Game 3 - Chapter 3

Sometimes she wondered about Naomi. She seemed generous and all, but her actions seemed to make it look like she had a few screws missing. Upon finding blood, which made Kasahara squeamish with reminders of what she had done to Naomi not too long ago, the blood haired girl squealed in delight and started smearing it upon her face. It got worse... Naomi turned to the tall brunette and decorated her with the vile liquid too. It resisted the urge to gag. Who knew what diseases the person had!? Or what kind of wound it leaked from? Almost immediately, Kasahara scampered away from the group to wash the unwanted 'paint' off of her face. When she looked up again, she found Naomi stuffing her ruined shirt with leaves to cover her cleavage. .. She had no words for what she saw.

Her dumbstruck awe was brief; Rikiki turned her attention to Kasahara and unsteadily asked her a very good question. "Ah, Maka-chan? Where are we...?"

Kasahara pressed her sleeve against her face to dry it as she took a glance around. She could tell that her roommate was a little worried about their location and she didn't want her to panic. Even though the tomboy wasn't exactly sure, she had a general idea and tried to twist her words to comfort the other girl. "Uh.. We're in the Kuchiki Forest. You remember that one history lesson about the History of Seireitei and the Captains, right? It's uh.. named about that one Captain's family."

She didn't try to make it obvious that she didn't really pay attention to those kinds of lessons. Thinking that making general statements would look like she atleast remembered something from class, Kasahara continued speaking. "Kuchiki's were a royal family after all. I'm pretty sure they own this area."

So far, all this half-guessed information sounded plausible. The tomboy pointed at the river she had just used to cleanse the blood from her skin. "The.." Kasahara paused, knowing the name of the river but having it on the tip of her tongue. What was it? "The uh.. The Gjoll River." That was it. Kasahara mentally sighed to herself. "This flows through the Kuchiki Forest."

She didn't know if this was of any help to Rikiki, but saying all of this atleast it helped make Kasahara feel a little smarter than usual.

Sachi looked on dolefully as Byouko attempted to escape only to be pulled back by the glasses-girl.Sachi pulled her hat down over her eyes and shuffled along behind Sarah as they entered the store, maybe these stores wern't as bad at she remembered...... Or maybe there were worse. Sachi cringed; frills, lace and ribbons far as the eye could see, and for the love god, It even smelled expensive. Meanwhile Sarah's excited voice was reaching a pitch that might shatter glass, or call dogs and the only word Sachi could really dicern was cute. Sachi opened her mouth to complain, however her protest was muffled by a bundle of green fabric hitting her in the face. She held out her arms and let the fabric, which turned out to be a green dress. Not that she had time to look at it much before, a blue one and and white one, and every other color.

Sarah was on a roll now, empire waistlines, low cuts, and cocktail dresses flying everywhich way. It was kind of amazing to watch her disect a rack of designer dresses with leathal precision. Huh, makes one wonder what kind of fighter she is. Besides one that doesn't need to breathe when she talks obviously. She is just going on and on, and throwing dresses at me. Am I suppose to be trying them on or something? Ah, it is getting hard to see over these things.

Sachi could see the headline now: "Girl Finally Excavated From Pile Of Clothing After Being Trapped For Days". With a grimace she dropped half the pile of dress, on top of Byouko's pile, and started making her way back to the cashier. She'd just buy the stupid the stupid things herself, and try them on in the privacy of her room later.

Now where was the cashier again? She pulled a tiny little employee in a pink kimono over and managed to stutter out "Ah, um.. I need help.."

"Stiletto?" The employee peeped helpfully, holding up a shoe so sparkly, people in the 80th district could probably see it.

If asked later Sachi would passionatly deny making any sound that sounded like "Eep!" or running away to find Sarah at top speed.

Different sections past by in a blurr, hats, scarves, panties and finally the formal kimono's. Sachi stopped to get her bearings, frowning at the waves of fine silk. A least she knew how to wear these at least, even if they uncomfortabley reminded her of days of walking around drapped in the heavy fabrics, and trying not to get the stupid things dirty while playing with her cousins and climbing trees.

AH! That looked like Sarah! Sachi bounded through the store after them, eventually lighting on a small platform a few feet away beside a manniquin wearing a white and black tunic. "Uh, bathroom break..?" She offered weakly as an explaination.

Byouko suddenly felt a tug at the back of her neck.

"Huh? Oh no you don't. Pretty first. Read later."

She was being dragged away again. Sadly, she looked up, reaching her arms out to the bookstore that seemed to be getting further and further away.

Sarah pulled her through the glass doors, and right away the smell made Byouko start to choke. A cloud of overwhelming perfumes and baby-scented powders accosted her nose and throat, making her grimace and cough as the glasses girl marched them through the boutique. Byouko sighed and looked down at the lone book in her free hand, the one she'd remembered to take with her after that disturbing, painful vision. Well, she thought. At least I have you.

And then Byouko saw red.

That was all she could see, a field of shimmering red, blocking out everything else around. Puzzled, Byouko put her hand to her face. It was covered in something. She pulled it away and stared at it. It was a dress. A rather skimpy red dress made of some sort of satin or silk. Thwap. Byouko was hit in the face with another dress, this one pale green. She cocked her head and looked up quizzically, in time to catch another, blue, dress flying toward her through the air. Sarah was going through the women's clothing racks with both hands, flinging dresses left and right. Byouko glanced to her side to see Sachi there, similarly dumbstruck.

She decided to let the dresses fall where they may and open her book, but she'd barely parted the cover when she heard that glasses-girl's shrill voice. "...and no Byouko put that book down we have to SHOP SHOP SHOP!!" Byouko looked up and frowned. At that moment, Sachi dumped half of the dresses she was holding into Byouko's arms and stormed off. Byouko, feeling defeated, dropped down into a sitting position, letting the mound of dresses cover her and build up. There were now twenty-four dresses on top of her. Twenty-five. Byouko tried to lose count, but she knew her brain wouldn't let her. Who did Sarah expect to pay for all these dresses, anyway? There probably wasn't enough money in Dad's account for even one of these.

Byouko looked up for a moment, though she saw nothing through the growing wall of the Cave of Dresses she now inhabited. She realized, if tomorrow was Homecoming, did that mean that Mom and Dad would show up? It'd be a long hike from their part of Rukongai, but that probably wouldn't stop Dad, Byouko sighed. She loved her parents, she really did. But... Dad was... She didn't want to say embarassing... Dad was... well... Dad was Dad. Byouko supposed all children felt a little uncomfortable when their parents were around. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they'd just stop treating me like I was only a hundred years old. She sighed again and then shook her head.

The number of dresses had increased to forty-seven, and it was pitch black underneath where Byouko was. Undaunted, she reached into her robe for something she always carried around just in case of an emergency such as this. She pulled out something long and cylindrical, about five centimetres long, and flipped the switch on the end. The bulb at the end of this pen-light lit up, a bright cool white, and Byouko opened her book once again to right where she'd left off before meeting her zanpakutou.

Sunrise

To Maka, Naomi, Rikiki - just to let y'all know, the Gjoll river is about 8 km away from the school. If you've found the river, that means you've been walking through forest for roughly 2 hours.

The Eastern Kuchiki Forest - on the side of the Gjoll where the school is - covers an area of about 40 sq km.

"We're going to decorate the auditorium."

Ryouichi had to resist gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as he watched the Headmaster explain the reason for their presence in the auditorium. It was a monumental effort. After winning the battle against being overwhelmed by a feeling of burning anger, he was able to start forming a few coherent thoughts. ...So you had these Eighth Division peons carry these decorations all the way here, and yet you didn't think to just have all of them do the decorating rather than drafting us, Sabiske, you old fool? It was a good thing that Chojiro and the others were diverting their attention elsewhere, or else they would have noticed the obvious homicidal intentions rolling off of Ryouichi as he glared a hole through the aged Headmaster's back and wished him a horrible, fiery death.

