Red, black, white, purple, green, blue, violet, grey; a kaleidoscope of butterflies danced around like its namesake. Lavender eyes are filled with the dozens of colors that were merged together in every way except physical. The crying wisteria sways in the gentle, but stifling breeze of summer. A few flowers fall off and land on long black hair pooled behind a small figure.
Natsue brings a hand up, her palm upturned to let another flower fall into it. She watches with a barely there smile when a flame bordered emperor lands on her index thumb. It slows its wings before staying still.
"How unfortunate..." Natsue's voice whispers over the bountiful and soulless garden she resides in for the day. There has been a shift with the spirits.
"Oyakata-sama." Natsue smiles at the answer to her call. She lowers her hand and turns her head towards her left. The flame bordered emperor doesn't even move a wing at the movement.
Loose black strands fading to a soft silver fell in front of faded pale violet eyes. A blank mask was fixed on a sharp face, pale with a dark red dahlia scar covering the left temple and cheekbone. A green outlined in pink butterfly hairclip kept most of the hair up into a bun. A white butterfly haori, fading into mint green and pink, draped over the person's slender figure and the old demon slayer corps uniform. A chain fell from the center of a broad chest with only three links left.
Natsue inclines her head towards Kochō Shion, the Flower Hashira three generations ago. "You don't have much time left, Shion."
"I will make enough time, Oyakata-sama," Shion answers blankly, making the current master laugh softly. It devolves into a soft coughing, making the spirit snap his head up. He reaches over to try and help, but his hand stops before he could touch the girl.
"I don't have much time left either..." Natsue lowers her hand, appearing almost ignorant to the blood dripping from her mouth. She smiles as her eyes close to bask in the scorching sunlight.
"The spirits are in danger. I sense that Kibutsuji wishes to do something with them. I wish for you to pass over, Shion," Natsue speaks quietly.
"Oyakata-sama, if Kibutsuji manages to attack me, I assure you, I can handle myself. I am Ichigo's predecessor and the creator of the training regime he had gone through." The hot temper of Shion finally makes its presence known. Natsue giggles softly and opens her eyes to see Shion's blank mask broken by a crazed expression so similar to his father's.
"I am tasking you with finding any of my children still left in the World of Spirits. If Kibutsuji manages to find it, or finds a way to turn spirits into demons, we must protect that world from succumbing to his tyranny," Natsue clarifies, eyes glittering in amusement at the pink flush covering the young man's entire face.
"As you wish, Oyakata-sama," Shion states reverently, bowing his head in a sign of complete fealty.
Natsue faces the garden once more; the flame bordered emperor finally flutters away. "The World of Spirits is vast and dangerous the farther you are from the center. It has its own flaws and not many virtues to balance, but I have a feeling Ichigo is going to bring a change that completely shatters everything the World of Spirits has ever known."
"He always does," Shion agrees with mirth and nostalgia filling his voice. It seems Shinazugawa Sanemi's stubbornness continues to find itself in the later generations of the Kochō–now Kurosaki–family.
"Head to the exiled reaper and tell him I request his summons the moment he brings Ichigo back. Tell him that Ichigo will know what to do." The meeting ends and Shion silently bows before leaping away, leaving Natsue alone in the garden.
Natsue watches the butterflies dance in the garden. She smiles.
"Flower Breathing. Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!" The blade suddenly twists as Ikkaku's own sword clashes against the nagamaki, scraping and is forced to hit the empty air to the left of Ichigo. Ichigo turns on his heel and avoids a hit to the head by the scabbard while tilting his hilt towards the Shinigami's chin.
"Shit!" Ikkaku stumbles back from the hit. Ichigo charges forward with a narrowed gaze and strikes downwards.
"Flower Breathing. Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!" Ichigo flips his zanpakutō in his hands and slashes up diagonally. Ikkaku steps back, blocking the hit with his scabbard. Ichigo swings back down before swinging to the left. He spins and leaps forward and swings his nagamaki up once more.
Ikkaku uses his zanpakutō to block two of the slashes, another cut landing perpendicular to the very first wound. Ichigo doesn't let the sudden block of the scabbard stop him from his swing down towards the bald man's shoulder and lifts his own zanpakutō again to aim for Ikkaku's neck. The sword blocks it this time before Ichigo uses it to suddenly swing down, locking the sword's handguard with his own and finally cuts into the shoulder. He attempts to slice through the armpit by twisting left, but Ikkaku leaps back, choking on his pained grunt from the sudden slice out of his shoulder.
