Chapter 7: Changes
2:13 a.m.
A street near True Cross Academy
"Investigate the area's low hollow count, they said. Move from Karakura Town, they said. You're a perfect fit for this, they said. Damn it, Byakuya, I'm not your errand boy!"
Ichigo kicked a trash can in anger, at which a cat screeched and darted past him. He groaned.
"There's definitely less hollow activity the closer you get to the academy, but I haven't seen a single thing as to why. No alleged exorcists wandering around either…" He thought, surveying the street. "I guess this is still better than wandering around blindly like I was before, but-"
"Ichigo? Is that you?"
"What the hell?"
Ichigo spun around to see an inquisitive Rin Okumura exiting an alleyway.
"Rin? What are you doing here?"
"And how can you see me?"
"I was just leaving school- I fell asleep studying- and this alley is a shortcut so… Uh, why are you dressed like that?"
Rin pointed to Ichigo's shihakusho.
"Oh, this? It's for a club."
"Kendo?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Something seems kinda- Is that a sword? It's huge!"
Rin's jaw dropped as he jabbed a finger at the zanpakuto strapped to Ichigo's back.
"Yeeah, it's fake. Like yours. Kinda."
"What? Oh! Yeah! I get'cha."
Ichigo ignored Rin's nervous laughter and mentally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Maybe we should head home, y'know, before Ranka realizes we're out past curfew." Ichigo suggested.
"Oh yeah, I didn't get to tell him I'd be out late since I fell asleep. Did you forget too?"
"Yeah, I got caught up with… stuff…"
As the two began heading for home, Ichigo assessed his situation.
"Alright, so I cut this hunt a bit short and go back empty-handed, plus my roommate can apparently see me. I tell this to Byakuya and he gets all politely angry. So let's try something else…"
"Hey, Rin."
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen anything like, weird around here?"
"Weird?"
"Yeah, like… A monster or something. Or sketchy people, maybe."
"Well, I haven't seen any monsters but there are a lot of sketchy people. With Mephisto being number one on that list." Rin added under his breath.
"Mephisto?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh, yeah, he's just some guy at school."
Rin began nervously laughing once more, causing Ichigo to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Time to change tactics." Ichigo thought.
"Okay, so I heard this really crazy rumor about your school, actually." Ichigo replied lightheartedly.
"What was it?"
"It's pretty weird. I heard that there were exorcists there."
Ichigo laughed.
"Oh, yeah there are."
"What?" The soul reaper exclaimed, stopping in his tracks.
"Yeah, there's an exorcist program there. I'm in it!"
"What?"
"Yeah, it's like cram school. I'm only an exorcist-in-training though." Rin added.
"Does Yukio know about this?"
"Well yeah, he's the teacher of one of my classes. He's already an exorcist, but I'll pass him up soon enough!" Rin declared.
"What the actual…"
"So, since you're familiar with all this spiritual stuff, what do you think about shinigami and all that?" Ichigo asked, eying his companion warily.
"Shinigami? Do those exist? Maybe they're like guardian spirits, or maybe they're demons. I dunno, man."
"Right, okay."
Before Ichigo could say anything else, Rin suddenly dashed off.
"Ichigo, hurry it up! The last train is about to leave!"
"Hey, wait up!"
The next day
6:45 p.m.
The Fujioka Household
Ichigo unlocked the door, kicked off his shoes, and shut the door with a thud.
As he left the entryway, he heard the drone of the evening news playing in the living room.
"-of the Uchiha Police? Governors from the surrounding regions have already condemned Chief Uchiha's handling of the recent Itachi incident at the True Cross Convention Center."
"Exactly, things look very bad for the Konoha region right now. Though Governor Tsunade moved quickly to condemn and distance herself from this incident, the fact remains that the police force's actions represent the government's. Honestly, distancing herself from this may do more harm than good. She needs to hold herself and her administration accountable."
"And that leads us to the major elephant in the room: The Konoha region's rocky past with the Uchiha clan. Decades ago, Governor Tobirama created the police force, which incited feelings of unrest among some Uchiha. Nothing occurred until the third governor's term when the infamous Uchiha Massacre happened. The current chief of police, Sasuke Uchiha, is the only survivor of that incident, with his older brother and the alleged murderer, Itachi, on the run."
As Ichigo stood watching from behind the couch, Ranka reached for the remote and changed the channel.
"That's been on all day. Honestly, it's getting annoying."
On the floor, Naruto continued gravely staring at the screen, not touching his food on the coffee table before him.
