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The Mirrors Of My Soul	By : JohnFreechman Category: Bleach > General Views: 964 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any characters and make no moneyz off of this fic. I also do not own the song quotes...that's why they're called quotes.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
Chapter V
Guests Of Misfortune
Ways of darkness.

The third eye reflects the images of vast reluctant pasts.

Ethereal eternity awaits the final act.

It crawls toward the altar destined to collapse.

Tragic legend, eerie stratum ~Arcturus, 'The Chaos Path'
Urahara's eyes laid upon the Convex with deep pondering and darkish curiosity, the fan yet to be lowered from his face as his eyes shifted from each Convex to the next and back to the first. Inoue seemed to be showing the most apprehension as she watched them; Sado's face unreadable; Ishida's grim, his eyes narrowed suspiciously behind his glasses; Ururu and Jinta just dumbstruck at Hollows just standing in their home so plainly and without challenge; Tsukabishi's expression more or less the same as Ishida's; and Yoruichi's had reverted back to its typical rock hard and scrutinizing half-glare. Ichigo's, Renji's and Almer's expressions were a plain form of earnest, the initial shock of these three's existence long behind them now.
Finally, casually and unceremoniously, Ichigo said, “So, everyone, the red one is Alí̱theia, the green one Aeon, and the purple one Dolofónos.” It was as simple as introducing another human acquaintance, but everyone was still in a state some form of emotional stalemate as they continued to stare. “Anyway, proof enough?” Ichigo asked needlessly.
“Well!” Urahara said cheerfully at last, his eyes lightened up as he snapped his fan shut and grinned gaudily. “A new species of Spiritual Being altogether, descended...or should I say ascended from the Hollows, but not quite a normal soul. The Convex. Something in between?” He looked to the Convex.
“Yes and no,” was Aeon's reply. “We are still more Hollow than we are Soul, but we are still close to soul.”
“How did this even come about?” Yoruichi asked. “If you reverted from being a Hollow, and regained your hearts, why do you still bear masks?”
“As you notice,” Alí̱theia began, “our masks are different than that of Hollow masks. They are replacements. Ah! In answer to your question, Urahara Kisuke, we are closer to the Visored than anything else.”
“Ohhh...” Urahara said in understanding. “But still your own species. Interesting. Interesting indeed.”
“It is true,” Dolofónos spoke up. “We reverted from being Hollows, and our hearts once more filled the hollows within my brothers and I. But during that transition, we still wished to keep our beings and abilities as Hollows, so we planned as we reverted. You see, in occasional instances, Hollows can regain their former selves for a short time. And even more rarely, without the help from a Zanpakutō or Varðmann, they can purify themselves and ascend into Soul Society as pure Souls once more. What happened to us was similar, though we managed to reach out to fate and stall her, and make our fate for ourselves.
“When a Hollow with a will strong enough to overcome its own insanity purifies itself, their mask melts, doing two things. The first is as it melts, the Hollow powers steam off of it, to make the heart pure. What it does second is that once the Hollow-taint has lifted itself from the heart, the heart enters the chest once more; the mask pouring itself into the hole; and there the rest of the former Hollowfication shatters, and the Soul ascends. What we did, while our masks were melting, was keep our Hollow powers and our hearts both. We separated them, and made them two parts of the same being: ourselves. Because of our hearts being cleaned of our impurities, we are human at heart, like any of you.”
Dolofónos let that sink in for a moment before continuing, “And what was left of our Hollow power, still in our hands, we molded that back to our masks. And as you can see,” she showed them her chest where her hollow would normally be, and they saw it rose slightly like a hill, “that is why we call ourselves Convex. Due to our Hollow appearance and powers, we can freely transition from the World of the Living to Hueco Mundo. And we can blend in with this disguise.” As they had displayed in the woods, they dragged their hands just above their chests, and the mass was replaced by a hole; this received some astonished murmurs.
“Impressive!” Urahara praised, smiling once more, obviously appreciating this new 'discovery' of species. “I was going to ask how you could blend in with the Hollows of Hueco Mundo when you are Convex.” They replaced their disguises with their true forms once more as he said this, and Aeon spoke, “It is quite the benefit. As we told Kurosaki-sama, Abarai-sama and Stavenes-sama, we wish to assist you and Soul Society in the downfall of Aizen Sosuke and the Traitors Four.”
“For what reasons?” Yoruichi asked, her wariness strong against these Convex.
