Chapter 27: Michael

"I think I'll have...the Strawberry Swirl!" Rukia said.

"And I'll just have orange-flavor," Ichigo added.

"Very well! Coming right up!" The shop employee offered a curt bow before grabbing a scooper and preparing the duo's ice cream. He hummed as he worked. It was a tune that Ichigo couldn't help but feel familiar with although he failed to recall where he had heard it from. Once the employee was done, he presented the two cones to the couple, with Rukia quickly grabbing hers with the excitement of a young child, her eyes glistening like stars as they fell over the frozen treat.

Ichigo would have found it somewhat annoying if it weren't weirdly cute.

"Thanks," He said as he took his cone.

"That will be 3000 yen, please." The employee asked.

"Sure," Ichigo fished out his wallet and handed over the money.

"By the way," The man said as he placed the money in the register. "Kudos on the new girlfriend, dude. Never thought I see you come in here with someone, especially a cutie like her."

Ichigo turned to Rukia who was already making her way out of the store, lapping up the ice cream like a cat drinking milk. He felt his cheeks heat up a little and, once upon a time, he would have viscously berated the poor bastard for jumping to such conclusions.

"Yeah," He said. "Guess I lucked out."

But today, there was no reason to fight them. Mostly, because they were true.

"Wait up, Rukia!" Ichigo shouted as he ran out of the store after his girlfriend. It was about two months since the Jason incident and for all that time, Ichigo and Rukia had been dating in secret. Others knew of course. Namely, Kisuke and Yoruichi from whom it would have been a foolhardy endeavor to keep secrets, and Isshin who couldn't stop listening to them through the door whenever Rukia visited. Jushiro was also aware due to Ichigo's Shinigami badge and worked to keep it a secret from the rest of Soul Society which for now proved to be easy due to all the excitement caused by Jason's escape and the official formation of the D.A.C.U. The sickly Captain shuddered to think of what Byakuya would try to do to Ichigo if he found out before enough time had passed. Or even after the fact.

Physically speaking, the most the new couple would do was make out. They were both content with that for the time being as it didn't complicate things more than needed be. They needed more time, needed to let more of their friends in on the secret, provided Kisuke could keep his damn mouth shut, and grow as a couple. For today, however, their only real concern was to make it home before the ice cream melted.

"Sorry Ichigo," Rukia said through another lick. "I thought you were right behind me."

"I think you got a little too focused on that ice cream." Ichigo scolded.

"Really," Rukia took a bite and squeaked in happiness, placing a hand on her cheek as it reddened in delight. "I just can't help it! This ice cream's too good!"

Ichigo sighed and smiled as he watched Rukia. She really was adorable in times like these when she marveled at the wonders of the World of the Living. This was something he only noticed after they started dating. "Just be careful with it or you'll get brain freeze."

"Brain freeze?" Rukia asked. "You mean when you eat too much ice cream and get a headache?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Oh please!" Rukia waved her hand dismissively. "Orihime already told me that was just a myth humans say so they can trick their friends into letting their ice cream melt."

"Why would Orihime tell you such bullcrap!?" Ichigo shouted as they made a turn to the nearby park. "Scratch that, who told Orihime that bullcrap!?"

Rukia's only response was to stick her tongue out and continue eating her ice cream. The couple continued to walk until they came across the bridge. As they neared its underbelly, Rukia suddenly groaned in pain and gripped her forehead. "Ow! What the heck? M-My head!"

"Huh?" Ichigo said in a sarcastic tone. "What's wrong Rukia? Looks like you're suffering from..I don't know...brain freeze!"

"S-Shut up!" Rukia hissed through gritted teeth and a blushing face. "Your girlfriend's suffering here and you're mocking her?"

Ichigo wagged his tongue in more mockery when he heard an annoying yet familiar voice call out to him from beneath the bridge. "Hey, you!"

