Once again, hello everybody! I'm glad people are still reading this thing. I'm going to be a little long-winded this time, so either bear with me or go to the next section line to start the story chapter.
Disclamer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.
Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.
An apology for taking so long this time; between life, plotting this story (so it hopefully doesn't get away from me), and some other matters I've been slowed down quite a bit. Hopefully this won't happen too much in the future.
A nice welcome to more 'Story Alert' and 'Favorite Story' people, in this case (in no particular order) , Ability King KK , icegoddess52, 22288, crossxavier, AnimeLoverno.1, and The Literary Lord. It's very gratifying to know that there are people who like this story enough to want to know immediately whenever a new chapter comes out.
On a more serious note, received a review that made me sit back and think for a couple of days. It was a criticism that there was too much Japanese in a story that is supposed to be English language.
Actually, I was glad to get it; it made me stop and think on the readability of the story and the 'style' it was written in. So I went and checked up on other people's Bleach stories to see how they handled things like honorifics, terminology and words. And I looked through some Bleach chapters online that use the honorifics system to see what the characters might have actually used.
The reason I'm mentioning it is because I've written this chapter in a slightly different way than before: I've tried to eliminate as many of the honorifics from the narrative and internal dialogue as I could; I also found Tatsuki to be far more informal than I'd thought with Orihime and Ichigo, so that will be reflected in the dialogue. And I've decided that if an average person would have to use a dictionary to figure out a word, English or Japanese, I won't use it unless I feel I absolutely have to. I'm also not going to be using Japanese phrases in the story anymore (like I did in the last chapter when Sui-Feng activated her zanpaktou).
I'm doing all this not to please one person, but because after a lot of thought I'm hoping this will be a smoother read overall. Hopefully it won't be too jarring to the audience, though if it is I apologize; this story is still something of an experiment. If anybody has any other criticisms about the way I'm writing (poor grammar; the story 'drags'; the dialogue is clunky; etc.) please let me know.
And with that done (maybe), here's another chapter.
The little girl was amazed by what she was seeing right now.
Mom had taken her here to Furin Hall to see if she could learn how to fight; she'd heard something about 'self-control' and 'discipline', whatever that meant, but the girl didn't care about that.
All she cared about was the people punching and kicking around the practice room like something out of a cartoon. It had been awesome, seeing them go at each other, and it made her wonder if she could be like that.
The people had left the large room a while ago, and most of them were wither gone or were in some other room talking about...well, whatever grown-ups talked about. It was all boring, anyway, and so the girl had just quietly sneaked away to the training hall.
She was going to try some of those cool moves she'd seen earlier.
The girl wasn't sure, but maybe she could be like those people, beating the stuffing out of people she didn't like.
There were some kids she wanted to hurt.
And as she got to the hall, the girl knew she could at least punch and kick things without Mom getting mad at her.
Except that there was already someone in the hall. The girl thought about it for a minute, and then just felt it would be better to stay hidden in the doorway.
There was just something about this person...
It was a small but beautiful woman about her mom's age. She had short black hair and looked like she was some kind of foreigner, maybe from the mainland. And she had on a black t-shirt and pants instead of those white clothes everybody else had had.
But there was something about the calm look on her face...
And then the woman started her routine.
It was a punch, a kick, a jab, another kick...
It was nothing the little girl hadn't seen from the other people earlier. But there was something else here.
The woman was so calm, so confident in her routine, like she'd done this a million times before.
Another kick, a turn, a pair of jabs, a sweep of one arm...
It felt...real. It wasn't like those other people, just practicing, just showing off.
Another kick, another couple of jabs, a turn...
This woman knew what she was doing.
She'd fought people before, the girl just knew, and had probably hurt them.
Faster; a couple of high kicks, a roundhouse kick, a few more sweeps of her arms...
It was almost like magic, the way the woman moved; there was power coming from her.
And now the little girl found herself hypnotized.
Faster; a step back, a leap and a kick to the air, a few more jabs...
The speed, the grace, the power of this woman was everything the girl wanted to be. Including the fact that she looked like a woman and not...
Not some almost-boy like the girl.
The girl knew she could learn a lot from this lady. Like how to beat people up and...
And the woman had stopped and was looking at the girl...
Looking through the girl...
And the girl could see the woman looked a little sad.
The woman didn't want to hurt people; somehow the little girl knew this.
And the girl felt ashamed of herself for what she'd wanted to do...
Why had she wanted to hurt people?
Did they really do anything that bad to her?
Or was she just a bad person, like some of the others said?
The little girl was so busy thinking about it that she didn't notice the woman coming up to her and getting down on one knee. Her face was only a couple of feet away from the girl.
The girl gulped.
The woman was looking at her, a small smile on her face now.
A face that was strong and pretty, just like her movements had been.
And...good...not bad...
Just like the little girl wanted to be...
"Did you like what you see, kid?"
She could only bring herself to nod; even the woman's voice was strong and beautiful...and good.
"What's your name?"
It took a moment for the girl to find her voice.
"A-Arisawa Tatsuki."
The woman smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Arisawa-chan. My name's Feng Shaolin."
The smile turned a little sad.
"Do you like to hurt people?"
Tatsuki didn't know what to say. Hurting people was bad but...she did like it...a little...
Shaolin must have seen this in Tatsuki's face; she met the girl's eyes.
"I've seen a lot of people get hurt, Arisawa-chan. You believe this, right?"
Tatsuki nodded. The woman shook her head sadly.
"It's not fun to do, or to see."
Tatsuki couldn't get away from those dark eyes; they were so old, so full of sadness.
There was no way this lady could be mom's age. She had to be a lot older.
"You were fighting now..."
Tatsuki pointed to the middle of the room and punched for effect.
Shaolin just shook her head again, but she wasn't as sad this time.
"Fighting isn't bad; it's why you're fighting that's important. I'm doing these exercises so when I need to fight I know how; when I need to not fight, I can control myself."
She continued to look at Tatsuki, and now the girl was sure.
This was no ordinary woman...
"It's called discipline, and it will allow you to control yourself and your life. With it, you can become whatever you want to be. Would you like that, Arisawa-chan?"
Be whatever she wanted to be...
Tatsuki wanted to be a good fighter.
But she also wanted to be a good person.
And Tatsuki was just blown away that someone like this...goddess; she just had to be a kami...would be interested in someone like her. It made her smile.
And it made her nod her head.
Tatsuki wanted to be this woman's student, and Shaolin seemed to know this.
Because she smiled, too.
Tatsuki had had a lot of other experiences with Feng Shaolin over the years, especially recently, but she still remembered with crystal clarity that first time she'd seen the older woman. And now, thirteen years later, Tatsuki was Feng-sensei's prize student, getting ready to show the entire country what she and her sensei's teachings could do.
That she'd gained the discipline and control over herself and her life that she'd been promised a dozen years ago.
And that she was a good person, and could kick some serious butt at the same time.
That is, if she didn't get her butt kicked by Orihime here and now...
The ginger-haired teen blocked a punch Tatsuki threw at her, and then immediately sent one at Tatsuki herself. She tried to grab it, only to have Orihime pull back; Tatsuki tried to use a roundhouse kick, but Orihime simply backed even further away. Then she charged in to Tatsuki; before she could figure out what Orihime was up to the girl had grabbed her uniform's collar, twisted around so her back was to Tatsuki, and then pulled.
It was so fast that Tatsuki didn't have enough time to keep from getting hauled over Orihime's shoulder and thrown to the ground. Tatsuki was quick enough to roll after landing and before her friend could follow up she was back on her feet and smiling.
Orihime had learned well from both Tatsuki and their sensei; in fact the once pathetic girl was going to be going for her official black belt later that year. Tatsuki couldn't help but feel proud of her friend.
