"You need to do something?" Riruka asked as she and Chad walked out of the main building, to which he nodded while they ignored the small gathered crowd that slowly walked past them.
"Yes."
"Can I ask what?" She asked and he looked deep in thought before she sighed as he shook his head.
"Personal stuff."
"Fine, here." She said as she reached into her bag before pulling out a black card, handing it over to Chad who took it while giving it a curious look.
' 'Welcome to our Xcution'. A bit dark.' Chad thought with a hum while turning it around, looking down to see an address on its back and looked up at Riruka for a response.
"That's the base's location. You can't enter unless a member gives you the card and the passcode, so call when you get there."
"How will I do that if I don't have your number?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, watching as she huffed before blinking as she reached into his jacket pockets & took out his phone.
"There. Now, you have my number. Don't keep me waiting." She spoke before turning & walking away, leaving Chad to watch her leave before he sighed as he heard Keigo speak.
"How is he that goddamn lucky?"
"So, you said you wanted to talk about something?" Ichigo asked as he and Chad sat down under the bridge as their hangout, the tall teen nodding as he sat down.
Without saying a word, Chad clenched his fist and activated Spiritual Fist,looking up at Ichigo to see his best friend looking surprised at the ethereal spiritual flames that coated his fist.
"When?"
"A few days ago. Got attacked by some leopard Hollow and I think I got so mad that I awakened something spiritual inside me."
"…Hah, that explains the personality shift, at least. You're a lot more…outgoing than before." Ichigo muttered with a sigh as he sat down next to his friend, Chad looking confused as he raised an eyebrow.
"I am."
"Chad, you usually only grunt & nor or shake your head when I ask you something. Hell, you've been speaking sentences instead of your usual one-word answers."
'Now that I think about it, I don't find it strange that I talked to Riruka or Jackie like that without a single grunt for an answer. Perhaps there's more to this system than meets the eye.' Chad thought with a frown as he looked at the floating screen in front of him, his status staring back at him before he turned as Ichigo spoke.
"So, what now? I'm sure you're not just going to sit still with powers like that." Ichigo spoke with a smirk, chuckling as Chad simply smirked and nodded.
"I want to help you. With these powers, I can make your workload easier even if I just weaken the Hollows & keep them easy long enough for you to take them out in one strike."
"And let you do all the work? No way. As far as I can remember, which one of us took out a gang while the other struggled to take out three?"
"Some of us have to hold back our strength or else we break bones. We can't all be like the average person."
"Those are some fighting words there for someone new to all of this, Chad." Ichigo spoke with a challenging grin, to which Chad snorted as he shook his head & stood up.
"It's not so much of a fight when you know you'd win."
"Okay then. You and me. The one who can beat the most Hollows by the end of the day wins."
"Can't. I have to meet Riruka in…Naruki City?"
"Naruki? What would you need to meet her in a city 12 km south of Karakura? Also, you've barely known her for a day and already, you wanted to hang out with her instead of your best friend."
"She wants me to meet her friends for a chat. Also, she's spiritually-aware just like us two."
"Wait, what? You being serious?" Ichigo asked, a bit surprised as Chad nodded.
"Yes, she & her friends are all a small group that calls themselves Xcution, who are also all spiritually-aware humans that call themselves Fullbringers. They can hit hard, though." Chad muttered as he rubbed his chest, which Ichigo noted as he looked at his friend with a frown.
"Want me to come as back-up? Not to be arrogant, but I think I could beat up anyone that thinks they can hurt my best friend." Ichigo spoke before his frown deepened as Chad smirked & shook his head.
"No need. If it comes down to a fight, I think I can get out of there before any of them could stop me."
"…Sure, but tomorrow, I'm checking up on you and if you're not okay…"
"You can come rescue me, though knowing your luck, I might need to escape and rescue you instead."
"That was one goddamn time and they threatened to destroy your plushies if I didn't go quietly. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Realize that no one other than you or your sisters even know where my plushies are and then beat them up?" Chad proposed with a hum, smirking as Ichigo simply stared at him before glaring to the side while grumbling under his breath.
"I…may have been a bit hasty in kicking their ass to remember that."
"Sure, you were. I'll be leaving you to your Hollow Hunting now." Chad spoke as he began walking away, Ichigo raising an eyebrow as he saw the light green glow emanating from his friend's feet before he began to levitate a few centimeters above the ground.
"How exactly are you doing that?" Ichigo asked and Chad blinked as he looked down at his feet before looking back up with a shrug.
"I…do not know how to put it in words, but I'm pulling at the air with my feet while also pushing away the ground at the same time if that makes sense."
"It does and it doesn't at the same time. Hah, it's a strange world we live in." Ichigo muttered with a shake of his head and Chad smirked as he nodded.
