Like any other good hunter of all things that piss me off, I've let loose my dog on this innocent, unsuspecting Division to gather everyone together the only way she knew how.
"Hey dick weed! Get the fuck outside!"
CRASH!
"Ahhhh!"
"Music to my ears," I mused then dropped my cupped hands from my ears. The screams of pain and surprise that stem from the malicious actions of my dog are entertaining, but only a products of the true purpose behind such insane actions. Also provides me time to roam.
While my little monkey girl terrorized the land I got situated in my office finding it very tidy with a fair amount of hidden cracks and crevices about. I checked one to find a journal of sorts and laid it down on the deck. I reached inside and pulled out a cigar of all things and smirked. "Ol boy had his own vice." I chuckled at the fact the previous captain wasn't as perfect as led to believe. Or maybe he used his powers to cover up the smell of smoke because even my nose didn't pick it up. I bit down on one end and spat it to the side into a trash bin and sat back. I flicked my thumb with a flame at the tip and lit the cigar. I'm not a smoker but to kill my enemy I must emulate them to find their weaknesses. Smoking might be one if I can spike one and get him to smoke it. I doubt that though.
I leaned back in a chair and propped my feet on the desk. I never imagined I'd become a captain of the Gotei 13 despite the proof being over my body. I lifted my arm to gaze upon the pure white sleeves of a Captains Haori. This is insane. I made it just like I promise you. Not only did I become the big shot reaper, but I'm a fucking captain. It took some time and a lot of bodies, but I did it. I wish you were here to see me now.
I sighed.
Sadly, I can't celebrate for the fear a version of me in the past did exactly what I'm doing now. I'm playing out history right now, and I know how this story ends. He'll sit in this very same chair and build an army that'll inevitably fail. The battle will end in defeat but the war will be won. I hope I don't lose everything by the end of it. My foe has knowledge of my true origins just based on the fact there's two of me existing. He probably researched me as well and she wasn't a secret or anything. Who knows unless I personally ask the man.
He left a journal and a couple other affects in this office perhaps for me to find. It's not barren, the papers are neatly filed, and it's relatively spotless in this room. It's devoid of any form of personality or life. It reminds me of my lifestyle even. I don't decorate any room I've earn and what stuff on his wall I do see was given to him. A calligraphy portrait was on the wall same with an ink picture that's not his handy work. The scent of his lieutenant hung in the air as well. Her scent is everywhere in this damn room to the point its sickening.
At least she kept it clean in leiu of his death.
"Hey, captain!" The door to the room slam slid open revealing a female, short and fiery, at the door. "I got all the dumbasses outside waiting on ya."
"Copy that." I blew out smoke from my cigar. The girl's face was hazy in the fog surrounding the room hiding certain details from sight, but know she gave me a look of confusion.
"When the hell you start smoking?"
"I didn't," I blew out a smoky ring and an arrow through it moments later.
"Yeah... okay," she sounded sarcastic as you can get. "Well hurry the hell up. The Division is waiting."
"Alright." I put my feet down and took to them in moments. I grabbed an ash tray and left the cigar on the corner. The girl who sported a lieutenant badge in her hip flash stepped in front of me and grabbed my hand.
"Let's freaking go!" She dragged me out from around the desk and out into the hall to meet with our division straight into the fog until all I saw was grey.
Then the darkness set in.
"Ahh," the headache set in as it always does when I have bullshit dreams like this. I gripped my forehead and felt a cold sensation from my hand meaning my hot head did it again. Another meaningless dream out of many others I have every so often. Sometimes I have strange dreams of being a hollow, another a hybid of a hollow and human, and the another I was shooting arrows with an energy bow. Some really Yu Yu Hakusho shit that's for sure. It's just with a bow instead of a sword. Becoming a Captain in this place was last night's dream.. Ha, me? A captain? Impossible. Not in a million years.
I leaned up from my bed feeling the lightheaded sensation of a hard wake up. Like how you feel waking up at 7 hours if sleep instead of 8. Like a damn zombie. They assigned me a room not to long ago once I squeezed my way into Seireitei life once more with a bed. Not that Asian floor bedroll shit but an actual bed. I rose my arm up to see the black sleeve of the reaper attire they wear and sighed. I forget what it's called because it doesn't matter. I dropped my arm feeling almost wrong as if I'm not where I should be.
I Hate these damn dreams sometimes. It's not the first time I've dreamt of becoming a Soul Reaper in this unlife of mine. One time I dreamt of marrying into the Shihouin Clan to my queen Yuroichi. In another I was imprisoned in a coffin with a five century sentence. The faces are always covered in fog and the environment fuzzy but they always feel so real despite being a dream.
'At least I was a captain in this one,' came a thought. I've had dreams of being a reaper in dozens of situations and lives I couldn't make sense of and this is another to add to the list. I'm not foolish enough to believe these dreams bare meaning. If they did, there'd be some relation to them outside of me being a reaper. I know it's possible, I've spirit energy and can perceive it, but I'm no patriot. Becoming a slave to the government forced to live centuries to hunt masked monsters and dissidents of the state ain't me.
