Ok, yeah... long time since I last updated. It was what... September? I really procrastinated. Gomen! Gomen! You guys, who are still reading this story, are probably gonna kill me for waiting this long to update. And it's even a chapter that you guys don't want to read. The reason is that this is focused on the group back in Karakura Town instead of the ones at Mt. Fuji. That and then remainder of the Mountain Arc is to be finished in the next few chapters. The reason I added this one in was since I screwed up with the planning and needed to add this in somewhere. But the conclusion of what happens to them will be told after the group comes back from the mountain...if they do. So...yeah.
For the short version: Karakura Town this chapter, finish Mountain Arc in the next few chapters, then finish what happens to the ones back in Karakura Town before moving on with the story.
I hope you guys don't kill me. Been busy...and dealing with some personal issues with my friends. Not gonna burden you with the details since you don't really need to know. Also with some new ideas for stories. Kept getting side tracked with some new stories for Bleach, Prince of Tennis, and maybe others too. Might add a brief summary of them on my profile and see what you guys think.
Anyways, I have the basis of the next chapter written and am about a fourth done writing it, having finally kicked the writer's block as well since this chapter was hard with so many different things going on. But it is gone and new chapters should be come sooner. Should be able to get that chapter and hopefully another one up soon since it is something that is a bit easier to write and plan.
So... enjoy and review please! Anything from comments to light flames to advice is welcome!
And hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thanks and stuff since I'm too lazy to reply via PM...
CrimsonSharpie: Once again, thanks for the review! Yeah, Yumichika sure does NOT look good in a towel. Thought I was going puke when I wrote that part. For who those two are against, you have to wait and see! ;) The body will also remain a mystery until you read the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
blackwingsgreeneyes: Muy gracias for the favorite stories!
Shiraihime Fuyuki:Arigatou for the review! Yeah...not too much romance in this chapter but hopefully it will appear in other chapters. Kaida and Renji is a possible couple for now, since I thought the two could go together. But that's still undecided if it will stay. For the twins, I have someone planned for Mitsuki but as for Kiyo...still deciding. Don't worry, the confusion should be cleared up pretty soon. As for who the body is...we'll see soon!
62:Thanks for the story alert!
Demonic Dog Angel: I think I already answer this one through a PM as to not reveal who he is before he makes his grand appearance. I know I broke my promise first, but he IS appearing in this chapter. Hope you like it.
ellieorchid: Thanks for the story alert and two reviews! I hope that this update is fast enough for you! I would love to use your own OC but I have all the OC's I need for now. But I will be needing a lot more later, so would it be ok if you submit her then? I want to make sure I'm doing everyone's else's OC's correctly before allowing other authors, like yourself, to submit their own OC's.
LovelyIAmNot: Doh je for the review! I am starting to know what you mean with school; I am not looking forward for one of my final exams in January. That will really slow everything down. Anyways, don't worry the mysterious characters will be revealed soon. And it might be a surprise...or not.
Love is war-Mistress Kurohi-: First of all, thanks for the review! Sorry, I'll make her grin and smile as soon as possible. As for the other part of your review, I'll try to make them fit in the story but please be warn that not all of them might not be used. I love her character and stuff but I wish not to make her too perfect compared to the others. I like to try and develop her character a bit more first. Hope you understand.
Kira michi: Arigatou for the review! And for your questions, you'll see what happens to them soon. ;)
GakuenAngel12: Thanks for the favorite stories!
anime1fans: Thanks for adding this to your favorite stories!
Before you begin...
Note: Please excuse any kind of grammar, spelling, and/or other errors. Spell check is not always perfect and I may not catch everything in it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters except my version of the plot and characters. Any other characters that will appear that do not belong to Bleach or me belongs to their respectful owners.
-o-o- Chapter 11 -o-o-
Back in Town
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
'Thoughts'
"Speaking"
Blood splattered across the ground, dying it with crimson red liquid. The attacker stared with cold, wild eyes. They were pleased by what they had just done; satisfied. Just looking as their enemy fell on the ground was a sight that made them feel giddy. No, more like insane. And the longer they kept looking, the more intense that feeling grew.
