On the Run

Part five of a fanfiction by Velkyn Karma

Disclaimer: I do not own, or pretend to own, Bleach and any related characters or concepts. That right belongs to Tite Kubo alone. All that belongs to me here is the concept for the story.

"Somebody save me

Somebody save me

Please don't erase me!"

~Save Me, Shinedown

Two more days of running had passed since Kon had his last encounter with the hunting duo, bringing his total of days on the run up to three. They were three of the most miserable days Kon had ever spent since his days of waiting to die in the Soul Society. And in some ways, they were so much the same it was positively terrifying.

Kon had been forced to remain constantly on the move, or risk discovery. He had adopted the same routine he'd used that first night, the only one that had been remotely successful. He would run non-stop for four to five hours, sometimes doubling back or twisting randomly in the hopes of throwing off the trail.

When he could finally push himself no more-something that happened more and more frequently-he would make his way into a well sized town or city, locate the food district, and help himself from the dumpsters as best he could. Once, one old lady had even taken pity on him and bought him a small but hot meal from a nearby stand. It was just a bowl of noodles, but Kon had nearly cried when she offered it to him, and demolished it in bare seconds. He never knew hunger could be like this, but after only a few days he had discovered how terrible it really was.

When he had eaten as much as he could hold from whatever seemed edible and didn't smell too terrible, he would hunt through his latest location until he found a place with at least three or more escape exits. He favored parks, especially; something about being surrounded by living things comforted him, if only slightly. He avoided alleys when he stayed in the cities, except when collecting food, and instead made his rest-stops memorial centers and open downtown areas.

He never slept for more than a few hours, and in truth only Ichigo's body really 'slept.' Kon could have used the rest, but each time he felt himself drifting off he needed only the throbbing pain of his injury-dulled somewhat, but still violently present-as a reminder of what such foolishness could bring. He only stopped long enough to allow Ichigo's body to distribute much-needed food energy and to rest for a few needed hours before he pushed himself onward.

Even with all his precautions, there were far too many close calls. Many times a day he could feel the presence of the shinigami too close for comfort, and he had come to recognize their signatures well. Worse, he could often feel the fringes of their seeking-spell, terrifyingly close, caressing him like a breeze that carried a foul taint. Whenever he felt the invasive, disturbing sensation he dropped whatever he was doing-be it feeding or sleeping; he could devote time to little else now-turned, and ran in the opposite direction of the spell for as long as he could manage.

He looked terrible. He should say, rather, that Ichigo looked terrible, but Ichigo wasn't there right now. Just him, and this body that was temporarily his. Ichigo's eyes-his eyes-were already sunken and dead-looking from hunger and exhaustion. He was already thinner, from expending more energy than he could take in, on almost no rest. His cheekbones were more prominent than before. His shirt and pants were dirty and torn from sleeping in the gutter, on the streets, under bushes in the dirt, not to mention the blood-stains from his first encounter with his pursuers. Initially he had talked to himself to stave off some of the boredom and terror, but as the days passed he spoke up less and less, falling into a tired, exhausted silence. Funnily enough, when he could muster any expression at all-which was rare-it was usually Ichigo's trademark frown. He didn't know if it was muscle memory on the part of the body, or if it was his own frown being replicated onto it from his absolute misery. But if it was the latter, Kon would love to know what depths of hell Ichigo had gone to in order to earn that perma-scowl.

Once, when Kon had been too terrified to sleep, when the wound throbbed at him too badly for even Ichigo's body to rest, he had scrounged around the downtown district he'd been in at the time until he found a few coins. These he used at a pay phone he'd located, recalling Ichigo's home phone number from memory and sheer force of will. He'd tried calling, disguising Ichigo's voice-which was also borrowed-in order to ask if Ichigo Kurosaki was available. Yuzu, who had answered, told him that Ichigo had gone to a friend's house for a few days and wasn't available. Would he like to leave a message, Mr.-? Kon had hung up quickly, feeling more desperate and oddly reassured at the same time.

Ichigo wasn't home. That meant he knew about Kon's disappearance, had made an excuse for it, and was out...maybe looking for him. Kon hoped desperately he was being looked for. He'd never run away again if they'd just find him and save him from this horrible nightmare.

Kon's life fell into monotonous misery. He felt as if he acted more mechanically than anything else. At one point he dully wondered if he was even capable of such operation only because he was a mod-soul. Would a human be able to keep up like this? He wasn't sure. Sometimes he would wonder if he running was even worth it, but every time his indomitable will, his desperation to hold onto his own life and choose to do what he will with it, won through and smothered his darker thoughts.

And then, just as his life had slid into a nearly inescapable, torturous rhythm, it happened.

