~Chapter 3~

…Explanations…

Friday night, Ravyn, for some reason, couldn't get to sleep. After about an hour and a half of trying, she gave up, and decided to go over to her window, and look out. She was just staring blankly at some point in the distance, when all of a sudden, a flash of light being reflected off something caught her eye. She opened up her window, and leaned out to get a better look at the edge of the forest, where she saw the light of the moon being reflected off something again. Ever curious, she closed her window, and decided to go out and find out what it was, since she could always sleep in and not have to worry about school the next day. She put on shoes, slipped a jacket over the shirt that she was wearing, and quietly snuck out of her house.

Sometime later, she was walking in the forest. The sounds of metal clashing against metal reached her, and she quickened her pace, wondering what was making the noise. Her imagination ran wild as she walked, and she could almost see Yumichika with his sword, fending off an enemy from some video game she played. Or maybe it was just two random people, fighting in the middle of the night because they had nothing better to do with their lives…. Hell, it could be two cosplayers pretending to be two people from some anime who like to fight each other. Ravyn preferred her first idea. As she seemed to get nearer to wherever the fighting noises were, she suddenly stopped as an image flashed through her mind, but too quickly for her to make out anything. She paused for a few seconds with her eyes closed, hoping to see the image again, but nothing happened. Slightly disappointed, she continued on.

A few feet in front of her was a huge clearing in the forest, and Ravyn hid behind a tree as she looked out. Two people were, actually, fighting with swords. One was holding a huge butcher-knife resembling sword, and her eyes followed the blade to its owner's arm, and then to the guy's face, only to see… Ichigo? He looked like Ichigo- he had the same hair color, eyes, and everything, except he was wearing some black outfit thing, sort of like what Yumichika was wearing in her dream earlier on in the week. That thought made Ravyn turn to the other person, standing on the opposite end of the clearing. He was, without a doubt, Yumichika. He was wearing the orange scarf-thing that was connected to a sleeve on his right arm of the same color, and was also wearing the black robes. His sword, at least, looked like a normal katana.

As she watched, the two jumped towards the middle of the clearing, and their swords clashed as they met. Ravyn watched them fight in awe- it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. But she couldn't help but wonder where they got the swords, or how they managed to jump such a large distance in one go, or why they were even fighting in the first place. Nonetheless, it was amazing, and she continued to watch them fight and trade the occasional insult, even if it did seem incredibly movie-like. She moved around the tree to get a better view, and in the process she accidentally stepped on a twig, which snapped in half. She froze, looking at Yumichika and Ichigo, who had also frozen when they heard the noise and were now looking around. As Yumichika's eyes neared her hiding spot, Ravyn's senses returned to her, and she quickly spun around and started running. She didn't care if she made noise this time, but she did care if she was spotted. Why, she didn't know. She just had the feeling that if it was possible, she shouldn't be noticed by either Ichigo or Yumichika. But at the same time, she didn't think that it wouldn't matter, since they both were probably way faster at running than she was. It was only a matter of time before one of them caught up to quickened her pace as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Not even a few seconds later, she could've sworn she heard footsteps behind her. Although she wanted to look over her shoulder, she didn't, and instead continued running. After what seemed like forever but was probably only minutes, she could start to see the edge of the forest coming up ahead. Finally. She was panting at the effort of running so fast for such a long amount of time, and wasn't too sure of how much longer she could keep up her pace. The muscles in her legs were starting to burn, but she didn't stop to rest.

Meanwhile, the footsteps behind her hadn't slowed at all, and from what she could tell, whoever was chasing her wasn't even out of breath. She neared the edge and was just about to leave the forest, when she was grabbed from behind and pinned against a tree... by none other than Yumichika.

"What exactly are you doing here?" he asked her, getting straight to the point. Ravyn looked up into flashing violet eyes, and was surprised at his anger. She didn't think she did anything... Or did she?

"I couldn't sleep?" she offered weakly, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"And that's a reason to go walking in a forest in the middle of the night? Don't you know it can be dangerous?" She nodded, and he continued. "Tell me, what was the real reason why you came out here, besides the fact you couldn't sleep?"

"I saw light being reflected off something in the middle of the forest, and wanted to check it out," she admitted. "I was curious, that's all."

"If there had been an explosion, would you go there because you were curious?" Yumichika asked her.

"Probably," Ravyn answered after a few seconds of thinking. "I mean, what if someone was there, and they were hurt or dead or something? If no one went there to find out what happened, the anyone who was hurt would definitely end up dead."

He sighed. "And if there was some sort of unexplainable flash of light or something similar?"

"Well, yeah. Wouldn't you want to know why there was light flashing in an otherwise dark night? Well, if it was nighttime, I mean. If it was during the day, I probably wouldn't notice it…. But where are you going with this, Yumichika?"

"Curiosity can be such an ugly emotion," he muttered, and then told her, "You shouldn't always be so curious about everything. Sometimes leaving things be and ignoring it is the best thing to do. Being too curious can be your downfall if your unlucky," he added softly as she looked down guiltily.

