Chapter 8: Shadows in the Night

Karakura Town

A few hours have passed, and Chad is still meandering through the streets of Karakura, confused as to how he is supposed to find Xcution's second hideout. After a few more minutes of this, he notices Ginjo standing a distance down the road. Chad approaches and Ginjo addresses the large boy. "Sorry, I forgot I didn't tell you where the other hideout was. I figured I'd just wait in the open until we crossed paths again and take you there with you."

"Don't worry about it." Chad replies.

Ginjo waits a moment to see if Chad has anything else to say and then states, "Follow me."

Once the two arrive at an even more shabby-looking apartment building, Ginjo walks up to one of the doors and knocks on it in a specific pattern. There are sounds of locks being unlatched before the door creaks open, revealing Giriko greeting the two. "Ah master Ginjo, master Sado. Right this way."

After the two enter the room, Giriko redoes the series of locks and assumes his position back behind a less exquisite bar compared to the previous location.

Ginjo asks, "Hey Giriko, has Kurosaki made any progress with her Fullbring training?"

Chad turns his attention to the bartender at the mention of the girl as well.

Giriko sighs, "Miss Kurosaki's training has been unproductive thus far. Madame Dokugamine's methods may not be a good fit for the young girl…"

Chad looks around the room before turning back to Giriko, "What do you mean? I don't see Yuzu anywhere…"

Ginjo grabs a shot of liquor that Giriko just prepared, sampling it, before regarding Chad, "Riruka's Fullbring ability lets her place items, including other people, into something she likes—in her case that something is a Dollhouse."

Chad tilts his head in mild confusion, "But why would you want to place Yuzu in a Dollhouse…?"

After sipping some more liquor, Ginjo replies, "Riruka can also place the souls of other people into plushies. We've found that training newbies is quite effective this way."

Chad is silent, which Ginjo takes as a sign to explain further, "This stems from the basic Fullbring ability to manipulate the souls of physical objects. It's known as reishi subjugation. In Riruka's case, that has evolved into an ability to capture the souls into objects for like, but for you it's manipulating the reiatsu in your body and focusing it into your arms, most likely."

Chad nods, "I think I get it. Thanks for the explanation."

Inside the Dollhouse, Yuzu is hiding behind a plastic bench which is like the size of a tree compared to her.

"What are you doing?! Fight with Mr. Piggie! Stop being a useless coward and use your Fullbring already!" Riruka shouts at the girl as she is looking down in the dollhouse.

Yuzu, near tears, shouts back at the girl, "You just threw me into this dollhouse without any explanation! How can you expect me to fight this giant piggie and activate my powers when you won't even tell me how?!"

Riruka shouts at the girl again, "Huh?! Using Fullbring is easy! It's not something I need to explain, even a baby could do it!"

Yuzu groans in frustration at the older girl's words before jumping out of the way to avoid being flattened under the oversized pig plushie's punch.

It is at this point that Yukio, having been trying to play his video game throughout the last couple hours, finally has enough and places his game down, walking towards the dollhouse.

Riruka snaps at the boy, "Yukio? What do you think you're doing?!"

The boy answers nonchalantly, "Doing what you refuse to—actually being helpful."

Riruka gawks at the boy as he regards Yuzu, "Hey Yuzu. Focus on something that give you good feelings—like pride or love. If your cape or that bracelet on your hand is important to you, one of them should do the trick. If so, think about why they are important."

"Hey! That's cheating, Yukio!" Riruka hisses, attempting to start an argument with the boy, however both he and Yuzu ignore her.

Yuzu looks down to the Quincy Cross hanging from her left wrist, "Mom's Quincy Cross! This should definitely work!"

Yuzu begins to think about the feelings of admiration, pride, and love she has towards her mother, prompting the cross to spark crimson red briefly. The pig plushie is about to punch at Yuzu but pauses as her cross flashes red once more before a full blood red bow of reishi forms in her left hand. The plushie hesitates, feeling the power radiating off the girl, as it looks to Riruka.

The girl glares at him uncaringly, "You still have to fight her, Mr. Piggie… that is, if you ever want me to let you go."

This prompts the pig to charge at Yuzu, startling the girl. Yuzu instinctively fires a blast of reishi at the pig, which, despite completely missing its mark, blows a hole through the side of the dollhouse. Both Riruka and the pig gawk at the display of raw power. Even Yukio's eyes widen a bit at the scene.