"Huh?" Ichigo turned to lock eyes with a punk marching toward him. His brown hair was done in a cornrows style and his manic eyes rested above small glasses. His left ear and left side of his nose were connected by a gold chain held between their piercings. His mouth was fixed in a scowl and behind his back he held a large black baseball bat. This punk was vaguely familiar to Ichigo but he just couldn't quite put his finger on where he had seen him before.

"Kurosaki!" The punk shouted as he lifted his bat and pointed to the Substitute Shinigami. "I've been looking all over for you! You didn't really think you'd be able to hide from us, did ya? It's payback time!"

Ichigo's only response to this was to raise an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

"Huh!?" The top of the man's face turned blue and Ichigo could have sworn his glasses cracked from the sheer shock he apparently experienced. "A-Are you taking me for a fool right now!? Do you seriously not know who I am!?"

Ichigo gave it some thought but not nearly enough. "Nope. Can't say I do!"

"You bastard!" The man shouted. "Maybe this will remind you!" He snapped his fingers and a whole bunch of thugs poured out of the dark underbelly of the bridge. They were quick to surround Ichigo and Rukia who happened to finally recover from her brain freeze. She shifted into a defensive stance, her light-blue dress flowing in the breeze and her violet eyes trained on the enemy. Ichigo likewise placed himself in front of Rukia, blocking the punk leader's view of her. As he did this, his memory finally returned.

"Ah I remember now. You're that jerk that tried to bother the school that one time. You know, that was really annoying."

"Huh?" The punk said, his face betraying an expression typical of Yakuza wannabes trying to intimidate their opponents. "You think this is a game, Kurosaki!? We'll see who's laughing when I send you and your little girlfriend to the hospital!" He slammed the bat into his hand. This clearly hurt him as he winced in pain, a single tear seeping from his left eye. However, he smiled through this pain, his wild eyes staring daggers at Ichigo. "And make sure to tell the doctors it was Weasel that sent you there! Get them!"

The punks surrounding Ichigo and Rukia made their move, charging at the couple from all sides. Ichigo and Rukia backed against each other, turned to each other. and nodded in understanding. For their first attack, they both tossed the ice cream in their hands at the punk nearest them, temporarily blinding them. As the men struggled to move the frozen diary away from their eyes, the two Shinigami made their own move, Ichigo shoving his fist into his attacker's stomach and Rukia sweeping hers off his feet with a single kick.

A second man tried to smash his bat over Ichigo's head but he dodged every swipe effortlessly. Finally, he grabbed the back and flung it out of the punk's hands before knocking him out with a punch. Rukia, meanwhile was also dodging punch after punch, all too aware of the other punk running behind her with a bat. Once he was close enough, Rukia tumbled out of the way while her first opponent knocked the newcomer on his ass with a punch meant for her. "Shit!" was all he said before Rukia retaliated with a kick to his crotch. He yelped in pain and fell to the floor, holding himself and tearing up.

One by one, the punks were taken down almost effortlessly by the dating duo, enraging their leader more and more by the second. One of them was thrown at his feet by Ichigo and crawled toward his leader, nearly all the teeth in his mouth gone. "I-I'm sorry! We failed you, Yokochini sir!"

Yokochini responded to this with a face planted in the poor bastard's face, relieving him of what few teeth he had left. "You idiot! How many times have I told you to call me Weasel!" He kicked his subordinate out of the way and charged at Ichigo. "Forget these losers! I'll just kill you myself right now!"

Ichigo turned to Yokochini and uttered one word. "Rukia."

"Right." Rukia pointed two fingers toward the approaching madman and shouted."Bakudo #1: Sai!"

"Wha!" Yokochini suddenly stopped in his tracks as the bat fell from his hands and thumped on the ground. His arms were forced behind his back and he fell face-first on the sidewalk, sliding right to Ichigo's foot. The two Shinigami watched as Yokochini lifted his head, his glasses shattered and blood on his face from being scrapped along the sidewalk. A single tooth was missing from his mouth.

