Tatsuki stared at Lust in utter disbelief. Had she heard her right? "Did you just say… sisters?"
Lust chuckled. It was dark and sweet at the same time. "Of course I did. Look at us. Our hair, our eyes, even our faces are similar. Well, to some degree at least." She motioned with her hand and said, "Come with me, Tatsuki. You don't belong here. Come with me, and I'll take you to your true family."
At that, Orihime stepped in front of Tatsuki, a hand on one of her hairpins. "I won't let you take Tatsuki! If you want her, then you'll just have to get through me!" Lust stared at redhead quietly for several seconds. She then held a hand over her mouth as she laughed. Orihime's glare intensified a little. "What's so funny?"
"You, little girl. Do you really think that such a weak being as yourself can ever hope to defeat me?" She suddenly dashed in front of the redhead, a sadistic smirk on her face. "You're ten thousand years too weak." And with that, Orihime was kicked aside like a human ragdoll, crashing into a tree with sickening crunch and a scream of pain.
"Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted. She started to run to her friend, but was stopped by Lust. "Get out of my way, you freak!"
"You really shouldn't talk to your big sister like that, Tatsuki," Lust said with a smile.
"You're not my sister!" Tatsuki roared at the dark-haired woman. "Now get out of my way before-!" Suddenly, Lust flicked her on her forehead, sending the girl flying into the concrete wall of Karakura High. Tatsuki coughed up blood from the impact as she fell to the ground. She looked up and saw Lust sauntering toward her.
She slowly picked herself up off the ground as the freak of nature stopped in front of her. She glared at Lust angrily. She stood up, her knees shaking and her arms suddenly feeling numb. Come on, Tatsuki. Stand up! Throw a punch! Do something!
Lust held out her hand. "You still have the option of coming with me. Agree, and I'll spare your little friend over there."
"Don't you dare touch her, you monster!"
"And what will you do if I do?" Lust asked in a sadistic tone. She turned and began walking toward Orihime's limp, unconscious form.
"No!" Tatsuki tried to go after her, but her legs suddenly gave in to her own weight, and she fell flat on her face. "Get away from her!"
"Too little," Lust said as she stopped in front of Orihime's prone body. "Too late." She raised her arm, which suddenly turned into an elegantly designed blade. But just as she was about to swing down…
They suddenly heard music from a flute. It was somber tune, and slowly picked up to be a little more energetic. Both conscious females looked to the source of the song. A figure wearing a black outfit that resembled a European monk's robes was sitting on the roof of the school. A dark hood hid its face. When it stopped playing its music, it slid its flute into its sleeve, then picked something up off the roof. That something turned out to be a large scythe.
"Hey, Lust," the figure said in a masculine voice. "It's been a while since I've seen you. The years haven't been very kind to you, have they?"
Lust sneered at the man. "You…"
-o-
Greed laughed evilly as he punched Chad square in the face, sending him flying into a tree. He then dashed over to Uryu and kicked him in the gut, the impact sending the Quincy painfully into the ground. The Avaricious then back-flipped over Ichigo, who had tried to cleave Greed in half with a horizontal slash. Greed countered the attack by slamming his shin into the orange-haired teen's back. Ichigo tightened his jaw to keep himself from shouting in pain, then swung his zanpakuto, missing his target completely.
"Is that all you punks have got?" Greed asked sadistically. "Come on! Give me more! Show me what you can really do!"
"Dammit!" Ichigo shouted. I'll have to use bankai! He was about to do just that when, out of nowhere…
"Look out below!" shouted a girl's voice. Everyone looked up to see a figure wearing a black falling to Earth and screaming in excitement. When the girl crashed into the ground, creating a pillar of dirt and debris, they all heard crazy giggling. "That was so much fun! I wanna do that again!" The girl stepped out of the cloud of dust, twirling a scythe with expert movements. She then faced Greed.
"What the hell?" Greed asked with a confused expression.
"Hi ya!" the girl said as she took down her hood. She had brown hair and wild, dark eyes. She only looked about fourteen "I'm Raven! My brother and I are here to slay demons like you!"
"Slay… demons…" Greed suddenly exploded with laughter. "HAHAHA! Yeah right! You're just a little snot-nosed brat! Like you could ever-!" He stopped as soon as he realized that the girl's scythe's blade was at his throat.
