DEATH GOD HATES YOU

[Storyteller]

“Is she one of them?” the flat voice of a young man asked.
“She fits the description. The hair, the eyes. She doesn’t seem too powerful,” another, somewhat more gruff, voice answered.
“The scar. Her hair looks a mess, too. Are we sure?”
“We’re Shinigami. We get scars, unless we get someone really good from Fourth to patch us up. And her hair? Consider the hour! We need to stop waiting before she gets too far.”
“I just want the other half of the payment! If we kill the wrong pers—”
“She has to be one of them. Does she look like she did it on her own? The way we did?”
The other man’s grip tightened on the hilt of his Zanpakutō.
“No.”

A circular, walled fortress: The true nature of the Seireitei, even before its status as a city. In times of trouble or threat, the walls fell. Today, certainly, they remained fallen, an extra layer of defense against whatever threat might follow the loss of almost entire six years of Academy Students.

Further, it was built to withstand siege. Within stood everything the Shinigami might need: stores of food, though not farmland. Sources of water. Markets. Businesses. Homes. The facilities and equipment of all thirteen Divisions. Everything that the Gotei needed to operate, needed to fight back and do their duties. Even the Senkaimon Gates, whose use remained regular even at the worst of times.

And with it, everything else that came with a city.

Rin Ishikawa, with her dark hair and unimposing stature, walked through some of the narrow streets of the Seireitei. Not a soul in sight, the few left out at this hour back in the commercial area she just left. Her mind proved only just barely able to read the presence of souls around her: flickers, whose power she could not begin to reliably measure. Even someone’s mere presence escaped her.

Tonight, it seemed, marked one of those nights.

She failed to see the two men that attacked her until the scrape of a sword’s draw reached her ears, and the flash of moonlight against a Zanpakutō’s steel followed.

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

A long three days, Clothes still reeking of sweat, Death, and medicines. The journey home was supposed to calming, a chance to truly unwind and feel some weight slide off her shoulders. She had attempted every trick she knew to obscure her departure from the Tsukimiya home letting her thoughts fade away from the stress of everything.

The soft sound of her feet against the stone pathway as she took the longer way home, stopping in the commercial district hoping to catch someone willing to still sell at such a late hour and get some wine. Which she took long deep gulps of, until that distinct sound of blades being released.

Shhhhhnk

Two men, were upon Rin in a blink. NO time, act, react, kIll. The mouthful of wine spat out against one of the assailants as the first blade dug into Rin's Left shoulder. Her own blade drawn too late to prevent the hit as the fresh blood soaked into the fabric. It was in moments like this where others would see Rin as a true 11th member. Thought seemed to fade from her mind as her eyes went from panic and shock, to Focus? no that wasn't it, it was more akin to being numbed and zombified for a moment as if something was replacing her mind.

Sharp Madness contorted her face. Her lips spreading into a smile, that split and in a tone of flirtation she uttered the words. "Watashi, kirei?" The smile kept widening till the flesh in her face tore open into an ear to ear grin. Suddenly her posture changed and using her blade to throw the seconds man blade back out of her chest. Rin's vision tunneled on the man who drew first blood.

Clash of steel as swords met, Rin pushed back hard swinging on instinct vaguely in the style of Zanjutsu. Behind every swing she nearly shouted as if possessed, no manifested herself as a Kuchisake-onna. "Am I pretty now? Am I Beautiful? Do you find me Pretty!?" It looked like she got the upper hand until the wine-blinded man seemed to get his bearing and caught Rin's right side just below the ribs. The green glow of Kaido lit up the street as the two wounds became covered in a hexagonal mesh that slowed the bleeding.

In the heat of battle it was hard to tell if Rin was still in there and consciously trying to maintain herself, but her fighting style is a reckless flurry, so when she found an opening, Rin threw a lung at the singular target she focused on, The elder of the two opponents, though Rin seemed to barely register the younger one as her wild swings were both offensive and defensive in the wide fast sweeping motions to prevent others from getting close. Here she was though feeling the sword pierce her chest as she stepped in close her mouth drooling blood as one hand came off her blade and onto the older mans face, and drove her thumb into his eye, feeling the gelatinous press as the pad of her thumb gouged out and ruined the eye before the pain shook loose the state she was in and entirely focused on the pain.

Stop, you're letting yourself drop. Protect 'yourself' sTaY aLiVe.

Her features softened as the crimson spilled out of her and the grin light faded. Rin fell backwards off the blade and onto the stone with a heavy thud. The smile now almost genuine as the overwhelming pain slowly stole her vision and darkness took over completely. Entirely.

 

[Storyteller]

The look on her face.