The seekers, Shichi and Juusan, had closed in on him early. They must have cut sideways and beat him to the suburbs he was presently in, because Kon had barely arrived in the little town when he began to feel that probing, terrifying kido at work. After nearly three full days of running, he was becoming less unpredictable, easier to track and potentially ambush. If he survived, he had to remember to do something about that.

No, not if he survived. He would survive. There was no way he would give up here, not now.

But his body was truly exhausted, at its limits. He had run for three hours (he could no longer keep up a solid five like he could two days ago). Ichigo's weakening frame begged for sustenance and for rest, but he couldn't afford to give it, not with those tendrils of seeking power slithering ever closer. So he staggered into the town, plowed into the middle of a crowd-it was afternoon, and the schools were just letting out-and desperately hoped that the pressures of even normal human beings could help shield his own weakened one.

He could feel the seeking kido sweeping ever nearer, dangerously close to his position. And he could feel the presences of the two shinigami, within ten yards of him, looming ever closer like ominous shadows. He was hidden in the crowd, crouching behind one statue pretending to be a tourist reading the dedication, but if they came even slightly nearer they would have him.

And then...like a force of pressure, bursting against his weakening heart, he felt it. Far away, on the other side of the town...a hollow was manifesting.

The shinigami froze. The seeking spell abruptly vanished. Kon held his breath, trembling visibly, and fought with himself to keep from jumping when he heard a voice mere feet away.

"Hollow, Shichi."

"I know! I can sense it well enough."

"This is an unclassified location. Too remote normally for hollows to come here. No other shinigami's gonna report for it."

"Tch...how irritating. Well, let's go get it then."

"We are very close though. D'you think we should just leave it here now?"

"What the hell does it matter? It's a mod-soul. The things are too stupid to keep it up for long. We've already seen it starting to weaken. We'll have it eventually."

"If you say so."

The voices faded, and Kon, feeling sick from a combination of fatigue, hunger and pain, had to fight the urge to start sobbing with every aspect of his being. So close, so close to death again, just like when he had barely escaped last time too, and all out of sheer luck...for the first time in his entire existence, he was thankful for the appearance of a hollow.

The body protested when he pulled himself up. Ichigo's body couldn't take much more of this torment, not without rest. But he had to move on; he couldn't stay here. It wouldn't take them long to kill the hollow once it manifested, and he had to be out of this town before they did. So he struggled to his feet, told himself to just keep moving for just a little more, and half-jogged, half-stumbled out of town, fighting for every step with his very desire to live.

Two days. Two days had passed since they had started tracking Kon from that first city, and for two days they hadn't seen hide nor hair of him or his stolen body. The mod-soul was really beginning to piss Ichigo off. Did he think he was on a joyride? Did he not realize they were out looking for him, and that he was only making things more difficult? He supposed if those two shinigami were still chasing him, it might cause a few problems, but that didn't stop him from being irritated with the artificial soul all the same.

That first night-or morning by then-they had come very close to catching him and ending everything then and there. They'd slept for about five hours in a cheap motel room, waiting for Kon to run himself down and hole up in a new city or town. Rukia had eaten a cheap meal as well, keeping up her gigai's strength, and though Ichigo didn't neat to eat in his soul-reaper form he nevertheless felt grateful for a little rest.

At six-thirty in the morning Rukia and her unseen shinigami companion checked out of the motel. Rukia reported excitedly that Kon was once again stationary in a small town only an hour and a half from their present location, and gave Ichigo a triumphant smirk. He admitted grudgingly that she'd had the right idea, and they had hastily tracked down a train heading in that direction.

But her grin of triumph turned to dismay after only a half hour. Checking her altered soul-pager, Rukia had been appalled to see Kon on the move again, heading even farther away from them than before and in a completely different direction. They'd been forced to get off the train early, double back to the city's station, and try a new line. By the time they were on track once again, Kon had hopelessly outdistanced them.

From there, the next two days had been much of the same. Kon's movements were sporadic and unpredictable, with no real discernible pattern. He seemed to run for several hours, rest for a few in a random city or town, and then repeat the process. But beyond that, it was impossible to figure out what the mod-soul might try next. To be honest, both of them doubted that even Kon knew what he was doing. It wouldn't have bugged Ichigo so much, except that Kon didn't know what he was doing in Ichigo's body, and that was a surefire way to get it damaged or even killed entirely by accident.

But finally, after two days of chasing with nothing to show for it, their luck turned. It was mid-afternoon, and they had just barely arrived at an almost city-like town. Rukia had been studying the seeker-device intently earlier that day, and on impulse had decided to head for this town instead of the one that Kon appeared to be just leaving at the time.