Yuzu sheepishly rubs the back of her head, "Sorry… you just startled me so much Mr. Piggie that I guess I couldn't control my power…"

"YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT, KUROSAKI! THIS DOLLHOUSE IS LIMITED EDITION, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW!" Riruka screeches, prompting Yukio to cover his ears with his hands.

Yukio removes his hands from his ears after Riruka lets out her rage, "Geez Riruka, she already said she was sorry… besides, you should've expected a newbie to trash yourself—you could've thrown her into any old cardboard box for this training session…"

"Carboard-? YOU TAKE THAT BACK! MY DOLLHOUSE IS NO MERE 'CARDBOARD BOX'!" Riruka hisses at the boy.

Yuzu filters out Yukio and Riruka's banter as she is now focusing on the pig, who seems to be frozen in place, muttering something about dying.

Yuzu attempts to give a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Mr. Piggie! I promise my next shot won't be as strong! …I hope…"

The pig braces itself as Yuzu tries to do… something resembling the motion of drawing a bow. She fires her next shot, but once again completely misses her target, although this time the attack fades before coming close to a wall, signaling that the attack was less powerful, as promised.

"Huh? I'm not dead? I'm not dead!" Mr. Piggie cheers.

Yuzu frowns in apparent disappointment, "That one missed too… looks like I'll have to keep trying…"

Mr. Piggie ceases his celebrations at this, as Yuzu begins to run toward him, once more making her poor attempt at drawing her bow. Mr. Piggie squeals and starts running away from the girl as she fires her next attack, which, again, horribly misses.

"Come back, Mr. Piggie! I need to hit you!" the girl calls to him innocently.

The pig tries to barter, "N-no way kid! I'd prefer to keep all my stuffin', you know what I mean?"

Yuzu pauses briefly, seemingly taking the pig's words into consideration before nodding, "I think I understand…"

The pig looks back with hope in his eyes, "Then you mean you'll give up-"

A red arrow flies pass the pig's head, giving him his answer.

"Ah shucks missed that one too…" the girl groans.

"I'M STAYING AWAY FROM YOU, KID! YOU'RE DANGER!" Mr. Piggie screams as he once more runs for his life.

"Please stop running, Mr. Piggie! This will only make things harder for both of us!" Yuzu argues, as she continues firing inaccurate shots at the pig.

A Few Hours Later

The last thing Yuzu remembers was trying to fire another shot at Mr. Piggie before immediately finding herself back to normal size outside of the Dollhouse.

"That took longer than I expected, but I suppose you still passed the first test. Congratulations Kurosaki, you're now a Fullbringer." Riruka remarks with a somewhat bored expression.

Yukio, who is playing his game on the couch, doesn't bother to take his eyes off the game as he remarks, "It would've taken much longer if I'd let you have your way…"

Riruka snarls at the boy, "And who asked you anyway, huh?! I was TRYING to teach her to think for herself!"

Yukio sighs, "Shut up already, your voice is annoying."

This prompts Riruka to gawk at him, fuming with anger. Before Riruka can think of a counter, Yuzu runs to the boy and hugs him, taking him out of his game, "Thanks for the help, Yukio!"

This causes Yukio to blush slightly, "I-it's no problem."

The girl breaks the embrace, still beaming, which causes Yukio to look away awkwardly.

"Too wholesome!", the boy thinks.

Yuzu tilts her head in confusion, before wearing a concerned expression, "Are you feeling ok?"

The girl lightly lifts the boys hat up so that she can feel his forehead, "You don't seem to have a fever…"

Yukio suddenly gets up from the couch, "I-I'm fine! Don't worry about it."

This exchange causes Ginjo to chuckle a distance away at the bar before regarding Giriko, "Seems there's the makings of young love in the air."

Ginjo then promptly takes a swig of his liquor.

Yuzu regards Yukio once more, however, the boy zones out her words, his thoughts shifting towards the topic of parents, "She's proud of her mother… I can't say I relate. Though, I wonder… I wonder if I would feel such feelings for my own parents if I didn't—no! I refuse to consider it! They got what they deserved, right…?"

The boy nods to whatever Yuzu seems to have told him before sitting back on the couch and resuming his game as she appears to have finished speaking to him.

Yuzu looks to her side to see a large, middle-aged man who looks at her briefly with a hint of fear and confusion before he regards Riruka, "Can I go home now?"