"It is indeed. See you tomorrow." Chad greeted as he leaned forward and took a lunge forward, losing his footing for a moment as doing so sent him flying forward a few meters before he slowly got the hang of it.
'Now then, I should probably prepare myself for meeting these Fullbringers…and make a few escape plans while I'm at it.'
'That wasn't that bad.' Chad thought with a hum as he skidded to a stop just a block away from the address that Riruka had given him.
At first, he wanted to take the quickest path to the address, which was the highway, but then he realized just how suspicious it would look for a teen to be rushing faster past cars like it was nothing so he decided to take the more discreet & longer way around.
Granted, he took an hour longer as the longer way had a few occupied alleyways, but he had managed to stay discreet and now just had to walk towards his destination.
'Chōbara District, Naruki City. Apartment Complex 1. Now, that should be easy to fi-Are they serious?' Chad thought with a deadpan stare as he turned the corner, looking at the dozens of abandoned apartment complexes in front of him.
Some looked repairable while others looked as if they were barely able to stay upright, Chad looking at them all before his vision shifted as names & stats appeared at the middle right building on the street next to the one he was walking on.
Having Spiritual Sense was quite the helpful tool.
Reaching into his pocket while coming a standstill in front of the apartment complex where the names were, Chad selected the first number on his recent list and called it.
"Riruka speaking. Who is it?"
"Hey, it's Chad. I'm waiting outside."
"Wait, outside? You mean you found us?"
"Kind of hard to miss when you're the only spiritual energies I can see on the block." Chad answered, waiting as Riruka stayed silent before shaking his head & putting his phone away as she hung up before her name made its way down towards him.
He didn't have to wait long as Riruka walked out of the apartment complex, a look of surprise on her face as Chad waved at her.
"Hey."
"…Huh, you weren't kidding? You seriously didn't struggle to find us?" She asked and Chad shook his head while shifting back to his colorful aura vision, her pink spiritual energy a nice change from the dark numbers & names that had floated in his eyes a moment ago.
"Well, come on in. You're a bit earlier than we expected, but I guess I should have known you would want to get this over with quick. You look like the type of guy that doesn't like wasting time."
"You would be right." Chad nodded as he followed after her, to which Riruka giggled before they ascended the stairs, both of them staying silent as they continued to walk before coming to a standstill in front of a locked door with a keypad.
"Uh, could you…?" Riruka trailed off while gesturing for him to spin, to which Chad nodded as he turned around, waiting as beeping echoed in the empty hallway before blinking as he felt a tap on his back.
"Let's go." Riruka spoke as Chad turned around only to blink as she kicked the door open, walking in with a strut before shaking his head as he followed after her.
Despite how run-down the building around them was, the room inside was exquisitely built with tiled flooring & high ceilings made out wood, a functional bar to the right while a few expensive-looking couches & chairs were placed around the room & at the bar.
"So, this is the guy that Jackie & Giriko sensed last night?" Chad hummed as he heard a young voice speak, looking over at the far couch on the left to see a young boy looking up at him.
While his body was hidden underneath dark coloured clothing, strands of his blonde hair stuck out from underneath his cap while green eyes looked at him with interest.
"Yukio! What have I said about sitting on the couches like that?!"
"Considering I paid for everything in here, I think I'm allowed to sit however I like on them. Also, stop kicking open the doors. I don't want to see pink panties every time you come in." Yukio spoke with a deadpan stare, Chad watching as Riruka growled before stomping over to him.
"Greetings. You must be the new recruit." A distinguished voice spoke next to Chad, who jumped slightly while turning to see a tall middle-aged man looking sightly up at him.
With a dark leather strap covering his right eye, the cane-like object in his left hand and the short dark hair & thick mustache, the man's outfit made him look like the typical bartender or butler from medieval ages as the man bowed his head slightly.
"Giriko Kutsuzawa. Pleased to meet you."
"Yasutora Sado. Likewise." Chad greeted back, Giriko looking pleased at his good manners before letting out a soft sigh as he heard Riruka sigh.
"And another thing! Stop looking under my skirt! What's there is not for your eyes!"
"You're the one kicking doors open and showing everyone the carpets match the drapes." Yukio answered back without looking up from his game, Riruka gritting her teeth before grinning maliciously as she pulled her fist back.
"Ms. Riruka, might I ask for you to not hit Yukio, please? We can't have him adding more favours for replacing the furniture every time you break them." Giriko spoke up, to which Riruka shouted before stomping away while Yukio looked up to give the middle-aged man a subtle nod before going back to his game.
"Now, now, everyone. We are setting a bad example for our new friend here." Chad turned as he heard the charismatic male voice from behind him, watching as Jackie walked out of the door behind the bar along with a man dressed in a long-sleeved white-dress shirt, suspenders and black dress pants.
