The Rukongai village gave way to an endless grassland, broken up only by a few small, twisted trees. No villagers followed them out beyond the border of the village itself, not even the children; they stood on the streets, waving and wishing them luck, before drifting back to their own business as the teens moved further afield.
Ichigo grimaced and shared wary looks with his classmates. The grass nearly reached his waist in spots, tall and unbroken and shifting gently from the breeze. There was very little evidence of human presence out here, even though the roofs of the village could still be seen if he turned around.
Every so often, Kaito would pause, gaze sweeping across the landscape, then set off again. He seemed to know where he was going, but the longer they walked the more Kaito hesitated. His eyes would settle on a piece of the landscape, his body orient itself, and yet the moment before Kaito resumed walking grew more noticeable the deeper they went into the grasslands.
(What was it at the end of their path that Kaito feared?)
(Should he, too, fear it?)
The village vanished from view, and suddenly… it felt like they were walking in circles. Lost in an endless land of grass and stunted trees, the sun overhead providing no direction.
"Are you sure you know where the hell you're going?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask, eyeing another tree that he was certain they had already walked past. "This is a long way from the village." Were they going to meet a hermit? Or someone with a power-set that wasn't conducive to village life? Did they just not want to deal with Shinigami?
But if that was the case, why live so close to Seireitei to begin with?
"Are you doubting me, Kurosaki-kun?" Kaito looked back, expression heavy with disappointment.
Ichigo took a step back and raised his hands in surrender, unsure if Kaito was teasing him or not. There was an edge of playfulness to the look, but not enough to set his mind at ease.
(It had cut like a knife, the first time Kaito looked at him with true disappointment. The man hadn't even said anything, just turned away and left Ichigo behind.)
(Ichigo had lasted all of a few hours, chewing over the lesson Kaito had tried to impart, before scrambling to find the man to apologize.)
(Exposure had done nothing to temper his reaction to that look.)
Kaito's expression smoothed out into amused warmth, and the man turned to face forward. "The person we're looking for prefers places like this."
So they were looking for a hermit of some sort, Ichigo concluded.
"Quiet, deserted, and with plenty of space to build a home. They change residences a lot, but you'll know the place when you see it," Yoruichi agreed.
Or, at least, an almost-hermit, Ichigo revised his thoughts. He didn't have nearly enough information to make a solid guess, and Kaito had spent time trying to break him of the habit of assumptions.
He wished it didn't leave him so completely in the dark, however. Yoruichi and Kaito were being far to cagey about who they were meeting, and it left Ichigo feeling anxious. Would the person help? Would they be turned in? Was there anything they should have done in preparation for this meeting?
Orihime moved to walk at Kaito's side, looking up at Yoruichi and asking, "We will? Why?"
Yourichi's ears and whiskers perked forward and his tail-tip twitched constantly. That, along with his mischievous laughter, made Ichigo more wary than before. "Well, just take a look and see for yourselves!"
Ichigo followed Yoruichi's gaze, freezing at the sight of the building that had just come into view. "What. The hell," he couldn't resist asking, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Between the arms emerging from the ground, framing a tiny building and holding a ridiculous banner, Ichigo had no idea how to take it.
(The person they were looking for lived there?)
Ichigo shared a look of dismay with Chad; the building reminded him so much of something Goat-face might do if given the chance, and Ichigo was honestly a bit terrified of what they would find inside. Goat-face could be serious if the situation warranted it, but even then he was prone to over-dramatics and chaos. And if the man they were looking for even dared look at Orihime wrong…
Chad nodded in silent agreement, knowing where Ichigo's mind would have gone. It was a relief to know that he had backup—
(Kaito had driven that lesson in. Driven it home, again and again, until Ichigo looked to those around him as instinctively as breathing.)
—and Ichigo looked next to Ishida, needing to know where he stood.
Only to get an eyebrow arched in question.
Ichigo realized with a start that, of his classmates present, only Chad knew Goat-face. He grimaced and shook his head, gesturing towards Kaito's retreating back to get them moving again.
(He'd just need to hope that Ishida would follow his lead if it came down to it.)
Ishida left Orihime's side as they set off after Kaito, moving to walk at Ichigo's left. "There's something wrong with him," Ishida said, voice low and dangerous, gaze resting firmly on Kaito. Ishida's jaw clenched as Kaito swayed and stumbled a bit, his body tensing to move and a hand rising as if in anticipation of Kaito falling. "His reiatsu…"
"This whole place isn't good for him," Ichigo agreed, shooting a look at Yoruichi as one of the cat's ears swiveled back towards him. The cat turned his head to observe Ichigo for a moment before turning back to Kaito, and Ichigo hoped to hell that Yoruichi wasn't about to tell Kaito about this discussion. "I think he's been lying to us about the level of danger he's in."
"I agree," Orihime said, slipping around Chad and looking up at each of them in turn. Her gaze was solemn, features drawn tight with concern as she chewed on her lip and flicked a glance at Kaito's back. "Let's talk about this more when we have a few moments to ourselves."
"That good with everyone?" Ichigo asked, checking with Ishida and Chad to get their agreement. The trick would be finding time to have that discussion without Kaito around; Ichigo couldn't really blame the man for his hovering, not with the suspicions that were starting to grow, but it put a crimp in their ability to talk in private.
Kaito had often stressed the importance of sharing resources, especially in uncertain situations like this. Ichigo suspected that his classmates all had different pieces of the puzzle that was Kaito's life here in Soul Society, and they needed a clearer picture than what they each had individually. Kaito's father and his hybrid nature meant he was in danger, but in the face of the way the man was acting…
There had to be more going on.
Orihime was right.
They were walking blindly into a dangerous situation, without a solid idea of what they needed to defend Kaito from.
That wouldn't do at all.