Episode 4 - Gather and Reinforce

A Shinigami named Ryuuhei sat on Matsuo's dorm windowsill, smiling at him along with the captain of Squad Seven, Haruhi Michiyo. Matsuo strode over to the window and helped his companion through. Standing up, Ryuuhei was quite tall, standing well about half a foot taller than either Matsuo or Michiyo. He wore his medium length blonde hair up in a crown of spikes on the top of his head, although a few stray clumps managed to fall down to his face every once in a while. He also let his hair drop down behind his neck, which was cut off at around the shoulders. He wore a basic uniform, much like the uniforms Matsuo and Michiyo wore; only the undershirt under his uniform and obi sash at his waist was blue, which went well together with his Zanpakuto. It was strapped to his side, sheathed in a black sheath with a crisscrossing silver ribbon pattern. The guard was a silver spiral, leading to the silver hilt wrapped in blue ribbon. Off of the hilt hung shining steel shells wrapped in twine, similar in style to a necklace you'd see in the tropics.

"Nakamura Ryuuhei," Michiyo started to say with a warm smile, "you certainly know how to make an entrance as always."

"Good to see you too, Captain." Ryuuhei said formally, standing up straight. "If you don't mind me asking, Captain… why aren't you wearing your captain's robes?"

"Those heavy things?" Michiyo said, slightly annoyed. "I prefer to go on missions without them. They don't help at all, and they are very expensive to have repaired if they are damaged. And those repairs come out of my salary!"

Her expression relaxed as she looked back at Ryuuhei, a sly smile coming across her face.

"Besides," she said, taking a step towards him, "I know how much you enjoy seeing me with… less on."

Ryuuhei's shoulders stiffened with discomfort as Michiyo ran a finger down one of his arms. "I wouldn't know anything about that…" he said, his cheeks becoming red with embarrassment.

"Will you two keep the harassment inside your own barracks?" Matsuo complained. "My gosh, poor Ryuuhei can't think straight when you do that to him! Why do that to your own lieutenant?"

"Oh, you know I'm just playing around!" Michiyo said playfully, lightly slapping Ryuuhei's shoulder. "Lighten up, sheesh. It's all in good fun!"

"That depends on what you consider to be fun…" Matsuo muttered.

Ryuuhei relaxed a bit at Matsuo's remark, taking a seat next to him on his bed.

"Well, how have you been holding up since you left?" he inquired. "Any big events to report?"

"As a matter of fact," Michiyo said, "Matsuo was just telling me about a rather interesting abnormality he came across. Apparently he met a soul that was behaving rather… strangely."

"Strange how?"

"Like she wasn't really seeing me." Matsuo said. "It was as though she wasn't really taking in what was around her. Even when the Hollow swarm attacked, she still-"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Ryuuhei interjected. "You were swarmed?"

"Do I really need to go through this story a second time?" Matsuo said, scratching his head.

"If you tell me about it, I can inform you as to who is here with me on this mission." Ryuuhei offered.

"How about you give me the names first, then I'll tell you what happened."

"Fine, fine." Ryuuhei sighed. "There's actually only a couple who have arrived as of now. The lieutenant of Squad Eleven, Saruwatari Shigehito, and the third seat of Squad Four, Nakamura Masato."

"Well, who else will be coming?" Matsuo asked.

"You've got the list, don't you?" Ryuuhei said, pointing to the scroll Matsuo had picked up. "Look for yourself."

Matsuo had completely forgotten the scroll that he had retrieved among all the people who were showing up. He unfurled the scroll again and took a look at the remaining names.

"Only a few others…" Matsuo said, rolling up the scroll.

"Yes, but those few are how Soul Society is preparing for any type of situation we may come across." Michiyo said. "The fact they sent a lieutenant in the first place is testament to that."

"Which reminds me," Ryuuhei said, "what was this whole deal about you being swarmed?"

"Basically speaking, I came across a soul on my way back here, and then out of nowhere around thirty Hollows attacked me at once."

"And you managed to-"
"No, I didn't kill them all on my own."

"Then wha-"
"Quincy."

"Ah." Ryuuhei said. He paused for a few moments, sorting out the abridged version of what he had just heard. "And the soul?"

"Vanished."

"Are you-"

"Yes, I checked everywhere."

"You even-"

"Yes."

