A/N: So, my third chapter. Don't worry; it's not another flashback chapter!
Chapter 3
A stinging slap pierced through my engrossing memories and the face of my sister, contorted in rage, brightened into my vision.
"Oi! Hitomi! Come back to reality!" Kumiko screeched. She raised her hand to slap me again, but I caught her strike midair.
"Hai, hai. I'm listening now," I said, coming out of my daze.
"God, you're so stupid. Whenever I mention our past, you freaking flip out. Even I got over the fact that we're dead,"
At the word "dead" I winced, but this went unnoticed by Kumiko, who had continued on her earlier tirade, all traces of sweetness and ladylike demure gone.
"All I wanted was a small favor, but you had to act all uptight and it—"
"Fine. What do you want?" I asked tiredly.
Kumiko grinned. "I just want you to give a message to Yoh-chan."
"Let me get this straight. You woke me up from a very nice state of semi-unconsciousness that gives me a couple of hours of break from all you annoying people and work to talk to your boyfriend?"
"It's not my fault you're not a morning person. I swear it's because of your AB blood type that you're always cranky."
"What? Just never mind. Hurry up and tell me what 'message' you want conveyed to loverboy."
"I'll just ignore that last part. Just tell Yoh that I agree to meet him for dinner at the special meeting place tonight," she said, emphasizing 'dinner' and 'special', which somehow made me suspicious.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'dinner' and 'special meeting place'?"
My sister smiled slyly and opened her mouth to answer, but I cut her off.
"Actually please don't answer that question. You might make me vomit,"
"You're such a child, Hitomi," she sighed airily, "It's been almost three years now; you'd be eighteen in the human world."
"Whatever. Where's your boyfriend, anyway?"
"He's at work," she said simply. When I looked at her with a blank expression, she rolled her eyes. "Yoh works at in a bar called Ranki…in the 79th district."
The 79th district wasn't far off from the 78th district, but was notorious for shady business dealings. And I was about to wander around in a bar probably full of wanted criminals to seek out another one of my sister's sorry boyfriends. What a great plan.
"You owe me big time, Kumiko," I warned, but she had already exited the room.
I could blow it off, but Kumiko had the skill of pushing my buttons—every pet peeve, sensitive topic, hurtful moment, and memory from out past life—down to a science. The last time I denied her something, she made my life a living hell. I shuddered the "sandal incident" came to mind. But most importantly, although she was the most aggravating person I have ever known, she was still my sister.
Groaning and muttering curses, I changed into my only other spare set of clothes, a raggedy cotton kimono. As the grogginess finally disappeared from the cobwebbed recesses of my mind, I remembered the danger of my destination. I slipped the knife under my pillow into a hidden compartment that I stitched into my kimono, feeling marginally safer.
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The pressure of the knife blade slightly calmed my quickening pulse as I walked quickly through the streets of the 79th district. I was careful not to hold the eye of any of the leering inhabitants. Despite this, I still heard a couple of bawdy jokes and jeers. It took nearly all of my self-control not to punch each of them in the face. People staring at me always made me irritable and twitchy and I was again reminded of how I contrasted with my sister, who adored the spotlight.
I had a vague idea of where this "Ranki" place was. I snickered a little. Ranki meant "mountain mist", which brought to mind silent, eerie serenity in harmony with the pure earth. But then again, the buildings in this district were "mountains" of overcrowded families and run-down buildings and the cigarette smoke was so thick in the air that it probably qualified as "mist".
My train of thought was suddenly derailed when a commotion started a few feet in front of me. There was shouting, smashing sounds, and then two men leapt out of an alleyway, continuing to fight. I winced as the shorter man suffered a blow to the side of the head and he fell to the ground, out cold.
Coincidentally, the two were brawling in front of a building, with signs labeled "Ranki" plastered to its walls. Although it was nicer-looking than many in the area, the building sent shivers down my spine. This definitely was not a good place for a young, (mostly) unarmed female to waltz into. So what did I do? I went in, of course.
The minute I opened the door, I felt a wave of some raw energy, some force that made me break out in a cold sweat and I clenched my fists. As soon as the feeling began to suffocate me, it dissipated just as quickly as I had sensed it.
"What's such a beautiful girl doing in a place like this?" breathed a voice next to my ear.
As a result of martial arts conditioning, I was immediately in a fighting stance before the stranger even spoke his first word. I whirled around, ready to face the unlucky guy that decided to try to sneak up on me. Instead of facing some creepy-looking, middle-aged lecher with a beard, I found myself looking at a young man that seemed to be around Kumiko's age. He stood a couple of inches taller than me, probably making him a little over six feet tall. He smirked, looking at me through intelligent blue eyes.
"Easy, easy. No need to get so aggressive. I just wanted to ask why a cute—"
"I'm looking for someone named Yoh," I snapped, feeling my hand inch toward my hidden knife.
The man sighed and ran a hand though his unruly chestnut brown hair. "Another one, eh? I'll take you to him if you promise me you aren't one of those psychotic-jealous-stalker types. They're always a handful."