Now all they had to do was work on her relationship with a certain orange-haired ruffian...
Tatsuki feinted with a punch towards Orihime's head, pulling back when the girl tried to grab her arm. Orihime did a high kick, her foot headed towards Tatsuki's midsection. It was just what Tatsuki wanted; she grabbed the leg and twisted, causing Orihime to go to the ground.
They didn't kid around in their sparring matches; Feng-sensei hadn't done so, though she made sure no one got hurt.
Now on the floor, Orihime used her other leg to try and sweep Tatsuki off her feet. The dark-haired teen had to let go and jump back, and in a moment Orihime was back on her feet, in a defensive stance that mirrored Tatsuki's own. And she was giving a smile that also mirrored Tatsuki's.
Tatsuki liked that; despite what Orihime might say to the contrary, there was at least a little fire in her soul. It reminded Tatsuki of the fight in the street earlier, where Orihime had knocked the stuffing out of those thugs without even blinking.
And suddenly the thought of those people sent Tatsuki's mind back to the new transfer student.
Tatsuki hadn't had an opinion one way or the other about Kuchiki Rukia up until today; she was just some new kid. One that Ichigo seemed to have a great...
Then it hit her, almost at the same time another roundhouse kick from Orihime nearly hit her head.
"Tatsuki-chan, are you okay?"
"Yeah, my mind just wandered a little."
Orihime gave a more friendly smile this time.
"Well don't let it wander too much, or you'll be on the floor again."
Even as Tatsuki nodded and returned her friend's smile, she was going back to Ichigo and Rukia; the subject of wandering...
When Tatsuki thought about it, Ichigo hadn't been showing a great deal of interest in the new girl. It had been Rukia hauling Ichigo off to...well, who-knew-where.
In fact, more than a few times Tatsuki's oldest friend had looked disinterested or even hostile to the idea of going with the new girl. But she'd drag Ichigo off anyway, with no discussion or room for argument.
And judging by what happened today, she really didn't want anyone else to know what the two of them were doing. Or, more to the point, what Rukia was probably forcing Ichigo to do...
As the two girls finished their routine and bowed, Tatsuki couldn't help but hope Feng-sensei got here soon. Maybe she couldn't do anything about Ichigo; the woman's former student was his own 'man' now and hadn't been listening to anybody too well for the last while.
Rukia on the other hand...
"Hey, Tatsuki-chan, is there something wrong?"
She shook herself back to reality.
"No, I was just thinking about something that wasn't important. It's nothing to worry about."
Orihime looked for a moment like she wanted to press the matter, but then shrugged.
"Okay."
Tatsuki didn't like to...she didn't want to call it a 'lie'...to her friend, but she didn't want to burden Orihime with these kinds of things just yet. Besides, there was no proof that Rukia was up to anything, just suspicions that Tatsuki didn't want to act on just yet.
She looked out the outer entrance to the practice room at the now-darkening sky; Feng-sensei would likely be coming here soon. It was one reason why Tatsuki had wanted to be here tonight; the mess with Ichigo was just now turning out to be another.
"Let's take a break, Orihime; we'll get a little more sparring in and if Sensei isn't back by then we can just call it a night."
"Sounds good; I need to check some stuff in my...in the room Sensei lets me have."
Tatsuki arched an eyebrow at the slip.
"Your room? I didn't know you'd moved in Orihime..."
Orihime looked really nervous all of a sudden. She put one hand behind her head as they started walking out of the practice hall and further into the small complex of buildings that made up the rest of Furin Hall.
"It's not like that, and you know it. Sensei just gave me a room to use if I needed it and I keep some stuff there."
Tatsuki gave a conspiratorial smile.
"Oh, like your private picture gallery of Ichigo?"
"Tatsuki-chan!"
Since they were in private, Tatsuki gave a little chuckle at her own joke as they made their way down a short hall. At least, until she saw how Orihime's face was starting to turned a bright red.
Tatsuki stopped short and stared at her friend for a moment.
"Orihime, you don't..?"
Orihime's eyes went a little wide and she shook her head.
"No, I don't."
Tatsuki believed her friend's words, but the girl's tone said she wished she had one. She just shook her head as they reached the set of rooms that were Feng Shaolin's living quarters.
"Well, do whatever you're doing and I'll wait out here for you."
Orihime nodded and then disappeared behind one of the doors. As she did so, Tatsuki couldn't help but sigh and shake her head again.
She'd brought Orihime here to the dojo to toughen her up a bit; saving her constantly from bullies had gotten to be a little wearying. Not that Tatsuki minded doing it, but she had thought it would be good if her friend could defend herself.
At first it had just been Tatsuki training her, along with Ichigo; it was only later that Feng-sensei had gotten into the act. And when the older woman had heard Orihime's story, about essentially being kicked out of her family's home, her brother being dead, and her now living alone...
It seemed Sensei had a thing for hard luck cases.
It actually made Tatsuki a little jealous; she'd known Feng Shaolin for twelve years, Orihime only two. And yet who got to come and go almost as she liked in the older woman's residence?
Tatsuki sighed; now was no time for feeling inadequate.
She started walking around, waiting for Orihime to finish her business when she noticed the door to Feng-sensei's bedroom. The dark-haired teen been in there with her a few times, enough that Tatsuki was pretty sure she wouldn't get chewed out if she just took a look around.
She looked around for a moment, concentrated and checked to 'see' if the martial arts mistress was around. Sensei wasn't, so Tatsuki opened the door and helped herself into the place.
She had enough time to turn on the lights and make it to the center of the room when she heard Orihime's voice through the doorway.
"Tatsuki-chan, where did you go?"
"Over here."
It took a moment, but eventually Orihime made it to the room and peeked her head inside.
"Tatsuki-chan, this is Sensei's room, you shouldn't..."
Tatsuki just looked at her friend and shook her head sadly.
"You mean Sensei gave you permission to come over any time you wanted, and you've never been inside her room?"
Orihime shook her head vigorously.
"It wouldn't be right; I mean it is her room."
Then something seemed to occur to her.
"You have been in her room?"
Tatsuki beamed at her friend, who suddenly seemed to be in awe.
"Of course I have. She even showed me around a couple of times."
"Wow, Tatsuki-chan...I don't know what to say about that."
Then Orihime got the cutest pout on her face.
"But I still don't know if it's all right..."
There was something about the tone of her words that made Tatsuki a little mad; her friend was just being coy.
"You want to come in here, don't you? Admit it."
Orihime still looked very unsure.
"But she isn't here now, and..."
Tatsuki just gave an aggravated sigh and the next thing either girl knew she was going to the door and dragging her friend by the arm into the bedroom of their sensei's house. As soon as they were in the center of the room, Tatsuki let go, and Orihime backed away to rub at her arm and pout at her friend.
"Tatsuki-chan, why do you do that sort of stuff?"
"Because you're too...squeamish, Orihime. You need to be a little more bold, or you're never going to get anywhere in life."
The ginger-haired teen arched an eyebrow.
"Is that something from 'Feng-sensei'?"
Tatsuki looked annoyed again.
"No, that's something I said. But I'd like to think that Sensei would agree with me."
She turned around and started examining the contents of the room.
"Anyway, aren't you curious to know a bit more about her?"
"You mean you don't know much about Sensei, even with all your chats with her?"
Tatsuki looked for a moment like she'd say something and then sighed.
"You got me on that one; when I'm with her I just..."
"...notice her and not much else?"
Tatsuki nodded and then started looking around the small room.
"That...and the fact that she can tell you things without telling you anything if she wants to..."