"You really shouldn't make fun of people," Raven stated with a pouty look on her face. "Especially when that person is a Grim Reaper."
A Grim Reaper? Ichigo thought. He was about to ask the girl what she meant when he suddenly felt a huge wave of spiritual pressure. "What the hell?"
The girl giggled playfully. "I guess my big brother is ready to fight. And from the looks of things, he's fighting that other demon."
"Other demon!?" Ichigo shouted.
"Don't worry!" Raven assured the orange-haired Soul Reaper. "My brother is one of the strongest Grim Reapers alive. He can handle anything!"
Greed scowled in frustration. Dammit! I thought we'd have more time! I have to get to Lust so we can get out of here! He suddenly dropped down, catching Raven by surprise. He then did quick sweep kick, tripping the young Grim Reaper. He then sprinted away in the direction of that spiritual pressure.
Ichigo was about to go after him, but the girl suddenly appeared in front of him. "Don't worry about him. Like I said, my brother can handle anything."
-o-
Lust glared at the newcomer with utter contempt. "Damn you, you cursed Grim Reaper."
The stranger leaped from the roof, landing gently next to Tatsuki, who stared at the man in surprise and awe. "Come on, Lusty. Is that how you greet an old friend? I know it's been a long time, but do you really have to be so rude?"
"Who are you?" Tatsuki asked the man. The stranger chuckled and took down his hood. His hair was a dark brown, and his eyes were hazel. He wore glasses over his eyes, giving him a bit of an educated look. He looked about her age.
"I'm David Marshall," he said with a cocky smirk. "I'm a Grim Reaper. And I'm here on business. So please, don't get in the way if you can help it." He went into a stance, his scythe at the ready. "All right, Lust. Bring it on."
"Lust!" shouted a man's voice. Lust faced the newcomer, who turned out to be Greed. "We're out of time! We have to go!"
Lust sneered angrily. She glared hatefully at David. "You were lucky this time, Marshall. The next time we meet though, I will kill you." She went over to join Greed. "Let's go, Greed." They were both suddenly enveloped in a tornado of blue fire. When the tornado disappeared, so did Greed and Lust.
David went out of his stance and sighed. "Sheesh. And right when I was ready to fight, too." He turned and faced Tatsuki. "Are you all right?" Tatsuki nodded in confirmation. "Good. It would go against my personal code if an innocent person was hurt. Then again…" He faced her with an analytical look.
"Orihime! Tatsuki!" called Ichigo's voice. The pair turned to face the orange-haired Substitute, along with Chad, Uryu, and another black-cloaked stranger, this one a fourteen-year-old girl. "Tatsuki, what happened?"
"Some weird woman appeared out of nowhere and attacked us," Tatsuki explained as she stood up carefully. "This guy appeared and apparently scared her and some other guy off."
"No need to thank us!" the girl said with a huge grin. "It's all in the Grim Reaper job description!"
"Care to explain what a Grim Reaper is exactly?" Uryu asked with an inquisitive look.
David and Raven both grinned happily. "I'm glad you asked," David said.
-o-
Lust paced in front of a pair of massive doors. She would have to explain to her master why she and Greed weren't able to get the girl. She continued to mentally curse at that damned Grim Reaper. She wasn't exactly looking forward to reporting bad news.
"Enter," said a calm voice. Lust froze as the massive doors opened. She hesitated, then took a deep breath. She walked in. When she got to the center of the room, she knelt down. "Lust. Tell me. What happened in the human world?"
Lust looked up at her master, who sat in a throne that had a raging blue fire floating above it. To his left stood a woman who had an intrigued grin on her face. To his right was an unnaturally tall and thin man who seemed to emit an air of disturbing calm. Lust took a deep breath before she spoke, giving a detailed report about what had happened.
Her master listened carefully, taking in every detail. When she finished, he dismissed her. Lust then left the room. "So, the girl knows about her true bloodline now. This will make things much simpler."
"Yes," said the tall man. "I suppose that means that I won't be involved in future missions regarding Ms. Arisawa?"
"No," the man in the throne answered with the utmost certainty in his voice. "But the involvement of the Grim Reapers shall complicate things to some degree. We will have to accelerate our plans to suit this development." But with or without the intervention of the Reapers, I shall still initiate this war. And soon, I shall have that which is rightfully mine.
