Disclaimer: 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.
Sorry about missing last month; life's been interfering with my writing, as well as the fact that I've had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times (and I'm still not entirely sure about it...). Well, I'm sure if there are problems with it, you'll all tell me about it :)
Some new people have joined the readership of this story; welcome to srsly srs, Evangeline43, NinjaGogeta, Maugan Ra, Hayden Shaolin David, Basskreig and signorUebelst for putting me on Favorite Story and/or Story Alert status.
I'd also very much like to thank Hunter 152 for putting me on Favorite Author, and The Fifth Horseman, mkt and winter winds for putting me on Author Alert status.
It makes me feel good to think that, even with what I consider a fairly tardy update rate, people continue to like this story and actually want to see more from me.
And with that, here's the next chapter...
Nagasaki.
Even as she made her way through the streets of the city, Shaolin couldn't help but shake her head at that.
This was as far as she'd made it on her way to her land of dreams?
And now she'd run into something worse.
The Hollow that was chasing her wasn't terribly powerful; she doubted that it had absorbed that many souls over its life. But it was fearsome looking, and it was fast enough to give her a good chase down that streets of the city.
As she moved through the alleyway and went across a wider street, Shaolin instinctively threw her hand up to her collarbone, and berated herself for another problem plaguing her now.
She'd just had to lose it, hadn't she?
The little charm Urahara-san had given her. A device meant to allow her to leave her gigai at will.
She knew how to get into it, that was easy enough. But to exit she needed help, and now...
Someone had stolen it, stolen it and taken her body to a river and dumped it.
She'd taken care of them later, but her means of leaving her body had been taken from her.
It was go back to the Shoten and face the wrath of the Vizards and possibly Yoruichi-sama, or strike out on her own as a human.
She'd chosen the latter path.
And now she was in this mess.
The young shinigami kept running as fast as she could, dodging a swipe from the thing behind her; tentacle or arm or whatever, she couldn't tell. It had just come out of nowhere, like all Hollows did, and she was just trying to run for dear life.
She cursed this physical body, and to an extent cursed its creator. Running through the streets of this town felt like running through neck deep honey; she hadn't thought her limbs could ever feel this heavy, and it took great effort to just keep going. She was sure her current speed was as much momentum as actual effort.
And she was helpless.
Shunpo was quite obviously out, and she had no zanpaktou; she assumed Suzumebachi was a part of the gigai right now.
She ran through another alley, turned her head and saw the thing obliterating the distance between them.
To her shame, Shaolin screamed like some helpless damsel and threw herself to the ground. The Hollow sailed over her, crashing into the ground in front of her. Even as it did so, she picked herself up, ran a little ways back and then started down a side alley, hoping maybe she could lose the beast.
She could feel the sweat pouring own her as she ran, could feel the burning sensation in her lungs and her limbs as she tried to get away.
She tried to think of some other way to take this thing down before it ate her.
Kidou...no, there wasn't time and she wasn't sure it would work. She'd have to test whether it would work...
A howl ripped through the side alley.
...she'd test kidou if she ever got the chance.
That just left martial arts...
Shaolin almost wanted to laugh at that one.
Hand chop a Hollow, in this lead-assed body, with her reflexes slowed and her reiatsu contained...
She might as well just stop and let the thing eat her-
A dark shadow appeared behind her, and he blood went cold. She could still smell reiatsu, and the thing's rank stench filled the narrow corridor she was in.
She turned, already knowing the thing had somehow...flash stepped behind her.
She threw herself to the side as it tried to swipe at her again, and then she brought herself into a standing position. She could see the monster barely fit into the alleyway, and even though technically it could phase through the walls, she knew it wouldn't be smart enough to think of that.
But she was also tired of running. It was disgraceful, and it wasn't going to work.
No one was going to help her, so she'd have to do this herself.
She let out what she hoped was a sufficiently intimidating war-cry, and then leaped toward the creature, twisting in the air to throw her weight behind the kick she was directing at the side of the thing's head.
She made contact...
And felt the pain tear through her leg as she hit something that might as well have been a brick wall.
Shaolin felt herself fall to the ground in a daze, and she felt the creature grab her and throw her away from it. She hit one of the walls and then landed on the pavement, feeling the wind knocked out of her both times.
Some part of Shaolin waited for the end to come, even as she tried to get her breath back. The sadistic bastard probably wanted her to know what was coming, to feel the full terror of being consumed.
The young assassin managed to get onto her hands and knees, and then looked up at her would-be killer. It was some kind of four-legged thing, she could see now; something like a bulldog or a kirin, or...
It didn't matter; she was going to cease to exist, and the 'smile' on the thing's face said it was aware of this. It roared again, this time in triumph, even as Shaolin tried to pick herself up off the ground.
Where was the shinigami assigned to this area? They would have to be disciplined for their tardiness...
The Hollow prepared itself to leap onto her, and Shaolin simply closed her eyes and waited for the end.
And then she heard a whistling sound, and then the sound of an animal choking...
She opened her eyes again, and saw the beast standing in mid-pounce, a look of shock and horror in its eyes. And below it...
A shaft of blue-white light had pierced the creature through the chest; it had a strange, vibrating reiatsu, charged with the energy or this world. It seemed to sing...not a lovely tune, but still alluring in a way...
And then the shaft of light dissolved into a cloud of blue-white energy, and as it did, the Hollow was torn to pieces. A moment later, and there was nothing, not even the traces of spiritual energy to say something had ever been there.
The creature had been erased from existence.
Even as a cold chill went down Shaolin's spine, she could hear the sounds of footsteps running from the area.
Human footsteps, and a human reiatsu that she could now begin to sense.
She'd never seen the Quincy before, only heard about them; humans with the power to fight Hollows. They had been made out to sound like monsters, and the idea of having one's immortal soul obliterated confirmed that.
It made her feel good, for once, to be stuck in this physical body. The next arrow might have been for her...
The young assassin managed to finish getting to her feet, and then started to head for one of the larger streets. She was in shock from the Hollow, the chase, the idea that there was a Quincy in the area...
The idea that a Quincy had just saved her...
As least the body Urahara-san had given her was resilient; she was already beginning to catch her breath, and her muscles weren't as worn out as she had first thought. Maybe her situation wasn't so-
A pair of figures in black appeared right in front of her in the alleyway. It took all Shaolin could not to cry out in fright at the sight; she was supposed to be human, but there was also the fact that she didn't know if the Gotei 13 would be after her.
And these people, clad head to toe in black, were obviously Onmitsukidou.
It startled Shaolin to be seeing some of her former comrades after all this time, but there was also the fact that they were even here.
Where the hell had they been when that Hollow had been chasing her down the streets of this city?
The two figures took a moment to look at the pavement, and for a moment Shaolin wondered what they were doing other than ignoring her.
And then it hit her, even as she wanted to slap herself in the head.
They were tracking the Quincy. The Quincy that had just been here and slain the Hollow in illegal fashion.
The Quincy that had just saved her existence.
She just stood there and waited as the two shinigami finished whatever they were doing and then started flash-stepping in the direction the Quincy had gone.
And now Shaolin was alone, wondering what to do.
She knew she should go back to where she was staying and forget all of this. That wasn't supposed to be her world anymore.