After a few moments, Ryouichi let out a deep sigh and tried to calm his mind. Well, now you have shown yourself to be both incompetent and inane, Headmaster. Burying his anger for the moment, for there were far more important things to dwell on, Ryouichi subtly shifted his eyes to the left and covertly gauged Rumiko's reaction to the situation. He was secretly pleased as he discovered that she was also far from happy about their new assignment.

Seemingly resigning herself to the task, Rumiko took the initiative and began pulling chairs out of the nearest box. When she spoke, Ryouichi noted that her voice sounded rough, as though suffering from disuse.

“Aww, and here I was, hoping that there’d be bodies in the crates. What better way to decorate for a tournament?”

Ryouichi couldn't help it, he chuckled. Simple though the joke was, Anything would have been far more interesting than decorating the auditorium. Seeing her reach for several of the chairs, he decided to take more of the same. As they lifted the goods out, Rumiko unexpectedly spoke up again, looking slightly lost, although she was doing a good job of concealing it.

“That was Matsu, a…a friend of mine from 3B. As for what happened…”

As she paused and looked away towards one of the windows, Ryouichi briefly wondered if he should be worried, before reasoning that she was only unsure of herself because she was unnerved about whatever else had thrown her off balance.

“I’m not entirely certain myself.”

He was grateful that Rumiko had her back turned to him, because he barely stopped himself from laughing out loud, managing to suppress it by coughing instead. For someone so egaer to hide her true face, you certainly aren't being very effective. Ryouichi smirked. Then again, I can be the same, at times. Though, I wonder what could have disturbed you so deeply? Pulling a mask over his expression again, he followed a few steps behind as she made a path straight for the corner of the room.

As they began to get to work setting the chairs out, Rumiko started up the conversation again. “Any idea who you will be facing in the preliminaries?” Though he had been prepared to answer the questions he was sure she would ask, the subject of who he would fight in the tournament had never occurred to him. Ryouichi silently cursed himself for not thinking of it first, and took a moment to study Rumiko's face before answering. "Hmm." he mused, rapping his fingers against one of the chairs as he regarded her, "Well, that's a good question. I'm not sure, actually. This is just an exhibition match, correct?" He knew that last bit was wrong, but Ryouichi reasoned it would be a useful tool to survey her reaction. "Is there a particular opponent you were hoping for, Rumiko-san?" The corner of his mouth lifted a bit as he locked gazes with her, broadcasting a very clear message:

I can see right through you.

The wind whistled through the trees, producing a haunting echo that reverberated within Midori's mind, stirring in the stillness in which she was almost quite literally drowning herself. She'd left the building as soon as class had been dismissed, like a shade slipping through darkness, as far as she knew completely unnoticed; so far no one had followed her, and she'd walked for at least an hour before stopping to meditate. She wanted as much seclusion as possible, as little distraction as she could acquire, in order to achieve complete focus on her current goal.

Memories had been swimming incoherently through her mind in the weeks since she last spoke with Onorinowai. She'd been delaying another conversation with the zanpakutou, in the hopes that things would become more cohesive, but she'd had no luck thus far. She needed more answers... and Onorinowai was the only one who could give those answers. Still, she'd been able to piece a few things together. The identity of some of the people - the scarred man, the old man, the baby - and a general idea of what had occurred. There were still many remaining inquiries, though.

She wanted to be fully prepared for what was to come. Before delving deep into her mind to the place where the serpent dwelled, she wanted to be focused and centered, prepared for any eventuality. She knew the images would become more and more disturbing as she dug deeper, but she needed to know more than she feared what she might discover. The empty void in her mind was all the more dangerous a weakness than the most terrible revelation could ever be.

Aoko... Daisuke...

It had to be a coincidence. Daisuke was a fairly common name, nothing unexpected. Nevertheless it was a catching point in her mind - how convenient that Daisuke happened to be the name of a man who, as far as she could tell, was either her father or her father-in-law... the man who, it seemed, ordered an end to her life... and now also the name of her closest friend among the Shinigami.

Will this friendship... end the same?

She pushed the thought aside. Dwelling on such pointless questions was a sure way to distract her focus. Turning her attention to the monotone sound of the wind in the trees she allowed herself to drift downwards, out of full consciousness, turning inwards toward the darkness at the bottom of her mind, where Onorinowai and its world of coils resided.

She opened her eyes on that plain of roiling scale, the gleaming red beacons of the massive serpent's eyes gazing down on her from afar in the shadows. Midori took a moment to gather herself one last time, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, then began the slow walk towards the upraised head of the giant snake. "Hello again, Onorinowai," she intoned calmly and quietly. Despite the visible distance, she knew she didn't have to shout. Onorinowai could hear even the slightest whisper... perhaps even the smallest thought... in this place. It was his world.

"Greetingsss," the serpent replied, with equal calm. "You come with more quessstionsss, assss alwaysss."

"Until I know enough of what I've forgotten, I'll always have questions," Midori countered.

"Your curiosssity may one day be the death of you, again." Onorinowai argued in turn. Midori didn't respond - she knew the sword was right. Nevertheless she had already convinced herself that knowing was infinitely better than not knowing, and she knew Onorinowai knew likewise. And that it would answer if she asked. "Ssspeak."

Midori took another deep breath. She'd spent so much focus on preparing herself for coming here and facing Onorinowai - and whatever he was going to show her - without flinching that she hadn't thought to focus on a single question to ask. She scowled in thought for a few moments before settling on a choice. "I saw people dying... not just myself and the scarred man, but other people, people I didn't recognize... and the blood was on my hands. What did I do in life, Onorinowai? Why did I kill those people?"

Onorinowai's massive eyes blinked, and the snake was silent for a long moment. Midori's scowl turned into an expression of surprise - rarely ever was the zanpakutou so slow to respond. It was almost a full minute before it at last spoke, and to Midori it had been one that felt like an hour. "Your quessstionsss... are becoming more dangeroussss. You dig deep, Midori Yuansssuzzzaku... deeper with each requesssst. I assssk only onsssce more... are you ssssure you wissssh to know thissss?"

There was no hesitation. "Yes. I want to know everything. Tell me. Show me."

Onorinowai's eyes closed, as if the serpent was still debating with itself as to whether or not to honor the request. "There are doorsss that you mussst open before you can gain thissss knowledge. Ssscertain... ssssealsss... must be unlocked. The more doorsss you open, the more informassstion you will have accesssss to... and the more dangerousss each piesssce becomessss." The great snake leaned forward, its bulk towering over Midori's form, its face leaning close enough to almost touch her, the closest it could get to being eye-to-eye with a human-sized entity. "You have been warned. I plasssce the key in your handssss... it isss your choisssce from now on whether or not to usssse it."

Midori took another deep breath and nodded. "What is the key, Onorinowai?"

"The key... issss the ssserpent'sss sssting. Firsssst the warning, and after, the venom. The key liessss between."

A riddle. Midori honestly wasn't surprised to not get the answer straight from the snake's mouth. 'The serpent's sting, between the warning and the venom.' At least it wasn't a hard riddle. "A serpent's sting is in its Bite, Onorinowai. That-"

The snake's eyes turned from smoking lamps to burning beacons. Its massive mouth gaped open, and a rush of wind struck Midori, threatening to blow her backwards off her feet. Where did THAT come from!? she couldn't help but think, grabbing onto the coils in front of her to hold her place. The serpent's voice answered from all around, as if not coming from any one constant location, but rather being in all places at once.

"The key hassss turned, the gate issss opened. Usssse what you have unlocked wisssely... and beware what lurksss beyond."

She felt it before she saw it... the onrush of scattered memories once again, coming on this strange dark wind with the fury of a hurricane. She knew once it hit she would be unable to hold onto Onorinowai's coils any longer, and her fate would be in the hands of chance and whatever she was to learn from this new level of knowledge. The only thing she had to hold onto against the torrent was the question she'd given Onorinowai, and the hope that it would draw her to the images she needed to see and away from those to be searched for later.

Like a tidal wave, the memories hit, and Midori felt as if she would drown. Images roared past, all speaking at once, and none lasting long enough for Midori to glean any understanding from them. She clawed desperately, trying to know, trying to understand, trying to survive, trying to breathe, and at the same time knowing that there was something awaiting her, something that was coming, something very important. In the distance, Midori saw a light.

