Author's Notes:
And as to be expected, another chapter at over 10.000 words. Get used to it.
It occurred to Yamada Hanataro that perhaps there was something not quite as it should be about his current situation. It was all too easy to believe that eleventh division soldiers would harass new recruits, but now that he thought about it, he had never heard of them actually attacking them, sword and all- and one of them had been Madarame Ikkaku, the fearsome third seat, who spent his days fighting, drinking- not bullying people weaker than him, as far as he knew.
In fact, it had looked a lot more like a battleground than anything else. This he could perhaps have overlooked, but where he was now- a sewer tunnel, far under the Gotei's streets- was hardly the most sanitary place to treat patients either. In fact, it was a terrible place to go in general, unless you needed a quick shortcut through the Gotei and knew the way.
And Yoruichi-san hadn't said what rank she was, or even her full name- and she didn't have a zanpakutou on her, or even shoes. Right now she was out getting more medical supplies, but there was something… odd about her.
He was used to taking orders from people, so he hadn't questioned her- and there was no doubt the two young recruits needed treating. But this, Hanataro deduced, was fishy. More than a little fishy, actually.
"Um," he began, addressing the taller one. They had recovered at least partially now; he had spent over six hours working on their wounds, with conventional medicine as well as kido. It had to be night outside by now. "So uh, you're…"
He trailed off.
"What?" The tall one said, scowling. Hanataro resisted the urge to cower in fear.
"Don't be so hostile, Ichigo." The other one, a black haired girl, said. "He probably just saved our lives."
"I'm not hostile." Ichigo murmured.
"You're not with a squad, are you?" Hanataro dared ask.
"Bright kid." Ichigo remarked. "You wanna do this, Tatsuki?"
The other one- Tatsuki- sighed. "I am Arisawa Tatsuki, and this is Kurosaki Ichigo. We're the criminal terrorists who just broke into your big spiritual city-thingamabob. Nice to meet you."
"N-n-nice to meet you too." Hanataro said, swallowing. Oh, crap. He was trembling now, there was no hiding it.
"Don't look like we're going to eat you alive or something." Ichigo grunted. "We're not murderers. We just have something we need to do."
"And don't be afraid of Ichigo here." Tatsuki added. "He has a mean look, but he's really a huge softie."
"Uh… so can I go?" Hanataro asked, after taking a small while to collect himself.
"Uh, I don't think so." Ichigo said. "I mean, we're not gonna kill you, but you know where we are. Let's just wait for Yoruichi to come back."
"…okay." Hanataro said timidly.
Luckily, Yoruichi came back before long, carrying a small box.
"Fresh bandages, pain medication, food, antibiotics… I think I got all we need here. You- Hamtaro, right?" She pointed at Hanataro. "Have a look."
She held out the box to him, and he took it. Everything looked fine- she had even brought tweezers, thread and needles, stuff he could use to sew up injuries as needed.
His attention was diverted pretty quickly, though.
"Ah, finally…" Yoruichi mumbled, and to Hanataro's complete bafflement, she undid the sash to her pants, and let them slide down along with her jacket.
It seemed she was the kind of person who didn't believe in underwear, because she was standing there, quite naked.
"Th-th-th-th-!" Hanataro stuttered, his face going red.
"Clothes always feel so confining." Yoruichi said, stretching herself casually. "What's the matter, kid?"
"You-you-you're n-n-nnn!" Hanataro spluttered, averting his eyes, closing them as well to be extra safe.
"Naked." Ichigo said flatly, yawning, apparently not paying much attention to the fact that a dark-skinned sex goddess was standing naked right in front of him. What kind of people were they?! "Don't fret- she does this a lot."
"All the time." Tatsuki agreed, sounding like it was the most normal thing in the world. "You get used to it."
"I'm not naked all the time." Yoruichi objected.
"No, only most of the time."
"Well, that is," Yoruichi said, and Hanataro could hear her voice getting darker, "because clothes do not suit this form. At all. You can look now, kid."
Carefully, Hanataro peeked in between his fingers, afraid of what he'd see- which was, as it turned out, a black cat. Hanataro's embarrassment was replaced with stunned confusion. "Huh?"
"Don't ask. We don't know how she does it either." Ichigo said, shrugging. "So what's our next move?"
"Right. The next move for the two of you are getting healed, and nothing else." Yoruichi said bluntly "With how much baldy beat you up, it will take several more hours until you can move out again, even with Hamtaro here healing you."
"What?!" Ichigo shouted. "We don't have the time for this! We need to get moving right away! We only have-"
"Over a week and a half left. We have way more than enough time. Maybe you two even get lucky, and your friends manage to reach their goal before us." Yoruichi said, cutting him off, purposefully avoiding saying anything that Hanataro wasn't supposed to know.
Ichigo didn't say anything in response, resorting to simply frowning. Observing the odd group, Hanataro gladly followed Ichigo's example.
"So... what should I do now?" He asked shyly, using the chance to speak up before anyone else did so.
"You heal them. I thought that was obvious?" Yoruichi asked with that unfittingly low voice of hers – just another thing about the entire situation that irritated Hanataro, to say the least.
"But what am I supposed to do when you get found?" Hanataro whined, quite close to the point of despair.
"Don't worry kid, you can always just tell them that we took you hostage." Yoruichi suggested, obviously rather amused by Hanataro's personal dilemma. "With Ichigo's permanent frown, they should believe you right away."
"I'm not frowning all the time!"
Yoruichi gave him a smug grin. "No, only most of the time."
oOo
Uryu cursed inwardly. This was just his luck – thousands, if not tens of thousands of shinigami in the Gotei Thirteen, and he just had to run into one of the two that had met him before and knew who he was. But on the other hand, maybe this might be a chance for payback against this guy? Uryu pulled a fiendish grin.
Without even bothering to respond to pineapple-hair's question, Uryu whirled around, forming his energy bow in his hand, and fired a series of arrows at the shinigami. He obviously did not expect to hit the shinigami right away, but it would buy him at least some time – time enough to hopefully work out a quick strategy. The last time Uryu fought against him, the shinigami, Renji, had outright demolished him... if he wanted to win this, he had to be very careful. Grabbing Orihime by her arm, Uryu used a hirenkyaku to move to the side and gain some distance, and get Orihime further away from Renji, too.
"Gonna take that as a "yes", then." Renji noted, effortlessly dodging Uryu's attack while doing so. "Wouldn't have thought that I'd meet ya again here, Quincy – are you and yer girlfriend with these ryoka? Here to re-" He interrupted himself for whatever reason, his expression shortly slipping out of his determined glare "-to rescue Rukia?"