But she couldn't just...
Cursing herself for a fool, Shaolin started racing in the direction the Quincy had gone in. It was easy enough for her to do so; the Quincy hadn't exactly covered their tracks, or even been able to, after using that arrow of theirs. She could see and smell the reiatsu of the living person...as well as the shinigami following him...
It would be easy to follow them all, and then...
What was she going to do?
"What the hell am I going to do, Hana?"
Shaolin shook her head as she ran through the streets of Karakura yet again; at least it was late evening and there were few people to witness what was going on.
"I have no idea, Shaolin. Spank Kuchiki-san when you get her home?"
"The thought is beginning to occur to me."
Orihime had returned to Furin Hall alone, saying something about Rukia and Ichigo going off together again at the end of class period. She hadn't seemed to be upset at the idea, though there was something on her mind.
Shaolin figured it was something romantic in nature, but Hana any conversation with information she'd found.
And now the ex-shinigami was making her way through the streets of Karakura again, trying to find the young man and his 'companion' before it was too late.
She'd been afraid of something like this happening; after all, there were plenty of truly dangerous Hollows that hadn't yet reached the Menos level.
And one of them was here...
Shrieker, they called it, and she was sure Ichigo wouldn't be able to deal with something like that.
At least she could still feel his energy filling the area, which meant he was fine for now.
But then she felt a couple of other presences in the area; they were faint, almost hidden by the reiatsu coming from Ichigo, but she could feel them. They'd been following her for a while now, and that was the other part of what her earlier question to Hana had been about.
Shaolin was almost sure they were Onmitsukidou; no other shinigami would be coming out in pairs to a place like Karakura. And it depressed her that they were here...
There was no way she could hide Ichigo from them; almost certainly they knew of the boy by now due to his reiatsu and the fact he was a shinigami at the moment, and that meant Matsubayashi-taichou might know of him.
She had decided not to worry about that part right now and had simply made them follow her around, like she had so many others of her kind over the years.
"Have you decided what to do about our guests?"
"Yeah, get rid of them."
There was a pause.
"Will that not bring the attention of the good taichou down on us?"
Shaolin shrugged.
"Yes, it will. But we probably already have his attention if its come to this, and this will slow him down a little."
"So we can deal with Shrieker."
"So we can deal with him, yes. I need to get rid of something on my plate or I'm going to go nuts, Hana."
By now she had reached a small warehouse whose door had for some reason been left open a little. She didn't complain about the matter; if there was something to it, she'd deal with it when she could.
The assassin entered the place, making it clear to her pursuers where she had gone, while making it seem that she felt like she had lost them. She even stopped in the middle of the place and made a show of catching her breath, waiting for them.
She didn't have long to wait as a man clad in the head-to-toe black of the old Onmitsukidou almost teleported in front of her, sword drawn. Shaolin knew there was another one here, but they would only come after her one at a time – the Gotei 13 were stupid like that – so she focused on what she could see.
He came at her with his zanpaktou, and it made Shaolin almost shake her head at the frontal attack.
"You obviously don't know me..."
Even as the words left her lips, Shaolin drew her reishi blade and countered the other man's sword. It was easy enough since he probably thought he was dealing with a mere human, and as he focused on their crossed blades she stomped on one of his feet. Then she followed with a kick to the man's gut, sending him reeling back a couple of meters.
The second shinigami made his move now, flash-stepping behind Shaolin and trying to stab her with his blade. She dodged and grabbed his arm, thinking to herself about the fact that these people were so lax in their fighting technique.
She squeezed on her opponent's wrist, making him let go of the knife he'd been trying to stab her with, and then pulled forward and tossed him onto his companion. As she watched them crumple into a heap in front of her, the assassin could only feel pity and disgust.
"Matsubayashi-taichou must cry himself to sleep, what with these incompetents..."
"These are not his best troops, Shaolin; do not forget that."
The ex-shinigami nodded her head sadly.
"Yeah, you're right, Hana; Yoruichi-sama would be the one crying if she saw what had happened to her clan's old command. They don't even have the excuse of living soft like I have."
There was a pause as Shaolin made her way to the two men trying to pick themselves up off the floor.
"I suppose we have been a little spoiled the last few decades, but still..."
She at least felt a little better that they were from the older school, supposedly like her; the newer members of 2-Bantai used things like guns sometimes...
And they tended to be a hell of a lot smarter.
Thankfully, their master's attentions seemed to be fixated on Soul Society most of the time, so she usually only had to deal with clods like these.
She sighed as the two men disappeared in front of her eyes, and for just a moment she thought about letting them go. But she realized in the same instant that they wouldn't let her go.
Beyond who they were was what they were: young and stupid, like many of the shinigami she'd seen the last few decades; kids who weren't all that much better than the Hollows one would find in the Living World.
"Are they gone?"
"What do you think?"
Shaolin nodded her head and began to prepare for the onslaught; she held the reishi blade in position so she could strike whoever came at her first, even as the two shinigami reappeared on either side of her.
The ex-shinigami arched an eyebrow.
"Still want to go along with this, boys?"
Apparently they did. Now having more of an idea of what they were facing, the two shinigami attacked her at once, which surprised her just a little bit.
Maybe they did have some of the new teaching. But it wasn't going to cave them.
She twisted around, dodging the blade coming at her from the left, even as she threw her weight behind her reishi blade and slashed across the man coming in from her right. He was moving too fast to adjust to the change in tactics; apparently he hadn't noticed the fact that their quarry knew what to expect.
Really, this was just like fighting those Hollows the other day in the field.
And as her blade tore through the man's neck, she knew it was just as big a waste of life.
The man cried out in surprise and horror, or tried to considering his state; his eyes were reflective of his mental state and as he fell to the floor, Shaolin could see a matching expression on his comrade's face.
The surviving shinigami looked like he was trying to figure out what to do, and then his expression hardened and he prepared to have another go at her.
Shaolin wasn't surprised by this, either: the Gotei 13 had a policy of aggressiveness that bordered on the mindless, and in any event, she knew that Matsubayashi Hachiro wouldn't accept incompetence from any his people, nor would they accept it themselves.
The man in front of her would rather die than go back a failure.
With that in mind, she set herself in a stance, and the two assassins waited to see which would provide the first opening.
"You know we are going to hear about this later, right?"
Hana sounded a little depressed and Shaolin couldn't blame her friend.
Killing shinigami, even nobodies like these two, demanded retribution. The honor of Soul Society would be at stake.
Then again, they'd already tried that once with her and she was still in existence.
The sound of the phone ringing shattered the stalemate.
Shaolin's attention was shaken just a moment, and the shinigami saw his chance. He came at her shouting a war-cry, trying to make a severe slash against her mid-section.
She parried with the reishi blade and twisted her body as she did so; her opponent in turn tried to sweep her legs out from under her. She instead jumped into the air and managed to get around him, and then sliced several times with her blade.
It pleased her that, even in a damaged gigai, she could pull off such a maneuver, slicing through her enemy's wrists and ankles; a kick to the chest completed her attack, and sent the man flying through the air to land in a heap several meters away.
He'd been knocked out, but more than that he had been immobilized; with his tendons cut, he was useless to his former masters.
Shaolin felt a little pity now, but she also knew they wouldn't have shown her mercy.