That changed the reaction of the two men as they leaped from the rooftop of a building beside Rin as she walked down the street. The two knew each other well enough that, even as a spray of blood drew that first and most grievous wound, the realization set in: This could not have been their target.

The way she used Kaidō despite the pain, the agony, she must have been in, only solidified it.

If it hadn’t, how she drew a crimson line through the older man’s Shihakushō certainly would have.

It ended with that very same man, with only the smallest flecks of grey in his black hair, on his back. Rin was on top of him, the wrist of her sword-arm gripped and held out to the side to keep the blade away. To stop it from cutting him open.

It didn’t stop the other hand from taking his eye.

“Get her away, get her off me!” he shouted through the agonized and almost squealing screams as he tried to pry the digit from his eye socket.

A moment later and the other, young man, stormed forward, swung his leg, and something cracked and echoed off the white-walled buildings around them. Rin lifted from the impact, yet refused to let go. So the man kicked again, again, while blood fell from her mouth and onto the older man beneath her.

When she finally fell, it wasn’t to the side from another blow. It was down, upon the man, instead as though she had simply exhausted herself.

Only the older man’s screams remained, now, as he tossed Rin’s body to the side and covered his eye with a hand.

“Fuck, fuck!” the words cut through like hot knives.

“We need to get you to the Fourth!” The other man insisted as he kneeled and sat his blood-stained Zanpakutō on the street.

“The Fourth will ask questions!” he snapped at him as blood continued to run between his fingers. He sat up and grimaced again, biting his tongue. “Kill her!”

The younger man paused.

“Kill h—”

“The Sixth will ask more questions!” The younger man finally argued.

Only the grinding of teeth answered.

“The basement! You know the one?” The elder of the two groaned. “Bring bandages. I’ll take her with us, figure out what to do next!”

---

Rocks quietly shifted as a pebble fell down a rough cliff face. Above it, a ceiling, the underside of some floor, complete with a matching stone floor beneath. Not a cliff—a basement wall. An old basement wall.

“—I’ll wait until I have reason to take a wound like this. My next assignment in the World of the Living is in a week,” the older man, now seated upon a three-legged stool before an even older table strewn with calipers, prongs, crimson-stained bandages, and half-empty vials of acrid-smelling liquids.

“Someone will notice your eye out,” the other man answered, leaned up against the far wall, arms crossed, finger tapping on his elbow. His voice shook with the same energy that seemed to keep his body nervous, on edge.

“I’ll keep my head down. They know me, in my Division. Respect me. No one will ask if I tell them not to,” he insisted.

His one good eye, from the side of his head not wrapped in white, stared at the woman. She laid on the floor, the stone beneath her vaguely damp, wrapped in iron chains. Not just any—a spiritual sort. Strong enough that someone like her should never be able to escape, anymore than a Human woman could have broken real iron.

Her own wounds: haphazardly bandaged and with not half the effort of the others.

“You were supposed to be a student,” he all but spat upon her with the words. “Some survivor they graduated out of guilt! What are the odds there was another woman with short, dark hair and pink eyes among us! It sticks out!”

“We should ask for better pay,” the young man cut in. “This isn’t the job we were hired for anymore.”

“After this disaster?” He quipped, and then half-snorted, half-laughed. “We have to find the right girl, quick, kill her, and hopefully this can be overlooked.”

“And what of her? If we kill her, the Sixth will eventually find out. If we don’t…”

The older man waved a hand, “No, I don’t want to risk someone finding the body. My Hadō isn’t enough to destroy it completely. And the sensory teams might see us taking it out to the Rukon. Perhaps we bash her head in, ensure she can’t remember anything, or…”

Rin’s eyes moved, though neither man noticed. Whether her Kaidō spells earlier, her history in the Eleventh, or simple luck, her consciousness began to return.

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

It seemed no matter how she lost consciousness, the same nightmares found her. An assault, Rin trying to help, then left bleeding on the ground. Nothing new, and this recent violence coldly reminded her that this will happen again. Being part of the Eleventh almost all but guaranteed that, but now she stirred. This was not the stone she expected, yet she didn't expect to still be alive so it was deceptively welcoming.

Pain kept her still, kept her from Moving. No that was something else, something colder than the stone. Metal? Irons, so she was a prisoner now. Oh how the rest of her division would make fun of her for being captured, or praise? She did take someone's eye. Made him pay. MaKe Him Pay. 'where are those stray thoughts coming from?' She thought to herself, simply too tired or focused elsewhere to noticed the intrusive thoughts that were becoming increasingly common.

