Fate and Destiny

by constantdaydreamergirl

Toshiro is sent to the World of the Living to investigate Hollow-like monsters, but he is stripped of his powers when he arrives. It is here he meets Ren, a human girl who is linked to the monsters. But, the longer Toshiro stays here, the more he suspects that there is more to Ren and the monsters than meets the eye...Full summary inside. Pairing Toshiro x OC

28. The Jealousy Bug

How's it going, guys? Welcome back to Fate and Destiny. It's been pretty busy up here, what with my brother graduating from university AND finding out he proposed to his girlfriend a couple days ago! WEDDING! It won't be until next year, though, but still, WEDDING! Then, my cousin proposed to HIS girlfriend. ANOTHER WEDDING! And, his baby son got christe-, whoops, I mean dedicated, I went up The Shard, I got to kill zombies in an abandoned mall; basically, July has been AWESOME! So, yeah, it's smiles all around right now. But, for Ren and Toshiro, there won't be as many smiles for a while yet. Care to find out why? Then read on and enjoy the ride!

Chapter 26

The Jealousy Bug

What the…Where am I? What is this place?

Toshiro knew he was awake, or conscious at least. But, he saw nothing but darkness. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. And, it felt like he was lying back on something. Something made of leather. A chaise, maybe? Then, without warning, a light shone right in his face, and Toshiro had to shield his eyes. He could faintly make out the silhouette of a man standing next to the light, but the light was so bright, Toshiro couldn't pick out any distinguishing features.

"Now…I trust you know why you are here." The man said.

"…" Toshiro said nothing. Or, more precisely, he couldn't. He tried to open his mouth to talk. To make a sound. But, nothing came out. Not even a single groan. It was like he had suddenly been stricken with lockjaw.

"No answer? That's alright. There will be little need for talking here. Are you familiar with hypnotherapy?"

"…" Toshiro felt himself nod.

"You will not feel a thing. It may take a while, but I promise you, you will be cured. For now."

"…" Toshiro saw the man leave the light and out of sight. He heard a rustling sound. Was the man searching through a drawer? If so, then for what?

"These sessions may seem…unpleasant. But, try to endure. For your sake. For the sake of your family. Your friends. Your home. Everything rests with what happens to you. The sooner you do as I ask, the sooner things will return to normal." Toshiro heard footsteps approach him again. The man was coming back. He felt something tighten around his right wrist, binding him to the chaise he was lying back on. It was painful. Whoever this man was, he clearly had no care towards him, even if he was supposed to be a doctor. Toshiro instinctively struggled against the binding, but it was no good. The leather rope was tied tightly, and wasn't about to loosen anytime soon. And, with each struggle, Toshiro could feel the leather rope rub up against his skin, and if he struggled a little more, Toshiro knew that he would end up drawing blood. He felt the rope tighten around on his left wrist, too. Then, on his ankles. He was completely immobile.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?! Why are you binding me?!" Toshiro demanded.

Did I just say that? Toshiro thought. I wasn't going to say anything. It's like somebody is speaking for me. No, they're speaking through me. What the hell is going on?

"I am a doctor. Your health is my top concern. Your comfort, however, is not." Toshiro heard a scraping sound. The man was pulling up a chair. He saw the man sit down on a chair, his hands linked together and his leg resting on top of his knee. Toshiro clenched his teeth. The doctor was looking at him as though Toshiro were a circus animal and he was a member of the audience. That bastard didn't give a damn about him!

"That doesn't explain why you tied me down! Take them off! I want to use my hands!" Toshiro cried out, and once more, it wasn't of his own accord. He tried to add his own retort, but again, found himself unable to open his mouth after that outburst.

"This first session is most likely going to get violent. I have to take precautions so that you don't injure yourself. Or myself, for that matter. Besides, I'm sure you're used to this kind of binding. After all, you wear it every day here. Although, with the way you struggle against it, it's a miracle it hasn't left scars."

Binding? Toshiro thought. Scars? What's he talking about?

"Now, let's get started, shall we? Let's look back. Back to…last February, perhaps."

"I'd rather not." Toshiro said. At this point, he had stopped resisting against the involuntary talking. He was just going to roll with it, as Ren and her friends would say. "My memories are something I'd rather not remember."

"Your preference does not signify. I am here to help you forget."

"Forget? Forget what?"

"Your past. It holds you back from your future. Memories are more often a curse than a blessing. You are a slave to your memories. I am here to set you free."

"…" Toshiro said nothing. Or at least, the force making him speak against his will said nothing. Even then, he had nothing to say.

"Now…relax."

"…" Toshiro obeyed. His head rested against the chaise, and he felt his fists unclench in the binds. Well, at least he could move by himself somewhat.

"I will cover your eyes now."

Toshiro saw the man cover his eyes with something. Fortunately, this one wasn't made of leather. It was significantly softer. It was a cloth. Or, maybe, a sleep mask? Toshiro felt his eyes instinctively close against this blindfold.

"Clear you mind of distractions…Focus…You are floating…weightless…Think back…"

"!" Toshiro gasped, but his eyes remained closed. He suddenly saw visions of fire right before his eyes. Everything was burning. He could feel the heat. He could smell the ashes and the smoke. And…something else. Was it…It was human flesh! People were being burnt alive!

"No…Don't make me go back there… I don't want to remember…"

"You won't. Forget that memory. It is unproductive."

"What memory?"

"Good. Now, think further back."

"!" Toshiro saw another image. It was of many shadowed figures. And they all had wicked grins on their faces, laughing at him. One person stood out in particular, with long curly hair and brandishing a box cutter in their hand. But, those silhouettes suddenly cracked, and then shattered like glass, like many windows had been broken at once. He saw glass shards fall around him. Then, he couldn't breathe. He felt like he was underwater, but he was as dry as a bone. Toshiro could feel water filling up his lungs. It made him cough and sputter and gasp for air.

"No! Don't focus on that memory. Forget it. Forget it!" And, just like that, the vision was gone. Toshiro felt the invisible water leave his lungs, and the panting breaths confirmed that he could breathe again. But, why couldn't he breathe before? What did the man want him to forget? He couldn't remember. But, before he even had a chance to recollect himself, Toshiro saw another vision. It was the letter R. It was jagged. Like it had been scratched on with four solid, straight lines. Then he heard a girl laughing at him. She sounded no older than sixteen years old. Toshiro saw a spider crawl across the letter R. Normally, spiders didn't scare him, but this time, for some reason, he was absolutely terrified of this spider, even though it wasn't real. The letter R turned red, and red liquid seeped out of it, and as soon as Toshiro saw this, his left arm started to hurt. It was a hot pain that he was all too familiar with. It was the pain of a blade. The laughter became louder, and he heard the sounds of thumping on a door. He heard screams. His screams. He was suddenly screaming the words "Let me out!" over and over again. Toshiro felt sharp pains in his wrists. The man was right. This session was going to be violent. Toshiro seemed to be completely ignoring the pain the bindings were inflicting on him. He could feel them get wet, and he knew that the leather had cut into his skin. But, he didn't care. Toshiro just couldn't stop struggling against the bindings, no matter how much he wanted to. Something was preventing him from stopping. He just kept on struggling, and more blood kept seeping out of his wrists. He could feel some drops of blood drip down his hands and off his fingers.

"Stop! You're injuring yourself!" Toshiro felt the man push down against his shoulders, restraining his struggling somewhat, and then the man grabbed his wrists, and Toshiro stopped struggling, gasping for air.

"Let me out of here! Let me out!" Toshiro yelled. "Eh?" Toshiro saw the fire again, and he smelt the ashes and the burning flesh again. It was this memory again. "Fire!"

"Fire?"

"No…I'm in Hell!"

"That's not right. What's that doing there?"

"Get away from me!" Toshiro started to struggle again, but much more violently than before, and the man found it extremely difficult to remain on top of him. "No! Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Don't come any closer!"

"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." Toshiro felt the man let go of him, but he was struggling and screaming so much, he barely noticed or even cared. More blood dripped off his fists, and now the blindfold covering Toshiro's eyes started to get damp. The laughing girl was back again. But, the flames became much fiercer, and soon, that girl was also screaming. Toshiro had never heard screams like that before, and he had a job killing monsters that emitted truly terrifying screams. Somehow, this scream of a human in pain was far more frightening than any Hollow, or even Feather, he had ever fought. "What do you see?"

"Everything is burning! Make it stop! Make it stop! Somebody, help me!"

"It looks like this session is over. There has been more progress than I thought, but it will take a while before we are finished. Wake at the sound of my clap."

"No! No!" Toshiro kept yelling. He had never seen or felt something so horrific in all his life. He tried to focus on listening for the clap. He just wanted this nightmare to end!

…

"NO!" Toshiro bolted upright, wide eyed. He was in a bedroom. It wasn't his room back at Ren's house. Toshiro remembered that there was a party at the Soul Reaper's house. He never left. He was safe. Panting, Toshiro rubbed his head, relieved that what he just experienced was only a dream. As if making sure, Toshiro looked at his wrists. They were unmarked. It really was just a dream. What the hell kind of dream was it, though? That's when he noticed he wasn't alone. The Soul Reapers were all in the room with him, staring at him. Toshiro couldn't tell if they were concerned or confused.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Toshiro asked, surprised how calm he sounded, considering what he just went through.

