. When Ren realised just how close Toshiro was to her, her cheeks turned from pink to red. "You do feel a little warm…" Now, Ren's face had turned a glowing scarlet.
"Bathroom! 'Scuse me!" Ren squeaked, pushing Toshiro away from her and running out of the room.
"Um…What just happened?" Toshiro asked, looking at the group. In particular, he noticed how Rangiku was trying to hide a grin on her face.
"Why don't you ask her?" Rangiku said mysteriously, pointing at the archway Ren had left from.
"I don't think she'd tell me if her running out the room is anything to go by." Toshiro picked himself up from the ground, looking around for some bottled water. He was still absolutely parched! He grabbed one and took a quick swig. "Did something happen last night?"
"Maybe…" Nathan said slowly.
"Maybe not…" Tom said in an equally slow voice. Both of them were looking both amused and guilty.
"What happened?" Toshiro asked impatiently.
"Toshiro…Have you been on YouTube recently?" Steph asked.
"What's a YouTube?" Toshiro asked, confused.
"YouTube is an online site where people share videos." Ren said, peering round the corner as she explained.
"Okay, that sounds like a stupid idea. So, what does this have to do with last night?"
"!" Ren's face went pink again. "Gomenasai!" Ren clasped her hands above her head, which was bowed.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Well, you drank some alcohol that you mistook for soda, and that was enough to get you pre-tty drunk." Ren explained while taking out her phone and tapping at the screen a few times. "I recorded a little of it, but then I forgot about it, Rangiku found it, she recorded the rest and somehow managed to upload it on the internet."
"What?" Toshiro said flatly.
"Here." Ren showed Toshiro the screen of her phone, and Toshiro stepped a little closer to look at it.
"What're you doing?"
"Getting video evidence, 'cos you're not gonna believe anybody tomorrow."
"!" Toshiro went wide-eyed after hearing those first two lines. Most importantly, he was shocked at how ridiculous he looked in that video. And how he sounded. If it were Rangiku in the video, he would understand, but him?!
"Evidence of what? How awesome I am?"
"You said the word 'awesome'. You must be drunk."
"Hey, I'm not a…a uh…um…Wait, what's that word again?"
"I guess alcohol really does make somebody stupid."
"I'm not stupid! I'm the freakin' captain of the freakin' tenth squad! Debbie Downer! That's the word! I'm not a Debbie Downer!"
"You really cannot hold a conversation. And Debbie Downer is two words. Plus, I don't think that applies to you."
"You shut up! Whoops!"
"Okay, come on, Mr Awesome."
"Oh, no." Toshiro finally said, which sounded a lot stupider than it did in his head, but he was too mortified to care. "This could not be any more humiliating."
"Give it a minute." Ren said flatly.
"Woooooooow! This bed is soooooo comfortable!"
"Yeah, yeah. Just get some rest and you'll have a nice hangover in the morning." The camera had a shot of Toshiro and Ren in a bedroom, neither one of them noticing that someone was recording them. Ren turned to leave, but Toshiro grabbed her arm. "Shiro?"
"Listen, I know that I'm…I'm a bit of a jerk sometimes. But it's only because I care about you."
"Huh?"
"You…You are such…an amazing person. You…" Toshiro pointed a wobbly finger at Ren as he struggled to stay upright as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I am so lucky to have met you. You know that?"
"Shiro…I don't understand what you're saying." Ren slipped her arm from Toshiro's grip, but he didn't even notice.
"Wha…What's to understand? I'm saying I like you. There! I said it! I like you, Ren! I like you soooooooo much!"
"Aw…geez…" Ren shifted around uncomfortably, her face starting to turn a little red.
"Oh my goodness."
"Eh? Rangiku, what are you doing?"
"That's my line. What are you doing with my captain?" Rangiku retorted playfully.
"Trying to sober him up a bit, and…Rangiku, is that my phone?"
"Nooooooooo…"
"Are you…Are you recording us with the camera?!" Ren recoiled back, embarrassed.
"Cheese!" Toshiro exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.
"Busted!"
"Rangiku, get back here!"
And just like that, the video ended. Nobody said anything, afraid of how Toshiro would react to this video. There was a slight chill in the air, and some people could have sworn the water in Toshiro's plastic bottle was starting to freeze.
"Rangiku…" Toshiro said calmly, turning around to face her, and Rangiku flinched.
"Um…well…we were all very drunk." Rangiku reasoned with a nervous smile.
"Run." Toshiro said.
"It's not my fault! It was uh…uh…Tom!"
"What?!" Tom exclaimed.
"Yeah! He told me about the website! Blame him! Oh, and it was Renji's idea to upload it! Nathan encouraged it, too!"