"Why would we give you vital information like this? If you want to know anything, you'll have to beat it out of us." Uryu said, attempting to block out his rising nervousness by sounding strong and ignoring the shinigami's comment about Orihime.
Renji clenched his fist, and rubbed his neck, stretching himself. "Ya know, kid," he said, a foul look on his face, "I'm actually grateful you popped up. I'm in a really bad mood- beating the snot out of you will probably help."
With that, he drew his zanpakutou.
"Oh, and one thing, just so you know just how fucked you are- whenever a shinigami with the rank of fukutaicho or taicho go to the world of the living, they have a seal placed on them. We're so strong that if we let loose, we could kill people without even knowing it. Level blocks. You know back when we first met? The seal had me at one fifth of my real power."
As he spoke, his reiatsu began to spike. Uryu swore inwardly- beating that third seat had been a close shave, and Renji's power was so absurdly above that, it would have been laughable if not for the fact that getting cut to little bits is generally considered to be a very unfunny experience.
Steeling himself, Uryu let himself feel all the reiatsu around him, focusing on the control he excelled at as a Quincy. He had to believe he could do this; if he couldn't, then they were both done for-
And then, Renji had moved. He felt it happen, the shunpo. He felt the movements he was making in the spiritual particle fields that made up this entire reality, coming at him…
And there was nothing he could do. This was ludicrous speed.
A fierce look on his face, Renji slammed the hilt of his sword into Uryu's gut, and he could feel the air getting knocked out of his lungs. As he doubled over, Renji slammed a balled fist into his face, sending Uryu staggering back, almost losing his glasses. Raising his sword, Renji went for a hard deep cut-
"Santen kesshun!" Orihime cried, and the orange shield formed, blocking Renji's strike.
Renji shout her a glare most foul. "Ya know, girl, if you step in here, you're an enemy too. I don't give women any special treatment."
"Good!" Orihime shouted, her voice shaky. "Because we're in this together! If you want to beat Ishida-kun, you have to beat me too!"
Uryu blinked. She had more nerve than he would have expected.
"Fine then. Don't say I didn't warn you." Renji said. He lowered his blade, and ran a hand across it. "Howl, Zabimaru!"
And the blade changed shape, becoming that huge, segmented sword, lined with spikes. "Since you volunteered, you're first." He said coldly, and raised the blade. He lashed out, and the sword stretched, stretched, each segment being held together with some sort of fiber, extending towards Orihime at breakneck speed.
"Oh no you don't!" Uryu shouted. He moved forward like never before, his hirenkyaku feeling like slow motion-
And then he was in front of Orihime. He had no idea if he could really do this…
And the whip-sword missed its mark.
"What?" Renji said, perplexed. "Don't tell me you actually stopped it, human."
"I couldn't stop that, no," Uryu said, blood trickling down from his right hand, "but don't forget who you're dealing with- I'm a Quincy. Stopping an attack like that isn't possible on my level, but diverting it, using the flow of reiatsu? Oh yes."
"You better not underestimate us." Orihime said. "We're friends, and we came here for a friend- we'll win, no matter what."
Renji's face twisted into a mask of rage. "You petty humans think you can talk about Rukia as a 'friend'? You don't know her, and if it wasn't for your shitty town, she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with!" He raised his sword again.
"That's still better than a friend who just leads her towards her own death!" Uryu shot back, moving him and Orihime further away from the shinigami. He had only made a wild guess, since he wasn't entirely sure whether Renji really was a friend of Rukia's or not – but judging by his reaction, Uryu had hit spot-on.
"Whaddaya think you know, you Quincy shit?! The likes of you have no right to criticize a shinigami who just follows his orders to uphold the balance of the world!" Renji roared, extending his sword to a length of several meters and letting it fly about wildly. "Who knows, maybe the Central 46 will even do me a favor and let Rukia live if I capture them some intruders!"
"Say what you will, it makes no difference! We will not be stopped here!" Orihime spoke up, much to Uryu's (short-lived) surprise. "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Instantly, a shield formed in front of her, blocking the approaching blade.
With a grunt Renji retracted his blade, and gave them a slightly confused stare. "The hell is up with you, girl? That's not the power of a shinigami, and neither is it some sorta Quincy power – what are you?" He snarled, dashing towards Uryu.
Uryu's mind began to race. There was no telling whether the shinigami was after him or Orihime, and with that whip-sword of his, the nature of his attack was more or less unpredictable. What should he do? Get out of the way, and hope that Orihime would be able to protect herself in time? Attack, and attempt to get him to back off? "Koten Zanshun, I reject! Tsubaki!"
Before Uryu could come to a conclusion, Orihime had made her move, firing her red projectile at Renji. Not having expected an attack from Orihime, he quickly jumped to the side and backed off – for now. "Don't just stand there, Uryu! We'll need to fight together if we want to win!"
"R-right!" Uryu said, readying his bow. This was the real thing- a shinigami at full power, the same one that had destroyed him in the world of the living.
But then again, he was not without advantages of his own. To a Quincy, an environment made entirely of reiatsu would mean power only limited by one's own ability to control reiatsu. Maybe, just maybe, if he was careful…
Renji wasn't giving him time to think, though. Letting out an angry cry, he let fly his Zabimaru, the long sword-whip lashing out against him. Quickly, Uryu slipped into his fastest hirenkyaku, narrowly dodging the sword, reappearing twenty feet to the right- but the sword was already coming at him again, fast and furious. Again, he dashed away, trying to get the time to shoot- he could shoot, sure, but to actually hurt somebody of this caliber, he'd need good aim and more than a little power behind him.
"Ishida-kun, don't dodge!" Orihime cried. Uryu tensed- it seemed such a weird thing to say, but… then he understood, and nodded, standing still.
"Ora, ora, ora!" Renji cried, the sword swiping at him from the side- and then there was the shield, forming just at his side. It cracked and broke under the impact of the sword, but it was enough- the sword had lost enough momentum. Quickly, Uryu leapt forward, energy gathering from all around him to his next arrow. Going through the air, he used Zabimaru's segments as a stepping stone forward sailing up over Renji- he'd come in close, and get a good hit off.
It took less than a second, but there he was, bow drawn, a cold expression on his face as he aimed towards Renji's head. No use trying not to kill him- he wasn't sure this attack could do it even if it hit head on. At just the right time, he let the arrow fly-
And Renji took a quick step to the side. For a nanosecond, Uryu allowed himself to feel frustration- just how damn fast were these shinigami?
He could hear a grunt; he had hit something, apparently, but…
"Hado no sanjuuichi: shakkaho!"