She walked up to him and ignored the still-ringing phone; the surviving Onmitsukidou agent was finally beginning to stir. Shaolin came up to him and knelt down, waiting until the man had regained some semblance of consciousness before doing anything.
His eyes finally opened and he looked up at her mostly with disdain, though there was a little respect now.
"Who are you, woman?"
The assassin locked eyes with the young man.
"I am the guardian of this place, boy. Why are you here?"
She was met only with stony-faced silence.
"He is going to be difficult?"
Shaolin looked the man over.
"I think he is."
The ex-shinigami examined the young man for a moment, and then materialized Suzumebachi, then slashed at one of the man's nerve clusters with the new blade. His scream filled the room.
This was another reason she didn't want Ichigo to get involved with the shinigami; things like this.
She waited until the man calmed down and then locked eyes with him again; she brandished Suzumebachi for effect.
"Now why were you sent? I already know who likely sent you."
It took a moment, both for the shinigami to get over his obvious pain and to decide whether to still stay silent.
"We...had heard that...Shihouin Yoruichi was here..."
Shaolin nodded at that.
"And you came all this way to find her, right?"
"Good luck on that one..."
It took a moment, but the man nodded in turn.
"And what else?"
He shook his head, and suddenly the ex-shinigami felt very irritated.
"Nothing, I-"
"Then I have no further use for you."
She took Suzumebachi, drove it through the man's heart without preamble, and then pulled it out and dematerialized the blade.
"That was very pathetic."
Two deaths and no useful information, other than the fact that 2-Bantai was interested in the goings on here, and that their focus was on Yoruichi-sama.
Well, at least they weren't after Ichigo...yet.
The phone at her side rang yet again, and by now Shaolin was getting tired of it; as she put away her swords, Shaolin reflected on the fact that the damn thing had nearly gotten her killed just now.
As she put it to her ear, the ex-shinigami hoped whatever was going on was important.
"Hello?"
"Well hello to you, too, dumb-ass!"
Shaolin's mood immediately changed as she heard Hiyori's voice.
"Sorry, Hiyori, I've just had a couple of bad days is all."
The assassin made her way to the door of the building, putting a little distance between herself and the mess she had made. No one was really going to see it for a while, but it helped her peace of mind to get away from such things.
"Only a couple, Shao? Maybe I should come down there...to Karakura...and we can really make a mess."
Shaolin actually winced at the tone of Hiyori's voice, and then remembered herself.
"I got a call saying there were Hollows in Karakura, Hiyori."
She could almost hear her friend sigh on the other end.
"And naturally you rushed right on over to see if your precious Ichi-kun was all right-"
The ex-shinigami frowned into the phone.
"Don't start on that, you little..."
"Shao...this is exactly the kind of crap me and the others have told you about again and again. Don't get too friendly with the humans; it will bite you on the butt. Like it's obviously doing right now."
Shaolin stopped for a moment on that; she understood their point, especially now, but...
"The boy's special, Hiyori, he's-"
"Yeah, I know, he's got an ass-load of spiritual power, and he's all that a bowl of ramen, and-"
"And he's now a shinigami thanks to a certain Kuchiki Rukia."
Now there was a long pause, and the assassin could only guess what her friend's expression looked like.
"Okay...that's not good. How'd that happen?"
Shaolin gave Hiyori the quick run-down on what had happened. Then she waited for Hiyori's response.
"You know, you have a problem."
"Yeah...yeah, I understand, but..."
Shaolin could just see Hiyori shaking her head and getting one of her sandals ready to slap something. Probably Shaolin's head if the smaller woman could keep up.
"Don't you dare 'but' me! Anyway, there's a solution to your problem. It involves guys, and this thing called 'getting intimate', and..."
"What?"
Even as she was exasperated by her friend's suggestion, Shaolin couldn't help but smile at it. They were something of an odd couple, but they fit each other quite well.
"You've been goo-goo over kids for years, Shao; remember the last time we traveled together?"
Shaolin lowered her head at the memories that came back.
"Yeah...I did get us into trouble, didn't I?"
"Look, there's nothing wrong with that, but if you're that interested then just adopt the kid or something and get it over with."
There was a pause, giving time for Shaolin to briefly look at the surviving shinigami. He still hadn't stirred from the beating he'd received.
"What are you doing now, or do I want to know?"
"She is currently doing something we can not talk about on the phone."
"Oh gods...then you're right, Hana, I don't want to know."
There was a long pause.
"Look, how about I come by in a few days; I can say I'm scouting out the location for Mr. 'Spirits be with You!' and I can see what the hell you've gotten yourself into this time."
The ex-shinigami smiled at that and nodded her head.
"Sounds good; maybe you can give Kisuke a heart attack while you're at it."
"He seemed to be very interested in where you were."
"Is that right...? Well then I'll definitely give him a hard time. Anyway, I'd better get going.
"Don't blow the place up until I get there, okay?"
All Shaolin could to was grin.
"I'll try, Hiyori, but I make no promises."
She put the phone away, and sighed.
Hiyori wasn't going to be happy with her over what had just happened, but Shaolin figured she could handle a sandal in the face.
She looked around the street she was on, trying to find the best way to continue after Ichigo-
A flash of intuition raged through Shaolin, warning her of danger. She turned around, but not fast enough to feel the blow of a bullet hit her...
No...it wasn't a bullet, it was some sort of dart gun...
"Shaolin, what happened?"
She tried to answer, but couldn't; the drug was too fast-acting, and before she could do anything she was on the ground and going out like a light.
She could hear footsteps behind her, and then a soft female voice spoke in her ear.
"Be glad I don't kill you, one who walks with the Quincy..."
Shaolin tried to place the voice, but her brain was too addled by the drug; she found herself falling asleep with the words flooding her mind...
She did walk with Quincy, didn't she...?
Or at least had...
Shaolin couldn't remember the last time she'd been this nervous.
She took a look around, her umpteenth time in several minutes, and hoped that her feelings weren't plastered on her face. It was just that...
She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be here.
The ballroom the...ex-shinigami, she supposed...was in wasn't as large as some she'd seen before. Nor was the party going on; as the right hand...former right hand...of the head of a Great Clan, she'd been to 'events' larger than this.
But it had the same feel to it: lots of rich people with impressive pedigrees showing off to each other. They wore their fine clothes – western style tuxedos and evening dresses here in the British section of Hong Kong, as opposed to the kimonos of Soul Society – showed off their fine jewelry or talked about their latest 'achievements'...
She fingered the drink in her hand, again wondering what she was doing here.
Most of the Europeans in this colony looked down on 'her kind', and while it grated she could handle it; she'd just been through much worse on the mainland.
But now she was safe from the chaos and misery of an empire tearing itself apart; she could relax a little. And at least she'd profited from her excursion; when the world was coming down around your ears, no one missed a few valuables here and there.
She glanced down at the black silk dress she was wearing for the occasion, recently purchased with proceeds from her 'escapades'. It went well with the silver pendant she was wearing, a pendant she brought her hand up to and gazed at for a moment.
It couldn't replace the device she'd lost, but at least she felt a little less naked with it.
But she still cursed herself for having been so stupid...