One corner of the room was occupied with a low bed, while a carpet the two girls were now standing on took up the center of the floor. Around the walls of the room were a few pictures and artifacts – a pair of what she thought might be samurai swords were prominent on one side of the room – and a full bookcase lay in another corner near the one window the room had. There was also a low desk with a laptop on it, and off to one side she could see a small closet and a small dresser next to that.
Altogether it was what Tatsuki would have probably called 'crowded but neat'.
Orihime looked around silently, a seriously impressed look on her face.
Tatsuki could only agree.
I never noticed half of this stuff...I was too busy with Sensei...
Especially in the months after Ichigo had left the dojo.
Feng-sensei had taken that really hard; the woman wouldn't admit it, but she had been and probably still was more worried about Ichigo's welfare than Tatsuki was. Him being taken away from her...Tatsuki had never seen her sensei so depressed...
It was kind of a scary side to the woman.
In any event, Tatsuki had spent quite a bit of time afterward trying to mend her teacher's heart; by some stroke of luck Tatsuki seemed to remind the older woman of someone she'd held dear, so it was easier than Tatsuki had dared hope. She remembered over the next few months being asked to stay overnight by Feng-sensei; they had sat in this room, chatting about school or some of the places the older woman had been to in her life.
Eventually, Sensei had recovered from her depression and they'd gotten back to a more normal relationship, but Tatsuki was still honored to call the woman a friend now, and not just a teacher.
"Uhm, Tatsuki-chan, are you all right?"
Tatsuki saw Orihime standing in front of her waving a hand. The dark-haired teen immediately sighed in exasperation, grabbed the offending hand and yanked it down.
"Yes, I'm all right; quit asking that question, will you. I was just thinking about Sensei, that's all."
Orihime smiled and pointed to one of the walls.
"I'm going to look at some of the stuff over there."
Tatsuki arched an eyebrow.
"I thought you were the one who didn't want to come in here."
"I didn't, but now that we're here..."
Orihime smiled sheepishly and shrugged, and then headed over to look at some of the pictures on the wall. Tatsuki just shook her head and tried to decide what she wanted to look at in her little clandestine 'raid'.
The computer and closet were off-limits, she knew; Feng-sensei had her limits, and besides that there wouldn't be much of interest there anyway. She already knew what kind of swimsuit sensei wore from that one trip to the beach last summer...
But there was still the bookshelf, yet another thing she'd seen but not really paid attention to before.
Well, no time like the present...
She walked over to the piece of furniture and started perusing the books; much like a lot of the things in the room they were a mixture of old and modern. A lot of them were what Tatsuki would have expected: there were a couple of diet books, some volumes on martial arts and its history, some on meditation. The sort of things one would have expected an instructor on any physical activity to have in their library.
But there were also some books on strange subjects as well. One or two of them were histories of notable people of Japan, but there was also one on wars in the 20th Century, another on the idea of re-incarnation, and yet another on Central American mythology. There were a few others that were as wide ranging and eclectic; they seemed to have no common thread than their owner found them interesting.
"Boy, Sensei has some weird taste in reading, doesn't she?"
Orihime came up to the bookshelf, hands behind her back, and Tatsuki could only nod in agreement. Then the ginger-haired girl seemed to notice something and pointed towards the top shelf.
"What are those?"
Tatsuki saw a number of small paperbacks sitting there, and after a moment she realized what some of them were...
"Sensei reads romance novels?"
Orihime suddenly got even more excited, even going so far as to pull one of the books down. It was of a similar size to the novels, but...
"Hey, I've got this series in my collection, too! Isn't that amazing, Tatsuki? Maybe Sensei and I are more alike than I thought!"
Tatsuki couldn't answer her friend, largely because Orihime had pulled down a manga book. The idea was just a little too much for the dark-haired teen, and so she turned her attention back to the lower shelves.
One book down there in particular had caught her attention, mostly because it didn't have any title or other decoration printed on its spine. It was just plain brown leather, and it just begged for Tatsuki to see what it was.
As Orihime put the manga book back where she'd found it, Tatsuki pulled the larger one out. The front and back of it were the same as the spine: no markings of any kind on otherwise good brown leather. But she could see the pages were unusually thick, and the spine felt a little odd.
Orihime moved a little closer to see Tatsuki's find.
"I wonder what that is...?"
Tatsuki shrugged.
"I think it's some kind of photo album."
Orihime started looking troubled.
"Then put it back."
"Why? We could learn a lot about Sensei, and I don't think it would hurt anything."
Orihime paused for a moment and then nodded assent, though she still didn't look so sure about this.
Tatsuki opened the book and started looking through it. To her surprise the pictures in the front weren't of some vacation or martial arts tournaments; in fact none of them had been taken in Japan. From the architecture in some of them, she'd have bet most of them were from somewhere in Europe, and she would have thought they were of friends or something by the 'feel' of them.
But the pictures were too old; all of them were either black and white or...some were in shades of brown. It was obvious some care had been taken to keep them intact, but even then the sheer age of the paper had begun to yellow them a little.
And there was also the fact that the people were dressed in outfits that belonged to the turn of the last century. The few paved roads she could see in the pictures were of stone, and the cars on them would have been collector's items today, like the Model T in one photo.
Orihime came in closer to look at the photos.
"Wow, I didn't think Sensei was into collecting stuff like this..."
Tatsuki continued to flip through some of the pages; if she had to guess, they seemed to be in some rough chronological order.
"I know...it's kind of neat, though..."
She stopped at one black and white picture in particular: a small brick house, somewhere in a thick forest during summer. Around two dozen people were sitting and standing in front of the place for what was obviously a formal portrait. In particular was the fact that half a dozen of the people were wearing white outfits; one distinguished-looking gentleman even had a white cape with what Tatsuki assumed was gold braid.
"Didn't Ishida-san used to wear stuff like that?"
Tatsuki nodded her head a little; she'd picked up on the same thing.
"Yeah, and his grandfather ran around in that sort of..."
Orihime waited for a moment.
"What is it?"
Tatsuki didn't say anything; she merely pointed at what had caught her attention. Sitting on one side of the congregation in the photo was a teenaged Asian woman in a black, or maybe dark-colored, dress. She had a somewhat nervous smile on her face, as though she knew she didn't quite belong with all the Europeans around her, but Tatsuki didn't feel any hostility coming from the other people towards the woman.
The woman's hair was longer, and she was younger but still...
"That looks kind of like Sensei..."
Tatsuki turned to Orihime, who now seemed to be fascinated by the photo album.
"Yeah, I know. It's probably her great-grandmother or something; I mean, look at how old the photo is."
To prove the point, Tatsuki carefully drew out the photo; she ignored the scandalized gasp from her friend. Turning the photo over she was rewarded with the fact there was writing on the back. It looked like German, which she couldn't read, but she was able to make out what looked like the date.
"1914..."
Even as Tatsuki put the photo back Orihime was shaking her head.
"I can't imagine going that far away back then. Sensei must be from a whole line of world-travelers."
Tatsuki just smiled and turned her attention back to the book.
"So this is a family album, huh? I'm not surprised, seeing the way she is with the..."
An evil idea came to her mind and she waited until Orihime decided to prod her.
"Tatsuki-chan, what is it?"
The evil idea became a grin on her face as Tatsuki began to flip rapidly through the pages.
"I'm just wondering how far forward these pictures go... Maybe we can find some embarrassing ones of Ichigo."
She paused when she noticed the look on Orihime's face.
"When he was a baby."
"Oh, yes, yes...of course..."
Tatsuki just shook her head and continued flipping forward.
As she did so the world the photos depicted seemed to go forward in time; the vehicles and fashions in the photos became more recent and the paper they were on tended to be in better condition. As she went, she saw pictures from various parts of the world: cities and small towns, and more than a few of waterfalls or mountains or other scenic places Tatsuki was sure were at least a week away from any human habitation.
