Chapter 10: The Enemy's Enemy
Karakura Town
The walk back to the apartment didn't take Yuzu quite as long. She noticed that she also wasn't nearly as winded compared to the trip up.
"I wonder if this is as a result of my training?", the girl thinks to herself.
Bambietta stops suddenly a distance away from the apartment, causing Yuzu to bump into the woman by accident, lost in thoughts.
Bambietta turns on her heel, looking like she is ready to slap this girl.
"Watch where you're going!" the Sternritter states in a hushed tone.
"Sorry!" Yuzu nearly screams, but forces her voice from doing so, partially out of fear for the Sternritter.
Bambietta turns her glare from Yuzu to the road in front of the apartment, where two tall figures stand.
"Looks like we might have a fight on our hands…", Bambietta remarks.
The words of the older Quincy cause the girl to widen her eyes, starting to feel fear for her life. "But I can't—"
"Calm down. I said we might have a fight on our hands. You wait here, I'll confront them and see what they want." Bambietta states, giving the younger girl a wink and a smile.
As the woman approaches the figures, she can make out the faces of what appear to be a young Hispanic boy and an older looking, Japanese man. They observe the woman's approach, the Hispanic boy assuming a particularly cautious stance.
The boy turns to talk with the man, "That's her Ginjo."
The two seem to be discussing something when Bambietta starts to break the ice, "It's not a good sign when you see young men just standing in the street in the middle of the night. Also, from the sound of it, you have business with me. I can't say I've met either of you before, so my first instinct is to assume you're the shady types who prey on women during the dead of night."
This causes the boy to stumble back and wave his hands in denial, "N-no, I was just wondering why I saw you with a friend of mine earlier. We had something planned today that she didn't show up for, so I started to get concerned."
The man accompanying him elects to remain silent; however, instead staring at the woman dubiously.
"Likely story…", the Quincy woman states before acknowledging the other man's stare.
Bambietta is about to say something offensive to the man before pausing as she gets a good look at his face and starts to wear a seductive smile. "And just what are you looking at, handsome? See something you like? Because I can show you more~."
The Quincy woman starts to unbutton her jacket and undershirt a bit, causing the man to chuckle, "As tempting an offer as that is, I'm afraid I'll have to pass."
Bambietta huffs at being turned down, not really all that surprised, "A shame… to answer your companion's concern, I've been around quite a lot of people today, so you'll have to be a bit more specific."
Ginjo's face becomes stern, "I'm interested in hearing what exactly your intention with Yuzu Kurosaki is."
Bambietta stares silently at the man for a moment with a blank expression, before her mouth contorts into a smile, "Why don't you ask her that?"
"What do you mean?" Ginjo asks carefully.
This prompts Bambietta to call behind her, "Yui, come here sweety!"
Ginjo raises a brow at the pet names and Chad looks uncomfortable at them, not liking the implications. The two males watch as Yuzu hurries to Bambietta's side. As she stops next to Bambietta, Yuzu's eyes widen in recognition of the two men in front of them. She opens her mouth to speak, but clamps it shut when she feels a, now familiar, but equally unwelcome, sensation of a hand running through her hair.
Chad's eyes widen in disbelief before his expression shifts to one of rage as he watches the black-haired woman begin to gently stroke Yuzu's light blond hair, as if the girl where her child. Yuzu wears a frown and flinches at the woman's touch, indicating she is quite uncomfortable. Chad takes a step forward, but Ginjo puts a hand in front of him, stopping him. Chad looks at the man, the expression of rage on his face demanding to know why he stopped him.
Ginjo shakes his head and elaborates, "Let's just hear her out first. Besides, it would be a bad idea to provoke her while she has ahold of Kurosaki."
"Handsome and smart, can't say I dislike that in a man… anyway, why don't you tell these guys why you didn't see them today, Yui." Bambietta states, still running her hand through the girl's hands.
"O-of course! I was spending the afternoon with Ms. Bambietta here in order to learn how to control my powers." Bambietta stops stroking Yuzu's hair, cocking her head to the side in slight confusion, unaware of Yuzu's Fullbring training from the day earlier.
Chad also seems a bit confused, as the rage leaves his face replaced by an expression of surprise.