"You–you know how to fight!" Ikkaku grins widely, appearing manic with insanity at the obvious revelation. Ichigo smiles back, lowering his zanpakutō to defend his chest and stomach.
"The same to you, Madarame-san," Ichigo compliments as he completely ignores the blood dripping into his eye from his first injury.
"Why aren't you taking care of that wound? It's blinding you."
Ichigo's smile grows just a bit wider to reveal his teeth. "Ara, ara. To let go of my sword for something so minor is such a rookie mistake. This is probably one of the farthest things from a handicap if you're worried about that, Madarame-san! Of course, if this managed to dig into my shoulder like you intended to, I would need to check for any permanent damage and stop the bleeding."
"Me? Worried? I just don't want a win where it was because a blinded idiot didn't take care of a cut to the head!" Ikkaku sneers, making Ichigo giggle loudly.
"Ara ara, you won't need to think about something like that happening with me! I've kept up with my most recent... teacher, if you wish to put it that way, with all of my tendons cut in my arm. Being partially blinded in a fight like this is much easier than that! Stupidly so!" Ichigo exclaims as if he was talking about a favorite subject of his instead of what he considers a handicap in a fight.
"Teacher?"
"Oh, don't get any preconceived notions from that! Urahara Kisuke-san still hasn't told me much about my whole... role in this! But, that doesn't mean it isn't true that he prepared me and my group before coming here!" Ichigo rapidly waves his hand with a bright smile, as if to wave away the assumption. Ichigo being the queen piece is kept to his own thoughts.
Ikkaku clearly wasn't a part of whatever chess game Kisuke was a player in‒or at least, Ikkaku had no knowledge of any kind of chess game taking place nor the fact that he is simply a pawn in it. A pawn against a queen piece.
"Did you just say–Urahara Kisuke?!" Ikkaku exclaims as he tightens his grip around his scabbard. He quickly relaxed his shoulders and flips his scabbard around to press the end to the pommel of his zanpakutō.
"If he is your teacher... then it would be very rude of me to kill you too easily." Ichigo narrows his eyes and raises his nagamaki in front of his stomach. "Grow, Hōzukimaru!"
Ichigo charges forward, with his zanpakutō held to his right, as Ikkaku's grows into a long spear. "Flower Breathing! Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!"
"Hoho! You're quick! Split Apart, Hōzukimaru!" Ikkaku cackles while flipping his spear around as it splits into three separate sections.
"A sansetsukon!" Ichigo quickly interrupts the direction of his slash by spinning on his heel to avoid the blade. He glances towards his cheek when a large slice suddenly drags towards his ear.
Ichigo flips his zanpakutō and twists the blade to make the sansetsukon fly back after hitting the blade. "Flower Breathing. Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!"
"I'm surprised. You were able to block my zanpakutō," Ikkaku states with a grin. Ichigo steps back with a smile of his own.
"I have a‒an acquaintance that uses quite the... flexible weapon. I'm quite used to surprises like your sansetsukon in a fight." Ichigo tightens his grip with his smile widening into grin. "Now then, Madarame-san... I think it's time to get serious, don't you think?"
"Hah?"
Ichigo leaps forward while raising his nagamaki above his head. Ikkaku's eyes widen before he swings his zanpakutō forward to wrap the chain around the blade.
Ichigo suddenly pulls his nagamaki back, his sudden strength dragging the Shinigami forward. He jumps up and flips over his sword, twisting around to kick Ikkaku in the middle of his abdomen.
"Fast!" Ikkaku chokes on air as his diaphragm spasms. He stumbles back while twisting around Hōzukimaru to unlatch it from Ichigo's nagamaki. Ichigo leans back to avoid the spearhead and presses one of his hands against the ground to spring back to his feet. Ichigo charges again, making Ikkaku snap his head up.
Sparks and splinters fly into the air as Ichigo and Ikkaku equally attack and parry their attacks. Blood splatters around them, ignored by both, and matching grins continue to grow on their faces. The attacks carefully pick up speed and one of the sections of Ikkaku's zanpakutō is completely sliced through.
"Damn! He really is‒" Ikkaku blocks a swing of the nagamaki with his own arm, ignoring how it almost slices completely through and thrusts his spear into Ichigo's shoulder "‒that man's student!"