"What for?" Ichigo had asked irritably.

"He's becoming less tricky," Rukia had said with a frown in response. "The past two runs he made have been relatively straight, not as many turns. I think he'll probably head here-see, there's one road that just goes straight to it, it just curves is all."

It was better than any plan he could offer, and so they had hopped a train and arrived in mid-afternoon. Luckily, Rukia's guess had been correct-Kon was making a beeline for the city they were in, and was due to arrive in about twenty minutes to half an hour. They would finally, finally catch him.

And then, as though fate was gleefully enjoying messing with their heads, Rukia's other pager beeped. She flipped it out and examined the latest message while Ichigo said, "What? A hollow? Not now, we don't have time for it now!"

"Sorry," she said grimly, looking uncomfortable. "But it is. A hollow, estimated to arrive in fifteen minutes. It's on the other side of the town."

"Isn't there a shinigami here who can take care of it? We're not even in your district anymore!"

"This is an uncontested area," Rukia admitted glumly. "The spiritual pressure here is usually too low to attract hollows, so no reaper was ever assigned here. It's probably arriving because of us."

"Damn it!"

"If we hurry quickly, you can still beat it and get back," Rukia said urgently. "Kon usually stays in the cities for at least a couple of hours, it'll give us plenty of time to find him." She was already pushing him in the direction of the hollow, and he gave in, deciding not to fight her. As she said, the faster they wiped it out, the faster they could get back to business.

They reached the predicted location just in time, as the hollow-an oddly birdlike one this time-tore itself free from the air. It screeched and launched itself at Ichigo, but compared to some other hollows he had fought in the past this one was incredibly weak. After only a few more passes he managed to split its head and send it disintegrating into the afterlife.

"Okay, that's done," the temporary soul reaper said with an impatient grimace. "Now, where is-"

"Ah! Juusan, d'you see it? It's a shinigami, another shinigami!"

Stunned, Ichigo whipped around and stared at the two figures approaching him. Both were dressed in the same robes as himself. One was tall, muscular, and very tan, while the other was thinner and paler. Both had friendly grins on their faces, touched slightly with danger, but Ichigo wasn't terribly afraid of them. For one thing, as soon as they reached him-passing by Rukia completely, who was unexpectedly pretending she couldn't see them like a normal human-they bowed politely.

"We thought this was uncontested territory, weren't expecting to see another shinigami here," the taller of the pair explained. "Much less a member of the squads. You are from one of the squads, right?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to ask just what the hell it was they were talking about. Behind the pair, Rukia's eyes widened and she waved her hands wildly, then flashed a number of fingers at him-thirteen.

Picking up on her hint, Ichigo shifted gears quickly. "Ah...yes. The thirteenth squad. I'm, uh, here on...business." The pair seemed satisfied, and a relieved expression flitted across Rukia's face.

"It's always business, ain't it?" the taller one chortled, elbowing his companion. "Well, sir, I'm Shichi, and this here is Juusan. We're both Acting Shinigami. Here's our Seals, just to cover all the legal bases, y'know?" They both held up strange, triangle shaped badges with odd bug-like skulls printed on them in front of an 'x' shape.

Once again, Ichigo opened his mouth to ask what exactly they were talking about, but stopped when Rukia gestured frantically over their shoulders. Instead, he said lamely, "Ah...that...that all seems to be in order then."

"I'll say. Hey, don't he seem a bit twitchy Juusan?"

"He does. Looks awful familiar, too."

Ichigo's heart dropped to his stomach. He had a bad feeling he knew what that meant.

"Ah, you're right! Can't believe I didn't see it before, with that head'o'hair. Definitely looks like our escaped artificial soul, huh?"

Ichigo had been right. These were the assholes that had been tracking Kon-in his body!-all over the damn country for the past two days. He'd been feeling quite pissed off with them of late, both for leading them all on this stupid chase, and for trying to take a life that wasn't theirs. Without even thinking about it, his hand flew up to the hilt of his zanpaku-to over his shoulder.

Rukia let out a squeal of warning, wide-eyed and panicked. Startled, both of the shinigami spun to face her. But Rukia was too quick. Jumping up and down and clapping excitedly, the reaper exclaimed, "I can't wait to tell Orihime I saw this district! She told me it was great, but I never knew before!"

Shichi laughed. "Humans are such a riot."

"Has no idea she's in the middle of a very important meeting, now does she?" Juusan added with a snicker. Then he turned back to Ichigo, who had used the distraction to curb his anger and drop his hand from his sword-hilt, and added, "What're ya so twitchy for, sir?"