The pool soon began growing, engulfing more and more of the surrounding area as it became red. Only then did they decide to approach the motionless body. That same motionless body laid on their stomach, arms next to them as if they were radiating loss hope. Deep, painful gashes and bruises decorated their body and covered their face. And their savior laid just a few centimeters away from their fingertips; just one grab and they might be able to save themselves.
But how could one if one had nothing left and they knew that they were to die?
With the barest amounts of energy, they opened their eyes as they saw the killer approach, weapon dragging across the ground. It was if this was nothing new to them; as if they had always done this. And that was how they knew it was over as the last few steps were walked.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Stop.
Now they were only a few feet in front of them, unable to recognize any details as the colors started to blur and shadows crawled up from the edges of their eyes. They just watched hopelessly as the weapon was lifted, knowing of what was to come. Their eyes closed, wanting to not see whoever it was kill them.
Memories instead flashed before them, from their earliest one to the last. Joy. Pain. Sadness. Love. Death. Emotions passing in quickly succession; their young life flashing before them. A tear fell from their eyes, bitter about their exit in life. Bitter that they were never going to make it up to the ones they hurt. Bitter that they never appreciated what they had in their short life. Bitter that they never got to see the world or live the life they were destined for. Bitter at how they never got to say that one thing they wanted to the person they loved.
'So...that's what they mean when your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die.'
Then the weapon swung down.
All they felt was that last feeling of pain before falling into an endless abyss of darkness as they left the world of the living.
Ren fiddled with her phone, bored out of her mind. The girl was currently sitting on a bench on some random street in the shopping district. Instead of her shinigami clothes, she drone on some human clothes in hopes of blending in with them. So her gigai wore a sweatshirt that rivaled the color of her hair, jeans, and sneakers. But the look on the girl's face would have been on whether she was in her gigai or not.
She wanted to do something. Or more specially, to drink some sake. And she needed it now. The only reason she couldn't was because she was currently on patrol alongside her two comrades slash friends. Only difference was that Mao was patrolling outside of Karakura Town while Kitora wandered the other end of the city.
The sake-loving girl was instead ordered to check out the more populated area of Karakura Town, which happened to be in the shopping district. So, Ren had decided to find a place that would sell her sake and return there after duty for a drink. The only problem was that she had no ID of being legal of drinking sake and that she looked more like a teen than an adult.
Sighing again, Ren began tapping against the plastic surface of the table. She held her phone in the other hand, waiting to get a reply from her squad leader. It was getting quite late that the patrol would be ending soon. But she wanted it to end a bit earlier today and sent a message to convey her thoughts. A reply had yet to reach her.
'What to do, what to do. . .' the eleventh division shinigami thought, continuously tapping her fingers alongside the tabletop. There had to be some way to get some sake without getting caught by the so call human 'police'. Maybe she could. . .
"Help! Help! Someone call an ambulance!"
"Hurry! Call 911! This man is dying!!!"
"Someone! Anyone!!!"
"HEL--!"
BOOM!
Ren shoved all her remaining thoughts out of her head. Quickly popping out of her gigai, she ordered it to return back to Urahara's shop and remain there. It nodded in reply before skipping slash running away. The girl noted to herself that she had to get a new candy dispenser to stop her gigai from making herself look girlish and idiotic.
Shunpoing into the scrambling crowds, Ren tried to pinpoint the exact source of panic and the possible dying man or person. However, the amount confusion and lack of Hollow presence made it impossible to figure out where she should have been going. Add that to her previous grumblings about not getting sake and you get a pissed off and annoyed Ren.
Jumping over a screaming mother and her toddler, the shinigami girl turned another corner before ducking to the side as a wave of humans began fleeing towards her. Now Ren was on the verge of using her zanpakutõ on them. Was it really that bad they were fleeing from whoever was being attacked? Was whoever it was really strong? Would they be a challenge?
A feral smirk began forming on her lips as she thought of finally having a challenge. Only a few of her comrades back in division eleven was actually brave enough to come and face her. Mostly because it was 'females being too weak and slash or fragile for battle'. Weak her ass. Ren practically killed anyone that dared say that in her hearing distance. The only ones she didn't try to kill were her taichou and any of the other taichous. She knew the boundaries of her power. . . well. . . to some extent.