I took a breath and kicked my feet over the edge of my bed. Lucky for me this division has beds and not just those floor mat bed rolls. Those things get old quick. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and climbed up from the bed. I walked towards my bathroom to get ready for the work day. I brushed my teeth and with toothpaste. Toothpaste isn't a common commodity out there past the walls so nice to get my hands on when I can. I fixed my mask to my face and snagged my glasses to place over my eyes before heading to the door.
The sword supplied to me was in the unbrella bin with like two of them already in the room before I moved in. Walking around with a bunch of reapers is nothing new to me. The clothes that Lady Koibito gave me are of one of the transporters taking information from one end of the building to another. She was able to insert me with such ease it frightened me but not as much as when I watched one man with spiky hair destroy a hollow with his bare hands just yesterday. To understand the hollow to the point that a sword isn't a necessity is crazy.
The capital really has it all from hot water heaters to wifi. These bastards even have electricity and computers. They've damn near everything a nerd needs to survive. Unfortunately, I've spent the majority of my time stuck at a desk gathering information on this Aizen character instead of playing the PS3 at the Rec Rooms here. To my extreme disappointment I've found practically nothing. I couldn't find any records on him, who he was, or what he was. Not even records of him in the academy or as a normal soul. Someone of worth should at least be in the soul charter like everyone else in the top five districts. I could only think of two types of people that have to be erased in such a way that only a word of mouth exists. The first is a man that committed a crime so horrible and unforgivable that his name was stripped from the records never to be mentioned again. I don't know what a man could've done to earn this punishment, but it had to be pretty bad. The second is someone on a mission so secretive that their previous life had to be erased completely so the new one takes precedence. If he's here and under the name I was given then it's probably the former.
If my speculation is right then why in the hell does Lady Koibito, Boss Kaido, and the rest want an audience with this man? A man that committed a crime so unforgivable that the government First Born Son'd his ass? He's stripped from the annals of history and uttering his name didn't seem a good idea.
"Fuck man! This is stressful." I pushed against the wall I leaned on and fell back against it once more. The days in 13th under our woman captain has been so interesting though. Actually met her and nearly froze to death. Never seen girl built like Tayuya and yet so cold in my life. She was cute though outside being so damn stoic. Captain Rukia Kuchiki and all the research I've done on her and the rest of the 13 have spawn many curiosities. The shift of power spanning the last two decades is one of many.
Tayuya and I have been working tirelessly to track this dude down. Well, we know he's in the Central Great Underground Prison under First Division. I've chosen not to search for his name directly and erased my tracks as I drove into the information the reapers hold here. Lucky for me Lady Koibito was right about providing the means for us to move about as long as we played this smart. I couldn't help but worry about Tayuya though. She's smart and cunning, but she's in First Division right now forcing herself to blend in with them all. It's not hard to pass as a reaper, but she can be overzealous when excited in a division known for their rigidity.
"Is bitching all you do?" I groaned from the unhelpful comment from my ear piece. I turned my attention towards the phone in my hand and the picture of a middle finger in the center belonging to the voice in the other end.
"Didn't you bitch to me all night last night at the bar?" I deadpanned. Luckily we can enjoy some of the creature comforts these reapers have here to include clubs, bars, recreational parks, and even a public pool. These guys live in a modern world compared to the world outside these walls where torches and lanterns are still our only sources of lights.
"I'm a woman and can bitch. You're a man so man up and stop bitching."
I glared at the phone wishing I could set this chick behind it on fire. Since I don't have that ability without a lighter and aerosol, I hovered my finger over the end call button. "How about you get your bitch (pause for dramatic effect) ass back to work instead of pestering me when it suits you," I spat out.
"Don't you hang up on me you son of a..." I hit the button and the call ended. Immediately I switched on airplane mode, despite airplanes not existing here, and placed it on "Do Not Disturb" next just encase she did some sneaky shit like connecting to my phone via bluetooth by "accident" again. My partner and I stay in near constant communication but she's not accustomed to operations like this so annoying as hell. She can't handle the stress well and tries to take it out on me. Luckily, I've a phone and can hang up on annoying little bitches when they annoy me.
I pushed off the wall I rested against and made my way to my assigned station. "Good afternoon sixth seat," I greeted the seated officer. He gave me a nod and carried on with his day. At the end of the day this is was a military work force and the intelligence branch of one. It's not to different than working in my adoptive father's family. Follow the rules and abide by the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and a normal soul with a noticeable amount of spirit energy like myself and Tayuya can roam outside suspection. The fact we're mob characters, pun intended, and behind everyone's notice, only improved our situation.
Smack!
"Ow, Soul king damn it!" I dropped and rubbed the heel of my left foot. I don't normally wake with a damn sword and the Saya stabs my foot when I walk. I looked around to ensure no one saw that and stood up once the coast was clear. Carrying this damn sword everywhere was beginning to get in my nerves. I had to hold it else it'd hit my legs. It nearly trip me several times. How do they do it? I prefer a knife than a damn sword. It's easy to use and conceal; faster on the draw as well. A sword takes all of an hour to draw compared to a knife. I suppose the saving grace about these robes I'm stuck in is the fact I can carry my gifted sword and tools still. I got it all from my personal arsenal from poison mist vials to smoke bombs. I've bombs that double up on effects too. It deafens spirit sense and flashs you just encase someone that can teleport comes around. It's easy to activate being on my chest and just need a snap to ignite the primer. Against a being that can step as fast as sound I need a way to use my tools that isn't that predictable.
