The next scheduled break that we had was lunch, and I was dead set on finding out what was going on. I had finally found Rukia, which meant that my mission was partly considered a success, but something odd was going on that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
As soon as Ochi-Sensei dismissed class for lunch, I immediately tapped Rukia on her shoulder to get her attention. "Rukia, do you want to explain to me what's going on here?"
"Jun, you know I do. It's just… once I start explaining, you have to listen intently. Don't interrupt me or you'll probably be lost." Rukia explained. "Kurosaki, you're coming, too!"
I shot her a questioning look, wondering why she wanted this human to hear what she was going to explain. I mean, sure. Now that I tried to look for his reiatsu, I found that I was off of the charts. But, I just didn't see what that had to do with anything.
Kurosaki, the tall orange haired male, took the lead. Rukia and I followed closely behind him; we didn't know the layout of this school, so we could still easily get lost. Besides, he was taking us to a really secluded place. We were still on the school grounds, which were currently deserted. Many people were eating lunch inside the building, or were gathered in the field that I had seen once he led us outside. However, he went the other way, distancing us from the other students.
"My, my, what a secluded place." Rukia mused, "What's on your mind, big boy?"
"R-Rukia! Stop talking like that!" I stuttered, surprised by her choice of words. Where did she pick that up? She definitely didn't learn that back in the Soul Society. I'm sure Kuchiki-Taicho wouldn't approve of her using those kinds of statements.
"She's right! It's disgusting!" Kurosaki agreed with me, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Disgusting? How rude." Rukia stated, almost like she was put off. "I spent the whole night learning your manners of speech! Not bad, eh?"
"Shut up. Explain what's going on, who you are, and how you two know each other!" Kurosaki demanded, pointing a finger in my direction.
I arched an eyebrow as I stared up at this rude man. "Che, that wasn't a nice way to ask at all. That was more like demanding, not asking."
"Whatever! Just tell me what's going on! I think I deserve that much, at least." He complained, his glare matching my own.
I crossed my arms, scowling up at him. He was really way too tall; it wouldn't kill him to shrink a few inches. I could already feel my neck complaining from having to look so far up at him. "Kokawa Junko. Most know me by just Jun. I'm a Substitute Shinigami; which classifies me as a human who gained Shinigami powers. I went to the Soul Society to get proper training. That's how I know Rukia." I explained in short sentences, hoping to keep this short and sweet. I wasn't going to waste my time telling a stranger my whole life history. Even Rukia didn't know everything about me; there were a few things that I would keep secret no matter what. "I've been sent back to the World of the Living to find Kuchiki Rukia and bring her back to the Soul Society for questioning."
"So, you're a Shinigami also?" Kurosaki asked.
I raised my eyebrow; I had thought that I had made that clear enough. "Yes. I had nothing better to do with my life. It was either become a Shinigami and learn how to control my powers or get killed by Hollows that always found me. It was thought that the best option was for me to become a Shinigami and be able to protect myself." I then turned my gaze towards Rukia, "Now that he knows who I am, I think it's about time you explained yourself, Rukia."
"Yeah, isn't your work here finished?! Why are you sneaking into my class now?! And why didn't you go back to the Soul Society or whatever?!" Kurosaki asked, his temper getting the best of him.
"You're both fools!" Rukia boomed, as she crossed her arms across her chest. A serious expression took over her face as she continued, "I'd have to be a Shinigami to return to the Soul Society. I can't go back!"
"Huh? Why not?" The guy asked, clearly clueless.
I blinked three times in a row, before I took in a huge intake of air which made a hissing noise that caught their attention. "Rukia, don't tell me…"
"Yes. I'm afraid that you're right. I've lost my Shinigami powers!" Rukia wouldn't meet my gaze, as she instead looked towards the ground. However, she did look up and gaze at the orange haired male beside me.
"Rukia, you know that you're not allowed to do that. That makes this a serious situation!" My eyes narrowed before murmuring something that only she could hear, "It's a serious crime!"
Then, it was like someone had turned on the light bulb in my brain. It suddenly made sense, almost like pieces of a puzzle coming together to show the real story.
"Him," Ankoku-Tatsu's voice rang out in my mind.