And suddenly it was calm.

The roaring in Midori's ears ceased, and a single image stabilized, clearer than any previous vision had been.

The street was dark, the overcast sky hiding the moon's light from view. A shadowy figure, cloaked in a hood and masked by a single piece of cloth, leaping from dingy rooftop to dingy rooftop with both the agility of a panther and a carefree air that belied the girl's age. A gust of wind blew in off Victoria Harbour, bringing the acrid scent of industrial waste mixed with fish-water that the residents of Hong Kong had learned to tolerate sometime in the past 20 years. Even through the cloth over her nose and mouth, the girl cringed. The city had smelled like burning death since the day she was born, and she'd never gotten used to it.

She turned her back toward the harbour and the peak and dove from the roof she was on to the heart of the city. If the rooftops were dingy, then she didn't know what to call the filthy back alleyways where the girl slipped, waiting, as she'd done so many times before. The request was simple and similar to the others she'd received:

Wait behind the Summer Sunshine nightclub. Between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM, Chuen Ai-Shin, enforcer for the Chuen family, will exit from the back door. You are to kill Chuen and anyone else who is with him. No witnesses.

At this point she had been given a photograph of Chuen to study.

As she squeezed her slender form into the corner behind the Summer Sunshine nightclub, raindrops began to fall from the overcast sky. But the young assassin didn't seem to notice. Further down the alleyway, she could hear a tortured moaning. "Heroin... please... need... heroin." It was the sound of a dessicated husk that once was a human being before that white powder got a hold of him. The number of addicts lying in the streets had gone up since the Americans had pulled out of Vietnam, in no small part thanks to the Family of the man she was about to kill. And her own Family. And any of the other countless Families in Hong Kong.

There was the sound of a slam. Right on schedule, a man with a red face, slightly crossed eyes, and a lopsided grin on his face stumbled out the back door of the Summer Sunshine. The assassin recognized him immediately as Chuen Ai-Shin. Three other figures wobbled out after him, chatting, cheering, singing a little - two of them wore enormous, mirrored sunglasses and black blazers, the third had a hood up, protecting the wearer from the rain. The fact that they were all obviously obnoxiously drunk was going to make this young girl's job a lot easier.

Her training audibly echoed in her ears.

Sever the jugular.

In an instant, a knife was in the girl's hand as she crept, silently, upon the four laughing, intoxicated figures stumbling and slurring down the alleyway.

If they aren't looking, this is the easiest way to kill someone.

It would all be over in just a few seconds.

Automatically, mechanically, she reached up for Chuen Ai-Shin's face. He was almost half a meter taller than the girl, so her feet left the ground a little. Her fingers dug into his cheek as she brought the edge of her knife across his neck. He was already dead by the time the other three members of his entourage even noticed her.

The man directly to Chuen's right turned his head, sensing a commotion. With a thrust, she plunged the knife between his ribs, perforating his heart. Blood began gushing from the wound.

The third man managed to reach into his jacket and pull out a gun, but the assassin spun around with a kick to the wrist, disarming him before he could aim it. She wrenched her knife out of the second man's heart and threw it right into the third's neck with one quick, fluid, precise motion. With the same motion she snatched a second knife from her sleeve. Her other hand grasped the fourth figure's collar.

That's right, just a few seconds. The girl aimed the knife at the fourth figure's throat and prepared to strike.

Then, at that critical moment, the fourth figure's hood hood fell away, revealing the face underneath. And the assassin stopped short.

It was a girl. A crying, terrified girl. And even behind all the copious amounts of eye shadow and lipstick she was wearing - probably a prostitute or a call girl of some sort - she couldn't hide the fact that she was young, terribly young. Her eyes were soft, her skin unblemished. She... she looked like she was...

my age.

It was like seeing her own face in front of her, and it did something to this skilled assassin. Her life up to now flashed through her mind. The training she'd done alongside her brothers. Her first mission. Her first kill. Her second kill. And all the ones after that. Every poisoned drink, every sniping, every knife through every throat in every back alleyway, she could see them all in the eyes of this sobbing young prostitute. The rain began to fall faster, and she made up her mind. She tucked the knife back into her sleeve and let go of the other girl's collar. The other girl just stood there, shocked and bewildered.

"Run," the assassin said. The other girl didn't need to be told twice. She took off, running as fast as her legs could take her.

The rain came down cold in waves, colder than it should have been in late August. The assassin tugged at the cloth covering her mouth, which had suddenly become suffocating. She pulled at the hood over her head, and her green hair fell around her shoulders. She stood over the dead body of Chuen Ai-Shin as the rain poured down around her, washing away all the blood. She looked up, letting the rain fall on her dark-skinned face.

That was the moment that thirteen-year-old Yuan Kuo-Chiu realized that she couldn't kill anymore.

Midori slowly opened her eyes. The jarring sensation that normally accompanied the return from subconscious to reality was conspicuously absent this time. The only sound was the whispering wind through the trees.

It was getting dark.

"I can't get over just how bossy my class rep is," said Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, wandering down the halls outside the cramped first-year teachers' office.

"Who's your class rep?" Class 1-B's homeroom teacher, Yumichika Ayasegawa asked her. "We've got Miyu Yamane, she's a good girl, but really shy and quiet."

"Takahiro Suzuhashi," Matsumoto answered, rolling her eyes.

"Ouch," Yumichika winced. He'd had Takahiro's brother Keitaro in his class last year, and had heard the horror stories about how bratty and mean younger boy could be.

"I tell you, Yumi, there's days when I just wish I could pop that kid right in the--"

And then she opened the door.

Lying in the foyer was a student, injured and unconscious, in the middle of an enormous puddle of pink paint. Rangiku ran to the boy's side. The assault weapon - a now-empty gallon can of paint - rolled next to the boy's bleeding head.

"Oh my god!" Yumichika exclaimed, putting his hands over his mouth. "Who did this?" After a moment of silence. "Who redecorated the foyer? This has got to be the ugliest colour!"

"I'd be more worried about the student!" Matsumoto felt the boy's head. There was a nasty lump, a possible concussion. She sighed. "I'll take him to the medical office," she said, lifting the paint-covered, unconscious boy onto her shoulders. "You run to the headmaster's office. Tell him there's been an assault and a major act of vandalism, and his school's foyer is now bright magenta."

Yumichika raised an eyebrow. "Magenta? Er... it's fuchsia, actually...."

Rangiku shot him a look of death.

"And I'm on my way, yes ma'am." Yumichika scampered off.

The Lieutenant began dragging the unconscious student down the hallway, wondering who else needed to be notified. She glanced down at her hand. Well... it was her job to notify him of anything out of the ordinary that went on, right? Rangiku lifted her hand to her face, materializing a hell butterfly. "Calling Captain Hitsugaya..."

Panicking, Yumichika raced through the halls of the Academy, still shell-shocked over that nasty fuchsia paint all over the floor back there. If anybody from the outside saw that nasty decor, Yumichika thought, I would absolutely die...

He wrenched open the door to the headmaster's office. "Lieutenant Sasakibe, sir! I have a--"

No one was there.

Yumichika's jaw dropped. Now what? Who was he supposed to tell about this? The Captain? No, Zaraki would cut his head off. Only one choice - his direct superior. Yumichika lifted his hand to his face, materializing a hell butterfly. "Calling Third-Seat Ikkaku Madarame..."

She sat still and silent for several minutes. The visions had never been like that before. Never clear, never coherent. Why now?

The gate. Whatever Onorinowai had meant by that, it had to be the explanation. She had unlocked something and now her memories were becoming more stable, more organized. She was recovering what she had lost. Exactly what she'd planned to do. And Onorinowai had been right: she hadn't truly appreciated the impact of what she might learn about herself. Assassin. I was an assassin. And I failed... I failed because I refused to kill an innocent girl.

