Chapter 5:
The gate to the Seireitei opened and the group walked inside. Linnette walked beside Ichigo and Rukia, Victor and Cedric close behind. Rukia led the group to where they needed to go. The Soul Reaper she spoke with told her the location of the Captain who wanted to speak with them and would be giving them the information they were waiting to hear.
Their journey took them to the Squad 12 laboratory.
Victor had run-ins with Mayuri before and didn't care for him. He could tolerate that man up to a point but when it came to Linnette, he became even more protective and had a shorter fuse. As they entered the lab, Victor pulled closer to Linnette and told her to stay close to him. He would not let go of her hand.
Many strange-looking Soul Reapers passed them by in the lab and some pointed them in the Captain's direction.
"Hey," said Akon as he passed by. "The Captain's in there. He's been waiting."
The group entered the room Akon pointed to and sure enough, there was the Captain. Mayuri was hunched over a table, tinkering with something no one could identify. There was a round table with many buttons near him which seemed important, so the group gathered around that.
"Finally, you're here," said Mayuri. There was a slight hiss to his voice, like a crafty man excited for mysterious reasons. This made Victor a little more anxious. "Come, come, come. Gather around. That's it. Don't keep me waiting any longer. This is important. Hurry up, now."
They weren't sure what Mayuri wanted but they were desperate to know. All this mystery was getting annoying. Whether it was good news or bad news, they just wanted to know and put an end to the guessing and uncertainty.
"Alright, good. I'm glad we're all here. This way I don't have to repeat myself. Unless it's for reasons like your tiny minds being unable to fathom what it is I'm talking about so I'll have to repeat and maybe dumb it down for you. They say repetition is good for learning and retaining information, but I'm a busy man and do I look like I have the time to be..?"
"Just get to the point," Ichigo said impatiently.
"Very well. I'll get right to it." Mayuri jumped right in, no longer wasting time. "As I'm sure you're aware, there's a bit of Hollow trouble going around and not the usual kind. There's something off about them. Which is why I wanted to send you out there to face a couple of them so you would have a better idea of what I'm talking about." He turned to Rukia and Ichigo. "Did you notice something about them?"
Ichigo had no clue what he was talking about, but Rukia did. "Yes," she said. "I noticed a couple of things off about these Hollows. I wasn't really aware of it until I got close enough to cut them. As my Zanpakuto got close to their bodies, I noticed something strange. I can't really explain it. I think it had something to do with their Spiritual Pressure. At a distance, they have the same feel as most other Hollows. But when I got closer, I noticed that something was different. It was so faint but I could sense it."
"I didn't sense anything," said Ichigo.
"Well, you suck at it anyway."
Mayuri continued. "I'm glad you noticed that there was something off about them. You see, a week ago, we started to notice something odd about certain Hollows. It isn't all of them. Only a select few. So I started doing some research on the subject. These particular Hollows happen to be in close proximity to populated areas. Districts are unlikely to see a lot of Hollow activity so it's odd seeing so many appear in towns and villages. That was another thing I found odd about them. I conducted more research and I found something interesting."
"Yeah, what?"
"That the places plagued with these Hollows are also having issues with missing people. A few people have gone missing in some Districts."
"So these Hollows are eating people. Isn't that what they do?" said Ichigo.
"That's not the interesting part. I thought of that at first, but I realized that wasn't the case. You see, the exact number of people missing match the exact number of Hollows appearing in these Districts."
Rukia understood. "The missing people are the Hollows."
"Precisely."
This was troubling news.
"Hang on a second," said Ichigo. "I thought Soul Reapers perform a Konso on Souls so they don't become Hollows and can move on to the Soul Society. I thought once they got here, they can't become Hollows. Only if they're still in the World of the Living and..." Ichigo was certain a person could not become a Hollow once they reached this point. Either that or he was mistaken and didn't know what he was talking about.
"You're right," said Mayuri. "It is highly unlikely for a someone here to become a Hollow for no reason like this. A Konso is to prevent that and to send them off to a better place than where they were before. Which is why this struck me as highly unusual. Which is why I took it to the next step. We managed to capture one of these strange Hollows so I could run some tests. And the results are the exact reason I called you all here for this. You are all involved."