"Well…" Ichigo started, sharing a look with the Soul Reapers. "You passed out all of a sudden, so I carried you up here."

"Then, you started muttering something." Rukia explained. "Something about memories."

"And then you were thrashing around like you were being held down by something. I tried to hold you down, but you punched me in the face." Renji pointed out the new bruise on his cheek.

"Oh, and don't forget the screaming and uncontrollable sobbing!" Rangiku quipped in.

"What?" Toshiro placed a hand under his eye. The skin did feel a little damp. He thought it was sweat when he woke up, but after what Rangiku said, Toshiro couldn't believe that he, of all people, was crying. But, crying about what?

"We were really worried about you." Rukia said, concerned.

"Well, I'm fine now, so you have no need to worry." Toshiro swung his legs around so that he was sitting at the edge of the bed. "Anyone got some water?"

"Here." Renji handed him a half full bottle of water. Toshiro immediately took it and almost drank the whole thing, he was so thirsty.

"Sorry about punching you, Renji." Toshiro apologised as soon as his mouth left the lips of the plastic bottle.

"It's fine."

"What happened, Captain Hitsugaya?" Rukia asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Toshiro answered. "It was probably just a nightmare. I must have passed out from exhaustion or something. I mean, I did get quite drunk last night."

"I don't think it's any nightmare." Rukia said. "I did at first, and I tried to wake you up, but then…"

"But then what?" Toshiro asked, encouraging Rukia to finish her sentence.

"But then…I heard the name 'Rosalie'."

What? Toshiro thought. That's the name Ren kept saying the other day.

"Did you see Rosalie in your dream?" Rukia asked, her face suddenly serious.

"I…" Toshiro trailed off, thinking about what he saw. What did he see? He knew it was frightening. Maybe even traumatic. But, for some reason, he couldn't recollect what happened.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Ichigo said, noticing Toshiro's hesitation.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you." Toshiro said. "It's that I can't."

"What, you mean you don't remember?" Renji asked, both surprised and frustrated. And that frustration grew when Toshiro shook his head.

"Even if I did remember…" Toshiro stood up from the bed, rubbing the rest of the moisture off his face with his arm. "It's something I never want to see again." Toshiro placed the water bottle down on the bedside table. "Where are the humans?"

"They uh…they left a couple minutes ago. They said they had to prepare for something." Ichigo answered.

"I see." Toshiro started to walk out of the room. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine now. If you need me, I'll be at Ren's house."

"…" The Soul Reapers didn't stop Toshiro, and all four of them shared their silent concern for their captain as his footsteps grew quieter until they vanished as soon as a door closed behind him. They had never seen him like that before. So vulnerable. So scared.

…

"I'm back." Toshiro called, walking through the front door. No answer. "Right. She's seeing that guy. What was his name? Altair?" Toshiro went through the hallway, and ended up gripping the banister of the stairs tightly. That dream he had left him more exhausted than before he passed out. And the headache he was having made the hangover feel like nothing in comparison.

"I need some rest." Summoning up his reserves of strength, Toshiro moved away from the stairs and practically dragged himself into the living room, collapsing on a sofa with a sigh.

The humans have gone home. Toshiro thought. No, not home. They were making preparations. But for what?

"Wait…" Toshiro suddenly got a sense of foreboding. "What day is it?" Toshiro took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. The time was 11:34am and the date was Saturday 27th February. Wait, 27th February?!

"Huh?!" Toshiro bolted upright, holding the phone at arm's length. "27th?! I can't believe it's been this long!" Toshiro's eyes widened. "That means…" Toshiro looked out of the window, which had a great view of most of the village. "I'm already halfway through that Blank Fortnight." Toshiro looked at the date on his phone again. "The anniversary is on the 7th of March. It's unbelievable how close it is." Toshiro felt a little embarrassed. He was so focused on the Epona incident, he had completely forgotten about the anniversary.

"Okay…regroup." Toshiro collapsed back onto the sofa, resting his arm on his forehead. "The anniversary is coming up in more than a week. I don't know what the anniversary is for, and the humans seem to know more than they're letting on. Nathan is quite honest about it, but Katelyn and Stephanie just dodge the questions. But, they do look like they're hiding something. Ren might know about this, since she is a member of the head families. The village hall could contain something crucial about all this. And, there's a sixth village that nobody talks about. I'll have to find out where it is. There's a mystery tunnel behind Ren's house that leads who knows where. And, for some reason, there is a fortnight missing in all of the folders in this house. It might be the same for the village hall, but I'll have to go there myself to check. Right." Toshiro stood up off the sofa. For some reason, he felt a lot more energised. "First thing's first. I'll have a look around that village hall." Toshiro wobbled a bit, still a little woozy from the dream he had. "But not right now. I'll do it tomorrow."

"Do what tomorrow?" Ren asked, entering the living room.

"Wah, Ren, when did you get here?!" Toshiro almost exclaimed, startled by Ren's sudden appearance.

"Just now. But you were preoccupied by your own thoughts, as per." Ren wandered closer to Toshiro, staring intently at his face.

"Is everything okay?" Toshiro asked, confused. Ren didn't respond, and placed her hand on his forehead.

"You don't look too good. You're not getting ill, are ya?"

"No, I'm fine, I'm just tired… I guess."

"Are you still hungover?" Ren said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I healed you."

"Probably. I've never had one before, so I don't know." Toshiro half-lied, as he was half hoping that this headache was from a hangover and not from that dream he had.

"Well, just get some rest and you'll be fine, okay?" Toshiro nodded. Ren moved her hand away from Toshiro and moved a step back from him, placing her hands on her hips. "And you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Um…Nothing important." Toshiro lied, and this time, it was a real lie.

She mustn't know about what I'm doing. Toshiro thought. It would only worry her. As much as I know how involved Ren is in this anniversary, I don't want to drag her into this.

"Well, good. 'Cos I've got a little something I wanna teach you."

"Eh?"

"Look, I noticed during the whole Epona thing that you're telekinetic now, right? Well, I'm pretty handy when it comes to it, so I can teach you the basics. I mean, if you want to."

Well, I guess the anniversary can wait. Toshiro thought. This will be useful in the future. After all, it's only a week.

"Alright." Toshiro said. "I am at your command."

"Geez, that makes me feel like a drill sergeant." Ren said with a smile.

"So, how did that meeting go?" Toshiro asked.

"Eh?"

"You left to see some guy named…Altair?" Ren nodded. "Yeah, Altair."

"Well, it went as okay as it can get." Ren said with a dismissive shrug.

"Why do you see him exactly?" Toshiro asked, feeling himself get suspicious.

"Honestly, I have no idea why I see him. And half the time, I don't even remember what we talk about in there." Ren tossed some hair over her shoulder. "He claims it's a side effect of the treatment. I just think it gives him something to do. You know, besides playing Solitaire." Ren gave a playful wink to Toshiro after saying this.

"So he's a doctor then?"

"Eh, more like a psychiatrist. And he's the village head, too."

"He's a village head? Like your father?"

"Yeah. But not just any village head. He's THE village head."

"What's the difference?" Toshiro asked, puzzled about this differentiation Ren was insisting on.

"Well, you know how their meetings are held with the heads?" Toshiro nodded. "Altair is the one who chairs them. He's the decision maker, in other words. My dad is his right hand man, since our family is the strongest head family and all."

"That makes sense."

"Personally though, I don't really like him. He's always treating me like a kid." Ren folded her arms huffily. "I may be in school, but I'm not a kid."

"To be fair, you do look like one."

"So do you!" Ren retorted, although it sounded more like a whine than a retort. "And he always looks at me like I'm about to blow up or something. Geez, normally I don't care if people look down on me, but that guy really irks me. In fact, he totally pisses me off! Oops." Ren's fingertips went to her mouth. "Don't tell him I said that."

"You have my word." Toshiro said, slightly amused.

A doctor, huh? Toshiro thought. Wait, could he be… Toshiro remembered the silhouette of a man in his dream. Could he be THAT doctor?

"What kind of treatment does he use?" Toshiro asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

"Hypnotherapy." Ren answered, not feeling the least bit suspicious of these questions Toshiro was suddenly asking her.

It has to be him! Toshiro mentally confirmed the identity of the man he saw. Altair…Why was I having that dream though? If I remember correctly, my back burned before I passed out. That was no ordinary dream. That was a vision! But I've never actually BEEN inside the vision before. What does this mean?

"Oi." Ren snapped her fingers in front of Toshiro's face, and with a blink, Toshiro was back. "You gotta stop staring into space like that or somebody will crash into you."

"You do it more than I do."

"Yeah, but I've got better control over it. In fact, I'm spacing out right now."

"You are?" Toshiro said, confused. Ren didn't look like she was spacing out. In fact, she was as alert as ever.

"I'm a girl, Shiro! Girls can multitask much better than men."

"That's an unfair stereotype."

"Pfft, whatevs." Ren turned around and started to walk out of the living room. "I've got some school work to do." Ren had left the room, but that didn't stop her final sentence being heard. "Get practicing for tomorrow."