She looked down at the sword in her hands. A sword - a weapon of death. And yet, somehow, something so much more. Not a dagger, like she used before, a weapon of swift and silent execution. Not the weapon of a coward. Coward? Was that accurate? Had she been a coward? Striking unseen, unheard from the shadows... ending all resistance with a single simple attack... was that the act of a coward? And if not, what difference was there between the assassin's knife and Onorinowai... except that Onorinowai talked back?

She shook her head, rethinking her last musing. No, that can't be right. I was only a teenager in that time. I was much older when I died... old enough to be a mother. Aoko... I couldn't have died then. So... what happened...? Hong Kong... it was in Hong Kong... in China. The name plate on the desk where I died was in kanji. I must have left China and traveled to Japan some time after I let that girl go... was I running from something? Someone? And it still doesn't explain what I did to deserve being executed, but then again that's not what I asked Onorinowai to show...

It was late, and growing dark. She must have been sitting here for hours in that trance, completely oblivious to the passing of time around her. Still pondering the full ramifications of her newest revelation, she set off into the woods. It was only after a few minutes of walking that she realized that was a good way to get herself lost. Ponder your mysteries later, she admonished herself, turning the zanpakutou in her hand to a proper position in case she encountered a situation she'd need to defend herself from. For now focus on getting back to the dorms without raising a ruckus.

That said, even this close to the academy the woods were significantly more dangerous by night. In this short distance she might have more trouble than it would otherwise suggest. She resumed walking but at a slower, more deliberate pace, marking every known landmark back to the school, and keeping a careful eye out for any... inconveniences... that might arise.

Satisfied with her answer to Rikiki's question, Kasahara walked back toward the area Naomi found her 'paint' in. Why was there blood in the middle of nowhere? Even though she hadn't examined it closely or checked whether it was warm or not, the tomboy could tell it was fresh by the fact that it wasn't dry. Whoever bled there, or caused the person to bleed, was relatively close by. If she had to guess, Kasahara would say that the event that caused this mess occurred within two hours... She could be wrong though.

"Oi, Rikiki. Naomi." Kasahara beckoned her roommate and her blue haired friend to where she is. "Should we go find out who it belongs to? That... red stuff. It's still fresh so I think they're close. It could be dangerous.."

She didn't specify whether or not the liquid was blood. The tall brunette was pretty sure Rikiki knew but she didn't want to burst Naomi's bubble, thinking it was paint.

Maka led the way through the trees, making only a few turns along the way, the blood on the ground at the entrance to the forest at the forefront of her mind.

After an hour or so, Rikiki piped up. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Should be," said Maka. "Right through this--"

She burst into a clearing in the trees. And froze.

In front of the three of them was the Gjoll River.

Again.

Rikiki felt more secure at Maka's words. She seemed to know where they were going, at least. Another trek led them to the 'paint' again. When Maka began to investigate the... liquid, Rikiki piped up, "I dunno... If it's dangerous, maybe we should just leave..." And so, they continued on, hopefully headed for the academy. It was a long walk and Rikiki figured they would be upon it soon.

Quote :

After an hour or so, Rikiki piped up. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Should be," said Maka. "Right through this--"

Rather than finding the school, or even civilisation out of the clearing, it was the same River they had been at. Rikiki squinted at Maka with a mix of acusation, disappointment and worry. "So... just through the Kuchiki Forest, huh...?

The look on Kanue's face made Rumiko raise an eyebrow. He can't possibly...no. He can't read minds. The quirk of his lips made him look smug, as though he possessed information about her of which she herself did not know. But he couldn't possibly read her as well as he thought, she reasoned with a small self-satisfied grin of her own. He doesn't know what he's dealing with.

She took a moment to put her finger to her mouth, deep in false thought. "Hmmm." An opponent for herself, eh? Out of the people in 3A, she only knew Kanue, and she knew that she did not want to face him yet. He wasn't the type to give away any weakness before the match and she could use everything that would allow her to climb even a little bit ahead. Rumiko knew that she wasn't the strongest of her class, but that didn't mean she didn't know what she was doing. And with Koudorihoshiken...heh. This might not be a predetermined match after all.

A moment of consideration. Rumiko decided against asking again. She had a feeling she would just be met with that empty silence again. So she went ahead with her answer for Kanue.

"Do you have a match?" she asked suddenly, breaking out of her thoughts. The grin was still twisting itsef on her face. She'd answer his questions later. "I have something that might lighten the mood in here. If you don't mind breaking a rule or five."

Matsuura tried to peer out of the rosebush and see if anyone noticed when he felt the reiatsu and quickly ducked back under.

“Two seated officers? Shit... this is getting more messy than I thought..”

Was there a point to this?

..What?

Was there a point? You're wasting your time, but worst of all for you, you're wasting MY time.

Mastuura sighed before blinking, only to find himself in a different place. He had been here twice before, and he didn't like it any. He brought himself up to a sitting position, hands a bit behind him, holding him up on the dirt road. He glanced slowly to his left, everything was...normal. Well, about as normal as normal could be in one's inner world. Rows of buildings, mirroring those in Rukongai lined the street forever in both directions, except...they were different. It was empty, no body existed in this place to occupy all those homes. It was..quiet over there, serene...tranquil even. But he could never reach them, every step he took closer, they drew away, as if he was stuck perpetually in the middle of this road that divided his inner world in two halves...

He brought himself to turn away and face the right side of the road. On the right side...there was chaos. The buildings were a blaze but the flames were different, they were black. Some of the buildings had already burned down and were nothing but ash. The fire never died down, it could never satisfy its thirst. Mastuura closed his eyes and looked away in disgust.

“Get up.”

Mastuura slowly rose to his feet, wiping and brushing the dirt off his clothes, before bringing his head up to look at Ikiwazura. Ikiwazura stared back, his eyes piercing through Matsuura. Ikiwazura was clad in monk's robes stained red, his entire body semi transparent, his head that of a hawk. Right now it was cocked to one side, the golden eyes string through Matsuura as if he was the one that was transparent.

“Better. However, you're still wasting MY time. Defend yourself.”

And with that Ikiwazura rushed him, sword drawn and at his side. Mastuura quickly drew his own to defend, the clang of steel breaking the infinite silence. The force of the blow sent Mastuura reeling backwards, but Ikiwazura did not relent, continuing to strike blow after blow, Mastuura doing all he could just to defend, the sounds ringing in his ears, while the vibrations from each impact shook him to the core as he continued to stumble back with each strike until he fell backwards, landing on his ass. It was then the blows stopped coming as Ikiwazura looked down on him in what could only be described as disgust, although it is hard to tell when you have the head of a bird.

“Get up.”

Mastuura glared back up at him before spitting back a no, receiving a kick to the chest for his efforts. Clutching his chest in pain he brought himself to his feet, glaring at Ikiwazura venomously.

“Better, let it over come you.”

“Blow me.” Mastuura spat back, throwing his sword to the side. “I'm not fighting you.”

“Maybe...you're not getting it.” Ikiwazura grabbed him by the collar, lifting him with ease into the air. “Maybe I should beat it into you. You need to learn to quench your thirst before it overcomes me...you...and this place.” Ikiwazura dropped him, “This dreadful, never ending place. The silence here is deafening, even with the fire raging, you cannot hear a thing, you cannot feel a thing. Quench your thirst boy.”

Matsuura snapped awake, quickly sitting upright only to end up with a face full of rosebush thorns. He bit his lip, pushing the thicket away before pulling himself out from his hiding place, fighting to free his robes without tearing them too much. He blew his hair out of his eyes, holding up the tatters of his robes as he quickly rushed in out of the courtyard slamming right into Yumichika Ayasegawa. He quickly picked himself up, bowing like a mad man.

“Gomen nasai Sensei.” He stated nervously, bowing as he backed away.

Sachi Oyashio wrote:

Sachi bounded through the store after them, eventually lighting on a small platform a few feet away beside a manniquin wearing a white and black tunic. "Uh, bathroom break..?" She offered weakly as an explaination.