"Weird." Ryuuhei finished.

"You two can really spare the chit chat when you want to, can't you?" Michiyo said, watching the entire exchange with an eyebrow raised.

"Pretty much, yeah." Ryuuhei said as they both gave a couple nods of their heads.

"Well, if you two are done, the only thing left are the orders at the bottom of the scroll."

Matsuo tossed the scroll back to Michiyo, and she caught it in her right hand without even flinching.

"I took a glance after going over the last few names on the list." Matsuo said. "We are to carry out our previous orders, only now we are advised to report anything unusual to the research bureau."

"If that's the case, it would also seem that even Soul Society is detecting something unusual here. This means we need to be extra sharp while we investigate this." Michiyo said.

"Agreed." Ryuuhei said, standing up. "Well, I've done all I can here. I'm going to head out and do my rounds. Don't hesitate to let me know if either of you need me."

"Oh, Ryuuhei…" Michiyo said, taking on her playful tone of voice again, "you know I always need you."

Ryuuhei became rigid again, taking a few steps towards the window. "Of course, ma'am." He said, his face turning red as he moved to exit through the window. "I'll see you later, Matsuo," he said quickly, leaping out the window into the dusk that had fallen over the college campus.

"I never get tired of that!" Michiyo laughed to herself. "He's always so uptight about stuff like that."

"Oh, leave the poor guy alone." Matsuo said.

"He'll be fine!" Michiyo said with a shrug. "What, are you jealous of all the attention he gets?"

"I think I got enough attention earlier, thanks." Matsuo said, putting a hand to his stomach with a slight grimace.

"Right… sorry for hitting you so hard." Michiyo apologized.

"I'll live." Matsuo said with a smile.

Michiyo smiled back, glad that Matsuo had accepted the apology.

"I'll be heading on out, too," she said, walking towards the door.

"You're not going to chase after your lieutenant?" Matsuo asked with a grin, motioning towards the window.

"Oh, please." Michiyo grinned back. "He's the one who always comes back to me."

They both chuckled as Michiyo opened the door to leave. "I'll be seeing you around, Matsuo," she said with a wave of her hand.

Matsuo waved as she left. Once she was gone, Matsuo went over and closed his window. Cold air was starting to blow through. He got back into his Gigai, making sure everything was moving smoothly, and walked over to close his door. Looking out into the living room of his two-person dorm, his roommate sat on the couch, staring back at him with wide eyes.

"Dude…" he said after a few moments, "your door totally just opened on its own!"

"What are you talking about?" Matsuo said, giving him a weird look.

"The handle totally moved on its own, and then it opened like something was leaving… but there was nothing there!"

"Oh, that was my fault." Matsuo said, scratching his head in faux embarrassment. "I kind of tripped on one of my notebooks and grabbed the door handle for support. I guess it unlatched and opened because of the wind in my room."

Matsuo's roommate gave him a suspicious look, but after some consideration, let the whole thing slide.

"I'm going to do some homework and then hit the hay." Matsuo said. "So, good night!"

"'Night, dude," he said in reply.

Matsuo shut his door behind him and let out a sigh. He had forgotten to check and make sure no one was in his room when Michiyo left. Fortunately, his roommate wasn't the most perceptive of people. Satisfied, Matsuo sat back down on his bed and picked up one of his schoolbooks.

"Ugh… history. As if I haven't seen enough of it." Matsuo complained. "Ah, well… chapter five…" he muttered as he lay back on his bed and opened the book.

Ryuuhei leaped from rooftop to rooftop, surveying the neighborhoods below him. The night air was cool against his skin, and it didn't help that the night sky was overcast and the only light he could go off of was the street lights, and even then he didn't like the glare they gave off. Still, it was better than patrolling in complete darkness. He alighted on the top of a flagpole in the yard of a neighborhood home, taking a quick look about him.

A sharp sensation tore through his focus. He could sense a Hollow nearby, and it wasn't one of the small fries either. However, it wasn't the strongest he had sensed, either. As a matter of fact, he felt the energy fluctuating frequently.

"Something big must be going on," he thought to himself. He got a fix on the direction it was coming from, and then rushed towards its source.

