Onward we go. Things should start to feel a bit more interesting as our amnesia-inflicted captain starts to recall some things. But what?

Read on and you'll find out =P

Chapter 2: Fist Flying, Memories Frying

"So if you need anything just feel free to call that number on the piece of paper I gave you, alright? I'll be back in a few hours after practice." Tatsuki smiled at the nameless man who was eyeing the piece of paper in hand that had some notes jotted down on it. He nodded once, and with that she grabbed her gym bag and left her room.

He sighed softly while looking at the paper and then his nodaichi that was propped against the wall between the bed and window. Still nothing came to mind beyond the knowledge of that blade's name and what it could do. He felt highly irritated by having no clue as to who he was.

Left to his own devices, he felt a certain instinctive nature to begin searching through things and learn more about this girl. It was possible that in doing so he could find something that may help jog his own memory and get his lost ones back. She was an athletic girl from what he immediately found out in his search; karate for the most part but seemed to play other human sports.

She was a rather well-rounded student which might explain why her room was as tidy as it was; although, he didn't recall knowing much about humans to begin with. If he was a shinigami…then where was he from? What was the name of the realm he came from? As he flipped through her things he came across a journal and arched a brow. Flipping through it he skimmed page after page for something that might help him. He wasn't even sure how some human girl's life could help his own, but something in him told him to look.

He finally happened upon a name that caught his attention. He had seen it a couple times but it hadn't struck him until now; Kurosaki Ichigo. That sounded familiar, very familiar. For some reason he recalled that name being very important to past events, but what events?

With a reluctant sigh he closed the journal and returned it to where he found it, being careful of every detail to return things exactly as he found them. Why was he so good at this? Something told him he was trained in the art of stealth…

/\/\/\/\

"Still no word from Kenshin-san eh?" Shunsui asked while lazily tipping his sakkat to the side from over his face. He had gotten the report from Soifon who had expressed her concern. While technically they were still unable to officially declare the captain missing in action for a few more hours, he knew she was right to worry. Kenshin was very much like Soifon in being prompt in all things he did, which meant for him to still be missing like this was a very obvious status of MIA.

"No…my scouts haven't found a thing yet. The members of his squad that were with him were unable to verify where they saw their captain run to."

"Well it won't do ya any good to be trying to sweep the whole of the city in search of him. Have ya asked Yoruichi-san for help looking?" He noted Soifon's look of shame at the mention of asking her mentor for help.

"No…and I won't."

"Pride isn't something to put before the life of Kenshin-san, ya know."

"I'm not going to ask Yoruichi-sama for help in locating my student. How the hell would I be able to face her after this?"

Shunsui sighed softly as his fellow captain stormed off, leaving him to his thoughts. Kenshin had the patience of a saint to have spent as long as he had under that woman's command and tutelage. Well if Soifon wasn't going to ask for help, nothing said he couldn't through his own channels. "Time to pay ol' Jüshiro-san a visit."

/\/\/\/\

"You want me to call Rukia?" Jüshiro asked in surprise.

Shunsui grinned and nodded. "Well yeah, that's what I'm sayin'."

Jüshiro shrugged but went ahead and called up his squad member. It was rather strange that his long-time friend wanted to talk to Rukia, but then again Shunsui always did things with purpose. "Rukia, how are you?" He nodded and smiled before letting out a light laugh. "I'm fine, thank you. Listen, Rukia, Captain Kyöraku wants to talk with you. Alright." He held the phone out to his friend who took it and held it to his ear.

"Yo, Rukia-chan."

"Captain Kyöraku, I wasn't expecting you to call for me. Is something wrong sir?"

"Actually it is…ya see we have a bit of a situation involving Kenshin-san."

"W-what?" He could hear the distress in her voice. "What's happen to Kenshin?"

"Calm yourself Rukia-chan. He was on a mission a little over twenty-four hours ago and he went missing during it."