…

"Um…Ren?" Toshiro said, observing the surroundings the two of them were standing in. It was the garage that Ren had pushed him into not too long ago, although with what was going on, it seemed like such a lifetime ago. There was more junk on the floor than there was floor, with cardboard boxed either half full or overflowing with random items like board games, old lamps, stuffed toys, books; you name it, it was in there. What was meant to be a workbench was littered with tools that lacked a toolbox, and there were paint pots lined up on shelves on one side of the garage, along with bikes lines up on the other side, and showing no signs of moving away from that spot, or even signs that they had been used, as Toshiro could clearly tell without checking that the tyres were flat. The place was, by any definition, a mess. "Why are we in here?"

"To kill two birds with one stone." Ren answered, clapping her hands together. "If we practice in here, then we can clean up at the same time. Everyone wins!" Ren threw her arms up in the air happily after finishing her sentence.

"I think we'll end up making an even bigger mess than before." Toshiro said, kicking away a sock that looked all too familiar to him. "And it's not practice. It's actual training."

"Sure, sure!" Ren said happily yet dismissively, waving a hand airily. "Right. Let's start off easy, shall we?" Ren went over to a pile of boxes and started rummaging through them. "So, Shiro, until the Epona incident, have you used telekinesis before?"

Uh…no." Toshiro answered, trying to recollect any other times he could have used that power, and wanting to make sure he didn't lie to Ren again, even if it was unintentional. "That was the first time."

"So ka, so ka. So, you're a first timer. That means you can't move objects willingly yet, and they just burst out when you least expect it, or when your emotions are at their peak." Ren stopped rummaging and looked over her shoulder at Toshiro. "Right?" Upon seeing Toshiro nod, Ren turned back to the boxes. "So, I'm going to start with something simple. Nothing too heavy. Nothing too small. All we need today…" Ren straightened up and turned around. "Is this." Ren produced a small, white plastic sphere.

"A ping pong ball?"

"Yup." Ren tossed the ball in her hand. "It's light. It's small. Perfect for first timers. A bird's feather would be the ideal substitute, but I think this is more realistic, considering where we are." When Ren caught the ball after another toss, she loosened her grip on it, and with a few white stars twinkling around it, it floated a few inches out of her palm with no effort at all. "You're a smart guy, so I'm confident that you'll be able to at least lift it a little like I am now." Ren then made the ping pong ball to some loops and other tricks in mid-air. "Give it time, and you'll be able to lift more than one at the same time. But, right now, like I said, you have little to no control over it. It bursts out when you have temper tantrums, or when you need it most. In other words, your telekinesis relies solely on instinct right now. Like this!" Ren suddenly sent the ball flying in Toshiro's direction. With a yelp, Toshiro raised a hand up to shield himself. He felt his back get warm, and realised that the ball hadn't hit him. Toshiro looked at his hand. The ball was hovering right in front of it, shining with white stars. His white stars. He was using telekinesis!

"I knew it." Ren smirked with folded arms. Toshiro narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious. "What?"

"You're not using your own powers, are you?" He asked.

"Shiro, do you really think I'd do that?"

"I guess not." Toshiro lowered his hand, and the ball bounced on the ground a couple times before rolling a little and coming to a stop when Ren placed her foot on it.

"So, now that we've established you having these abilities, it's time to start bringing them out at will." Ren picked up the ping pong ball and placed it on the workbench. Ren beckoned Toshiro to come to the bench with her head, and Toshiro obeyed. "First things first." Ren stood a step back from the table, moving her arms behind her back. "I want you to move it."

"Move it?"

"It doesn't have to be flashy. Just give it a nudge."

"How exactly do I do this?" Toshiro asked, not taking his eyes off that little white ball.

"It's actually quite simple. You have to have a mental image."

"Mental image…" Toshiro muttered.

"Yup. Imagine that tiny little arms are shooting out of your eyes, and are pushing that ball. Once you have that ball in your grip, you'll know. Don't take your eyes off of it for a single second, or it won't work. I'm more skilled, so eye contact is not necessary, but you're not at my level yet, so don't shut your eyes. Blinking is okay, though." Ren added the last part quickly, since she sensed that Toshiro was going to be sarcastic and ask if he could blink.

That saves me asking that question. Toshiro thought, indirectly confirming Ren's suspicions. Right. Toshiro continued to stare at the ball. Mental image…Little arms… After a few seconds of staring at it, Toshiro saw a few white stars shine around it. And… The ball moved a tiny bit to the right. Yes! Right after Toshiro thought this, the ball suddenly whooshed off the edge of the table and bounced on the ground, prompting Ren to quickly catch it in her hand before it could get lost again.

"I guess I put more force in it than I thought." Toshiro said apologetically.

"Are you kidding? This is great!" Ren placed the ball back on the table. "You're making much better progress than I thought. Keep it up!" Ren said enthusiastically, patting Toshiro on his back. "Eh?"

"What is it?" Toshiro asked, noticing how Ren had stopped talking.

"Oh, it's nothing." Ren said dismissively with her usual smile.

Is it just me or did Toshiro's back feel warm? Ren thought.

"So, what's next?" Toshiro asked, eager to start the next lesson.

"Right, well, you've managed to move it. Now, try to lift it up. Again, picture little arms shooting out and grabbing it. When you have it in your grip, let me know and I'll tell you what to do next." Ren placed her hand on Toshiro's back again, but Toshiro didn't say anything in protest.

"Right." Ren looked at the ball. After a few seconds, Toshiro's back got warm again, and he saw stars around the ball. "I've got it. Now what?"

There it is again. Ren thought, feeling the heat on Toshiro's back.

"Ren, what do I do now?" Toshiro asked again.

"Um, you…you need to beckon it to rise up with your hand." Ren answered, keeping focused on his back. "You're a beginner, so gestures a necessary until you've mastered it. Just go like this." Ren demonstrated with her hand raising her fingers up a few times.

"Okay…" Toshiro brought a hand up and raised the fingers up, beckoning the ball to rise. It did so.

His back just got even warmer. Ren thought. Is this normal?

"Hey, Ren, look! I'm doing it!"

"Huh?" Ren looked back to Toshiro, and was met with the sight of a ping pong ball floating in mid-air. "Sugoi, that's great, Shiro! You're a natural at this!"

"I have to say, you're a good teacher, Ren. I couldn't have done this without you." Toshiro looked at the floating ball. He was doing that. He was almost there. Toshiro was getting stronger. He could feel it. "Wow…"

"…" Ren said nothing, looking at Toshiro's face. She had never seen Toshiro this happy before. This training really meant a lot to him. Toshiro wanted to join the fight. If it wasn't obvious to Ren before, it was now. Honestly, a little part of her wanted him to fight, too. She could easily tell that Toshiro would rather be the shield than the shielded. Although, this pride Ren felt for Toshiro didn't stop her worries about his back, so she decided to put them to rest once and for all. "Shiro?"

"Yeah?"

"How long has your back been burning for?" Ren asked. As soon as Ren said, this, the ball dropped onto the table, bounced off the ground and into the boxes, once again lost, prompting Ren to sigh a little.

"Just…" Toshiro started. "A while."

"Does it happen whenever you use Ryuki's powers?" Ren asked.

"Sometimes." Toshiro answered slowly, once again amazed at Ren's perceptive nature.

"Sometimes?"

"It happens when you use your powers, too. In fact, it happens when any Cielvian powers are used."

"Is it painful?"

"No, but it's difficult to ignore." Toshiro said flatly, having already recovered from Ren's questioning. He had got used to Ren's eccentricity and her weirdness, so this was nothing new. But, it never stopped surprising him no matter how long he had known Ren for. There was a silence. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Not really. I just wanna know why you never said anything."

"I…I didn't want you to worry about me." Toshiro said, looking away. Another silence.

"Shiro?"

"Hm?" Toshiro looked back at Ren.

"You're a baka." Ren said bluntly. "Baka." Ren lightly karate chopped Toshiro on his head.

"And I am a baka why?" Toshiro asked, a little irked but not enough to get mad.

"Because friends are meant to worry about each other. It's called caring. Something you should be familiar with. It was you caring that set me free from the darkness, after all."

"I guess you're right."

"There ain't no 'I guess' about it." Ren said, wagging her finger. "I'll let you off with that karate chop." Ren smiled her smile. "You are forgiven."

"Thanks."

"Now, where'd that ball go?" Ren went towards the boxes the ball rolled under.

"It'll take you forever to find it in that mess." Toshiro said, looking up at the peak of the boxes. He wasn't liking how the one at the top was so close to falling off if it had the slightest nudge.

"Yeah, but that's the best part about being skilled with telekinesis." Ren turned around to face Toshiro, still smiling. "If you have enough skill…" Toshiro how every single box in the room had some white stars surrounding them. "Then something like this…" Every single box, paint pot, bike, equipment and whatever else was in that room lifted off the ground and spun around the garage, leaving the circle surrounding Toshiro and Ren the only space not filled with junk. Ren was still wearing her confident smile, her arms folded, while Toshiro looked at all the floating objects in awe as they stopped rotating around the pair and found their own place in the garage neatly. Ren walked up to Toshiro, holding her palm out for one final object to drop into her palm. Ren opened out her palm to Toshiro, revealing the white ping pong ball Toshiro lost just a few moments ago. "Is nothing." Ren finished.