After about another minute of dodging crowds and building her excitement for a battle, Ren found herself in a deserted area of the shopping district. Deserted as in NO ONE there. No shop owners were in any of the stores. No people wandering or running around. No sound except the harsh whip of the wind. Just nothing.
Taking another glance around to make sure there was nothing alive, which there wasn't, Ren put her hands behind her head and groaned. "Damn. . . there goes my chance of having something to do in this boring town." Kicking a nearby rock, the girl began grumbling about how it was all just some sort of prank or something.
Her grumblings continued until she spotted something out of the edges of her eyes. Turning around, she quickly looked for the source of the movement. There was nothing there at all. Wary now with a bit of amusement, she gripped her sword and glanced around carefully, anticipating a strike from any direction.
What she didn't expect to look above as something fell out of the sky towards her.
Lights twinkled around her as Mao eyed the setting sun. The tenth division shinigami was standing on top of one of the many buildings around town, doing her patrol. From her position, the girl had a good view of the whole entire town from just one glance. But, it clearly contradicted everything that was on Mao's face.
A firm, harsh glare was glued to her face, the goofy, happy one gone. Each time she saw a largely populated area of humans her eyes would roll and her mouth pull back in a sneer in disgust. Few knew about her. . . feelings. . . towards humans. And they weren't kind at all.
Time passed slowly as the girl remained motionless, glaring and allowing the wind to caress her body. Her arms never uncrossed from where they laid across her chest. A dark look rested in her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists each time she caught the site of a small child, seeing their happy, innocent faces. How she was reminded of the one person she truly cared about. How she---
'Tsk, tsk. Must you think of these dark thoughts? It blinds the nice light you have,' a voice in her head suddenly interrupted. Mao sighed, the dark look fading a bit from the intrusion. She rubbed her arms, finally able to feel how cold she was after standing in the icy wind for some time.
'Kuri, I'm not thinking dark thoughts,' Mao retorted, responding to her zanpakutõ. 'just. . . thinking.' A small sort of sound crossed between a sigh and a snarl came back to her.
'Really, darling?' Kuri asked, the discontent obvious in the voice. 'It's Kurisutaru Aizu now. Say it right if you wish to address me at all.' Mao glazed up towards the sky.
'Hm? You say something?'
'Impossible, I say! Impossible! Such a child to act like this, to her own zanpakutõ, no less! Why, when graced with a shiny and bright spirit like me, you should be---' Kurisutaru Aizu ranted, making Mao roll her eyes. But she forgot about her after five seconds of listening to her spirit's rant. She wondered why she was paired up with one that loved shiny, brightly, and girly things in comparison to her. The girl hated bright and shiny things. It was wonder how these two got paired up.
Completely forgetting about her zanpakutõ, Mao shunpoed off her building, in hopes of being able to get away from such 'human' civilization. Now with the various rants from Kurisutaru Aizu, her dislike of humans, and the fact that she was getting cold made Mao very annoyed right now. But of course all of that was lost as she crashed into something.
Mao fell backwards, falling onto her butt on the. . .sky. Rubbing her forehead, she thought of the various things she probably had run into. Opening her eyes, she went to see what it was and then go on her way.
Problem was that she was staring inches away from a wide, open mouth aimed right towards her.
Kitora smiled like the Cheshire cat as she strolled down the street, munching on her treat. She had found something called 'Hello Panda' from one of the stores she had passed. Too curious, and instinct telling her it was something good, the squad leader had gone into that very same store and bought a few packages of them. Taking a bite out of one, she instantly fell in love with the treat. Especially the strawberry one. It tasted sweet, like milk.
Moving on, the girl continued on her patrol, acting as if she was a regular human being among the others. She saw no reason why she could not. After all, she was just in until the week was over. And she wanted to interact with some of the inhabits of the town a bit before her time was up.
Turning the corner, a sudden beeping from her pocket alerted the girl. Stopping to the side to avoid the continuing onrush of people, Kitora popped the last piece of candy into her mouth before digging for her soul phone. Finding it, the girl flipped it open.
"One new message."
...
...
...
"What?"
The girl's eyebrow rose as the computerized voice answered her. When could phones do that? Thinking about that, a light bulb lit above her head when she realized how her phone could have done that. Why didn't she think of it earlier?