Ichigo steps forward and digs the spear deeper into his own shoulder to slice his zanpakutō down parallel to Ikkaku's arm. He releases one of his hands to reach up towards the spearhead still impaled in his shoulder.
"This fight was really fun, Madarame-san! I hope we get to fight again once everything blows over!" Ichigo speaks genuinely as he wraps his hand around the spearhead. Ikkaku's eyes widen when Ichigo completely shatters the blade with his grip strength, ignoring how the pieces slice and pierce through his palm.
"You‒" Ichigo uses the same hand to land an uppercut, making Ikkaku fly up into the air. Ichigo spins around and slams his foot into his stomach. Ikkaku coughs up bile before he is flown back through a stone wall.
Ichigo slides to a stop and crouches down with a hand to his shoulder. He grins with a small laugh. Ara, ara. It really is quite fun to fight beings with more self-preservation than demons! Much more fun than he had expected.
"Damn! I was sure I felt them around here!"
"Let's go! Zaraki-taichō is on a rampage to find one of the ryoka." Three Shinigami run down the street and turn left, further into the maze-like grid.
Tatsuki peeks her head out from a wooden box she had forced Uryū in before shoving her own body inside as well. She sighs heavily and sits back down so that the box lid would close.
"Could you be any closer?" Uryū comments snidely while he attempts to maneuver his legs. Tatsuki squeaks and snaps up when his knee brushes against her chest, slamming the top of her head against the lid. She hisses out a curse before pulling back her leg to kick the Quincy in the stomach.
"Stop moving so much you asshole!" Tatsuki hisses back, ignoring how Uryū coughs at having his stomach kicked. Tatsuki scrambles forward and almost shoves her hand into Uryū's mouth when she hears muffled talking outside.
"‒felt that spike in reiatsu? Ikkaku's fighting! I think he found one of the ryoka!"
"Yumichika's never far from him. They probably picked a fight with some of the Twelfth."
"Man, try and be a bit optimistic. The faster we deal with the ryoka, the faster we can go back to drinking. Though... I'd like to get my hands on one of 'em. See how'd I fare against invaders. I'd probably get promoted."
"Hah! Like you'd be able to even handle a fight against someone from the Rukongai! I'd have more of a chance against the ryoka than you."
"Want to put it to the test? There's an invader in this box, right here."
Tatsuki and Uryū look at each other before Uryū kicks off the lid. Tatsuki falls out of the box, biting her cheek when a blade skims across her arm. She raises her arms and quickly flips the rest of her body out of the box to give her some room.
"Two? Oho! This is simply fantastic!" A man states while he flicks the blood off of his sword. "Honestly, it's amazing no one else found you yet! Your reiatsu is so obvious... ryoka."
There was another man standing behind him with his own weapon unsheathed. Both were grinning like they were the cat that got the canary.
"It's not that big of an accomplishment asshole," Tatsuki snarks before raising her fists in front of her face. The onibi inside of her burns with the need to beat these two to a pulp.
"Arisawa-san is correct... controlling her reiatsu wasn't something that cat focused on‒as if she can even handle the training," Uryū adds while insulting the tomboy.
"You are really asking for a punch to the throat, you know." Tatsuki grins as the onibi slowly starts to surround her fists. Uryū stays silent, making the black haired teenager glance at him through her peripherals.
Uryū stood completely straight with his eyes shadowed by his glasses. "Stand back, Arisawa-san... this fight is mine."
Tatsuki blinks before glancing back towards the Shinigami. She frowns thoughtfully before a huff escapes her mouth. So that's how it is, huh?
"You and Ichigo... like two peas in a pod. Fuck, that's annoying." Tatsuki relaxes from her fighting stance and steps back. "Sure, but don't go crying if you need help, asshole."
"Kurosaki and I are not the same in any way." Uryū pushes up his glasses with a smirk before he raises his gloved arm.
"Hmph. Deny it all you like. Ichigo does the same exact thing when he wants to figure out how strong the enemy is," Tatsuki thinks with a hidden grin.
"Protecting your woman, ryoka? Or are you simply scared of what she'll think of you if you let her fight with you?" One of the Shinigami taunts with a smirk.
Uryū forms his bow as his answer, his expression completely indifferent–almost bored. "No. I just don't want us wasting too much time fighting weak Shinigami."
