Chapter 7
Ichigo
I wasted no time in heading to Urahara's shop after I said goodbye to Seika.
The shop was dark but the door was unlocked so I could slip in and walk into the apartment behind it. I found Rukia and Urahara talking around the kotatsu table, drinking tea.
"Did you find her?" Rukia asked and I nodded before sitting down.
"Not to worry. She's not a threat," I informed and placed my Zanpakuto on the floor beside me.
"What do you mean?"
"Urahara, I have some questions for you."
"Ask away." Urahara stated.
"Well, awhile ago, I met this girl who had told me about this family tradition. She said that when every child turned seventeen, a family member would change the appearance of the child according to the spiritual energy before they went through a bigger change at the exact time they were born. She called it the Alteration. Ever heard of it?" I explained and Urahara nodded.
"But I can't be too sure until I hear more of this so keep enticing us with the story."
"The Alteration is the transformation from their original form which is the form that they can be seen, the soul form which is the original form with different characteristics that can't be seen, and their true form. The more human their true form is, the stronger and more controlled they are."
"This girl. What's her family name?" Urahara asked.
"Kimura. She said that the tradition ran through four families but I can't remember the–"
"Hiromasa, Nagataka, Shihobu, and Kimura. The four clans of the Darksiders."
"You know about them?"
"They were called the Darksiders because we didn't know what they exactly stemmed from. We thought they were a Soul Reaper because they could use Kido spells but then we thought of them as Arrancar because they could turn into their Altered form."
"You know the girl, Ichigo?"
"Yeah, of course. It's Seika." I replied and she stared at me.
"When was her birthday?" Urahara asked abruptly.
"It was yesterday."
"And she was seen prowling about tonight?"
"Yeah."
"She must be very strong Darksider. Normally, Darksiders can't do anything for a few days so their powers can settle and then grow. However, it seems that this girl is a little different."
"Even when I was talking with her, I could feel her growing stronger, little by little. And she managed to contain it quite calmly," I informed and Urahara stood up.
"What are you thinking, Urahara?" Rukia asked and he shrugged.
"Just a theory. Go home, Ichigo. There's nothing else you can do for now. Rukia, I need you to stay and get in touch with the Soul Society." Urahara said and walked off with Rukia behind him.
"Right, whatever." I grumbled and went home.