"What do you mean we're all involved?" asked Ichigo. He didn't like being accused. Then he noticed that Mayuri was also talking to Linnette's group.
Mayuri pressed a button on the round table between them. The table's surfaced began to glow and projected something. It was a hologram displaying different numbers and formulas and a lot of data Ichigo couldn't recognize.
"This is what I discovered in the Hollow." Mayuri turned to Victor. "Does this look familiar to you?"
Victor looked at the screen glowing in the space between them. After a moment, Victor's face changed to one of surprise and outrage. "I should say so," he said calmly, even though his face was serious. "That's my Hollow serum."
"Your what?!" Ichigo spun around.
"You remember," Mayuri said for Victor. "It's the formula he came up with to turn people into Hollows. He's used it a few times before, as you might recall."
"That was in the past," said Victor. "My reasons for doing that-"
"Were for her. Yes, I know."
"Things are different now," said Victor. "I did it without asking if it was something she wanted. I took it upon myself thinking I was doing something that would make her happy. I realize it was wrong. The actions I took and taking it upon myself without asking what she thought or what she truly wanted. It was a mistake and I vowed never to do it again. I will never do anything that would hurt my Linnette."
"Aw, touching," Mayuri said flatly.
"I did not do this," Victor said firmly, pointing at the screen.
"I'm sure you didn't. I'm not accusing you. I'm just saying it is your formula."
In so many words, Mayuri was hinting that someone else had discovered Victor's serum and was using it for their own purposes.
"I do not know how someone would have gotten a hold of that information," said Victor.
"And how is that?" asked Mayuri.
"Because I never wrote it down."
Ichigo knew it was the truth. Victor could hold information in his mind, even complicated information, without ever needing to write it down. Back when they first met and when the formula was first introduced, Victor was more than capable of keeping track of such things. He was inhuman. Even though a lot of time had passed and Victor had made some changes, Ichigo knew that Victor would never write down this sort of information. Especially if no one was to know about it.
"He's telling the truth," said Ichigo. "He never wrote it down. No one was supposed to know about it. Not even Linnette. He never told her he was doing this. Even Cedric didn't know. Victor kept this whole thing to himself so no one would find out about it. If he wrote it down, it could fall into the wrong hands and he would never risk such a thing. So I'm certain he never wrote it down."
"Even so, how could someone get this sort of information? He didn't tell anyone about it?"
"Of course not. Didn't you hear what I said?"
Mayuri frowned. "Well, the only other explanation is that someone had analyzed it when they were making a cure. And I know Kisuke had done that before."
"So you're saying he's responsible?"
"No. That's also unlikely," said Mayuri. "All these Hollows are located here. None of them have shown up in the World of the Living. Which brings me to the conclusion that whoever is responsible for this, is located here in the Soul Society."
That made sense. Now they just had to figure out who it was.
"Just a minute," Rukia said fearfully. "If that's the case... about it being Victor's formula and all that... Then those Hollows we attacked are actually innocent people. Kisuke came up with a vaccine. We could have cured them!"
Ichigo shared her fear. They had just killed innocent people who could have been saved.
"Wrong," said Mayuri. "I thought of that, but that isn't the case. As it turns out, that cure would only work on human beings. The ones effected here are not living human beings."
"But the cure worked on Soul Reapers who were effected. Not just humans."
"I noticed something," said Victor. "This is my formula... but not exactly. It's been changed. There are things here that I had not done. I didn't come up with this."
"Exactly," said Mayuri. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. Victor's formula had been altered. Whoever has this has been tinkering with it. So the cure Kisuke came up with would not work anyway. And before you say that he could come up with another, save your breath. This formula has been changed to become more potent and deadly. Those innocent people could not be saved. Once they became Hollows, they're Hollows for good. Just the same way as it would be if a Soul becomes a Hollow in the World of the Living. There is no help for them."
They were both relieved and frightened at this news. They had killed Hollows after all and not innocent people who could have been saved. However, this also meant that if this formula ended up in someone they knew, there was no way to save them once they changed.
"What's even worse is that no matter what, the person is going to die." Mayuri gestured to the screen. "The Hollow I did this study on and took samples from died this morning. I had it in captivity for a total of three days before it ended up dying."
"What does this mean?" asked Cedric. "Was it a certain cause?"