"What?" Alright, maybe telling her to calm down was a bit of a bad idea given the situation. He also noticed the look of concern on Jüshiro's face as well as a glare from his friend for not informing him about the captain's status.

"We suspect he's still somewhere in Karakura Town but efforts by the stealth force have turned up nothing."

"So Captain Soifon is already looking for him?"

"Yeah." There was a pause on Rukia's end.

"Has she informed Yoruichi?"

"That's the problem…she doesn't want to given her pride in the matter and not wanting to be embarrassed over losing her student."

"So are you asking me to ask Yoruichi?"

"Actually I'd rather avoid that. I'm sure if Yoruichi-san were to find Kenshin-san I would get an earful from Captain Soifon. If possible could ya look for Kenshin-san? The only bit of information I can give ya is he was with a team in the Kasazaki district."

"Thank you Captain Kyöraku, I'll begin looking with Ichigo immediately." The phone clicked and Shunsui slid it cross the desk to Jüshiro who let out a soft sigh.

"So Captain Takeda is missing?"

"Yeah. Apparently the attack was coordinated by adjuchas and Kenshin-san moved to lure them from his squad."

"Hopefully his status is just missing in action, not killed…"

/\/\/\/\

Practice had been good as Tatsuki got a chance to stick it to that annoying asshole who had been a little too smug the past few weeks. She punched the air with a grin, "right in the kisser!" Her thoughts began to drift back to the nameless man and once more she was asking herself if he had possibly figured out anything more about himself.

When she got home she found no one else home which wasn't necessarily unusual. Her father often worked on the weekends and her mom used the time to run errands. As she walked toward her room she could hear the water running in the bathroom and scratched her head; shinigamis bathed?

She shrugged at the notion and tossed her bag next to her bed before flopping down onto it. Almost immediately after, she saw him walk in still with just his hakamas though she noted he had his coat draped over his shoulders while drying his hair with a towel. Why was she staring at him? I mean sure, he was toned and well-built with noticeable abs and he did look…dare she say, hot with how his face looked rough with whiskers? Those eyes weren't bad looking either.

Wait, wait, wait! The hell was wrong with her? This wasn't like her at all. She noticed him staring at her curiously and realized she must have done something wrong. "So…umm…figure anything out?"

"Yeah, that you apparently like the smell of strawberries."

"W-what?" She sat up quickly. She realized there was a warm sensation in her cheeks and immediately drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms. "Ugh! You mean my shampoo, right?"

"Yup. Nothing wrong with it but…I'll remember to read labels before using products again…." He tossed the towel on his shoulder and moved to sit at the end of the bed, leaning forward with his arms on his knees. "So you practice martial arts huh?"

"Yeah. I'm the second best female martial artist in my age bracket."

The man chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. "I see."

"Why the laugher huh?" Tatsuki furrowed her brows and felt her competitive nature coming out.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. I just find it amusing is all."

"Really? Will it be funny getting your ass kicked?" She smirked at him. "Come on, you and me, let's do it."

He let out a sigh and moved to his feet while pulling the towel off his shoulder. "Alright…if you insist."

The two moved to the space in the backyard. Tatsuki felt confident in herself while taking up a ready pose. "Just going to stand there?"

"I'll be fine, just worry about yourself."

Overly confident ass. She ran toward him and shifted toward her left foot. She saw him moving to focus a defense on his right side but at the last second she leapt to her right and pushed up off her right foot into a spinning heel kick. She was surprised at how effortlessly he blocked her with his forearm.

This girl was actually good for a human, but good wasn't excellent and there were large gaps between them. He grabbed hold of her ankle with her still in the air before moving to shoot his other hand toward her throat. With the hold applied he brought Tatsuki to the ground with a light thud, causing her to cough. "Give up?"

"You wish." Taking took hold of the man's shoulders, she rolled on her back from her hips to her shoulders and planted her feet into his gut, tossing him up and over her. She scrambled back onto her feet and saw he had landed on his own though his coat had fallen off his shoulders. "Say…do you remember anything about that tattoo on your shoulder?"