Fluttering her eyes open, blinking in the currently blurred room, like someone had smeared a hand over a chalk portrait. Slowly it came into focus and Rin could hear voices, a conversation. Stealing a glance of them while she tried not to move. His eye is gone. a satisfaction spread like a warmth in her chest. No, again that may be the blood soaking bandages. Her eyes closed but she for sure will remember that mans face.

'A student with pink eyes? that's who they thought I was?' Strange, Rin never expected a case of mistaken identity. 'So it wasn't something I did.' Closing her eyes to focus her breathing in the practiced form she learned from years of fighting to try and manage the nearly overwhelming pain. There is a student in danger, that nearly put Rin into fight mode just hearing.

These two were hired to Kill a student survivor? Who? Why? Unaware of the threat that posed her though, she didn't even register the conversation when they spoke of killing Rin, or even beating her into a stupor. If she reacted though it meant nothing else would be learned as they would obviously clam up, So there laid the Bloody Nurse of the 11th. Still uncertain if what she heard was fact or simply being inferred as the loss of blood did make her head feel light, and the cold floor probably the only thing keeping her from Screaming in agony from her wounds.

 

[Ayane Mibuchi]

Rin was missing. That was the most important thing Ayane had taken out of what Suzume had told her. Rin apparently reported directly to Suzume now, so for her to not appear...something was wrong, deeply wrong. Ayane knew it in her heart. That was why she was out in the Seireitei, running from street to street, sweat pouring down her body in abundance. She was exhausting herself, she knew, but she was desperate. Rin wasn't down that side street, or the next one, or the next. She wasn't in that building, or that one. She wasn't anywhere Ayane could think to look.

And yet she would keep on looking. After the attack on the Academy, Ayane found herself unable to stop herself from keeping those she knew close to her. So she ignored the burning sensation in her body as daylight dwindled, as dusk slowly began to settle in. No one she spoke to knew anything, either. It was as if Rin had just disappeared completely, and Ayane feared the worst. For days now she had thought that if Hollows had gotten in once, they could get in again. And if they could, if they had, what if one had ran into Rin, and...

She stopped her thoughts. She stopped running, and blinked, staring in the direction of a presence she had fault. A presence she was now intimately familiar with after the assault on the Academy. Her heart was beating loudly, and then she saw it, a Hollow darting down a street, her eyes widening in shock. Here, now!? No one else even seemed to be around. She had no choice, the search for RIn had to wait. Besides...this could be related.

Roof tiles were knocked away as she launched herself off of the building she was standing upon, landing right in the street the Hollow had gone down, and pausing again. Mostly, because there wasn't a single Hollow. Two, three, five, seven...and more. She couldn't count how many, not with how much they were shifting, tossing themselves at screaming civilians. She let out a cry, immediately slashing at nearby Hollow, only for it to dodge the blow, only for three of them to immediately surround her.

She was lost in the battle, the ebb and flow. One of them lashed out, with teeth or claws. She dodged and lashed back. Sometimes one would lash out, sometimes more. One moment she was ducking beneath a claw, blocking another with her blade. The next she was leaping into the air, blade swinging towards one of the beasts. An endless dance, or so it felt to her, body screaming at her already from her efforts throughout the day. But she couldn't stop. The screams of the civilians rang deeply in her ears. How could she stop fighting?

Suddenly, her blade cut deep into the mask of one of them. It had made a fatal error, and for a moment Ayane felt a flash of victory, of pride. Only to let out a groan of frustration as another Hollow came in, forcing her to dodge away. The blow had ripped clean through the first Hollow's mask, and yet she could see its flesh stitching back together, a laugh leaving its lips as it roared at her, as if challenging her.

"DIE!" she roared back, frustration clear on her face. Her foot lashed out, kicking the closest Hollow away from her. All so she could grab that Hollow that had just regenerated, dragging it in close to stab her blade through its mask again. Or at least, try to. At the last moment it nearly bit her head clean off with those monstrous jaws. She let out a frustrated groan, vanishing from the spot, and appearing directly behind it as it dropped onto the ground. Her foot lashed out once more, sending it flying against the nearby wall. She followed it mere moments later, blade pinning it to the surface of the building, stabbing right through the mask. It let out a pained roar, claws lashing out weakly, only leaving the tiniest of scratches on her face, too weak and feeble to provide any force behind the assault.

And then she was dodging. Again and again. And through it all she could see more civilians slaughtered, blood filling the street. Faces she recognized, too...faces from the assault on the academy. Survivors of the attack, slaughtered like animals, ripped to shreds. Ayane's heart tore in two as she saw the sight briefly through the group surrounding her, and then took note of a Hollow nearby. A Hollow eating their blade. A Hollow repeating that word again.