"You have your chance now," Ichigo said. "You won't get another. Leave."

Rukia released the Kido, allowing the frightened punk to scramble back to his feet. "This ain't over, Kurosaki! I'll get you yet! Men, retreat!" He bellowed. At once, all the other punks, regardless of how hurt they were, followed Yokochini as he fled back into the darkness of the bridge's underbelly. Before long, the last man had vanished into the shadows and Ichigo let out a loud sigh. "Man, that guy's annoying." He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that, Rukia...Rukia?"

Ichigo spotted his girlfriend squatting near the spot where her ice cream had fallen. It had all but melted under the Sun and the cone was crushed. "Ichigo," She whimpered. "T-The ice cream..."

Ichigo sighed again as he realized he hardly got to taste his. Those punks really were annoying. "There's another ice cream shop on the other side of the park. I'll get you another cone so stop crying."

"Hey!" Rukia snapped as she turned back around. "I am not crying!" This was technically true. The tears hadn't left her eyes just yet.

"Sure," Ichigo said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Come on, let's go!"

Rukia sniffed and wiped the totally-not-tears from her eyes. "Right!" She dusted off her dress and ran after Ichigo as he went up to the bridge.

Both of them were able to calm down a little as they walked across the bridge, their breathing regulating and their hearts slowing back to their usual pace. "I really don't get it Ichigo." Rukia said. "How come you always manage to attract trouble wherever you go?"

"I dunno," Ichigo confessed, his hands behind his head. "It could be my orange hair. People always treat me like a delinquent because of it."

"Are you sure it's not just because of your brash personality?" Rukia chuckled.

"What was that!?" Ichigo growled. Before the couple could engage in their favorite pastime of arguing with each other, they both sensed a familiar spiritual pressure.

Familiar and very, very faint.

"Rukia, do you feel that?"

"Yeah, but I almost don't. It's so weak!"

"I think it's coming from the end of the bridge."

The couple sprinted to the other side of the bridge, their eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. As they made it to the end, it became painfully clear where the spiritual pressure was coming from. Laying crumpled on the riverbank was one Riruka Dokugamine, face down and unmoving.

"R-Riruka!?" Ichigo shouted as he dashed to her side.

"The Fullbringer? What's she doing here?" Rukia rushed after him.

Ichigo knelt next to the unconscious girl and moved her shoulders. "Riruka! Riruka answer me!"

A low groan was all that the Fullbringer would give in response but for that Ichigo was grateful. It meant she was still alive. Slowly, Ichigo rolled her onto her back, gasping as his eyes fell upon the appalling wound on her stomach, caked with dry blood, river mud, and strands of grass. "Shit! Who did this to you!?"

"It looks as if someone stabbed her," Rukia suggested. "It might have been a robbery gone wrong."

Ichigo shook his head. "No, that doesn't make any sense. She's a Fullbringer! She should have been able to protect herself if that was the case." Ichigo turned his attention back to the wound. "It doesn't matter right now. There's no telling how long she's been lying here letting this wound get infected. We got to take her to the clinic."

Now it was Rukia who shook her head. "It's too far away to go on foot and judging by how grievous the wound looks, it wouldn't be a good idea to flash-step with her." She thought for a moment. "Urahara shop is close by."

"Then let's not waste another minute. We got to get this wound cleaned up as fast as possible." Both Shinigami lifted Riruka to her feet before she leaned on Ichigo. He readjusted her so she was lying on top of him, her bleeding stomach pressed against his back. "Don't worry, Riruka. We'll help you!"

"M...M...Michael..."

Ichigo's eyes widened as she heard the wounded girl speak in his ear. "Michael? Who's Michael?"

"Michael...He's here...He's..."

"Ichigo, we can worry about this Michael person later. Right now, let's get Riruka to safety!" Rukia commanded.