He nodded. "It seems that because it's an unnatural Hollowfication, the person's body could not handle it. Basically, the body fell apart. Painfully. I can't say there was no suffering. But the Hollow did not leave a body behind to be studied so I don't have anymore details at this time. However, there is something else I should mention."
"Is it good news?" Ichigo asked.
"Wishful thinking. No. I came across another Hollow of this sort and before it was killed, I managed to get a sample from that. It's slightly different from this one. Which means that whoever is doing this is still tinkering. The formula is constantly changing."
"That could mean that the person doing this is still trying to perfect it," said Rukia.
"Or they want to make sure no one can come up with a way to cure this. If at all possible," said Cedric.
"Well, that's why I brought you all here," said Mayuri. "One way or another, you're involved. This is Victor's formula. I'm not sure how we can remedy this, but we'll have to. And since a lot of these Hollows are showing up closer to the Seireitei, I have a feeling something is about to occur."
"I can help, too, can't I?" asked Linnette. "I want to help."
Mayuri didn't try to hide his rolling eyes. "While is it remarkable that you managed to create these astounding men who do your bidding, you yourself are nothing."
"Mind your words," Victor warned.
"I'm not calling her worthless. Don't put words in my mouth," said Mayuri. "I'm simply stating that other than her singing voice, she is no different from normal, average human beings. Compared to others, she is weak. I don't see how she can help in this situation. The last thing we need is someone getting in the way."
"But you just said that my voice sets me apart from others. And we are fighting Hollows, so I can help."
"I only called you here, because I knew these two would not come without you," said Mayuri. "You're just a chew toy a couple of dogs are too stubborn to let go of. I can only get them to heel if they are holding onto you."
Cedric clenched his fists, making Ichigo very nervous. He knew they wouldn't hesitate to rip Mayuri to shreds if it meant defending Linnette.
"Besides," Mayuri went on, "in this situation, even if we are against Hollows, we also have some among us." He gestured to Ichigo. "Do you honestly think he can fight at full capacity with her around? When she uses her voice, his Hollow surfaces and the real Ichigo becomes dormant. How can we get everyone on the same page at an important moment if one is unconscious and a Hollow has taken his place? Even if he is tame, it's not a good situation. What if there is a fight going on, you use your voice and the other one is thrust into battle without a clue as to what's going on? That is just one example. I have many more."
Linnette wasn't offended at all. In fact, she was smiling. She was brimming with excitement. "That won't happen anymore," she said.
Victor and Cedric calmed their anger and turned her her, grinning.
Mayuri was intrigued. They all knew something he didn't. Did she have a new weapon of some sort? He was curious.
Rukia and Ichigo were interested as well.
"What do you mean that won't happen anymore?"
Linnette was still smiling. "I was so excited to tell you," she said to Ichigo. "Do you mind if I show everyone what I've been working on?"
She wanted to give a demonstration. Ichigo was dying to know himself. "Uh, sure. Go ahead."
She grinned brightly at him. Then she turned to face Mayuri. Ichigo wasn't sure what to expect or if she wanted him to do anything. He just stood where he was and waited for something to happen.
"I'd like to speak to Hollow, please."
In an instant, Ichigo's eyes changed to gold and black. His head turned from side to side as if seeing this place for the first time. "What..? How did..?" His Hollow was piloting his body.
Rukia was astonished. "She... She didn't even..."
Linnette then said, "I want Ichigo to come back now."
Ichigo's eyes changed to their usual brown and he staggered back, slightly off balance. For a moment, he couldn't feel anything but he knew something had happened. It felt like he had been asleep on his feet. "What the hell was that? What happened?"
"She made your Hollow appear!" Rukia couldn't stop herself from blurting out those worlds.
"She did?" Ichigo was confused. "But... But I didn't hear her sing."
"She didn't!"
"She didn't?"
"Yup!" Linnette was very proud of herself. "I told you the last time we met that I would become stronger so I could help you. So this is what I've been doing."
"What exactly was that?" he asked her.
"I don't have to sing in order to call your Hollow to the surface. It's not just my song. It's my voice."
Ichigo wasn't sure how to respond to this new development. "So just by talking..? Then why can I still be here while you're talking to me?" he asked.