"This is amazing." Toshiro looked around the room again. There was now a lot more floor, and the boxes were all lined up neatly against the walls. Now, this place looked fit to be a garage. At least, there was space for about two cars, which was its original purpose judging by the two garage doors against one wall. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was in the wrong house."

"Pretty neat, isn't it?" Ren said happily, placing the ping pong ball on the workbench again. "With enough practice, you'll be able to pull this off, too."

"You think so?" Toshiro asked hopefully. Ren placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know so."

"…" Toshiro immediately felt a wave of happiness wash over him. Ren believed in him. She knew that he had what it took to control Ryuki's powers. And right now, that meant the world to him.

"But you gotta work at it. Things will only get tougher from here on out, so keep a stiff upper lip!" Ren flicked Toshiro's chin a little.

"What does that mean?" Toshiro asked, confused about that saying. That's one he's certainly never heard before.

"It means to persevere through tough times without showing a lot of emotion about it. Ya know, be calm in a situation that's gone to pot?"

"I'm guessing it's a British saying."

"Ding ding ding!" Ren pretended to ring a bell in mid-air. "You're getting the hang of Britain, aren't ya? What I'm saying is…" Ren's smile became gentler. "Stay strong, Shiro. I know what you're like. I'm always here to lighten your burden. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. I know."

"Good." Ren's phone started to ring in the pocket of her hoodie. "Hang on, I've gotta take this. You're free to go. You know the basics, so the rest is up to you." Ren started to walk out of the garage. "And try not to lose that ping pong ball." Ren closed the door behind her, her voice barely audible as she continued to walk away. "Oh, hey! So, you're nearly here, then."

"…" Toshiro looked around the garage, still amazed at Ren's skills. Now that he knew the basics of telekinesis, Toshiro couldn't wait to be as skilled as Ren.

I'm almost there. Toshiro thought, looking at his hand. He clenched it into a fist. Just a little longer.

"Now…" Toshiro looked out the window towards the back garden. "I have work to do." Toshiro wandered towards the door, but when he heard a rattling sound, he stopped. "What was that?" He looked down at the ground. There was an orange cylinder on the ground with a white lid and a label on it filled with pills. Curious, Toshiro picked it up and read the label. The words DIAZEPAM and VALIUM were printed on the label. Toshiro wasn't in Squad Four, but he knew exactly what those words meant.

"Anxiety pills? Who would take these?" Toshiro scanned the label for any more information. "The date is quite recent. Did somebody drop these? Wait…" Toshiro finally found the name on the label. Right there, plain as day, was the name; "Ren Conner? These are Ren's?" Toshiro looked at the label again, convinced he had read it wrong. It was still there in black and white. Ren's name was on the label. These were definitely hers. "No…No, these can't be hers." Toshiro continued to stare at the pills in disbelief. Ren was the last person he would expect to need to take pills like this. She was always so energetic and cheerful. Hardly prone to panic attacks. Toshiro closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Whatever the case, he had to return these. He opened his eyes and left the garage. Ren was still talking on her phone, and had not even noticed Toshiro.

"Yeah, school is going as okay as it gets, considering it was on fire just a while ago…No nobody got hurt. The damage wasn't that bad, so the school opened up a lot faster than I thought it would. I mean, if stuff like this happened, you'd expect it to be closed a lot longer."

"…" Barely even listening to the conversation, Toshiro placed the pills on Ren's desk and left the room, grabbing a torch from an open cupboard on the way out.

…

"I think it was…here." Toshiro parted some long grass, and upon reaching a clearing that had a giant hole in it, he knew he had come to the right place. "Yes." Toshiro approached the hole, peering cautiously over the edge. "I fell in here a few days ago. I'm not sure if it's connected to the anniversary, but it's worth a look. If I don't find anything, I'm going to the village hall. Now, where's the ladder?" Toshiro spotted a thick plank jutting out of the wall. Toshiro sat on the edge of the pit, and fumbled his feet around until he finally got on a plank, and he spun around and began to carefully lower himself inside the pit, never taking his eyes away from the ground. He didn't want to get stuck inside this filthy pit again, and he certainly didn't want to get a sprained ankle. Eventually, he was closer to the bottom, and he let himself drop the final few metres, landing cleanly on his feet. He was in.

"Okay…here I go." Toshiro turned the torch on and started to walk through the tunnel, the dirt quickly turning to bricks, and his footsteps became much more solid rather than sounding like he was walking through mud. The ground had turned into concrete. Toshiro shone the torch on the walls on the tunnel. The bricks looked old and faded, and even chipped. They still retained their orangey-brown colour, but it was clear to tell that this tunnel had been here for a long time. But for what purpose was it here for?

What were these things used for? Toshiro thought. Maybe they were some kind of bomb shelter?

"Gh!" Toshiro flinched and stopped walking. His back had unexpectedly started to burn. "Why now?" Toshiro instinctively looked at his back. It only reacted like this when there was Cielvian magic at use. That could only mean his suspicions were right. This tunnel must be linked to the anniversary.

"Hee hee hee!"

"!" Toshiro's eyes widened after hearing that giggle. "Who's there?!" Toshiro demanded, immediately turning around and pointing the torch ahead of him. Nothing. Just more tunnel. "Hello?" No response. Keeping the torch raised, Toshiro walked further into the tunnel, ignoring the burning on his back.

"Hee hee hee!"

It's getting louder… Toshiro thought.

"Show yourself!" Toshiro yelled. No answer. Toshiro could faintly tell through the light of his torch that the space of the tunnel was getting wider. Toshiro ran over to it, and that's when he came to a split. The tunnel divided into five more tunnels, with a circular clearing in the middle. Toshiro saw how the ground was etched with a symbol of a flower with six petals, and there was clearly some writing on the petals, but the symbol had worn down with age and Toshiro couldn't make out what some of the letters said.

Is it just me or are those petals pointing at the tunnels? Toshiro thought. Toshiro looked at the tunnel he just came from. Ren's house is in Hazelford, so this might say… Toshiro got down on one knee and looked closely at the letters on the petal pointing that way. He brushed away some dirt with his hand, making the letters a little clearer. He could just about make out that it said H- -E-FOR-. Hazelford! These petals are arrows pointing out which tunnel leads where! So that means…Toshiro shone the torch on another petal, recalling what he knew about the villages from the back of his mind. One petal said MILL- - AL-. Millsdale. Another said -AK-ORT-. Oakworth. That's it! Toshiro looked around at all the tunnel entrances. These are tunnels connecting all the villages together!

"Wait…what's this one?" Toshiro's attention was drawn to the sixth petal. Again, the letters were faded, and it read RE- -O-D. "Is it another village?"

"Steph told you there were five villages, right? That was a lie. In reality, there are six of them. However, you'll find that nobody ever hears from the sixth."

"So Nathan was telling the truth." Toshiro looked at the tunnel entrance and back at the petal. "There really is a sixth village. The Hidden Village is real. But what's it called? The letters are too faded. Maybe if I…" Toshiro moved away some more dust and dirt. A few more letters were a bit clearer now, and Toshiro could make out the name of this mystery village. "Redwood. So that's the name."

"Hee hee hee!"

"What?" Toshiro heard the giggling again. It was close. He shone the torch in the direction he heard it from, which was the entrance to the sixth village. He could faintly make out the retreating figure of a person. A girl who looked to be about sixteen years old. "Hey, wait!" Toshiro stood up and ran after the girl, who kept giggling and getting further and further away from him. Whoever this girl was, she was Toshiro's best bet in finding about this mysterious village. The fact that she was running straight towards it only confirmed that she must live there. "Get back here!" Toshiro yelled, but the girl ignored her, laughing again. "I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to-Gah!" Toshiro stopped running, dropping onto his knees and flinching in pain. "What…What's happening?" Toshiro's back had started to burn again, but it was a lot hotter than before. In fact, it was a lot more painful. It was so hot, Toshiro could feel a few beads of sweat fall off his face. Toshiro unconsciously wiped the sweat away and rested his back against the wall, the cool bricks soothing the burning somewhat. "That girl got away." Toshiro sighed.

Who was she? Toshiro thought. She looked no older than sixteen. And she had long, blonde hair. I think it was…curly? Yeah, it was curly. That's all I know. Toshiro turned his head to the direction the girl ran off in. In any case, whatever is up there, my back keeps burning. That means there's a Cielvian force involved. But, how? If the burning is anything to go by, I won't be able to go there the way I am now.

