Chapter Four

Shinigami

Hiroki scanned the barcode on the drink before ringing up the customer in front of him.

He had less than an hour left on his shift, but the day had flown by like it was nothing. The entire time he had been working, his body had been on auto-pilot as his mind was elsewhere, thinking about what had happened in just the past couple of days. Those aforementioned days had been odd to say the least. He figured out he was something called a Splintered and that he had special abilities. Makoto had been painfully blunt and truthful when she said that his life was boring, but this was almost too much of a jolt to the mundane way he had been living. And after work, he planned on training even more. He wondered if Makoto would be there since he offered her an invitation to train with him. Part of him hoped so, but the other part of him was worried he'd look like a fool in front of her. Well, more of one. He shook his head to get his mind back to his job.

The rest of his shift went uneventful. He left the convenience store and started making his way toward the edge of town and the forest that resided there. He swung by the small cafe that he and Makoto had eaten at yesterday and grabbed a sandwich to quickly eat. It was enough to satiate his hunger for now, but not enough that he'd get sick while training. Though he wasn't sure if he could even feel hunger or fullness while he was in his spirit form. He shrugged. Better safe than sorry, he thought before leaving the cafe and continuing down the sidewalk.

After half an hour of walking, he found himself near the woods. He stopped though as he suddenly felt something. It was the same type of pressure he had felt two days ago when he was with Makoto. If he remembered correctly, Makoto called it spiritual pressure, but while it felt similar to before, it also felt slightly different. Wait, no, he thought. There's more than one. There's three of them.

He knew he should probably turn around and go back. After all, Makoto told him to not engage any Shinigami if he were to come across them, but he was too curious. Also, he didn't plan on engaging them. He just wanted to see what they looked like.

He slowly crept through the woods toward the clearing. As he approached, he could hear three voices arguing from ahead of him. It sounded like two men and one woman though he couldn't see them yet to confirm it. Neither sounded like Makoto. He crouched down, trying not to be seen as he listened in to the conversation.

"Why are we even here?" one of the men's voices asked loudly. "There's nobody!"

"Squad Twelve said that they picked up on some spiritual pressure in this spot," another man answered, though his voice was calmer, there was an arrogance about it. "Though I admit, I don't feel anything unusual while standing here."

"Ugh, I just want to go back," the woman's voice replied this time. "Oh, I know! Why don't we go back and get something to drink? Or maybe we can do some shopping here? I've never been to this town before."

"Did you forget, Rangiku, that we don't have any Gigais with us this time?" The second man's voice answered. "And it's not like we're in Karakura Town where we know where to find some."

"And don't you always drink?" the first man nearly shouted. "I guess we need to go back and tell them this was a waste of time."

"Not necessarily," the woman responded. "We could always ask whoever's hiding in those trees over there."

Hiroki froze as a bead of sweat began to roll down his face. He wasn't sure if they were talking about him, but he didn't know of anyone else hiding in the forest around here. He could try to run. If he went into his spirit form then-. Wait, no, he thought. Then I might have to leave my body behind since I've never tried carrying it before. I don't know how difficult it is. I'm also not entirely sure how to go into my spirit form from my real body. Plus maybe they're fast enough to catch up. If it comes to a fight, there's three of them, and I don't know if the rest of the Splintered would get here in time to help or at all. Damn it, I guess there's only one thing to try. Hiroki slowly put his hands over his head and stood up. He walked into the clearing where he could finally see the three Shinigami in front of him.

The first one he saw was the woman. She had wavy, blonde hair that stopped just short of her shoulder and curled near her chin with some of it covering a part of the left side of her face. She also had blue eyes, full lips and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. She wore the same type of Shinigami robes that Hiroki had already seen, but she wore them loosely showing off her curvaceous figure and ample cleavage with a split in the robes running along her right leg. She also wore a thin golden necklace with the majority of it buried between her breasts and a long pink scarf that she wore over her shoulders. Finally, on the white sash around her waist was a wooden badge with the kanji for the number ten and a daffodil symbol underneath.