Ichigo nodded. "Right." Even so, as he and Rukia began their trek back to Urahara Shop, Riruka's unconscious mutterings still ate at him. "Who is this Michael person? Did he do this to her? If that's the case I'll find him myself and make him answer for it!" Ichigo struggled to wrestle these thoughts away and he and Rukia left the park, all thoughts of replacing their ice cream forgotten.

"My my," Kisuke muttered from behind the safety of his fan. "This day has certainly taken a turn for the interesting." He watched as Ichigo scrabbed the last of the dirt and grime from Riruka's wound. Only as he was cleaning it did he realize how deep it truly was. He wanted to take her to the hospital but Kisuke insisted she not be moved. Ichigo gave in, figuring that he himself had been treated for far deeper wounds in this shop in the past. There was a large blood stain on the back of his shirt but he didn't seem to care.

"So you're saying you just found her lying on the riverbank with no one else around."

"Yes," Rukia confirmed. "There's no telling how long she'd been there."

"Well, then it's a good thing you found her when you did.," Kisuke commented. "Otherwise, she might have been left there to rot."

Ichigo patched up the wound as best he could, pulled Riruka's shirt down, and covered her up with the blanket. Her breathing was regular again and she seemed more at peace. Despite the danger of infection, it looked like Riruka was going to make a full recovery. Ichigo sighed in relief and went to join his friends across the room. "I just don't get it. Riruka's not the strongest Fullbringer but she's still more powerful than a normal human. A random mugger shouldn't have been able to get the drop on her like that."

"Have you considered the possibility that another Fullbringer might have done this?" Kisuke suggested.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "No! Why! Did you find something?"

Kisuke shook his head. "I was just throwing ideas out there. Truth is, I don't feel any foreign spiritual pressure around Riruka or her wound. If someone like that did attack her, they did a pretty good job of covering their tracks."

Ichigo huffed. "Sorry. Guess I'm a little on edge."

"You found a friend of yours lying on a riverbank bleeding out. Can't say I blame ya," Kisuke fixed his hat. "Listen, not that I mind having you folks as my fine guest but I gotta ask, why my shop? Why not Kurosaki Clinic or the hospital?"

"Your shop was closer and we wanted to get her help as fast as possible," Rukia explained. "Besides, Mr. Kurosaki is currently out on a trip with Ryuken."

"Oh yeah," Kisuke said. "I heard about that. They aren't due back for a couple of days aren't they?"

"That's right," Ichigo confirmed. "From what I hear, Uryu's taking over temporarily as the director and me and my sisters have been handling the old man's clinic by ourselves."

"Well if our little Fullbringer friend takes a turn for the worse, we'll turn her over to Uryu's hands," Kisuke promised. "But for now, let's just let her rest while we try to figure out this mystery. Now, was there anything else about the scene that seemed off? Maybe a calling card of some kind?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, it was just Riruka. Although, come to think of it," His mind trailed off to when Riruka was on her back, whispering that same name over and over again.

Michael...He's here...Michael...

"She kept repeating a name," Ichigo said. "Michael."

"Michael huh?" Kisuke fixed his hat again. "And I don't suppose either of you happen to know anybody by that name?"

Both Ichigo and Rukia shook their heads. "For all we know, it might have been the person who attacked her," Rukia added. "All we know for sure is that whoever he is, he's here in Karakura Town."

"I see," Kisuke tented his fingers and all fell quiet for a few moments. Then Kisuke surprised the Shinigami couple by suddenly hopping out of his seat with a loud "Alright! Time to get to work!"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Well it might be a stretch and I'll be the first to admit to the possibility I'm blowing things out of proportion but considering the fact that this Michael person was able to wound a Fullbringer like Riruka to such a degree could mean we have yet another Surrassha situation on our hands."

Both Ichigo and Rukia gulped at the possibility of another supernatural murder in their midst. "Y-You're kidding! Another Surrasha!?"

"Now now, it's only a guess," Kisuke assured them. "But nonetheless, a guess I think is worth looking into. But first things first." Kisuke walked to the other side of the room and pulled out a green shirt from one of the half-opened boxes lying about. "Here." He tossed it at Ichigo. "You might want to change shirts before you step into my new office."