"What a pain…" Toshiro complained, standing up after feeling the burning on his back go down. "I'll have to come back here another time. For now, I'd better get out of here. Ren must be wondering where I am by now." Toshiro noticed how the light had dimmed on his torch, so he slammed it on his palm a couple times and the light returned. "The exit was…this way." Toshiro pointed the torch to his left, and right there in the light was a girl, who had appeared out of nowhere. "UWAH!" Toshiro fell back and crawled a little further back from this girl, alarmed and not even noticing how he had dropped his torch. "Wha-Where-Who are you?!" Toshiro stammered. He noticed the dropped torch, so he picked it up and shone it at the girl. She was rather tall with long, curly blonde hair and a pretty face. She had a pair of denim shorts on with a pink top and a yellow cardigan with short sleeves and a single button fastening with white borders on the edges of the cardigan, with a pin attached to the left breast of the cardigan made of a light fabric in the shape of a light pink rose, and her feet bore brown knew high lace up boots. Toshiro moved the light of the torch up and down this girl, who was staring intently at him. He couldn't help but notice how her clothes were a little torn at the edges, or had singe marks on them. Her boots were muddy and scratched. And some parts of her skin were darker than the rest of her body. It looked as though she had just come out of an accident.

Is she a ghost? Toshiro thought, even though he knew that idea would be ridiculous, but given the situation he and Ren were in, it wouldn't be anything unusual.

"Hey, I asked you a question! Who are you?!" Toshiro demanded again, significantly calmer than before.

"You know her?" The girl asked. "You know Ren?"

"Ren? How do you know her?" Toshiro asked. But, the girl ignored him, and got down on one knee, peering closer at his face.

"Do you know Ren?" The girl asked again, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Answer my question first!" Toshiro yelled. Toshiro yelped when he felt the girl grab his shoulders. He could feel her nails digging into his skin, she was clinging to him that tightly. This girl really was desperate. And how come he could feel the ghost? She should go straight through him, right? Why wasn't she going through him?! "Get off me!" Toshiro demanded, trying to shake her off, but her grip was too strong.

"Find us…Help us!" The girl cried.

"'Us'?! Who are you?! What's your name?!"

"Help us!" The girl yelled, and just like that, she vanished. Toshiro was alone.

"What the hell was that?" Toshiro asked nobody. He closed his eyes with a sigh, somewhat relieved that it was over. "She was that girl I chased earlier. She must be from Redwood. How does she know Ren?" Toshiro looked behind him through the tunnel leading to the village. The same tunnel that ghost girl vanished to. "Nope." Toshiro said quickly, standing up and running the hell away from that tunnel and back the way he came as fast as his Gigai would allow. As Ren would say:

"Screw this, I'm outta here!"

…

"That…was…close." Toshiro gasped, still catching his breath after running out of that tunnel, which was not easy considering the ladder he climbed up. He looked down the edge of the pit, and he turned and ran back to the house as if he was expecting another ghost to pop out and scare him. Scare him? Since when was he afraid of ghosts?

What was that? Toshiro thought as he ran. What the hell is going on here?!

"Oof!" Toshiro's panicked train of thought came to a halt when Toshiro crashed into something. He staggered back, regaining his footing before he could fall over again. "Hey, watch it!" Toshiro snapped.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Toshiro looked at the person who was speaking. It was a young man with short yet thick brown hair. He wore scruffy blue jeans, a black polo shirt and a grey zip up hoodie that was left undone. For some reason, Toshiro could tell that this was a dependable person just by looking at him, like an older brother figure, and his anger and fear from before just vanished. "No, I'm…I'm fine." Toshiro looked away, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That's good. Hey, I don't think I've met you before. You're that new person, right? Toshiro, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Oh, you're that distant cousin."

"I am." Toshiro nodded, remembering the cover story that Ren came up with all those weeks ago.

"I finally get to meet you." The young man smiled down at him. "My name's Harley."

"That's a girl's name." Toshiro said bluntly.

"Ahaha! Yeah, I know!" Harley laughed, embarrassed. "But, another Harley is Harley Quinn, and she's pretty cool, so I guess that redeems me somewhat, right?"

"If you say so." Toshiro said, unconvinced, since he had no idea who or what a Harley Quinn was. Wasn't it some kind of clown costume? The door to Ren's house clicked, and it opened up to reveal Ren, who beamed.

"You're here!" Ren threw her arms around Harley in a hug, making him spin a little from the force of her jump.

"Haha, hey, Ren. How ya doin'? Did you miss me?"

"Uh huh!"

"Yeah, me too." Harley grabbed Ren under her arms and placed her back on the ground. "Now, is everything alright?"

"'Course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because there was a fire at the school. Are you sure you're not hurt?" Harley asked, his face full of concern.

"Well, I inhaled a lot of the smoke, but I'm okay now. Water under the bridge and all that."

"Well, alright. But you have to be more careful and stay out of trouble."

"I don't get into trouble! Trouble gets into me!" Ren whined.

"Geez, you're still whining like this?" Harley said with a sigh. "It's no wonder people keep thinking you're a kid." Harley shrugged with a smile. "Well, I guess it's your fault for being a shorty."

"Uuuu, I'm not short! I'm average!" Ren insisted, waving her arms up and down rapidly. Harley laughed.

"Come on, chill out, Ren." Harley patted Ren on her head. "Sorry, but I couldn't resist. You're just so fun to tease."

"Uuuu, then knock it off." Ren grumbled.

"Only if you stop giving those adorable reactions."

"Hentai."

"I know what that means, Ren. I've seen enough of your anime collection to understand your Japanese ticks."

"Right, yeah. Well, it's good to see you again."

"You too."

These two look really close. Toshiro thought, watching Harley and Ren interact with one another. Was he an ex-boyfriend or something?

"Excuse me, but why are you here?" Toshiro asked, reminding the pair that he was still here.

"Why? Can't I see my favourite girl in the world when I please?" Harley said, ruffling Ren's hair a bit and making her giggle, and for some reason, this really irked him. "Ah! I've gotta sort out some business at the village hall."

"Aw, but you just got here!"

"Don't worry. This will only take a few minutes. I'll be back before you know it." Harley tapped Ren's forehead with his fingers. "See ya. Nice meeting you, Toshiro."

"Sure." Toshiro said dismissively, watching Harley walk away.

"Isn't Harley awesome, Shiro?!" Ren almost exclaimed happily.

"Yeah…He is…" Toshiro said slowly. That boy seemed to be the perfect gentleman. He was kind, polite, reliable…And to top it off, he had a British accent. Then again, so did pretty much everybody in this place, but the British accent just seemed so…sophisticated. And for reasons Toshiro didn't understand, it totally pissed him off!

The next day, Classics lesson, 3:20pm

"Now, who can tell me which house this pot was found in?" A teacher with short red hair asked, holding up a picture of an ancient Greek pot. No hands went up, since they were all clueless. Toshiro and Ren were also oblivious, since Toshiro was preoccupied with Ren, and Ren's head was behind her text book and resting on her arms. It was obvious to him that Ren was fast asleep.

The others are patrolling the area for Feathers. Toshiro thought. I'm just here to keep an eye on Ren. She's been behaving differently for a while now. She stares off into space more than usual. She mutters to herself. Toshiro gave a start when Ren suddenly muttered something in a sleepy voice before settling down again. And then there's this. I don't think she's ever been this drowsy. At least, not enough to fall asleep in class.

"I'll take my Xbox with fries, please…" Ren murmured in a sleepy voice.

What the hell is she dreaming about? Toshiro thought, sweat dropping. Toshiro rested his head in his hand and stared out of the window, deep in thought. I still haven't gone into the village hall yet. That could be the place that fills in the missing pieces of the puzzle. It doesn't help that all of Ren's friends are preoccupied with other business. It has to be linked to the anniversary coming up in… Toshiro looked at the date on his phone. Six days. Toshiro hid the phone before the teacher could take it off him. As much as I hate to admit it, I might have to talk to Nathan again. Plus, I'm curious about why Ren takes those pills. I'll probably have to steer clear of that tunnel for now. It seems like a dangerous place.

"Geez…" Toshiro sighed, resting his head on the table with folded arms acting like a cushion. "So much to do, but so little time."

"No…"

"Eh?" Toshiro turned his attention back to Ren again, lifting his head a little off his desk. Ren was still fast asleep, but her eyes were twitching a little more.

"No…Stay away…" Ren made a shooing motion with her arm.

"Now, about the house of the fish monger…" The teacher continued, oblivious to the fact that one of her students was asleep.

"Don't come near me." Ren murmured, her voice getting a little louder.

Is she having a nightmare? Toshiro thought.

"Ren, wake up." Toshiro said quietly, reaching out to touch her.

"And that house was located in-"

"Thornton!" Ren yelled, sitting up with such force, her textbook wobbled and started to fall off her desk. "Nya!" Ren made a frantic grab for the book and fumbled and twisted it in her hands before she finally managed to clasp it against her chest. The snickering and giggles Ren heard afterwards showed that she had just embarrassed herself.

"No, the house of the fish monger was not located in Thornton." The teacher said, amused. She folded her arms and smiled at Ren. "If you're that eager for chocolate, you can go to the pharmacist down the road after school. Oh, and you might want some ketchup for your Xbox." This prompted a few more giggles from the class.

So she did hear everything. Toshiro thought. Ren's cheeks turned red.

"Sorry, miss." Ren apologised sheepishly, bowing her head.

"It's alright, Ren. Considering the circumstances, I'll let this go."

"Wait, what circumstances?" Toshiro asked, overhearing that last comment.

"Didn't you know? Ren always gets drowsy at this time of the year. It's part of the therapy she goes through."