Only Ginjo's face remains neutral at this. "I see. Then, 'Ms. Bambietta', was it? That must mean you are a Quincy."
Both Bambietta and Yuzu widen their eyes in shock. Bambietta's hand that was previously stroking Yuzu's head falls to the side before an expression of rage fills her face as she turns to face the girl.
"You told humans about your powers?! We're supposed to be a secret! I thought Candice got that much across to you!", Bambietta hisses.
"I-I didn't tell them!", Yuzu stutters.
"You're wrong about that, Ms. Quincy. Yuzu didn't tell me anything about her being a Quincy, I knew it from the start. See, we're not your average humans, and I have gotten around enough to be able to tell a Quincy from an average human as well."
Bambietta glares at the man, "What do you mean not the average human? Are you saying you're a Quincy too?"
The man shakes his head, chuckling, "No, nothing like that."
"Then what are you?", the woman growls at him, beginning to lose her patience.
Ginjo carelessly looks to the side with a bored expression, "Now, why would I tell that to someone I just met? I have to keep these things a secret to ensure the privacy of my peers is preserved."
"Why you-!", Bambietta hisses.
Yuzu can feel the woman next to her begin to draw reiatsu into her heart-shaped belt buckle.
Deciding she doesn't want a conflict to break out between the two factions, she steps in front of the woman, "Wait, Ms. Bambietta! I will explain everything to you, just please don't attack Mr. Ginjo and Chad—they also hate the Shinigami!"
Chad grumbles, "I don't know if I'd go that far…"
Bambietta glares at the girl like she is nothing more than garbage, but ultimately decides to back down, giving a huff as the reiatsu around her disperses, "Fine, I'll hear you out just this once, Yui. But if I don't like what I hear, I'm killing both of your friends."
Yuzu and Chad tense up at this threat, but Ginjo decides to approach the woman, digging through his coat pocket.
"This must be your apartment.", he gestures to the building next to them.
The woman eyes Ginjo carefully, raising a brow as he pulls a cup of instant ramen out of his pocket, "Why don't we discuss this over a steaming hot cup of ramen?"
A Few Minutes Later
Candice hears a knock on the door and followed by Bambietta's voice, "Hey Candy, open up!"
Luckily the hangover mostly faded away within a couple hours, making it so she could get the place cleaned up before Bambietta's return. Candice opens the door, raising a brow at the scene that greets her.
"The hell are these guys?", Candice blurts out.
Before Candice can protest or say anything more, Bambietta declares, "They're guests."
Bambietta then pushes the taller woman out of her way, letting the two men and Yuzu follow in after her. The girl gives Candice a brief, apologetic look as she walks through the doorway. Candice is motionless for another second, confused on why Bambietta is just letting people she doesn't know waltz into the apartment. Candice slowly closes the door, watching the guests make themselves at home. Chad leans against a wall in the corner by the window, crossing his arms, while Yuzu sits on the sofa next to him, where Candice had been sitting previously. Bambietta sits at the kitchen table, watching with great interest as Ginjo peels back the lid of the ramen cup, beginning to fill it with water from the sink.
Candice can hear the man explain, "The convenience of instant ramen has revolutionized the day-to-day meal experience. Preparing ramen is as simple as boiling water and pouring it into a cup! Momofuka Ando is a real one."
Bambietta nods her head, with some degree of childish enthusiasm, "I see…"
Candice watches the ramen guy and Bambietta talk for about another minute until she can practically feel a vein pop out of her forehead.
"What the hell is going on?!", the woman shouts as sparks of electricity come off of her skin, causing the lights to flash on and off briefly.
Bambietta finally turns her attention back to her companion. "Calm down, Candy. This guy is apparently a friend of Yui's, and we're just gonna discuss her training. He was even polite enough to offer some food!"
Ginjo passes her the hot cup of ramen he just finished, prompting her to start slurping it down with a fork.
"Y'know, I could teach you how to eat it with chopsticks.", Ginjo offers.
Bambietta looks up at the guy, giving him a slightly condescending smile, "That's sweet of you to say, but forks are clearly the superior utensil—they're much easier to use."