Everyone else absently ate, avoiding eye contact with the blond most affected by the news.
Ranka turned around, noticing Ichigo who caught his gaze.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I missed the train so I had to wait-"
"And here he is. Ichigo."
Ranka glared at him, his tone turning from annoyed a few seconds prior to icy the next.
"Uh, sorry for being-"
"Sorry for being out so late last night?"
Ichigo frowned.
"So he did know."
"Yeah, sorry about that, I lost track of time at-"
"Rin I can accept but you, Ichigo? I never would have guessed the paradigm of this household would go against my rules. I don't ask for much, you know. And who knows how much worse things could have gotten if the Uchiha Police found you two!"
An awkward silence fell upon the room as Ranka realized who he referenced.
Naruto began eating his food.
Ranka turned back to Ichigo.
"Anyway, Ichigo, you should be ashamed. Out in the early morning on a school night. I know you said your father didn't care where you went or when, but that won't fly here! You're doing the dishes tonight."
"Okay, sounds fair." Ichigo assented, to Ranka's surprise. "I'm gonna go put this stuff away, then I'll be back." He added, lifting his bookbag for reference.
After he left, Ranka sighed.
"It's no fun with him. He's too level-headed."
"Dad, do you really care if he's out late, or did you just want to see his reaction?" Haruhi skeptically asked from across the room.
"A little of both. Honestly, it's pretty scary around here. Have you heard the rumors? Demons, wanted criminals… The Konoha region's gone to shit lately."
"Dad!" Haruhi hissed, eying Naruto.
"Well, it's not all bad. Our military and healthcare are great."
"Dad! Just drop i-"
Screeching tires and wailing sirens from outside drowned out the rest of Haruhi's admonishment. The group looked toward the sounds.
As Haruhi was about to resume her comment, a yell caught her attention.
"Everyone, look outside!" Ichigo's voice yelled from upstairs.
The household jumped to their feet and opened the blinds.
Outside, in the waning light, were parked armored trucks with lights and sirens blaring.
"That's… They're outside the Uchiha residence." Kyoko noted, eyes glued to the scene before her.
Naruto's expression of shock gave way to determination and he sprinted out of the living room, throwing the front door open and dashing into the scene.
Seeing the orange blur run up to security prompted the rest of the house to follow suit.
"Move out of my way! What's going on? Where's Sasuke!"
Naruto pushed against the lineup of guards that blocked entry to the Uchiha premises.
"Excuse me, what on Earth is going on?" Ranka asked, only to be greeted with silence. "That's just rude…" He added with a glare.
"Hey, Naruto, stop it, calm down," Urged Yukio as he and Ichigo attempted to pry the blond away from the guards.
Scanning the area, Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Kotetsu! Ko-tet-suuu!"
A man with black hair and a bandage across his face looked up, caught Naruto's gaze, and headed his way.
"Let him go." He urged the guards who did as he said.
He turned to the teen.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?"
Noticing Ichigo, Yukio, and the rest of the household, he nodded.
"Oh, right, you live here."
"Kotetsu, what's going on? Why are there security forces storming Sasuke's house?"
Kotetsu's expression darkened.
"Look, Naruto, I don't know if I can tell you…"
"It's fine, he'll find out anyway."
The group turned toward the new voice and were greeted by a blond woman. Behind her, security forces held back a swarm of reporters.
"Lady Tsunade!" Kotetsu exclaimed.
"I'll handle this, you deal with the crowds."
Glancing hesitantly at Naruto, Kotetsu then nodded and left.
Lady Tsunade turned to the group, where a squealing Ranka was held back by Kyoko and Haruhi.
"You must be Naruto's housemates. I'm Governor Tsunade; I know Naruto from his involvement at Konoha High. If you've been watching the news, you know that the Uchiha Police Force has come under some serious fire lately. Those damn idiots…" She muttered.
"Anyway," She continued with a glare, "this evening I received a video message from Sasuke, or Chief Uchiha. Well, former Chief Uchiha."
"What?" Yukio exclaimed.
Tsunade nodded.
"Sasuke sent me a message announcing his resignation, and also his undying hatred for the Konoha region and its government. He claims we're 'anti-Uchiha,' and that we're not trying to capture Itachi. According to him, we're withholding valuable information and resources from the Uchiha Police. We came over on terrorist charges; he claimed he'd blow this whole street to ashes. We found a bomb, but that's it. Sasuke's gone, I've ordered a national manhunt. He's not in a good state of mind."