"New office?" Rukia asked.

"Change shirts? Why?" It was then that Ichigo recalled the giant red stain marking his current shirt. "Shit! That's right! Can't go out in public like that!" Ichigo wasted no time removing the spoiled shirt and tossing it into one of the empty boxes. Rukia suddenly found herself face to face with Ichigo's bare chest and turned away, her face as red as the blood stain on his first shirt. Kisuke smirked in response, prompting the heir of the Kuchiki Clan to shoot him a look that screamed. "Say a word and I'll freeze you from the inside out!" Kisuke appeared the get the message because his next course of action was to press his fingers against his lips and slide them across like a zipper.

Throughout that time, Ichigo was struggling with the new shirt which seemed to not want to get on him. Once he finally slid it down over his stomach, however, he felt it fit over his figure like a glove. "Alright, Thanks Kisuke."

"I'll have Tessai take your other shirt to the wash on laundry day," Kisuke said. "Now please, follow me to my office." Kisuke stepped out of the room and after exchanging a somewhat confused glance, Ichigo and Rukia followed. Kisuke led them down to the end of a small hallway, right next to where one would enter the secret underground training grounds. The door looked brand new and had a sign hanging from it that looked lazily scribbled together reading, "Kisuke's Office!" A small picture of a smiling Kisuke face hung at the bottom corner of the picture.

All Ichigo and Rukia could do was stare at the drawing with...concerned faces.

"Welcome!" Kisuke shouted as he kicked the door open. "To the official office of the D.A.C.U Headquarters, The World of the Living Branch!" Kisuke presented the cluttered room filled with files and old newspapers with the showmanship of a circus ringleader. A single moth, trapped within that stuffy prison for who knows how long, fluttered over Rukia's head.

"D.A.C.U Headquarters?"

"The World of the Living Branch?"

"That's right!" Kisuke waved his fan under himself. "After Central 46 gave the go-ahead for the D.A.C.U initiative, it was agreed that there should be two bases of operation for both worlds since we know so little about the Surrassha. I play the part of the unassuming yet handsome head of the World of the Living Branch and Captain Kurotsuchi, of course, is head of the Soul Society branch. Not only that but both of us are in talks with Queen Harribel about establishing one in Hueco Mundo."

"Q-Queen Harribel? Hueco Mundo?" Rukia repeated.

"You mean she's really entertaining the idea of getting involved in this Surrassha crap?" Ichigo asked.

"Well to be fair, the Surrassha were just as much of a pain in the butt for her as they were for us," Kisuke answered. "At least, Freddy was."

Ichigo stiffened as he recalled the disarray Shinigami and Arrancar alike felt when Freddy was running loose. "That makes sense," He said. "It's only natural that Harribel would want to keep a repeat of that situation from happening. I wonder how things are going over there."

"From what I hear, just fine," Kisuke answered. "Harribel's going through quite a few trial and error approaches with her new queendom but for the most part, things are going smoothly, thanks in no small part to Nelliel and Grimmjow helping her to keep the peace." Kisuke plopped in his revolving chair and spun around to a stack of files. "But enough about the pros and cons of Arrancar politics. It's time to see if we can bag us a Michael." He started shifting through the files.

"Bag us a Michael?" Rukia asked. "You mean you know who might have attacked Riruka?"

"Not exactly," Kisuke admitted. "Me and Captain Kurostsuichi had a long talk about Freddy and Jason after D.A.C.U was given the go-ahead. We discussed what made them the same, what criteria could we take from these two completely different individuals to match the profile of a Surrassha." He took out a file labeled "M" "One thing that we agreed upon was that they were deadly predators that took joy and power from killing humans. In short, one thing that all Surrassha, regardless of power or origin have," He threw the file down on an old coffee table, allowing a few of the pictures inside to slide out, displaying black and white shots of evil looking men. "Is that they exist to destroy life."

