Rin looked to the black and silver tube in front of her, running her fingers over it. The reiatsu within it felt familiar but she couldn't logically place it. She sighed as she injected herself with the reiatsu infusion, waiting a few minutes she checked her own levels, as always the infusion tripled her reiatsu level for such a small amount.
'Maybe if I was able to get an infusion directly from the source I could recover my powers completely,' Rin thought to herself before running her fingers through her hair. Reiatsu infusion was a difficult treatment to achieve, and problematic when not received from the donor directly. Preserving reiatsu for infusion was hardly like a blood transfusion where there's a medical way to preserve the blood. Reiatsu, the spirit energy that granted soul reapers their powers, was completely different. Reiatsu began to diminish upon leaving the source. The injections she received from Ichika were only half vials by the time she received them, however she knew enough to know that those vials would be nearly overflowing when the reiatsu was collected. For such a small amount to triple her reiatsu she questioned who was donating to her. Her mother's reiatsu wouldn't last more than thirty seconds after leaving her, perhaps Captain Kuchiki, but his smelled like Cherry Blossoms. Rukia's reiatsu was very cold, almost like her own. Renji's was wild and untamed. This reiatsu felt dignified, refined, and humbled. She recalled someone who had a reiatsu that felt like that, but they were deceased. There was no possible way he had made these donations before passing on, and no chance that they had been preserved in such mass quantities for 18 months. It wasn't possible.
From the other side of the bedroom, hidden by a kido spell which concealed their presence, the donor watched as Rin slung her backpack over her shoulder. She then picked up a small white purse and headed out of the bedroom, once downstairs she stopped at the double doors and looked into the house.
She hesitated before speaking out loud, "I don't know if it's you - it couldn't be you - could it? If it is, and somehow, someway, some form of you is here - watching, listening—I- thank you. You told me once you'd always be there—I guess that even death doesn't change that promise, huh?"
She unlocked the door and gripped the handle, pausing again as she choked out, "I miss you, Mamoru-sama."
She opened the door and left, locking it behind herself.
From within the kitchen, out of sight once the door was locked the kido slowly faded, revealing a boy who appeared to be 15 years old, with short chestnut brown hair, his eyes were closed, he wore a standard soul reaper shihakushō, white tabi and waraji dawned his feet and on his left wrist was a green woven bracelet, tied to his right arm was the thirteenth squad Lieutenant's badge. His fists were clenched as silent tears spilled down his cheeks. He took a shuddering breath before his chocolate eyes opened, and glanced at the close door. A look of regret coming over his features as he choked back a sob and spoke out loud mournfully, "I'm here, Rin. I'm so sorry."
"I told you this would happen," a female voice chastised.
"Yes," The boy agreed, he was now pressing his back against the wall as he held his forehead within the palm of his right hand.
"This has got to be the most fucked up thing you've ever done," Ichika scolded.
"Do you honestly believe I don't know that? Yet if I were to do nothing, she dies before anyone can reach her. I can't—I won't—"
"But then the two of you would be together," Ichika reasoned.
"Yes—and no. When we're reborn as humans we don't retain any memory of who we were, the same as when a human dies and goes to soul society, they don't recall their previous life. I'd rather she continue to live a full life than join me," he stated.
"If I did just let things happen without intervening, she would die and join me as a human—but then it causes a chain reaction. Tomoya blames himself and gets discharged from the guard squad, Sora becomes distracted during a mission and makes a fatal error—so much blood, so much death. If I can stop that chain reaction, if I can keep her alive even if I have to do so remotely, I will," He answered.
Ichika shook her head, and crossed her arms as she continued to berate him, "I don't understand you. Why not just show yourself to her for fuck's sake? Do you know how hard it is to lie to my best friend every damn time I give her one of those infusions? She's going to figure out it's your reiatsu if she hasn't already and how the hell am I gonna wave that one off?"
"It's complicated," He replied.
"Time is a complicated Zanpakuto power, but not one she's not used to wrapping her head around. For crying out loud anyone who knows what your Zanpakuto spirit does knows you can travel back into time, just tell her for one brief moment two years before you passed on you were able to jump ahead in time, saw her struggling, and stuck around to help out before going back to meet your fate. How hard is that? You claim you love her, but you can't be honest with her. What kind of cowardice is that for a soul reaper of your social standing? Man the fuck up," Ichika concluded.
Mamoru gave Ichika stern look, "You sound quite like your father when you speak like that. What is the point of teasing her when I'm going to die?"
"Well good. Maybe it'll slap some sense into you. Whether you die or not is irrevelant. She's in agony because she's dealing with the death of a best friend and unrequited love. Think about it and consider more than yourself in that equation," Ichika shot back before heading off.
"You're not staying?" Mamoru asked.
Ichika glared at him, "I take my missions seriously and do my best to not get side tracked. Unlike a cousin I could name—besides, the way I'm feeling right now if I stuck around you're likely to get zapped."
She phased through the door and left him to stew in his thoughts as well as the situation. He had stiffened at her words and inwardly cringed. While she was right, it stung to hear those things from her. He rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a defeated sigh and sliding down the wall. He was in deep and it was his own stupidity that had caused that deep pit to expand to its current size. The moment he'd appeared when the peacock wielder had shown up and attempted to kill her as well as Adrien, he shouldn't have intervened. He was the reason those quills had stopped in midair and landed on the ground. Strong as Rin is, he could tell by looking at her she was too weak to properly pull it off on her own. His Zanpakuto on the other hand, wasn't useless in that situation.
He ran his fingers along the green woven band around his left wrist.
Rin giggled a bit as she held out the bracelet to Mamoru, he chuckled before revealing a similar pink bracelet to her.
"We're actually going to do this, aren't we?"
Mamoru nodded as he fastened the bracelet to Rin's left wrist, "Long as we're friends we'll continue to wear them. I'll always be there for you, Rin."
"I'll always be there for you," Rin replied as she fastened the green bracelet to Mamoru's wrist.
He smiled as glanced at the bracelet, "I think that might be the most valuable thing I own now."
The white haired child before him gave a happy laugh and smiled brightly in his direction.
"Friends forever," She agreed.
'I am an idiotic coward,' Mamoru growled as his fist collided with the dining room wall.
"Class we have a new student today, please welcome Ichika Abarai," Madame Montclair stated.
Ichika bowed deeply before the class.
Madame Montclair looked over the seating plan before suggesting, "Ichika, why don't you go sit next to Rin, at the back."
"Ichika, where are you from?"
"Umm, actually I know Rin from Japan," Ichika answered, it wasn't a full lie. They did know each other.
"My best friend from back home," Rin agreed with a smile and nod.
'Maybe she'll cheer up a bit,' Chloe thought to herself.
'Another soul reaper? I wonder why,' Marinette thought to herself.