She stopped at one point to look at a couple of pictures of an utterly devastated city, only a few charred husks of buildings standing out on plains of ash and rubble. People were wandering through the wreckage, trying to pick something of value from out of the ruins.
Tatsuki realized it was Tokyo after the firebombings; she shook her head at that.
"Man, to go through something like that; it makes you appreciate the times you live in..."
Orihime nodded solemnly.
Tatsuki continued to flip through the pages; now they were starting to turn to color, and she noticed the pictures tended to be places she recognized from around Japan, especially Tokyo. She distractedly watched as the city and its environs slowly rose again from the ashes, turning into the metropolis it now was.
She noticed something missing, though; none of the photos had any of Feng-sensei's ancestors in them. There were plenty of people in the photos, but no one Tatsuki was certain looked related to the owner of the album.
After a bit, Tatsuki shrugged it off; those photos could have been somewhere else, or maybe the woman's family was camera-shy. It was just annoying, that was all; sensei had never talked about her family before, except for a couple or three slips...
The matter disappeared from her mind as Tatsuki finally started seeing her sensei's face in the pages. The first one was of a teenaged girl looking out towards a distant Mt. Fuji.
"That's weird...Feng-sensei looks just like her ancestor..."
Tatsuki could only nod in agreement to Orihime's statement.
The teenaged Feng Shaolin was dressed in black and her hair was longer than it was today, which only served to heighten the similarity with the woman in the earlier picture. But Tatsuki paid it no mind; more than a few people she knew looked like their parents or some other relative.
She flipped some more pages and soon found herself staring at...
"Ah...this is more like it..."
There was a photo of Feng-sensei together with what had to be a young Kurosaki Isshin and Ishida Ryuuken. It was nighttime and they were standing in front of a bar or nightclub of some sort; she was somewhat older in this picture, her early twenties Tatsuki would have guess because they all looked a little drunk. The smiling faces on her sensei and Ichigo's dad Tatsuki expected, but it blew her out of the water a little to see Uryuu's dad smiling like he meant it.
"Hey, look!"
Tatsuki turned her attention to the photo Orihime was pointing at. This time it was a day picture in a park of some kind; a smiling Isshin was the centerpiece, with Sensei on his right, and a younger Masaki on the other side. Everyone was smiling, but Tatsuki could see that her teacher's was...uncomfortable, like she didn't want to be there or she was intruding on something...
Ichigo's dad, of course, was completely oblivious to this...
"I thought they were friends..."
"Oh they were, Orihime; it's just it always seemed to me from what Sensei said every now and again that they competed over Ichigo's dad when they were younger. By the time I knew them they'd pretty much gotten over all that."
Orihime seemed to think about that for a moment.
"What?"
"It's nothing Tatsuki-chan. I was just thinking it's a little like Kuchiki-san and me over Kurosaki-kun."
Tatsuki just started staring at her friend, who then proceeded to smile brightly.
"Hey, you think if the two of us fight over him, we can make up and be friends that way?"
Tatsuki just continued to stare at Orihime for a minute and then turned back to the album.
"What?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it..."
Even as she said the words, Tatsuki wondered; in the picture Sensei had looked a little like Orihime whenever she was near Ichigo.
Maybe Orihime isn't out of her mind after all...
She flipped forward a few more pages. More pictures appeared of Feng-sensei and Ichigo's parents, and then suddenly the woman was alone again. And there was a certain sadness in her posture that spoke to Tatsuki.
Tatsuki knew who had won the competition for Isshin's heart, of course, and Sensei never talked about it, but...
Man, she really took it hard, didn't she...?
She continued on, the pictures changing to cities around the world, Feng-sensei emulating her ancestor.
And she had company on the trip too; a teenager who appeared in several photos. They were both smiling happily with Hong Kong in the background, while the next picture showed them about to get into a fight somewhere with San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in view.
Orihime's eyes went wide as she looked at the other girl in the pictures.
"Wait a minute...isn't that?"
Tatsuki shook her head.
"It can't be, the photos are too old."
"Then maybe it's her mother?"
Tatsuki wasn't sure what to say; it sure looked like the Sarugaki-san she'd seen. A short girl about Tatsuki's age stood by Feng-sensei, her long blond hair in a pair of ponytails, and honey-colored eyes set in a round face. And she was wearing a jumpsuit in the same shade of red that...Tatsuki had to believe it was her daughter or niece or something...wore on TV.
It was just plain weird.
Tatsuki looked at her friend for a moment; Orihime seemed only slightly less confused that Tatsuki did.
"If it is, then she practically cloned herself."
For a moment, Orihime was lost in thought, and then a smiled crossed her face.
"Hey, Tatsuki, do you think since Sensei knows the family, we might be able to get tickets?"
Tatsuki wondered for a moment what her friend was talking about and then shook her head yet again – this time in disgust – when she figured it out.
"Come on, Orihime; she's our sensei, not a ticket vendor."
"Yeah, I know, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I heard someone say they're doing a show around here soon and..."
Tatsuki sighed in defeat.
"All right, all right we can see about that. But let's wait until later, okay?"
Orihime smiled and nodded while Tatsuki held the book in her hands for a moment. She'd never known Sensei to be into history like that; there was no indication of it in her everyday life, but she also knew everyone had hobbies and harbored secrets.
And one such secret was beginning to make itself manifest in Tatsuki's mind...
Feng-sensei was near.
Though she honestly did want to continue looking through it, Tatsuki made a show of closing the album and looking at her friend. Orihime had a puzzled expression.
"Why'd you close the book?"
Tatsuki sighed as she slid the album back into its place on the bookshelf.
"We need to get back to the practice hall; I think Sensei said she'd be coming by about now."
She smiled at Orihime.
"Besides, would you rather have her finding us hard at work training or looking through her room?"
"You were the one who wanted to come in here."
Even as they walked out of the room and closed the door, Tatsuki continued to smile at her friend's now-pouting face.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, if Sensei gives us grief I'll say I forced you into it, okay?"
Orihime still looked unsure, but after a moment she nodded.
"Okay."
That settled, the two girls started heading back to the practice room. In the back of Tatsuki's mind the suspicion that Feng-sensei was returning had become a near certainty.
Tatsuki didn't think of the woman as a literal goddess anymore; that sort of thing was crazy, she knew. But she still considered her teacher to be...special.
Among the many things that had drawn Tatsuki to the older woman was the fact that there had always been something exotic about her. Maybe it was that the martial arts mistress was foreign, but not too foreign; though she was thoroughly Japanese in her action and mindset, Feng Shaolin was almost certainly of Chinese ancestry, and she knew several martial styles beyond karate.
And beyond that, Tatsuki had been able to tell that sensei knew things – things she didn't dare teach the other class members and kept strictly to herself. It was probably...whatever it was that the woman had wanted to teach Ichigo, and was considering teaching Karin.
Of course, Tatsuki being who she was, she wanted to see what the big secret was about.
As she and Orihime returned to the practice room, Tatsuki's mind went back to the days and nights spent here and at home trying to copy the breathing and meditation exercises the older woman had been using for the last several years.
It was one of those things that had seemed so simple to do and yet so hard to get right, never mind 'master'. She'd spent hour after hour, trying to come up with the proper routines, and then secretly watching Feng-sensei to see what she was doing wrong, and then back to practicing in private again. It had been hard, and Tatsuki had almost given up a couple of times, but she kept on with it.
And eventually it had worked; half a year ago she'd done it. She thought...
Even as the two girls stood facing each other, Tatsuki began centering herself, just as she had when they'd first arrived at Furin Hall. It didn't take long, gathering her her energies and tuning herself into the surrounding area; it was pretty cheesy terminology, she knew, but it was the best way she could describe it.