I shot one of my famous glares at the man and he relented. Quickly, before I could protest, he grabbed my arm and steered me though the crowd to a less rowdy area of the bar. Before I could break his arm, though, he stopped in front of a group of booths. They were occupied by several couples who were making out and doing god-knows-what. I swiftly averted my eyes and fixed them on the ground and felt my cheeks grow warm.
The man glanced back at me and grinned. "I'm Saito Sakamoto. You can just call me Saito. And I'm much nicer than Yoh. He's the lucky bastard over there," Saito said, pointing at a man in a booth wearing what seemed to be an employee uniform. I grudgingly admitted to myself that the man was pretty good-looking, with tousled golden hair and an athletic build.
"I thought he was an employee here," I said.
"Well, technically he is an employee, but he's the boss's favorite," Saito explained.
I glanced at him quizzically and noticed that he wasn't wearing a uniform. "Are you an employee here, too?"
"You could say that," he said simply, refusing to elaborate. "But anyway, weren't you here for Yoh? Are you another one of his girlfriends?"
I froze. "What do you mean 'another one'?"
Instead of answering me, Saito pointed to a woman approaching Yoh's booth. She was dressed in a tight-fitting kimono with a scandalously low neckline. I watched as she slid next to Yoh. He said something and the woman giggled flirtatiously. My eyes began to twitch as the blonde-haired man slid an arm around the woman's waist. Before I could run over there, Saito grabbed my arm, again. "Don't mess him up too badly. And try not to damage the furniture," he advised, slightly chuckling, but still serious.
I grumbled something about "rearranging Yoh's face" and stomped off. As I approached, the two began snogging passionately. How many times has this jerk cheated on my sister?
I grabbed a nearby glass and slammed it onto their table, causing them to part. The woman squinted at me through heavily painted lids. "Can't you see you're interrupting something," she sneered, thrusting her well-endowed chest out and scanned me like I was some kind of competition.
"I'm here to talk to Yoh," I growled, "not to get into a fight with insecure attention seekers."
The woman huffed indignantly and was about to retort when the filthy worm began to talk. I could feel my blood pressure rise as he lazily waved me away.
"Who are you? Look, if I forgot to leave a note in the morning-"
"No way in hell, moron. My name is Hitomi Endo and I'm here because my sister Kumiko, your girlfriend, wanted me to tell you to see her at some stupid 'meeting place' about a freaking 'dinner'. But I see you're too busy for that," I said, my voice steadily rising.
Before he could respond, I cut him off. "You know, even though she can be one of the most frustrating people I know, Kumiko is also one of the most loyal people I know. She's way too good for some sleazy wannabe playboy that has to sleep with his employer for a job."
"Hey now, that's going too far. I don't know what your problem is, but if the slut is going to be half as annoying as you are about this, then tell her that I'm breaking up with her and," he paused and grinned, "that I said thanks for the nice night."
He didn't have time to react as I reached over the table and grabbed him by the front of his uniform, knocking the table aside. "Look, you can insult me all you want, but if you ever say that about my sister again, I swear I'll-"
The arrogant grin disappeared from his face as he grabbed me by the front of my kimono. "You'll do what? What I do and say is my business. You've got some nerve talking to me like that, bitch." he roared.
"You know where I said you can insult me all you want? Well, I lied," I said and let go of the front of his uniform, only to promptly send him flying into a wall with a well-placed kick to the abdomen.
He wasn't athletic-looking for nothing. Yoh picked himself up out of the crater in the wall and launched a powerful punch toward my head. I grabbed his arm and used the considerable momentum to flip him onto his back. The noise in the bar had died down and I realized that they were all watching us.
"And if you ever come near my sister again, I will beat you so badly that I'll have to leave a note, just so they can identify your body," I warned and turned to leave before I caused any more structural damage.
In the corner of my eye, I saw him stagger to his feet and pull a shiny golden object out of his pocket. He screamed something and the object glowed so brightly that by the time I turned to face him again, I was momentarily blinded. When the light dimmed, Yoh's hand was encased by what seemed to be a golden metal glove with the design of a white lotus on the back.
"You thought you could make a fool out me and live. At least you got to enjoy your little moment of victory," he spat, raising his armored palm at me. The air began to shimmer in front of him until a large beam of light shot from his fingertips.
Suddenly, Saito was standing in front of me, his arms outstretched and one holding a drawn sword. "Bakudō #39: Enkosen!" Saito yelled and a spinning shield of dull yellow energy appeared in front of us, blocking the beam, which diffused off the sides of the shield.
The attack had completely torn apart the bar, reducing it to rubble. Saito had shielded us from the majority of the damage. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded.
"I just risked my life to save you and that's what you say? You're supposed to weep and thank me!" he joked, but I didn't smile.
"What was that beam of light? What is that glove on Yoh's hand? And why are you holding a katana?"
Saito sighed. "I'm a shinigami of the Sixth Division. I'm technically on assignment. I was searching for a stolen artifact of the Noble Family Egashira. I thought it would be easier to go incognito and search in the black market district of Rukongai. I tracked it down to a bar called Ranki, which serves as a front for illegal trading, especially of items with spiritual power. And that thing Yoh is attacking us with is the artifact that I have to find."