Tatsuki barely even blinks before blood splatters across the street. She, along with the enemy Shinigami, stare down at the hand with a coin-sized hole through it. Her eyes glance at Uryū's back before the Shinigami cries out in pain.
"He only joined Iwasa's training after seven days... he was never this fast. Did he... practice the breathing techniques Iwasa taught us?" Tatsuki grins, admittedly impressed and almost... proud of the stuck-up teenager.
She knew the basics of concentration breathing, but she's better at punching things with her sheer grit and stubbornness than with a breathing technique, and she doesn't have the aptitude or time right now to be slaying demons. But still... it took her months to figure out how to breathe properly with Ichigo as her teacher‒and Uryū understood it in three days? With one of Ichigo's subordinates? Amazing.
"This won't take long at all," Uryū states before he creates another arrow. "Sorry, but this is the end of the road for you both."
"You're all going to get killed." Iwasa Obito points down at the group of teenagers, his hidden sneer clearly envisioned by them all. "You're going into enemy territory expecting them to be all nice and shit. You people are what I hate the most."
"Kurosaki-kun isn't going to save Kuchiki-chan alone! We have powers! And we're training‒"
"Powers? That's right. You honestly think those 'powers' of yours are going to save you?" Obito sneers again, interrupting the increasingly upset Orihime.
The masked man points at her with a revolted glare. "You're a pacifist who can't even defend yourself properly without feeling awful," he points to the irate and exasperated Tatsuki, "I still hate you for you're bullheaded personality and your ineptitude in swordsmanship," he points to Chad next, "you hold back too much and only fight when protecting people," he snorts when he points to Uryū, "and you. Arrogant and too clouded with your own opinions and delusions to truly ever become the best you can be."
"You all are going to die if you don't get stronger. And that is a fact," Obito finishes, standing up from the tree branch he was laying on. He jumps down and lands in front of the ever so stubborn childhood friend of his master's.
Tense silence becomes thick with annoyance and anger before Obito slams Tatsuki into the ground with a single hit.
"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime rushes forward while Obito steps on the tomboy's head. "Get your foot off of her!"
Obito leans back to avoid a well-aimed, but weak, punch from the orange haired teenager before he grabs her wrist and twists it until it pops. Orihime cries out loudly in pain and falls to her knees instinctively. Tatsuki curses and shouts into the ground, struggling to force Obito's foot off of her head. Obito lifts his foot to slam her head into the ground, creating cracks from the force.
"I'm hurting your best friend, girl. I'm disrespecting her and yet... you charged at me with a punch that would do nothing to a bug." Obito twists Orihime's wrist even more.
"Let go of Inoue," Chad growls with a step forward. The demon slayer ignores him.
"I bet you wouldn't even manage to bruise me if I killed her right here," Obito sneers over Orihime's cries. Orihime pants for breath as she looks up. Her cheeks were ruddy and flushed with tears consistently falling from the pain. Her eyes were dark with anger and pain, and personal frustration.
"That look... you're looking at me like that, expecting me to stop. Do you think that your glare will stop these... Shinigami? Do you think it'll save your friends as you fight? You are invading a society to save Kuchiki. They will fight to kill. Do you understand me, girl?" Obito asks as he pulls the orange haired teenager closer to his face.
Orihime cries out again when Obito lifts her up by her wrist alone. She breathes heavily through her tears and opens her eyes to glare at the demon slayer. Obito smirks underneath his mask before he chokes on air. He instinctively releases the girl's wrist to reach down and grab his lower region in a futile attempt to ease the pain.
Orihime falls to the ground with a thud, her leg still outstretched. Tatsuki snaps her head up with a loud gasp for some much needed air when Obito stumbles backwards to kneel on the ground with a choked groan.
Chad covers his own mouth with a loud snort while Uryū simply pushes his glass up. A loud giggle echoes across the courtyard before someone drops from a higher tree branch.
Yumiko continues to giggle before she crosses her arms with a wolfish grin. "I thought the girl's hit wouldn't even bruise, Iwasa."
"Shut the fuck up, Yumiko," Obito hisses through gritted teeth, making Yumiko simply grin wider. It disappears as she uncrosses her arms to place one on her hip and raise the other to point at the group of teenagers.