The pigtailed girl carelessly answers as she is fiddling with her dollhouse, "Sure."

Before the man has a chance to walk out, Riruka forces a phone into his hands.

The girl states uncaringly, "If we ever need your help again, you'll get a call. You'd better come because I know where you live."

The Pigman has a glimmer in the corner of his eye, "Say… could I get paid for this?"

This prompts Riruka to wiggle a heart above her finger, a sign that she is about to activate her Fullbring, which causes the Pigman to break into a cold sweat.

The Pigman stutters, "I-I retract my previous statement."

Riruka grabs the heart in her hand, "Good. Now leave."

The Pigman nods politely before turning and leaving out of the front door.

Yuzu tilts her head, thinking the exchange was odd before both Ginjo and Chad walk up to the girl, each congratulating her on her progress.

"Good job Yuzu." Chad states with a smile.

Ginjo smirks, nodding in agreement, "Yeah, I could sense your reiatsu even when you were in the Dollhouse. Work on that aim of yours, and you'll give hollows and Shinigami a run for their money!"

Yuzu rubs the back of her neck, "Thank you! I agree that my archery skills are the best, but I'll try my best to improve them!"

Ginjo sweat drops, thinking to himself, "Your target was a comparative giant. 'Not the best'? That's putting it mildly…"

Yuzu regards Chad, "Were you able to get Fullbring too, Chad?"

The boy nods, flexing his right arm to reveal the red and black one he used to kill Shrieker.

Yuzu has stars in her eyes, "Woah! That looks so cool—like something from an anime!"

Chad smirks at this, sweat dropping at the girl's enthusiasm.

Just then, a though strikes Chad's mind. The boy regards Ginjo with a serious expression, "Hey Ginjo. Could you explain to us exactly what Shinigami are? You said they would kill us if they found us… I want to know what we're dealing with if we ever have to fight them…"

Yuzu looks at Ginjo as well, interest evident on her face.

Ginjo returns the serious expression, "Well, it's kind of a long explanation, but I'll try to be as thorough as possible without confusing you. For starters…"

Skies above Karakura Town

Aizen stands in the skies above Karakura town, as a Senkaimon opens to reveal five Shinigami, led by a shorter female Shinigami with a band on their arm, signifying her position as a Vice Captain.

"Welcome, members of my loyal Squad 5. I apologize for calling you here on such short notice. I hope it hasn't caused any of you trouble." Aizen looks over the group with a, albeit fake, concerned look on his face.

Momo Hinamori, Aizen's Vice Captain, responds to him with great vigor, "N-not at all Captain Aizen! We are honored for the opportunity to fight alongside you!"

The other members have similar reactions to Momo, although not quite as enthusiastic.

"It gladdens me to hear that you all feel that way. I was correct to choose you five, my most trustworthy followers." Aizen briefly strokes Momo's hair, causing the girl to lightly blush.

Aizen then wears a serious expression, "It saddens me; however, the circumstances for which I have called you are less than ideal. This Hollow, White, has forced the Soul Society to take desperate measures, thinning out the forces we have to deal with the day-to-day spiritual occurrences. I thought it wise that one of the squads here deal with such occurrences and volunteered us for the job. I just couldn't bear the thought of any of my squad members coming into direct contact with such a fearsome hollow as White."

The squad 5 members look touched by Aizen's last statement, particularly Momo.

"That's why we always follow you Captain Aizen, you always have our well-being in mind!", the girl states in admiration.

Aizen chuckles, "I'm no saint, but it is good to hear you feel that way."

The man proceeds to stroking the girl's hair some more, before continuing, "Now, I'll be counting on you all to eliminate any stray minor hollows that pop up. Could you all do that for me?"

Momo and the other officers nod enthusiastically, stating simultaneously, "Of course, Captain!"

Aizen gives them all a smile, "I don't know what I'd do without Squad 5 by my side…"

Karakura Town

In the late evening, Yuzu and Chad are walking back home for the day, seeing as they each made significant gains. Yuzu recalls her conversation with Ginjo before she left. After Ginjo explained what exactly Shinigami were, Yuzu felt conflicted in viewing her father and Karin as enemies.

"They'd never come after me like Mr. Ginjo says Shinigami would… right?" Yuzu thinks to herself.

The girl shakes her head, forcing herself to think about something else, recalling Ginjo's warnings about her powers as they are now.