'This must have been the new model that the twelfth division was boasting so much about. They were all talking about some new modifications they had made to the phone the past week. Something about it being more 'user friendly' and that it had a stronger connection to the Soul Society.'
Pressing a button, Kitora listened to Ren's prerecorded rant about how she wanted the patrol to end early and so on for she wanted to go and 'buy' some sake from the humans in this town. Her ears (meaning cat ears) twitched as she listened to the black haired girl then started yelling at some nearby stranger that had bumped into her before the message cut off. No wonder she had turned her phone off until it was fully charged; the rant had already wasted about a fourth of the battery's energy.
"It'll will work out fine, all we need is a little patience." Kitora told herself as calmly as possible, biting into another treat. She didn't have the mood to go after the girl yet; she'll do it later when they met back up in Urahara's shop and the moon was up. Whenever the moon was up, she always was much more hyper. But she should probably call the girl back and tell that the patrol was over.
Throwing the empty bag away, Kitora began punching in the numbers for Ren's number while heading towards the shopping district. She scratched her ears as she waited for the dial tone to end. A frown began forming on her face as the dial tone kept ringing and ringing. The squad leader had thought that Ren would have picked up immediately once she knew she was calling.
A sudden chill came across the girl, freezing her in place. Something was wrong, very wrong. Popping out her gigai and ordering it back to Urahara's shop, Kitora took off towards the river. Her phone was still open, awaiting the answer from Ren. But she didn't worry about that much now; Ren's reistu was already flaring wildly against whatever she was facing. Mao's was the same from somewhere near the outskirts of the town. The only one not having someone attending to it was where she was heading.
Shunpoing for another five seconds, Kitora stopped when she found herself on a deserted riverside near the bridge. Her cat-like eyes surveyed the area around her, trying to spot the source of the sudden flare of reistu. There was nothing there. Just an empty riverside.
Her ears twitched suddenly, alerting the girl that something was there. Pushing against the ground quickly, Kitora back flipped through the air just moments before something exploded where she was just standing. Flipping again, the neko girl growled before unsheathing her zanpakutõ and lunging for a counterattack. A large metallic ringing echoed through the area as her zanpakutõ clashed against the enemy.
Not stopping, the girl shunpoed backwards again, hissing as her mysterious enemy slashed through her beautiful purple black striped hair. Hoping to catch them by surprise, Kitora jumped over them before performing a quick down thrust. Her eyes widened when her sword glided through air.
A growl was all the warning she received before Kitora found herself soaring through the air as if she had weighed nothing. She rolled and tumbled for almost twenty feet before being able to slow herself to a stop. Coughing up blood, Kitora leaned against her zanpakutõ, trying to catch her breath. Glancing back, she finally caught a glimpse of her enemy.
It was no doubt a Hollow, seeing as it wore the typical boney mask. The white, boned mask covered its whole head, with the exception of holes for a mouth, nose, eyes, and two pointed ears sticking out from the top. The Hollow resembled much of a wolf, seeing as that was what the mask looked like. A mouth was carved to look as it was grinning at what it was about to sink its teeth into. Gray eyes with silted yellow irises looked hungrily at the crouched girl.
But what alarmed the leader of the temporarily stationed Karakura Town squad was that its figure looked astoundingly close to a young twenty year old human. Clothed in some sort of furry shirt and pants, it could have passed for some barefoot person dressed months early for Halloween. If one did not know better, though.
Eyeing the now standing shinigami, the Hollow roared savagely. Its cry so lustful and dark it sent shivers up the girl's spine. Repositioning their feet similar to that of a crouching wolf, the Hollow leapt towards Kitora, snarling as it came. Kitora's eyes narrowed in response as she pulled her lips back, revealing her own snarl and sharp canines.
"I. Hate. Dogs."
A feral grin appeared on Ren's face as she shunpoed backwards, dodging the large ball of fire that was inches away from crushing her into oblivion. She laughed when two more came towards her from the air, making the girl dance around as more kept firing at her. The faster they came, the faster she danced. And the more she began to grin.
"Hell yeah! Finally some action!" the girl yelled, jumping over the last fireball that was aimed at her. Landing on top of a half destroyed lamppost, Ren glanced towards the two figures standing nearby on a rooftop. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she saw what they were.