By the time she hand Orihime were bowing to each other, Tatsuki was finished and she could just feel the connection.
It was more like intuition than anything else – she could 'feel' the presence of people and animals, and to a lesser extent the plants in the area around her; Orihime was particularly strong, though Tatsuki was sure it was because of their close connection. Tatsuki could also 'tell' when someone was about to take a physical action, which helped her dodge things like the the two punches followed by a kick that Orihime launched against her.
She didn't usually use it too much outside of practice; it took too long for it to be used before a real fight, and it could be annoying sometimes. And whenever she thought she had it 'on', Tatsuki couldn't help but be weird-ed out and even a little nervous around Ichigo's 'vibe'. Then again, considering the way he was headed she wasn't surprised with that...
There was also the fact that, frankly, Tatsuki had been disappointed at the results of her self-training; some part of her had been hoping for something more...'impressive'. But then again, she was just starting; Feng-sensei had been doing this for much longer.
Tatsuki was pretty sure she'd gotten on the right road, at least. It occurred to her as she tried and failed to grapple Orihime that the intuition she'd gotten earlier about the Kuchiki girl and some other times the last few months was similar to what she was feeling right now, but not as intense.
And she hadn't even done the meditation until this evening.
As she continued to spar with Orihime, Tatsuki could feel Feng-sensei's presence solidify in her mind.
Or rather, the woman's lack of presence...
It was what made some insane part of Tatsuki's mind wonder if the woman was a ninja or something. Unlike everyone else she knew, Feng Shaolin had no 'presence', triggered nothing in Tatsuki's intuition; she was like some kind of 'blank spot' in the world. And that was how Tatsuki could tell it was her idol approaching Furin Hall right now, 'hiding' herself from the world though she might.
It was one more thing that made Sensei so cool.
The dojo was empty right now, the lights turned off; all of the students had long-since gone home for the day, and Shaolin was left to her thoughts. They were dark and cold like the late autumn evening outside; she hesitated to use the term 'storm' for what was going on out there, but the wind had a chill and she'd left the outer door open so the cool breeze could stimulate her a little.
She looked towards the side of the room, where various uniforms were usually left in place. There was one missing now.
Ichigo was gone.
Shaolin wasn't surprised; after all, Ichigo had just recently beaten Tatsuki in a match. There had been talk after that about teaching him even further, perhaps getting him to his black belt, and vague talk of formal competitions. But in the end Kurosaki Isshin had been almost falling all over himself to remove his son from Furin Hall.
The man had had excuses ready, of course: that his son had learned all he needed to; that 'belts' were just to hold your pants up; that Ichigo wasn't the kind for tournaments...
But there was also the matter of Masaki.
Shaolin was on speaking terms with her old friend again, had been for the last couple of years. But she was sure there was still a wound, an unspoken rift between them that would never go away. And now, in her mind, it had been confirmed.
Besides, Ichigo was getting involved in fights at school and being surly and abusive around the other students. And since the father's power flowed through the son's veins, the orange-haired boy...no, teenager...was becoming almost freakishly strong and durable. Shaolin was waiting for the day when she'd hear that Ichigo had killed some poor fool in a pointless fight or joined some vicious gang or other, and she thanked the gods that he hadn't turned that attitude against his own family.
The loss of his beloved mother had done this to him.
And now the smiling, sunny boy was becoming a juvenile delinquent.
That special child...and the man he might have been...
They were gone.
And it was all Shaolin's fault.
Now she was sitting here, semi-meditating, and trying to figure out what to do.
Maybe turn over the reins here for a while and do some soul-searching in the mountains...
Or maybe track down Hiyori and see if she wanted to do something fun...
Or maybe finally bring herself to speak with Ryuuken...
"I can see you, Feng Shaolin."
The ex-shinigami's heart stopped.
That voice...
The playful, almost impish way the words were said...
And yet it wasn't quite right...
"What are you doing here anyway? I mean it's so dreary in here... Don't you have someone to spend the evening with?"
The voice was a little harsh and high-pitched. But that might not mean anything...
Could it be...?
She started turning to the source of the words.
"Yorui..."
A part of Shaolin's heart sank as she saw it wasn't the noblewoman who was standing in front of the rear door. The figure's hair was far too short, and she was wearing the wrong clothes; it took a moment for the assassin to realize what she was seeing.
A young woman in a sailor suit...
"Tatsuki?"
It was disappointing at first, but as Shaolin looked closer...
The way the girl was holding herself, proud and independent, and yet restrained. Power and elegance were there, though understandably in a cruder form due to Tatsuki's youth.
And in the dim light...
"Sensei, are you all right?"
The look of concern and the use of the term brought Shaolin out of it enough to answer. But that voice...
How could she have not noticed that and other similarities before...?
"Yes...yes Tatsuki-chan...I'm just...thinking..."
Shaolin hadn't seen her former mistress after that battle. No trace, just vanished.
"It's about Ichigo, isn't it?"
Shaolin could only nod, and hope that she wasn't staring too obviously at her best student. Who was now coming up to her...with the same walk...
And then the girl knelt down in front of her teacher...just like...
"Don't worry, it's going to be all right, sensei."
"Don't worry, Sui-chan, it'll be all right."
It made such clear sense to her now, even though some part of Shaolin knew she was deluding herself. But she found herself thinking back on all the times she'd been with Tatsuki...and the girl was young enough...
Gods, Tatsuki...are you...?
"Sensei, you're starting to scare me. You said something about a Yoru-someone and now you're staring at me..."
Shaolin immediately shook herself back into the real world and started picking herself up, Tatsuki standing back up as well.
"I-I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan. It's just I...I realized you reminded me of someone."
The girl arched an eyebrow.
"This Yoru..."
"Shihouin Yoruichi. Someone I looked up to a great deal when I was your age."
Tatsuki's concern returned.
"You sound like this 'Yoruichi' is...well..."
"Gone?"
Tatsuki nodded.
Shaolin debated in herself for a moment, and then made her decision.
"I'm not sure if she is, we haven't really been on the best of terms for a while. But that isn't important. What's important is the here and now." She raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, why are you here this late?"
The girl looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then seemed to gather her courage.
"I know you're close to the Kurosakis, sensei, and with the way Ichigo's been going lately, I figured you were pretty bummed and so..."
Shaolin sighed and looked down for a moment.
"I'm sorry about him Tatsuki-"
"Why?"
The question made Shaolin look her student in the eyes again. Very serious eyes that wanted to convey something important from their owner.
"Sensei, if Ichigo's turning into a jerk, then that's his fault. It's not yours. Okay?"
Shaolin wasn't sure what to do for a moment, and then she just smiled.
"All right."
Tatsuki smiled as well for a moment and then began to head for the door. Her face said she wanted to stay, though...
"Tatsuki-chan...?"
The girl stopped and turned.
"Yes?"
"Would you...like to stay the night...if your parents are okay with it?"
Tatsuki stopped for a moment and looked at her stunned.
"What...why?"
Shaolin gave a smile she hoped didn't have too much sadness in it.
"You've always been my best student, Tatsuki-chan. But...I was wondering if you would be my friend also...?"
Even as the girl began lighting up the room with her smile, Shaolin felt her heart go light for the first time in a long while.
Maybe you are Yoruichi-sama's re-incarnation, Tatsuki. If not, then no harm is done; you are a fine student.
But if you are...
Thank you gods, for giving me a second chance. I will not squander it, I promise.
A few months later, Shihouin Yoruichi had shown up at Kisuke's place, just as 'alive' as the black cat she saw across the street from Furin Hall.
Shaolin hadn't known how to feel about that; the interval between the revelations had been some of the best times she'd had since she'd left Soul Society. And it had definitely formed a bond the ex-shinigami treasured, another friend in her small circle.