The man explained, without holding back, "Right now, you don't have enough training to be able to control your reiatsu yourself. It seems to match your mood or state of mind, as it spikes to being on the level of a Shinigami Vice Captain whenever you are caught off guard but plummets to nearly nothing when you are in a good or neutral mood. You'll have to train to control that… but there's also the issue of your aim. No hollow is going to let you shoot at them for two hours like with Mr. Piggie—they'll take you out as soon as they realize your attack aren't hitting them, as such powerful reiatsu will make you all the more appealing for them to eat. If you can't fix that issue, then you'll have to come up with a different way of fighting…"

Yuzu, the explanation her father gave to Karin about Quincies, shakes her head, "No! Quincies use bows! I will master the bow—like mom did!"

Regardless, this all meant one thing to Yuzu—it meant that she will have to wait even longer to learn how to fight. The girl sulks at the thought, prompting Chad, who had already noticed the girl having an internal conflict, to place a hand of support on the girl's shoulder.

Yuzu looks up to meet Chad's gaze, as the boy gives her a thumbs up, "Don't get hung up on Ginjo's criticism. You've only just started fighting, so of course you'll need to learn the basics before learning more advanced techniques."

Yuzu nods, appreciating the support. The two part ways once they reach the Kurosaki Clinic.

Yuzu waves to Chad as he walks off, "I'll see you after school tomorrow, Chad!"

Yuzu walks through the gate, leading to the house's side entrance, and finds an envelope with her name on it in the place of the one she left for Ryuken earlier. Yuzu reads the note, imagining Ryuken's voice as she does so.

"Next time, please give me a call before you decide to 'go off with friends'. Isshin will not let either of us hear the end of it if he thinks for even a second that you ran out behind my back and that I did nothing to stop you.

Furthermore, I understand you must be anxious to learn how to help others, through the field of medicine, of course, but be careful not to over-exert yourself. Your mother tended to do that… You will need some more patience until Uryu recovers, as I will be leaving your training to him. He might not have much talent, but he knows enough. I apologize that I am not doing it myself, but please understand that I have a hospital to run and with what happened last night, I don't have the time.

Lastly, I should warn you that being a 'nurse' in section Q is dangerous, as many other spiritual beings—including fellow Qs, will act hostile towards you. I will explain more when I take you to school tomorrow.

Until then, don't forget that you can visit or give me a call anytime, my niece. Isshin should have left a number to call in the house, but in case he didn't, you will find my cell phone number below.

Regards, Ryuken Ishida"

"So formal… what did he mean about being a nurse in section—oh! I think I get it; he means Quincy… but why would other Quincies be hostile of each other…?", the girl ponders as she notices the phone number under Ryuken's signature.

Yuzu raises her hand to open the door to the house when a familiar voice calls out to her, causing her to pause mid-motion. Yuzu spins around to see the familiar face of the so called Sternritter woman she met at the cemetery, wearing a completely different and much more casual outfit from the last time she saw her.

"Ms. Candice!" the girl shouts in recognition.

The woman smirks, "So, you do remember my- Wait! What's with the 'Ms.'?! That makes it sound like I'm an old lady coming from you!"

Yuzu looks at the woman with a confused look, "What should I call you then?"

Candice clicks her tongue, "Just Candice will do for now… Anyway, seems like you're putting my cape to good use."

Yuzu blushes lightly in embarrassment as the women grabs part of the cape, casually inspecting it.

The girl shifts about skittishly, "Y-yeah, it kinda maybe sorta makes me feel like a main character from an anime or a superhero, y'know?"

This causes the older Quincy to laugh. "Damn, you really are such a kid!"

Yuzu raises a brow, "Of course, I am! I'm only eleven…"

Candice stops laughing and deadpans, "Oh, right…"

The Sternritter gives another glance to the cape, before letting it fall from her hand. "In any case, at least you understand the importance of keeping your outfit clean and looking good! You'll fit right in with us!"

The girl stops her shifting, "What do you mean?"

A voice unfamiliar to Yuzu calls out, "She means you'll be joining up with my group!"

Yuzu turns to see a second woman step out from the shadows around the corner of the house. Yuzu stares at the dark-haired woman, noting that she dresses far more professionally than her counterpart. Despite this woman being noticeably shorter than Candice, for some reason Yuzu is far more intimidated by her than she was of Candice when they first met, perhaps due to Ryuken's warning.