It was a kido, no mistake about it, and he couldn't dodge it. He was still airborne, and it was too close. The spell slammed into him, and it felt like he had been rammed by a bull. He just barely managed to land on his feet.
"Tsubaki!" Orihime cried, her little attack sprite flying towards Renji. Renji dodged it, but it seemed too small for him to hit with his sword- and at the same time, an orange bubble of sorts formed around Uryu. Quickly, he sent a couple of arrows towards Renji- what was this?
"I'm trying something new, Ishida-kun!" Orihime shouted. "Keep going- I'll support you!"
"Got it!" Uryu said, readying his bow.
"Punk kids." Renji said, sending out his sword once again. "Stand still, will ya!"
Uryu dodged. It was fast and furious, he noticed- but not too difficult to evade. Renji was a strong opponent, much stronger than him most certainly, but his short-to-mid-range style of fighting was poorly suited for somebody with speed and control like his. Perhaps…
-this was the wrong time to think about their chances of victory! Just narrowly, the whip-sword missed his face, its tip crashing into the ground just a few feet behind him.
It was like trying to evade a snake, Uryu thought. The only exception was that instead of just the head, the entire blade would mean death if it hit. But... between Renji swinging his sword, and it actually hitting the target, there was a delay caused by the length of the thing – a very small delay, but easily more than enough for Uryu to evade it. Enough to avoid certain death.
With an annoyed grunt, Renji retracted his blade. For just a second, he stared at Uryu, raising his eyebrow... before once again charging at Uryu headfirst. As he came at him, Uryu fired several arrows at the shinigami, who in turn extended his sword towards Uryu once more.
Almost instinctively, Uryu slipped into another hirenkyaku to evade the attack... and then suddenly, the blade was gone, and Renji was standing right in front of Uryu. The extending of his sword had been a feint attack, Uryu immediately realized – just as Renji swung his sword again.
Uryu could hear Orihime shouting "Santen Kess-!" not too far away, but it was already too late. The attack hit, and Uryu's right side exploded in pain. Screaming in agony, Uryu attempted doing a hirenkyaku, but only managed a jump which brought him a few feet away from Renji, where he almost collapsed upon landing. Gritting his teeth, Uryu held his side, where he could feel warm blood dyeing his white clothes red. "Ishida-kun!"
"Now there we go." Renji sneered, gloating at the sight of the injured Uryu. "You've been making this harder than it should be, Quincy-shit, but with an injury like that, it will be over for ya soon enough."
Uryu wanted to give the shinigami an angry reply, just something bravely defying, but he didn't manage to get out a single word – the pain was simply too great. He could only glare as Renji slowly walked over to him...
And then there was Orihime standing in front of him. "Don't you think you're forgetting something? This is isn't over yet!" She yelled, giving Renji an impressively angry look.
"Well, ya got guts, at least." Renji said, almost snarling as he raised his sword. Orihime decided to take the initiative- quickly, she raised her hand.
"Tsubaki!" She cried, and the sprite charged forward. Renji raised his sword, preparing to hit the little projectile mid-air-
"Santen kesshun!"
And right in the way of his sword, the orange shield formed. Renji slammed his zanpakutou right into it, and having not expected that kind of resistance, he stuttered back, almost unbalancing himself.
"Now!" Orihime cheered, and Tsubaki went around, quick as lightning, slamming Renji in the face.
Renji spat, holding out his sword. "Tricky little…"
"Tricky indeed." Uryu said calmly, standing up. Renji turned toward him, and around Uryu was that orange bubble, mending his wounds, even the tear in his suit. "She was right- you underestimate us at your own peril." Holding his bow arm up, he let the bow form, curiously observing his wound. "Inoue-san, I don't know what you're doing- but keep doing it."
"Che!" Renji spat. Swinging his sword, he let it fly, towards Uryu. Uryu flashed back elegantly. This new thing, this… bubble around him was taking away his pain, and he could feel his wound mending. More importantly, he felt the reiatsu around him like never before. For an instant, he felt like Renji's movements had slowed down- but that was not it. Whatever this bubble was doing, it was making him a little faster, a little stronger- no, it was changing the way he could control his environment, and himself.
Quickly, Renji flashed forward after him, the whip sword following him. He was guiding it with lethal precision; it surged forward and almost cut him- a good hit would probably kill him.
But he wouldn't be hit.
"Shakkaho!" Renji cried, and again the kido was sent flying his way. He skipped out of the way, up on a roof- but there was the whip sword, and he realized that the kido had only been to make him move. He couldn't dodge, not enough time-
But he didn't have to.
"Santen kesshun!"
The shield took the blow for him, and he sped back, to Orihime's side, letting arrow after arrow fly Renji's way as he jumped. Some hit; Renji didn't seem to care, pursuing him furiously.
As he landed, he jumped back a bit. Renji sped past him, ignoring Orihime, trying to hit Uryu-
"Tsubaki!"
"Annoying rat!" Renji cried, as the little sprite hit him in the back. Uryu narrowed his eyes, strung an arrow, allowed himself half a second to aim, and let fly. The arrow hit Renji's leg, penetrating deep.
"Son of a bitch, that actually HURT!" Renji snarled, although he gave no impression that it had, charging forwards again. Uryu flashed away again, trying to dodge- but not this time. The shinigami was faster, and had more experience with fast movement than he- in a quick dash to the right, he caught up with Uryu, grabbing him by the sleeve, tight.
"Not so special when you stay still, are you?" Renji said, pulling him in close, readying his sword. Uryu steeled himself, bringing up his bow arm. Renji's sword was huge; this close up it would be inconvenient, maybe… he struggled, trying to get free.
And then suddenly, and arm had locked around Renji's throat from behind. Orihime had grappled him, and kicked him in the knee joint. Letting out an annoyed gurgle, Renji sunk to one knee.
He grabbed Orihime by the arm, tossing her- but Uryu was free, and Orihime had bought him the time he needed. Gathering energy from all around him, he strung his bow, and let fly.
Three arrows hit Renji square in the chest, and the shinigami spat blood. He showed no sign that he was about to fall, though- and now, he aimed his sword towards Orihime. She was just getting back up, she couldn't get that shield up in time-
And before he could even think, Uryu had moved. The sword chain hit him straight across the chest, two of its spiked segments cutting deep into chest and shoulder. Refusing to let it go unanswered, he fired again, one handed, hitting true, before sinking to his knees.
"Fucker." Renji gasped, blood pouring from all over his chest. He tugged, and the sword came loose from Uryu's body, ripping blood and flesh even more. He felt faint; this could be fatal. "You're good at hittin', but you can't take it- can ya?" He grunted, holding the sword over his shoulder. "Well, yer fucked now-"
"Tsubaki!"