Ichigo read through the headlines quietly, realizing with a heavy heart that all the men on these papers were murderers. Underneath each of their pictures was a small summary of who they were and what they had done as well as their ultimate fate, whether they were on the loose, incarcerated or already dead.

"To that end, I've been doing some serious study of true crime here in the World of the Living. Another thing that Freddy and Jason had in common was that they, at one point in their existence, used to be completely normal people. To date, neither I nor Captain Kurotsuichi have been able to find any link between Freddy fusing with the Yumi No Seirei and Jason being revived by Akane Watanbe. For all we know, they are both completely isolated incidents that happened to two evil people by chance. And if it can happen twice,"

"It can happen several times." Rukia finished grimly.

"What about the Soul Society? What is their D.A.C.U branch doing right now?"

"Well as of right now, they're having the lieutenants comb Shin'o Academy for any possible Hellbound."

"Hellbound?"

"Souls that should have gone to Hell but arrived in the Soul Society instead," Kisuke explained. "After the whole ordeal with Pamela and Roy came out, everyone's scared of who or what else might be waiting in the midst, especially considering both Freddy and Jason were Hellbound themselves."

"What will they do if decide someone's a Hellbound?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know," Kisuke admitted. "Best case scenario, imprisonment in the Maggot's Nest."

"And worst case?"

Kisuke remained silent for a moment. "D.A.C.U's new guinea pigs."

Ichigo gulped, remembering full well that it was Mayuri who was in charge of D.A.C.U

Let's get back to the topic on hand." Kisuke suggested. "Now I started creating files on murderers from all over the world, marking the ones whose situations seem just a little bit out of the ordinary." He started shifting through the files. "Now there's no guarantee that this Michael fellow Riruka keeps talking about is a Surrassha or if he's even the one that attacked her in the first place. All we do know for sure is that he's here in Karakura town and if there's even the slightest chance he's a Surrassha, we'll need to be ready if we want to avoid a repeat of our last two run-ins with them."

Ichigo and Rukia both nodded. The last thing either of them wanted was another hollow victory with the killer escaping or one with heavy casualties. This time, they wanted to nip the problem in the bud.

"I'm going to look through every Michael I have in that file, see which ones might be a fit, and when our sleeping guest awakens, I'll ask her about it. I just hope she's willing to talk."

"Well let us know if she wakes up," Ichigo said. "Is there anything else we can do?"

"Just keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary," Kisuke said. "That's about as much as any of us can do right now."

"Right," Rukia nodded as she got up. "Ichigo, let's go."

"Yeah." Both of them walked out of the office as Kisuke dug through the files. "Michael...Michael..." He scratched the side of his head. "Ah man, I just when I thought today was gonna be relaxing." As he continued to shift through the various sheets and pictures, his fingers grazed one photograph in particular. A young boy with blonde hair and a morbid, almost dead look in his eyes.

Back inside the main room, Riruka tossed and turned as another word escaped her lips. "Evil...I...I released the evil..."

"I'm going to call Orihime and the others," Rukia said as she got out her Denreishinki. "She'll want to know about this."

"Yeah." Ichigo agreed. "Plus she can help Riruka's recovery along." The two of them were stepping out of Urahara shop and back onto the streets, homeward bound. As they walked, however, Ichigo could not stop the intense feeling of dread draping over him. It was like a veil that had been through over him, adhering to his skin. He wasn't sure why but there was something different about this situation, as if he could sense the sheer amount of fear and evil involved. In his mind, the mental image of Riruka calling out that name again and again.

Michael. He's here. Michael.

"Ichigo?" Rukia's words pulled him back to reality.

"Y-Yeah? What is it?" He asked.

"Are you alright? You seemed a little spooked." Rukia said.

"Oh it's nothing," Ichigo said. "Really."