I tapped the sword on my side as I walked down the Barracks hallways thinking on this mission. I'm thinking harder than ever before on how to go about this. If this Aizen guy is in the Central Great Underground Prison then we need a Captain level Shinigami to get in officially or be assigned as a guard to patrol the halls. That duty reserved for 1st Division members. Maybe Tayuya can get in, but I know I can't. I guess that's why her payment is higher than mine. They knew this man was in that prison and what's required to get in. The payments stems from figuring out how to get in and soon. Lady Koibito bought us a week and it's been three days now. We've less than three more days if we're lucky to locate this man, get to him, and deliver that strange as message.
I checked my phone and five minutes passed. I took the phone off airplane mode and such and waited as the alerts came in. Ever since she got that damn phone it's been constantly sending me messages via the Spirit Book or MySoul applications. I looked it over and watched the messages roll in. She cursed me, told me she'd castrate me, and skipped down until the last one that just said she calmed down, apologized, and asked I call her back. I did just that and she picked up instantly.
"I hate phones," my partner grumbled over the line obviously still bitter but at least she finished exploding. The fact I can shut her out and hang up is what she hates not the phones. Didn't state the obvious though.
"It's a good tool to have in the Seireitei." I pocket my phone and got back to work. I completed my rounds of moving paper and information around via computer very quickly. In life most of my time was behind a screen when I wasn't healthy enough to fly. Moving funds around and hacking via computer isn't new to me despite the years I've probably been here away from the screen. It took me a couple hours to reintroduce myself to technology again, but once I had my skills came back with a vengeance. I tapped my computer screen when my work was done. The internet here is so fast and I love it.
"How you liking the face whitey?" I could practically see the smirk on her lips right now. The race pills I've taken turned my brown skin damn near white completely shifting the pigmentation to adopt this persona they set up for me. Changing my hair from black to brown, having it grow out and comb it into waves, and my eyes color having to be adjusted to a lighter shade of brown is so bothersome. I've a face mask on as well giving me a slightly bigger and wider nose and a few other adjusted features.
"How's your skin blackey? I know I wore it better." I let a smirk curse my lips now. Tayuya sniggered though. Hers turned her ass ebony like the Shihouin clan. Her mask gave her wider eyes and light brown eyes. I'm not gonna tell her she looks better black than Asian, but she does.
"Shut your snowflake ass up little boy," she said then chuckled a bit.
"Oh look at you. The little jungle bunny got something to say," I said with a sneer. Tayuya coughed struggling to keep herself from laughing too hard and so I did. I guess we're enjoying this race swap of ours as much as possible midst this bullshit operation.
Ding!
Got an alert on my phone. I checked it to a camera icon and hit it. It shown a selfie of her with black hair tied in a pony tail, milk brown skin, this light brown eyes, and her Shinigami clothing opened a bit revealing her black top. She wore a cute smile and winked at the camera while leaning forward showing off what cleavage she doesn't have. Then another got came in and was an overhead shot with her ass poking out. "You know I wear it better," her snarky tone made me roll my eyes. She was a pretty little ebony that's for sure.
"I know if you've time to take selfies you can be working like a proper reaper," I scoffed but did save the photo she sent for later. She's really gotten a bit too free with that phone though. My point was proved when she sent me another photo and checked to see a familiar face. I know each Captain and Lieutenant by face and name to include this one. "Captain Renji?" I leaned inward to take in the photo same with the little girl at his side being his daughter. The alike hair color and style was a dead give away.
"He's here to talk about the target same with this guy." Another notification later revealed a picture of a man with orange hair I didn't recognize at all. "Heard the guy's name is Ichigo or something like that."
"Ichigo?" I never heard the name other than once or twice while traveling I've met two I think, both of which became hollow chow or dead. This one is different, a Shinigami, and yet doesn't bare the clothes, colors, or badges of one. It's appears him and the captain are close meaning he's at that level and yet never heard of him.
"Why can't you send me pictures of fine ass chicks," I whined playfully. "It's always dudes you crushing on."
"These two are pretty hot. Especially the DILF captain."
"Oh, you did not just say that," I chuckled a bit and heard her snicker.
"Don't worry, they're not as handsome as you," she said mockingly. I gave these two dudes one more glanced and frowned.
"That Ichigo dude definitely looks better than me," I grumbled.
"You'll be fine. And since you want a chick, here's one." The notification came in and I hit the icon. Another lieutenant came up and it was Matsumoto of 10th and damn those titties never fail to impress.
"I know you're a tit fiend, freaking pervert," I heard her scoff.
"Any man who can't appreciate a good set of tits ain't a man at all," I stated like a wise man.
"Who's are better?" she asked swiftly.
