Chapter Six

It has been several weeks already since that day had come and gone. Yet, it seemed as though it had been just yesterday. Yet again, Ukitake had gained his health back so I couldn't say much about it. But one day in the late afternoon, he had come up to me into my office. Knocking on the open door, he asked, "Ichimutsu, there's a mission I'd like to send you out on with a group of this squad's members."

Finally my first actual mission had come. Looking up at him with excitement and bright smile, I asked rather to quickly and hopefully, "Sure, dad! What is it?"

"Some of my members that I sent out past few days haven't been making it back, and I was hoping you could go out with several of the members to see what's going on," Ukitake explained. "I was hoping it would be alright with you that you had gone with them tonight."

Quickly getting up and grabbing my sword, I cried out, "I'll take them with me right now! I want to go as soon as possible!" I should have just sat still instead, because I was showing way too much enthusiasm. I didn't care much, though, because before this, I haven't been taken way too seriously. Now, I was able to show what I was truly made of for a teenage child.

As I rushed past him and out the door, I heard Ukitake chuckle as he called, "Don't jump into things too quickly! Make sure you call for backup if necessary!" When the ones that were supposed to go with me saw me rushing out, they quickly followed as I heard Ukitake call out just before I was out the headquarters, "And be careful, Ichimutsu! This is only your first mission!"

After the group and I were far out from the outskirts of the Soul Society, I asked the group, "Where were the disappearances mainly happening?"

"Near a forest, Miss Karaguwa," one of the members replied.

"Take me there immediately," I said in a low, harsh voice. The group did as I asked, and by the time we arrived, darkness had fallen upon us. As we walked at a slow pace, carefully, I looked around in a cautious manner as I loudly ordered, "All of you, stick close to me! As your acting lieutenant, I refuse to allow anything to happen to you guys! And if I tell you to run, do as I say!"

After a few long minutes that seemed like hours had passed by, I felt a sudden high pressure come out of nowhere near us, and it wasn't long after that when a gasp from somewhere behind me was heard. I swiftly turned and saw one of the members with what seemed like black claw going through her back and to her chest. Her eyes were wide with horror as she looked right at me, blood streaming down from corner of her lips, and her last words were, "Karaguwa-dono, I'm sorry. I tried my," but before she could even finish her sentence, she died.

I heard a fowl laughter from the darkness as an eerie male voice said, "It's a shame this one had to die like this. But it'll be fun killing all of you just the same."

I managed to keep my calm as I muttered, "Nayako-san, I'm the one that's sorry to have failed protecting you." Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I yelled, "Rest of you! Retreat! Get back to Thirteenth and get back up immediately!" I didn't have to look at any of them to tell they didn't want to leave me alone until I screeched, "NOW! This one is too powerful for all of you!" In a split second, they were all gone. All flashstepping at this point to get back to get more members. Hopefully Ukitake as well.

The hollow stepped out into the moonlight and, from what I could see, this hollow looked like a large hawk as he eerily said, "You're a brave one, aren't you? How old are you?"

I unsheathed my blade a bit too swiftly as I hissed, "Sixteen years old, but you don't need to know to that, do you? You will die for having killed my father's member, after all!"

I flashstepped behind him and brought my blade down. Before I knew it, he had blocked it and it wasn't long before we were in a full, all-out fight. I was beat up pretty badly after awhile, but I didn't want to give up. No. Wrong words. I COULDN'T give up. Not for my dad's sake. And not for the Thirteenth Squad's sake. The hollow lingered over me as he let out a loud, screeching of a laughter. "Kill me? That's what you said, wasn't it? It looks like it won't be me that'll be killed, rather you being the one to be killed, child! Say your last goodbye's to this world!"

Just as he started to bring his claws down at me to finish me off, I screamed with pain. Something was happening to me. I don't know what, but something was happening. But when I did stop screaming, I realized the hollow was gone. My breath was heavier, and I felt as though I didn't have control over my own body. I felt my hands come up to my face against my will, but I saw something that I shouldn't have been seeing. My hands and arms weren't human hands and arms. Instead, they were white paws. It didn't register in my head at first, but I realized after awhile with horror that I had gone over my limits. Something that was not acceptable in the eyes of Soul Society.

It wasn't long before I heard Ukitake's voice yell, "Stop! What have you done to the orange haired girl?" When I looked over to where the voice had come from, I saw Ukitake with his blade out, pointing it right at me. A look of fury was on his face, and I didn't know what to do or say. I have never seen him this angry at me before. Ever. I wanted to tell him that it was me, but nothing came out, no matter how hard I tried, but an angry growls and roars like a wild cat. I heard him mutter angrily, "I'll see I'll have to kill you off before I go find her." He came charging right at me and began to strike me rather harshly.

After a few strikes, I felt my body change as flew back a few yards, blood splattering everywhere. I saw look of shock and horror come across Ukitake's face as I barely managed to say, "Dad, why? Why did you attack me?" Everything went dark and cold. I was completely knocked out cold from that one final blow.

That horrible day of the day I was murdered from my human life kept playing over and over in my sleep. The entire time I saw it all happen countless of times, it was as though someone had put it to a fast forward that I could not stop. After who knows how many times of seeing it, I sat up, crying and sleeping, only to find myself in my room with Ukitake fast asleep sitting in a chair next to my bed, slouched over, with one of my hands between his. I saw dry tear marks on his face reflect off from the moonlight that was coming in from my window and I got out of bed, careful not to wake him, and walked over to the window to look outside. It was still fairly dark and I still could remember clearly what had happened just before I passed out cold.

I couldn't stay. I couldn't cause any danger to anyone. Not to the Thirteenth. Not to Soul Society. Most importantly, not to Ukitake. Not after all he's done for me. He was not just my captain. He was not just my guardian. More importantly than those, he was my dad. He acted as my dad, and was always there for me no matter what. I walked over to my desk and quickly wrote a goodbye note. When I was done, I hurriedly packed my bag with all the medical files I've made, as well as all the ingredients and medications that I would need. Grabbing the cloak that Ukitake had first given me, I put it on when kissing Ukitake on back of his head and I felt tears well up in my eyes. I tearfully said in a hushed tone, "I'm sorry I have to do this, dad. I love you. I always will. You were the only one that were like a real parent to me. Good bye, dad."

With just that, I left the headquarters and made my own senkai to get out to the World of Living. I didn't feel any presence approach me, but before I stepped through the senkai, I heard a familiar voice say, "What are you dong, Ichimutsu? Are you betraying the Soul Society?"

Without turning to look, I quietly snapped, "I suggest you leave too before you get caught yourself, Lutheran. Something's happened to me that I'm leaving before I become a harm to the Soul Society. Just because you're manipulating your spiritual energy doesn't mean you'll be able to fool everyone in Soul Society that you're a shinigami when you're not."

I knew just by the silence that he was surprised a bit at my statement. After a short while, he asked, "But how did you know that I wasn't one?"

"Are you really that dumb, Lutheran? I felt your energy waver slightly," I hissed. "I even felt it when Ukitake took me out to the World of Living to get my body to make a gigai. He was just being nice for not saying anything, but that doesn't mean that I'm a fool. I learned from one of the best to detect quickly. You better think quick before you get caught by the other top four, Lutheran, because if this is to get to even the Head Captain himself, he'll surely kill you off without hesitation."

I didn't wait for his response as I quickly stepped through the senkai. Tears freely streamed down my cheeks as I shunpo'd down the hall to the other end. When I reached the end of the hall and the closed gate, I opened it and stepped out to the World of Living. Looking around at the unfamiliar town, I cried hysterically as I muttered an apology to Ukitake and the Thirteenth Squad under my breath over and over again.

I found my gigai with ease and began to wander around in the streets. I must've looked like I was drunk because I was keep stumbling, but nothing much could be done when I wasn't fully recovered still. A police stepped out of her car as she said, "Hey, kid, what are you doing? Which household are you of?"

I kept mumbling, "I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean to leave. I didn't mean to. But I had to. I'm sorry, dad. I'm really sorry." Those were the only things I muttered and the police kept questioning me. I was so out of it. I didn't even bother to reply to her. Or at least I thought I replied to her when I really wasn't. But it wasn't long before I was put behind the bars of the police station.