"It's complicated. I always thought that it was my singing voice that did it. Then I remembered that sometimes while I'm talking to Hollows, they remain tame even if they haven't heard my song for a few minutes. It seemed to last longer and it made me wonder why that was. So I've been practicing and working hard. And I made a discovery. In short, my song can be used on a crowd. But to effect individual Hollows, I can use my voice. Just by talking to them!"
Victor was smiling. "She was so excited to tell you about this, she could hardly wait."
"Now I can help you in battle without my voice effecting you."
This was wonderful news. Her voice effecting Hollows and Ichigo at the same time was a bit of a handicap. Now things would be different.
"It's not exactly perfected," Linnette admitted. "There's still room for improvement. But this should help a little."
"How many Hollows can you tame without using your singing voice?" asked Rukia.
"Just a small number. My singing voice is stronger which is why it works on large groups. But if you need me to talk to one or two Hollows without effecting Ichigo, I can do that." Linnette looked down. "But there is a slight problem."
Cedric put his hands on her shoulders. "She can only use her speaking voice on Hollows who have already heard her singing voice. So in order to effect new Hollows, she still has to use her song first before speaking to them. If she speaks to ones who have yet to hear her sing, they will not be effected. We think it has something to do with them recognizing her voice from the songs they've heard, and that's why..."
"But I'm stronger than I was and this should help out a lot," she said. "Right, Ichigo?"
Ichigo patted her on the head. "Sure does. Great job, Linnette, You're a big help." This was a huge step for her and she deserved encouragement. He knew she worried that she wasn't able to help them and got in the way when a battle was going on. He knew she would get better and she was doing this to help her friends. Offering her some praise was a good way for her to know she was on the right path and that they were cheering her on.
"The improvement you've made is a little impressive," admitted Mayuri. "I hadn't thought you were capable of such a thing. However, that little setback poses a problem as you know. And as of now, I'm not certain how it would effect the situation with these Hollows. It could tame them or it could not. That remains to be seen. In any case, it doesn't solve the problem. We must find out who is doing this and why."
"I could always ask the Hollows if they remember who did this to them," said Linnette.
"I thought you had issues with that before. Since you can communicate with the Hollows, but not the actual person while the Hollow is in control. What I mean is, you've tried asking Hollows what happened to them and they have no recollection of what transpired. All they knew was the now and not how it came to be. These people could be the same."
"We won't know unless we try."
Mayuri wasn't convinced. He was finding a lot of flaws in Linnette's thinking. More than he was bringing to their attention. He doubted that interrogating these Hollows would result in finding the one who did this to them. They were still unaware of how this person was doing this in the first place. Was this some sort of pill they had to swallow or an injection or a gas they had to breath in?
"Now that everyone is on the same page, you can leave," said Mayuri. "There's nothing further we can discuss until we get more information. Feel free to look for the culprit if you wish, but without anything to go on, you won't get far."
Ichigo was happy to leave. He hated being in this lab. It had a lot of strange smells, plenty of sharp objects and too many people running around doing different tasks. Most of all, he hated feeling like he was about to be probed. Even though he wasn't strapped to a table, he felt like one of Mayuri's experiments.
"What do we do in the meantime?" asked Rukia.
"Like I care," said Mayuri. "But if anymore of those Hollows show up, be sure to save me some of it so I can run some tests. All the drama aside, it is actually quite fascinating."
"You have strange ideas..." Ichigo said under his breath. He was ready to leave.
He was one of the first people to the door. Victor and Linnette were close behind. He was ushering Linnette out the door, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Cedric was behind them but Mayuri kept calling him back, asking to run some tests on him.
"You ran tests on Victor. Any tests you do to me will match the data you took from him," said Cedric. "We are the same structurally."
"But you are indeed different which is why I want to compare the two of you. You seem to have different personalities and even your physical appearances are different. You're taller and have different color hair, you are more muscular, have different taste in clothing..."
"I gave you my answer, now leave me alone."
Mayuri would not stop asking them. He stopped at the door, but he wasn't giving up the pursuit. He would ask again at a different time. When he set his mind to something, he did not give up easily.
Rukia knew he was still after the two men and advised him to devote that effort into finding a way to resolve the latest Hollow issue and hopefully find the one responsible.