And again, the sprite hit, right in Renji's face. The bloodied fukutaicho staggered back, swearing angrily.
"Ishida-kun, hold on." Orihime said gently. The bubble glimmered around him, already repairing his gruesome injuries. "I'll take care of him until you're healed up."
"What?!" Uryu cried. Or tried, at least- the blood loss was getting to him. "No, he's way too-"
"You did a good job, Ishida-kun." Orihime said, smiling. "He's almost down. I'll do the rest."
"Ya gotta be fuckin' kiddin me." Renji said, his sword pointed at the ground, almost like a crutch. "I toldja, no mercy for women- and yer easily the weaker one here."
"That's fine." Orihime said, stepping up with a look of determination on her face. "Tatsuki-chan told me I shouldn't expect people to treat me differently because I am a girl, anyway." She stepped forward.
"Fuck, yer really serious, ain't you?" Renji said, holding up his sword. "All right, sure- I'll cut you down." He stepped forward, not without effort- a shinigami had his limits too, apparently- swinging his sword in a wide arc, hard and fast.
"Santen Kesshun." Orihime said calmly, and the blade connected with the orange shield. What came next would continue to baffle Uryu for years.
Stepping forward quickly, Orihime grabbed Renji by the wrist, by the same hand that held his sword, and slammed a fist into his gut- it had to be right into one of his wounds, because Renji let out a pained grunt, almost staggering. Orihime didn't rest for a moment, slamming a palm upwards, right onto his nose, and there was a nauseating crunch as the cartilage broke, his nose twisting. Quickly, Orihime slammed an elbow in his throat, and Renji let out a wheezing sound. He tried to reach for her with his free hand, to grab her, but she parried it with one arm, letting out a series of punches with the other. Renji cried out in pain and anger, and slammed his head down on hers. She staggered back, but didn't let go of his arm, not losing her footing-
And then she kicked, kicked forward hard, right in between Renji's legs, and the mighty shinigami let out a high pitched squeal as he sunk to his knees. Uryu flinched; it seemed their physiology had at least some basic similarities to that of a human.
Orihime didn't stop, grabbing Renji by the hair, pulling him down to the ground. Quickly, she twisted an arm around his back, straddling his back.
"Please give up, shinigami-san." Orihime said gently. "I really don't like having to do these things."
Renji only groaned in response.
"Ishida-kun, are you feeling better?" Orihime called cheerfully. Uryu managed to get past his astonishment, and managed,
"I- er, yes. Better." While he was still in pain, his wounds had closed by now, which, in the end, was the only thing that really mattered.
"Balls..." Renji groaned from where he lay on the ground. "Fucking shitcunt dick urrrggghhhh…"
Uryu got up. "Don't try anything. Even if you shake Inoue-san off, I'll be able to shoot you before you do anything."
Renji groaned in response.
Uryu took aim, and shot him once.
"Ishida-kun, he's defenseless!" Orihime cried.
"I only knocked him out." Uryu said, breathing heavily. "Isn't that what you wanted, anyway?"
"…I suppose." Orihime said, getting off Renji. "I guess we need to get moving again- do you need more time?"
"I'll be fine." He shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the image of sweet, innocent Orihime, fighting like she had. "That… how did you…"
"You mean that?" Orihime said, gesturing dramatically with her hands. "Tatsuki-chan taught me karate, you know. I really thought he was going to beat me easily all along, though. It was lucky he was hurt so bad. Or not lucky- I still feel bad I had to hurt him at all."
Yes, it was true… Arisawa Tatsuki had finished second in the nationals for karate in her age group- Orihime would have had a good teacher. He still couldn't quite believe she could use it like that, though- whenever he thought that the surprises with this girl were over, she managed to pull something new.
"Well, in any case, it did come in quite handy..." Uryu noted, nodding towards Renji, who from the looks of it wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon. "So I suppose we'll tie him up and heal him, too?"
"Of course! Why should he be any different from this other guy?" Orihime said determinately, making it quite clear that there would be no arguing about this subject.
Uryu just remained silent. He could think of several reasons as to why letting Renji go would be a bad idea... the fact that he was a vice-captain who knew perfectly well who and what he was being just one of them. If they let Renji live, their cover as well as Ichigo's and Tatsuki's was just about entirely blown, since he would have absolutely no problem with figuring out whom one of the other two ryoka was. But at the same time, Uryu just couldn't bring himself to disagree with Orihime now.
And fortunately, there was no need for it, too.
"Ah, here you two are!" A very familiar, low voice came from behind – Uryu didn't even need to turn around to recognize it as being that of Yoruichi in her cat form. "And it seems like I missed all the fun, too... just why must my timing be so terrible?"
"Where have you been?" Uryu asked, turning around to glare at Yoruichi. "We ran first into a third-seat, then into a vice-captain, and only after we defeat both of them, you think you decide to show up?"
Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "Well, I've been mostly trying to get Ichigo and Tatsuki patched up after their fight against these Squad Eleven guys, but if you really don't like that, I suppose I will be taking notes, and not help them in the future. It'll probably get them caught within the next couple of hours, but fine."
Orihime gaped. "They have been in a fight? What happened? Are they all right?"
"Yeah, they're fine. I thankfully noticed them fighting soon enough, 'arranged' them some medical treatment, and got them to a safe place before they passed out." Yoruichi explained quickly, leaving Uryu to wonder if Ichigo and Tatsuki would consider themselves to be doing fine, too. "What about you, though? Who's this guy you've been fighting?"
"That's the vice-captain of Squad Six, one of the two shinigami that had come to the world of the living to retrieve Rukia from the world of the living... uh, I think his name was something like Whatshisface Renji." Uryu was certain that at one point, Renji might have given his full name, but couldn't recall it right now – battles could be very distracting.
Yoruichi meanwhile had walked up to the unconscious Renji, and started to inspect him by walking all around him. "Hm, Abarai Renji, perhaps? Not bad- the two of you exceed my expectations. Unless I am mistaken, he is actually a childhood friend of Rukia's... her surviving should be in his interest, too. He should technically have the same goal as us."
Uryu wanted to make a remark about how allies, even if they are only "technical", don't tend to beat each other within an inch of their life, but Orihime spoke up before he could say anything – which was probably for the better. "Yeah, he really did say something about wanting to help Kuchiki-san... but could you please move aside, Yoruichi-san? I want to heal him before we get going again."
"Heal him?" Yoruichi asked, sounding confused. "Why? I mean, I can understand why you would want to do that, but has none of you realized that we're running out of time here?"