"Sorry," Ravyn said, wondering what he meant by that.

"Just promise me something," Yumichika said, and she looked up at him. "Don't wander off by yourself if you see or hear something odd. It's not always going to be me and Ichigo sparring."

"I won't, I promise," she replied. He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding.

"Go back to your house now and get some sleep. Lack of sleep causes ugly bags to form under your eyes, and we can't have that happening. Sometime tomorrow, come over to my place, it doesn't matter what time," he continued. "I'll explain everything then, and answer whatever questions you have."

"Okay," she agreed. Yumichika stepped back, allowing her to leave. She glanced back before walking out of the forest, her mind racing. But a few questions kept repeating themselves in her mind: Why was Yumichika angry with her? Was it because she spot him and Ichigo fighting, or because of something else? And why did he say that curiosity could be her downfall?

- Y U M I C H I K A POV-

That night, after they had returned to their gigais, Yumichika lay in bed, wide awake. His mind wandered back to the first day he met Ravyn Jagger. Right away he could tell that Ruri was somewhere in the girl, judging by her personality. And unless the girl just coincidentally acted the same as Ruri, he was positive that he could somehow save his friend. How, Yumichika wasn't quite sure. But he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to do something.

Yumichika sighed, hating this. For nearly two years, he had successfully managed not to fret as much about Ruri Aruteru, his best friend who's always been by his side ever since that one day in Rukongai. It took a lot of control and distractions that prevented him from worrying about her all the time, and even more so when he found out her condition was getting worse. Of course, he had wanted to find out if he could save her or not, and that was why he was in the States, with Ichigo as his guide to the Living World. But seeing the human that Ruri was in had made him start worrying again. What if Ruri's soul had merged with Ravyn's, and she was no longer the same person? What if Yumichika couldn't get back one of his two closest friends?

He glared at the ceiling. Why did that damn Kurotsuchi have to start experimenting with those hollows? And the hideous captain surely had to have better security than he did with the mentioned hollow. He should've been prepared should his… experiments ever escaped. Now that he thought about it, it was mainly Kurotsuchi's fault that Yumichika was in the Living World, worrying, and most likely causing ugly wrinkles to appear on his perfect face because of his creased eyebrows and frown. His dislike towards the Squad 12 captain increased.

The next day came, and Ichigo left after breakfast go to Brayden's house to work on their CO2 car. Yumichika, having found out that his cell phone could actually text people in Seireitei, was testing it out with Ikkaku. But it took too long to send and receive the texts, and, being impatient, he decided to snap shut his phone after waiting over ten minutes for a reply. He figured that Ikkaku might've destroyed whatever he was using on his end. Not even five minutes later, a knock sounded on the door and Yumichika went to answer it. Ravyn had come just in time to prevent him from one of the ugliest things: being bored.

"So, are you going to explain everything to me?" Ravyn asked as she walked in, and followed him to his room.

"I said I would, didn't I?" he said, and she nodded. In a manner most like Ruri, she climbed on his bed, lying on her stomach, and grabbed his pillow to put under her arms. Yumichika sat down on the sofa and Ravyn looked at him expectantly.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" he asked, and she nodded. Good, it'll be less harder to explain now. He told her about the Soul Society, and what Shinigami were and what they did. Explaining about the hollow was easy enough, since Ravyn already figured that souls wouldn't always be peaceful. After he was done telling her about the Gotei 13, he asked if she had any questions so far.

"So... You're dead, right?" Ravyn asked, and Yumichika nodded. "But if you live in that Seireitei place, why're you here? And how can you be seen by everyone, since not all people can see spirits and stuff?"

"I'm in a gigai- an artificial body. It allows everyone to see me," he said. "If I left the gigai and was in my soul form, only people with higher reiatsu, or spirit energy, can see me."

"So that's why you don't have your sword?"

"Exactly. Also, they're more than just swords. We call them zanpakuto," Yumichika replied, launching into another explanation about the weapons. When he finished, Ravyn looked impressed.

"So, let me get this straight: You're dead, a Shinigami who goes off killing hollow, and you have a... zanpakuto that changes it's appearance if you say a few words. That's pretty epic," she commented, looking at him in awe. Yumichika tried to ignore the look, one that he became accustomed to receiving in Rukongai whenever he fought anyone with Ruri around, and instead focused on what Ravyn was saying. "So, Ichigo's a Shinigami, too, then, since he had that huge butcher knife zanpakuto... Oh, you never said, why're you here?"