"Hm?" the first said, watching the girl's expression. "You're still alive after all of that?" It was a boy dressed in a tuxedo suit that was sitting on the edge of the rooftop. The only difference from a regular suit was that his sleeves were ripped, shredded, and burned at the edges. A mask with sharp, pointed teeth covered most of his face to just underneath his brown eyes. Parts of it extended downwards around his neck, disappearing into his tuxedo.
Ren rolled her eyes, insulted by this Hollow's mockery. "'Course I am. And I'm gonna kick your ass as well!" the second creature next to the boy growled, looking ready to attack her. It looked also human, but more along the lines of a large man with a mask that resembled more of a gas mask. Its arms were instead replaced by cannons, large, steel cannons that looked like where the balls of fire had come from. This Hollow looked more like a weapon than anything else.
The tuxedo boy held up a hand, preventing his companion from attacking. "Kahou," he barked, silencing the growls. His head didn't turn around to address him as he spoke. "Enough. You'll get your chance soon enough."
"Ah, so cute." Ren commented sarcastically. "What are you? His mother?" The insulted boy sneered at her.
"Oh? You still want to act tough? You must really be asking for Kahou to put you out of our misery, you miserable, arrogant shinigami girl." the boy called back. "No wonder so many of your kind are so weak and idiots."
Ren pulled out her zanpakutõ and pointed it at him. Joy and lust were dancing in the depths of her eyes. "Then I just have to prove you wrong, brat!" She turned her attention to the Hollow called Kahou. "You must be at least Adjucha rank to control a mutt like that one. Maybe you'll prove a challenge then the regular small fry that wander in these parts."
The boy sighed at Ren's eagerness, and foolishness. "Shinigamis these days, always begging for us Hollows to sign their death early on. I must commend you, shinigami girl, for acting like the most idiotic one of them all to believe you can take on Kahou and I. What is your name?"
"Division eleven, fourth seat Yokaida Ren." she answered brightly and grinning, not insulted at all. Her emotions were all focused on the prospect of having a battle worth her skills. "And soon to be your executioner."
Tuxedo boy yawned. "Wow, what a boring name. And I thought you would bring to something new to my already vast knowledge of deceased shinigamis."
"Say that again, brat!" Ren snarled, reistu flaring. The boy chuckled. Putting his hand down, he cast the girl a menacing smile.
"Why would I, Kaji, have to repeat myself to a dead girl? After all, you already your death by becoming a shinigami." he rested his head against his palm. Kahou growled and grunted as Kaji nodded his head towards Ren again. The girl readied herself as the tuxedo boy grinned at her one last time.
"Sayonara, shinigami girl."
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Voice of the pure, heart of the devil! Bitter wind, open sky, forbidden calm. Spread your wings, begin the song, move the standing mountains! Hadō 58, Tenran!" (1)
Wind blasted from Mao's hands, widening further as it was welcomed into the vast space of the sky. The tornado-like wind sped towards her opponent, widening as it picked up speed. A large explosion echoed through the area as it hit right in the middle of her opponent.
Mao panted a bit, watching the smoke with cold, brown eyes. After avoiding the first initial attack from the Hollow, she had shunpoed rapidly around the area while chanting different kidō spells against it. But it was only now that she was able to land a major blow.
About ready to prepare another incantation, Mao was barely able to dodge the long, bony, claw gauntlet that had lunged at her through the still lingering smoke. Her eyes remained expressionless as the claw scratched the side of her check, breaking the skin. Shunpoing away, she readied herself for another attack, either from her or them.
But none came. Instead hot, scorching pain seared through Mao's body, making the girl gasp and gag as she tried to steady herself. Grimacing, she looked back at the Hollow and caught a good look at who she was facing. A Hollow that had a smooth, round Hollow mask over his head while its arms were attached with the same gauntlets that had just attacked her stood where she had attacked. The Hollow had that arm raised towards its mouth, licking the small amount of blood it had received from her.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Mao glared disgustingly at the Hollow. If it wasn't for her duty and life, she would have left this Hollow to rampage around the town. She had no interest to protect this worthless town full of naive humans. Especially one like this one. Growling, Mao prepared another attack, this time skipping the incantation to end this quickly and painfully.