One that still didn't seem to include Yoruichi-sama...
The ex-shinigami shook her head; now was not the time to be thinking of such things. She was standing outside her current home; the former center of her universe could wait.
If she pressed herself, Shaolin would have had to admit that there were more...memorable dojo than Furin Hall. She still had fond memories of her days in the Feng Clan's own sparring chambers, and there was the massive complex devoted to martial arts in the Academy in Soul Society, itself just one piece of an even grander facility. Even in the Living World during her many travels, Shaolin had seen places that were more ornate or more impressive.
That said, there was something about Karakura's premiere facility for the martial arts that made it lodge in the ex-shinigami's mind. Maybe it was some intangible quality of the area, a mix of the quaint housing, quiet streets and close-knit community of suburban Japan. Maybe it was the fact that the place had been here in one form or another for longer than Shaolin herself had existed...or so she'd been told.
Or maybe it was just that she figured this place as being 'her' dojo; she did quietly have title to the property, after all. But there was the fact that Karakura was where her her fellow exiles lived, it was where she kept coming back to, and it was where she repeatedly found friends of hers coming to over the years.
Like it or not, and she didn't hate the idea, Karakura was as much of a home as she had in the Living World. Some bit of permanence in this quicksilver world she'd been living in these past hundred years...
Standing outside the building right now, she took in the scent of the flowers and flowering bushes she'd had planted here years ago. The assassin thought they made a nice counterpoint to the building's wood and white-washed walls and tile roof, and in any case it reminded her a little more of her childhood. The fragrance not only was pleasing, but it got her 'in the mood' for training people in martial arts.
And it also covered the smell of the sea...
Shaolin shook away the second dark thought she'd had in as many minutes and headed into the small house at the side of the complex, pausing only to take off her shoes inside the doorway. She felt even better as she made her way through the short hallways and small rooms of the house she had attached to the dojo proper. The feel of the wooden floors added to her impression of having traveled back to her younger days.
"Are we there yet?"
And then here was Hana to remind her how old she was again...
"Don't you have a GPS in there somewhere?"
"Yes, but I thought I would mess with you again."
"You're not getting the gigai anytime soon, Hana, so leave it alone and go back to your game."
There was another pause, and Shaolin was sure the artificial soul was sighing in frustration.
Her thoughts about that were banished as she heard the sounds of people sparring in the main practice hall. It raised an eyebrow from her, as it was getting late enough even at this time of year that she was contemplating using the electrical lights to see by. She started walking towards the hall, trying to place the voices and opening her senses to the energies of these people.
And then she smiled as she felt the reiatsu of two very familiar people flowing past her like a gentle breeze. She'd long since learned to ignore the pressure exerted by the spirits of the Living World; most people and things didn't have much energy, and so it turned into a sort of background noise for her kind.
But some people had stronger souls, and those she took interest in. There were a lot of such people in Karakura; Ichigo, for example, was a wild typhoon of power that she could feel if she bothered to not tune it out. And the Quincys of the Ishida Clan felt like nature that had been tamed, not unlike the concreted rivers that flowed through Karakura.
Feeling these two, however, relieved some of the tension in Shaolin. She reached the doorway that led into the main practice hall and then stood in the shadows, watching as her two prize students sparred and enjoying the feel of their energy.
Inoue Orihime, her ginger hair flowing like her reiatsu as she did her stances and tried to attack her partner, caught Shaolin's attention first this day. She remembered when Tatsuki had brought the girl in: 'a friend' the favored student had said 'who needed help dealing with bullies'. She'd had the look of someone who had lost most everything in her life, so of course Shaolin had been willing to help.
Now the shy young girl was becoming a confident young woman. There was still work to do, of course; Tatsuki had been hinting at a crush Orihime had with Ichigo, and Shaolin didn't have a problem with it.
In fact, the ex-shinigami thought it a fine idea. Orihime was a bit of an airhead, and her cooking was...an 'acquired taste', but she was a good girl. And Ichigo had to be blind not to notice the young lady's fine looks; even at the age of fifteen she had curves that made many boys stare at her, but she also had a grace and fluidity along with those assets that made Shaolin feel a little jealous at times.
Yes...as soon as the current mess with the newcomer was dealt with, she'd have to have a long talk with Orihime.
And as for Tatsuki...
Shaolin was pretty sure what first drew her to her favorite student was the girl's resiliency; that first time they'd met all those years ago, she'd been practicing with some of her reiatsu flowing, and it hadn't seemed to faze the girl. Tatsuki had only grown stronger in that respect over the years, and the assassin appreciated that she could relax and 'cut loose' a bit around her without hurting her.
It was very good having a true sparring partner again.
Even though she knew the girl wasn't Yoruichi-sama reborn, Shaolin still considered the dark-haired young woman now throwing her best friend to the ground to be very special.
Just like Ichigo had been...
In Tatsuki's case, there was the fiery attitude and the speed with which the young girl absorbed all Shaolin had to teach her. The way she acted, restrained and yet so independent; she was so confident that she could take on the world and come out the champ. And have a fun time in the process.
Add the feel of her energies and the tone of her voice now that she was becoming a young woman...
And then Orihime's carefree and vibrant joy, and her skill at martial arts...
She would never tell anyone, but the assassin loved watching these two spar in particular, or do anything together for that matter. It allowed her to do a little daydreaming, a little what-if in her mind as she watched the two interact.
Tatsuki was of course Yoruichi-sama, taking the lead in most things, being clear-eyed and down to earth about life. And Orihime was a young Shaolin: energetic, emotional, and maybe a little naive, and more than happy to let her friend take the reins of whatever they did. There was no class difference between them, no pressing duties or schedules; just the glorious beauty of young friendship.
She absorbed this for a little more, trying very hard to ignore the sounds of Hana play fighting in who-knew-where, and then decided to get down to business. She set the bag she was carrying down on the floor and waited for a proper opening in the match.
"That kick's a little high."
The dark-haired girl simply smiled and then finished the move before answering.
"You think so, sensei?"
Orihime realized what was going on now and beamed as Shaolin came into the room to face the two girls.
"Well, there's that tournament you're going to Tatsuki-chan; you'll be up against the best, and they won't go easy on you."
"I don't plan to go easy on them, sensei; I intend to win that tournament."
Shaolin set her bag down on the floor.
"You'd better win; I'd hate to have you damage the honor of this school."
All three women smiled and then bowed politely to each other. That over they engaged in a group hug, and for a moment Shaolin let her cares go; she even ignored the fact that she could still hear Hana playing her game or whatever it was.
After a moment, the three of them separated and continued to smile at each other.
"It's good to have you back, sensei. I...we both missed you."
Orihime nodded in agreement and it made Shaolin's heart feel light.
"I missed the two of you as well. And I'll have to admit I missed Karakura as well."
She shook her head to clear it and then knelt down to open the bag.
"Let me see here, my last tribute of the day..."
She pulled out a small pendant on a thin gold chain; the pendant itself was a a dark agate cameo carving of a cat staring off towards the viewer. Shaolin wasn't sure how Tatsuki felt about cats, but she could see from her student's wide-eyed expression that the gift was more than adequate.
"Oh...no, sensei, I couldn't..."
Shaolin sighed in mock exasperation.
"Please, Tatsuki-chan, I'd like it if you'd accept this on my behalf. Your birthday isn't too far away, is it?"
The dark-haired teen bowed quickly and then took the proffered item.
"Thanks, sensei, I really appreciate it..."
"She's easily impressed..."
Shaolin kept the annoyance she felt at Hana's comment off her face and pulled out a cloth choker with a cameo bird on it. She then turned to Orihime.
"And will you please accept my offer to you, Inoue-san?"
The ginger-haired teen took a moment, but then beamed and nodded her head. Taking the choker she quickly put it around her neck and modeled it a little for the other two women there.
"Thank you so much, sensei!"
"Gods, will you people stop that? I can hardly concentrate on my game..."
Shaolin knew she'd be concentrating her fist into Hana the next time the latter got to use the gigai. Then again, maybe that was why Hana always wanted the gigai; maybe she was turning into one of those people who spent their whole lives locked in their room with only a console and a TV giving them company.
She'd have to ask Kisuke one of these days if that was possible.
"How was your trip, sensei?"
Tatsuki's question brought Shaolin back to the present and to the training hall in particular. She took a moment to think about what to tell them; she had a feeling Orihime wouldn't mind a story about 'vampire' hunting, but Tatsuki would probably just think her mentor was messing with her.
"Oh, it went okay...kind of strenuous, but okay."
Orihime got a sort of dreamy look on her face.
"It must have been amazing, sensei, traveling through Europe, I mean hiking and seeing those stone castles and meeting all those interesting people..."
"She has absolutely no idea..."
Shaolin affected a tired smile; it was only partly an act. The girl was hitting the proverbial nail a little hard on the head for the ex-shinigami's comfort.
"Yeah, it was interesting, Inoue-san; I'll talk about it later. But how have the two of you been?"
Orihime waved a dismissive hand even as she gave a nervous smile.
"There hasn't really been much going on, sensei. Classes, a couple of fights, some transfers...you know, high school stuff..."
Tatsuki glowered at her companion.
"Have you forgotten a certain beast who's been trying to make advances on you...?"
"Tatsuki-chan..."
Shaolin turned to the taller teen, looking at her now even more sheepish face with concern.
"Inoue-san, is there some guy giving you trouble at school?"
The assassin's mind whirled with possibilities about what was going on, and ways of how to deal with said possibilities...
"No, it's this girl named Honshou Chizuru."
Except for that possibility.
"Inoue Orihime – equal opportunity sex goddess."
Even as Shaolin was wrapping her mind around that, Tatsuki continued.
"The woman is shameless, sensei; she's been literally throwing herself at Orihime practically since school began."
"It's not that bad..."
Shaolin held up a hand to silence Tatsuki, and then looked up into Orihime's eyes.
"Do you like this girl doing these things to you?"
The ginger-haired teen was still looking uncomfortable.
"Well...I... No...not really...but..."
Shaolin sighed and tried to put on a friendly face.
"Inoue-san, if you don't like what she's doing, then you need to tell her to stop right now. Otherwise she'll assume you like it and keep doing it." She held up her hand again to stop Orihime from protesting. "The longer you wait on this, the worse it will be when she finds out the truth. Trust me on this, okay?"
Orihime looked unsure for a minute, and then smiled and bowed.
"Thank you, Sensei. I'll...try to follow your advice."
Tatsuki held up a fist.
"And if she doesn't listen – and I'm sure she won't – then I'll give that witch one of these."
Now Orihime rolled her eyes as her smile turned long-suffering. Shaolin inwardly sighed and just prayed that she had managed to affect things enough that this problem wouldn't be appearing again.
She had enough to deal with now.
Turning to the door, the assassin saw the sky darkening rapidly; Karakura wasn't a dangerous town by any means, but it still wasn't good to have two attractive young women wandering around the streets after dark. She looked back at her two students and yawned before continuing on.
"It's been nice meeting you two again, but I need to get some sleep and you have school tomorrow."
Orihime took the hint and nodded her head.
"Thanks, Sensei. Oh, could I get a snack in the kitchen before we go?"
Shaolin shook her head ruefully.
"You eat like an elephant sometimes, you know that?"
"And how she avoids looking like one is one of the great mysteries of the universe."
Now Orihime looked embarrassed again; Shaolin smiled at her.
"Go ahead, Inoue-san, I don't mind."
Orihime bowed, said a quick thanks, and headed for the inner entrance of the hall.
The other two women stood there for a moment watching her leave, and then Shaolin noticed that Tatsuki looked a little uneasy.
"What is it, Tatsuki-chan?"
The dark-haired teen seemed to be uncharacteristically unsure of what to say, or whether to say anything at all. Finally she took in a breath and exhaled, and then looked Shaolin in the eyes.
"Sensei, can I have a word with you?"
Shaolin smiled at her student.
"Of course, anytime."
Tatsuki still looked uncomfortable, and it was another moment before she sighed and started in.
"It's about Ichigo...I didn't want to say this in front of Orihime, but I think he may be getting himself in some serious trouble."
"Oh good gods...more trouble?"
Shaolin decided not to comment on Hana's words, but she was in complete agreement. What else had he gotten himself into?
Some of that worry must have crossed over into her expression, because Tatsuki immediately picked up on something.
"Sensei, do you know anything about this?"
Shaolin cursed herself for being so obvious and then shook her head.
"No, not about what you were going to say, anyway. There's just been some things going on that I'm concerned with, but that you shouldn't worry about. Now what was this about Ichigo?"
Tatsuki looked hesitant again.
"There's a new transfer student in our class; she came in several days ago..."
"'New transfer student': always a good sign..."
Shaolin shook her head at both Hana and Tatsuki's words.
"I take it Ichigo's been seeing her?"
"Seeing her? The two of them are almost inseparable; they're always out together, and half the time she's dragging him off and getting him to cut class."
Shaolin looked off I the direction Orihime had gone.
"Well, Inoue-san's got competition, but how does that-"
Tatsuki sighed again, and the look of worry in her face deepened.
"Sensei, this started immediately after she transferred; the first day, in fact. He has to have known her from somewhere else, maybe back in junior high. But none of us have ever seen or heard of her before, and I know she isn't from around here."
Shaolin all of a sudden got the feeling that Hana had just 'put down' whatever game she had been playing and was now paying full attention to the conversation.
"Are you starting to get a bad feeling about this...?"
Shaolin sighed again.
"And you're concerned about this why?"
"Because not long ago those White Tengu jerks showed up, and I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on someone like him."
"The who?"
Tatsuki shook her head irritation.
"A bunch of bikers who showed up here while you were gone. They're a bunch of idiots, really, but then Ichigo might be their kind of idiot."
Shaolin nodded as she began to understand.
"And so they may have offered up a pretty little 'enticement' to get him to join?"
Tatsuki nodded, and it made the ex-shinigami groan inwardly.
Too many problems; Shaolin got a picture in her mind's-eye of having to fend off rowdy teenaged boys and a conniving vixen while saving them all from a horde of Hollows. And with Ichigo smack in the middle of it all...
"What's the girl's name?"
"Kuchiki Rukia."
Shaolin's blood ran a little cold as some hazy fears from earlier re-materialized.
"'Kuchiki'...and not 'Shiba'?"
The ex-shinigami showed no sign of acknowledging Hana's words even as she agreed with them, and she managed to keep her emotions from her face for Tatsuki's benefit.
"What does she look like?"
Pleased to see that her request hadn't fallen on deaf ears, Tatsuki's voice became eager.
"Well, like I said, she follows him around all the time. Just look for the short girl next to Ichigo and that's her."
Shaolin arched an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry...'short'?
"Sorry, sensei. It's just she's my age and she's going on Yuzu or Karin's size."
Inwardly, the assassin smiled and thanked the gods for at least one small favor; finally she'd be dealing with someone other than children that she could literally look down on. A rare treat, and a welcome one in this case.
She smiled up at her student to put the younger woman at ease.
"It's all right. And thank you for telling me about this. I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything; where Ichigo is concerned, I have 'limited authority' after all."
Tatsuki smiled herself and bowed.
"Thank you, sensei. I'll leave it in your hands."
"For now, anyway..."
Shaolin almost wanted to throw the cell-phone Hana was in across the room for that quip. But she decided that would be too dramatic and instead watched as Orihime re-appeared in the entrance and tried to offer Tatsuki some kind of late snack she'd made. Tatsuki wisely refused and Shaolin only had to shake her head; she wasn't sure what kind of culinary monstrosity Orihime had come up with this time.
She just hoped she didn't have to politely join in.
Turning and heading over to the outside entrance of the practice room, Shaolin made a show of checking the lock and starting the procedure of making sure everything was in order for the night in case the girls came back. She spent a minute doing that before sighing a little and getting to the business at hand with her gikongan.
"So...we're dealing with a Kuchiki..."
"That would fit the profile we have been building so far."
Shaolin nodded while keeping an eye on the other two girls.
"Still...a Kuchiki? They're law-and-order types; they're not the kind to go goofing around. And certainly not getting intimate with peasants."
"Or if one of them is that kind, they probably keep the miscreant safely out of sight."
Shaolin shook her head as she looked over some of the pictures decorating the walls.
"No; I traveled in those circles, Hana, and I met some of the Kuchiki. A person like that would have never been allowed out of the family compound, much less Soul Society. It would be a stain on their 'impeccable honor'."
"If that is the case, then...how come we sensed the presence of someone very much like Ichigo...?"
Shaolin stopped and felt her shoulders sag a little; her spirits were doing the same.
"I don't know, Hana...I don't want to think-"
"You have to. You have to consider the possibility that Ichigo might be-"
"All right, I get it!"
At the minor outburst, Shaolin turned to look to where the teenagers were; their conversation dimmed for a moment, but then resumed just as before. The assassin breathed a small sigh of relief; she didn't want her students thinking she had lost her mind.
As for Ichigo... The idea that he was somehow the new shinigami in the area...it fit the evidence, but that was just nuts.
Unless...
"Aw man, you don't think she used that ritual..."
"What ritual?"
Shaolin shook her head and continued looking over the room even as she felt the anger rising in her.
"There's a way a shinigami can give their powers...some of them...to a living human for a little while."
"I assume it is dangerous?"
Shaolin didn't answer; she just stood in the middle of the practice room floor trying not to let the anger or frustration overtake her.
"I'm going to..."
"Kill her?"
Shaolin wanted to; wanted the high-born twit here so she could be torn apart where she stood for messing with other peoples' lives. But decades of deference and indoctrination slowly overcame the anger...
After a moment she simply clenched her fists and felt the energy go out of her body.
"No...no I'll just...talk to her...I guess..."
"Shaolin?"
There was actual concern in Hana's voice this time; the ex-shinigami appreciated it, but couldn't enjoy it.
She was just tired...
"I can't do anything to her, Hana; it really would be more trouble than it's worth. I'll just have to talk to her and hope for the best."
There was nothing for a moment.
"You know, if the picture we are painting of the situation is true, where are the Kuchiki?"
Shaolin stopped.
"What?"
"Let us assume Kuchiki Rukia is our person, and maybe we can also assume the gigai she has is one of those 'special' ones jii-sama makes. So to Soul Society's eyes she would have seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth, wouldn't she?"
Shaolin's anger and depression evaporated completely, to be replaced by fear. The girl wasn't from an affiliate clan or house of the Kuchiki; her name said she was from the main branch of the clan. She was therefore automatically one of the most important people in Soul Society.
And if she had 'just disappeared'...in a place that was supposed to be 'safe'...
"I see what you're saying, Hana... This place should be crawling with search parties looking for her. Or at least there should be someone looking for her here; I mean, they know where she was assigned and Karakura doesn't cover that much area..."
"Well, since Tatsuki-san was talking about her, we know they haven't found her yet; they would have wiped everybody's memories otherwise."
Shaolin just shook her head as the depression began to return; now she probably had to worry about agents of the Soul Society chasing after her and being chased by her...again...
"Gods-damnit..."
It was another minute before Hana broke in again.
"On another note, what exactly does this ritual you were talking about earlier involve?"
Shaolin sighed.
"You take a zanpaktou and run it through a human's heart; if it works, then half the power of the shinigami performing the ritual goes to the human for a few hours."
Hana took a while to answer; Shaolin just acted as though she were fascinated by something in one of the walls.
"Uhm...that...that takes us into pretty scary territory...doesn't it?"
Shaolin stopped at Hana's tone.
"Yeah, it..."
The ex-shinigami's dark mood dissipated from shock as she realized what her friend had just implied.
"She's been skewering Ichigo two or three times a day for the last..."
Her mind began to conjure the scene: Ichigo grabbed and violently dragged into some bushes or an alcove by a young woman in the gray jacket and skirt of a Karakura High School student. Cackling with glee, the girl drew out a sword and then with reckless abandon plunged it into the boy's chest.
And then she did it again...and again...and again...
"What image did you come up with?"
Hana words halted the horror movie in Shaolin's mind.
"Something out of a low-budget slasher flick."
"I imagined her getting dressed up like some primitive shaman and having a pair of burly Polynesian man-servants tie him to a convenient 'altar' before doing the deed. With the requisite chanting in the background, of course."
Shaolin took a deep breath at that, and then exhaled to calm herself.
"We're beginning to think like Inoue-san, aren't we?"
"Now there is a scary thought. Shaolin...it may not be quite as bad as we think it is; we don't really know the girl or the situation."
The assassin arched an eyebrow.
"You're the one who's been trashing this 'Kuchiki Rukia' all day, Hana. Why the change?"
"Because you started having murderous thoughts about a Great Clan member, and because now we're thinking she's some kind of sadistic maniac. I know that once you have a mind to something or an impression of someone, it is pretty well set in concrete."
Shaolin nodded at that, some of her anger cooling into indignation.
"And you don't want me doing something drastic or make an unnecessary enemy. Hana, you know me better than that."
"No, I know you like that. In any case, you can inform Ichigo about what is going on; maybe that will be more productive."
The assassin thought about that for a moment.
"You're probably right, Hana. And if it is Ichigo wandering around out there, he 'knows' about me; he's more likely to listen to me."
"Do you think he will try to contact you tonight?"
Shaolin shook her head.
"No, knowing him he'll want to call it a night and think about it tomorrow, unless something happens. Anyway, we can worry about that tomorrow, too; go back to your martial arts...whatever it is, and I'll say good night to the girls."
"Agreed."
Shaolin took a moment to collect herself and then started towards the kitchen. As she did so, she put on a smile that she didn't feel but needed to show; she didn't want to worry Tatsuki and Orihime about Hollows, Soul Society, murderous shinigami high school students or anything else they couldn't even sense, much less deal with.
At least she could control that part of her life.
And as for the reviews I've gotten:
Nexus the 13th: Sorry about that. Hopefully I've taken care of that and it won't happen again. (although if I haven't, you're free to speak your mind.)
Ability King KK: Thank you; Rukia is going to be getting a lot more bashing in the next few chapters. I personally like her but, as you'll see later, she's put herself into quite a mess.
DarkScyther: Some of the future flashbacks in the story will address the Vizards' attitude shift on Sui-Feng; to a degree it was just the passage of time and the realization that she really was an exile, and not pretending.
AnimeLoverno.1: I'm kind of blown away with that review of yours. Thank you! Rest assured there will be a flashback later in the story showing what caused this rift between Yoruichi and Sui-Feng. As for whether their relationship will mend itself...both of them are going to be doing some soul searching later on, and hopefully that will do the trick.
EVA-Saiyajin: I'm glad you enjoy the story. I always try to put a lot of thought into the story and characters and what they do. Hopefully, you'll continue to like what you see.