"For the next ten days‒three for you after your personal training, Ishida-sama‒Iwasa will be training you to be able to fight with and without your powers, after your training with Neko-sama, of course. I will be dressing any and all injuries‒and making sure that Iwasa doesn't kill you. We have him as a physical recovery trainer for already trained demon slayers for a reason. Any questions?" Yumiko questions while staring at each teenager.
"Where is Ichigo?" Chad asks quietly.
Yumiko purses her lips and rolls her eyes. "Fighting with that weird ossan. And before you ask, no. He doesn't know that Iwasa is going to train you four... yet. Ichigo-sama is our master and teacher. Everyone here at the butterfly estate cares for him a great deal. Unfortunately, you're all his friends despite our distrust towards you. It'll hurt him if any of you die. Now then, Ishida-sama. I'll show you to the courtyard where you will complete your own training."
"Damn brat!" Obito hisses under his breath before he stands up. Yumiko pretends she doesn't hear him as she walks back inside the estate.Uryū only stays with the ragtag group of teenagers for a moment's hesitation before he follows after the 10 year old girl.
"Why is a child giving orders? Should she not be in school?" Yoruichi questions with his tail flicking back and forth. Obito silently snorts and gives the cat a derisive glare.
"Rengoku is one of the oldest demon slaying families in the world, creature. Protecting humanity with their own lives is more important than an education that can easily be self-taught." Obito glances back at where Yumiko had left. "Despite being so physically weak, even for her age, Yumiko is... adequately skilled in slaying demons."
"Iwasa means that Yumiko is better than him when it comes to slaying demons‒and she's been training for longer," Tatsuki states with a heated glare pointed at the young man. She spits out the dirt that got into her mouth as she sits cross-legged on the ground.
Obito glares back murderously, making Tatsuki growl. Yoruichi sighs heavily before jumping on top of the tomboy's head.
"We are wasting precious time, cretins. Begin the training or I will start it for you."
Ichigo gazes up at the clear sky with no expression on his face. He leans his face against his nagamaki as he waits for Baldy to wake up.
"You should be searchin' for the ice queen, idiot. What're ya doin' slackin' off?!" Kazuki shouts suddenly, making Ichigo wince.
"I need information." Ichigo shrugs before he glances down at the bald Shinigami. He methodically tore Ikkaku's kosode into strips of fabric to be makeshift bandages and made sure he hadn't ruptured anything in the man's abdomen. He doesn't have any kind of makeshift, professional, or primitive form of surgery tools on his person nor anywhere around him. And, Shinigami are sensitive to wisteria, so. Baldy would be left for dead, literally.
"We can get information from others! I don't know if ya noticed, but some asshole with too much power is lookin' for a fight an' I don't want that to be us!" Kazuki hisses, mentally punching Ichigo's head and causing a physical headache.
That's right. The god-awful amount of reiatsu that has been dousing everything in‒what appears to be‒a four or five kilometer radius. Well, that was the second thing he wanted to get information about; who in the nine hells has that kind of reiatsu‒excluding Ichigo, of course.
"Well, we need information on three things. The first is, of course, the location of Rukia-san. The second is who is the person with this god-awful amount of reiatsu. The last is a way further into this place without being so out in the open," Ichigo retorts with a small eye roll.
"...Kuchiki Rukia has been placed in the Senzaikyū until the day of her execution." Ichigo jumps up with a hand wrapped around his weapon's hilt at the sudden voice. His eyes flick back and forth, looking for an enemy who managed to sneak up on him before they land on Ikkaku.
"Ara, ara... You're awake." Ichigo smiles and crouches down next to the Shinigami's head. "You shouldn't scare people like that, Baldy-san! Especially the person who dressed your wounds!"
"You butterfly bastard! I'm not bald!" Ikkaku sneers before grimacing in pain when he tries to sit up. Ichigo quickly places two of his fingers against the side of his neck, checking his pulse. Ichigo tilts his head as he glances up and down Ikkaku's body.
"I was correct then... you have a few broken ribs from my kicks, and a possible fracture in your spine from hitting the wall," Ichigo speaks to himself as Ikkaku's reactions give him all the information he needs to confirm his hypothesis. Hm. With the Shinigami's healing ability, there should be no permanent injury, and only major scarring if anything.
"Do you know any way through this place without being so open to the Senzaikyū? Oh! What does the Senzaikyū look like actually? Forgive me. Since you are currently my patient, I prioritize your health over everything else," Ichigo asks with a sheepish smile plastered on his face.