"Right shoulder?"

"Yeah."

He glanced over his shoulder as best he could but really couldn't see the design. "Describe it to me."

"Well, it's a hexagon with two rectangles overlapping one another in a perpendicular pattern within the hexagon. In the middle of the ends of the rectangles is a star and in the center set in a diamond is a crescent moon."

At first he couldn't quiet place what it was but like a tidal wave he suddenly found himself being slammed with fuzzy memories. "Shihöin…"

"What?" Tatsuki relaxed her stance.

The man turned and picked up his haori, tossing it back over his shoulders. "Shihöin…if you're describing what I'm thinking of the tattoo on my shoulder blade is the family crest of the Shihöin noble family."

"So…you're nobility?"

"No…at least I don't think so…Shihöin…I know someone of that name but who…and why would I bear the family crest?"

"Maybe if we keep sparring it'll come back to you."

He smirked as he returned his focus on Tatsuki. "Most people don't look for a reason to get embarrassed."

Tatsuki clenched her fist tightly, "oh that's it!"

The man laughed as they sparred and she realized with each block and dodge that he was rather accustomed to fighting with his fist. In fact, he was managing to keep her at bay without breaking a sweat and was doing so with his coat still on his shoulders.

As Tatsuki threw punches and kicks, he had to wonder to himself just who Shihöin was. He remembered a woman with violet hair that would reach to her waist when let loose and tanned skin. She was someone important to him which was why he had that tattoo, but what was her given name? He couldn't even recall her face…damnit! He leapt back from a kick aimed for the head and side-stepped by the punch that followed, grinning as he did.

Why was she getting lost in this guy's eyes? They were nice to look at before but when he smiled the hues of blue in them came to life and gave him a shine to his face. Why were her cheeks red? It had to be from this sparring, right? She went for another punch by had her fist caught and suddenly a shiver ran down from her fist to the entirety of her being. What the hell was that about?

Shihöin…that name was so damn familiar…a tight fitting black uniform with an orange jacket…that uniform didn't cover the shoulders or back…wait…she grinned a lot and her eyes…they sparkled but…what was the color of them?

He pushed aside a punch and moved to connect with an open palm to Tatsuki's face. She just barely dodged it but felt him graze her faintly over the cheek. Suddenly she saw the world go spinning and could see him grinning at her. Instinct took over and she reached out, catching a handful of his coat and ended up pulling him down to his own surprise.

Tatsuki stared in shock at the sight of the man lying on top of her. He was propped up on his elbows but the space between them was hardly enough for comfort. His sleek, dark hair was brushed over her face and those bluish-gray eyes were locked on her own brown ones, leaving her speechless and unsure of what to say.

Why were her cheeks red? She knew they were by the burning sensation but why? "Umm…" He turned his gaze away and moved up off of her, flopping onto his ass. He pulled his legs in and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…"

She sat up slowly and grabbed at her ankles, rocking slightly. "No, it's my fault." The silence between the two lasted a short while until she finally had enough and asked, "you fight for a living, don't you?"

"Yeah…I was trained for it by…someone…"

"That Shihöin?"

"Maybe but…" He touched the scar over his chest and suddenly began to recall another woman. Raven black hair cut short with two long braids wound tight that ended in a ring on each braid…She was tough and wore a haori as well…she addressed him different in public and in private but…who was she and what did she address him by?

"I don't know…I still can't fully recall these things…"

/\/\/\/\

The rest of that day and the next proved awkward for both as she tried to avoid eye contact with him and he the same with her. She was grateful when Monday rolled around which meant school and a chance to completely bury her mind in lessons and the usual high school drama.

Yet…why was she still thinking about him even as she walked to school?

Hmmm...seems a certain Bee is agitated to say the least.

Feel free to review :D

Next time! Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Onmitsukido