Lady Tsunade looked Naruto in the eye.
"Naruto, you're to stay out of this."
The shinobi's eyes widened and his hands balled into fists in response.
"Are you serious? No way! I'm finding Sasuke!"
As he turned to take off, Lady Tsunade glared at him before punching him in the gut.
The teen shinobi groaned and fell to the ground.
As Yukio and Rin hovered over him, Lady Tsunade addressed the rest of the house.
"Make sure he doesn't leave. I'm assigning agents to your house to watch him. This street will likely be crawling with my security forces but… I just don't trust him."
She glared again at Naruto, who was being helped up by the Okumura brothers.
"I'll have Yamato or Kakashi stop by later to place an ankle bracelet on him."
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Asked Ichigo.
"For anyone else, sure. But for him it's a safety precaution."
With that, Lady Tsunade turned and disappeared into the sea of reporters.
"Let's get Naruto inside for now." Ranka suggested.
"Hey, what's going on over there?"
Rin pointed down the street, where more crowds were gathered.
The figure of Sebastian Michaelis could be seen standing on his porch, addressing reporters.
"In regards to the recent Uchiha incident, Earl Phantomhive, a member of the Neighborhood Association, has this to say: I am deeply disappointed in former Chief Uchiha's recent actions and the precedent they set. I do not support or condone the violence that was displayed during the True Cross Convention Center incident. I accept Chief Uchiha's resignation in hopes that he will work on his character and return to benefit society. However, as a guest of this country, I do not believe inciting hatred against a region is the correct course of action. The international community is committed to preventing human rights crimes and to capturing the lead suspect in the Uchiha Massacre, Itachi Uchiha. We stand together with Konoha-"
"It looks like everyone's out discussing Sasuke…" Rin said, looking around their street after approaching the Phantomhive residence.
Further away, Ichigo noticed Renji Abarai standing similarly to Sebastian at the Kuchiki compound.
"Mr. Kuchiki stands with his fellow board members of the Neighborhood Association to condemn Chief Uchiha's actions in the handling of the True Cross Convention Center incident. While he accepts Chief Uchiha's resignation, he is wary of the way it was announced. Mr. Kuchiki and Kuchiki Enterprises are firm believers in strict character and protocol. Mr. Kuchiki urges Mr. Uchiha to reconsider his new actions and threats against the region."
"Hey, Ichigo, you coming?"
Ichigo looked away from Renji's speech to see Kyoko. Beyond her, the rest of their household headed back home.
After glancing briefly at Renji and the surrounding chaos, he nodded.
"Yeah, let's go."
The mansion down the street was oddly silent.
The members of the Akatsuki gathered in Pain's room on the second floor, sitting around in the dim lighting.
Reclining on the bed, Deidara blew at his bangs and stopped paging through that month's edition of Do's and Don'ts, a hair-styling magazine stolen from the Hitachiins.
"So. How long are we gonna stay in here? I have work tomorrow, you know."
"Finally." Sasori muttered from the floor where he was inspecting a doll.
Deidara glared at him.
"They haven't even approached our house… Yet." Zetsu remarked as he peeked through the blinds.
"Where's Pain anyway?" Deidara huffed.
"He's at his job, you know, the tattooing one," Replied Kisame, leaning against the bedroom door. "Konan's out of town for her modelling gig, Kakuzu's steering clear of the area, and Hidan's who knows where. Hopefully he stays away, too."
"Didn't he get a job at like, a dojo or something?" Deidara disinterestedly asked as he resumed flipping through magazine pages.
Kisame laughed.
"Yeah, for a while. I think they used him as a training dummy? I don't know; that place was bad news. Pain wasn't too happy, so I'm not sure if he's still there."
"I thought he worked at a haunted house…" Tobi remarked from his spot beneath the window.
"When we were at the convention center, he ran into Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Sasori recalled as he lifted the doll's left arm. "I hope he's not getting better acquainted with that maniac."
"That other maniac." Kisame corrected.
"We're all a bit mad here."
All gazes in the room fell upon the murmur's speaker, who sat with his back to the rest of the room at a desk beside Kisame, jotting something down.
"Nice of you to admit it," Replied Deidara, addressing Itachi's back. "Once again, your brother's got us into a stupid situation, hm."
"I agree, as he's done to himself." The eldest Uchiha replied, still preoccupied with his task.
"Are you disappointed, Itachi-san? Sad to see the Uchiha Police Force go? Your brother ditching Konoha might not be all bad news though." Kisame said.