The woman has a somewhat predatory look in her dark brown eyes, "Honestly Candy, I expected more from this girl, considering even his majesty sees potential in her. I can barely feel anything."

The woman's words only seem to confuse Yuzu more, making her take an instinctual step back towards Candice, away from the unfamiliar woman.

The girl gives Candice a worried look, "Candice, who is this woman? What is she talking about?"

Candice's expression softens slightly as she opens her mouth to explain, but the other woman cuts her off.

"Oh! That's right, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Bambietta Basterbine, one of Candy's colleagues. Although it is more accurate to say I am her friend."

This causes Candice to roll her eyes and mutter under her breath, "Right. Friends."

Bambietta eyes Candice before shifting her gaze back to Yuzu, "Regardless, the two of us are here to help you train and become a full-fledged Quincy."

Yuzu looks back up at Candice, confusion still evident on the girl's face.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, girl!" Bambietta shouts at Yuzu, causing her to wince and do as told.

Bambietta smiles at the girl's obedience and lifts her hand, motioning with her index finger for the girl to come closer, "Now come here so I can have a better look of your face."

Yuzu does as she is told and walks before the woman with her head tucked towards the ground.

"I told you to look at me!" Bambietta shouts again, causing the girl to shake.

"Knock it off Bambi, you'll wake up the neighbors… Besides, it looks like she's uncomfortable." Candice finally interjects, causing her companion's expression to soften.

Bambietta gives Candice a snide smile, "Since when were you ever one for being reserved on any level, Candy? You're supposed to be by far the loudest and most obnoxious of us."

A vein bulges on Candice's forehead, "I just don't want to attract attention right now! Also, you did NOT just call me more obnoxious than Gigi…"

Bambietta ignores her companion and proceeds to place one of her hands on the girl's chin, lifting it up to look at her, while the other hand rustles through Yuzu's hair as she gives the girl a gentle smile. "Why, I'm not making you feel uncomfortable at all, am I sweety?"

Yuzu can tell from the look in Bambietta's eyes that there is a wrong answer to this question. Yuzu stutters out an incomprehensible response, which causes the woman to tug at her hair.

Bambietta gives the girl a friendly, yet unnerving, smile, "I didn't quite catch that. A proper lady should speak properly or not at all."

In spite of her fear, Yuzu manages to answer the Quincy with an obvious lie, "I'm not uncomfortable."

Bambietta loosens her grasp, giving the girl a gentle smile that betrays the look in her eyes. "That's a good girl. You can call me Bambi from now on. We'll get along just fine."

Bambietta then lets go of Yuzu before regarding her companion, "See Candy, what did I tell you? She's perfectly fine!"

Candice sighs as she looks off to the side. "Sure, whatever you say Bambi…"

The dark-haired Quincy shifts her gaze back to Yuzu, "Now then, as for your clothes: you should certainly stop taking advice from Candy, or else you'll look like a skank—just like she does. And no one likes a skank."

This comment causes Candice to snort and mutter to herself, "You're one to talk", earning her a glare from the other woman that shuts her up.

Bambietta, with stars in her eyes, places an arm around Yuzu's shoulder, causing her to wince slightly. "I can see it now, Yuzu the youngest of the Bambis—professionally dressed to look like the little sister of the group!" Bambietta pauses briefly, the stars leaving her eyes, as she places her free hand on her chin. "But I suppose that we ought to come up with a nickname like me and Candy have if we want you to be a proper member of the group…"

This causes the girl to sweat drop.

Candice sighs, shaking her head as she thinks to herself, "Bambi can have such a childish side at times… I knew I should've just had Lil come with me."

Yuzu, finally seeing an opportunity to speak, does so, "Um..."

The girl trails off, causing Bambietta to lightly clutch her shoulder, her eyes closed and smiling, overall, a lighthearted expression, "Now what did I just say about speaking properly?"

A bit of color leaves Yuzu's face as she attempts to say what she meant to say, very directly, "Candice told me—"

"Candy." Bambietta corrects.

This causes Candice to yell at her partner, beginning to lose her patience with Bambietta's antics, "Oh, come on! Let the girl at least call us how she wants!"

Bambietta chuckles, "No there's the Candy I know… anyway, don't you think that's a little hypocritical of you, since you didn't want her to call you 'Ms.' earlier?"