"Hadō 31, Shakkahō!" A ball of red energy fired from her hand, once again aimed for the Hollow straight ahead. The Hollow didn't even bother to move; it took the attack head on as it was hit directly in the mask. But instead of the feeling of a pointless victory, pain once again entered Mao's body.
Mao grunted and stumbled backwards, gripping her face in pain. White, searing pain clouded her vision, almost bringing tears to the girl's eyes. She bit her tongue hard enough to surface blood, trying to distract herself from the ever growing pain. Unable to bear it for much longer, Mao quickly placed her unsteady hands on her face and began healing them. She pushed aside the fact that she was quickly diminishing her reistu.
A long, laugh-like growl rang through her ears. Removing her hands and keeping her left eye shut, Mao glanced at the Hollow in front of her. She uttered a small gasp before shutting her mouth and glaring darkly at it. Her eyes followed its tongue as it lapsed the last of her blood up. The Hollow looked at her with its own beady eyes and did its laugh slash growl again.
"So, you turn damage back to your enemies instead, huh? Especially after you tasted their blood." Mao snarled, standing back up. "Bastard."
She had figure it all out. Her minor attacks weren't reflected back on her for it had not tasted her blood yet. But now after it did, she was feeling the damage her attacks bought instead of her opponent. Her left eye slowly open as her glare tried to burn her enemy to ashes. The Hollow just did its growl slash laugh again. Not intimidated at all, Mao gave it a long, sadistic smile.
The sky suddenly turned dark, for the sun had finally come down. Lights began flickering on, lighting the night with artificial brightness. Clouds began covering the once blue sky, darkening it even more. With no other light than the one below, the smile on Mao's face glowered with dark pleasure from the shadows. To an outsider, it could have look like a smile of the devil.
"Then I'll crush you to dust before you can even try again, HOLLOW."
The night air was supposed to be filled with peace and silence. It was supposed to be the time of the day where everything was calm and relaxing. A time to be spent preparing for the next day. Then why was the sky filled with the sounds of rage and blood?
The three battles continued to rage on unknown to the citizens of Karakura Town. One avoiding the balls of fire firing at her, a wolf that would chase the other throughout the riverside, and the last planning a swift death before it could kill herself with her own attack. All to protect the clueless humans that knew nothing about a world outside their simple lives.
"Jeez, they got all the good things." the last remaining Hollow grumbled, standing high above the town. The dim lights illuminated the Hollow's tan skin. His black hair laid in a mess as white bangs swept over his left eye. Simply clothed in a white t-shirt and pants with a black belt, he looked more like a human child. If only it wasn't for the Hollow mask fragment that covered his right eye, something similar to a cogwheel but wide enough for him to see through, he would have been human.
The boy sighed before throwing the item in his hands over his shoulder. Tightening the strap, the boy mumbled something again before he began heading towards one of the three other battles raging on. "Maybe I could go and finish one of them off...but then that isn't as much fun if I got to toy with them from the start. But it might prove fun... or a complete waste of time... Man..."
His walk continued, for no one was there to stop him. He began whistling a toneless song as he got closer and closer to one of the battles. The excitement and adrenaline in the air made a grin form on his lips. Something he never had much time for or wasn't allowed.
"I wonder if these shinigami are actually worthwhile; that pathetic human male from earlier provide me no entertainment." the boy said to himself, thinking back to the last time he was in the World of the Living.
"Ah, but that was so long ago. If only he had put up more of a fight, then maybe I would have killed him less painfully." he stopped, as if he was actually considering what he just said. A laugh escaped his lips a few seconds later and he shook his head. "Idiot, what am I thinking? 'Course not! That takes out all the fun!"
"Then, if I may, I would be correct to say that you enjoy torturing others before their death?" a voice asked behind him. The boy whipped around, startled by the fact that someone had managed to sneak up on him. It soon turned into a smirk when he saw who had dared confront him.
"Another shinigami?" the boy asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "And one with guts. I like that. For once I wouldn't have to go find a challenger to play with me."