This seems to light a fire in Ginjo's eyes, "That may be true, but chopsticks are much more versatile. Plus, if you are planning on staying in Japan for an extended period of time, knowing how to eat with chopsticks would be an invaluable tool to have."
Bambietta nods her head, "You just may have a point…"
Candice's eye begins to twitch, only becoming more agitated at how the two are interacting with each other so passively.
Bambietta shifts her attention to Candice, "Get over here, Candy. Kugo said you can have some ramen too."
Candice sweat drops, "No thanks, I want as little to do with your ramen boy toy as possible."
The causes Ginjo to shrug and Bambietta to correct the woman, "Actually, I think Kugo here might not be interested in women. He turned me down…"
Candice rolls her eyes before Ginjo decides to comment, vaguely, "It's not so much I'm not into women, I'm just not comfortable getting that familiar with someone I just met. I don't know if I can trust you yet."
Ginjo then glances at Yuzu before continuing, "…Hence the point of this meeting."
Bambietta pouts, "But you're letting me use your first name…"
Ginjo shrugs, "I told you I don't care what people call me. If you want to call me Kugo, that's fine. Besides, we're not here to discuss names, are we?"
Bambietta nods, "Again, you have a point."
The black-haired Sternritter points at Yuzu, prompting Candice to shift her gaze as well.
"Well then, Yui, why don't you explain to Candy and I what your connection with these two guys are.", Bambietta states, shifting everyone's attention to Yuzu.
Yuzu explains what Fullbringers are, with help from Ginjo here and there, and how she is also a Fullbringer.
Yuzu concludes, "My special Fullbring power is connected to my mom's Quincy Cross somehow…"
Bambietta nods, "I see… that would explain your red arrows and almost unnatural talent for the Quincy Craft. Your Fullbring must enhance all of your Quincy abilities."
Ginjo decides to add to this, "Not only that, but by combining the Fullbring ability of reishi subjugation with the Quincy ability to absorb and manipulate reishi in any manner they choose, our little Yuzu here could, in theory, operate at 100% reishi efficiency."
The others in the room stare at him, a bit confused as to the meaning of the technical wording he used.
Ginjo takes this as an opportunity to dumb things down, "What I mean is that she wouldn't experience any major losses of spirit energy, having effectively unlimited stamina."
"So, you mean she could fight forever?" Candice asks, scratching the back of her head, still confused at the complex terminology.
Ginjo takes a slurp of his own cup of ramen before answering, "That's the idea."
Bambietta quirks her brow, "Are you sure you're not an engineer or something on the side?"
Ginjo chuckles, "No, that would be way too much work for someone as lazy as myself. It's as I told you before: I've been around. You pick up a thing or two the more places you go."
This seems to satisfy the black-haired woman, who finishes off her own cup of ramen.
Candice decides to address the elephant in the room, "So then, how do we proceed with Yuzu's training? Is it the kind of thing where you guys keep her for one day and we get her the next, or what?"
Yuzu attempts to speak but Ginjo speaks instead, "That would be ideal, but I'm afraid the constant moving around may be more likely to alert the Shinigami."
Yuzu tries to speak up again, but Bambietta raises her voice this time, "So, it's settled, Yui will stay and train with us! She'll get more powerful that way!"
"Not a chance!" Ginjo snaps at the woman.
The three adults begin to argue, causing Yuzu to lower her head, disappointed at being ignored like when she's around her family. Chad has been taking note of Yuzu's behavior since they arrived, keeping a close distance to the girl to prevent the black-haired woman from laying a finger on her. Chad decides to take initiative on Yuzu's behalf, walking up to the table and slamming his fist on it, shattering it to pieces.
Ginjo and the Quincies glare at Chad speechlessly in momentary disbelief.
The boy elaborates, "Sorry, I'll pay for table. It's just, Yuzu would like to say something."
Bambietta, who looked like she was about to leap at the boy and tear his head off, shifts her gaze to Yuzu, her expression softening slightly, "So, Yui's feeling left out? Go ahead, say what you will, sweety."
Bambietta's expression appears to be friendly on the outside, but neither Yuzu nor Candice missed the way her fist clenches into a ball.