Now she was pretending to be exiled minor nobility from the mainland, wondering when someone would see through the ruse...
And wondering what she was doing in a place that didn't seem to want her, and that she didn't want to be in...
And she was-
"Pretending to be somebody important?"
Shaolin started and turned around to see...
Shihouin Yoruichi was standing almost right behind her, a sly smile to go with the drink in her hand. She was wearing a beautiful white silk dress and diamond jewelry that sparkled in the chandelier light.
She looked like she belonged here...
The former head of the Shihouin waited a moment, and then arched an eyebrow.
"What? I asked you a simple question... What are you doing here?"
The high noblewoman didn't sound angry, really...just curious...and maybe a little annoyed to have run across her former apprentice during her travels. She was calm, though it was apparent to Shaolin that if she didn't answer, the great lady would leave of her own accord without a word.
But the younger woman wanted to give an answer. She really did.
Even with their reiatsu blocked by the gigai they wore, Shaolin could still feel her former mistress' charisma and confidence washing over the area. She could still feel the Shihouin heir's authority in the room, far exceeding Shaolin's own meager self.
The young shinigami found her breathing and pulse begin to quicken, and it was only with some effort that she didn't start to panic a little.
She couldn't help but feel very small next to the Shihouin heiress, and it was all she could do to only lower her head in submission.
"I...I'm here because...someone invited me, Yoruichi-sama..."
There was a pause; some part of Shaolin's soul picked up a little bit because she knew that she had caught Yoruichi's attention. Maybe...maybe she could keep the woman here for a little longer, bask a little more in her...
"Look up; you're supposed to be 'important', aren't you? You don't lower your head like that unless you have something to be ashamed of."
The words hit the younger shinigami like a sledgehammer; they were so...matter-of-fact and to the point. Shaolin couldn't think well enough to give an answer, and just stood there while her former mistress waited for an answer.
"Do you have a reason to be ashamed?"
Shaolin thought for a moment. Did she have something she was ashamed of?
"I...well...I don't know..."
It was a lie, of course.
She'd failed to get Yoruichi-sama back. That was what she was ashamed of.
But the woman in front of Shaolin didn't seem to be in a mood to hear that, so the young shinigami lied.
In any event, Shaolin knew she had to at least look like something other than a reprimanded student. She took a deep breath, and then with some effort raised her head and started squaring her shoulders a little. When she finally managed to look the older woman in the eyes, she found the slightest smile on the Shihouin heiress' face.
"There. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
They both stood there for a moment, almost looking like equals. Shaolin felt herself calming down a little, felt herself become a little more comfortable around Yoruichi.
The older shinigami waited patiently until her former student had finished getting herself back together.
"Now...you were invited by who, exactly?"
Shaolin started feeling uncomfortable again, but this time she took a breath and calmed herself.
"I don't know. The card didn't say; it just told me to be here tonight."
Yoruichi elegantly raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Well...maybe we can find your 'secret admirer' while we're here..."
She made a show of looking around the crowded room, eyes going from guest to guest. Shaolin just stood there, trying not to be embarrassed as the noblewoman made a show of pointing at some random guest.
"Hmm...maybe him..."
She lazily turned and then pointed at someone else.
"Or maybe him..."
"Yoruichi-sama."
The woman ignored her. Shaolin waited a moment, and then summoned her courage again; she found it somewhat easier this time.
"Have I done something to offend you? I mean right now..."
The older woman stopped what she was doing and turned her full attention back to Shaolin; the younger shinigami found it like having the attention of the sun, and she had to resist the instinct to bow or show some form of fealty.
The Shihouin heiress simply had a look of innocence on her face.
"Why would you think that?"
Shaolin steadied herself; she had opened this door, and now she had to go through it.
"You have a million places you'd probably rather be, but instead you spend your time talking to me...talking to someone who..."
The young shinigami waited for a response, hiding her nervousness with a sip of her almost forgotten drink; to her surprise, her mouth was parched, and the liquid was quite welcome.
Yoruichi took her time, looking like she was thinking about the matter, but not terribly hard.
"Would you believe it was just random chance that I just happened to come to this party, saw you here, and decided to have a chat with someone I used to know?"
Again, Shaolin was stunned by her former mistress' words, though not as badly as before. It was just the realization that she was not really that important a part of Yoruichi-sama's life...hurt...
"Anyway, beyond that I'm just curious what your plans are. And I don't mean for the night."
The bronze noblewoman locked eyes with Shaolin, and then took a step towards her. Even though her expression hadn't changed, there was a new seriousness in the older shinigami's eyes...
"Once you're done with this party, your midnight assignation, what are you going to do with yourself, where are you going to go, what do you plan to make of this chance you've been given?"
The young shinigami stopped dead, her mind trying to come up with a suitable answer.
"I..."
Why was she here...in this place...in this world...? The pressure from her former mistress' gaze only confused Shaolin more, and she could only say one thing.
"I'm not sure yet..."
Yoruichi took a moment to think about that, taking a sip of her own drink as she did so.
"So you're just going to be puttering around, doing nothing in particular...?"
The older woman didn't seem terribly angry or upset, and in fact had a very neutral expression. But it was also clear she wasn't terribly happy with Shaolin, and it made the younger shinigami cringe a little.
Yoruichi-sama came a little closer and let her eyes bore into Shaolin's.
"You do know, of course, that your friends and family, not to mention plenty of other shinigami, are out fighting and dying in the war while you're trying to 'find yourself'?"
Shaolin's heart crashed at the words, as she began to think about the meaning behind them and truth of them. She had thought about that before from time to time, but...
Hearing it from Yoruichi-sama's own lips...
"I wonder who's having to carry your burden right now?"
The older woman gave just the slightest of smiles.
"Just thought I'd say."
Shaolin barely heard her.
She was too busy trying to keep images out of her mind, images of her fellow clansmen having to fight off Hollows without her. And images of the two shinigami she'd followed a few months before, after a Quincy had saved her...
They were off to their next incarnations now, thanks to her. And she was sure Yoruichi-sama knew about it; the older woman seemed to know everything that happened.
The young shinigami filled with shame for a moment. She should have been out fighting instead of being here, she should have been helping her people instead of getting them re-incarnated, she should...
And then the shame evaporated as something occurred to Shaolin...
"What about you?"
A part of Shaolin regretted the words as soon as she had said them, but they had been said. They hung in the air for a moment, and even as her expression stayed the same, there was a sudden chill in Yoruichi's eyes.
"Did you say something?"
Shaolin tried to ignore the icy edge of her former mistress' voice; she focused instead on her own growing anger and sense of pride.
She would not let the insult go unanswered, nor would she let another matter go unaddressed.
"Why are you here, Yoruichi-sama, instead of attending to your duties?"
There was a flash of outrage in Yoruichi's eyes, and then she looked down to her drink for a moment. She seemed to be thinking on something, and then she turned her attention back on Shaolin.
"And what duties would those be?"
Shaolin stared at her former mistress for a moment; it took a little effort to keep her jaw from dropping open. Then she screwed up her anger, keeping mind to use a quiet voice.
"You are the 22nd head of the Shihouin Clan, a member of the Gotei 13's Council, head of the Onmitsukidou, guardian of the Divine Treasures..."