"Hey, Sachi!" Sarah had changed into a cute, ruffled blue dress with long white sleeves. "What do you think?" she smiled. "I can't decide between this one and this other purple one that I saw," she spun around, letting her dress and her ponytail stand out. She spotted the dresses in Sachi's hand. "Oh, are you about to go try those on?" Sarah grabbed Sachi's hand and began dragging her. "The dressing room's right over there and we've gotta pick out our dresses quick we've still got lots to do!" She shoved Sachi into the dressing room and slammed the door shut.

"Now! Where's Byouko?" Sarah looked to the left and to the right, but couldn't see the catgirl anywhere? "Where's Byouko?" she repeated, sounding worried. Sarah looked through the racks. "Byouko?" Behind a wall, under the doors of all the dressing rooms. "Byouko?" In a garbage can, everywhere except under the pile of dresses on the floor. "Byooooouko?" But no sign of her. "Oh no! Did... someone kidnap Byouko?!"

(Uuuuugh post so short and sucky but better to keep the game moving)

"So... just through the Kuchiki Forest, huh...?

There was an accusing tone in Rikiki's voice that made Kasahara feel edgy and caused her to respond defensively. "Y-yeah. Rivers can bend and twist, right? We probably just uhh.. found another part of the same river."

She thought that she was following the trails and tracks left by whoever was here before them. They couldn't possible have gone in a circle right? Without a doubt, the three girls were lost but the tall brunette internally mauled over whether or not she should tell them so or if she should pretend she knew where she was going. Kasahara took a deep breath and let it would shakily, making a decision but uneasy with following through on it. "So.. We're lost, guys."

The school proper was silent as the moon slowly rose in the sky, bathing the empty hallways in pearlescent light. Nearly all the students in the building had gone back to the dormitories or the common rooms, so there was no-one to even notice the dark-haired figure that moved silently through the Academy.

Lately, Ashibue Kijou had taken to wandering the halls of the Academy after dark, but no-one seemed surprised at the young girl walking around more alone than usual. It had been a week since Ashibue had seen An-chan outside of class, and Onee-chan had been acting so strangely... not coming back to their dorm until the late hours of the night. Maybe she's avoiding you, whispered something at the back of Ashibue's mind, but she ignored it. People can get so caught up in their own problems that they don't even see everything going on around them, she said to herself.

The din of other students typically hung in the air, some far louder than others. Too much noise, but by now Ashibue was at least learning how to tune it out a little. It was oddly comforting to feel that ever-present bubble of silence between herself and the world, strong and reassuring.

It felt awful to be so...alone.

She needed her Onee-chan, shouting, asking her where she'd been, and-

"!"

Suddenly, another figure slipped in through an open window, landing on his feet in the hallway in front of Ashibue. The dark-haired girl stopped short, startled.

The figure straightened up. It was Tenkawa-san. The boy turned his head and saw her standing there. Ashibue froze completely. She had no idea what to say, what to do. She was breathing so hard and so fast and so loud. She stared, mouth agape, trying to force herself to move, to speak, to do anything.

"!"

Junshirou straightened up to be met by what appeared to be a startled Ashibue Kijou.

"Ah," he muttered inwardly, "this is bad." A quick glance confirmed that he hadn't got his sword unsheathed, and there was nothing suspicious about him, other than the fact that he was skulking around the school corridors in the middle of the night. It was probably a flagrant violation of the Academy's rules, but Ashibue couldn't be a witness without admitting that she had been doing it too.

Hmm... thinking about it, it probably wasn't a violation of the rules, was it? There had been that time a few weeks ago when everybody had been intercepted by Hyakushi-sensei, and there hadn't been any trouble about that, save falling asleep in class the next day... maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.

...ah. He'd lost track of what he was doing, meaning he hadn't spoken for around ten seconds. Neither had Ashibue. He wondered what to do.

"...um."

Okay, that was a good start. Now to actually say something.

"It's a big day tomorrow... you should probably get some sleep."

Ashibue still didn't seem to be doing anything, apart from hyperventilating. Junshirou averted his eyes, wondering if that would help at all. He probably needed some sleep too, to be honest, even if the chance to form some sort of connection with Ashibue would probably prove useful later on.

"Anyway, I... I think I'll go to bed now...", he said. He was still wondering why Ashibue was reacting so badly, and the atmosphere seemed accusing more than anything, which put him on edge. Pretty much an awkward situation all round, he thought. "Oh, and... um... good luck tomorrow!" He smiled warmly but awkwardly, then turned his back and walked down the corridor silently. When he thought he was out of sight, he ducked behind a wall and watched, curious to see what would happen next.

Anshou wobbled a bit, the room was spinning and he knew he'd been injured heavily while barely inflicting a scratch on captain Zaraki. His defensive strategy had not worked in any way against the tough captain, so Anshou knew he'd have to attack faster and harder. He caught his breath and tried to ignore the pain of his wounds. He grabbed his sword tight and gave Zaraki a look of determination, then rushed toward him screaming with his sword out to his side.

Takeshi trudged along silently next to Igarashi, their feet splashing through a colored puddle of unknown origin, sending a small spray of the liquid into the air upon whatever it reached, only for the puddle's surface to reform after they moved on. The liquid never appearing to change no matter what occured to it. For a moment this mesmerized the bored Takeshi, who felt like they had been searching uneventfully for hours, most likely because they had been trying to find a mini-mutt all day when they'd only intended to casually hang out. Alas, pooch-hunting would have to suffice for now, and they could always try at being normal friends another day. Takeshi looked around, taking in everything he saw, whether it be the poorly shingled rooftops scattered in between more well-kept buildings or the shady folk lurking around in alleyways, waiting for just the right chance to take what they want, or the couple leaning against the wall talking to each other, smiles on their faces, laughing so merrily. They looked so... familiar.

Meanwhile, a scowl on Igarashi's face could now be clearly seen. He was certain that this had been the way that little critter had flown, yet they had not seen any trace so far. And this was beginning to get on Igarashi's nerves. However, just as they walked aimlessly into some less fancy parts of the Rukongai, he perceived a faint sound of something that somewhat resembled a high pitched bark or yelp. Stopping for a second, Igarashi located the origin of the sound and then nudged Satoko with his elbow to follow. Walking towards the faint yelping sound, Igarashi could hear it louder and louder... and now accompanied by what seemed to be laughter and jeering. "I think that sound might be it... and, are those kids?" Sure enough, as they turned around a corner. Igarashi found three kids who lookes around 10 and 11 years old playing catch... and their makeshift ball was none other than the small Chihuaha dog that they had been looking for.

*Snerk!* Igarashi was unable to hold in some snorting at the sight of the critter flying and twisting in the air, whining comically. However, he quickly remembered what they were supposed to do, and glanced at Satoko for a second. He walked forward and yelled strongly at the brats. "Hey! leave that... dog alone! Specially if it isn't yours!"

The kids turned his attention to Igarashi. "What is it to you huh? Girly man! We are just having some fun anyway," one of them mockingly responded while the others laughed.

Igarashi was taken aback with that reply. "What did you... hey, watch it brat! or-"

"Or what, girly man?" The boy cut him off. "will you go and cry to your blond boooyfriend?" He then burst of in laughter as the other joined him and jeered at him and Satoko.

Enraged, Igarashi did not wait for any reaction from Satoko, and quickly lunged forward to the laughing brat, quickly grabbing him from his shirt and lifting him up. "You little shit! say it again!" The kids looked taken by surprise at how quickly Igarashi had reacted.

"H-hey, let go! Girly man!" the brat said, promptly delivering a kick at Igarashi's ribs, making him wince a little. He let go of the boy, who quickly ran away from Igarashi, snatching the dog up from one of his companions. "Hey! if you want this dog so much, why don't you just go and catch it!" He shouted at Igarashi as he launched the dog high up in the air, taking this chance to run away with the other two.

Watching the dog soar in the air once again, Igarashi knew it was too high up for him. Looking back, he saw that Satoko standing further back. "Satoko! catch it!"