"What do you mean by that?" Uryu asked, alarmed.
"Seems like this fight really has dulled your senses... well, simply put: You just fought and beat a fukutaicho. The reiatsu released would have been sensed by all shinigami within five miles. There is a patrol of shinigami approaching this location. They will probably be here in another minute or so, so we'll need to get out of here, and fast."
Uryu didn't even bother to ask why Yoruichi was telling them this only now. Without as much of a second thought, he grabbed Orihime's hand and started running as fast as he could, away from the reiatsus which by now, he could sense, too.
oOo
"A- Aizen-taichou, please come quickly! This is terrible!"
Aizen looked up. The captain of Squad Five had been busy doing this day's paperwork, a task which, due to the ryoka in the seireitei, was taking far longer than it usually did. More than once during the past few hours, he had considered just ignoring his work, given his... plans for the next day, but had each time decided against it. Doing anything that might even be slightly suspicious would be an unnecessary risk.
The person that had interrupted him was his vice-captain, Hinamori Momo, a young- by shinigami standards- black-haired girl, who was currently standing in the opened door. While normally upbeat and easy-going in her attitude, right now, the girl seemed to be visibly disturbed and upset – enough so in fact to awaken Aizen's curiosity.
"Please calm down and come in, Hinamori-kun. What is the matter?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Aizen-taichou!" Momo hastily apologized, seemingly just now having realized that she was still standing in the open door. Quickly closing the door behind her, she took a bow. "It is about the vice-captain of Squad Six, Abarai Renji, taichou. One of our patrols just returned to our barracks, and they brought him with them. It seems like he came across the ryoka, and… he actually lost to them in a battle. He is unconscious, and..." She paused for a moment, swallowing as if the memory was unpleasant "...seriously injured."
Aizen raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was rather peculiar... as far as he knew, Urahara's underlings were last seen heading into the general direction of the Eleventh Squad's barracks, which were several miles away from those of the Fifth Squad. Abarai fighting the ryoka here seemed less than likely – unless Urahara had more than just those two shinigami send to counteract his plans...
Aizen stood up. This was too interesting to wait. Abarai was a pretty competent fighter, and if Urahara had minions who could take him out, it would be worth collecting whatever data he could. "Take me to Abarai-fukutaichou, Hinamori-kun. I want to see him for myself."
"Yes, taichou." Momo said, bowing again, before leading him out of the room. After a few minutes of walking, they reached their destination: The entrance to a nearby barracks, where Abarai was being kept on a stretcher.
Just as Momo had said, the vice-captain was in a very bad shape. He had been stripped of most of his clothes, and most of his body was covered in hastily applied bandages. It was easy to tell that he was bleeding from multiple spots from all over his body, and that several of his bones were broken. If she had seen how Abarai looked before the bandages were applied, there was little surprise as to why she had been upset.
What did strike Aizen however more than anything else, though, was the exact nature of Abarai's injuries- not a single one of them looked like it was caused by a zanpakutou, be it in its unreleased state or even a shikai. It was of course possible that his injuries could have been inflicted by some unknown zanpakutou ability, but something felt… off.
"Hinamori-kun, were there any reports of other attacks like these?"
"Uh…" Momo said, thinking. "I think I heard that the third seat of seventh division was found knocked out earlier. He was completely unharmed though, so it might just be nothing."
"Thank you, Hinamori-kun. Please head back to the division for now."
"Yes, taichou!" she said enthusiastically, hurrying back.
Aizen's brows formed a frown- not of concern, but of curiosity. Quickly, he reached into his coat, taking out a small phial. Sensing that nobody was around, he scraped some of Renji's blood into the phial, and then put a cork on it. There was a fact about reiatsu, often overlooked- it was impossible for two reiatsu sources to clash without leaving an imprint on one another. For a scientist, DNA from somebody who just fought a major battle was a vast bank of information- it would contain traces of all the attacks his opponents had hit him with.
And while he wasn't a scientist per se, he did have more than enough training. Leisurely, he walked towards the scene of the battle- he wouldn't need directions, nor would most officers; the swelling reiatsu, still settling after the violent clash, was indication enough for anyone with any sensory talent.
A couple of hours later, Aizen arrived back at his division. At his office, Momo was waiting- where else would the pitiful little thing be?- her face lighting up as he walked in.
"Welcome back, Aizen-taichou!" She said, bowing.
"There is no need to be so formal, Hinamori-kun." He said, putting on a reassuring smile. "I have been conducting a small investigation- I don't mean to steal the job of second division, but it can't hurt. After all, the Gotei's safety is at stake."
Inwardly, he was mildly amused at how perfect the excuse was. He had all the validity in the world behind him, collecting this data- and nobody had a clue.
"I see, taichou." His fukutaichou was beaming with admiration, as she usually would. It was somehow amusing to think of how easy it had been to make her devoted to him, such as she was. He knew he possessed the tools and talents for brainwashing if he so pleased- which, along the line, had sometimes been necessary- but this easily influenced little girl had only needed a gentle nudge to consider him the perfect hero.
"I will be working now." He said, knowing it was all he needed to make sure he would be left alone. Like a well-trained pet, Momo went to work herself, quietly, on whatever paperwork needed doing. In that simple regard, he might miss her even a little after he was done with his plans for tonight.
There was still time, though, for a recreational analysis of data, one that held just a little bit of significance- namely, strange reiatsu. He had taken samples from the scene of battle, and he had taken a blood sample from the third seat, Hasegawa- being still unconscious, the man hadn't noticed, nor had anybody else- and now all that remained was to analyze the data. Taking up what tools he needed- microscope, scientific data on reiatsu, pen and paper- he got to work.
It was fascinating- before long, he had identified that it was indeed two distinct reiatsus, neither one being close at all to the structure of a shinigami's DNA. One was, fascinatingly enough, a… Quincy, that almost extinct faction of humans… and the other was completely unique. He wished he had another month to study this, to conduct tests- but knowing that Urahara employed a Quincy and a human with extraordinary reiatsu manipulation powers was enough.
"This is quite odd..." He said out loud, speaking just barely loud enough for Momo to assume that he was talking to himself.
"What is odd, Aizen-taichou?" The girl asked, as if on cue.
Aizen smiled inwardly. This was just too easy. "Oh, sorry, Hinamori-kun. I have been just thinking aloud." He said apologetically, as if he had said something that she shouldn't have heard. "But you see, I have been analyzing Abarai-kun's injuries, since they somehow seemed odd to me... and unless I am completely mistaken by my results, the young man was attacked by a Quincy."