As she continued on, the Shihouin heir seemed to only be bored by the litany of titles. It made Shaolin more and more angry deep down.
"...you are the left hand of the Soul King himself!"
Yoruichi closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded.
"Yeah, you're right about that. Or at least I was..."
There was something in her words that gave hope to Shaolin that maybe the older woman was beginning to listen to her. She decided to press her luck...
"Yes, until you threw it all away for a single man!"
The arched eyebrow Yoruichi threw Shaolin's way had an air of agreement to it.
"Well, Kisuke is a hell of a man; as you can attest yourself, Shaolin. After all, you did spend the last decade with him, didn't you?"
The way the older woman said those words...it was like a slap to the face for Shaolin. Urahara-san had been nothing but kind and understanding to her, even though she had no right to such treatment.
To imply that she would have taken advantage of him like that...
Feng Shaolin all of a sudden found her blood beginning to boil.
"You want to know why I came here, to this world? It was to bring you back, Yoruichi-sama. You abandoned your clan, your bantai...all the people you served under..."
This was ridiculous. Even as she kept listing the consequences of the older noblewoman's actions, Shaolin could feel the anger continue to build in her. It didn't help that Yoruichi still seemed unmoved by Shaolin's words.
"Compared to you, I am nothing; you are important, and it was my duty to try and make you see reason. And if was sent to my next incarnation because of it...well, so be it."
Yoruichi took a moment to think about that; she was making something of a show, and Shaolin began to find herself waiting to see what the older woman reaction would be.
The young assassin's heart fell as she saw Yoruichi smiling mirthfully and shaking her head a little.
"They really did a good job hammering that nonsense into you, didn't they?"
Nonsense...? Her clan's teachings...?
Yoruichi ignored Shaolin's obvious expression and shrugged.
"In any event, I had things to do..."
The younger woman was still trying to get over the insult to her entire clan, to the implication that their service was in vain...
Her five siblings were dead because of those beliefs, and Shaolin was made to feel nothing but contempt for them...
Over a lie?
And the woman in front of Shaolin had 'things to do'...?
"Like sipping drinks in a fancy party while Omaeda-fuku-taichou and your cousins and...who knows else try to clean up the mess you left behind?"
Some part of Shaolin didn't think it was the actual words that affected Yoruichi. It was more the outraged tone, the way the younger shinigami was throwing her former mistress' words back in her face.
For her part, the older woman's golden eyes flashed with shock and outrage. Whatever was going on, Shaolin's words had cut deep and touched some kind of nerve, and Yoruichi's voice took on an edge it hadn't had before.
"You have no idea of what you speak, woman."
Shaolin actually felt herself smiling at her former mistress. A part of her hated that, but there was another part that didn't care what this woman thought.
That part liked the fact that Yoruichi was hurt by someone's words.
And it wanted to hurt her more.
"Actually, I think I'm having a good idea in my head for the first time in years...Yoruichi."
Now Yoruichi's eyes went hard and her stance noticeably stiffened.
The noblewoman had kept insisting Shaolin use that form of address back when they were in Soul Society, but not like the younger woman was using it now.
She knew she'd broken something between them, and she felt bad about it, but Shaolin had now actually begun to feel a little rebellious, even with Yoruichi here in front of her. The woman was as derelict in her duties as Shaolin, if not more so, and the young shinigami used that sense of outrage to buttress the insecurity she still felt.
It was obvious Yoruichi's pride had been insulted, and just as obvious that she wanted to do something rather violent to Shaolin if only they could get away from this crowded environment.
The younger shinigami didn't want to move, both for fear of getting to a quiet spot and because, for once in her existence, she wanted to stand her ground against Yoruichi, if only for a little while.
So the two women stood there, locking gazes, waiting for the first one to blink...
"I'm sorry, is this woman bothering you?"
Yoruichi just turned her head a little and flashed a pleasant smile behind Shaolin.
"No, I have it perfectly well-handled, thank you."
The assassin turned herself and found three men standing behind her. The two on either side were obviously guards or man-servants, or...goons would be a less polite term, their muscular frames sheathed in black tuxedos.
Neither one looked like he was at this party to have a fun time.
The third one, the one in the lead...
He was a tall, slender man, not much older looking than Yoruichi; short black hair that was done just so, and dark green eyes that reminded her of a pine forest. He was wearing a white suit, rather than black, and blue tie, something that made him rather odd here.
But he was definitely aristocratic; Shaolin could feel something of Kuchiki Byakuya in this man, though the look on his face and the sparkle in his eyes made her think more of Urahara-san...
He cast a brief glance at Yoruichi.
"I wasn't talking to you, madam."
Then he set his eyes on Shaolin. The young shinigami spent a moment trying to figure out what was going on, and then realized that this man was aiming his attentions at her.
Her anger at her former master disappeared into a sea of confusion; she could barely register her face heating up, a fact the man seemed to note, as his smile widened a little more.
Which of course made her blush even more...
"Uhm...you mean me?"
The man nodded.
"Yes, was this lady causing you any problems? You seem to be rather distressed right now."
Shaolin tried to think about that. It was true that she was feeling pretty emotionally beat up from her argument with Yoruichi-sama, but to get the great woman into trouble...
She just couldn't do it, even after all the things that had happened.
"No...there was no problem..."
The man nodded at that and so apparently did Yoruichi.
"See...no problem, now..."
Her sudden stop caused Shaolin to look at the Shihouin heir, and she almost gasped as she saw that the two black-clad men had come behind Yoruichi and each had gently griped one of her arms.
Yoruichi's eyes went wide with disbelief, and she glanced on either side before fixing a venomous glare on the man in white.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The man continued to smile, though there was more of an edge to it now.
"I think you can puzzle it out, madam. Despite your words, and those of your friend here, you seem to be causing one of the guests a great deal of discomfort."
Shaolin wanted to protest again, but the situation seemed to have progressed far beyond the point where her words would be able to do anything.
Besides, there was some evil part of the young shinigami that was enjoying this.
For her part, Yoruichi looked almost like she was going to splutter.
"W-wait a minute... Do you know who I am?"
The man just smiled and nodded his head.
"Of course I do, Fraulein. You're someone who wasn't invited here."
Before she could say anything, he motioned to the two men. Yoruichi was grasped by both arms and very firmly 'escorted' through the room.
She didn't seem to struggle, but only because of the shock; Shaolin couldn't imagine the woman had been thrown out of...well, anything.
As she watched, the ex-shinigami was mostly horrified at the thought of her...former master...being treated in such a way. She felt a stirring of anger in her over that, and cast a quick glare at her 'savior'.
He made a show of ignoring the look.
Shaolin wasn't just angry at him, though. She hadn't been able to do much about the tongue-lashing Yoruichi-sama had given her, other than be childishly stubborn, nor help the woman in this predicament.
And Shaolin was also angry at herself because...because some part of her was finding humor in seeing the head of the House of Gears being hauled out of this kind of place like a street urchin.
She hoped she didn't get that kind of treatment.
"Thank you."
While she really didn't mean it, Shaolin figured she should be at least somewhat grateful to the man.
He smiled warmly, something most of the others here only did as a polite gesture, and waved his hand in the direction Yoruichi had been taken.
"Not a problem at all, my dear..."
"Feng Shaolin..."