"Uh oh." Renji and Nathan looked away, wondering what Toshiro was going to do to him. To either of them.
"Run…to Soul Society." Toshiro said slowly.
Silence
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Rangiku yelled, running out of the living room as fast as she could go.
"RANGIKU! Get back here!" Toshiro ran after her, and Ren watched him run off, pocketing her phone.
"Okay, well, that happened." Ren turned to the rest of the group. "Now, I'm sure you understand that this house could do with tidying up, so Renji will take care of that as punishment for his part in that video."
"Say what?! Why me?!"
"Because Rangiku ran, now get a mop. I want to see these carpets spotless by the time I get back from Altair."
"Damn Rangiku…" Renji grumbled, skulking off with hunched shoulders.
"Shouldn't we go after him?" Nathan asked. "I mean, Toshiro is pretty tough."
"Nah, he'll be okay." Ren said dismissively.
"He nearly broke my nose, you know."
"Well, you did have it coming. And whatever he does to Rangiku, she'll have it coming, too."
"Dang, you can be surprisingly harsh. You know that?" Nathan said.
"Yup. I am the landlady here, after all. And that reminds me, you and Tom are going to help Renji."
"But-"
"No buts."
"Yes, Ren." Nathan and Tom said gloomily, hanging their heads. Ren heard a skidding noise, and Toshiro was back in the living room, clenching his water bottle angrily.
"She got away. Damn it." He took a huge swig of water, not paying attention to the fact that it was now ice cold.
"Go easy on her, okay?" Ren said.
"Why? She's my lieutenant." Toshiro retorted. "And that video was just so…demeaning." Toshiro eventually found the word he was looking for.
"Yeah, but she uploaded it from my phone. So, if you want to, I can delete that video and it will be like this never happened. 'Kay?" Ren said with a smile.
"I'd really appreciate that." Toshiro said gratefully.
"Great. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to see Altair. I'm getting another headache after all this." Ren walked towards Toshiro and the exit of the living room, a hand on her head. She accidentally brushed shoulders with Toshiro, and upon this sudden contact, Toshiro felt his back burn. But this time, it felt hotter than usual. Was he going to end up using one of Ryuki's powers again? Was he going to have any visions? This suspicion was confirmed when he saw several images flash before his eyes. But they came by so quickly, he didn't have time to process what each one was. What he did process were intense emotions. Sadness. Pain. Anger. Hatred. They were all there. They made him dizzy. But, nobody in the room knew what was going on. In their eyes, they just saw Toshiro twitch when Ren brushed her shoulder against his.
"Sorry." Ren muttered a quick apology before she grabbed her bag from the hall, opened the front door and left the building. Everything was silent.
"Hey, Toshiro, you okay?" Ichigo asked, thinking that he would correct him like he usually did whenever Ichigo called him by his name. Nothing. Toshiro just continued to stare into space. After a couple seconds, Toshiro's grip on his water bottle loosened, and it collapsed on the carpet, leaving a puddle of water to get absorbed into the carpet. Then, Toshiro started to sway a little, and by the time Renji had entered with a mop, he was falling. When Rangiku entered several seconds later, Toshiro had collapsed on the floor, unmoving.
"A-Are you alright, Toshiro?" Steph and Tom were immediately by his side.
"What's got into him?" Nathan almost demanded, feeling Toshiro's neck for a pulse.
"Hey, Rukia, can you do something?" Tom asked frantically.
"Right." Rukia went to Toshiro's side, placed a hand on his shoulder, and she gasped. "What? He's unconscious! What happened?"
"What do we do? Do we call an ambulance?" Katelyn was already getting her phone out. While the humans and Rukia were trying to help Toshiro, Rangiku and the other Soul Reapers were just standing there, shocked.
"Toshiro!" Ichigo was the first to snap out of it, rushing to his side. "I'll take him upstairs."
"I'll go get some water." Renji went straight to the kitchen. Only Rangiku was left, as if she hadn't fully processed the fact that her captain had suddenly collapsed for some inexplicable reason. Eventually, the fact did get through to her. Toshiro was unconscious. He needed help! At the same time, Ren was already halfway down the street where the house resided, oblivious to what was going on, although it didn't stop her from hearing a voice. But, it was so quiet she thought nothing of it. She did not know that voice was Rangiku, ad she did not know that it was an anguished cry for her superior and friend that she had been running away from just a few minutes ago.
"CAPTAIN!"
Dun dun duuuuuuuun! What just happened? Did Toshiro just have another vision? What did he see? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was really fun to do everyone drunk! Review, favourite, add, follow and see you in the next chapter!