Yuzu gulps, "Why can't you all just train me together? Xcution's hideout cuts off most of the reishi from the inside from the world outside, so we wouldn't need to go out to the woods for my Quincy training. And wouldn't it also be beneficial for Xcution to become more friendly with the Quincy in town? After all, the Shinigami outnumber us more than ten to one."
Bambietta places a hand on her chin and Ginjo also seems to be in thought.
Candice decides to give her two cents, "Whatever you decide you are comfortable with, I'll go along with it. Remember I told you I'm not forcing anything on you."
Yuzu's expression sours slightly at this, as she looks away from Candice briefly.
"What's with that look?" the blonde asks, genuinely thrown off by the reaction.
The girl shakes her head, hardening her gaze, before looking right back into Candice's eyes.
"No, this is my decision. I will get as strong as it takes, Ms. Candice. I swear this in both the memory of my brother and mother—I will save you.", Yuzu monologues without thinking, but it was effective, as Candice's expression shifts to one that is a mixture of confusion, dread, and joy.
Candice turns to look at Bambietta, raising a brow as if to question her.
Bambietta shrugs, "She didn't hear it from me. Trust me, she already knew."
Candice turns back to face the girl, feeling a wave of emotion she hasn't felt for a long time. The figure of the girl shining brightly like the sun in front of her at the display of altruism. "This girl would sacrifice everything for the sake of a stranger she just met, even in the face of Bambi's constant harassment, which a girl her age should absolutely not have to experience… someone like this…"
Just then, another unconscious thought crosses the Sternritter's mind, "…someone like this is worth following into the depths of Hell and back, if need be, to ensure their light persists. Kindness of this type is far too rare..."
Bambietta interrupts the blonde's thoughts, "So that's settled. I don't suppose you have room for us at your place, Kugo?"
Ginjo raises a brow of amusement at the woman's presumptuous behavior but decides not to comment.
Ginjo states, with partial sarcasm in his voice, "For two lovely ladies like you? Sure, why not?"
Candice spins around, "What's wrong with the apartment?"
"Nothing at all, Candy… it's just…" Bambietta trails off, averting her gaze from Candice.
"Just… what, Bambi?" the blonde asks slowly.
Bambietta sighs, "It's just that the landlord will be coming for rent again in the next few days."
Candice cocks her head, "So what, you're just being cheap and want to freeload off of Ramen man over here?"
Bambietta picks at her nails, "Well, I can't say that isn't a part of it…"
"What is it then? I thought you said you brought money?", Candice asks, confused.
Bambietta shifts somewhat nervously, "I did… it's just…"
The black-haired woman pulls out some old, foreign-looking currency from her pocket, "These are no longer a valid method of payment anywhere."
Candice deadpans, sparks of electricity erupting from her body.
Bambietta waves her hands defensively, "Now calm down, Candy. There's no reason to get mad."
"Of course, there is, you dumbass! How could you be so stupid?!", the blonde shouts.
Chad and Yuzu sweat drop as the Quincy women banter while Ginjo just smirks, watching the chaos unfold.
"I do think having these two around will make things a lot more interesting.", he thinks as he finishes off the last of his Ramen.
Las Noches
In the depths of Las Noches, two tall Arrancars, one skinny and blonde with beetle shaped mask fragments and the other large with an obscure mask fragment covering half of his face, chase after a smaller, female Arrancar with short brown hair and a mask in the shape of a human skull covering half of her face. The two taller, male Arrancars fumble about, attempting to dogpile the girl when suddenly the two trip on a strand of thread, previously invisible to their eyes, causing them both to fall flat on their faces.
"Heeyyy, no fair Roka! You promised no special powers!", the skinny Arrancar, Pesche Guatiche, complains, picking himself off the ground.
"Yeah, we never agreed to street rules! Y'know what I'm talking about?", the larger Arrancar, named Dondochakka Birstanne, declares upset at the apparent breach of rules.
The girl looks at both of them with a neutral expression, devoid of emotion, cocking her head slightly in confusion, "I thought the first rule of Eternal Tag was that there are no rules. You two merely lost and are being sore losers, trying to come up with excuses."
"Oof!" Dondochakka grunts.
Pesche adds, "Dang, she's got us there, bro."