He chewed on that for a moment, likely trying to understand which was her given name. The assassin was already beginning to become slightly irritated at how seemingly informal these Westerners could be with peoples' names...
He finished his rumination and then nodded his head.
"Ms. Feng, than, if that's all right?"
"Yes...I suppose it will be..."
He took her hand and then kissed it; she felt flustered at the gesture, before she remembered it was something they did around here.
"Karl Schaefer."
Shaolin nodded in acknowledgment and then turned her head away. She started looking back out over the crowd, wondering again what she was doing here. Nobility or not, this wasn't her world, literally or socially; she figured she'd finish her drink and...
"Would you mind if we went somewhere more private?"
Shaolin ignored the words for a moment, still contemplating what she was going to do tomorrow morning. Maybe take a tour of the city and see if there was a place for another rich socialite...
Then she realized Karl had been talking to her again.
She turned her attention back to him and saw the man smiling in an inviting manner, motioning with his drink to one of the doors in the side of the hall.
The assassin supposed she was a little flustered; she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks a little.
"You mean me?"
He nodded.
"Yes. You and me, out there away from all these people."
It only took a second for Shaolin to figure out what he probably wanted to do, and it did explain why he had been helpful with Yoruichi-sama. She'd seen herself in a mirror, she knew men would be attracted to her.
But Karl didn't seem like a bad man, nor did she get the feeling that he meant her harm.
And she supposed she didn't have anything else to do tonight...though she couldn't resist getting a dig in.
"I suppose if I don't you'll have me escorted out of here, too?"
As she took a sip of her drink, she found her eyes widening at the sight of him shaking his head.
"No my dear; I did that because the woman wasn't invited. You were."
She lowered the drink from her mouth and looked at him.
"How would you know that?"
He shrugged.
"Because I was the one who invited you, and I have something I'd like to discuss with you, if you wouldn't mind."
That stopped Shaolin completely and made her start to think. She wasn't anybody special around here; in fact, she had only just arrived a few weeks ago.
And she'd made a point of not trying to combat any Hollows she'd seen, much as the idea sickened her.
So why...?
She arched an eyebrow at the man.
"What do you want?"
He waved a hand at the door again.
"Would you like to come and see?"
Shaolin was beginning to find this very frustrating; this man was obviously not going to give her any choice but to either come with him to...wherever, or simply walk away from the whole thing and never see him again. She hoped...
But she was curious, and he still didn't seem dangerous...
She sighed in defeat and nodded her head at him. If this wound up being a trap...she'd deal with the consequences when they came.
"All right, I'll go with you..."
His smile brightened a little, and Shaolin hoped it was just alcohol that was making her face feel warm at the image.
"Excellent. I'm sure you'll find what I have to say interesting, at the very least."
I'm sure I will...
He held out his hand, and for a moment Shaolin wondered what he was doing. Then she cursed herself for being an idiot and took it with one of her own.
Even as she was being led to the door, she could help but berate herself for the slip. After all, she was supposed to be a noble...former noble...herself; she should have remembered what such a gesture meant but...
She'd been gone so long from that nobility...
Karl looked at her with concern as they came to the door and he opened it.
"Are you all right, Ms. Feng?"
Shaolin pulled herself out of her reverie and nodded her head.
"Yes, I'm fine...it's nothing..."
"If you wish, we can postpone this for a few days; I could have you visit me at the hotel..."
There was some insane part of Shaolin that actually liked that idea, but she quickly stuffed it back in her mental closet. The implications of such an offer cleared her mind and made her shake her head.
"No, I'm all right. Let's go on."
He still didn't look entirely sure of that, but he nodded and they continued to a set of stairs. As they made their way up, Shaolin found herself feeling...well...
She was scared, yes; she didn't know who this man was or what he was up to. For all she knew, he was some monster come to kidnap her for whatever reason, and she'd just gotten rid of the one person who could help her.
But...no, she didn't get that feeling from this man...
In fact, as they climbed the stairs and went down a hallway, she found that she was more curious, and...a little self-conscious, she guessed.
She'd been to parties before, but always as a hanger-on with Yoruichi-sama. In this place she was here in her own right, a guest equal to the other people.
And now some man had come and was showering her with the kind of attention she...wasn't used to...
She kind of liked it.
They finally went through a set of doors and out onto a balcony, where Shaolin could see the city and the harbor out beyond. The moon was bright in the night sky, providing a slight contrast to the man-made lights below it.
It was mildly breathtaking, and for a moment she actually felt it quite...
She turned to Karl, who had by now gone up to the bannister and was looking at her while leaning on it. She could see that he was looking at her as much as looking in her direction, and it took a moment before she realized she was doing the same thing to him.
The young shinigami blushed just a little bit and turned her attention back to the view of the city.
"Why did you invite me here?"
Karl looked at her approvingly, and while Shaolin was a little uncomfortable, for some reason she didn't feel all that displeased with such attention. And by now he didn't seem to her the type to want her for the obvious; he felt more like Urahara-san, actually...
"You know, you're very beautiful, Ms. Feng..."
Then again, maybe he was here for the obvious.
She thought about what to do, and then decided to play along for a moment; she had nothing better to do, and flirting with a human wouldn't be terribly harmful.
And if he did something she didn't like...even though she was in a gigai, Shaolin was sure she could deal with the matter quite well.
She affected a coquettish look and glanced at him
"Why thank you..."
"You can call me Karl, if you wish...or is that too informal for your tastes?"
Shaolin had to stop for a moment to think about that. It was way too informal for her, but then again...
"No, I suppose it won't..."
He smiled, and then turned his attention to the view of the city outside.
"Good, because I'm hoping our relationship will prove to be a friendly one."
Some inner part of the ex-shinigami sighed, even though she kept a look of interest plastered on her face.
So he did want her for that...she expected better...
"How long have you been able to see spirits?"
The question stopped Shaolin cold.
"I...don't know what you-"
Even though his back was turned to her, she got the feeling that he was smiling.
"I saw the way you acted a few days ago when that ghost was wandering the streets. You tried to ignore him but..."
Shaolin understood what he was getting at. It was easy enough to tell the difference between someone who couldn't see something, and someone who was only pretending.
She'd have to do a better job in the future.
"So...I can see spirits and ghosts... What does that have to do with you? I know we're not common but..."
Karl stood there for a moment, looking out over the city; Shaolin guessed that he was trying to decide what to say to her. But she felt no dread at that, just...curiosity.
"I can see spirits as well, Ms. Feng. But in my case it goes much further than that...I can see and utilize the spiritual energy in things both dead and living."
The shinigami stood there, eyes widening as she realized what was going on. She wanted to kick herself for not realizing the importance of the color scheme Karl was using: white and blue.
Then again, she'd never actually met a Quincy before...only heard about them.
She almost blurted out the word that had formed in her mind, but she managed to stay quiet as Karl continued.
"You probably don't know enough about such things to understand what you see. My people have been...or at least were, more systematic in their approach to the supernatural. And I consider myself to be at something of the forefront of that, if I may be so bold..."
A small chill went up Shaolin's spine at those words; though he was being quite benign about it, she'd heard words like that before. And not from people she particularly liked...
"I ask again: what do you want?"