"Yours, my dear partner." Such an easy question with an easier answer. I can appreciate a piece of art but never have an emotional tie to it. That woman isn't my partner or Kuu, and they will always be first and second in my mind. I'll never disclose which is which though.
"How about between me and Mt. Lady?"
"Okay, that not fair." I shook my head at this woman. She's always wanting to play the comparison game with Kuu. Like, why though?
"Working hard again. Nice work." I nearly jumped out my chair when I heard this. My amazingly tempered mentality kept me still and allowed me to calmly turned around to see who it was that interrupted my musing. To my shock it was a certain individual that noticed me the first day and my work ethic. I started working and finished about a weeks worth of forms in a day. My old days as a living person took over and before I knew it I was busting out the transfers of information in my certain branch and to 12th. It wasn't hard to do after all they give you instructions on what to send, where it's located in the system, and the addresses of who to send it to. The system is a little more advanced than what I had but not by much.
Immediately, I stood up from my chair and bowed my head. "Good evening 4th seat Katsuragi." I greeted the officer that's in charge of this branch full of lazy individuals. The backlog is as long as a novel. I killed a lot of it while I worked between searching for loophole to get into first.
"Is it that chubby chick again," Tayuya snorted over the line. The woman stood below me at around 5 feet 3 inches, black hair in a bun held together with two sticks, tan skinned of all things, and has emerald green eyes. She's cute with or without the glasses with moderately sized tits and a plumb ass. I wouldn't call her chubby, but she's got curves I wouldn't mind tracing. Though anyone with curves is either chubby or fat in Tayuya's world. Even Kuu and she's not chubby by any means. Maybe it's a psychological thing.
"Come on, don't do that," she chuckle sheepishly. "It's embarrassing." She hates formalities like this. She's in charge of the laziest squad so that's a given. With that in mind I turned towards her and nodded. She smiled looking too relieved for comfort then peeked over my shoulder at my computer. "You've been doing a lot of work since you started. I've been watching you closely!" I rose a brow at the girl below me. She face turned red when she realized the implications behind her words. "I-I mean… I was only looking at you for a long time… no!" she grabbed her head. "I meant I was eyeing you ahh… no that's even worse."
"Weird ass bitch," Tayuya muttered in my ear.
Ignoring the partner over the line I asked, "Am I doing something wrong 4th seat?" She has to be bothering me for a good reason. She's like twenty other guys here to bother but she's bothering me instead.
"Of course not. You're doing amazing and it's only your first week!" she said pouring excitement out of her pores.
"Then, can I help you with something?" I asked next.
"Nope," she smiled like an innocent little puppy. This girl is so harmless and cute. If she was out there in the streets or slums she'd be bent over by now to destroy that innocence. I can tell that a pure hearted girl like her hadn't been in the Rukongai districts for very long before she was spirited away to Soul Reaper School else I'd see darkness in her soul somewhere. Soul reapers come in all shapes and sizes that's for sure.
Tayuya let out a disgusted scoff. "Can't you tell chubs to piss off already, Dumbass?" If only it were that easy. I sat back down in my chair and returned to my searching. The 4th seat hovered over me but ignored her like most others seem to do. Do the bare minimum and that's good enough for her. Unfortunate for me the minimum was never good enough that's why I always exceed my tasks somehow. I was sickly in life but not crippled and made sure it was known.
"What are you looking for? Maybe I can help?" the officer offered.
"What makes you think I'm looking for anything specific?"
"You've worked long nights at work leaving at exactly 2201 hours every day now, but during you've also done many searches on individuals who name starts with an A or a S. You've even done several district wide Soul searches of the first ten districts in every direction so I assumed you're looking for someone." My eyes drooped a bit. She's been doing more than watch me that's for sure. She's tracking everything I've been doing and probably been doing a background check on me on top of that. I wouldn't be surprised if she knows I'm a fake but hasn't reported me for her own reasons.
"How the hell have you been doing jobs here if you're this sloppy, you idiot?" Tayuya chuckled hard.
Still ignoring the annoying bitch on the phone, I decided not to bullshit this officer that's appeared to take an interest in me. The best lie is always the purest of truth after all. "I'm trying to find information on a certain individual that came up in a conversation once. I was curious and wanted to find out who they were and what they did to be erased so thoroughly." The seated officer suddenly fell silent behind me. I glanced back to a woman cupping her chin, eyeing me with a peak interest. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
"I might. I'm more curious on how you came across the name of such a person. What's your interest in him as well?"
"I'm curious," I repeated which was true. I'm curious on who this man is and why he's important enough to waste so much manpower on for something as simple as sending a message.
"Yeah, that's so..." I hit the red button in the phone.
"Oh, sorry. You're on the phone with someone?" The officer questioned. I cringed internally for cell phone use is against work policy and could have me reprimanded real quick. The glasses wearing officer adopted and sweet smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she giggled cutely. You gotta love the Seireitei. On the other side of the all the woman are all stubborn and hardened from poverty so very hard to deal with. Here they're all lax and gentle which I'm thankfully for. It actually makes me want to try to get a girl friend here and libido isn't really a thing here.