"Swordswordswordswordsword..." as if on loop. And yet, this time, intermingled with, "Whitewhitewhitewhitewhitewhite"

"What..." she mumbled to herself, confused. So much so that she nearly missed another Hollow approaching her. It was too much, she could feel her energy waning, and with a cry, her Shikai was released. Gone was her blade, replaced by gauntlets, a wiry mesh coming off of it like tendrils. She wasted little time, the tendrils latching onto the weakest of the Hollows, before turning her blazing, furious gaze onto another of them. More dodges, her breathing growing heavy as her fists launched forth, again and again. The Hollow dodged, repeatedly, but enough blows with enough force and speed...

It just meant, eventually. One landed. And that was enough for more to follow, the Hollow's body caving in amidst roars before she finally smashed its mask to bits.

Another Hollow joined in. A ranged one, this time, with a surprise assault on her. Somehow, someway, she knew it'd be all over if that blast hit her. She had mere moments to comprehend the bala, eyes wide, before she again vanished, breathing heavily as she stumbled against a wall. Her energy was getting low, she could feel that, and still there were so many of them. How many...how many were there? Her vision felt blurry as she squinted. It was easier to tell how many were there, now.

But only because there were so many less living beings. The civilians, the students...the former, nearly all slaughtered. The latter, all gone. Except for the arm of one of the girl's. Ayane wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream. She wanted to kill all of the Hollows there. Tears sprang forth from her eyes. Why? Why was this happening in the Seireitei!? These people deserved a peaceful afterlife, not...not this! Not this terror!

"Just die. Just die just die just die just die just...!" she had snapped, clenching her teeth, losing herself to the adrenaline, the fear, the fury. The situation had gotten to her.

None of the Hollows' blows touched her. She ducked and weaved, she lashed out, they dodged back. It only made her rage grow, the normally boisterous, joyful woman a whirlwind of frustration, of hate, as her Shikai released just as one of her forceful blows pancaked a Hollow's head into a nearby wall, caving the wall in a good ten feet, if not more. But she was left with no more energy now, truly. Her Shikai was spent, her body was throbbing, her form trembling. And yet still there were more, another Hollow drawing in close to her.

"..."

She ran. She hated herself and she ran. It was the smart thing to do, she knew that. Most of the civilians were slaughtered, the survivors dead. Staying there to fight wouldn't accomplish much other than MAYBE saving a civilian or two if she somehow managed to fight off the horde.

But logical conclusions, what did they matter? In her heart she felt like she had failed them. She almost didn't even notice the Hollows disappearing as quickly as they came once she had fled. A curious observation she'd look back on, in the future. But for now she just kept running and running and running, hardly even looking at where she was going.

A flow of tears in the air behind her as she ran from it all.

Coward.

That was the only thing that echoed in her racing mind as she escaped.

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

The pain kept her mostly immobile and drifting in and out of sleep, coupled with the lack of any sustenance, Rin was barely maintaining any level of energy. Losing track of time in this windowless room further interfered with keeping anything straight.

Breathe in and out. It was the only thing to focus on when neither captors were talking. With what she could make out, they wanted her weak, smart, and wanted to move her elsewhere.

Finally an opportunity came, be it luck but the younger of the two seemed to be trying to move her, Rin slipped an arm onto his shoulder and with every ounce of force leaned in and bit into his neck. Her teeth ached from slamming against each other as his flesh tore from the porcelain vice. All she could taste was blood. Her hunger told her to drink and it was all her mental effort to just gulp whatever was in her mouth.

His scream nearly deafened her left ear as he bled out and Rin crawled atop of the dying kid, searching for the key to unlock her restraints finding a fourth division logo in the hem of his uniform. By the time she was freed and attempted to heal the captor, he had lost too much blood and the life faded from his eyes. fuck..."Fuck no..." whatever answers he had were now lost.

Her hand reached for his zanpakuto as she used it as a makeshift cane to prop herself to her feet. Adrenaline giving her some strength as she scurried over to find her weapon and fasten it in place before leaving the room.

Tried as she might to keep quiet and low visibility, blood dripped from her chin, she might have torn open the wound in he shoulder. Leaving a bloody trail in her wake, finally a door. Opening it and being blinded for a moment by the light fear sunk in as the one eyed man was on the other side, hand outstretched as if reaching for the door.

damn it.... how do I? "Officer Hattori!" She looked over his shoulder and let her eyes try and widen in surprise. The obvious lie seemed to catch the captor, as he turned to look Rin shoulder tackled him and worked through the pain to Hoho herself away, pain nearly caused her to black out as she ran. Heart pounding in her ears.