"Yes, Ichigo's a Shinigami. As for why I'm here..." he trailed off, thinking. He knew that there would probably be no getting around the question, but he didn't know how the girl would react to finding out there was a Shinigami's soul in her. But on the other hand, she had to know, otherwise he'd get nowhere in his mission to save Ruri. "You know when someone passes on to the Soul Society, they live in a place called Rukongai? It has 80 districts in both the north and south; the larger the number, the worst the district is. Life in Rukongai definitely isn't a pretty one, especially if you're in the worst districts like I was. I have a friend, Ikkaku Madarame, who I met in Rukongai decades ago-"

"Wait, decades?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Time goes much slower in Soul Society, so we don't age as quickly. It's a good thing, too, otherwise I'd be absolutely ugly, and with wrinkles," he said, shuddering delicately at the thought before continuing on. "Now, as I was saying, Ikkaku was my friend in Rukongai, and we spent years going into different districts, with him picking fights along the way. See, he's this battle-loving idiot, who constantly fights people if they look tough enough for him. After a time, he became well-known for his fighting skills, not just for his bald head and tattooed eyes. So, one day we were traveling along the outside of some town, and we heard a fight going on somewhere in the forest right by the town. We went to where the fight was, mainly because Ikkaku wanted to challenge whoever won. But it turned out to be two weaponless kids, a girl and a boy, fighting three guys with katanas."

"Did you stop them?"

Yumichika nodded. "Of course we did, though we only had to kill the two attacking the boy, since the girl had knocked out her opponent. Later, after they had left, Ikkaku and I had devised a plan to make sure they were both okay, since the boy had hurt his shoulder in his fight. Ikkaku followed the boy as he went into town to the medic, and the girl headed back to where she had been fighting."

"Why?" Ravyn asked.

"To thank us for killing them," he replied. "I'm not sure why she went back there, but I didn't know she was there until she screamed. The guy who she knocked out was still alive, and had pinned her down with his sword. So, I obviously killed the guy, but I couldn't leave the girl, since her ankle was sprained and she could barely walk. I let her come with me and Ikkaku to the place we were staying at, and after a while, the three of us had became close friends. Her name was Ruri Aruteru."

"Ruri," she repeated thoughtfully. "That name..." She trailed off, and after a few seconds looked back up at him. "So then what happened? Did you guys become Shinigami?"

"Yes, years later. We didn't originally plan to become Shinigami, but one day Ikkaku was fighting this guy who would later become the taichou, or captain, of the 11th Squad. When we heard he had became a taichou, the three of us became Shinigami, and eventually got put in Squad 11. It's also known as the bloodthirsty squad, since it's full of fighting-crazed psychos... Ruri and me, along with the fukutaichou, or vice captain, being the exceptions, of course," Yumichika added. "The 12th Squad is also part of the Department of Research and Development, both of which is run by Kurotsuchi-taichou. Kurotsuchi is like a stereotypical mad scientist."

"So he goes around with poison and stuff, testing it out on innocent bystanders?" Ravyn asked, smirking.

"Funnily enough, yes," he agreed with a small grin. "Remember those hollow? Well, Kurotsuchi had been experimenting on quite a few of them, and two years ago, they escaped. Ikkaku, Ruri, and I were sent to find the hollow, stun them, and then tell Kurotsuchi where they were. So, we went, and knocked out most of them. We could tell that they were enhanced as far as being stronger goes, but that's all we thought there was to it. So, when a hollow slashed Ruri when she was off-guard, Ikkaku and I were shocked to see her actually fall to the ground, and wasn't able to get back up. Usually she's back on her feet in seconds…. We were even more surprised when her reiatsu, or spirit energy, started dropping. To make a long story short, we ended up bringing her to Squad 4, which is basically consisted of Shinigami healers, and we found out later why nothing they did was helping her. That's where you come in, Ravyn."

"Me?"

"Yes. Two years ago, you were in a hospital, in critical condition?" She nodded, and he continued. "Well, according to Kurotsuchi, the only way for Ruri's reiatsu to stop dropping and grow stronger was for her to go into a humans body for a while. Normally, she would've had to go into a gigai, an artificial body, but considering she was barely conscious at the time... Anyway, the human apparently had to be unconscious and severely injured, and preferably in a hospital room that was completely closed off. Unohana-taichou, of the 4th Squad, figured that while being in Karakura Town could help improve Ruri's health, she didn't want any hollow affecting her healing. That lead to some country farther away, which lead to the States, and someone in Squad 12 found out about you. Unohana-"

"Who?"

"She's the taichou of Squad 4," he said, before continuing where he left off. "Her, Kurotsuchi, myself, and a few others went to the hospital you were at with Ruri... I'm not quite sure what, exactly, they did, though, so don't ask."

"So they somehow made me Ruri?" Ravyn asked after a few seconds, and he nodded. "But wait, before you say anything else, I have a question. Is that, the whole Ruri thing I mean, why I can see you and Ichigo when you were Shinigami, even though I don't see spirits and stuff?"

Yumichika nodded again. "I wouldn't be surprised. This has never happened before, as you can guess, so no one's quite sure what's going to happen."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it. Everything's going to end up fine," he said. Somehow by reassuring her, he managed to reassure himself. Now, if only he was right….