Sachi stood by herself, in the dim light of the dressing room, mouth half open. She had been planning to say something back to Sarah. Anything really to reassert herself as "The cocky, tough one". Instead the retort had died in her throat as she was unceramoniously shoved into the dressing room with the order to try the dresses on. Sachi hadn't been able to have the last word all day, and frankly her immature side was wanted to throw a hissy fit.

With a sigh, she kicked her shoes off, and started to eye the dresses suspiciously. They were very well made and out of some rather nice fabric; Sarah seem to have a good eye for these things. With an exaggerated sigh, she started undoing her school uniform. She wonder vaguely if sarah would force her to ditch the hat. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that, all in all.

It wasn't as if she was even particulairly attache to the thing, it was just- people referred to her as the girl with the baseball cap. It was like a trademark, with out it she didn't know how people where going to refer to her as. "That jerk", "Big mouthed" and "Bitch" came to mind. She kicked the unform into a corner and grabbed a random black dress off the top of the pile, pulling it over her head.

It fit well at least, even if putting it on had knocked her hat askew and mat her hair rediculously static-y. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection in the mirror. Yeah not too bad. No frilly shit at least. She struck a few rediculous poses in the mirror for good measure. If if the dress wasn't girly, it felt like foreign, like she was wearing a halloween costume. Totally different from the sufficating folds of a formal kimono, or her traveling clothes, or a school uniform.

Ah well, back to the sugarcoated reality of the store, she thought pushing te door open to find a large pile of clothes outside and Sarah hollering for Byouko.

As Rumiko turned away slightly to think, Ryouichi began fixing small imperfections in the rows of chairs they had been making. He was grateful for the opportunity to be without scrutiny for a moment, as he was struggling to contain his amusement at Rumiko's reaction. Hahaha... ahhhh, he smiled, settling for releasing his laughter mentally, Well, I suppose that's a natural reaction. She thinks that I can't read her like a book. Au contraire, my naive Rumiko! You may have more mysteries than others, but you betray yourself far too easily. Overconfidence is a sin, you know. Of course, I'm confident too, but as I've always said, it isn't arrogance if you can back it up. It wasn't very funny, but Ryouichi couldn't help it, he chuckled out loud, albeit softly.

After a few more moments, Rumiko seemed to come to a conclusion. She was still wearing the same expression as before, which, Ryouichi had to admit, was a little frightening, but it made little difference.

"Do you have a match?"

At first, Ryouichi thought she was asking for a different sort of match, but she soon followed up and quashed any hope he had for making the rest of the plan easy. That reminder didn't exactly make Ryouichi feel great, but the next sentence she uttered made his mood take a definite turn for the worst.

"I have something that might lighten the mood in here. If you don't mind breaking a rule or five."

He could tolerate her dodging his first question, even his second question, but that she was trying to use him as a tool for some mad scheme involving fire was too much. "Unfortunately, no, I'm not the type to carry matches around with me..." Ryouichi deadpanned, a sardonic expression of surprise on his face. "Why, what exactly you up to?"

Takeshi gawked at the sight of a dimunitive dog being used as a makeshift plaything, writhing in the air between tosses as if it could change the outcome of this situation. The childern chatised the chiuaua with their cruel chortles, making a mockery of the miniscule mutt with their misdemeanor. Takeshi stood by Igarashi as he demanded the childern leave the poor pooch alone, however they took to attacking Igarashi's masculinity, which didn't really bother Takeshi until they brought him into it.
"Will you go and cry to your blond boooyfriend?"
Takeshi blinked. His hair was blond so he knew they were referencing him, but he didn't know what the word boyfriend implified. He spent the next few moments pondering this as Igarashi went on harassing small childern, eventually being able to draw a conclusion that under the circumstances, the word boyfriend had been used to insinuate a relationship status between them. That's an odd idea. But on the plus side at least I got to be the boy... Takeshi halted his train of thought to Igarashi's call.

"Satoko! catch it!"

Takeshi cocked his head to the side in confusion, and was about to ask what the hell Igarashi was talking about when he caught sight of the once-again airborne animal. At first slightly startled, Takeshi knew that he couldn't just leap that high in the air- the dog was getting enough high flying experience to justify avian qualifications- he needed a boost, to springboard off of something into the air so he could grab the dog. But what? Takeshi's eyes scanned the area as swiftly as he could for anything he could use: a passing by old lady, too frail, she'd break when I jumped off of her. That stack of crates would just collapse like the old lady when I jumped on it. Those kid's couldn't support my body weight... Igarashi

His eyes falling on his friend, Takeshi rand a few steps before propelling himself forward and contorting himself so that his feet would plant on Igarashi's upper chest, giving him a base to push off of. Using Igarashi as a more effective springboard than he should have been able to, Takeshi launched himself upward, soaring through the air after the none to quiet chiuaua. He was drawing close to it now, his arms and fingers were pulling forward as much as they could in a desperate attempt to save the dog from it's inevitable fall. The chiuaua, deciding to take a role in it's rescuse, clamped it's tiny jaws onto Takeshi's index finger with absolutely no intention of releasing it anytime soon.

Satoko managed to twist and turn and land gracefully on his feet, only to break out waving his right arm around like a madman- or a normal person with a dog on hsi finger- letting out only the single cry of "This damn thing's biting me! Piss off, poochie!"

Junshirou Tenkawa wrote:

"It's a big day tomorrow... you should probably get some sleep."

Ashibue still didn't seem to be doing anything, apart from hyperventilating. Junshirou averted his eyes, wondering if that would help at all.

It stayed like that for seconds, the two of them just looking at each other, saying nothing else. Tenkawa had a weird look on his face, almost angry and Ashibue wanted to apologise for...whatever she'd done. She opened her mouth to speak.


"Um..."

Her voice was quiet, shaky, but Tenkawa didn't notice. He didn't even seem to notice she'd said anything. People can get so caught up in their own problems that they don't even notice everything going on around them, her mind repeated.

"Um..."

He wasn't even looking at her, but his eyes darted all around, peering into the shadows around them. His hand rested on the hilt of his zanpokutou and he looked uneasy. She wanted to apologise to him, or ask what was wrong but...she couldn't talk to him. She daren't. She didn't talk to anyone except for-

Junshirou Tenkawa wrote:

"Anyway, I... I think I'll go to bed now... Oh, and... um... good luck tomorrow!"

Tenkawa had turned away and was already walking down the corridor. She reached out her hand towards him, unsure of what to say.

"I..."

But he didn't hear her. He just kept on walking until he disappeared around a corner. Ashibue's arm fell to her side.

"Good evening, Tenkawa-san..." she whispered.

Ashibue turned to look out of the window; the moon looked impossibly huge as it sung in the sky, casting its soft light and bathing everything in silver, even her skin. It made her shiver a little. She turned back to look down the corridor, and sighed. She wanted to follow Tenkawa, to talk to him.

But she had other places to be.

Maka Kasahara wrote:

Kasahara took a deep breath and let it would shakily, making a decision but uneasy with following through on it. "So.. We're lost, guys."

Rikiki groaned. Oh boy. This was quite the pickle, wasn't it? Dark was approaching fast, and they were lost out in the woods somewhere. The retreating light was made even more disconcerning by the pool of blood found earlier. Rikiki tried not to think about who's blood it was, or worse, what spilled the blood. Anyway... best to keep moving. Rikiki stood, putting on her brightest face.

"Alright then! We're not in too big of trouble, are we? If we follow the River, we'll definately find people! Let's go this way!" Rikiki pointed, and began walking.

Rikiki Brown wrote:

Maka Kasahara wrote:

Kasahara took a deep breath and let it would shakily, making a decision but uneasy with following through on it. "So.. We're lost, guys."

Rikiki groaned. Oh boy. This was quite the pickle, wasn't it? Dark was approaching fast, and they were lost out in the woods somewhere. The retreating light was made even more disconcerning by the pool of blood found earlier. Rikiki tried not to think about who's blood it was, or worse, what spilled the blood. Anyway... best to keep moving. Rikiki stood, putting on her brightest face.

"Alright then! We're not in too big of trouble, are we? If we follow the River, we'll definately find people! Let's go this way!" Rikiki pointed, and began walking.