Barely she made out where she was, old residential? Getting some bearings she ran to the 11th. To safety. To home. She did not stop till she crashed into someone exiting the training yard and sprawled out onto the ground vision blacked our for a few moments as she sucked in air as if just now getting a breath. Gasping and bloody no longer being able to make out who was nearby. "Wheres Hattori...." She rasped.

 

[Suzume Hattori]

"Officer Hattori! Ishikawa has--"
"Rin? Where?! Take me immediately!"
"M-Ma'am!"

Suzume and the young boy not but a few years out of the Academy rushed across the Seireitei. Every few jumps, Suzume's hand was on the boy's back shoving him forward just so he would vaguely keep to her pace. Any time he stumbled, that hand would instead, grab his collar, right, him and then guide him back into his step without so much as missing a beat.

By the time they arrived at the training grounds, the boy collapsed, gasping and wheezing. Not that Suzume gave it a second thought. She skidded to a stop by Rin, who lay unconscious in the arms of a few unseated soldiers of the Eleventh. Her teeth practically snapped as she barked out commands to the soldiers, clearing them away, telling them to follow the trail Rin had left behind, do something useful for once!

Then, in a blur, Suzume scooped up Rin in her arms and vanished from the training grounds.

When consciousness returned to Rin next, she was laying in a shockingly nice bed. The mattress wasn't overly firm and seemed to have some sort of feathers in it. The pillow was not of straw, but something finer. Sheets made of seemingly new fabric, rather than used and abused rags dolled out to the soldiers of the Eleventh. Muted sunlight came through closed curtains, the rays warming Rin's chest.

The moment she stirred, a voice greeted her.

"Oh, the Gods are kind," Suzume breathed as she leapt from the wooden chair she had pulled to the beside. "Take it easy, Rin. I've treated your wounds, but..."

The unspoken I'm not a medic was obvious.

"Please, drink," Suzume said as Ayane, who had been sitting beside her, passed a ceramic mug. Suzume offered it to Rin, water gently ripping against the interior. "When you're ready, tell me what happened."

 

[Ayane Mibuchi]

She hadn't been sleeping. Everyone could see it, but none dared to comment on it. They had leaped praises on her when the story broke, about how she had taken out three Hollows and fought off the others, forcing them to retreat. They had said it was unprecedented; already stories were spreading around the 11th. But they hadn't been there. They hadn't seen the blood, the guts, the civilians torn to shreds. The students who had survived the first attack, letting out horrified screams as they met their end this time around. They hadn't been the one to fail those people.

So, she hadn't slept. Not for a day or two after the attacks by the Hollows started. She couldn't, not when she heard those screams, smelled that blood, again in her room. The first night of the attack found her waking up with multiple startled cries and yelps. So she didn't bother to try to sleep the second night, bags under her eyes, her normally carefully maintained hair frazzled. It was the second day after the attacks that she had a meeting set up with Nobuko.

The Captains were getting ready for something, a fact Nobuko had clearly let slip accidentally. And Yasuo was angry, distant...and more importantly. She had reassured Ayane. Cheered her up. It was a simple gesture, but coming from someone that had gone through the same thing...it had relieved Ayane. And so that second night, she slept well. She was still frazzled, still out of it.

Perhaps that explained why she had punched a hole, or several holes, in the wall of the 11th's Division when she was told the news by Suzume. When they had both rushed off. Ayane kept casting glances between Suzume and Rin as the latter awoke, and as the former spoke to her. Her nerves were on high alert, so much so that her hand was nearly trembling as she handed the mug over. She bit her lip, eyes continuing to dart between the two. She wanted so badly to wrap Rin into a tight, affectionate hug. And her eyes darting about, it was almost as if she was asking for permission.

"No pressure. Say it calmly. Slowly. And tell us any detail you can think of!" she forced herself to feel positive, a slight smile on her face as her gaze finally focused, and rested, solely on Rin.

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

This rest was different, from sheer exhaustion and pain so Rin vaguely recalled getting to the 11th. Once everything blacked out all she saw was the ambush, fellow Shinigami brandishing weapons on her. The feel as her flesh was sliced, a man's eye crushed under her thumb, the violent kicks that put her out, then the taste of blood. An odd rush of power that even weakened she killed someone.

She jolted upright as the panic of running was the last thing she remembered, causing her shoulder to scream, her exhausted muscles to tighten and her breath a sharp inhale, her throat clearly dry again as she suddenly coughed and barely noticed 2 figures nearby, one handing her water. She instinctively reached for her blade finding it empty before realization kicked in.

