Disclaimer: The ideas and concepts used in BLEACH belong to Tite Kubo, as well as any regular characters. Most of the characters in this story belong to me. Thank you.


Suichi, after finishing the assignment and widowing yet another poor woman of high esteem, started back to the headquarters. He chose to go through the woods instead of over the town as a shortcut. The sun was already pouring light through the trees and brightening the streams that streaked across the ground. Suichi was proceeding back to the higher ups, having planted the note at the scene as he had been instructed, to have him mission changed. The depth of the pool in which he currently stood would no doubt serve to drown him soon enough.


Hoji, after carrying Shin for an unknown amount of time during the twilight, was finally fed up. Not to long after his weighted sprint had started, Shin started snoring as he often does, and loudly at that. Hoji could only stand the deafening roar for so long before he started contemplating tossing Shin around until he stopped making noise. This plan failed, however, once Hoji realized how tired he was himself and barely had the energy to continue let alone thrash his "captain" into a pulp.

After a calming and quiet rant to himself, Hoji stumbled upon an oasis in the steadily vanishing forest. Soon enough he dropped Shin on the ground and started his own training under a small waterfall. Hoji was deep within he thoughts, searching himself for any arcane knowledge that might steer him towards his sword's true form. While this practice did wonders for his concentration and spiritual control, it never seemed to lead him the right way.

Shin was still snoring, loudly, which tended to keep the more dangerous animals away at night. During the day it was a nuisance that could rarely be dealt with. Regardless as to the state of his brain, his hand was still firmly gripped around his sword handle. The peaceful scene of the clearing was something that the animals of the forest wouldn't even fare to break, which usually forced them downstream for a drink if they needed one.

Man that guy's a nuisance Hoji thought to himself around mid-day. He held his sword out to eye level and began silently scanning its shimmering surface. From the tip down to the wide zig-zag guard and the royal colors around the grip. Although you're not much better… The brush at the edge of the clearing began to rustle. Regardless of the noise of rushing water on top of him, Hoji could sense that someone was nearby and ready to attack.

A pair of children, one boy and one girl stumbled stupidly into the open clearing and walked towards the loudly sleeping man. They thought that he was a monster from a distance and were both ready to fight it off. The boy was visibly disappointed that it was in fact a sleeping man, and the girl was shaking with fear.

"M-maybe this isn't a good idea, Sensuke. W-we should just go…" whimpered the girl. The undaunted boy turned to her with his hands at his hips and donned a powerfully enthusiastic grin.

"Don't be a baby, Aya! This guy's asleep, he can't hurt us." The timid girl emerged from the brush clutching a stick for protection.

Hoji observed silent as the wind itself from the high branch of a tree on the far side of the clearing. The children were obviously not there to cause any trouble for either of them, just exploring like children do. Hoji almost laughed to himself for getting worked up, but then he watched the young boy poke Shin with a stick. He shot his hand up to his mouth so he didn't scream with fear.

Oh, crap! If that kid stirs Shin to much… Incredibly unpleasant images depicting Shin as a bear and the children as goats flashed briefly through his mind before he decided on a brash and stupid action.

"CUT IT OUT, KID!!" Hoji took a dive from the tree branch just in time to intercept the high-power backhand from a now waking Shin. As Hoji was slammed into the solid dirt, Shin rose himself up slightly and glanced over at the dead startled young boy and quivering girl. Feeling the twitch of anger under his arm, Shin refocused on Hoji as he sat up on the ground.

"Hoji, what's going on?" Shin asked his compatriot in an honestly curious tone. Hoji seethed to himself while unearthing his angry face.

"Who are these two?" Shin asked pointing at the unconscious boy and nearly dead-frightened girl. The girl took a wary step forward and began in a nearly silent whimper

"I…I'm Aya Kusagiri and this is…this is Sensuke Mokojiro. Please don't eat us…or…anything…" her mumbling died down to a point that neither shinigami could hear. Shin stood up and walked over to the girl, placing his hand on her head. She turned upwards with a terrified gaze to Shin's apathetic face.

"Don't worry," he said, patting her shock-still head, "we won't kill you. Right Hoji?" He turned to the grumbling man who was dusting the dirt off of his nearly bald head. He gave a half-hearted nod and the girl's body stopped trembling. The boy, however, woke up to a terrible fright.

"AAHHHH!! IT'S THE DEVIL KING!!" He fainted again. Hoji chuckled lightly and Shin just stood with a stone face.

He must have been having some weird dream… Shin thought as the boy continued to writhe around like a snake.


"Ah, so that is the situation." Said an old and jaded man. Suichi knelt before his master and guardian with the plea of dismissal from his current mission. The details for his further progress were written inside one of the scrolls that he was instructed to read and leave behind. These instructions were far to dangerous for him to carry out alone.

"At the very least," Suichi started with his eyes locked on the floor, "I will require accompaniment to carry this mission out fully. Otherwise I am declining it." The old man stroked at his frazzled beard in deep thought. In a guild of assassins with such high renown in the underground, sending more than one assassin to accomplish any mission would be disgraceful.

"I know what must be done" the old man said as he pulled out a black scroll and inked brush. Suichi glanced up hopefully. Perhaps his appeal had reached good ears, perhaps his mission would be picked up by someone with more skill. His hope was struck down with a spiteful hand as the old man turned his finished scroll to Suichi.

'NO WAY' it read. Suichi stared with mouth agape as the now laughing old man as he sat back down and pulled out a pipe.

"Of course," the old man started, "I'm only joking now." Suichi fell on his face.

"Be SERIOUS, sir! This mission is impossible! You've heard the reports, haven't you?" Suichi, disregarding his former honorable position, shot up to his feet. "You know there's a reason it's called 'Blood Meadows'…No shinigami has ever returned from there." The old man took a long drag from his pipe and gazed directly at Suichi.

"That's the beauty of it" he bluntly said. "All you have to do is lead this man into the land and nature will do our job for us." Suichi slumped his shoulders at the old man's logic. He sat down in a huff and rested his chin angrily on his fist. The plan made sense enough, but luring a man as dangerous and unpredictable as his target wasn't going to be easy. Even if the trail did work there still wasn't a guarantee that his prey would be exposed.

Man this sucks. Why can't I just kill him in his sleep with poison or something…I hate this war sometimes.