"Wait a minute," Naomi suddenly piped up. "Hey, the Gjoll river flows from the center of Seireitei, right?" She pointed upstream. "So... if we go that way, where the river's coming from, doesn't that mean that we'll be going toward the center of Seireitei?"

Rikiki and Maka exchanged glances. Naomi, of all people, had just figured something out logically.

"Are you sure, Naomi?" Rikiki shook her head. "If we go the wrong way, we'll end up running smack into a wall of deathstone at the outer edge of the city."

But Naomi was already on her merry way, eyes closed and smiling, swinging her sword back and forth, cutting through brush like a machete. Maka shrugged and headed after her, with Rikiki following close behind.

=========================================

Igarashi and Satoko silently trudged up a hill, the redheaded boy holding a tiny, half-dozing Chihuahua by the scruff of its neck. The sun was setting by the time they'd managed to track down the little girl who'd sent them on their errand.

"Chiiiikoooo!" she screamed out happily, racing toward them and seizing the pup from Igarashi's hand and twirling it about. Without a word, Igarashi and Satoko, kept on walking, leaving the little girl behind.

"Hey, wait!" she called after them. "Let me give you a reward!" She held up her oversized, off-white vinyl toy purse.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Igarashi sighed back over his shoulder.

Satoko lifted his scratched and bleeding hand for the girl to see. "Just take that half-rabid bite machine where we'll never have to--"

A rumbling of feet suddenly sounded from around the corner. Igarashi and Satoko turned back to see at least two dozen tall, strong-looking young men roll into view, carting a palanquin. And not just any palanquin either. It was enormous, the size of a small house, paneled in the finest ebony and trimmed with gold. The handles that the men carried looked to be carved from polished ivory, and the curtains that obscured the inside were royal purple and made from silk and velvet.

One of the palanquin carriers opened the door. "Hanako! There you are!" Out came a very, very plump older woman with grey hair on her head in a bun, a gaudy blue dress, and too much lipstick. "How many times have I told you not to come this far away from home? It can get dangerous out here."

"Sorry, Mommy," the girl smiled back at the large lady. "I lost my Chiko and these two nice men found her for me. I was going to give them my pocket money as a reward, but they didn't want it." At this, she opened her cheesy, plastic toy purse.

Inside was money. A lot of money. The thing was crammed to bursting with wads and wads of cash, all 10,000 and 50,000 yen bills from what Igarashi and Satoko could see.

"Oh, is that so!" Hanako's mother smiled at the two boys. "You have our thanks, then." She bowed graciously, then took her daughter's hand and began to lead her into the palanquin. "Come along, Hanako. We're having Kobe beef* for dinner tonight!"

"With matsutake mushrooms*?" Hanako asked cheerfully. Her mother nodded, prompting a squeal of joy from the girl.

The waiting attendant shut the door to the palanquin. "Hai!" he shouted.

"Hai!" the other palanquin carriers responded in unison, beginning their march in a circle to turn the palanquin the other way, then down around the corner from where they came until they were out of sight.

The wind blew a small piece of litter across the street from a stunned and silent Igarashi and Satoko.

*Kobe beef and matsutake mushrooms are among the most expensive foods in the world. Cuts of kobe sell for about $100 per pound, and the price of matsutake is roughly $2000 per kg.

"There you are!" came a little kid's voice from behind them. It was the three kids from earlier, the ones who'd been playing catch with the puppy.

"What do you w...," Igarashi trailed off. Coming around corners, down from trees, and emerging from alleyways were kids. Dozens of kids, all about the same age, but some of them wielding sticks, pipes, and bats. Igarashi and Satoko could have easily taken any one of them without breaking a sweat... but thirty of them would be a threat, even if they all were ten years old.

"Alright, girly man," the snotty leader kid sneered. "You and blondie-bitch are gonna pay for what you did to us."

The pack of boys advanced on Igarashi and Satoko menacingly.

"Get 'em!"

========================================

"Ow!" Maka received another casually brushed branch thwapping her in the face, courtesy of Naomi, leading the way through the Kuchiki Forest with her zanpakutou wildly flailing. They'd been following the river for close to an hour, and still their surroundings looked exactly the same to Maka. Trees. And more trees. And dirt. Occasionally a rock. And more trees.

"Naomi, how much farther do we have to-- Ow!" Naomi accidentally thwapped Maka in the face with another branch. "I swear, Naomi, if you do that one more time--!" Maka snapped.

"Huh? Naomi looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, sorry, Maka! It should be just a little--" Thud. Naomi walked directly into a wall.

"What's a wall doing in the middle of the...," Rikiki looked to the left and to the right. The wall kept going in both directions, as far as Rikiki could see. "It's the edge of Seireitei! We went the wrong way!"

Maka put her hand on the wall. There was no characteristic draining or weakening sensation. "No... this isn't deathstone." What it was though, eluded Maka.

"Well, we'll just have to go over it!" Naomi chimed in cheerfully.

"Huh?" Rikiki said. "But... if this is the wall at the edge of Seireitei, it goes up for miles!"

But Naomi was already shimmying up a tree.

===========================================

A bruised and bloody Satoko and Igarashi plodded through the streets of Seireitei, looking more dejected then ever.

"We got beat up by little kids," Igarashi said numbly.

"Yeah... we did," Satoko replied, equally as lifelessly. The wind rustled through the trees over the buildings to their left.

They kept walking.

"She had over a million yen in her purse, and she was gonna just give it to us," Igarashi said.

"Yeah... she did."

More silence. More wind.

"So... what do you wanna do now?" said Igarashi.

Satoko sighed. "Let's just go back to the--"

A crack. A scream.

Igarashi and Satoko spun around to see a figure fall from a broken branch, slam hard on the roof of the buildings below, roll head over heels, then plummet into a pile to the road below.

"Maka!" Another figure dropped down from the trees, making a quick hop from the branches, to the roof, to the street below, kneeling next to the fallen figure.

"I'm alright, Rikiki," Maka groaned, lifting herself up a bit.

She stopped when she saw who was standing right in front of them.

"What is it, Ma--" Rikiki looked up. She and Igarashi locked eyes.

A third figure dropped from the trees. "Whee!" Naomi slid down the roof on her backside, landing on Maka's back, then hopping to her feet. "I knew it!" The other four looked up.

Satoko and Igarashi hadn't realized it, but they'd wandered into the nightlife district. In front of them, stretching down the street to their right was a street lined with bars and pubs and clubs, all adorned with neon and flashy light bulbs. The largest one, right on the corner next to the five students, bore a sign reading: "Bakuhatsu Booze Barn."

"I knew there was a bar around here!" Naomi spouted cheerfully. "I could smell it! Come on, you guys, let's go tie one on!" She gestured for them to follow as she wandered into Bakuhatsu Booze Barn. "Time to get TRASHED!!"

"Uh..." Igarashi failed to respond with anything coherent just as he saw Naomi walk towards the place he had just realized was a bar. But that wasn't nearly the thing that had boggled his mind. It was seeing Rikiki appear all of a sudden, almost as if by magic. Igarashi was simply unable to think what was he supposed to do now. Few minutes ago, he and Satoko had to fend off a mob of small kids... and now this...

His face slightly tinted in red, he looked away from Rikiki, and realized that Maka was there just now, being distracted before. almost a minute had passed and the silence was beggining to feel very uncomfortable, even for Igarashi. Scratching his head, and pretending that nothing had happened to them before this, he finally opened his mouth to say something in the hopes to break the silence. "So... How did you girls arrive here?" As soon as he had opened his mouth though, Igarashi mentally face palmed. Very smooth you dumbass... veeery smooth...

After the fiasco with Naomi going off to get 'trashed', the had been an awkward silence among the rest of them. Whether it was being around their likely canon pairings, (but, then again, Igarashi and Satoko were always around each other, so perhaps not) or just the normal effect of meeting friends in both an unusual and unexpected manner, (not unlike your in-laws showing up in prison clothes and shackles looking to 'hide out here') the silence remained for about a minute. Finally, Igarashi decided to speak up.