Coming to a small downtown area, Ryuuhei surveyed below, searching for the source of the Hollow spiritual pressure that was standing out so distinctly. That's when he spotted them: a Hollow chasing down a man on the sidewalks. As Ryuuhei rushed to the man's aid, the man turned a corner leading to a dead end alleyway. The Hollow followed quickly, cornering the man against a wall. Ryuuhei swiftly landed between them, facing the Hollow.

"Stay behind me!" Ryuuhei commanded. The man was too frightened to respond, but he nonetheless stayed pinned to the wall.

Ryuuhei drew his Zanpakuto, taking a battle ready stance and keeping his eyes fixed on the Hollow, ready for any strike it could make. However, the Hollow instead took a few steps back.

"It's acting rather strangely…" Ryuuhei thought. "Is it afraid? Or is it just being cautious? Well, either way, I can't let it escape."

Ryuuhei leaped forward ready to strike the Hollow square on its mask.

"Signa spiritus intra circulum," a voice spoke in the darkness.

A wall of spiritual energy suddenly blasted up from the ground, blasting Ryuuhei back with a shock of energy as he struck it. Ryuuhei fell into the center of a circular barrier of spirit energy, which closed off above him. There was no way to escape. Ryuuhei stood wide eyed at this spectacle.

"What…? How…?" he muttered to himself, stunned. He looked all around him for the caster of the spell, but he could neither see nor sense anyone else nearby.

"Stop looking around for someone else!" the man behind Ryuuhei said in a harsh, cold tone. "There's no one else here."

Ryuuhei stood in disbelief. There was no way he could discern that a human could cast a spell like this. Looking at him, he looked just like any other person. His outfit was simple; jeans, black tennis shoes, a black t-shirt with a blue skull graphic on the front, and a dark blue and grey hoodie over top with the hood pulled over his head, although strands of black hair could be seen hanging in the man's face. He gazed at Ryuuhei with a sharp look, his grey eyes deep and dark.

"What are you?" Ryuuhei asked. "Are you a Quincy?"

"What?" the man said in a dumbfounded voice. "Do you really think a Quincy wouldn't be able to fend for themselves? Not that I need protecting, anyway."

That's when Ryuuhei realized it. The Hollow had remained stationary for the entire time he had been trapped. It had done nothing to even try and make a move against this mere human.

"How?" Ryuuhei thought, confounded. "How is he able to do all this?"

There was only one way that Ryuuhei could think to try and escape his prison. He held his Zanpakuto horizontally, gripping the hilt just below the guard and lightly grasping the blade on the opposite side of the guard.

"Drag them to the depths…" he muttered quickly.

"Alligaverit spiritusintracirculum!" the man said in a quick, pronounced voice.

Suddenly, ribbons of glowing spiritual energy shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Ryuuhei's ankles, his waist, his shoulders, his arms, his wrists, and his neck, forcing him to kneel on the ground. One ribbon even pulled his Zanpakuto from his hands and bound it to the ground. Ryuuhei was trapped, kneeling on the ground with his arms firmly bound by his sides.

The man before him walked toward the barrier. With a wave of his hand, he dissipated a door sized portion of it so he could walk though. Upon entering, the barrier closed again. Even as he did this, the Hollow stood by, not moving an inch.

"Well, now…" the man said with a sigh, "I expected more from a Shinigami. Especially… a lieutenant?" the man guessed.

Ryuuhei just glared up at his captor.

"I thought so," he said with a nod. "The problem is, we're not ready for you Shinigami to find out about what we have going on just yet. See, we have some big plans for this side of the world. Actually, the same goes for the rest of the world, too."

The man's expression suddenly changed to faux surprise. "Oh, but what's this? I've gone and said too much."

His expression changed to a solemn glare, and even so, he grinned. "And that means you know too much."

He pulled a dagger from his pocket, and it shone with a brilliantly smooth polish along the newly sharpened edge. He then made a long cut along the palm of his hand, letting the blood run along the blade until it was nearly coated.

"ExorcizamusSanguismortuivivis," he murmured. The blood on the blade began to glow with spiritual energy.

Ryuuhei's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He struggled as hard as he could, but the binds held him firmly in place. He tried to reach for his Zanpakuto, but it was too far out of reach. He couldn't even get out the words to perform a Kido spell. The man raised the blade above his head.

And with a final, maniacal grin, he brought the blade down and slashed across Ryuuhei's chest.

END EPISODE 4

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