Soft. Safe. Mibuchi and Hattori were here. Grabbing the cup with Ayane's hand still on it practically pulling it as she guzzled down the drink. Closing her eyes as she rejoiced in the pleasure of consuming something not blood. In recent days. "Ah...." She sighed before realizing she had someone's hand and released the cup."oh..."

She wiped in a fast jerking manor at her chin finding no trace of the blood that had stained it. Collapsing to the bed taking a few breaths in.

"I killed a man...." Her voice cracked as she tried to speak normally. Clearing her throat softly. She spoke in detail, only pausing at mentioning being defeated as any 11th would. The eye gouged out, a throat torn out. Neglecting to mention some mild cannibalism. Then what she heard while captive. Students in danger, hired for a job, and the discovery of the 4ths emblem in the slain captors uniform, and the escape from old 4th division quarters.

Feeling exhausted again after speaking so much she felt her body crave food. The water had reawakened her need to eat.

 

[Suzume Hattori]

While Rin spoke, Suzume stood. She walked slowly, distracted by the story being told, but made her way to the nearby kitchen. The sound of flowing water filled the room. Then cabinets opening and closing. Rustling. Finally, footfalls as Suzume made her way back into the room right as Rin was finishing her story.

"Eat and drink slowly," she said, aware of how sudden intake of food and water would often leave malnourished individuals even more sick.

With that warning, Suzume set a fresh cup of water on the end table as well as a bowl of fruits and berries. They glistened, dewdrops illuminated by sunlight, after being freshly washed.

"You did good, Rin," Suzume said with a smile and a nod to her lesser. "Better than some Seated would do. Thank you.

"For coming back alive."

The words hung in the air for a moment. Just long enough for Suzume to gather her thoughts.

"Although you weren't the original target, I wouldn't be surprised if they come hunting you down again," she said. "If only to cover their own asses. I recommend taking you to Hazuki Tsukimiya. As you know, she can be trusted, and the Tsukimiya estate is constantly under watch."

One of the safest places in the Gotei that they had reasonable access to. Plus, Suzume got the impression that Hazuki would want to shelter someone who has been crucial in uncovering whatever has been going on.

She turned to Ayane next.

"We should do what we can to investigate the Fourth. This could be the work of a few traitors, or..."

...or someone of more significant power pulling the strings. But to say such a thing aloud felt like treason itself. Especially when directed towards one of the most favored Divisions. The very people who work to keep the rest of the Gotei alive and protected.

She looked away, uncomfortable.

"I'll chat with Officer Inoue again," she explained. "And, if I can, arrange a meeting with his Lieutenant. I think they may be able to help."

 

[Ayane Mibuchi]

Ayane didn't mind her hand being touched. If anything it made it harder to fight the urge to reach out and envelop Rin in a tight hug. She, of course, fought that urge; the last thing she wanted to do was accidentally hurt Rin. Not now when she was so vulnerable, when she was recovering. So Ayane just kept a smile on her face, even if she felt like everything was falling apart...this was her. This was what she could do. So she sat and listened, trying her best to not gasp in shock, or to fling herself at Rin to comfort her, as the story was told.

This had happened in the Seireitei? Assaulted in broad daylight, abducted, and kept captive for days. All because of a case of mistaken identity. What the hell was going on...?

She reached forward, giving Rin's shoulder a small squeeze. "Yes. Thank you. I...I don't know how I would have taken it if you..." she trailed off, before shaking her head and returning Suzume's gaze, pulling her hand away from that shoulder.

"I'm hesitant to suspect the entire Fourth, or even the higher ups in it, of being in on this. It's possible these people were just...hired goons. You know?" Ayane mumbled, though mostly that was because she was conflicted on how to feel. Kizuki...he was, arguably, the reason Suzume was sitting in front of her right now. The idea of suspecting him, or even his Division, of being a part of all this...

It didn't sit right with her. But it was a possibility. She hated that.

A sigh left her lips, and she cast her gaze to Rin again, before looking back to Suzume.

"What...what should I do in the meantime, Suzume? After everything that's happened, I just...I'm scared. And I'm not sure what to do."

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

Rin uses her right arm to hold her chest where she had been stabbed, intentionally using her left arm and shoulder so the pain of moving would keep her in check as she helped herself to the food. Savoring the first bite of each fruit before nearly swallowing the rest in the next bite.

The thanks for surviving caused her to pause. Why should she be thanked? They barely knew each other and they both seemed to care deeply. The soft squeeze on her shoulder.

"I uh..." The response caught in her throat before she redirected it. "I can only confirm one 4th member involved, with his description and Zanpakuto, even if his body is disposed of we should be able to figure him out..."