Momo let out a gasp. "A Quincy? In the seireitei? I thought the ryoka were shinigami? And how could a Quincy even defeat a vice-captain like Renji?"
"Quincies are experts when it comes to manipulating reiatsu. If he was facing a Quincy who is sufficiently skilled at this manipulation, it is not too surprising that he lost. I think the only thing that saved Abarai's life was the approach of our patrol – if not for that, this Quincy probably would have killed him." Aizen explained calmly. While only a small detail, passing on the information of a strong Quincy being in the seireitei to Momo could certainly help his plans.
"Uwaah... a Quincy strong enough to defeat a vice-captain? That's a scary thought. He is probably allied with these rogue shinigami, too... but what could they possibly want here in the seireitei? And why would they split up?"
Aizen smiled. Naive as she was, Momo still was competent enough to be a vice-captain... of which he was reminded quite frequently. "I do not know, Hinamori-kun. We can only hope that the onmitsukidou catches these ryoka before there are any more injured people. With the level of strength that this Quincy has, he might even be a potential threat to a captain... ah, but I think I am worrying too much. This crisis should be resolved soon enough."
Though Momo said nothing in response, Aizen could easily see that his words were making her worry a great deal – just as he had planned. Silently, Aizen went back to his work.
After a few hours more, he looked up again- it was already late night. And since there had been no message about ryoka being captured, it meant they were still at large- Tosen and Gin were no doubt following his orders to the letter.
Turning away from his research, he looked to Momo. Looking at her, having fallen asleep on his couch doing paperwork, he felt something- something he might almost describe as a passing sense of affection. It was only passing, though, and he allowed himself a smirk- the chaos he would sow with the letter he had left her would be quite amusing. He only wished he could be there to see it.
A younger Aizen Sousuke would have frowned, calling it sadistic. The present Aizen Sousuke only smiled, and disappeared into the night.
oOo
The first thing Momo noticed when she woke up was that she had, in fact, fallen asleep while in a very uncomfortable position – she could easily imagine dozens of ways to fall asleep that were more comfortable than falling asleep with her face on a desk. Only after continuing to sit like she had been in her sleep for a few more minutes, the memory of what exactly she had been doing yesterday came to her.
She had seen Abarai Renji being brought to the Fifth Squad's barracks, with all of those horrible injuries... she had told her captain, Aizen, about it, and had shown him the injured Renji... she stayed at his office to do paperwork-
And fell asleep during that.
Instantly, Momo was entirely awake, and jerked up. "I'm sorry, Aizen-taichou! I didn't mean to-" She began to apologize... only to notice that aside from her there was nobody in the room.
Confused, Momo looked around. According to the clock on the wall, it was already past nine in the morning – a time at which Aizen usually was already long since at work. Looking around, she could see nothing that could hint at his whereabouts: His desk was orderly, looking like it had not been touched yet this day, and everything else seemed perfectly normal.
With growing confusion, Momo headed out of his office. For her captain to not be at work at this time, something important must have happened, and that would not necessarily be something good. Against her will, Aizen's words from last night crept into her mind... a strong Quincy, possibly even a threat for a captain...
Momo shook her head. No, she shouldn't be thinking something like that. Her captain was most likely just late for work – after all, even a man like him could oversleep, right? Maybe one of the other members of the Squad had seen him... it would be best if she went out to look for some of her subordinates.
With an increasing hurry, she walked out of the building, towards the nearest other building of the division, her eyes on the ground. Even though she was trying to best to not remember them, she kept thinking of Aizen's words. Each time her mind wandered back to them, she walked faster to distract her, until in the end, she was running. It was silly, she thought, getting all worked up over some words and Aizen being too late, when everything was probably fine...
She had almost reached the building, when she noticed something lying on the ground. Slowing down, she carefully approached the object, until she could finally identify it as a pair of glasses – a pair of glasses which seemed awfully familiar...
Momo picked up the glasses. There was no mistaking it: They belonged to her captain, Aizen Sosuke.
And there was blood on them.
Her eyes slowly growing wide, Momo raised her head – and screamed at the sight of what was there on the wall of the building.
Matsumoto Rangiku was just out for a walk, having only recently woken up- last night's drinking had been, if not heavy, then at least of medium weight, and it had had an impact on when she had found herself able to get out of bed. Her captain would be less than pleased with her, but then again, the guy always found something to fuss about-
And then she heard it. A long, shrill scream, like distilled despair sailing through the air. And it kept going, going, renewing as if its owner intended to never stop. Rangiku, hurrying towards the sound, felt oddly distraught- there was something heartrending about the pain, like somebody who had lost everything-
And then she stopped, as she turned a corner and saw it.
She gaped. She had wanted to say something like "Oh, shit!", but- this, this was too baffling. Aizen Sousuke, pinned to a wall, blood decorating the entire wall around him, and before him, sunk to her knees, screaming, Hinamori Momo.
Again, she gaped, and then, deciding that this was no time to do a goldfish impression, she hurried up to Momo. Quickly, she pulled her up, hugging her tight, averting her eyes.
"Don't look!" She said, looking around desperately. This was a hell of a mess- she needed to alert somebody. Everybody. If Momo's screaming hadn't already.
Momo was in hysterics, her body trembling. She had stopped screaming, instead breathing rapidly, her eyes looking as if though she was somewhere else entirely- which she probably was. The poor girl worshipped her captain- had worshipped, from the looks of it… oh, bloody hell, a captain? Dead? How was it even possible?
She could feel other reiatsus coming her way- thank goodness. Down the street, she could see Kira Izuru and Hisagi Shuhei, the fukutaicho of third and ninth division respectively, jogging towards her.
"Matsumoto-san!" Hisagi exclaimed. "We heard screaming and- holy shit!"
Well, at least somebody could find the appropriate words.
"What happened here, Rangiku-san?" Kira asked, disbelief written on his face.
"I found her here, screaming." Rangiku said, holding on tightly to Momo, who was still hysteric. "Hisagi, I need you to go tell everyone- anyone you can find, right now."
"Yeah, got it." Hisagi nodded. He looked a little shaken- not that she could blame him; she felt shaken herself. "I'll get the word out, sure."
Quickly, he bolted away, using shunpo.
"Izuru, I need you to help me get Momo away from here."
"No!" Momo cried. "No, no, he needs us-"
"My, my." She'd recognize that leisurely, draggy voice from anywhere- Ichimaru Gin, her childhood friend, and captain of division three. "Lookie here- I heard a big commotion, and I guess it warn't for no reason." He inspected the scene, sounding mostly curious. "Stickered like a pig, I see- nasty way to go. Probably had it comin', though... goin' out for a walk at night when there's ryoka runnin' about, that's just askin' to get killed."