A small amount of light blue and green static sparks off of Candice's skin, which Bambietta takes note of as she gives her a look, seeing the woman becoming genuinely upset. "How odd, I've never seen Candy get this worked up for someone else… she's protective of this girl and they only met one time."

Bambietta thinks about this a bit longer before she agrees, "Fine, call us whatever you want. You aren't one of us yet anyway…"

This causes Candice to let out a sigh of relief, as Bambietta finally releases Yuzu's shoulder as well.

The Bambietta regards Yuzu with a serious expression, "Now, what did Candy tell you?"

Yuzu answers promptly, "She told me that I should seek out Ryuken Ishida to help develop my Quincy powers. I thought that you meant I should train with him, so why are you here?"

This causes Candice to wear a contemplative expression, considering an excuse to tell the girl as telling her the real reason would be less than ideal. Suddenly, she recalls Yhwach's explanation before promptly offering the girl one of her own, "Our… boss has determined that Ishida's methods are far too slow and inefficient to train you, so the two of us are here to do it instead."

This causes Yuzu to become upset, "My uncle is a far better Quincy than both of you combined!"

Candice raises her voice at the girl in response, getting slightly ticked off, "Ryuken Ishida is a traitor to the Quincy! He hates the us! I'll bet he's not even going to train you himself! Assuming he even can…"

Yuzu flinches at the woman yelling at her, but something inside her finds the words so unacceptable that she looks ready to argue. However, as she is about to speak, she recalls Ryuken's letter and holds her tongue, not fully willing to come to terms with what she has already started to suspect in the back of her mind.

Unlike Candice who lashed out at the girl, Bambietta has a contemplative look on her face, "Interesting… it seems she neglected to tell me that there was connection between this girl and Ishida."

Candice, still a bit ticked off, opens her mouth to say something more to the girl but stops when she notices Bambietta giving her a look, shaking her head.

The blonde woman regains her bearings in response and bends down so that she is eye level with the girl, "You must have noticed how that man, I mean, your uncle, doesn't use his Quincy powers and that's because he ain't actually proud to be a Quincy. That's all I meant to say."

Yuzu looks at the woman with a pitiful expression.

Candice sighs, "Don't get me wrong, your uncle is an extremely talented Quincy—that's why we approached him to begin with. It's just that he doesn't believe in our cause—the Quincy cause—anymore and chooses not to use his powers. That's why he refused to join us. If he did actively use his powers, we wouldn't even need to be here as you probably would already be well underway in your training."

Yuzu responds with a desperate expression, "But he told me that Uryu would train me when he's feeling all better! They'll both teach me!"

Candice falters, turning her gaze away from the girl.

Bambietta scoffs as she decides to chime in, "Oh really? How could a boy who can't even protect himself from hollows possibly teach you how to use your powers against them? I'd laugh if it weren't so pathetic."

Candice glares at Bambietta, growling at her, "Stay out of this!"

Bambietta becomes silent, now wearing a bored expression.

Candice turns back to Yuzu and can see tears start to form in the girl's eyes.

Candice's gaze once more softens, "I know it is a lot to take in, so if you aren't willing to learn from us, then we'll respect your wishes. But if you do decide to learn from us, we'll be staying in an apartment down the road."

Bambietta wears an alarmed expression at the woman's words, "But Candy-!"

"It's fine. If she doesn't want to join us, she'll only be a thorn in our side… I'll take all the responsibility for this…", Candice offers her companion a reassuring expression, which only seems to make Bambietta tremble in rage.

After a moment, Bambietta stops the trembling before letting out a sigh, "I'll see you at the apartment…"

The black-haired woman walks through the front gate, making her exit. Candice stands up to her full height, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it to Yuzu, who takes it without looking at the woman.

Candice regards her with what looks to be a forced friendly expression, "I've written the directions of how to get there, as well as the address on that piece of paper. See ya around kid."

Candice then turns on her heel, giving Yuzu a wave as she follows her partner back out into the darkness of the night. Yuzu stares at the two women, who now appear to her as nothing more than shadows. She considers their offer and looks down at the letter in her hand, determining that she'll need to talk to her uncle about this conversation in the morning.

Author's Note:

I will be posting these initial chapters/arc involving Yuzu and/or Karin quite quickly, as I have been working on this fic for months already. It's mostly editing what I have at this point, so when my pace slows down, you all know why. Should be in about 15 or so chapters.