It then sunk in, that of the two captors the one Rin wanted dead the most lived, and the one that fought to keep her alive died. Gasping, gurgling as the blood poured from his throat. His fear, shock, and pain as his eyes dimmed burned in her mind. The taste of iron seemed to Lingering on her tongue as the memory flashed in her mind. She tried to wash it down with another berry bit it was there.

"I think they were hired, but I can't be certain as I was" She gestured to herself. "If they were going after students where are they now? I can't be the only attack right?"

That hit something in Ayane as the words sunk in, Rin was not aware of something. That was obvious.

"Ah, I'm sure she'll be happy about a Rukon plus bleeding in her home...." She winced in pain for a moment as she twisted her arm a bit too much. "Ah Mibuchi-san, mind helping me rebandage? I'll walk you through it."

 

[Suzume Hattori]

Both Ayane and Rin looked at Suzume with varying degrees of uncertainty. Ayane's large, sullen gaze a clear reflection of her apprehension, worry, and general disdain. Rin's matching eyes darted about, uneasy and clearly straining under the weight of being wrapped up in all of this.

Suzume flicked her eyes away and nibbled on her inner cheek. Worry and thought brought her eyebrows into a stern glare. It took a few moments before she let out a sigh, closed her eyes, and then gave a nod. Her thoughts finalized, and she met Rin's gaze and then settled on Ayane's.

"By now, a number of people are expecting foul play within the Gotei," she said, though it shouldn't have been a shock for either of them. "You and I, Ayane, have the strongest lead in that we say that man at the Academy.

"We know that he must be either reasonably powerful or influential. Someone able to pull strings and make things happen. While I assume that veil we saw was a Bakudo, it's also possible that it was created by a Hollow's innate power. Even still, the man would need to be capable enough to earn the respect of a Hollow so strong."

It felt good to finally say everything aloud, and it showed in how a smile worked its way onto Suzume's face.

"He's tall and has long hair, which isn't the strongest profile. Even still, some suspicion has been cast onto Lieutenant Kikuchi."

She purposefully didn't explain _why_ she knew that, and she hoped the look in her eye conveyed that she wasn't going to tell.

"Though I personally spoke with him and..." Her eyes darted away, guilty for that split second. "...I'm not so certain it was him. He may be hiding something, but I'm not convinced of any ill intentions. Then, there is Lieutenant Sakurai."

The man who had saved Suzume's life. Yet, she didn't hesitate in her speech.

"His Shikai is famous for its ability to make copies of himself. A copy who would be more than capable of speaking with that Hollow while Sakurai-san healed me and tended to others. Others that come to mind are Oetsu-san, though he is under lock and key at all times. His involvement would likely implicate the entire Division.

"Or, perhaps Captain Kogetsu. He frequently leaves the Seireitei on missions, is renowned for his skill, and, possibly, may have something against the creation of the Asauchi. This is purely baseless claims, but I wouldn't be surprised if he sees them as an affront to what a true Shinigami is."

She nodded, signaling that her little speech was ended. Then, she gave both of the women a moment to process.

"Ayane?" She said gently, smiling at her partner. She reached over, taking Ayane by the hand and giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Can I trust you to investigate that veil we saw? Figure out if it was a Bakudo, a spell, whatever. If you need me to accompany you, you need to only say the word.

"You never have to be alone when I'm here."

A firm nod to Ayane ended her request. Then, she turned to Rin.

"Once you're well enough to walk, I'll take you to the Tsukimiya manor. Hazuki Tsukimiya of the First is trustworthy and she'll be able to protect you," she said with unwavering confidence. "Students have been under attack since your kidnapping, but not by Shinigami.

"By isolated Hollow invasions in the Seireitei."

The words, ominous and heavy, thickened the air for just a moment.

"Hazuki will be able to protect you. Do anything she asks and aid in her efforts to uncover the truth. In the meantime, I'm going to meet with Lieutenant Watanabe of the Sixth."

 

[Ayane Mibuchi]

"...It sounds to me like there are a lot of potential suspects. I think it's a little early to make conclusions on who it COULD be..." Ayane spoke, though she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Suzume. Part of her knew her words were true; a tall, dark haired man? That wasn't a lot to go on, and could apply to plenty of people. Not just in the Seiretei, but beyond it, too. Who was to say that whoever the man was, he was actually a member of the squads? Actually a Captain or Lieutenant? He could be a rank and file member. He could be someone from one of the Rukon districts who had somehow made his way into the Seiretei proper.

But another part of her knew those were excuses, that she didn't want to acknowledge the chance of a traitor. It was undeniable the Hollows had gotten through somehow, and the most likely explanation was that they had help from the inside. Someone from outside, accomplishing that? Unlikely. So she let out a sigh. The fact that they were at this point...

