The noon time sun was searing down on the backs of downtrodden villagers. Renji had woken up a couple hours before and, tired of lounging around, decided to wander into the center of the district and scrounge up something to eat. There was a small commotion going on, villagers who had been walking around like zombies under the heat had perked up a considerable amount to gossip about the traveler wearing a grey kosode and hakama, a sign that this person lived closer to or in the more affluent western districts.
The big stir was that it was a girl with short hair wearing guy's clothes. There were all sorts of rumors flying around that she'd come to lure 'troubled girls' to work in a bath house a couple districts away, and similar ones about brothels, even one that she'd come to take over the district and kill off the all the men so she could rule and force the village women to be her underlings.
Farther down the road, a gap in the bustle of foot traffic surrounded the infamous girl. Her tabi and sandals were caked with dirt and grime, the bottoms of her hakama were tan with dried dirt. Her face was dirty and oily and a little broken out and occupied on it was an expression of exasperation.
Renji watched as she tried to politely grab the attention of certain villagers– "Excuse me, please"– and they'd give her a quick glance of alarm before scurrying away. She let out a big sigh and an irritated sob.
"Why won't anybody talk to me?!" She threw her head back in despair.
He snorted out a laugh. This is who they were afraid of? This town had seen and was home to some of the worst criminals in the area, but this is the person people were shielding their kids from?
He made a beeline straight to her, which garnered horrified stares from onlookers. She gave him the most pitiful look of reverence.
"What's up?" he asked, coolly.
"Where the fuck am I?" at this point, the residents started to go back to wandering the streets and pretended that they didn't exist.
"District 78."
"I'm in the south?! Fuck. Fuck! I shouldn't have listened to that shit bird from the ryokan, he had no idea what the fuck he was talking about!"
As she panicked he noticed she was unusual to what he was used to seeing. She was chubby, pretty, but not remarkably so, and there was a strange green iridescence to her eyes, which glowed like hot coal. Another remarkable detail was that she wasn't hiding anything. Everything she felt seemed to be out on the table, and he wasn't sure how she'd survived this long like that. He was used to people being tough and cunning to survive but it was obvious by her attitude that she'd never had to live in this environment or be responsible for her own survival against all odds.
He at once felt an ambivalence toward her. He resented the fact that she still retained much of her innocence, but at the same time he didn't get the feeling that he'd have to sniff her out for any ulterior motives.
"It took me three goddamn days to get out here and I'm not even in the right place!" She stopped herself, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then sighed, defeated. Her leg muscles were incredibly sore and she desperately wanted a bath. Even so, she was proud of herself for trudging on despite wanting to run back home with her tail between her legs.
"Do you know anywhere around here I can wash up? Or even just rinse some fuckin' dirt off?"
He smiled but his face still looked cold and hard.
"Yeah, follow me." He nodded in the opposite direction of where they were standing and started walking. A mile or so off, the houses tapered off and there were empty fields sprawled everywhere. The closer they got to the field, she heard the sound of running water behind houses and trees, which was a God-send in the grueling heat.
She started walking a little faster behind him, for some reason the idea of walking beside him seemed too intimate and she didn't want to get in the way in case they needed to take a turn, and suppressed the urge to skip. When they got closer to the fields and she saw the sun reflecting off the water of a running river, she ran right past him toward it with a big silly grin on her face.
He was caught by surprise. "Hey!" he called out, "I wouldn't swim in there if I were you!"
She came to a halt and turned around, her face falling. "Oh."
"They don't call it the river of shit for nothing. Come on, this way." He walked off in the direction of the woods and for the first time it dawned on her that this strange boy could just be looking to take advantage of her. She didn't see any weapons on him but he had about half a foot on her in height and his short tan kimono revealed well-developed muscles. She slid a hand under her kosode and touched her kaiken tucked under her obi. Curiosity killed the cat, as the old saying goes, and she wanted to follow him just to see what would happen, even though it was against any sane person's better judgement.
When they got close enough to the woods, he stopped and turned around and she stopped about five feet away from him.
"Hot springs are through the woods." He glanced toward them and then in the direction that they came from and stepped closer to her. She stepped back a little and started to worry. He gazed down on her under half lidded eyes.
"I want to know what I get out of this."
She let out a low, barely audible whine. She was barely equipped to handle this and she was starting to freeze up. She struggled to pull the kaiken out of her kosode, the sweat on her hands sliding on the smooth wood of the sheath. She pulled out the right side of her kosode curtly and shot her kaiken an offended look, like it was pulling some kind of prank on her, and yanked it out. It came out and she promptly dropped it on the ground where she dove down to pick it up. She yanked the kaiken out of its sheath and stood back up, aiming the point right at his nose.
"You better not try anything funny!"
After witnessing this pathetic display, he furrowed his brows and glanced at the point of her blade and then rolled his eyes.
"No, idiot, money. Give me some fuckin' money and I'll take you to the hot springs." He glanced away from her. "I'm not into fat girls anyway."
Mina gasped, eyes widening. "I'll find the hot springs myself!" She threw some money at him and stormed past him into the woods.
He took the money and started to run back toward the town. He planned to gorge himself while she wandered around in the woods looking for a hot spring that didn't exist, and then maybe he'd go clean up in the river afterward.
Under the shade of the blooming sakura tree, Shunsui and Jūshirō lounged on Shunsui's porch in a quieter area of Seireitei drinking saké and chatting.
"You think she's okay?" Worry wasn't something that usually struck Shunsui's features, but today was a different day. It'd been two days since Jūshirō had told him the news about Mina, three days since he received a letter from Mina herself with only the words "I'm fine. Don't worry." Four since he'd found her hair on her bedroom floor.
"Somehow I think she'll be just fine, even better for it." One thing Mina had always loved about Jūshirō is that he always had faith in her. He was one of the only people she didn't cause (too much) trouble for. Even when she royally fucked up, he was still there with that kind smile of his encouraging her to get back up and do better next time.
"It's a beautiful day for drinking!" Shunsui poured himself another glass. His heart sunk a little bit for Mina. They were drinking her favorite kind of saké. It was especially sweet, just the way she liked it. He was proud of her though, for going off on her own without expecting anyone to come get her when things got to be too much. He smiled and toasted to Mina, and then downed the glass. He couldn't wait to hear about all of her adventures when she returned.
The sky started to turn grey and off in the distance was rumblings of thunder. The leaves started to rustle and turn over in the wind. Shunsui's lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru showed up to Shunsui's home looking grave.
"It's been reported to me that five villagers from northern Rukongai districts have been slaughtered seemingly all by the same Zanpakutō."
Shunsui and Jūshirō looked at one another, concerned.
"Zanpakutō?"
"There was spirit energy still in the wounds when the bodies were found."
Jūshirō and Shunsui both stood up, alert.
"Lead us to where the bodies are."
Author note: Criticism welcome!