The two brothers get up and move to start the chase up again but all three Arrancar present tense up as the familiar reiatsu of a fourth Arrancar makes its presence know.
A silky-smooth voice calls out, "Well well, I thought I told Nelliel to keep her grubby hooves off of my property. Why is it that I find you two waltzing about these halls chasing after just that?"
Pesche snaps at the new arrival, "Roka doesn't belong to anybody, least of all you."
The new arrival, a pink-haired, bi-speckled Arrancar, takes issue with this statement, his face contorting into an expression of mild annoyance. "It was I who created the thing you see before you. It doesn't have a name and it has no rights. It is merely a tool I created to help me carry out my duties."
The Arrancar, known as Szyaelaporro Granz, adjusts his glasses-shaped mask fragment as if to assert his words as absolute fact.
"Last time I checked, you weren't an Espada anymore, so you can't boss Roka around.", Pesche states with a slightly condescending glare, reminiscent of his master, Nelliel.
Dondochakka decides to add his two cents, "Even if you were still an Espada, you can't treat her the way you do! It's just not right, y'know what I'm talkin' about?"
"Silence, fools!" the Arrancar flares up his reiatsu, forcing the two Fraccions to their knees.
Szyael continues, "Now be a good little spider and come here. I require your abilities to monitor a hollow that's recently struck my interest."
Roka answers emotionlessly, "As you command, master Szyaelaporro."
As the two begin to walk away, Szyael turns around to regard the brothers. "Oh yeah, if either of you or Nelliel tries to steal my possession from me again, I might just have to inform Barragan of Nelliel's mutinous plans."
The two Fraccions gasp.
"How would you know—", Peshe begins to ask before looking to Roka with a sad look in his eye, "Roka…"
Roka gives the two an emotionless glance that Pesche swears contains a glimmer of sorrow, "Forgive me. I appreciate the kindness master Nelliel has shown me, but master Szyaelaporro is my one and true master."
Szyael smirks, "This should prove to you fools without a shadow of a doubt that this thing here is my property."
Szyael turns on his heel and leaves as Roka follows. The two brothers watch them leave helplessly, cursing their powerlessness.
Xcution Hideout
"You idiot! What were you thinking agreeing to let them stay here?! They're not even Fullbringers!" Riruka shouts at the top of her lungs at Ginjo.
Yukio and Jackie seem to agree with Riruka, maintaining a hostile stance against Bambietta, who sits nonchalantly on their sofa.
"Nice place you got here, I could get used to this!", Bambietta casually remarks.
"Don't get too chummy with us, Quincy! You may not be as bad as a Shinigami or hollow, but you're really not much better!", Jackie shouts.
This causes Bambietta to smirk, "Oh really? And what makes you say that? What could you possibly know of the Quincy?"
This prompts Jackie to snort, "I just don't like the cocky way you carry yourself is all."
Bambietta snorts, "Well, I don't like Untermenschen (Sub-humans), but I still bear existing in your presence."
Everyone is dead silent, wide eyed and slack jawed. Even Ginjo wears an expression of utter confusion and surprise on his face.
Candice slaps her forehead, "Damnit, Bambi…"
Bambietta shifts in confusion, "What? What'd I say?"
"What did you say?! That's it!" Jackie jumps up and dives with a downward axe kick, which Bambietta dodges at the last second, leaving the sofa to be shattered in Jackie's wake.
"Woah, that could've done some damage…", the Quincy taunts.
Jackie snarls, "Oh, I'll show you damage, you Neo Nazi scum!"
Jackie rushes toward the Quincy for a round house kick, but Ginjo stops it, using a giant cross sword to parry.
"You've reached a new low, Kugo. Not only do you invite a racist piece of shit like this to our hideout, but you defend her?!" Jackie questions the leader of Xcution, who wears an unreadable expression.
Ginjo shakes his head, "No, I don't defend or agree with what she said at all, but we can't hope to fix the behavior by reacting violently."
Jackie gives Ginjo a baffled expression, as if to question his sanity, "Really? You think you can fix her? I've seen her type before, trust me: she can't be fixed."
"She's not wrong about that. Bambi's fucked." Candice decides to add, earning her a death glare from her fellow Sternritter.