"Speaking of which…" Ren reached into the pocket of her blazer and took out an orange cylinder full of pills. The same pills Toshiro picked up the other day. Ren quickly took a pill, swallowed it, chugged some water from her water bottle and put the rest of the pills away back in her pocket as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You okay now, Ren?" The teacher asked.

"Yeah…" Ren said quietly. She took a deep breath and smiled her usual smile at the teacher. "Yeah, I'm okay now. Sorry for the interruption."

"You are forgiven. Now, in regards to the atrium of the house, the mosaic is…" The teacher continued to talk like this while walking away from the desk Ren and Toshiro were at. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ren groaned her trademark "Uuuu" and let her head slam into the desk, some of her hair splaying on the table.

"Oooowww…" Ren groaned in pain.

So the therapy makes her drowsy…Toshiro thought. Makes sense. The guy is supposed to be a hypnotherapist. The only question is why Ren sees him. It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with her. In fact, she only started acting differently when the therapy started. Toshiro got a notebook from Ren's side of the table without her noticing, turned to a new page and started scribbling down these thoughts before he could forget. With his memory, though, that was unlikely, but in these circumstances, Toshiro wasn't taking any chances. After all, this was a village-wide conspiracy. This hypnotherapist could end up making him forget everything he was doing for all he knew! Ren's been seeing this Altair for six years, who is also the head of the villages. And thinking about it, this is meant to be the sixth anniversary for something I have yet to find out. Maybe the two are connected somehow. Toshiro circled the words ANNIVERSARY and ALTAIR separately and connected a line between them before drawing a question mark on the line, and wrote about the medicine next to Altair's name, too. And then there's that tunnel connecting the villages. And the sixth village that nobody talks about. Toshiro added these additions to his notes. The tunnel has some kind of ghost in it, along with a Cielvian presence my back keeps reacting to. This is what I know so far. Now all that's left to do is to find out how they are all connected.

"Are you using my notebook, Shiro?" Ren asked, her face still on the table.

"Yes, is that okay?" Toshiro asked, ready to slip the notebook back to her side.

"Yeah, hang onto it. I won't need it until later tonight anyway. I have an essay to write."

"Thanks." A pause, and Ren still didn't life her head off her desk. "You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Hoping that the ground swallows me up."

"Are you that embarrassed?"

"Eeyup." Ren said slowly. "It happens every year. It's that stinkin' Altair's fault. Making me fall asleep in class like this…I outta punch him in his old bastard face." Ren raised a fist up and shook it a little to prove her point before letting it flop to her side. Toshiro mentally confirmed his theory that Altair was causing her drowsiness.

"If it's any consolation, I usually get sleepy in the afternoon, too."

"Eeeeh?" Ren turned her head to look at Toshiro, but her hair blocked her way, so she grabbed some hair and lifted it up to look up at Toshiro like it was a curtain. "You do?"

"I do. Back in Soul Society, I would usually take a nap around this time in my office."

"So you can sleep on the job and Rangiku can't?"

"Not like that." Toshiro said quickly. "I'd make sure all my work was finished first. Although, to be honest, I sometimes lumber Rangiku with my work."

"So that's why she's always complaining. It's your fault."

"No, she's just lazy. I end up doing all the work anyway, whether it's my paperwork or not."

"So is there a reason why you nap in the afternoon?" Ren asked, raising her head off her desk enough to be able to flick her hair over her shoulder, which she did.

"Because children who sleep well grow well."

"And have you?"

"Um…no…" Toshiro looked away, embarrassed. "At least, not until now."

"Oh my god, that is so adorable." Ren said with a mischievous smile.

"There's nothing adorable about it." Toshiro said almost forcefully, feeling even more embarrassed. Probably more than Ren when she woke up in the middle of class.

"Aw, come on!" Ren teased, leaning closer towards Toshiro. "You don't have to hide from me. You just wanna hurry up and get taller, don't ya? Don't worry, you will. There, there." Ren playfully patted Toshiro on his head, which prompted the appearance of an anger mark on Toshiro's head.

"Oh, shut up!" Toshiro all but exclaimed. But, Ren just laughed, which calmed Toshiro down somehow.

"I'm just teasing, Shiro. I couldn't resist. You just looked so cute."

"…" Still embarrassed, Toshiro looked away from Ren. But, those familiar words spoken by Harley the other day irked him for some reason.

"Hey." Ren poked Toshiro on his shoulder, and he turned back to look at her. Ren smiled her smile at him. "Thanks, Shiro. I feel a lot better now."

"It's…It's no problem." Toshiro said, not expecting to be thanked for something that small.

"Oh, and one more thing. We're not getting the bus home today."

"We're not? But you didn't take your car today. How are we getting back?"

"Harley offered to give us a lift. Isn't that nice of him?" Ren said happily.

"…" Toshiro rested his head in his hand, grumbling a little.

"He'll be here at about four, so if you wanna call the others back for a briefing about the Feathers of whatever, then do it now. And I mean text, not phone. The teacher will confiscate it until the end of class."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Eh?" Ren looked up at the clock, surprised. It was 3:30. "It's the end of class already?! Man, how long was I asleep for?"

"It was a while." Toshiro answered, tearing out what he was writing in Ren's notebook and folding it to a small enough size to fit into his pocket. He definitely did not want Ren to see his notes and theories right now, especially if it was concerning the villages.

"Uuuu, why didn't you wake me?!" Ren whined. "God knows how much I've missed!"

"It's alright, Ren." The teacher went up to Ren, smiling. "I have some notes on today's lesson, and I recorded the whole thing on my Dictaphone. Hold on, I'll transfer it to your memory stick now."

"Thanks so much, miss! You're a lifesaver!" Ren said happily, handing the teacher her memory stick. The teacher went to her desk and sat at her computer, clicking a few times and inserting a cable and the memory stick. Ren, meanwhile, packed away her text book and notebook before standing up, slinging her bag on her shoulder.

"Well, that's a relief, isn't it, Shiro? Plus, Harley's girlfriend did this subject a few years ago, too. I can ask if she'll help me out."

"…" Toshiro's eyes narrowed at the sound of Harley's name. Why did it anger him so much? He didn't get it. "Is there anything Harley can't do?" Toshiro muttered to himself.

"I don't think there is!" Ren said, hearing what Toshiro said. "He's so strong and dependable! And he's stood up to bullies tonnes of times for me! He's caring! He's kind! He's just the best person ever!" Ren threw her arms up in the air after saying this. Toshiro felt himself getting annoyed the more Ren described him. He was starting to look more and more perfect.

"You really like him, don't you?" Toshiro said as Ren retrieved her memory stick from her teacher, bowing a little out of habit.

"I don't just like him." Ren looked at Toshiro, smiling her usual cheerful smile. "I love him!"

"Rrrr!" Toshiro growled out of frustration.

…

"I'm telling you, something is off with that guy." Toshiro insisted to the unconvinced Soul Reapers and humans, minus Ren, who were all stood in the common room while Toshiro talked at them from the kitchen area. Steph and Nathan had long ago lost interest, and were tapping at their phones.

"And you're basing this on…" Ichigo trailed off.

"I don't need to base it on anything. Nobody could possibly be that perfect."

"Toshiro, you're being ridiculous." Steph said without looking up from her phone. "Damn it, I can never get that last pig."

"Captain Hitsugaya, you want to know what we think?" Renji asked.

"What?" Toshiro asked, allowing Renji to speak.

"Well…" Renji looked at the other Soul Reapers, who all silently told him to go ahead. Renji looked back at Toshiro. "We think…you're jealous."

"Jealous?!" Toshiro repeated, recoiling back in shock. "That's ridiculous! I'm not…How can I…What?!" Toshiro finally exclaimed.

"We all think it might be jealousy." Rangiku went up to her captain, a sympathetic look on her face. "Think about it. These past few weeks, you have almost never been away from Ren's side, caring for her and protecting her. And then, this boy who's known Ren for years comes along, and suddenly, you're feeling second best. It's only natural that you'd get a little jealous."

"I'm not jealous." Toshiro insisted angrily.

"Yes, you are." Nathan said, putting his phone away.

"Stay out of it!" Toshiro snapped at Nathan.

"You're still mad at me? Give me a break." Nathan muttered, getting his phone out again.

"Well, you're not anything else, so you must be jealous." Tom said, backing up Renji and Rangiku.

"Who's jealous?" Ren asked, entering the common room. "By the way, Harley will be here in a few minutes."

"Great! I can't wait to meet him!" Rangiku said, clapping her hands together and completely forgetting about the fact that her captain was mad at him.

"Ren, back me up here." Toshiro said, going up to Ren. "Renji and the others think I'm jealous of Harley. Could you tell them that they're wrong?"

"Uhhhh…" Ren started, looking away. All of a sudden, the kettle in the kitchen looked very interesting.

"Ren?" Toshiro said, noticing her hesitation.

"Shiro…uh…" Ren scratched her face, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Look, you know you're one of my closest friends, right?"

"Yes. What's your point?" Toshiro asked impatiently.

"Well…How should I put this?...I think the guys have a point."

"You're not serious, are you?" Toshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing! Ren was siding with them?! He was not jealous of Harley!

"Yeah, I mean, I don't usually agree with Renji, but this time…"

"I'm going out for some air." Toshiro said briskly, turning around and walking out of the common room.