The second one he noticed was a man with a feminine appearance. He had straight, jaw-length black hair with a braid on the right side extending down the side of his face and nearly to his shoulder. He had colorful feathers on the outside of his extended eyelashes as well as on either side of his head. The feathers along with his shiny skin, and purple eyes are what gave him his effeminate look. He wore an orange turtle-neck sweater under his robes which Hiroki could see the collar of and the ends of its sleeves since the robe sleeves over it were a little loose. Lastly, he wore a white sash over his right shoulder.

The last man was bald, tall and muscular. He had a small red marking at the outer corner of each eye. He wore the same robes as the others except the sleeves appeared to have been ripped off. He also wore no tabi with his sandals. He had a gold-plated shoulder plate on his right arm with the kanji for "dragon" written on it. Like the woman, he wore the same type of wooden badge, but it was on his left arm and it had the kanji for the number eleven with a yarrow symbol below it.

"Eh?" the bald man spoke first. "Who are you? If you can see us, then that means you have higher spiritual energy than a normal human."

"Well, it's not like we haven't seen it before, Ikkaku," the other man responded with a small wave of his hand. "The last few years have been quite unusual to say the least."

"Answer my question already," the one named Ikkaku replied, ignoring the other guy. He appeared annoyed and Hiroki noticed that his hand was holding on to the sheath of his Zanpakutō as if he was ready to draw it at any moment. Hiroki quickly realized Ikkaku wasn't the calm one of this trio.

"My name is Shoda Hiroki," he answered. "I was just passing through when I heard the three of you arguing." Not technically a lie, Hiroki thought.

"It was probably your big mouth that he heard," the woman who Hiroki assumed was Rangiku said toward Ikkaku.

"Oh, please, Rangiku," the so-far unnamed man spoke. "It was probably your complaining about there not being anything to drink."

"Yumichika's right," Ikkaku said and now Hiroki knew the names of all three of them, or at least their first names. "Why'd you even come if you're just going to complain?"

As the arguments started up again, Hiroki began to wonder if these three really were Shinigami. They looked the part and aside from the Splintered, he hadn't seen anyone else in these types of robes. But they weren't exactly what he was expecting. From how the Splintered talked about them, especially Makoto, he thought the Shinigami would be cold-hearted monsters or something akin to that, but they seemed almost like normal people. Hiroki brought himself back to the present.

"You're just jealous of how great my hair is," Rangiku turned her back on Ikkaku and smirked.

"What was that?!" Ikkaku looked ready to attack anyone and anything in swinging distance.

"We're getting off topic," Yumichika interrupted before looking back at Hiroki. "What do we do with him?" The other two looked at Hiroki and Ikkaku seemed to calm down, if only slightly.

"I wonder if he can fight," Ikkaku said.

"Don't you think that might be a little one-sided even if you could?" Rangiku asked.

"Yeah, you're right. He looks pretty weak."

"I'm still here, you know?" Hiroki spoke again, becoming a bit annoyed at Ikkaku calling him weak. He didn't consider himself a master at fighting or anything, but he didn't consider himself weak.

"I don't know Ikkaku," Yumichika said. "There seems to be something about him. Like he's hiding something. Wouldn't most people run away when he saw three people in robes with swords?"

Crap, Hiroki immediately thought. I should have just ran when I could. I guess I could still try. "I was just curious," he said out loud, trying to throw out anything he could to distract them while he took a step back.

"I wouldn't run if I were you," Rangiku said. "You won't make it far. So why don't you tell us who you are again?"

"I already said I'm-."

"Hiroki!" a familiar voice rang out. Hiroki looked up as Makoto landed in front of him. She was in her Shinigami robes with her weapon drawn.

"Oh, thank god," Hiroki sighed in relief. He looked over at the three Shinigami who all appeared to be extremely confused.

"The rest are on their way," Makoto whispered to Hiroki while the three people in front of her were still distracted.

"Who…who are you?" Rangiku was the first to come to her senses.

"I didn't sense her at all," Ikkaku said. "I still don't. What is this?"