"I've seen some of the guys here smoking and drinking on duty. Talking with your girl friend isn't the end of the world." She waved off my worries gently fanning the air.
"She's not my girlfriend," I corrected swiftly earning a look of astonishment it grew after I followed with, "I don't have a girl friend or a female companion for that matter."
"R-Really? Seems like she had an effect on you while you were talking. You two are close too."
I chuckled a bit. "Close isn't the right word to describe my relationship with her. Neither is friend."
"Are you two... I-Intimate?" the little detective muttered under her breath.
"You could safely assume that from the outside looking in, but I'd say we're more familiar over intimate. We don't have sex or have any sexual intentions towards one another. It'd be weird on top of breaking what we have."
"Oh!" The woman bounced cupping her hands together and smiling brightly. "I know that trope! You secretly love each other more than you know but so cemented in you own selfish ideals you can't see a possibility of you two being together."
"I know the trope you're talking about, and it's not right. If you don't mind me saying, maybe you need to get off the manga," I said dryly. Jesus ever since manga and video games were introduced to these people it's been crazy.
"Oh," the officer looked to be disappointed. "Are you sure you don't have an inkling of interest to be something... More?"
"With her?" I sniggered shaking my head at such a ridiculous question or notion. "No 4th Seat, I've never entertained such thoughts and never will. But I can see why you'd think that seeing you're probably single and have been for decades."
"Eh!" She literally did that. She did that typical anime shit of making weird noises when taken back. Then she poked her index fingers together for reasons I'm sure. A girl like this, in some areas, would've gotten jumped by acting this way. She's a seated officer so physically she could fold me like a bad poker hand if she wanted. "Is that... A bad thing?"
"I don't think so. You brought this up to dig up more information on me, correct?" I questioned the seated officer. I've been in this game for a long time, worked with my foster other in his "business" for a long time. Long enough to know when I'm being interrogated by the "Good cop" instead if the bad fishing for information. I'm new, that much is obvious, and have good work ethic enough to stand out not that I've any choice. It's a habit despite years without dreaming of a keyboard let alone touching one.
"I... Well I..." She stammered a bit and even blushed a little looking just too cute right now. Something tells me she's not accustomed to being checked and as a Fourth seat I can't blame her. Still, she earned the rank for a reason as the fourth strongest in this division. If she wished to she could speed blitz me twenty yards back into a touchback.
I waved it off equipping a practiced smile. "I don't mind, but couldn't we do this over dinner or a drink instead?" I decided to test a few waters. Like 75% of all reapers are guaranteed virgins, especially the females. They beings don't have sex drives damn near after all the stronger you become the more clipped your jewels become. Still, as a Fourth seat maybe, just maybe, she's a bit of it left.
"Y-You mean a d-date!" The fourth seat cupped her mouth struggling to hide the shocked expression. She was having some hardcore fantasies to the point she cupping her cheeks and shook side to side like a bashful school girl from an anime. Maybe all these years of monotony makes reapers act eccentric when stuff like this happens. They take the world overreact to new heights according to my research.
"If you want to call it that, sure." I shrugged not caring either way. "At the end of the date you coming to my room, or we going to yours?" I asked very blantely. It's been a minute since I had any fun, and it's not very often I come to this side of the fence. It'd be nice to bag me a reaper if this is my last mission here in this unlife of mine. This one is cute as well with nice tits in the D area begging for attention. That's another thing about reapers. They've either big tits or no tits and never in between. I'm all here for it regardless.
"Whwhwhaaaa!" The fourth seat shot back with her back leaning back and hands out in a defensive manner. Her face was redder than a strawberry and glasses fogging up. Seems she's never be hit on like this before. The more powerful the soul reaper becomes the more asexual they become or so the rumor goes. Despite the few missions I've had here I've never banged a reaper if memory serves. This one is cute, smart, and in my eyes her soul is brighter than even Tayuya's. She's a good soul and needs a little corrupting if anyone asked me. Since this is practically a suicide mission I might as well knock a few items off my bucket list. One is banging a captain, but I've better odds of being stuck by lightning or killed by a quincy than that. Lightning doesn't strike here and all quincy are extinct according to the files I've read so odds are nonexistent.
"I... You... That's fratinization!"
"Not really," I said honestly. I'm not a soul reaper so it's anything but not that I'd admit that. "If you're not interested in time together maybe you can come and drink with my friend and I. We like relaxing after a long day of working," I suggested dripping with "suggestion" that even an idiot can pick up on. If obvious to anyone that reads a book what I'm after from her.
"Don't try to get out of explaining why your trying to dig up a Code Black secret?" she cried out flushing up a storm. That wiped any the fun I was having away leaving me numb, chilly actually. These secrets are so highly secured that they painted a picture of how bad this dude was. Coded Black secrets are something only Captains and certain personnel have access to. Individuals have to be the worse of the worse and this Aizen is one of them.
The officer clenched her eyes after that admission providing me ample time to clear my expression quickly reequiping the smile I had before. The Fourth Sear rubbed her head looking at me in bashful suprise. "Why, you're not even afraid. Normally that works?"