Igarashi Sakimoto wrote:

"So... How did you girls arrive here?"

Rather than answer straight away, Rikiki proceeded to glomp Igarashi with impressive force. "Yaaaaaaay Iggy!" Keeping a tight hold around his waist, Rikiki answered him brightly, "We were over there, in he woods! We went for a hike and got lost, and there was a big pool of blood, and he we followed this river and hit a wall, (gasp for breath) and than Naomi climbed a tree and we ended up here. Yup!" Rikiki was obviously unaware that she had explained very little at all.

Rikiki turned her gaze to Bakuhastu Booze Barn.
"Oh! Didn't Naomi go in there? come on, Iggy, let's go find her!" and pulled Igarashi away by the hand.


(Woo tired post is tired. May contain shit grammar.)

"Sachi-chan!" Sarah whined, racing up to the other girl as she stepped out from the dressing room. "I can't find Byouko anywhere! I've been looking all over for her and I don't see her in the store and that dress looks sooo cute on you!" she suddenly squeed. The switch flipped right back without missing a beat. "And I'm afraid she might have run away or gone chasing some mice and wound up in a trap or something or gotten kidnapped and it's aaall my faaaault!" Tears began pouring from her eyes in exaggerated waterfalls.

Quote :

Rather than answer straight away, Rikiki proceeded to glomp Igarashi with impressive force. "Yaaaaaaay Iggy!"

Just as he was glomped, his face turned a brighter shade of red, along with an awkward smile and very wide eyes. Even though it had happened before, he still couldn't quite get used to being hugged all of a sudden by Rikiki. It always made him feel... Vulnerable, yet at the same time, he also felt happy that she hugged him like that, also making him feel a bit special. But when Rikiki began to "explain" the way of how they had arrived there, Igarashi's mind began to wander about some other things related to Rikiki... Like the fact that tomorrow he would have to fight her in the first round of the tournament. A pang of guilt distorted Igarashi's smile at that moment. As if he felt he didn't deserve the be hugged like that for what would probably happen tomorrow. It didn't feel right.

Quote :

"Oh! Didn't Naomi go in there? come on, Iggy, let's go find her!"

Rikiki's exclamation and subsequent pulling of his hand snapped Igarashi back to reality. He didn't put any resistance at first, being too caught of guard. But as he realized where Rikiki was leading him into, he weakly muttered "wait... I can't..." But it surely wasn't loud enough for Rikiki to hear. Him and alcohol were a very bad mix, but strangely, a part of him wanted to be dragged down there, even though he was full aware of the consequences. Offering no further resistance, Igarashi simply let himself be dragged towards the bar, not without turning his head back at Satoko for a moment, and giving him a look that could only be described as a beg for help. He then turned his head back and gulped a little as they entered the bar.

Kasahara watched as 3 out of 4 of her friends rushed over to the bar they had stumbled upon. They left Takeshi and herself behind in awkward silence. It felt uncomfortable for her though she couldn't explain why; there was a growing feeling of anxiety building in her chest. Despite how she felt, she didn't let her nervousness show. Kasahara gave Takeshi a single glance before diverting her eyes away, looking towards the empty sky instead. As if she found something interesting to gaze at, she spoke uninterestedly as she kept her focus elsewhere.

"I guess we have no other choice but to follow, huh?"

The idea of drinking didn't thrill her but she wasn't going to go back to the academy and be a stick in the mud. She wouldn't know her way around this large city to be able to get back anyways.

Kasahara moved ahead towards the bar, following Rikiki and Sakimoto. The tall brunette didn't bother looking behind her to see if Takeshi was also following along but she assumed he would. She secretly hoped he would. Watching her roommate and the red head act so closely made her feel a little jealous. It was like they just clicked together and were happy with each other.

But it wasn't like Kasahara was in a close relationship with anyone like that, right?

Hikari was hurt and bleeding real bad, and Ximenez was all powered up now. Her mind just kept on chattering.

Angry raging Anshou father jealous sister kidou failure losing always clumsy fighting monster

Hikari clenched her fists, her face screwing up.

Ximenez was laughing at her now. Hikari hissed through her teeth. She wanted to scream at Ximinez, wanted to cut his face up again and again like she had before. But she needed him. The blonde girl sighed, unclenching her fists and letting her body relax as her mind screamed.

Her eyes flashed open, and everything went black.

Hikari gasped. She was surrounded by...nothing. She was just hanging there in an endless black void. "Hello?" She tried calling out again, but nothing. She was totally alone in the blackness.

"...!" She felt a touch on her shoulder and spun around scowling, but there was nothing there.

"Over here!" came a squeaky voice. Hikari spun around again and saw it, a little flash of light streaking through the darkness. As it sped through the darkness, it left a trail of light behind it, forming a word:

HELLO

Hikari was reading the word when the flash suddenly zoomed toward her, stopping in front of her face and making her jump. "Hi!" it said cheerfully. Hikari looked close at it, and it was a tiny person maybe a foot tall with black hair and eyes. It looked kind of like Kage-chan. Except covered in a ball of light.

"I'm Kyokumoumei!" the thing said.

"Oh, you're my zanpaktou?" Hikari was kind of hoping it would be a dragon or something. "Where am I?"

"We're inside your soul, Hikari!" it smiled.

"But there's nothing here," said Hikari.

"That's because there's nothing in your soul except for you," the little thing said, a little more happy about it than it should have been.

Hikari bristled. "And how come you look like my sister?"

"Huh? Oh!" The thing smiled again and zoomed over to Hikari's side. "This is how you view other people, Hikari. As dolls. For you to play with." It did a somersalt in the air, and its hair changed from black to blond. It looked like a doll of Anshou. "Oh Hikari, you're the one I've always dreamed of, please spend eternity in my arms."

"Hey!" Hikari said, mad, though blushing too.

"Oh, sorry. How's this?" It spun around again, growing long, grey hair and glasses. It was a chibi Hikari's father. "How's my number one dream who I wished was an only child, hm? You're going to run the Kijou family someday. Give your papa some sugar!"

Hikari laughed. The thing spun around again, this time turning into a tiny doll of Baka Kasahara. "Boy, garlic sure makes me trumpy! I wish I was as rich and pretty as you, Hikari instead of a silly mangirl," It said in a mocking voice, making Hikari roll on the ground laughing.

"Boy your really something," Hikari wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

It changed one more time, this time into a glowing little girl with massive brown eyes and skin the colour of brass. Her true form, she guessed. "That's not all," it said. "I also know... what you're planning."

Hikari instantly stood up, getting serious. "And... that's ok with you?"

It shook its head. "It's not my place to judge, Hikari. I'm just a facet of your soul. It's my job to help you make your own decisions about things, and unlock your inner power."

Hikari nodded.

"And now... you're going back to the real world," it smiled, speeding away from her into the darkness, leaving trail of light aftereffect behind her. "But if you need me, just call, and I'll be there in a FLASH!"

At the word flash, Hikari found herself once again facing Ximenez. She grinned, feeling stronger and sure she would win.

"Alright then!" she said. "En gaurde!"

The veins were lightly bulging out of Toushiro's forehead.

"And... what did I tell you about calling your Captain."

Rangiku kind of looked at the floor. "You said... whenever something important comes up--"

"And you think one injured student is important enough to call me here?!" he snapped.

"Well.. there's also the paint--"

"The Fourth Division can take care of the student and clean up the paint," Toushiro sighed. "I'm going back to headquarters to finish all the work you left on my--"

A green-haired figure with a tattered robe zoomed by the two of them, splattering paint on Toushiro's face.

"Stop him! That's the culprit!" yelled Yumichika, racing close behind.

Toushiro and Rangiku exchanged a glance, then raced after the boy as well.

Ikkaku leapt from rooftop to rooftop, taking long, gliding strides, with a toothy grin on his face. It had been a long time since he'd gotten to fight anyone. And now... a terrorist loose in the Academy! This was going to be fun. Ikkaku decided to take his time dicing this one up.