Ikkaku stares at the orange haired teenager with a strange look in his eyes before looking up at the sky. "The Senzaikyū is that tall tower‒the tallest one in the center of Seireitei. And does it look like I sneak around? No, I don't know of any kind of path to take you to Senzaikyū other than to run straight there."
"Ah, thank you! I thought I'd ask. I am on a tiny bit of a time limit and fighting everyone I see will simply waste it. The reiatsu‒do you know who that is?" Ichigo says brightly, making Ikkaku glance at him for a moment.
Silence surrounds them before Ichigo looks into the Shinigami's eyes. He doesn't blink as he lets Ikkaku assess him for something that was extremely important‒or he feels like it's important.
"...are you the strongest one in your group, Ichigo?"
The demon slayer blinks at the question before smiling just a bit wider. "Ara, ara. Kazuki-san is correct, then. This person is looking for a fight, yes?"
"Yes... you better watch out for him. He's my captain. If you are the strongest in your group, then he'll definitely seek you out," Ikkaku states seriously, making Ichigo's smile dull.
Ichigo stares down at the injured Shinigami with a blank expression. His mask flickers back on as he chuckles.
"His name?"
"...Zaraki Kenpachi."
This is the stupidest plan ever. This will surely get him killed. Forget about possible execution for conspiring with Rukia... this is what will kill Hanatarō!
"Why? Why am I doing this? I finished what Rukia-san had asked me to do!" Hanatarō walks alone down the empty street with a pallid face. "Why am I searching for the ryoka?!"
He knew the answer, of course. And it doesn't take long for news to spread like wildfire when suspicion of treason is involved. Ukitake-taichō is suspicious of Ichimaru-taichō. Ichimaru-taichō is the first captain to have confronted the ryoka. The only captain to confront the ryoka... and accidentally let them live.
"I should have never woken up!" Hanatarō whines while running his hands through his hair. This is such a terrible plan! He doesn't even know if the ryoka will kill him or not once‒if he finds them! He's even carrying his zanpakutō‒like he could do anything with it‒when he never does!
Hanatarō slaps his cheeks, barely wincing at the stinging pain. "No! No, I can't think like that! Rukia-san has Ukitake-taichō and Kyoraku-taichō on her side... I have to make sure the ryoka know. I have to make sure they can get to Rukia-san, alive!"
"‒faster, Gandhi-san! We can't get caught now!" A much too cheerful shout enters Hanatarō's hearing range. He looks up towards the building rooftops and watches an orange, black, and blue blur sprint across. A much slower blur struggles to keep up. Hanatarō blinks at the scene as dozens of shouts follow after them.
"Get them! That's the ryoka!"
"Speedy bastard‒slow down so we can fight you!"
"How are they so fast?!"
"Ryoka? Are they the ryoka?" Hanatarō blinks again before his eyes widen. They're the ryoka!
"H-hey! R-ryoka-san!" Hanatarō shouts loudly. The faster blur slides to a stop and whirls around. Hanatarō chokes on air as calculating caramel eyes immediately land on him, a fair hand gripping around the hilt of a nagamaki sword hanging across the ryoka's back.
"O-over here! Hurry!" The cowardly healer waves his hands before he turns around to run. He just passed one of the sewer entrances!
"Idiot! What the hell are you‒"
"Do you want to deal with the Shinigami chasing us? Hurry, Gandhi-san!" The cheerful voice states brightly.
"You bastard! My name is Ganju! Not Gandhi!" The shout most likely comes from the other blur.
Hanatarō crouches down and lifts the slightly heavy hidden tile. He looks over his shoulder, about to call for the ryoka once more time, only to scream in terror when wide caramel eyes stare at him, merely inches from his face.
"S-scary! You‒you're scary! How are you so fast?!" Hanatarō screams as he jumps back.
"Ara, ara. Did I scare you that badly? You were the one to call us over! Is this a trap?" The ryoka tilts his head like a bird, his bright, blank, smile raising all sorts of screaming alarm bells in Hanatarō's head. Orange hair, a butterfly haori, and... a blue butterfly clip. This is Rukia's friend!
"N-no! It's‒"
"They went that way! Hurry, you bastards!" Hanatarō glances at the rooftops the ryoka had jumped off of and grabs his arm.