Now that they were no longer in the lab, Victor eased off a little and allowed Linnette more room to wander around. Predictably, she stayed by Ichigo's side. She said anything that came to mind and Ichigo listened politely.
As they walked, several Soul Reapers passed them by, smiling in greeting and saying 'hello'. Then a Captain started coming their way. Ichigo decided to greet him first. "Hey, Shinji."
Shinji looked up and smiled at him. He started to open his mouth to say something, then his eyes grew wide and he froze. He looked scared. Gasping in horror, he covered his ears and ran down another hallway as fast as he could.
Ichigo frowned. "What was that all about? Never saw him do that before."
He looked down at Linnette who had a sad look on her face. She had noticed Shinji's reaction.
That was when Ichigo realized that Shinji had run away as soon as he saw Linnette. In fact, Ichigo knew it was Linnette he was running from because Shinji had covered his ears. That was proof.
Suddenly, he remembered. Years ago, back when Ichigo had first met Linnette as a rising star in Karakura Town, he went to visit the Vizards but they weren't at their usual hideout. The was a note fixed to the building saying that when they heard Linnette was showing up, they knew they had to get out of there quickly and would return when it was safe. They had already had a run-in with her before and wanted to prevent the same thing from happening again.
That was why Shinji had run off. He knew about her ability and being a Vizard couldn't take the risk. However, Shinji and the others were not aware that Linnette was no longer a rising star. She lived an average life with Victor and Cedric. She no longer used her abilities the way she used to with their encouragement. She was different now. Shinji didn't know that. He must have seen Linnette as a threat.
Ichigo put a hand on her back to comfort her. Linnette shook her head. "It's fine. I had a feeling other people with Hollow powers wouldn't like me."
"You know Shinji is a Vizard?" Ichigo asked.
She shook her head. "Not really. I just knew because of his reaction. He covered his ears and ran. Who else would do that?"
Ichigo gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. He knew it must have been disheartening to have people run from her with a look of fear on their face. He hated those looks himself. When his Hollow got out of control, he would awaken after the dust had settled with no memory of what had transpired but saw the destruction around him. The looks of horror on his friends' faces and the wounded, both friend and foe. It wasn't a good feeling.
"I can talk to him if you want," he suggested.
"Nah, that's ok. Don't worry about it."
He couldn't let it go. He wanted Shinji to at least know that Linnette wasn't a threat. If he wasn't made aware of that fact, it could cause trouble.
They went down another hallway, passing by another Captain carrying a small stack of books. Ichigo greeted him and he greeted him back.
"What's up, Ichigo?" asked Kensei. He looked down at Linnette. "You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"Oh, yeah." Ichigo made the introduction, hoping he would be able to explain things. He wanted a calm approach. "Kensei, this is Linnette."
"Holy flipping crap!" Kensei dropped the books and ran.
"Hey, wait!" Ichigo called after him but Kensei was already gone. He didn't want to listen. Ichigo sighed in defeat. "Sorry about that, Linnette. I thought I could let him know that..."
"It's ok. He might not listen anyway. I'll just hang around with you and the other people I made friends with."
Though Linnette acted like it wasn't a big deal, Ichigo could tell she was hurt. These Vizards were avoiding her like she had the plague. Ichigo wanted to change that. She could be a real help to them. Especially after what they had learned from Mayuri. Linnette might be able to do something to assist them. If a battle ensued, she could also help out then if the situation called for it. None of that would be possible if these Soul Reaper Captains weren't on the same page. They had to give her a chance.
Then another Soul Reaper came by. This one acted without fear. "Yo, Ichigo. What's up? I take it you and Rukia managed to meet with the Captain of Squad 12, right? What did you guys talk about anyway? I'm being kept in the dark about this. Hate that."
Ichigo grinned. "Hi, Renji. Yeah, we met up. You don't know the details either?"
"Well, I heard some things. It's all pretty hush-hush. Something having to do with Hollows, right?"
"Uh, yeah." Ichigo looked down at Linnette. "You know... I heard Rukia mention that her Captain was getting a lot of sweets put together for your arrival. Why don't you head there? I'm going to fill Renji in on what we talked about. Since you already heard it once, it'll be boring. But I'll talk to you later, ok?"
Linnette nodded. "Ok." She turned back to Victor and Cedric who walked with her in a different direction.