Ginjo reasons, "Even so, we'll want them as allies if the Shinigami ever find us."
Jackie and Ginjo continue to argue as Chad decides Yuzu ought not be exposed to anymore of this toxicity, guiding her into another room. Yukio notices this and follows.
"You shouldn't have heard that... Ichigo would kill me if he learned I let you get exposed to stuff like that…" Chad states, looking to the ground in shame.
Yuzu flinches at the mention of her brother before responding, "No, I'm the one who suggested they come here… Mr. Ginjo doesn't deserve to get blamed for this."
"But Kugo is our leader, so whatever happens in Xcution is his responsibility." Yukio interjects, making his presence known to the two.
"Ah! Yukio!" Yuzu shouts, startled.
"Yep, it's me…" the boy states nonchalantly, taking a seat on the chair in the side of the room, turning on a small TV.
Yuzu notices what's on the TV and the device sitting on the floor in front of it, "Hang on, is that Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64?!"
The boy glances at the girl as he performs a skillful looking backflip in the game, "It is. That should be obvious to anyone familiar with video games. The game has been out a few years now already."
Yuzu rubs the back of her neck, a bit embarrassed, "Well, yeah of course I knew what it was… it's just that I've always wanted to play it, but dad didn't make enough money at the time to afford the console, so I had to settle on a Gameboy and Pokemon."
Yukio hums seemingly in thought, before holding the controller out to Yuzu.
Yuzu looks at it with stars in her eyes as the boy elaborates, "Don't get me wrong, Pokemon is quite good as well, but I think it's straight up wrong for any gaming enthusiast to go without playing Mario 64. Especially with the new game coming out on GameCube soon."
"You really mean it's ok for me to play?" Yuzu asks one more time for clarification.
Yukio nods, "Of course, you're one of us now, so that means we have to share our stuff with you."
Yuzu smiles at the boy taking him up on his offer and starts to play. Chad looks over the scene with a smile on his face, grateful for the boy's intervention in lightening the mood.
Riruka notices the scene through the crack in the door and blurts out, loud enough for all but the three within the other room to hear, "Yukio is sharing his game with Kurosaki!"
This causes Jackie and Ginjo to stop arguing, each with a look of shock on their faces. Even Giriko, who was previously polishing his wristwatch, can't help but look up from what he was doing, as if to confirm he heard her correctly. Bambietta and Candice look confused as opposed to surprised as the rest are.
"What's so special about that? Does the kid not usually like to share or something?", Candice decides to ask.
Jackie shakes her head, "It's not just that. For as long as any of us have known him, Yukio has NEVER let any of us so much as lay a finger on any of his gaming consoles."
Ginjo decides to provide an example, "That's right. When the kid was out one time, I decided to check out what made his video games so appealing to him by trying it out for myself. When he came back and found me playing his console, he flipped out. And I'm not talking like typical brat at the convenience store, I'm talking like the boy started actually losing his mind. I had to walk out of the room for him to calm down."
Bambietta scoffs, "Still sounds like a brat to me…"
Jackie opens her mouth to yell at Bambietta again, but Ginjo beats her to it, "Shut up!"
This causes Bambietta to frown, not having experienced Ginjo getting aggressive like this yet.
"You don't know the first thing about Yukio, nor Jackie. So you can keep your demeaning and racist comments about them to yourself. You're in my house now! That means you play by my rules…!" Ginjo walks up to the woman, looking down at her menacingly, "…are we clear?"
Bambietta once again scoffs, crossing her arms and looking to the side, "Crystal."
Ginjo lets out a sigh, "Well, so long as you understand."
Candice, meanwhile, silently observes the girl wearing a genuine look of joy on her face as she plays the game with Yukio. She doesn't notice that her own face gradually shifts into a peaceful smile as well.
Author's Note:
The next chapter probably won't come for another week. The next one will be about Karin and Isshin.
By the way, I am not really trying to sponsor Nintendo here—I just feel like Yuzu would like playing their games, as they are 'family friendly'.
There will be more pop culture references going forward, as those were something included early in the manga, as well. (Example: One of Ichigo's classmates is allegedly Rie Takahashi. Similar energy as Jennifer Lawrence in Jujutsu Kaisen.)