However, the one who had spoke was a lean-built man, his black hair combed back and his brown eyes shining with confidence as he walked in while dressed in black pants, a sleeveless white shirt with a black jacket that had a fur-covered collar over it and a thin chain necklace with an X-shaped pendant attached to it.
"You must be Sado, right?" The man said with an unsure smile as he walked forward, his unsureness disappearing as Chad nodded while shaking his outstretched hand.
"Chad for short. You must be the man in charge."
"Oh, I'm simply the one that speaks on their behalf. The name's Kūgo Ginjō and welcome…to Xcution."
"Everyone got a drink?" Kūgo asked while holding his glass of whiskey, watching as everyone nodded before turning as Chad took a sip from his apple juice.
"You know you can ask for a beer. Most of us don't care for stuff like that except for Riruka, but that's mostly because she's uptight."
"I am not!" Riruka huffed while crossing her arms, Kūgo chuckling before turning as Chad smiled & shook his head.
"I'm not one for alcohol."
"Want to make sure those muscles stay as strong for as long as they can, right? Jackie said that you were big, but I have to say I didn't believe there was someone taller than Tsukishima here." Kūgo spoke while gesturing towards the man with suspenders, who rolled his eyes while Chad smirked.
"Oi, Chad doesn't like it when you waste time and I got homework to do so let's get this over with." Riruka spoke up, making everyone look at her while Kūgo just looked amused.
"Already standing up for your new boyfriend, eh Riruka?"
"You want me to punch you, bastard?!" Riruka growled while standing up before squeaking as Jackie pulled her back down while Chad decided to stay silent & sip his juice.
"I kid, I kid! Hah, no one can't handle a joke these days." Kūgo sighed before Chad frowned slightly as the man's expression went from laidback to serious.
"So, Chad, I assume Riruka has explained what we are?"
"Spiritually-aware humans called Fullbringers that like to keep out of public eye." Chad spoke, to which Kūgo hummed while taking a sip of his glass before nodding.
"That is a rough explanation of what we are. However, to explain it better, we are a group of humans that were abandoned & loathed by our very own kind. We, who did not even know what we were, were forced to defend ourselves not only from the Hollows that tried to devour our souls, but also our own kind that felt jealous at our gifts."
"All of us began with heartache & pain, but as we began to feel that we were alone, Kūgo was the one who came into our lives and rescued us from our darkness." Jackie added, Chad looking at her before looking back at Kūgo as he looked at Chad.
"What I want to get to is that Fullbringers are a rare few and we need to stick together, lest the Hollows or the Shinigamifeel that they want to be the only spiritual beings in the world."
'There is definitely some hatred for Shinigami there.' Chad thought with a slight frown as soon as he heard the word leave Kūgo's mouth, downing his drink in one gulp before looking directly at the man in front of him.
Best to not mention Ichigo or Rukia then.
"So, I'm guessing this is a pitch to get me to join you guys?" Chad asked, sighing as Kūgo smiled & nodded.
"Yes, but we're not going to force you to. Despite the fact that I want you in your group, especially with the praise that Jackie has about your strength which she doesn't give easily, I also don't want you to feel like we're keeping you here. Therefore, I feel like you might want to face one of us in battle to see for yourself how a Fullbringer fights. Tsuki, want to take this one?" Kūgo asked while looking over to the aforementioned person, Chad watching as the man sighed before placing his wine down as he stood up while also taking the bookmark from the book in front of him.
"Hah, sure." Chad nodded as he stood up, following Tsukishima to the bar before blinking as Riruka stood up with a…dollhouse?
"Since we don't want you two to destroy the bar, we'll use Riruka's Dollhouse to give you two a battlefield." Kūgo explained as Riruka created two pink hearts made out of spiritual energy with an 'R' on their fronts & back, the girl looking over at Chad before speaking.
"Don't resist the effects or else you might hurt yourself. I permit you." She chanted while flicking the hearts at the two of them, Chad watching as the hearts sunk into his & Tsukishima's chest before he snapped his eyes shut as a bright light nearly blinded.
"Good luck."
A/N: Another chapter done!
That new episode of Bleach was incredible and I now have a Bleach craving so I decided to just type this out.
Also, you guys have noticed that I changed some of the stats because I felt like I made them too high.
Let me know if that was the correct choice or not.
As usual, if you want to read up to ten chapters ahead on this story or any of the other ones I'm currently busy with, head on over to Pat-Reon/KingCrimsonNova for all the goodies. If you want to, feel free and if you don't, don't worry as I will still be uploading like always. This is just a way to make some extra cash.
Anyway, let me know how much you like it or hate it in the reviews.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week…
Ba-Bye~!