"Shir…" Ren trailed off when she realised Toshiro was already gone. "Pfft. Well, somebody's been bitten by the jealousy bug."

"I heard that!" Toshiro's voice yelled from outside.

"Eheheh." Ren laughed nervously. "I'll er…I'll just give you a minute." Ren snapped her fingers. "Ah, that's right! I've gotta return a book at the school library! Sorry, guys! I'll be right back. This will only take a second." Ren trotted out of the common room again. "Damn, I always forget stuff like this. Well, Harley's gonna be here, so it's not like I'm gonna miss the bus or anything."

…

"I can't believe they're against me, their own captain." Toshiro grumbled, sitting on the roof of the building the common room was in.

But…they might be onto something. Toshiro thought, looking up at the sky.

"Think about it. These past few weeks, you have almost never been away from Ren's side, caring for her and protecting her. And then, this boy who's known Ren for years comes along, and suddenly, you're feeling second best. It's only natural that you'd get a little jealous."

Rangiku did have a point there. Toshiro thought to himself. I have been by Ren's side since the very beginning. I've barely let her out of my sight. I've protected her from White Raven and the like, I've spent time with her, I'm strong in my own right and Ren trusts me. But, she does this with Harley, too. They're really close. He's protected her, he's cared for her. Basically, he's done everything I'm doing now. Toshiro sighed, his head a lot clearer now that he was calmer and rational enough to think through this situation he had found himself in.

"Maybe I am just jealous…" Toshiro said to nobody, admitting for what felt like the first time that he was wrong.

"Hey, what are you doing up there?"

"Hm?" Toshiro looked down in the direction of the voice. It was Harley, looking up at the roof with shielded eyes.

"Oh, it's you, Toshiro. Why are you on the roof?" Harley asked with a smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Toshiro said, standing up and starting to make his way down.

"Well, I do, otherwise I wouldn't have asked." Harley said, laughing a little. Toshiro jumped down from the last ledge and landed on one knee effortlessly.

"Whatever," Toshiro said dismissively, standing up.

"Wow, that was pretty cool. How did you do that? Do you know parkour or something?"

"I've always been able to do this."

"Ah." There was a silence between the two of them. "So…Is Ren here?"

"Over there." Toshiro pointed in the direction of the common room without looking at Harley.

"I don't see her there." Harley said, peering in through the glass doors without making it look too obvious.

"Then she's not there."

"Are you always like this?" Harley asked, looking back at Toshiro.

"Like what?"

"Are you always so…what's the word?...cold?" Harley asked.

"So what if I am?" Toshiro retorted, looking at Harley. Harley had lost his smile and was looking a little annoyed.

"Look, mate, I want us to get along. If you've got a problem with me, just say so."

"As a matter of fact, I do." Toshiro said, deciding to just let Harley know how he felt. That way, his irrational jealousy could be put to rest. "Don't you think you're getting a little too cosy with Ren?"

"Cosy?" Harley repeated, confused.

"Exactly. I don't care if you two have history, but I don't like it when you tease Ren like that. You may have dated in the past, but that doesn't mean you can be all lovey-dovey with her. I was standing right there, for crying out loud."

"Lovey-do…Oooooh!" Harley's smile returned. "You think we're…" Harley burst out laughing, holding his sides, much to Toshiro's confusion.

"What's so funny?" Toshiro asked, confused.

"Oh, man, that's hilarious…" Harley calmed down, but was still smiling. "Okay, I think I see what the problem here is. But, Toshiro, it's nothing to worry about. Ren and I-"

"Nyaaa!"

"!" Toshiro sharply turned around to the voice. It was Ren. And she was in trouble!

"What was that?" Harley asked, hearing the scream.

"Stay here!" Toshiro ordered, running off in the direction of the voice.

"Toshiro, wait!" Harley yelled, but Toshiro didn't hear him, and he had already gone around the corner and out of sight. "What's going on here?"

…

"Ren!" Toshiro turned the corner and finally found Ren. And she wasn't alone. There was a Feather standing on a field of grass in the school grounds, right next to the netball courts. It had a dark grey body with a pointed tail and a triangular mask covering its eyes. Its glowing green hair waved out in dreadlocks, and one such dreadlock had wrapped around Ren, and she had been lifted off the ground and floating next to the Feather's head. Ren noticed Toshiro in the distance, and she instantly felt relieved.

"Shiro, get my sword! It's over there!" Ren pointed to her right with her head, since her hands were, literally, tied. Toshiro spotted the sword and quickly made a dash for it. The Feather noticed and lashed out at Toshiro with some of its dreadlocks. Toshiro grabbed the hilt of the sword and jumped out of the way just in time. He regained his footing and glared back at the Feather.

"Ren, what's going on? Why are you still captive?"

"I don't know! I saw the Feather and I activated my Lightning Shackles, but as soon as this tentacle thingy grabbed me, they just vanished! I can't activate any of my other Shackles, either! Not even my telekinesis works!"

"Damn." Toshiro cursed. "This isn't good."

If I may offer a theory… Zena's voice said in his mind.

What? You know what's going on? Toshiro thought, listening to Zena. However, he wasn't distracted, since the Feather would occasionally attack him with its hair or its claws, and Toshiro dodged or blocked each time, sometimes even leaving a mark on its body with the sword.

It's just a theory. Zena continued. But, I think I know a little more about these Feathers. Do you remember that Mecha Feather you faced in the park?

You'll have to be a little more specific. Toshiro thought, remembering two encounters with Mecha Feathers. Is that what they were called? He'll have to ask again later.

The one by the lake? You used the wings and the Ice Shackles for the first time?

Oh, I know. What about it?

Ren was shot with a green laser. It appeared to go right through her without doing any harm, but then, for some reason, she couldn't use her Shackles. Then, when the both of you were struck with the laser, your wings and Shackles vanished, and Ren couldn't use hers, either. I think that laser is some kind of nullification ray that cancels out Cielvian abilities temporarily. And since that hair on the Feather is the same green as the laser…

Then Ren is as helpless as any other human! Toshiro concluded. He skidded to a stop and held his sword in both of his hands.

"So all I have to do is cut her down!" Toshiro jumped up into the air, aiming straight for the Feather's head. With a yell, Toshiro brought the sword down to the Feather's neck. It made a large gash that spurted grey blood and made the Feather roar in pain, but it wasn't enough to kill it. So, Toshiro tried to cut off the dreadlocks binding Ren while the Feather was distracted. The sword just bounced right off it like they were made of rubber.

What? Toshiro thought, wide eyed. The Feather roared and smacked Toshiro away with its front claw, sending him flying and slamming straight into a tree. Toshiro felt the air leave his lungs from the force of that blow, and he could taste blood. He slid down the trunk of the tree to the ground, but Toshiro was not going down that easily. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up, an arm automatically going to his stomach. Damn it. I can't cut the hair. I'll have to try something else. Maybe Kido? That might work. But, if my last fight with a Feather is anything to go by, it might just make things worse. The hair could be set on fire, and Ren is being held captive. I don't want to injure her, too.

"I have to try…" Toshiro went to clench his sword, but found there was no sword. "Wait, where is it?" Toshiro looked left and right for the sword. Nothing. Hang on…Did he drop it when that Feather hit him earlier? Toshiro cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake. He was getting rusty. Not good.

"Ren!"

"What?" Toshiro recognised that voice. It was Harley. He was running straight towards the Feather. And he had a sword in his hand. The sword Toshiro dropped!

"No, stay back, you idiot!" Toshiro yelled. But, Harley ignored him, and just kept charging towards the Feather.

"Huh?" Ren heard footsteps approaching the Feather, and that's when she saw Harley. "Harley?"

"OOOOORYAH!" Harley stabbed the Feather straight in its eye. It roared in pain, and Harley stepped back from its stamping claws as it writhed and staggered in agony. Harley immediately jumped up and grabbed the Feather by its hair. He climbed up onto its body, using the hair to make sure he didn't fall off. With one free hand, Harley tugged at the hair holding Ren until it loosened and came free. Harley caught Ren in his arms, ran across the length of the Feather's body and jumped off, landing on the ground safely.

Incredible…Toshiro thought, being unable to help himself but to admire Harley's bravery and skills. He had never faced a Feather before, and he didn't hesitate in saving Ren. This person really was the dependable type.

"Are you alright?" Harley asked Ren.

"I'm fine." Ren nodded with a smile.

"What did I tell you about staying out of trouble?"

"To stay out of trouble?" Ren suggested. "And I told you that trouble gets into me."

"Clearly, it does." Harley agreed, setting Ren down on the ground.

"Ren…" Toshiro was at Ren's side right away.

"Don't relax yet." Harley said, standing up and facing the Feather, which was stills staggering and roaring a little. Toshiro noticed small flakes falling off the Feather's body.

"It's almost dead." Toshiro said. "Give it a minute, and it'll die on its own."

"What is that thing supposed to be, anyway?" Harley asked, stepping in front of Ren and Toshiro. Harley glared at the Feather. "You bastard…" He said angrily, clenching his teeth. "What the hell were you doing to my sister?!" He yelled.