"I don't recognize you," Yumichika's hand was resting on the hilt of his sword now. "What squad are you a part of?" Makoto was silent.

"She's not the one in charge of this town," Rangiku said. "I don't think she's part of a squad."

"So what? Another Human Soul Reaper?"

"It doesn't matter," Ikkaku grinned. "I think I finally got my fight."

"We didn't come here to fight," Rangiku said. "Let's just go back and report what we found."

"If we leave now, we won't know what these two are like. Just a little fight should tell me what we need to know." Ikkaku drew his sword which he held in his right hand while he held his sheath in his left as if it was a secondary weapon. Hiroki noticed Makoto tense up, preparing to defend herself if need be. He didn't want her to try and fight these three on her own.

"Hey, how do I get into my spirit form?" he whispered while the other three were still arguing. Makoto hesitated before answering, which Hiroki assumed was because she wasn't sure if she wanted him to help her.

"Just like with the Reishi, concentrate," she answered softly. "You'll feel it. It should be no problem for someone with your potential." Hiroki smiled a little at the compliment, but then shook his head. This wasn't the time for that.

"You're just looking for an excuse to fight," Yumichika looked annoyed. "If the Captain was here-."

"If the Captain was here, he'd want us to fight," Ikkaku interrupted. "Or when we get back, should I tell him you wanted to run away?"

Suddenly there was a large release of spiritual pressure sending ripples through the air anc causing the leaves and grass around them to shake. The three Shinigami turned back toward where Makoto and Hiroki, who was now in his Shinigami form, were standing. Hiroki drew his blade and took the same stance as Makoto. Ikkaku pointed at both of them.

"Alright, which one of you wants to fight me first?" he shouted. Hiroki and Makoto gave each other confused glances.

"Why wouldn't both of us just fight you together?" Makoto asked.

"The only honorable fights are one-on-one. Also my companions here would step in and then it would be three on two, and that wouldn't be honorable at all."

"Speak for yourself," Rangiku said. "I still vote to go back and report our findings."

Yumichika sighed, "Ikkaku's correct. It would be shameful to go back to our Captain like we were running away. Especially now that those two have drawn their…Zanpakutō."

"Alright," Ikkaku yelled with a big grin on his face. "Yumichika, which one do you want? The girl seems more experienced, but the boy feels stronger."

"Well, she is somewhat pretty," Yumichika said with a smirk. "Though not as beautiful as I am, of course."

"How full of yourself can you get?" Makoto asked with a groan.

"You're just jealous, and it's so ugly." He placed a hand on his chest. "I would never be jealous of another." This received muffled laughter from Rangiku and an annoyed look from Ikkaku.

"Whatever," Ikkaku said. "I'll take on the boy." He lunged at Hiroki, swinging his blade directly at Hiroki's head. Pure instinct was the only thing that saved Hiroki as he brought up his own blade to block. Makoto moved to help Hiroki but found her path suddenly blocked by Yumichika who now had his blade drawn. They began to clash as well.

Rangiku rubbed the bridge of her nose while muttering to herself, "Why was I stuck with Squad Eleven members?"

Ikkaku jumped back a little, laughing, "Well, it appears you know how to at least hold a sword." He charged again, this time swinging his sheath, and when Hiroki went to block it, Ikkaku swung his blade at Hiroki's chest. Hiroki knew he couldn't block it in time so he used Hirenkyaku. This brought a confused look from both Rangiku and Ikkaku. Yumichika was busy fighting Makoto.

"That wasn't Shunpo," Ikkaku said. "What did you…?"

"And why would I tell you," Hiroki said, remembering his lesson from yesterday. "Why would I explain anything to someone who attacked me first?"

Ikkaku smiled, "Good point. Well then, maybe it's time I got more serious." He slammed the bottom of the hilt of his sword onto the bottom of his sheath so that the whole thing was in a horizontal line in front of him.

"Grow, Hōzukimaru," he shouted and suddenly his sword became a Kikuchi Yari, a spear with a wax wood shaft. There was a red horsetail tassel on the pommel. He lunged at Hiroki with his spear. Hiroki quickly moved behind Ikkaku and was about to bring his sword down when he noticed Ikkaku grinning.