"Ah...n-nothing," Ichigo said shortly. And then, on sudden inspiration, he added, "You saw that mod-soul?"

"That's right."

"Plain as day. We've been tracking him for the past two days."

"Well, that's what I'm here for," Ichigo said, plan solidifying in his mind. Rukia gave him a warning look, but this time he knew what he was doing. "That stupid soul stole my gigai! I've been trying to get it back for a while now."

The acting-reapers burst into laughter. "How embarassin'!" Shichi said, with a wide grin. "But those machine-souls are pretty good at workin' themselves into a body. And we should know, we've been huntin'em for years, it's a bit of a specialty of ours."

"Yeah, well," Ichigo growled warningly, "if you see him, you call me first. I don't need that gigai getting damaged, you know how hard they are to replace." They nodded knowingly, and Ichigo silently thanked Rukia for her occasional past rants about her own sometimes-failing gigai.

"And I'd like to deal with that mod-soul myself, for causing me all this trouble," Ichigo added. It was also true, he admitted to himself. He had one hell of a plan ready for Kon when they finally got him back, which included liberal amounts of yelling, kicking, and throwing him at the wall. The little bastard.

"Well, sir," Juusan said, nodding respectfully, "We'll do what we can to keep your gigai intact. It must be a real hassle to lose Society-assigned goods."

"But, we're sorry sir," Shichi added. "It might already be a little worse for the wear, see."

Ichigo frowned. "What do you mean?"

The two broke into identical grins, tinged with wickedness. "Well, y'see," Juusan began, "we already told ya we're experienced with hunting mod-souls, and there's specific ways to deal with them."

"As far as we can tell it's an underpod type, see," Shichi continued, picking up where the other had left off. "Y'know, enhanced lower body strength?"

"And you can't catch one of those by just beating it into submission."

"That's right. They're runners. If they want to outrun you, they will; they'll always be faster."

"So, you gotta run'em down, see? Just keep dogging them, and keep 'em runnin', don't let'em stop to rest."

"They're usually not used to the strain of a physical body. Eventually they can't handle their abilities without food or sleep and they run themselves into the ground."

"And then you bag'em!"

"And we got especially lucky. We caught this one off guard, it was trying to sleep, the li'l bastard. So I stuck it with my sword, see." Shichi unsheathed his weapon and proudly held it up for Ichigo to inspect. It was like the vague suggestion of a katana, not a real zanpaku-to, and tinged with an ugly red. Even from this distance he could feel the heat of it. The teenager eyed it with disgust, but thankfully managed to cover his distaste with his usual scowl. "So yer gigai's got a mite injury, sir, sorry about that...but the injury to that mod-soul's spirit is way worse."

"Yeah, with that one shot we probably cut his running time down to half!"

"Haha! Yer right. Obnoxious little bastards. If the Society says die, you die. Why can't they just roll over belly-up and accept it, eh? But maybe they're too stupid to realize real souls are superior...I mean, they're only artificial."

"Haha, good one! True though."

Rukia had wandered a way a few paces to keep up her tourist act, but gave Ichigo a warning look once more over her shoulder. Ichigo saw it, but nearly launched himself at these two reprehensible soul reapers anyway. As if it were only yesterday, he could hear Kon's pleading voice: I exist! I should at least have the right to live and die freely! And layered on top of that, Shichi's cutting words, If the Society says die, you die. Why can't they just accept that?

It took all his willpower not to sweep his zanpaku-to free and take a swing at them, but he did it. Rukia seemed adamant on avoiding confrontation, and she knew best when it came to soul reapers...but he would be digging an explanation out of her later.

Instead, he just said, "Yeah, well...if you manage to catch him before I do, call me first. That's an order. I want to deal with that thief personally, and I'd like to examine my gigai as well."

"No problem, boss!"

"We'll do what we can."

"We should get moving, though," Shichi added, glancing up at the sky. "We were pretty close to catchin' him here, but then the hollow signal showed up. Figured we'd better deal with it, since nobody was in the area. But I'm sure he felt us and bolted by now." He laughed. "They're so flighty."

"Yeah," Ichigo grimaced. "You do that. Us too. Later." And without a backward glance he strode off, hearing only the slap of sandals behind him as the other two darted off and disappeared.

Rukia approached him when they were finally out of sight. With a glare, he turned to her and hissed, "What was that all about, huh? You heard what they're doing. We could have put a stop to it there!"

"It's complicated..."

"Well, start explaining."

Rukia sighed. "Very well," she said, and began.

Yet another installment of this very bizarre story.

As usual, if you have an opinion on this story, please let me know! I enjoy constructive criticism; it really does help me grow.

~VelkynKarma