"Wait…what?" Toshiro said, blinking a couple times.

"Oh, screw this!" Ren clapped her hands once and shot a bolt of lightning at the Feather from her palm, making it roar even more, and it glowed white and disappeared in a burst of ashes, leaving behind a single silver Feather core.

"Ren, did you…" Harley started, turning around to face Ren and a confused Toshiro.

"Yeah, I can explain…" Ren started, her Lightning Shackles vanishing.

"Wait, hang on, hang on." Toshiro interrupted, trying to comprehend what Harley just said, bringing both his hands up to emphasise how he wanted things to slow down a little. He pointed at Ren while looking at Harley. "Did you just call Ren…your…"

"I did." Harley nodded. "I tried to explain it to you earlier, but you ran off. Probably because of that thing." Harley indicated the spot the Feather once stood.

"I thought you knew, Shiro." Ren said. "Harley is my big brother."

"Ren is…" Toshiro looked from Harley to Ren. "Your sister?" Toshiro looked back to Harley. Now that he thought about it, they did look quite similar. It wasn't obvious, but if you looked closely, there were some similarities between the two of them, like their eye colour and the bone structure of their faces. How did he not see this before?! Toshiro lost his balance and fell backwards, stunned and feeling incredibly stupid.

"Now, what was that lightning just now?" Harley asked.

"Well, it's a long story. But, basically, I have the power to kill these monsters called Feathers, and Shiro and I, along with some of our friends, are fighting against an organisation called White Raven. Oh, and Shiro is actually a Soul Reaper Captain."

"Huh. I did find it strange that we suddenly had a distant relative. And you were always special, ever since you were a little girl."

"You knew Shiro wasn't a relative?" Ren asked, surprised that her brother was taking this so well.

"No, but I figured it out. Well, that thing is gone now, so how about I take you two home?" Harley offered a hand to Ren, who took it and stood up.

"Come on, Shiro." Ren helped Toshiro to his feet.

"Harley is your brother…" Toshiro muttered. "I can't believe I was jealous…"

"Someday, you'll look back and you'll laugh at this! Ren said brightly.

"I doubt that." Toshiro responded, starting to get over the shock of that revelation. He really was worried about nothing.

"Ren, why don't you go on ahead? We'll catch up." Harley said.

"Sure thing!" Ren trotted off back to the common room, leaving the two boys alone again.

"I know what you're going to say, so don't bother." Toshiro said, breaking the silence. "I over reacted, and I'm sorry." That apology somehow felt like a knife in Toshiro's pride.

"Actually, I wasn't going to say that." Harley said. "Have you been fighting against those monsters with Ren?"

"I have." Toshiro answered. "But I'm more curious about why you can see them, too. Better yet, you almost killed one."

"I've lived with Ren my whole life. It's only natural some of her abilities might rub off on me. I've known these things have existed for ages. I see them in the distance, but I never actually saw one up close until today."

He's just like Ichigo's little sister. Toshiro thought, remembering the black haired Kurosaki.

"But to think that an entire organisation is involved…"

"Are you going to stop her?" Toshiro asked.

"Nah." Harley shrugged. "Ren's eighteen. She may be my little sis, but she's old enough to make her own decisions now, and she's tougher than she looks. But, I'll tell you this." Harley turned to Toshiro, a stern look on his face. "Don't get Ren hurt, you hear?"

"I have no intention of that." Toshiro said, reassuring Harley a little.

"I'm serious." Harley said, placing an arm around Toshiro's shoulders and walking back to the common room. "I'm her older brother. It's my duty to take care of my little sister. Everything I've done is to protect Ren. So, if you do anything to hurt Ren or make her cry, I'll kill you."

"If I do anything to hurt Ren or make her cry, I'll hand you the sword."

"Well, I'm glad we're at an agreement." Harley said with a smile that was so similar to Ren's yet so different at the same time. The same cheerfulness. The same sincerity. The same resolve and determination. And, the same desire to protect the people he cares about. Toshiro smiled to himself. Harley and Ren really were siblings.

…

"So you're Ren's big brother! Hi, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto!"

"Renji Abarai."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"And I'm Rukia Kuchiki."

"Wow, you're an interesting bunch." Harley said with a smile. "Are you friends of Toshiro's?"

"Something like that, yeah." Ichigo said.

"Well, I guess today wasn't a complete disaster." Ren said as Harley and the other Soul Reapers talked, linking her hands behind her head. Rangiku suddenly tried to give Harley a friendly hug, but he quickly ducked out of the way. He was smart enough to know that one hug from Rangiku and he would probably die by suffocation. This made Ren giggle a little.

"Ren, I'm sorry if I seemed a little curt with your brother. I really had no idea. I thought he was an ex-boyfriend."

"You are forgiven. But, I told you before that I've never had a proper boyfriend, and the fact that I had a brother in the first place. Besides…" Ren smirked mischievously at Toshiro. "You can only get jealous if you have strong feelings for somebody. There's no great love without great jealousy."

"Shut up! It's nothing like that!" Toshiro exclaimed, feeling himself blush.

"Kiddiiiiing!" Ren said in a sing song voice. With a sigh, Toshiro shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So, you ready to go?" Harley asked Toshiro and Ren.

"Yeah, sure." Toshiro answered, taking his hands out of his pockets, but he didn't notice how his slip of paper from Ren's notebook fell out of his pocket. Ren, however, didn't say anything, since she noticed the folded slip of paper on the floor. While Toshiro, Harley and the others made their way out of the room, she bent down to pick it up, thinking one of her classmates dropped it. She unfolded it, hoping to find a name. Ren was silent. She recognised the handwriting. And she recognised the names on there.

"Ren, are you coming?" Toshiro asked from the door, noticing how Ren wasn't moving. He saw her reading a slip of paper. Suddenly getting a feeling of dread, Toshiro checked his pockets for his notes. They weren't there. Ren was reading them right now! Crap! "Ren, I can explain…" Toshiro started, quickly making his way back to Ren.

"Shiro…what is this?" Ren asked, a shocked look on her face.

"It's just some notes I made. Can it have it back?" Toshiro asked briskly, really not wanting to talk about this with Ren.

"No, I mean, what is it? Sixth village? Tunnel? What are you going on about? And why's Altair's name on here?" Ren asked, her voice making it sound like a demand more than a simple question.

"They're just theories." Toshiro took the paper out of Ren's hands and put it away.

"Theories or not, I can tell it's about the villages. What are you doing?"

"There's some kind of anniversary coming up, and nobody is telling me what it's for, so I'm finding out for myself."

"Anniversary? What are you talking about?" Ren asked, confused.

"Hold on, you don't know about it?" Toshiro asked.

"No, I don't. There is no anniversary, and there is no reason why you should get involved in village affairs."

"There is something going on, Ren. And I'm going to find out what."

"Normally, I wouldn't stop you, but this time, I can't sit idly by. He who eats with the devil must have a long spoon. In other words, keep your distance from the village heads. It's easy to get caught in one of their traps."

"I appreciate your concern, but it's unnecessary. I've investigated conspiracies before, so this is nothing new. I know what I'm doing."

"Shiro, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." Ren said, her face becoming sterner. "If you get in trouble with the village heads, then I won't be able to bail you out." This statement was enough to get Toshiro's attention. "I'm serious. The head families are not an enemy you want to have. Trust me, I'm part of them. If you get a summons from them, that's it. I won't be able to help you. In fact, I'll be in the courtroom when they try you. They might go easy on you, since you're in the head families, too, but there's no guarantee."

"…" Toshiro said nothing. Was what he was doing really that wrong? He was just investigating. It wasn't affecting anybody. Unless…Unless this anniversary was a lot bigger than he thought. Despite Ren's warnings, they only made him want to investigate even more.

"I know about the power the head families possess." Toshiro said. He looked at Ren, and Ren recognised the spark of determination in his eyes. "And I don't care. There is something here that needs to be uncovered. I'm not going to let a few old men scare me."

"If you say so…" Ren said quietly, unconvinced. Toshiro was just so stubborn! But, she wasn't one to go against the wishes of her friends. "But, if you need anything, I'm here for you. Okay?"

"Sure." Toshiro nodded. With a worried look on her face, Ren picked up her bag and left the common room without another word. Toshiro was left alone.

I have less than a week left. Toshiro thought. A week until the anniversary. I have to find out what it's for. Redwood. The Blank Fortnight. The head families. Everything and everyone is linked to this somehow. Toshiro clenched a fist in conviction.

"And I won't stop until I find out what!" Toshiro vowed.

And so, Toshiro Hitsugaya made a vow to expose the conspiracy of the villages.

A seemingly innocent action with no malice intended.

But…Toshiro didn't know.

He couldn't have known.

Toshiro never could have known

That the truth of the anniversary

The truth of the secret hidden village Redwood

The truth of the Blank Fortnight

Was far more horrific

And far more tragic

Than anything he had ever seen.

There you have it! We've met Ren's big brother Harley! And, Toshiro is setting the wheels in motion for the next story arc. I like to call it The Sixth Village arc. Pretty cool name, right? So, what is the truth behind the conspiracy? What will Toshiro find out? Follow and review, and you will soon find out, only on Fate and Destiny! See you then!