"Then why did you save me? You don't even know my name."
"It's my duty as a shinigami to protect the Soul Society and its inhabitants. Besides, I like you."
I rolled my eyes. "My name's Hitomi, okay. Hitomi Endo."
He gave another goofy grin. "Now I can say that I saved a beautiful maiden, the lovely-eyed Hitomi*. Or can I just call you Hii-chan?"
"Absolutely not!" I shouted, smiling.
"See, my friends all think I'm funny," Saito bragged. In my years in the Rukongai, I had never actually made a friend. I was too busy working to even have a social life. Even when I was alive, I didn't have many friends.
A sudden noise from behind caused us both to spin around. I immediately went into a fighting stance, pulling out my knife, but Saito stepped in front of me, katana raised. Out of the wreckage emerged Yoh, completely unharmed. The glove on his right hand was now pulsing ominously.
"I hate it when people underestimate me. With the Tebukuro no Shirayuri, I'm more powerful than any lowly shinigami!" he bellowed.
"You've got it all wrong, pal. I'm the fourth seat of Division Six," Saito said, his voice calm. "But, you're kind of right though. That artifact is really powerful, but I really need that glove back, otherwise my captain will..." he shuddered. "I guess I'll have to release my zanpakuto. You might want to step back, Hii-chan."
Though I scowled at the nickname, I complied and took a few steps back.
Saito pointed his sword at Yoh and sighed. "Well, I've wanted to kick your ass for a long time so…Flood the earth, Doshaburi."
My eyes widened as the normal-looking katana in Saito's hand glowed and shifted in to what appeared to be a Jumonji yari, a spear with a long, straight double-edged blade. On both sides of the blade were two hook-like protrusions and the shaft had intricate carvings of wave patterns. The weapon was taller than Saito and looked very, very deadly. I felt a surge of the same suffocating power that I had sensed before and I realized that it was emanating from Saito.
Fear flickered across Yoh's face, but he did not flee. "Doshaburi is a very temperamental zanpakuto. He likes to create hurricanes and storms. Sometimes I wish he had a more sunny personality," Saito explained.
"I already told you. You don't stand a chance against the Tebukuro no Shirayuri. It harnesses the divine power of light. Let me show you its power!" Yoh yelled, grinning maniacally. An orb of light grew in his outstretched hand and he launched it at Saito. The light burned brighter than the beam of light before and grew to a massive size.
Saito didn't move to dodge. Instead he swiped the air with his weapon and shouted, "Yokogumo!" A wall of torrential clouds manifested from the blade and collided with the sun-like projectile.
"That was just a warm-up!" Yoh placed his hands together, forming a triangle with his pointer fingers and thumbs. A hail of thousands of glowing golden bullets rained toward Saito, but he spun his zanpakuto in a circle and a flurry of storm clouds blocked Yoh's attacks.
"You know, you're really getting on my nerves," Saito groaned. He pointed his zanpakuto directly at Yoh and shouted, "Shu rai!" A gale erupted from the blade, wreathed in lightning. Yoh put up a shield of light, but the hurricane shattered it and slammed into him, sending him flying into a nearby building.
"That was too easy. That loser got so cocky just because he has some powerful weapon, but he couldn't fully control it," Saito muttered. He turned back around and walked to me, smiling widely. He held out the spear and it glowed and morphed back into a katana, which he promptly sheathed. "Don't you think I'm cool? Have you fallen in love with my awesomeness?" he drawled, poking me in the shoulder.
"In your dreams," I snapped and stabbed near his hand with my knife. "Hey, that's dangerous!" Saito cried.
"Waah, Hii-chan! I'm so hungry after getting worked up! Treat me to ramen!" he whined as he ran behind me.
"I don't even have enough money to feed myself and my sister let alone to some crazy lunatic with a sword."
"I'm hurt, Hii-chan," Saito pouted, but his expression morphed into one of curiosity. "Wait, you said you said that you get hungry? And do you get thirsty?" he stared at me, puzzled.
I stared back at him. "Yeah, doesn't everyone?"
Saito was about to respond, but then a brilliant light flashed from behind him. "Saito, get out of the way!" I screamed and without thinking I jumped in front of the beam to shield him.
The last thing I remember was blinding white light that engulfed the landscape.
A/N: Yes, a cliffhanger. Don't worry, we'll meet Byakuya soon!
By the way, here are some terms that you may want for clarification:
Tebukuro no Shirayuri= "Glove of White Lotus"
Doshaburi= "Cloudburst"
Yokogumo= "Wall of clouds"
Shu rai= "Lightning strike"
*Hitomi means "eyes" or "pupil of the eye" and is typically reserved for baby girls with large, beautiful eyes. Saito jokes at this because Hitomi has scowling, sharp green eyes and usually glares.
The Jumonji yari is a traditional Japanese spear-type weapon. If you want an example of one, go to the "yari" page on Wikipedia.
And, as always, I appreciate any comments.
-Codename Ookami