"It's expected. The Uchiha Police Force was a corrupt institution. Plus, with Sasuke out of the area, it should be easier for us to accomplish our goal of capturing the Nine-Tails."
"How optimistic of you," Dryly replied Deidara.
"Careful, don't let Pain catch you saying that." Kisame warned with a grin.
"Itachi-san, what are you doing?" Tobi asked, watching Itachi glance at a book and continue to write.
"Work. I'm an online tutor."
Deidara laughed.
"What, you didn't know, Deidara?" Kisame asked, eying him with amusement.
Deidara's expression fell.
"You're kidding me. Really? Seriously? How? Why? Whatever. Sasori-san, say something, hm."
"This doll is very well constructed." The redhead replied, clicking a tiny mask onto the doll's face, changing its expression.
"Oh god help us."
Deidara shook his head and turned back to his magazine.
"Whose doll is that, senpai?" Tobi asked.
"I found it. That redheaded girl who lives with the Nine-Tails had it sticking out of her bag…"
The plastic surgeon trailed off, focused on the doll.
"Hey, Itachi-san. Though Sasuke is gone, don't you think there will be increased surveillance of the Nine-Tails by the government? Otherwise he'd probably try to do something rash."
"Don't worry, Kisame. I have a few ideas."
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all…"
Yukio stared out his window, watching security agents deliver cardboard boxes to vans.
"The Uchiha clan is very prestigious...Old. That fable of the Sage of the Six Paths, of the sharingan… What if it's true? If Sasuke Uchiha is acquainted with this knowledge, does that mean he might attempt to capture the tailed beasts in order to destroy Konoha? What else could he do? And what has Itachi Uchiha been doing all this time? Is he working with the Akatsuki? Would it be in order to fulfill his own goals?"
He closed his blinds and crossed the room to his desk, where his laptop sat open.
After sitting down, he opened his email. Then he picked up his phone and dialled a number.
"You've reached the office of the Tail Taskforce. May I ask who is calling?"
"This is Yukio Okumura." The voice on the other end made a noise of recognition before greeting him. "Have there been any developments in tracking the beasts? In the organization members? Suspects? Anything?"
"Actually, we had an exorcist come to us. Said he was working at the True Cross Convention Center's regional fair. A guy came up to him claiming to have captured the Two-Tails."
"What?"
Yukio jumped to his feet.
"Who? Tell me everything."
"Right. So that guy thought it was a pretty wild claim, but since the claimant seemed suspicious, he looked into it. Since we know the Akatsuki are capturing tailed beasts, he started by looking at wanted criminals in the Bingo Book."
"The list for wanted shinobi, right."
"Yeah, so whaddaya know, he finds the guy!"
Yukio gripped his desk.
"Well? Who was it?"
"We think he's a missing-nin from Yugakure- Hidan, an allegedly immortal priest and serial killer."
Yukio's eyes narrowed.
"I see. I'll look into this. Please send me all the information you can."
"Roger."
x
Rin: Okay... So are we just not gonna talk about how the GOVERNOR just punched Naruto?
Yukio: Rin, everyone knows Lady Tsunade's strength- she's the strongest person in Konoha.
Rin: Right, but she's also the GOVERNOR! And she punched a civilian!
Yukio: *sighs* Rin, don't you pay attention to anything? Lady Tsunade is in charge of the region's military. Konoha High, where Naruto goes, is a military academy. Lady Tsunade is technically Naruto's boss.
Rin: Naruto's in the military?
Yukio: Not yet, but start prepping for when that time comes...
Rin: Wait, I don't think that justifies her hitting him...
About Exorcists in the Story:
A popular rumor around Konoha is that there are exorcists at True Cross Academy. This rumor was verified when people claiming to be exorcists popped up and were affiliated with the academy. However, these exorcists were also preachers, confirming the traditional exorcist's stereotype to the citizens of Konoha.
Ichigo's disbelief that exorcists really exist is backed by popular opinion- people don't believe that the few exorcists they know of are real. Those claiming to be exorcists are regarded as insane or frauds. The true nature of the Order is unknown to the public. The booth Hidan encountered at the regional fair was attempting to educate and familiarize the public with exorcists, to establish their authenticity, and to gather intel on demons.
*Next time...
Ichigo and Deidara separately attempt to gather intel on True Cross Academy; Naruto tries tracking Sasuke despite being monitored; Hidan learns about Mayuri Kurotsuchi's work and a suspicious plot that's brewing, and Haruhi learns about Konoha lore from Tamaki
(*Events subject to change)