Rangiku stared at Gin silently. She always knew that he hardly had the attitude to make friends, but she wouldn't have expected him to show nothing but apathy and a slight curiosity in regards to the death of a fellow captain.
"How..." Momo asked quietly, still in Rangiku's embrace "...how can you know that he was out for a walk?" Gin averted his gaze from Aizen's corpse and looked straight at Momo, still bearing that constant, slightly bemused grin on his face. "...how can you talk like that about the death of another captain?" She pushed Rangiku aside and stood up, tears still rolling down her face. "HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT?!"
Before Rangiku could even do as much as trying to hold her back, Momo had already drawn her zanpakutou, and started to charge at Gin, blade aimed at his neck. Gin meanwhile just stood there, watching Momo come closer and closer-
-and then there was Kira, blocking Momo's blade before it could hit Gin. "What do you think you're doing, Hinamori-kun?!"
"It's him! It must've been him!" Momo wailed, trying to push Kira's blade aside. "How else would he know that Aizen-taichou has been out for a walk?! WHY ELSE WOULD HE TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT?!"
"You're being irrational! No matter your reasoning, I cannot allow you to harm my captain!" Kira shouted, as Gin quietly chuckled, and turned around to walk away.
Momo only gave Kira a mad glare. Then- "Snape, Tobiume!"*
Instantly, her blade changed shape, straightening out, with two prongs growing out of its side. The moment the transformation finished, a bright red fire began to cover the blade, growing quickly bigger and bigger until it caused an explosion.
Only narrowly, Kira avoided the attack, having jumped back at the right time. "Releasing your zanpakutou in this situation... you leave me no choice but to consider you an enemy, Hinamori-fukutaichou! Raise your head, Wabisuke!"
Just like Momo's blade before it, Kira's sword changed shape, with its blade straightening out, with the very tip of it made two ninety degree turns, given the entire sword a look reminiscent of a hook. Without saying another word, Kira began to charge at Momo, who in turn got ready to make her next attack-
But neither attack hit. Just before the two vice-captains reached each other, a white-haired man wearing the black robes of a shinigami and something similar to a captain's white haori jumped between the two, knocking both blades aside with a quick movement of his own sword.
"Sasakibe-fukutaicho!" Rangiku exclaimed, only now recognizing the man as the vice-captain of Squad One. With the unexpected fight going on in front of her, Rangiku had not been able to sense the approach of his reiatsu – and from the looks of it, neither did Momo and Kira.
"Matsumoto-fukutaichou, restrain Hinamori-fukutaichou. Kira-fukutaichou, step back at once." Sasakibe said in a calm but commanding tone, still keeping his sword in his hand. He then took a quick glance at Aizen's corps on the wall, and added "And somebody explain to me what is going here."
"Hinamori-fukutaichou first found Aizen-taichou... like this. Me, Kira-fukutaichou, Hisagi-fukutaichou and Ichimaru-taichou all came here when we heard her scream. Hisagi has already left to spread the word of what has happened." Rangiku began to explain, restraining Momo – who was doing her best to break free – like she was told to. "When Ichimaru-taichou... made some comments about what happened to Aizen-taichou, Hinamori became enraged, and started to attack him. Kira stepped in to protect his captain."
"What she said." Gin smirked, having come back to the scene when Sasakibe had shown up.
"And what exactly were your comments about this situation, Ichimaru-taichou?" Sasakibe inquired, giving Gin a calculating look.
Gin giggled. "Oh, nothin' special, really. Just made some lil' ol' guesses – like him having been out fer a walk when he was murdered. Might've mentioned that it was a stupid idea ter go out at night, with dem royka around and whatnot."
If Gin's explanation had somehow surprised or shocked Sasakibe, the man did not show it: He simply kept a straight face. "The soutaichou will hear about this incident... and I will not be leaving out what you had to say, Ichimaru-taichou."
Gin shrugged, smiling as creepily as ever. "Do as you please, Sasakibe-fukutiacho. I got business to take care of- can't stand here gawkin' at this spectacle all day." He turned around, walking away as leisurely as he had come.
Saskibe frowned, looking his way. Then, he turned to Kira and Hinamori. "I am placing the two of you under arrest. Raising your swords on one another, at a time like this? For shame!"
"But-" Kira objected.
"No buts. Report to the arrest of your respective divisions immediately- you will stay there until we decide you've learned your lessons. I do this on the authority of Yamamoto-soutaichou himself."
Rangiku sighed. This was beyond chaotic…
oOo
Unohana Retsu was carefully examining the body before her, thin plastic gloves on her hands, her fingers delicately wielding a scalpel. The death of a captain was serious indeed, and any data she could obtain might be invaluable.
So, she thought, as she peeled open Aizen's chest cavity, examining his wounds from the inside and outside, what could she deduce, on a purely preliminary basis?
Well, the rate of reiatsu dispersing suggested a very recent death- he could not have died more than eight hours ago, probably less. Multiple lacerations- a total of seven deep punctures on his torso, four on his chest and three more running through his stomach. The reiatsu emanating from it suggested extremely strong force- which would go without saying; killing a captain would require nothing short of extraordinary force.
His sword was still sheathed when he was found, she knew, which would suggest he was killed quickly and without a struggle. The reiatsu samples from his wounds matched no shinigami registered in the Gotei Juusantai, meaning the perpetrator had to be a ryoka- or somebody using a very powerful killing method, unrelated to zanpakutou usage.
But this… was strange. Killing a captain took an almost titanic effort- certainly, shinigami had all the same bodily functions as a human being, but being made out of spirit particles as they were, it would take enormous amounts of damage to inflict a fatal injury. It was, in theory, possible for a shinigami to survive losing half a midsection, or even get cut in half, provided medical assistance was provided expertly- well, the latter case was probably impossible, but nevertheless, a shinigami's body was resilient to the extreme, and captains the most of all. Any damage would be proportional to the reiatsu behind the attack, compared to the reiatsu levels of its target.
Somebody like Aizen Sousuke could not have been killed by the sort of attack anybody below a captain's level could produce- or at least, it was so unlikely that the difference between impossible and unlikely was semantic. Even supposing that somebody of, for example, Kuchiki Byakuya's level, had inflicted these injuries, it should still not have killed him.
The obvious source would be the ryoka, who had been here for two days already. The fact that they had not been found yet did suggest they were very skilled, but a being with the power of a captain could not remain undetected, however good his skill with suppressing reiatsu. Power could only be held back by so much, and reiatsu like her own, or Aizen's, could be felt from miles away- it was like a radiant beacon of pure, raw power to anyone who cared to sense.