In any event, she cleared her throat, and let out a giggle, squeezing Suzume's hand back. "Yes, of course! Though you know I'm not the, uh, greatest with kido in general, let alone a strange application of it. Any tips on where to start...? For instance! Help from whoever helped you figure that out, because I kinda doubt you learned it on your own," a knock on Suzume's kido skills, but they both knew it was the truth. With her playful jab delivered, Ayane tried to not focus on how...gloomy a mood this all was. Instead, she let her hand drop from Suzume, turning to Rin as well.

"Now! All that said...please, yes, teach me. I'd love to learn," here, she paused, glancing to Suzume. "Let me help bring her, when she's ready to walk. With everything going on...I'd rather neither of us be alone with Rin. She might get targeted again. Safety in numbers, and all that."

 

[Rin Ishikawa]

Officers Mibuchi and Hattori seemed rather close. The genuine concern for each other, the physical contact, if she didn't know any better Rin would assume they were a couple. But she was exhausted, worn out, and in pain. All factors that makes making logical deductions difficult.

Stuffing her mouth with a few more handfuls of food before shrugging off the current bandages. Finally looking at the wounds, Rin noted the color and swelling of the flesh closest to the gash in her shoulder. Gently prodding it with her fingers to test how tender it was. Then the hole in her chest, she lucked out it was low and to the right missing anything critical.

With calm, pained instructions, Rin gave direction to Ayane on how to clean, stitch, and rebandage the injuries. With how long it's been since she first received them, scarring was inevitable even with kaido.

"So, we're really investigating our own. Meaning one of us is responsible for all this." Her voice nearly cut out it was so low as the realization hit her like a runaway wagon. "If any students...or graduates are still alive. We should get them under protection! If my assailants were hired to remove them, when they botched the job, thier sloppyness forced someone's hand. This will force either another Hollow attack, or any other hired Shinigami to reveal themselves to either interfere or deal with it themselves."

As she finished the words she felt her vision darkened briefly as her head spun. Of course she was doing too much. Barely escaped, the first bite of real food in days. The talking make her cheeks hurt. when did i get injured there? The tug against scabbing as she worked her mouth revealed an injury she hadnt expected to have.

"Give me an hour or two of sleep and I should be able to walk. Thank you both for the care and protection." Rin said with a genuine smile across her face, before leaning back slowly to lay down and let the weariness sink in and let her rest.

 

[Suzume Hattori]

While Rin walked Ayane through how to tend to her wounds, Suzume watched carefully. Though most of it seemed like witchcraft to her, she made an attempt to make sense of why things were done in a certain way. Though only half paying attention. The other half was still more interested in solutions rather than sitting on her ass.

"There's an Officer of the Fourth named Souta Nakajima," Suzume explained, noticing the shocked expressions at so quickly bringing up the Fourth in a time like this. "He can be trusted and he's earned a reputation for being damn good with his spells.

"Start with him on investigating that veil. If nothing else, he may be able to point you in the right direction."

With that, she gave a light chuckle and looked away.

"Though, I'm still not certain it even was a Bakudo. Like you said, I hardly have an eye for those things. But Nakajima-san does."

There were a few moments of silence after Suzume finished speaking and while Ayane finished rewrapping Rin's wounds. It was Rin who spoke next, laying out the grim situation they were in and suggesting they protect the remaining students. A suggestion that earned a strong nod from Suzume.

"I agree," she said. "But you rest. Let us know when you wake."

With that, Suzume stood and took Ayane by the hand. She led her...companion from the room and shut the door behind them. For a while, they both talked over everything that had happened to Rin. They speculated wildly about who or what was behind this kidnapping. If it had any connection to the Hollow attacks. What would they do next?

When Rin stirred, Suzume tasked Ayane with escorting Rin to the Tsukimiya estate. Both to protect Rin and to establish a thread between Ayane and Hazuki. To Suzume, it seemed wise that those who could be trusted all knew each other, at least in passing.

While Ayane did that, Suzume met with the Lieutenant of the Sixth. She reported all that she had witnessed, as well as Rin's kidnapping, to the...eccentric man. He promised that he would look into the matters, especially Rin's kidnapping, given the stronger leads they had. When he learned more, he would be in contact with Suzume -- should he need her help.

Days passed before Suzume received an invitation to Lieutenant Watanabe's office. It was plain, devoid of any indication of good or bad news. Likely, it hadn't even been written by the Lieutenant at all, but instead by an attendant of sorts. Regardless, Suzume's heart swelled with hope. She hurried to the Sixth, making the familiar trek through the too-clean halls, and soon found herself at his door again.

She announced herself and, when prompted, slid the door open.