"Extend," Ikkaku said. Suddenly the spear broke into three separate parts connected with a chain. The top two-thirds came swinging around Ikkaku's body with the top third also headed for Hiroki's side. Hiroki quickly moved back in front of Ikkaku but at a distance. When he appeared, he felt a pain in his side. He placed a hand at where the pain came from, and when he glanced down, he noticed his hand was slightly red with blood. He realized the cut wasn't deep, but he'd probably have to put something on it after the fight.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "You're not the only one with a trick." He placed the fingertips of his left hand on the flat side of his blade and took a breath. "Bless, Kamihime." There was another release of spiritual pressure which caused all the others to look at him, including Yumichika and Makoto. Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika looked on in equal parts surprised and confused as the white ribbons at the base of Hiroki's sword wrapped around his wrist. Golden letters formed on the blade that read "Sharpness." Hiroki saw that the edge of his blade was glowing slightly and he could sense that Reishi had built up along the entirety of the edge.

"Was that a release?" Rangiku asked.

"Heh," Ikkaku chuckled. "This just got even more interesting." He was standing there with his spear split apart and draped over his shoulders. He lunged forward again, reconnecting the spear before thrusting it forward. Hiroki deflected it off his own blade and it passed by his head.

"Did you forget already?" Ikkaku laughed. The spear broke apart again with it swinging around Hiroki's head and the top part of it headed directly for Hiroki's left eye. Hiroki used Hirenkyaku to move above the attack, and before Ikkaku could react, Hiroki brought his blade down on the middle wooden section. Kamihime sliced right through the wood, effectively cutting the spear in half. The other four people present in the clearing looked in stunned silence. Makoto shook her head, coming back to her senses first.

"Entangle, Ryōshi," she pulled the tsuba out where it transformed into the net that she had used on Hiroki a couple of days ago. She looked almost like an ancient roman gladiator with the net in her left hand and sword in the right hand. As Yumichika turned to confront his opponent again he found the net already flying toward him. He didn't have time to react as it landed on him and began to wrap around him as if it had a life of its own.

"What the hell?" he shouted as he tried to struggle out of the net. As he struggled, Rangiku looked around confused as to what just happened while Ikkaku looked furious. He had managed to pick up both halves of his spear. He held a half in each hand as if he was ready to fight again.

"That's enough." A deep voice rang out from the trees. Everyone turned to look and saw a man calmly walking out from the trees. It was Sadao. He was dressed in his black business suit and carried his black umbrella point-down almost like it was a cane.

"Who are you?" Rangiku said, her hand heading for the hilt of her own sword. Suddenly Sadao was in front of her, his hand on her's. Hiroki couldn't even blink before Sadao had moved, it was that quick.

"Don't," he said calmly, looking down at the blonde Shinigami. He turned his back on her to face the others. "Please, let's stop fighting. Makoto, Hiroki, let the Shinigami leave in peace.

"But Sadao-," Makoto began but stopped as Sadao held up a hand, palm out.

"Let them leave, Makoto. If we keep fighting, it would end badly for these three, and the court guard squads would just send more to investigate and possibly eradicate us. That's not what we want. We only want a place to call home, not a war. I'm sure these three have seen enough of war lately." Hiroki noticed that the three Shinigami's faces tensed up slightly at the mention of war. Makoto reverted her blade back to its sealed state which also caused the net on Yumichika to disappear. He quickly stood up and dusted himself off with one hand while still holding his blade with the other.

"Ikkaku, Yumichika," Rangiku said. "We're leaving."

"Huh?" Ikkaku asked. "But it was just starting to get more fun."

"We've been here longer than we should have been. We need to go and report back."

Ikkaku looked between her and Hiroki for a few moments before sighing, "Fine. But this isn't over!" He pointed at Hiroki while he yelled. The three Shinigami gathered together. Yumichika, since he already had his blade drawn, put it in front of his face where it began to glow. Then he pushed it out in front of him, and Hiroki was surprised to see half of it disappear, as if it was entering something.