Could the ryoka really have that sort of skill?
Obviously, they could. It wouldn't be the first time something seemingly impossible had been made possible, because of factors unknown to her. But was it likely? No.
Just reasoning logically, she couldn't see how Aizen was dead. But here he was, lying on her table, stiff and pale. She inspected his face solely, sensing his fading reiatsu. It was undeniably him, to the last possible spiritual sequence that made up his decaying body.
Quietly, she shook her head. This was a mess- and it was her job to find out how he had died. Well, there was no point in running herself into a wall. He was undoubtedly dead- this only meant there were facts she had not yet found, an explanation unseen and waiting to be uncovered. Slowly, she resumed her work, opening his ribcage. Everyone was doing their part out there, investigating. She would do hers.
oOo
Ichigo and Tatsuki were quietly walking down a back alley, guided by the timid Hanataro. As soon as they had healed, they had moved on, as per Yoruichi's instructions. Yoruichi herself was mysteriously absent, having left long before the two of them had finished resting up.
"Where is she?" Tatsuki asked.
"No point in wondering." Ichigo remarked, shrugging as he walked down the street. "We managed without her before, and we'll manage without her now."
"Barely." Tatsuki said, grumbling.
"Don't be so sour. We got a guide this time, at least. No need to be impatient."
Tatsuki gave Ichigo a glare. "You're one to talk about impatience- wasn't it you who wanted to get going again, without even being healed first?"
"That doesn't count. I was still worked up because of that fight." Ichigo said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Y'know, speaking of that fight..." Tatsuki began, sitting down right in front of Ichigo "why exactly did you save that super-technique of yours, this kizu-thing for last? If you had used this earlier, we might've won this thing with a lot less trouble."
"I barely know how to use it, and it takes so much energy that I'm useless after I fire it. It does a shit ton of damage, but if it doesn't hit, I'm too weak to fight. Besides, why didn't you use any of your special tricks? I know have some of those as well, like, this Raiendan."
"I would have used them, if there had been the right opportunity. You just didn't leave me any." Tatsuki shot back. "And I did use my Raiendan, but only after you collapsed."
"You know, I kind of feel like we have to work on this teamwork thing."
"Especially you." Tatsuki said. She probably meant it as a joke, but it wasn't really the right time for it- the two of them were tired, still recovering from their last fight.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Things could have gone from bad to worse, what with the two of them being tired, tense and teenaged, but luckily, their timid little guide actually decided to speak up.
"So, uh..." Hanataro's said hesitantly, having quietly listened to their exchange, focusing mostly on what routes had the least guards, "are you two, like, a couple, or...?"
This produced two very different reactions. Ichigo's face reddened, as he hastily threw out denials, so quick the words were jumbled. Tatsuki frowned, looking confused.
"Ew, no." She said. "That would be like dating my brother, or something. Or something. Definitely gross."
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I apologize! You just- you sounded a lot like people who are used to arguing a lot with each other. And that's kind of the definition of a couple. …I'll stop talking now."
"I- it's alright, really." Ichigo mumbled awkwardly. "Let's just keep going, all right?"
Moving on in awkward silence, the trio kept walking.
"Fukutaicho-dono, targets identified."
Omaeda Marechiyo looked up, getting to his feet from the laid back position he had been in- stake-outs were tiresome; no sense not resting when you had subordinates already doing the watching. They were up on high, sitting on a rooftop, finding the best spots for sensing out-of-the-ordinary reiatsu.
Grinning, he looked the officer in the eye. They sure were effective, their onmitsukidou agents- they looked sneaky in their all black, faces covered uniforms, but they were good at their job.
"Good." He said, stretching himself. "They match the reiatsu signatures we've been looking for?"
The officer nodded. "Yes, fukutaicho-dono. These are the same signatures found at the site of the battle where Madarame-sanseki was defeated. Shall we move in?"
"Wait." Oomaeda ordered. "Our team has what, seven operatives?"
"Correct. Each one a fully trained agent."
"These guys beat a third seat- no, they beat Ikkaku, and you all know what a rowdy bastard he is in a fight."
"We have a battle plan, fukutaicho-dono." Was that irritation he sensed in his subordinate's voice?
"What, gang up on them from an ambush?"
"Essentially, yes. If we could administer tranquilizers, we could probably take them down with relatively few casualties."
Omaeda shrugged the suggestion off. "Nah, ain't gonna work. If they're this far in, they got to be hardcore masters of stealth- they're not going to fall for no ambush."
"Fukutaicho-dono-"
"I'm going to take 'em on."
"But-" the officer said, frustration leaking out from behind his mask.
"That's an order!" He said, emphasizing his words almost to the point of shout. "We follow them for a bit, and when we hit a good spot to attack, I'm going in." He grinned again, making a fist. "Don't you worry, though- your pals can back me up if things go badly."
"…yes, fukutaicho-dono." The officer said, bowing.
This was good. He'd finally have a chance to show his captain what he was made of, that he wasn't just a dandy who got his job because his dad played shogi with his captain's dad. This was his chance, and he wasn't going to waste it. Holding up a fist, he put on what he at least thought was a determined look. The ryoka would get what was coming to them, oh yes they would…
Author's Notes:
* More attentive readers might have noticed this typo, since the correct release command for Momo's zanpakutou is actually "Snap", and not "Snape" - but when my co-writer GKR pointed it out to me, I felt that this was too amusing of a typo to pass up. So without further ado, I give you:
A small typo during writing, taken to its logical conclusion.
Momo only gave Kira a mad glare. Then- "Snape, Severus!"
Instantly, her blade changed shape, taking on the form of a roughly thirty year old man with black, greasy hair. The moment the transformation finished, a magic potion starting flowing from his mouth, forming a puddle on the floor until it caused an explosion.
Only narrowly, Kira avoided the attack, having Apparated out of the way at just the right time. "You dare summoning forth Severus Snape in this situation?! You leave me no choice but to consider you an enemy of my OTP, Hinamori-fukutaichou! Potter, James!"
Just like Momo's blade before it, Kira's sword changed shape, taking on the form of another roughly thirty year old man with black, messy hair. Without a fierce battlecry of "JAMESXLILY 4EVERRRR!" Kira began to charge at Momo, who in turn got ready to make her next attack, roaring "SEVERUSXLILY FOR LIIIFE!"-
But neither attack hit. Just before the two shippers reached each other, an old man with a long, white beard appeared between them, tanking both hits while shouting at the top of his lungs.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUKERS!" It was...Dumblydore!