The shinigami, or girl should I say, smiled back at him. Silver clear eyes looked at him innocently. The front of her long hair was tied in a braid by a white butterfly bell as the rest reached down to her hip. A choker with a snow doll laid tied around her neck while a blue butterfly earring on her left ear. The zanpakutõ she wielded hung on her right side.
But her uniform was unlike any formal and typical shinigami uniform. Her shihakushou was the same except that her hands were hidden beneath long sleeves almost twice as long as they should have been. Another butterfly shape accessory hung on her, this time pinned to her left side. A short skirt replaced the traditional hakama. Black stockings covered her legs and heels over her feet. If it wasn't for her zanpakutõ, it would have been almost impossible to tell that she was a shinigami.
The boy laughed at her smile. "You must really not know what you are up against or just plain dumb." a glint caught in his eyes right before he vanished and reappeared inches again from the girl's face.
"Or maybe you think you're better than me, huh?"
The girl who worked in the candy store continued to smile, not fazed at the sudden change of the boy's personality. "Do you think I am, Hollow?" the boy rolled his eyes, annoyed that the girl hadn't gotten scared as he had hoped. And for referring to him as those lower classed weaklings. But it soon changed to excitement as he used his Sonído to return to his previous spot.
"You're a funny shinigami. Normally I would have already killed you, but..." he gave her another grin. "You might be able to quench my need for a nice battle. After all, your other shinigami pals are fighting mine and lasting longer than most."
Another smile. "Who said they were my friends? I don't even know their names." the boy blinked owlishly at her, as if he had heard her right. Then he broke into laughter that almost brought tears to his eyes.
"Oh, oh! You really are one that may prove to be fun! Come on now, let us start!" he exclaimed, brushing the tears again from his eyes. Then his eyes flashed devilishly. "But before we find out if you can keep up with me, what's your name, shinigami?"
The girl continued to smile as she gripped her zanpakutõ. "Division six, fourth seat Shirayuki Sakuya." The boy whistled.
"Hm...nice name. Mine's Tobi Gataka Oumu." he then shrugged. "But it isn't like you're gonna remember it."
"And why is that, Tobi-kun?"
Tobi laughed again as he stretched his arms. "Jumping to -kun now? Wow, you really are different from other shinigamis. But you really want to know, Sakuya-chan?" he disappeared before reappearing again, his mouth right next to her ears as he whispered his answer.
"It's cause I never lose in a game. None in the last thousand games I played."
(1): This is a real kidō but the incantation is made up since the real one is unknown. I tried to get it similar to those of how Tite Kubo does it, but it's a pretty sad attempt. Hope it didn't interrupt with reading the chapter, though.
Me: ...I think I royally screwed up everything.
Mitsuki: Why's that? I think it was a goodie idea to switch to the town instead!
Rena: But you're probably referring to the fact that you are then going to continue the Mountain Arc and leave this as a mysterious cliff hanger until the gang returns home to find out what happens?
Everyone: -stares-
Shiha: Wow...smart bunny.
Rena: -bowing-
Rena: Why, thank you!
Everyone: -sweat drops-
Matsumoto: So...what's the next chapter?
Me: I'm hoping to end the cliffhangers from the last chapter. Then hopefully finish up the Mountain Arc by chapter 15 or 16, or sooner.
Ichigo: You really didn't plan it out yet, haven't you?
Me: ...not really.
Everyone: ...
Producer: Well, as long as it gets done faster than four months, I'm happy.
Me: ...thanks for making me feel better.
Kaida: -sigh-
Kaida: Just get the chapter done and keep up with your schoolwork.
Me: -nod-
Ichi: Anyone seen where the candy went?
Everyone: -stare at Mitsuki-
Mitsuki: What?
Renji: Where's the candy?
Mitsuki: What candy?
Ikkaku: The one for the Christmas Party!
Mitsuki: Huh?
Matsumoto: You know, the one we planned for weeks!
Mitsuki: Oh!
Mitsuki: I DON'T KNOW!!!
Everyone: Dot. Dot. Dot.
Crew member: -whispers into Kiyo's ears-
Kiyo: Found the candy! Some of the crew threw it away.
Mitsuki: NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone: -anime fall-
Audience: Wow...
Orihime: And now...
Everyone: Happy Holidays!
Yachiru: And don't forget a Happy New Year~!
*~Kira~*