Kurosaki, the male next to me, had a huge mass of reiatsu. He's the only one that could block Rukia's senses, making her skill weaken. She could have gotten injured and, unable to protect him, transferred her powers to him. Why else would Rukia insist that he be here now? Obviously something had happened between the two of them.
When I turned to glare at the male beside me, he seemed to finally get what was going on. "Wha?! B-But I'm no longer a Shinigami! See, no kimono!" He spoke, as he raised his arm and tugged on the material of the school uniform. Of course, it was just his gray school uniform sleeve and not the black fabric of the Shihakusho. "Where did this 'Shinigami Power' go then?!"
"Inside of you," Rukia answered simply. "It's not your body, but your soul that has become a Shinigami." Then she pointed in my direction. "See, it's her soul that's a Shinigami. Otherwise, she'd be wearing her kimono. Normal people wouldn't be able to see her, only spiritually aware humans. Anyways, last night you stole all of my powers from me! I only have a few abilities left, and now I have to rely on this gigai to sustain me."
"Gigai?" Kurosaki asked, confused.
"It's a temporary body that Shinigami use in emergencies." I explained, trying to think of a way to get him to understand it. "Disempowered Shinigami will inhabit a gigai until their powers return."
"So that's what a gigai-thing is." He said, slowly starting to understand.
I decided to make it a bit simpler, "It's mainly used to disguise a Shinigami that has lost their powers. They can blend in with humans so they won't become easy prey for Hollows. Even humans that are spiritually unaware will be able to see them, as if they were a fellow human."
Kurosaki nodded, showing that he now understood what we were talking about.
"So, then… What would a weakened Shinigami want with me?" He asked next. This is the question that I had wanted answered the most. Rukia seemed to have an ulterior motive to staying in the World of the Living.
"Until my powers return, you will take over my Shinigami duties!" Rukia proudly exclaimed, holding her hand out towards Kurosaki for dramatic effect.
"I refuse!" Kurosaki loudly exclaimed, holding his arms up in front of him in an 'X' shape; the classic sign for signaling no.
Rukia looked flabbergasted, and I couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. Obviously she sucked at trying to convince people to do what she wanted. "What..?"
"I said I refuse." Kurosaki stated as he turned around, facing the opposite direction. "I'm not fighting those monsters ever again. Yesterday, I was only able to fight because my family was in danger. I'm not fighting monsters like that for total strangers! I'm not that nice of a person!" He exclaimed, turning back around to somewhat glare at Rukia.
"But there's no problem! You do have the powers of a Shinigami now, so Jun and I will help you! You have no choice; this really is all your fault!" Rukia claimed.
"No way!" Both Kurosaki and I shouted at the same time. This caused us to look at each other, and I glared at him before turning back to the powerless Shinigami.
"Rukia, I fully intend to complete my mission. I am supposed to take you back to the Soul Society for questioning! So, please, don't try and make me a part of this! I don't intend on failing my mission. I have our Taicho's trust that I'll make it back with you." I explained, my eyes darkening to show that I was serious and meant what I said.
"Jun, you have to help. You're the only one who can help; Kurosaki clearly has no clue what being a Shinigami means and you have a pretty firm grasp on your powers. I'll be able to use you as a proper example; there'll be things that I won't be able to demonstrate because I don't have my powers anymore. Besides, you owe me! I helped you out a lot when you were still in the Academy." Rukia explained, a smug look crossing her face.
"That's so unfair!" I exclaimed, my eyebrows furrowing out of anger. "That's called blackmail, Rukia!" I paused, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Ankoku-Tatsu was warning me not to lose my temper, so I tried to listen to her and calm down. "Alright," I caved. "I'll only agree to this if you can get the traffic cone over there to agree as well. I do think that I deserve a lengthy vacation in the World of the Living, so I'll play along for a little bit. However, if we get caught then this is all your fault. This is seriously some deep shit."
"Ah, I knew that you would agree sooner or later, Jun-Kun~!" Rukia almost sang, while I got the feeling like I had just been conned into something bad. I slid down the brick wall that I was leaning against, until my butt hit the concrete ground.
"She won't have to do anything because I already said that I'm not going to fight against any more of those monsters." Kurosaki said, glaring at me. He had probably caught that I had called him 'traffic cone.' "As I said before, I'm not that nice of a person. Sorry if I disappointed you."
"I see… I guess I have no other choice," Rukia muttered, as she pulled a bright red fingerless glove from her pocket. On the glove was a familiar flaming skull. I knew what she was going to do; she was going to force his soul from his body.
As he turned around to face her, not knowing what she was going to do, he was startled when he found that she was running straight towards him. The palm of her gloved hand connected underneath his chin, forcibly separating his soul. His body, now soulless, fell to the ground; limp and lifeless.
"Waa?!" Kurosaki exclaimed, looking down at his hands. "What's this?! My soul has been removed! Hey, hey body! Snap out of it!" He crawled towards his lifeless body, which was lying face down on the concrete. He was trying to get it to move but it was useless. It would remain lifeless until he re-inhabited it or another soul entered the body.
What caught my interest was the size of his Zanpakuto. It was huge. It was far too big to be carried on his hip; because of this, it was slung across his back. But even so, it was almost the length of his body.
"Hey, follow me." Rukia ordered, as she began to walk off. She stopped, staring until Kurosaki got the message to follow her. "And Jun, I'll ask that you stay here and look after his body."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I muttered in reply, as I lazily waved at them as they took off. I rolled my eyes and sighed, getting ready to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet for a while. However, a discreet beeping noise caught my attention. I took out my cell phone, knowing that it was the source of the noise.
My phone was one of the newest models. Urahara had modified a newer human cell phone, tampering with it until it became a Hollow pager. The Soul Society only had a few older models, and they weren't as accurate. Not to mention, they figured that a trained Shinigami would be adept enough at being able to focus on a Hollows presence and track it that way. So, this was like cheating. Which I was fine with; it meant less work for me.
I pressed and held down the unlock button the touch screen of the cell phone, before the alert popped up:
Yumizawa Children's Park
20M radius
12:00 PM
+ or – 15 min
That must have been where Rukia was taking that Kurosaki person. After all, she couldn't slay the Hollow herself. That meant that I wouldn't have to target it. I sighed in boredom, before my gaze fell on the limp body. Class was about to start back up; I wasn't just gonna ditch and watch a lifeless body until they returned.
I might as well just hide his body somewhere where nobody would see it and think that someone was actually dead. It would also have to be a place where they'd be able to easily find it… So, where to put it?
Without an answer, I sighed as I stood up and walked over to the body. Just what was I supposed to do with his body?
Obviously, I didn't wanna lug it around the school; that'd look suspicious.
And I didn't know the guy, so there was no way I was going to get that close to his lifeless body anyway.
So, I did the only thing that I could think of. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I screamed:
"Sensei! Kurosaki's passed out~!"
"What?! Where?!" I heard a teacher call out, running towards my voice.
"Over here! Help, please!"
"What happened, Kokawa-San?" The teacher asked, as he turned to stare at me. However, I was too busy lost in thought, and I didn't hear him.
"Kokawa-San?"
He waved a hand in front of my face, catching my attention.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I guess I just spaced out there for a moment! What were you saying before?" I asked, trying to be as respectful as I could.
"It's quite alright. I'm sure finding a classmate passed out could be quite shocking. I was just asking if you knew what had happened."
"Well, I'm not sure!" I spoke, trying to sound as innocent as possible. That was easier to think than to accomplish; I'm sure a heavily pierced girl wouldn't appear all that innocent. "I was just walking around the campus, you know, trying to get better acquainted with my surroundings since I'm new, when I turn a corner and see him sprawled out on the ground! I did check his vitals, though, and he seems fine. Although, I did poke him and he didn't respond."
"I see. Well, it must have been the heat. It is quite hot out for this time of the year." The teacher muttered, as he wiped at a bit of sweat that had accumulated on his own forehead. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, do you think that you could help me move him to the nurse's office?"
"Alright," I nodded, as I reached for Kurosaki's other arm. I proceeded to throw it across my shoulders, noticing how it seemed so much larger than my own small self.
As we set off on our trek to the nurse's office, I couldn't help but hope that he didn't agree to Rukia's plan. I didn't want to help train him. And I really didn't want to get busted by the Soul Society.