Ichigo waited until they were gone. "Alright. I'll fill you in."
He told Renji about their meeting. As soon as he was finished, Renji went back to the one thing that stuck out the most to him. Out of all the information, this one detail made him want to say something.
"Typical. Should have known Victor would screw us over one way or another. I never trusted that guy. Or the other one, actually. Guy just stares at you and doesn't talk much. Compared to the other one."
"It's not his fault," said Ichigo. "He didn't do it."
"But he made the damn formula. How is it not his fault? If he hadn't created that thing in the first place, none of this would be happening. Someone has a hold of it only because it existed and that's only because Victor created it."
Ichigo had a hard time arguing that fact.
"Let's be honest here. Those guys are trouble. They were in the past and they are now. We don't need them around."
"That's not true," argued Ichigo. "Sure, the first time or two they were a problem, but now we're friends. Have you forgotten that they helped us fight before?"
"Sure, they're good now and are helping us. But they're causing trouble anyway. If Victor hadn't done what he did in the past then it wouldn't be a problem for us now."
"It was a mistake."
"And we're paying for it."
"And so is Victor!" Ichigo snapped. "He's sorry. I know he is. He's truly sorry and he's paying for it. Now he has to work extra hard to earn everyone's trust and Linnette's. Not to mention how he must feel knowing he caused her pain which he's devoted his whole life to never letting anyone do. Yet he's the one who caused her the pain he's working so hard to make sure it never happens and of all people he's the one who does it. Can you imagine how that must make him feel?"
"Like you know?"
"I know if I ever did anything to hurt my sisters, I would never be able to forgive myself. What if you hurt Rukia? How would you feel then? How can you live with yourself?"
Renji didn't have a response. He knew it was the same feeling. Hurting someone he cared about would be very painful. He would never be able to forget it. It would be difficult to move on after such a thing.
Ichigo was about to continue when he saw someone pass by behind him. "Shinji, wait a second."
The Captain stopped. He looked behind Ichigo and around his legs to make sure Linnette was not with him.
"Don't worry, she's not here. But that's what I want to talk to you about."
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Shinji, it's important. Linnette is on our side now. She doesn't use her powers like that anymore. It's fine."
He looked away. "Not exactly that simple, Ichigo."
"She's different now. Things have changed. I can be around her and I'm fine. There's no reason you have to worry about that-"
"Listen, Ichigo," Shinji said with a sigh. "I know you're trying to help convince me and I'm telling you right now it's not going to work. But not because I cannot be convinced. There's another reason."
"Yeah?"
Shinji sighed again. "It's nothing personal. It's nothing against her. It's just... I don't want to take that risk. It's not personal."
"Sure sounds like it is."
"You don't understand," Shinji told him. "You haven't exactly been around for the past couple years. After Aizen's defeat and all that. You can see I became a Captain again. But it wasn't an easy process. Having Hollow powers was exactly why they wanted to kill us. Even if we weren't willing participants. That was why we went into hiding in the World of the Living. There was a lot of distrust. The battle with Aizen allowed us a chance. A lot went on. Some people still don't trust us. Hollows are unpredictable. You know that."
"Yeah... But..."
"But trust is still an issue. We had to convince a lot of people that we had our Hollow powers under control. We were given a chance. If anything happens with Linnette around, it could all go up in smoke. Forget trust. We could be killed. I just don't want to take that risk. So I'm avoiding her. Even if she won't use her voice, even if she promises, there is always a chance of something happening. I'd rather avoid her to make sure it doesn't happen. It's not a personal thing. I'm just being cautious."
"But what you're doing to her is what you hated when people did it to you," said Ichigo. "You're not giving her a chance and that's no different from you guys not being given a chance. The distrust you have is the same thing you're doing to Linnette."
"I don't need a lecture, Ichigo. I told you how it is. We just don't want to take the risk. It's a real threat. We can't have her jeopardize everything we worked so hard for. And having no control over yourself is something I don't want to experience again."
Even if a Vizard had control over their Hollow, Linnette's voice could change everything. They had no say, no control. When they heard her voice, there was nothing they could do.
"We never met her in person. We saw her at a distance once and saw her posters. We heard her song and went nuts. When we woke up, we had no idea what had happened. It was crazy. So pardon me for not wanting to go through that again."
"So you're going to avoid her on the off chance that something could happen." It was not a question from Ichigo. More of a statement.
Shinji turned away. "I told you what's going on. I'm not going to repeat myself. I'm not changing my mind and I know you're stubborn, too. Just leave it as it is. I gave you my reasons." He turned and walked away.
No matter what, Shinji was going to avoid Linnette. Even if she wasn't a threat, he didn't want to take the chance.
"She's not a threat," Ichigo called after him. "You're worried about nothing."
"Even if a crocodile's mouth is propped open with a stick, that doesn't mean I'm going to stick my hand between its jaws. Why take the risk? Something could happen." Shinji rounded a corner and was gone.
Ichigo grumbled under his breath. "What a pain in the ass..."
He returned to Renji who was outside on the porch, staring out over his home. Ichigo joined him.
"They sent out a few Soul Reapers to investigate what's been happening. They left yesterday and should be coming back today to report," he said. "They were supposedly going to a spot where some of these weird Hollows have been showing up but there hasn't been much activity the past couple of days. They were due back a couple hours ago, I think. Maybe they ran into some of those Hollows and that's why they're late. I heard Iba complaining about them."
"Did you want to go check?" asked Ichigo.
"Nah. I'm just waiting to see that gate move. I want to know what they found out." Renji leaned on the handrail in front of his chest. "I was thinking about what you said. About those guys."
"Victor and Cedric?"
"Yeah, them. You said to imagine how they must have felt. I agreed with you about feeling sick to my stomach about something as intense as that. But then I started thinking..." Renji turned his head to look at Ichigo. "Those guys aren't even real people. Didn't you discover a while back that they weren't real? That Linnette had made them up?"
"Yeah, we did."
"And they don't bleed or do a lot of human things. They're inhuman and superhuman. So... I was just wondering. Can they... Do they even have feelings?"
"Of course they do." Ichigo didn't hesitate to answer. He felt it was obvious.
"But if these guys are artificial, then aren't their feelings? Even loving Linnette and caring about her. Isn't that just because they're programed to or something?"
Ichigo had had this conversation before. It was getting annoying now. He opened his mouth to answer.
"Their feelings are genuine," said Rukia. She stepped onto the porch to answer Renji. "We've had this talk before and I know the answer. I've also witnessed a few things myself to know that it's true. They do have feelings. Real feelings. They are real people where it matters."
Ichigo was happy she came to their defense and that she had a good answer. Artificial bodies or not, Victor and Cedric were real people.
"I've seen them take actions without being told, they have different personalities and interests and likes. I've seen a lot of things that they do. And before you go talking about being programed to do something or feel a certain way, then think again. You might have an argument if they were only interested in Linnette, but I've got news for you. I've seen them care and show concern for other people other than her. She may be their top priority, but they also have friends. I've seen how they care about Ichigo and he isn't Linnette. So there you have it, Renji. You have no real argument. They are real people so don't go talking like that."
Renji sighed in defeat. "Yeah, yeah. Alright."
"These guys are complicated. Most of us have only scratched the surface of them. So don't go around thinking you've cracked the code or something. Now that you know they have real feelings, don't go around hurting them. Especially since I've seen them worry about this stuff, too."
Ichigo was possibly the first one of their group to see it. Victor and Cedric's insecurity. If it wasn't asking about certain traits normal humans possessed, it was self discovery. Very often, Victor and Cedric tried to figure out what they were. They had concluded that they knew enough about themselves and were satisfied.
"But how do you know if they only care about Ichigo because Linnette does?" asked Renji. "What if they only care because they knew if anything happened to him that she would be upset? They could just care about him because it's in her best interest."
"I doubt that," said Rukia. "Sure, I thought that, too, for a while. But that's not the case. I've seen them go to Ichigo and have conversations with him about things having little or anything to do with Linnette. Very personal questions have been asked, so obviously they trust him and think of him as a friend."
Again she had given a good answer. Ichigo was happy to know that he didn't always have to answer these sort of questions when it came to Victor and Cedric. Rukia understood them, too.
Renji looked off into the distance. Ichigo and Rukia turned as well.
The gate was opening.
What will happen now? What's next?
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