"If you say so," As the couple continued their way home, their eyes fell upon some work going on at a nearby park. Pumpkins were being gathered around trees and little ghosts hung from their leaves. A banner reading "Halloween Festival" in Kanji was being put up on the entranceway.

"Halloween Festival?" Rukia asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot it was that time of year."

"Will you be attending the festival then?" Rukia asked.

"Probably, if my sisters want to go," Ichigo said. "Truth is, I don't care about stuff like that anyways."

"Real-life Hollows scarier than Halloween spooks huh?" Rukia giggled.

"I guess you could say that," Ichigo admitted. "The truth is-

At that moment, a young boy in an Oni mask jumped out of the bushes just before the couple and shouted BOO! at the top of his lungs. Both Ichigo and Rukia jumped back with the latter producing a quiet squeak of surprise. "Got you!" He laughed as he ran across the street toward the park.

"That damn brat!" Ichigo growled. "Get back here!"

"Let it go, Ichigo," Rukia said with a smirk even as her heart still pounded in her chest. "It was just a little joke."

"Some joke." Ichigo hissed. "Seriously, what is that kid thinking? What if an old man had walked by?"

"Oh relax Ichigo." Rukia grabbed his hand. "There's still much I don't know about the World of the Living but what I do know is that when it comes to Halloween, everyone is entitled to one good scare."

"Heh! You sound so corny."

"Shut up you jerk!" Rukia lightly punched Ichigo in the arm as the couple, their moods uplifted, continued on their path home, completely unaware of the masked man several feet behind them, watching them from behind the corner.

"This fucking blows!" Yokochini screamed. After nursing their wounded bodies and pride, the gang leader wannabe and his men made their way back to the bridge. It was sundown and soon the park would be engulfed in darkness. For now, it was still illuminated by the dying sunlight, painting it peaceful shades of orange, yellow, and red. Such scenery clashed with the punk leader and he verbally tore down his lackeys. "We spent all that time training, all that time waiting for the perfect moment to ambush Kurosaki! We even waited till he was with his girlfriend so he'd be distracted and we still lost! Are you guys a bunch of men or a bunch of wimps!?"

The men groaned in shame. None of them thought of themselves as wimps but no one was going to contest their leader. No one had the guts.

"Well I'm not giving up!" Yokochini continued. "We'll just have to catch Kurosaki alone next time, while his guard is down." Yokochini laughed to himself as he imagined Ichigo's beat up body underneath his heel. "Yes, next time we'll...huh?"

It was at that moment that Yokochini noticed a shape just outside the underbelly of the bridge. By now, the light had all but faded, leaving only the tiniest glimmer to out the new shadow standing near the entrance. An intruder.

"Hey you!" Yokochini jumped down from the crate he was standing on to give himself some authority and pointed toward the newcomer, directing his men's attention to them as well. "Hey! What's the big idea of eavesdropping on us like that? You a cop or something?"

The newcomer said nothing.

"Or maybe...Maybe you're a spy sent by that punk, Kurosaki!" Yokochini said. "Yeah! That's it, isn't it!? You were sent to spy on us!"

The newcomer said nothing. He simply stood in the shadows and breathed. A few of Yokochini's men were starting to get unnerved, sweating and shaking. Others, however, were starting to absorb their leader's fury and griped their bats and iron bars tightly, waiting for the order to bash this Peeping Tom's head in. One of them would not have to wait long.

"Pucci! Show this asshole some manners!" Yokochini commanded.

"Right!" The skinny punk with blue hair nodded as he approached the figure, crowbar in hand. "All right, you jackass! You wanna play spy do ya? Will spy on this!" With a roar, Pucci rushed at the man, ready to bash his crowbar against his shoulder and knock him to the ground. He vanished into the ever-growing shadows...then screamed.

The rest of the gang as well as Yokochini himself were shaken by the sudden cries of their comrade. He tried to tell himself that those screams came from the newcomer, that Pucci had hit his mark and for the briefest of moments, this actually succeeded in calming him down, allowing him to hope that perhaps, it was true after all.

That hope would die as soon as Pucci stepped out of the shadows, clutching his stomach. Dark red blood slipped from the fingers of his hands and fell to the ground as red dots. Pucci left a trail of these dots as he stumbled toward Yokochini, tears streaming from his eyes. "B-Boss...he-help me..." He stopped, as if struck by an unseen weapon and fell dead at Yokochini's feet, the blood pooling from underneath his body.

"Pucci!" One of the men cried.

"What the hell happened!? Was he stabbed?"

As if to answer the delinquent's frightened inquiry, the man slowly stepped into the underbelly of the bridge. By now, the dying sunlight had been replaced by the stars, the Moon and the park lights, allowing the terrified punks to see the newcomer in all his glory. They shuddered at the pale expressionless mask adorning his face and the bloody knife he gripped tightly in his hand.

"W-What the hell is that guy?"

"What's with the mask!?"

Yokochini was shaking like a leaf. He wanted to turn tail and run right back to the comfort of his home. But his pride, his foolish pride in his nonexistent reputation as a feared gang leader kept him from running. Instead, summoning whatever courage he had left, he grabbed his bat and pointed toward the murderer with it. "Come on! He's just one guy! He can't take all of us! Let's jump him!"

Whether they felt the same way as Yokochini or were simply too afraid to disobey their boss differed between the punks. A few of them did in fact, turn and flee, knowing full well that they could not survive this battle even with a hundred men lending their aid. These would be the lucky ones. The rest of the gang charged at the masked man, determined to avenge their fallen friend and save themselves.

Once one of the delinquents got close enough, he took a swing with his bat. The masked man grabbed it with his free hand and with a single swift motion, sliced the punk's neck open with his knife. Some of the spraying blood got into his friend's eyes, forcing them to drop their weapons as they tried to get the blood off. The masked monster wasted no time taking them out, slicing open one of their stomachs and stabbing the other two in the throat. Yet another punk, enraged at the death of his friends, rushed at the masked man with a pipe from behind. The man moved to the side at the last second, allowing the punk to bury his pipe into the head of one of his fellow gang members who happened to be heading toward the intruder with a switchblade.

"No!" The pipe-wielding punk cried as his friend fell over dead. Gritting his teeth, he turned for another blow on the masked man. "Damn you!"

The masked man's only response was to grab the pipe with his free hand and slam the knife into the punk's belly. Overcome by agony, the punk loosened his grip on his weapon, allowing the masked man to rip it from his hands and bash it against his skull. One of his eyes popped out and flew off toward Yokochini. It fell to the floor and rolled against his foot but the gangsta wannabe was too horrifically mesmerized by the carnage before him to notice. "My God...Who...Who is this guy?"

One by one, the punks fell to the masked intruder, either by knife or pipe. When it was over, the bloodied man was standing ankle-deep in a pile of broken bodies. He stared down at them, turning his head curiosity as if studying his own work. Then he turned his sights on Yokochini.

The gangsta wannabe whimpered and sprinted as soon as the masked monster took a step toward him. "No! No! Please! Someone! Anyone! Help me!" Yokochini's cries for help were cut short by a blow to his shoulder blades which knocked him off his feet. He grunted as whatever hit him rolled over his head and landed on the ground in front of him. As he picked his head up, through the cracked lens of his broken glasses, he saw it was a bloody pipe.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow, darker than even the inky blackness of the cave, loom over him. Shaking and crying, he slowly forced himself to look up at his killer, his dilated frightened gaze meeting two pitch-black voids where eyes should have rested. "No! Please!"

The masked monster turned his head again, reached down toward Yokochini's face, and ripped the chain between his ear and nose away, taking out a piece of both and leaving the gang leader screaming in agony. He stopped screaming only as he saw his killer's foot shooting down toward his face, his final sight from the World of the Living.

(FF seems to be getting better, got some emails recently. So that's good. Hope you have a good one!)