Karl's smile went a little lopsided and he nodded his head.
"I would like to study your body, if I may..."
Shaolin just stared at him.
"Come again?"
His smile became just a shade more nervous, though that emotion didn't reach his eyes.
"My apologies, it's not quite what it sounds like."
It sure sounded like that. Trouble was, by now Shaolin was beginning to wonder if that was such a bad thing.
This was a Quincy she was facing, but she wasn't really much of a shinigami anymore, and he didn't seem dangerous.
And she was lonely...
"Then...what is it?"
He took a moment to compose his words, obviously not wanting a repeat of the gaffe he'd just made.
"I am standing right here, in front of you, and I can detect no spiritual energy coming from you. None. That means you shouldn't be able to see spirits at all. And yet you obviously can."
He came up in front of her and looked down into her eyes.
"I find that very intriguing from a scientific point of view, and I have a great curiosity about how you accomplish that. It has to be an in-born talent of some sort..."
"No thank you..."
She'd already seen enough 'research experiments' and guinea pigs to last her a lifetime.
And then a thought occurred to her.
"...or are you going to 'insist' that I come with you?"
Karl shook his head and continued smiling; she found the move didn't make her feel uneasy.
"Nothing of the sort. Unlike many people in this world, I think of myself as subscribing to a code of chivalry."
"Which says not to take advantage of single young women?"
Karl nodded.
"Exactly. Besides, that interest is only a curiosity, a passing fancy...though I will have to admit I'm more intrigued than before I met you Miss Feng."
Shaolin wasn't entirely sure whether to be flattered or roll her eyes at his words. Truth to tell, she would have probably been no better with the pick-up lines.
And she was intrigued by this man as well, beyond the obvious. There was something familiar about him...his presence...
Then she suddenly realized the reiatsu of the man; she was sure there had been something familiar about it.
"You...you were in Nagasaki a few months ago, weren't you?"
Karl froze and looked at her quizzically.
"Yes, I was. In fact, I had a rather nasty run-in with some spirits back there."
He looked deeply into her eyes, and Shaolin found herself warming at the gesture.
"Someone saved my life, by giving me some warning about...someone trying to end my life."
He smiled knowingly.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
Shaolin felt a confusing mix of emotions welling up in her. Shame at having caused her comrades' deaths, disbelief that she would be standing next to the person she'd apparently saved that day...
And a feeling she absolutely refused to call attraction for this man...
Still, she could only nod wordlessly at his question, and it caused him to bow to her.
"My thanks, then, dear lady. I owe you a great deal more than what I have given you."
He straightened himself, and then looked into Shaolin's eyes again. She found this time something in his expression...
She could barely feel him gently cupping her chin, and before she knew what was happening he had leaned in and...
Even though her eyes were still open, Shaolin couldn't really see anything as she felt Karl's lips press against hers. In fact, she couldn't sense much of anything except that.
That, and the warm thrill going down her body at the expression of affection.
It was gentle, he wasn't trying to force himself on her,and she knew it. And it was harmless, she supposed, so she responded in kind. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.
It was such a wonderful feeling...the warmth in her body complementing the breeze from the harbor.
And being here with someone...
And then his lips were gone, and she opened her eyes to see that Karl had pulled back and was making to return to the party. Or perhaps leave the building, now that his business was done.
"I will be at my hotel for another couple of weeks, if you should change your mind...Shaolin. And if you do not...it has been a very pleasant evening."
He smiled again, tipped a non-existent hat, and then made her way of the balcony.
And Shaolin was alone again.
It only now occurred to her that she was bracing herself against the bannister; her legs felt weak and her body warm.
She remembered the drink still in her hand and drained it, partly to get her mind back into the world, and partly because her mouth felt dry.
As she did so, her mind began to return to her, and she shook her head violently.
Her...having anything to do with a Quincy...the enemy...?
Absolutely ridiculous.
"Shaolin...Shaolin, wake up...oh gods..."
For once, Shaolin found herself waking up from a dream in a relatively calm state. No starts or cold sweats, just opening her eyes and slowly having her brain come back into contact with the waking world.
Maybe that was just from having been knocked out...she didn't know or care.
What she did care about was that she was plenty stiff and sore from the fight she'd just been through. And she was kicking herself over what she had allowed to happen.
Now that her brain was clearing, she knew who it was who'd shot her.
"Mei Xing was here, wasn't she?"
There was a pause.
"I believe so, Shaolin, though I am having a little trouble as Ichigo-san's reiatsu is clouding my senses, I am sure that was her voice I heard."
The ex-shinigami cursed herself and her cousin; the latter for setting a trap, and herself for falling into it. And she couldn't tell where the woman was, either; Ichigo's energies were washing over the area, blinding her a bit.
It meant Mei Xing would get away.
But it also meant that Ichigo was still hale and hearty, which relieved Shaolin.
She picked herself up and started dusting herself off. A glance in one direction and she saw the body of her earlier victim, his zanpaktou already gone and his own form already beginning to disintegrate.
To think that her cousin would treat her own people so callously.
To think that, if she hadn't met Karl, Shaolin might have wound up the same way...
The assassin sighed and started out of the building, trying to head to where she felt Ichigo would be. She couldn't figure his precise location, but she could rough it by trying to find where the cloud of reiatsu was strongest.
As she passed some more buildings, Shaolin tried to think about what her position was now.
"No mistake now, 2-Bantai will know about Ichigo, now, won't they...?"
"Probably, but if so they have not done anything about it, and they may have no interest in him; there are more important prizes here than a young would-be shinigami."
Shaolin nodded at that; she knew her friend was trying to look on an overly-bright side, but she'd take anything right now.
"There is also the possibility they do not know what they are dealing with; after all, there is no way to tell he is a practicing shinigami unless one sees him..."
Shaolin shook her head.
"No, there's ways to tell. Especially for someone who's a tracker."
She was trying to not fall into a pit; she couldn't do that right now, like she'd done sometimes before.
But it all felt so hopeless now. She knew that sooner or later word would get back to Soul Society about Ichigo, a check would probably be made to see who was assigned to the area, and then...
And then the Gotei 13 would want answers.
"Why did your cousin not kill you?"
Shaolin smirked.
"Because she likes me so much?"
"Very funny. One would think Mei Xing would have been rewarded for killing someone like you, and never mind cleansing the stains you have put on her honor over the decades."
Shaolin thought about that for a moment, and then realized the answer.
"She probably wants to see if I can lead her to Yoruichi-sama."
There was a pause, and Shaolin was sure her friend was chuckling.
"She obviously needs to brush up on her history..."
Shaolin shrugged.
"Even Soul Society can't be perfectly informed..."
She slowed down as she saw a pair of figures on a rooftop, apparently bickering back and forth. She wouldn't have been sure in the low light, except for the enormous sword one was carrying, and then fact that the other one was so short.
"I finally found them, Hana."
She could sense the gikongan nodding.
"Good, and you are going to tell Ichigo-san and Kuchiki-san what exactly?"
Shaolin grabbed hold of a ladder and started climbing.
"Whatever I have to...there's what you found out, after all; and I don't know if I want to tell them about Mei Xing yet..."
"Yes, you are right about that."
As she made her way up, the phone started to ring again; it made the assassin swear.
"Gods, what does Hiyori want this time? Could you answer it, Hana, I need to get to Ichigo."
There was an indignant pause.
"So I am your executive secretary now?"
There was no real heat in the words, but it did irritate Shaolin.
"Just do it, please; I need to concentrate on those two up on the roof."
There was no further argument, and in fact the ex-shinigami could hear the bickering on the roof fade away. So maybe the phone ringing had been a good thing: it had at least gained the teens' attention.
"Quick, Ichigo, we need to get out of here!"
"You mean you need to get out of here; people can't see me, remember!"
"Oh, just-!"
Shaolin managed to poke her head above the level of the roof and glared at them as she hauled herself the rest of the way up.
"I can see the two of you just fine, thank you very much."
Ichigo and Rukia just stared at her for a moment.
"Obasan? What are you-"
"Something came up and I need to talk to the two of you about it; I'm here specifically because the two of you are standing on top of a building for some strange reason."
"Actually, two things came up, but we will not talk about the second..."
The ex-shinigami ignored Hana, and saw that Ichigo at least had the grace to look a little embarrassed.
"Well...there was a Hollow here just a minute ago, and they've been all over the place all evening..."
Shaolin nodded at that.
"That's nice, but you need to head home now."
She turned a hard look at Rukia.
"And I need to escort Kuchiki-san here back to her room."
The two teens paused, and then Ichigo started looking like he wanted to laugh out loud; it didn't help that Rukia had an utterly outraged look on her face.
"M-my room? How dare you, I-?"
Even as the Kuchiki heiress kept spluttering, Shaolin turned her attention to Ichigo and softened her expression.
"Ichigo, it's important. We need to go back; I'll tell you what's going on as we head back to Furin Hall, okay?"
Ichigo looked for a moment like he wanted to continue arguing, but then he steadied himself and nodded.
"Okay, obasan."
He turned to Rukia, a small smile still on his face.
"C'mon, Rukia. If we don't get going she may send you to your room without supper..."
Rukia looked like she wanted to slap Ichigo silly for that, but then she thought better of it and just seemed to settle on fuming.
As she started back down the ladder, Shaolin breathed a small sigh of relief, and then turned her attention to Hana.
"Who was that on the phone, anyway?"
"I was not able to tell. They hung up almost as soon as I got on the line."
Shaolin thought on that for a moment, and then shook the matter away. She had more important things to deal with right now than a crank call.
As she got to the ground and saw Ichigo carrying Rukia down next to her, Shaolin found herself thankful that Orihime was safely in her room and that Tatsuki was also not a part of this.
Mei Xing closed her cellphone and put it away.
She'd thought about telling her cousin what was going to happen to the mortals she liked so much, but then decided against it.
It wasn't her business, and she wasn't supposed to get involved in that; mission creep signaled a lack of control the shinigami hated. But the strange young man had caught her interest, and she wanted to see what he could do.
A shinigami-killer like Shrieker would be an excellent opponent to pit him against.
And he was about to gain an excellent motivator...
"Okay, Chad, what's the deal with the parrot?"
The drone Shrieker had sent, one of dozens in the area, watched as the young girl...Tatsuki, he thought her name was...came up to the big dumb brute Yuuichi had shacked up with this time. Shrieker himself was holed up somewhere he figured was safe for the moment.
The shinigami posted to this area looked like an idiot, but there was also that woman running around who could turn into a cat...
"Well...it's...you're gonna have to hear it for yourself..."
At least the brat was getting a little smarter; that guy actually looked like he could go a couple of rounds.
He'd have to be dealt with first.
And then...well...
"Uhm...it's just that I heard about your friend Ichigo from Chad, and..."
Keep going, brat...
"...I heard that that girl, Rukia, was going to be arranging a meeting or something."
The girl looked skeptical. Shrieker didn't blame her; the kid's story was pretty lame...
"What do you think, Chad?"
The lummox shrugged.
"I don't know, but if it's the White Tengu, we might as well check it out."
The girl was younger than the girls Shrieker used to go for when he was human; she might be a little fun, but he was more interested in bait than in playing with her.
She looked some more at Yuuichi, and then sighed and shrugged her own shoulders.
"Okay, what have we got to lose...?"
Only your lives...oh, and your immortal souls, of course...
He'd watch them, come go after them...maybe kill them if he was in the mood...but they weren't his real target.
The Guardian of Karakura...that was who he wanted to kill.
He'd have to be really careful, he knew, but that was kind of his stock-in-trade; he'd been good enough to stump the cops when he was living, and now...he was even better at it.
And, gods, the prize...the prize made it all worth it...
He'd felt the power the woman had when she'd taken down those four idiots Grand Fisher had sent in.
Shrieker licked his lips at the prospect; with power like that, maybe the boys in Las Noches would notice him. He'd heard there was big stuff going on there right now, and he didn't mind being in on it, but he needed power.
And the key was the girl he was looking at through one of his drones.
The girl the Guardian loved so much.
Shrieker smiled to himself.
This was gonna be fun...
And here's responses to the reviews:
Ability King KK: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked Isshin's comment; I try my best to keep people in-character as much as possible (though since this is an AU, that isn't entirely possible here). As for Kisuke's tests and Orihime moving forward with Ichigo, there's still a few chapters yet to go with those; it's not so much background as it is there's a minor crisis Ichigo's going to have to deal with before then...
Hunter 152: I very appreciative of the praise, and I hope I continue deserving it as the story continues. And thanks for being kind about the update rates; part of my problem is being worried about coming up with a quality product (which I'll admit has been slightly variable here), and part is that I don't consider plotting to be my strong suit (though you seem to think otherwise).
reality deviant: Thanks for the comment. What did I do with Hiyori, you ask? Apparently I stuffed her in a closet, along with Masaki... I'll see what I can do to rectify that, though it may be a few chapters.
Love Psycho: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm not sure if Rukia's quite that far along, though I'm glad you liked Orihime and Tatsuki's interactions. And Shaolin's still going to have to be convinced to wants to train Ichigo (which will be happening in the next few chapters).
HopefulEchoe: Glad you liked the chapter and some of the things I thought up for it.
HedonismBot: I'm glad you liked the chapter and the things I've put into it; hopefully you liked this one as much. And thanks for the words of support as far as my update rate; they are greatly appreciated. And Yoruichi will be getting involved to a degree pretty soon, as you have seen; I probably should have done a better job at the beginning of the story, as Yoruichi did have a good reason to act like she did.
The Fifth Horseman: Thanks for the excellent review, and for both the comments and criticism. I'm glad you liked the interactions between the characters, as well as the bit about Tatsuki. And thanks about being accommodating about my update rate. The reason why I've been writing this story step by step is partly because it is so large and partly because it's something of an experiment, so I'm still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't (I know you weren't giving me a hard time about it, I just wanted to explain things).
As for the criticism...I forgot how many chapters had passed since those guys had appeared and the fact that they dropped off the map (like Hiyori). I'm going to try and rectify that a little, though the main body of action in this story is going to be taking place in Karakura (that's where this part of the canon story was located). Also, I think my grasp of writing has improved enough to realize I was way too vague with those people, so I'm trying to do something about that as well.
Hayden Shaolin David: Thanks for the review and glad to have you aboard!