"Unlocking," he said before turning his sword to the right. Hiroki was further surprised when he saw a Shōji appear in the air. The two doors slid open to reveal a waiting room beyond. The three Shinigami entered the room and the doors closed behind them. As soon as they shut, they disappeared. After they disappeared, Sadao turned to Hiroki and Makoto. His expression was calm, but Hiroki could feel anger coming from him when he spoke.

"Why would you engage them?" Sadao asked, directing his question to Makoto who looked down, ashamed.

"I was…," she began but hesitated.

"She was just helping me," Hiroki blurted out.

"I was talking to Makoto," Sadao replied, his eyes turning to look at Hiroki briefly before returning to Makoto. "Well?"

"I…I wasn't thinking," she replied meekly. Hiroki didn't like seeing Makoto look like this, not after their interactions the last couple of days and especially not after the fact that Makoto did jump in to help him.

"It was my fault," Hiroki said. "I should have just run away when I noticed the three of them. I-." Hiroki couldn't finish his sentence as suddenly Sadao was in front of him. Hiroki, instinctively, threw his blade up to block an incoming attack though none came. Sadao simply put his free hand up against the flat of Hiroki's sword and pushed it to the side. Hiroki was frozen though he wasn't sure what from, whether it was fear or anticipation.

"I said that I was talking to Makoto," Sadao calmly spoke. "Though your ideal to stand up for her is admirable, it is misplaced. Her mistakes are not your responsibility. She knew that she was not supposed to engage any other being besides Splintered and normal Humans. And while you should have tried to run away when you saw them, part of the fault lies in me. We should have tried to have Maiko give you a marking when we had the chance."

"A marking?"

"Have you not wondered why you could sense spiritual pressure from others, but not us? Or the fact that your pressure was also sensed, but not the rest of us?"

If Hiroki was honest with himself, he would have been curious, but not enough to question it. At least, not until now. He watched as Sadao rolled his sleeve up above his right wrist to reveal a five-armed cross. It looked the same as the hair accessory that Kamihime wore and the same as the handguard on Maiko's Zanpakutō. Though unlike those other two examples, this cross was solid black. He glanced at Makoto who held up her right hand, and on the palm of it was the same cross. He had never noticed it before, but he hadn't exactly been looking for it.

"This is the third time I've seen that symbol," Hiroki said. "What is it?"

"It's the Quincy Cross," Sadao answered. "This is a sort of variation of it. It's the ability of Maiko's Shikai. She marks us and it hides our Reishi output so others can't sense us. Of course, we don't know if there's a limit to the number of people that she can use it on, but so far we've had no problem."

"And this would keep me safe from the Shinigami?" Hiroki asked as he lowered his sword, feeling that things were calmer.

"It will keep them from sensing you. It will not actually protect you from their attacks. And I must warn you, they will return to investigate. We have done well to hide from them, and move on when we are discovered, but it is not something we enjoy doing. Now, it appears that we will probably have to do so again."

"But why? They don't seem that tough."

"Don't judge them lightly. Those badges you saw indicated that two of them were Lieutenants. That means that they would have had their power suppressed when entering into the world of the living. I would also assume that the third one also had his power suppressed. He seemed just as strong."

"Why would they be suppressed?"

"To avoid disrupting the Human World. Their immense pressure would cause ripples in this world, the effects of which could not end well. And so their power is sealed. What you saw was only a fifth of what they're capable of, and I should also remind you that Captains are even stronger. After seeing you two perform Shikai, there's a good chance that they could send a Captain to investigate. Only three of our group have a chance against a Captain, and it's a slim chance at best." He sighed and looked over at Makoto. "Return to the hideout, inform everyone else what has happened. I didn't bring them because I didn't know the full situation, and I didn't wish to endanger them." He turned back to Hiroki while Makoto headed back into the forest, presumably toward where she must have left her real body.

"So what do we do now?" Hiroki asked, resheathing his sword.

"Now that we have to leave, I must ask you once more. You haven't officially answered the offer I gave you two days ago. Will you join the Splintered?"