So I'm not the only one that's searched for this man then. That's good to know. "I'm mostly curious as anyone in intelligence is prone to be. I'm more curious about what you'd look like a few drinks."
"Tell you what." The officer put a finger in my face right between the eyes. "I-If If you finish this before the beginning of the day tomorrow morning, I'll tell you what I know." She reached down to my keyboard and moved her hands faster than I could follow. How the keyboard survived her rapid typing I'll never know. When she stopped there was a large list of different forms or files highlighted for me to do read through, sort, save/delete, and place in a file for review. According to the number at the bottom right she highlighted 102 files for me to sort then send. 10 take at least an hour for me to do. Maybe 15 if I'm not searching in the middle. It's more than possible for me to do this, but I won't be sleeping tonight. But to find out more about him I'm willing enough. The money is worth it. Plus, this officer is cute.
"Alright." I leaned forward to get to work. My hands hovered over the keyboard and my energy began to charge. This is gonna be a long night, but fuck it. The more I know about the guy the better. Encase this turns out to more suicidal than it looks I'll take Tayuya and we'll run to South or East Rokugai. I'd spend my existence fighting off assassin's but better that then being imprisoned here.
Took me six hours to complete the work. I looked at the clock and read it was midnight already. I took a breath and stood from my computer. So much unsorted data. How does this place function like this? Around the times I didn't feel a soul nearby not that I can trust my feelings. I can sense spiritual beings to a point but there's some that excel at hiding their presences. The eyes that I feel on the back of my neck I times originate from the door out of the office space. I paid anyone that noticed me from the hallway no mind and instead placed my interest into the history of this place now. You can erase a man from history but you'll never destroy his legacy or actions that made history. Thanks to my current clearances I could look into anything that proved a "Threat" to the capital starting out with lest say… a hundred years ago.
Why not just because reapers live a long time?
Apparently, the late Captain Commander died in 2003 at the ripe ol' age of 2001 and during his reign a lot of shit went down. In 2000 years of human history… damn the shit that happened. Can't imagine what the afterlife looked like back then. Looking back at the last incident there was some manner of Hollowing of reapers? I didn't know reapers could become hollows but from what I read it happened to 8 of them during the time of the Incident. The one that caused it was updated seven years ago but later changed into a blank.
That's interesting.
Going further back I found cases of people going missing sort of like know I suppose just with me as the main cause. I've kidnapped a decent amount of Reapers to date.
I typed in the term I found in the file: Visord. A dozen files came up with one I couldn't understand because it wasn't labeled under the profile of Shinigami like the others. I dragged my cursor over to it and doubled clicked to open the file. What I saw was very interesting.
"Ichigo Kurosaki?" I read off the name.
Never heard of him but apparently he's human and related to the Visord, most of the captains, and a lot of incidents once I looked up his name.
"God damn!" I hissed at the sheer number of files that came up. "Diamond Dust Rebellion? Hell's Gate incident? Winter War? What the hell? How can a human… boy. A boy of 16 year's old was involved in all of this shut?" I ran up more information on this kid who probably isn't a kid anymore. The files start out in 2001 about 11 years before I died in 2012. During all of this him and his family have encompassed so many incidences where the Captaincy was thrown into utter chaos.
"Shinigami, Quincy, and hollow powers?" I leaned inward closer to make sure I was seeing this correctly. I brought up pictures of this kid in his Shinigami clothing with a massive knife as his weapon and again with a hollow mask over his face. "This bastard has powers of a hollow and reaper? Holy shit. And what the hell is a Quincy?" I typed in that name next and what came up was underwhelming. Only a few profiles came up which didn't impress me. I went back into the history page and looked it up again and this time I got a decent amount of hits. "Beings with the power to destroy souls?" To me that means if you piss them off you're gone. You ain't coming back if they kill you since they destroy your soul. No more reincarnation. The Soul Society went to war with these people according to the information stored in 12th Division. I had to go through a couple doors so avoid too much suspicion as I looked this up. According to this as well they invaded the same year the late Captain commander died.
Definitely not a coincidence.
Before that I recalled the mentioning of hollows in every instance and circled back to that. Visord and Hollow are closely related bringing up a new term I've never heard of. "Espada? That's Spanish? The hell?" I muttered. When I typed in Espada jaw dropped.
"Oh damn, who are they," I slapped my hand over my mouth and groaned. 'Calm down man,' I thought before getting worked up over a few images. Looking up Espada shown me a set of women, all beautiful, all exotic, and all with skin showing somehow. I scrolled down and started getting dudes after and research notes. The 12 Division captain had a field day with them accord to the notes. He made notes of how their hearts worked and described the inner workings of their intestine as well.
'Yeah, that guy's weird.' I thought logging away all the experiments on file. Made a mental note to run at sight of this mad scientist.
The Espada are Arrancar and, according to the files, were created by… blank. They were created by someone but the how isn't here or when. But they forgot to erase the fact that the War against the Espada happened. I placed the pieces together: Ichigo Kurosaki, the Visords, the Espada, and the Quincy are a road map with a central similarity. The masterminds behind each incident are blanked out. The Quincy invasion is there but there's a lack of when or how it came about. I looked up the deceased list for that time and found many to include Captains and below. Many died and many survived, but the petition to Central 46 got my attention.