"In here! Hurry! I'll get executed for sure if anyone sees me helping you!" He doesn't even spare a glance towards the ryoka he practically throws into the manhole before he reaches for the other ryoka's arm and pulls him in as well. He barely jumps in and lets the tile drop after him when he hears multiple footsteps land on roof-tiles.
"Don't see it, don't see it, don't see it!" Hanatarō mentally crosses his fingers as he keeps a hand pressed to the tile. He breathes a sigh of relief when he feels the faint vibrations of the Shinigami running away. Thank the Soul King.
"Ara, ara! I wonder why a Shinigami would help us! Or are you a secret serial killer, and this is where you murder your victims?" The ryoka with caramel eyes asks cheerfully, making the black haired Shinigami squeak in surprise. He glances down and pales at the sight of that blank smile still on the ryoka's face.
"N-no... I... I'm too cowardly to even fight someone. Besides, the 4th Division usually is stuck with maintaining the sewers... w-we are the weakest division after all! We're just the healers... hehe," Hanatarō rambles in his slight fear of the ryoka.
"Really? That's a bit hard to believe, you know! Plain-san!" The ryoka's smile stretches into a terrifying grin. "Why would a coward help the enemies of his military organization if that coward can't fight?"
Hanatarō swallows instinctively despite his mouth being completely dry. This ryoka is almost as scary as Unohana-taichō!
"...you... you want to save Rukia-san... right? You‒you're the friend she told me about," Hanatarō speaks slowly and quietly. He has a feeling he won't be living much longer if he messes up his words to cause a misunderstanding...
The ryoka blinks slowly, his grin freezing into a blank mask; it almost looks like he's physically processing the information. The grin dims into that blank smile before the orange haired teenager leans forward to be mere inches away from Hanatarō's face.
"Don't back up. Don't back up. Don't back up. Don't back up. Don't back up," Hanatarō repeats the sentence over and over, clenching his fists to the point of drawing blood. The ryoka's eyes stare into Hanatarō's washed out blue eyes for a long minute.
"Tell me something about me that Rukia-san could only tell you," The ryoka orders in faux cheerfulness, making Hanatarō's screaming instincts to run scream louder.
Hanatarō swallows again as his hand instinctively twitches towards the small handle of his zanpakutō. What has Rukia told him that can't be deduced by the ryoka's appearance? Come on, brain! Work! Something that can only be known by Rukia. Something that can only be known by‒
"You won't believe me, and that's okay. I didn't believe it either, until I saw one with my own eyes, but... Ichigo... He‒he is a demon slayer," Rukia speaks softly as if it was a great secret she had entrusted to Hanatarō.
Hanatarō blinks rapidly before he straightens his posture and clenches his fists once more. "She‒she said... she called you a demon slayer."
The ryoka barks out a laugh of incredulity, making both Hanatarō and the other ryoka jump at the sudden sound. The ryoka finally straightens up to his full height and hides his hands inside his haori.
"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps and a friend determined to save Rukia-san from a wrongful execution. Nice to meet you, Plain-san," The ryoka, Ichigo, introduces himself and an unfamiliar rank of some sort.
Hanatarō smiles nervously, incredibly hesitant to give out his name, but bows nonetheless. "Y-Yamada Hanatarō... It's‒it's nice to meet Rukia-san's friend after hearing so many stories about you... Kurosaki-san.
"Ara, ara. No need to be so formal Pla‒I mean, Hanatarō-san! I am still an invading enemy after all!" Ichigo waves away the formalities with a giggle, making Hanatarō laugh nervously. It feels like he's made a deal with the Devil.
Hanatarō will never admit it to anyone, not even if he dies because of it, but Ichigo... Ichigo is a hundred times more terrifying than Unohana-taichō... and even Yamamoto-sōtaichō is apprehensive to upset her for reasons no one really knows.
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! Jesus, it's been months and I'm really sorry for that! These past months since April have been absolutely fucking insane for me. And then I got hyperfixated on Black Clover... as indicated by the two stories I've already written and the five more I have planned. (No, seriously. I have five more. FIVE).
Anyways, the family tree of the Kurosaki/Kocho is starting to come to light. I will say this though. All the characters that canonically die by the end of Demon Slayer and before Demon Slayer takes place, still die. I have only changed minor details and what happens after the ending. Like I said in the previous chapter (or was it the one before that? I don't even know anymore).
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini.