I woke up the next morning feeling absolutely great.
Wonderful sex the previous night will do that to you. And it was wonderful. I smile as I prop myself up on one elbow, looking down at my sleeping bed partner. He looks really cute, his hair mussed up from sleeping and those feathers of his slightly scrunched. He'd probably think otherwise – not perfect, ya know? – but I think that makes him more adorable. And the soft little snores are cute too.
WHAM! I wince at that crash and my pretty bedmate sits bolt upright, reaching for a weapon before stopping in confusion. Does someone wake him up like that a lot? Wouldn't surprise me a bit.
"Lilinette! If you break the fucking door I will slap you!" I snarl. An empty threat and she knows it. "What is it?" It had better be what I think it is. If it isn't, I won't slap her but I might hang her out the window by an ankle. What? It's my best form of discipline.
"Breakfast! I got enough for you and your boy toy!" Ah, what I thought. Good… although, boy toy? Damned child. My partner for the night frowns, clearly a touch offended.
"Don't mind her. She's just jealous." I assure him and he gives me a curious look before slipping out of bed. Ah, that's a beautiful sight. I admire it for a moment before getting up myself. He only has the stuff he was wearing yesterday, but I have a few more options. Sorting through the closet I found a steel grey shirt and dark brown pants. That'll do. I pulled them on, wiggling a little to get the shirt in place. It's a bit tight around the shoulders. Have I put on weight? I only have a hand mirror so it's hard to tell. Maybe I've just bulked up a little. Plenty of hard work lately.
When we go out breakfast is waiting. It's from the café again. See, I don't have a kitchen. No one in the boarding house does and it's a pretty common situation in the Rukongai. After all, most people don't need to eat. Why would kitchens be standard equipment? Mari actually caters to people like me, who have enough spiritual pressure to need some food. She charges a bit extra for it but it's worth it, no doubt about it.
"Kimchee and eggs? Nice." I say before I dig in. There's congee too, of course. I'm getting riced to death. But kimchee makes it better. Yumichika's more than willing to dig in too, hungry from the workout last night probably. Damn, it was good. Pretty sure he feels the same way. "This is my daughter, Lilinette." I introduce her. Of course, that immediately goes sideways.
"I'm not your kid Starrk! We're going to be married someday!" She snaps and Yumichika stops, his fork halfway to his mouth and an expression of disbelief on his face. I've seen that before. Actually, I've seen worse. Sighing, I drop my chin onto my hand before looking at him.
"And that, right there, is why I'm still single." I say and he snorts before smiling. "Keep dreaming Lilinette, keep dreaming." I say before I go back to my food. She sticks out her tongue at me.
"Yeah, whatever Starrk! I'm going to have tits soon, just you wait." She threatens and I wince.
"Stop sabotaging my love life, brat. I'm hoping to get a second date here." I don't know if feather boy could be anything more to me but, ya know, I think maybe I'd like to find out.
"I'm not interested in anything serious." He says smoothly. Can't say I'm too surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. "But if I see you again, I would be more than willing."
"Thanks, you were great in bed too." I compliment him and he laughs. "Hey, I was wondering. I can do kido, I'm pretty good at it, but how does a man get a zanpakuto?" I ask and he gives me a slightly odd look as we continue to eat.
"The weapons are specially forged and prepared." Damn. I was afraid of that. "I happen to know my taichou took one from a slain shinigami and managed to impress his spiritual force onto it." Oh really? But… how would I do something like that? I'm not going to just kill a shinigami for his sword and I'm not going to vulture one either. Although…
"Shinigami must get killed in the slums sometimes. How do you recognize swords like that? Maybe I could find one in a pawn shop." That's actually pretty likely. This is the Rukongai, the first impulse around here is always 'loot the body'. Shit, I've done it plenty's the time. He gives me a small smile.
"Since you already know kido there's a simple test. But if you already have kido and you want a zanpakuto, why don't you just become a shinigami?" He asks and I hesitate, a bit of food on my fork. "You're eminently qualified."
"Well, several reasons." I say slowly, glancing at Lilinette. She's ignoring us both, kinda pouting. She really hates it when I have a girl or guy over and she hates it more when I seem to like 'em. "First, I like my freedom. I sometimes take days off to just sleep, ya know?" Sleep is my favorite thing. "Doubt I could do that as a shinigami. Second, I've got a little girl to support. Does being a shinigami pay well?" That makes him smile a bit as he shakes his head.
"No. But we get free food and subsidized housing for those with families. Education for dependents is run by the units and also free." He said and I blinked. Free?
"Oh. I had no idea. Huh. That makes it sound like a better deal." I'd been worried about how I'd take care of my Lilinette on a shinigami's salary. But if all that came included surely I could do it. And hell, I could always moonlight at my old job for extra cash. "Well, I still like my freedom. I'll enjoy it while it lasts." He lifted an eyebrow at me and I decided to explain. "I'm pretty sure someone's scoping me out. I get these little flickers, sometimes." It was pretty random, maybe one night a week that I got the vibe I was being followed. I aborted a job, once, because I felt it was just too damned sensitive to let someone spot me at. But most of the time I didn't care. "Bet it's the secret police dudes. Reckon they'll recruit me before too long." The hazards of being good at my job. He looked pensive for a moment.
"Yes, I imagine they would be interested in you." He murmured and I gave him a funny look. Something about that… like he knew something I didn't? Eh, whatever. "Well, if you run into trouble look me up. I might be able to help. Thank you for breakfast." He says as he rises from the table. I'm a bit surprised at the offer and Lilinette looks at him darkly. Damned child!
"It was nothing." I say easily as he makes an exit. Lilinette growls at his back.
"I don't like him. Don't bring him back again." She says and I glower at her. Brat!
"Stuff it Lilinette. My cock needs help sometimes. And he doesn't want to be my boyfriend anyhow." Yumichika had been pretty clear that this was casual, nothing more. That mollifies her a little. She doesn't mind my random wanderings too much, she gets more pissy when she knows I like somebody. "I better get to work. Got some stuff to do." I do a lot of my work at night, but not all of it. "And I have to meet that guy. That's going to be so much fun." I muttered. Telling a customer I'd blown it was never the highlight of my day. Giving back money sucked too. But you do what you have to do. And I was damned if I'd become a murderer over something like this.
I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.
"Well that went really fucking well." I growled to myself as I stalked off in a huff. Goddamnit. Now I was acting like Lilinette!
But that guy had gotten on my tits something bad. Seriously, I fucked up. I admitted it. I couldn't complete the job. Yet the fucker could. Not. Let. It. Go! Seriously, telling me over and over that I'm the best doesn't help. Even Soi Fon must fuck up once in a while. We're human beings god damnit! Well, plus souls but you get the drift. And then he started acting like he thought I was holding out on him which was unnerving because it was true. But fuck, why would he think I was holding out? Damnit, I do like getting paid! It's why I take jobs in the first place. Work. Money. Simple equation, right?
Then the jackoff tried to threaten me and that was when I beat feet, leaving his money on the table. He can fuck off and die now. I'm not taking a job from him if he offers double my rates. No one threatens me and stays in my clientele. Well, it's time to get back to work on my other job.
I'm trying to rescue a chick from a whorehouse. Most of the places around here, joining up and leaving is pretty voluntary. Sometimes it ain't though. Sometimes, shit gets rough. Why? Oh, I dunno… not enough girls, whorehouse owners who don't want to pay 'em… whatever. The point is, sometimes girls get kidnapped and forced into sex slavery. This one girl had a boyfriend who wanted her back bad. But when he'd tried it himself, he'd ended up with a broken sword and a broken arm. He was lucky they'd left him alive, honestly.
By himself, that guy wouldn't have had the juice to pay my rates. But he had a friend in the Farakuto family and I was giving him a break on the price. I don't love doing that but at least it was for a good cause. So it's time to scope the place out. I do that, creating a quick plan in my mind. Problem is, a lot of it depends on the girl. Is she in good shape? We'll have to see.
The simplest way to get to the girl, though, is to pay for a quickie. So that's what I do. I ask for her by name, which doesn't surprise anyone. Word gets out when there's a really nice girl, or just a new one, and people ask for 'em. I pay the going rate, which cuts into my fee a bit. Annoying. Then I get to see the girl.
To my relief, she's a tiny one. That'll make life easier if I have to carry her. Not bad looking either… not bad looking at all. Dark skin, black hair and shockingly brilliant blue eyes. The look on her face, though, is just hopeless and resigned. Do guys actually get off on this?
"Hey there chica. You ready to blow this popsicle stand?" I ask in a low tone and that just confuses her. "I'm a mercenary. Your man sent me to get you out of this dump." That makes her mouth drop open and some hope enter those bright blue eyes.
"Inoke sent you? But how? We don't have much money." She breathes, understanding the danger of being overheard. I shrug.
"That buddy of his, Teku-something, asked me to do it cut rate as a favor." I said and saw her lips tighten. So she wasn't too fond of mobsters? Well, I'm not either. I just know better than to refuse them. "I'd be too expensive for him normally. But let's get going." I evaluate her and decide she ain't gonna be climbing. Well, that's fine, I can do it for her. The window is just waxed paper but it has bars. I rip off the paper and give the bars a hard look before nodding.
"Sai." I use a simple kido in a not so simple way. I stick my hands between the bars and shove them to the sides, making some space. Will it be enough? Yeah, just barely. Good thing the girl is tiny, if she'd been an amazon I'd have to go with a completely different plan. When I turn back to her, her eyes are wide.
"You can use kido? You are expensive." She whispered and I can't help but smile. That is a big part of what lets me jack up my rates. Not exactly a common talent in the Rukongai, kido.
"Yeah, you can thank your yakuza connection later. Now, let's see… this is gonna be tricky." I mutter as I pull a rope out. Fortunately the window doesn't face the main street. Although even if it did, would anyone give a shit? No, but they might rat me out to get a discount at the whorehouse. I know I'd think of doing it. Tying the rope to one of the bars, I look at the girl again. "I don't think you can climb a rope, can you?" I ask and she shakes her head, looking a bit scared. "Didn't think so." She looks to be lacking in upper body strength. "Here's how we'll do it. I'll go out first. You follow after me and get on my back. I'll do the climbing." Getting her on my back is going to be the tricky bit. We can't both go out that little window at once.
For one bad moment, I'm wondering if I can get out the window. I curse a lot and feel my shirt tear, and a bit of blood on my shoulder. Awesome, just tore off some skin. But I get through in the end and then I'm holding onto the rope, waiting for the girl. She makes it through easily, thank god. The back part is as tricky as I thought and I get an excellent panty shot as well as nice legs wrapped around my neck. In bed, that would've been sexy. Right now? Not so much. Then she's in a proper position, those legs around my waist and the little arms around my neck. Good, good. I start down the rope, making good –
"Hey, what's taking so long – THE FUCK?!" Oh shit. Didn't count on that. What, do these fuckers always hurry out the customers? I have stamina motherfuckers! Guess I should have paid for the whole night… Some douchebag sticks his head out the ruined window and looks down at us. I look up, hoping like hell he doesn't have a crossbow. That would entirely ruin my day.
He doesn't, but he's got a knife. He slashes the rope and the girl on my back screams as I twist, trying to land right. It's hard as hell but at least she doesn't try to help me… that might put me off further. She's just a weight, burying her face against my neck and clinging for dear life. I land okayish. I can feel that I just gave myself bruises and strained an ankle, but I am definitely a going concern. She gets off me without needing a hint. Good, I like a smart woman.
"Time to run like hell." I grunt as I get to my feet and grab her hand. And like that, off we go. There's shouts behind us but by the time the serious pursuit gets in gear, we're long gone. My ankle's getting worse though. We eventually have to pause so I can work some healing magic on myself. Fuck, I hope it gets better in a hurry. I have money but Lilinette needs clothes, I don't want to be sidelined for an injury.
"Are you okay?" The girl asks and I glance at her, noticing something I missed before… a really nasty bruise on her face. It looks to be fairly old and I didn't see it with her dark complexion. Well, no surprise, that wasn't a top end whorehouse.
"I'll live." I grunt, stretching my foot out and wiggling my toes. Not too bad. "I think we lost them. Let's walk, slowly." I gingerly put weight on it and decide it's going to be okay. But running definitely doesn't help. She nods and off we go. I don't take her back to my place, though. I take her to a Farakuto safe house. I get to see her meet her man, and that's a fine thing. There's a lot of tears and hugs.
"Your fee." That's Teku-something. He's a tall guy with black hair and a perpetually pissed off look. Makes me wonder how he knows these two. I take the coins with a small bow, although it ain't too much. Still, it's something. Then I make my escape. It's time to go home.
When I hear how Lilinette's day went my blood pressure goes through the fucking roof.
"…So then I kicked him in the balls and ran away." She finishes and I growl in rage. Who. The. Fuck? If I find him he's a dead man! "Don't worry Starrk, I can take care of myself."
"The fuck you say! What if he'd tried to grab you? Lilinette, tell me what he looked like." A dude was offering her candy, trying to lure her off. Fucking shit, who even tries that old wheeze anymore?
"If he'd grabbed me I would have kicked him in the balls faster. And he was just this guy." She says which is so not helpful. "I mean, kind of short and brown hair, brown eyes. Nothing special." Ah, nondescript. At least she's trying. "I wouldn't have given him a second look on the street."
"Brilliant." I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I don't like this. The truth is, my little girl is turning into a sweet thing. She's just starting to get tits and that pretty green hair of hers, those weird but cute pink eyes… well, single eye… yeah. I can see how someone into little girls would dig her. Pisses me off something fierce. No one touches my Lilinette. "I'm going to walk you to school and back for a while." Not for too long. It'll cut into my sleep and work time. But I'll make a statement. She nods, a bit annoyed with me but touched with my concern.
"You know I love you, right Starrk?" She says softly and I look into that pretty pink eye. She is so sweet sometimes, my Lilinette.
"I love you too." I say, before reaching up to pinch her cheek. "You're my little girl." That ticks her off, which was kind of the point. She punches me in the chest.
"I'm not your daughter Starrk!" She snaps and I grin. I don't care if she think we're not related. I think of her as my little girl and that means I am not marrying her. She'll just have to get over it. "I hate you sometimes too. What's for supper?"
"Rack of wild boar – I kid, I kid. It's mixed veg, fried sardines and rice." Rice. The bane of my existence. Lilinette sighs. She's not fond of sardines, but they're good for her. Mixed veg too for that matter. And with Mira's cooking skills I just know it's going to be tasty.
It is. Me and Lilinette spend the night together after that, just playing cards and chatting. I love doing that with her. It'd be better if we had more people, though. A third and ideally, a fourth. Ah, keep dreaming Starrk, keep dreaming.
Maybe someday.
What. The. Fuck.
Seriously. Why is this guy stalking me? I swear that's what he's doing and HOLY SHIT it's pissing me off! And now it's not the same guy. Now it's a new motherfucker, some big bruiser who tries to fucking threaten me! I've given the money back! Just take it and go! FUCK!
…Why are they so sure I have some dirt on Kyoraku Shunsui? I mean, I do, they're totally right about that. But why are they so sure? Are they just desperate or do they have something to base it on? Or are they just hoping to intimidate me into trying again to get their shit off my back? Oh fucking god help me. I don't know what to do about this anymore. If I'd known things were going to get this bad maybe I would have given them the damned pictures. Well, actually, if I could go back a bit further I wouldn't have taken the job to begin with. Damn it!
At least I've managed to shake my tail for now. Now, I'm doing some real work, the kind that pays me. I'm staking out a house, getting an idea of this guy's comings and goings. Why you might ask? I'm going to be kidnapping his son. Why again? No idea. I'm going to hand the kid over to someone over in the Nakturo district. All I know is they aren't planning on killing the kid. This is some kind of blackmail and sorry but I can't get too picky –
Wait, what? I stiffen as I get a bad feeling. Bad juju is suddenly in the air and I just know. Lilinette is in trouble and it's bad. I abandon my job without a second thought and make a run for it right back home. I know where she is, I can feel where she is. At times like this, it's like our souls are linked together. And something is really wrong!
I hit the boarding house just in time to see two motherfuckers manhandling my little girl out of the place. I draw my sword, fire up my kido and then I'm onto them like a bad lunch. Pretty soon there's blood all over the place and it ain't mine. You didn't think I had it in me? I'm a peaceful kinda guy but not when my Lilinette's threatened. Touch my girl and I'll be the last thing you'll ever see.
As the rage goes down, though, I start to regret it. Now I can't question them. But I can see what Lilinette knows, when she wakes up. She's out cold and as I gently pick her off the dirt I can see one hell of a bruise on her face. That ignites my rage again and now I don't care about questioning them. They hurt my little girl.
I get her inside and to my disgust but not surprise, those assholes broke my door down. Now I'll have to buy a new one. And what am I going to do in the meantime? Cursing to myself, I take Lilinette into my bedroom and blockade the door with some furniture. My room doesn't have a window, for good reason… hey. You know, his boyfriend must be the reason Kyoraku doesn't have a window in his bedroom. Oh, of course he is, I'm so damned thick sometimes!
Not that it matters. I check Lilinette over with my kido and to my relief, she's fine. Just bruised up, maybe a minor concussion. No rape, thank god. But would they have…? Shit. Being a dad to an almost teenage girl is so damned hard. That shit will happen over my dead body.
"Starrk?" Lilinette. I smile in pure relief as she opens her eye. "What… happened…?" She mutters, reaching up to touch her head. She must have one hell of a headache. I gently help her into a sitting position.
"I was hoping you could tell me. I got an alarm and ran home to find those assholes carrying you out of the house. They're dead, by the way." And right now someone's looting the bodies. I should have done that but I was too concerned for my Lilinette. She blinks her eye as she remembers.
"Oh yeah! Starrk, they were after you!" Quel surprise. "They were pretty pissed that you weren't here… they… said something about really fucking you up, if they got their hands on you." She whispers and I nod. Again, not a surprise. "I killed one of them Starrk. I had that knife you gave me." That was a really good knife, too. I paid top dollar for it. That surprises me though. How'd she…? "I was hiding in the closet in my room. They searched it and when one of them opened the door I got him."
"Good work." That's my Lilinette. "Bet they were pissed." What were they going to do to her? Makes my blood boil. "Let's go look at that body." That might tell me something about who did this. I am going to find the person behind this and kill him!
"They were really pissed, Starrk. They were talking about raping me." Oh. My. God. I am going to kill someone. Lilinette can see the look on my face though. "Calm down Starrk. You look like you might burst something. I'm okay." How can she be so calm about this?! But she's a strong girl, my Lilinette.
"Still going to kill someone." I growl before I bend down over the body. "…" I don't like the look of it right off. Just some guy, but the fabric he's wearing is a little too fine. The cut is nice and it doesn't quite belong in the Rukongai. We're a bunch of fucking low lives here, even the yakuza douchebags don't wear really fine shit. Hell, most of the time they have terrible taste. This is subdued and nice. I search the guy and curse at what I find. "A fucking house servant? You kidding me?" I glare at the stuff this guy had on him.
"Wow, that's arrogant." I glance over at Lilinette. She's picking her nose. Damn it! I reach over to grab her arm and she scowls, pulling her hand away. "Seriously though, who sends out a guy with something like that?"
"A noble." I growl as I look at the sigil in my hand. It's a necklace and the symbol on it looks like gold. I can recognize it. I did a bit of research after I was hired to take on Kyoraku Shunsui as a target. "Fucker!" Not Shunsui, whoever hired me. Because now I know it was someone within his own clan. "Arrogant and stupid." I muse, thinking about it. I'm pretty sure Kyoraku would never make a mistake like this. He has a reputation for being a lazy drunk but smart beneath it. Yeah, I'm dealing with someone who's arrogant and stupid… but has a lot of resources. That could be a bad combination.
Resting a hand on my forehead I try to think of what to do. Hurting my Lilinette is crossing a huge line. Anyone in the Rukongai would agree. It's not true for every district – some of them are fucking lawless, not even the yakuza has control – but for the places that are under some kind of law, there are some rules. The primary one is leave the women and kids out of it. Lilinette is a kid and a girl, she'd be doubly untouchable to any of the usual bad guys. Me? They'd torture me to death in a heartbeat. But not my girl.
A noble though… they don't play by the same rules the rest of us do. I've read Lilinette's history books because I had to buy 'em anyway and they're a good read. So I know that there have been clan feuds in the past that ended in full out massacres. The women and children? Fuck 'em. Cut their throats. And me and Lili are just scum to people like that. Why should they give a shit?
…It's time to bust out my blackmail material. Kyoraku might be interested to know someone in his clan is after him, too. I have a lot to work with there and with two taichou looking after her, Lilinette should be fine. She won't like it but tough. I'm not keeping her around when shit this bad is going down.
"Come on Lili. I'm getting you somewhere safe." A plan is forming and I'm putting it into action right now. Kyoraku taichou doesn't know it, but he's about to get a daughter. And he better take really good care of her or I'll be after him, too.
My list of people to kill is getting longer by the minute.