Captain Commander Kyoraku petitioned for the release of someone to help with the war against the Quincy. There's proof that this person was released from the 8th level of that damn prison. "He's that bad huh?" It all began to fall into place the more I dove into the past and worked my way up. You can't erase history. You can take away names and positions but the vacuum of power for certain Divisions can't be missed. The captain's that betrayed the Capital before the war with the Espada are the deceased Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen. There's one more that was the leader and instigator: Sōsuke Aizen is a traitorous former captain of Fifth Division who played a part in both the introduction of Visords and Arrancar more than a century ago, the Winter War, and the second Quincy War.
What does this man have to do with the Families? They lined out his crimes so I don't know what he did, but it was bad enough to keep him locked up in the basement below the basement dig under to form another basement. I think there's only one cell at the very bottom as well which will make finding him easier. Tayuya could get a map and access to that level now that I know which. I'm sure she'll figure it out somehow now that I've done my part in finding his location. I reached out across my desk and grabbed my cell phone, the marvels of the Capital while the slums are like a hundred years behind. Two hundred once you go past the 50's. I flipped it open and put in the numbers.
Ring. Ring… BOOM!
"YES I... WILL SEE YOU! THROUGH THE SMOKE FLAMES! OF THE FRONT LINES OF WAAARRRRRR!"
I turned the volume down instantly and rubbed my head. This bitch already at the club partying while I'm here slaving away gathering information. I swear, Lady Koibito did this on purpose just to spite me.
"ONE SEC!" I finally heard her voice over the phone followed by the sounds of her forcing her way through the crowd of the club, the only club, here. The rock or whatever music soon died down into a muffle so turned the volume back up.
"Having fun," I muttered feeling a mix of tired and annoyed.
"Hell yeah! Rock music is amazing! It's nothing like jingxi or that RB stuff you sing some times. There's so much energy to it!" Little miss excited exclaimed. Every since coming here she's been moving about like a child in Disneyland, anf I've never been to Disneyland or World or anything like that. At least she's enjoying herself though so I can't harp on her too much. This may be the first and last time she'll be here unless she became a reaper, which is very possible. Even I can see the spiritual potiental in her shell waiting for an excuse to unleash upon her opposition. I know a few souls I've met with more potiental than half of the cucks in the academy right now, not that it matters.
I placed my phone down on my desk and leaned back in my gamer chair. They gave me this the third days which was pretty nice of them to do. "Yeah, that's what rock was made for," I sighed. I really want to give her a hard time. We don't have time to have fun every day, but she's an old girl from centuries ago. This is her first time exposed to modern day trends as well. Might as well let her enjoy it while she can. "Just watch your drink. Don't want you getting roofied."
"Getting what? Know what, I don't care! Get your ass over here and dance with me," she demanded.
"I'm work..." I tried to explain until interrupted with a loud "I don't give a fuck!" I groaned and rubbed my forehead. "Look, I've work to do. You can have your fun, alright?"
Tayuya grumbled a bit and huffed. "You're making me feel like an asshole right now, you know that right? All you do is work. Can't you relax with me at least a bit more. We haven't even looked up the hot spring here, together, like you said we would."
"I do my real work at night and you do your real work during the day. We both have our jobs to do. Don't worry about me though. If you're enjoying yourself keep on going. I'll be fine. As for the hot spring thing, we'll do it tomorrow. Okay?" I heard nothing but silence over the phone for a good few minutes, and yet could hear the gears turning in her head.
"Hey." I heard he say and waited for anything more. I could practically see her pose for gathering her thoughts on what to say next. She knows exactly what she wants to say but trying to phrase it as nonchalant as possible. "You... You want me to come over? Keep you company? I know you're basically nothing without me being there." she spoke with her chin up and chest out. I could see it. I know her well enough to tell when she's trying to be hardy. I thought on her offer though. I could show her a bit of what I've found and probably plan a bit while the branch is empty with only a skeleton crew here to keep things rolling. I circle back to her time and mine left as well.
"You don't have too..."
"Shut the fuck up!" I heard her speak over the phone taking the words out of my mouth. I frowned a bit but probably not as annoyed as she sounded when she clicked her tongue. "It's a yes or no question, dumbass. Yeah, sure, I'm having fun and all that, but it doesn't feel right, ya know. You're doing all this work and I'm just lounging around getting attention on my literal ass every other second. Did you know some asshole from 6th tried to touch my ass just moments ago."
"Get his name and I'll take care of it," I snarled thinking of a plan to castrate this fucker. I've killed for less. A red hot emotion cursed me with it's daggers cutting into my soul.
"You're so cute when your jealous."
"Fuck you," I scoffed. She giggled at my expense. "I gotta get back to work. I'll chat with you..."
"Nope. I'm getting the drinks to go and appetizers now. I'll be there in a few minutes." She hung up before I could tell her off. I swear that girl is treating this like a pleasure trip and not a mission. Starting to realize why I never bring her along for infiltration.
"I'm hereaaaaa~" My chair was snagged and I was roughly turned around facing a smirking, ebony, and flat chested girl with a platter in hand from the club. She must've stolen the damn thing to transport four different drinks, wings, and fries on top. She even brought chips and dip. "Looks good?" my partner jeered holding the platter under my nose so I could get a whiff of the food. I was focused primarily on her though not the food. Why she wanted to look like a Shihouin I'm sure is a joke Steve contrived to mess with me. Still, I can help but love myself an ebony queen willing enough to bring me food.
"Looks perfect," I responded lightly smiling just at lightly.
"Good!" She tossed the platter to the top of my desk then dropped her fat ass on my lap.
"The fuck!"
"Don't bitch," she scoffed and grabbed a wing. "I want the best and this the best seat in the house."
"How the hell is my lap the best seat in the house?" I snarled from her weight on my dick.
"Because it's the one seat I can take that'll annoy you." She wagged a finger and chuckled. "And you like it. So I say again... Don't bitch." I grumbled a bit but left it alone. She leaned back and got comfortable in my lap and rose a drink for me to take. "I got you a bitch drink you haven't tried yet. They called it a Screwdriver. Not sure what tools got to do with dranks, but sounded neat."
"Thank you." I took the drink with a sigh. I looked at my computer and my work. I still have a bit more research I can look into but... I looked into the soul of my partner and right now it's the brightest it's been in a long time. She's enjoying herself right now despite everything we're doing and the risks we're making by being here. If discovered we will be killed, if we're lucky. Tortured first then imprisoned for a hundred years at worse. I'd never allow that to happen though even at risk of soul destruction. According to research the year is 2021 in the living world.
I've been dead for 13 damn years. Isn't that funny. I've missed so much shit I've yet to look up. So many games I've missed and releases of priceless games. The latest game they have here is from 2012. I checked at least that much. Working in intelligence certainly has its advantages but as I've learned more and more about this fucked up ass place I began to wonder if maybe soul destruction is the way to go. The sheer number of wards waged in the afterlife puts World World 1, 2, Korea, Vietnam, and the Afghan wars to shame. At least it was mainly humans against humans. God knows how many humans ended up in the "Collateral" tab here because some old asshole lost a game of chess or something. Some megalomanic got up one morning and wondered how many bodies he could stack in the afterlife. It's all bullshit and we've no choice but to deal with it.
I downed my drink in a single gulp. "Uhg." I coughed. Jesus this is strong!
"Heheh! Good shit, huh? Made sure to make it a triple double. Put some chest on your chest Just for you partner," Yuyu playfully tapped me in the cheek grinning mischievously. She's obvious intoxicated so gave her the dirtiest look I could muster but smiled a second later. She's having fun and that's what matters. She'll never get this opportunity ever again once this is over.
"It tasted good." I sat the cup down and reached for my mouse. "We got a few issues about the target though."
"Don't care." Tayuya snagged the mouse and then out my computer to sleep. "You're gonna chill lax with me and not be a man square."
"Why are you talking like that?" I questioned.
"What ya mean home slice?" she jeered.
"No. Stop that."
She grinnned. "Come on homie. Cool ya nerves my nig..."
"I'm gonna stop you right there!" I breathed out harshly and frowned. "And Homie? Really? You need to stop talking to those idiots trying to emulate slang terms. Their dumb asses are stuck in the 90's. Yes, the music and movies were awesome back then, but that sort of talk isn't in style anymore. Trust me.
"Just trying to be hip and cool," she chuckled picking up a French fry and holding it in front of me lips. I took it between my teeth and ate it to her glee. "Some of them were saying some strange word to each other at the club."
"Start with an N, right?"
"Yep. Sounds dumb but they were playing some song called Hit Em Up and screaming it a lot. What's juice mean? I mean I know what juice is hut they way they used it sounded obtuse."
"Why you asking me?" She gave me a look as if saying I'm a dumbass for asking they. Of course I know why she's asking me. I'm black, born in America, but just happened to die in Japan. I'm knowledgeable of such topics too. "I'll tell you later. For now, stay away from all that rap music. It's bad for your virgin brain."
"Seems harmless to me." Yayu leaned back smashing her back to my chest and sighed out hard. "How ya feeling though?"
"I'm feeling a lot of things right now," I muttered. "Mainly tired, I guess. I appreciate you coming here, but how'd you get her so fast?"
"Had a guy flash me here after I shook my ass and blew him a kiss. He has tastes, unlike you." I chuckled a bit and wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned forwards to take in her warmth. She pulsating soul resonated with mine so well it brought me a small measure of comfort. She reached back and rubbed my scalp a bit seemingly approving of my antics "Don't worry partner. We got this you know."
"Yeah..." I held her a bit closer and breathed lightly. I hoped she was right but if what I've found means anything, we're way out of our league. This Aizen dude had an army of hollows with humanlikeness. He nearly forced them all to their knees and obviously alive because his death isn't recorded. The bosses wish we find a man like this? Even if we do the target in our backs will be legendary. This was a suicide mission, I realized that today. At least... She can have some fun before it happens. I can ensure at least that much.