“The power Aizen possesses is a power none should have. No being in any of our mortal worlds should have such strength as he. The Traitors Four likewise; they are close to their goal which will give them power equal to Aizen,” Dolofónos elaborated. Silence hung in the air once more, all listeners troubled deeply at the notion of another Aizen on the loose. But at least they had a chance to stop him before he became another Aizen. Yoruichi surprisingly seemed satisfied with the answer; only Orihime, Jinta and Ururu did not seem convinced, which confused Ichigo slightly as he glanced at the three individuals. Dolofónos' word was uncannily good to he and almost everyone in this room...why those three were unconvinced was beyond him.
Next to Ichigo, Almer seemed to notice this fact about the three as he spoke, “Inoue?”
“Hm?” she asked, looking at him inquisitively.
“You don't trust Dolofónos?” he asked. She seemed a little taken aback by the question.
“I...I'm not sure,” she replied, thinking hard.
“You do not trust my sister,” Alí̱theia said to her, “for you are not a warrior; along with you two,” he said to Ururu and Jinta.
“What does being a warrior have to do with it?” Jinta demanded, glaring at Alí̱theia. “I'm a warrior!”
“A fighter, but not a warrior,” Alí̱theia told him patiently. “Someday you will be a warrior, but you are too young, too rash. Only then will you feel the trust of Dolofónos. She is the essence of warriors and their bonds; she is eternally loyal to those she allies with, and will never utter a deceptive word to them, or at least not one that would break the trust and bond she shares with all of you who are warriors. Inoue, you can fight, but you are not a warrior, nor do you wish to be a warrior. You will only trust my sister when you allow yourself to trust her.”
“Inoue,” Ichigo said next, catching Orihime's attention instantly. One of his rare warm smiles was directed at her, and his eyes gazed into hers' with a sense of comfort; he was the one she could trust without hesitation. “You can trust Dolofónos. I may be saying this as a warrior, but I want to assure you, since it doesn't help to be uncomfortable around your allies. Dolofónos and her brothers are our allies.” Almer could definitely see that limitless trust in Orihime's eyes as she digested Ichigo's words. He could probably convince her of anything.
Love birds... he remarked inwardly with a hidden smile.
Her lips lifted up in a grateful smile.
“Okay. I believe Ichigo.” But she didn't say she necessarily believed the Convex. Still, it was good enough, and they would eventually prove themselves to Orihime Almer speculated.
“Now,” Yoruichi began once more, reverting attention back to her and the Convex. “Do you know of what has happened within Soul Society as of late? Particularly in the Seireitei itself?”
“Our superior is the only one who finds information of Soul Society for us, since she is the only one capable of going to and fro,” Aeon explained. “However, lately she has not gone. Although I gather something important has happened within the Seireitei. Something grim.”
“The Seventh Division decimated...” Alí̱theia said solemnly. Yoruichi resisted the urge to flinch at how he was able to look into her mind so easily to extract that information; he needed to speak with him on such invasions of privacy, especially privacy so sacred and pure as one's own thoughts. “Captain Komamura Sajin defeated. This act done by one the Traitors Barrett Leo.”
Even with Kurosaki's word...it will be hard trusting him especially, Orihime remarked to herself as she stared at the red-crowned Convex...a pang formed in her gut when she realized he probably heard that as well. He made no indication he had though, and she had mixed feelings over that. The three Convex suddenly stiffened, and their glowing eyes gave off the feeling that they were surprised. They bowed their heads, as if listening. And then they heard it. Soft, feminine whispering in the air. Everyone stared up at the ceiling with somewhat frightened and dire expressions. As quickly as it had appeared, the whispering disappeared, and the Convex raised their heads again.
“What was that?” Ichigo asked expectantly.
“Our superior,” Aeon said softly. “She wants us to return to our posts for now, and apologizes to you that we had to leave in the middle of our meeting. Things are brewing in all of the dimensions that make up our portion of the cosmos, and we must be ready. And Kurosaki-sama...” Ichigo looked Aeon in the eyes and waited for him to speak. “Wait patiently. You will be aided when your darkest hour comes, by those you will least expect.” Ichigo didn't get what he meant.
“Aided with what?” he demanded
“You will know-”
“Don't pull that vague crap on me, give me details!” Ichigo snapped, slamming his fist on Urahara's low table, causing some of the tea cups to shake and their contents to jump a little, popping over their containers and onto the wood. Aeon merely turned away without reply, followed by his siblings outside the room and into the hall.
“Oi!” Ichigo bellowed, jumping to his feet and darting after them. But when he ran through the door and skidded to a halt in the hall, the Convex were long gone, their presence all but lost to him and every other spiritually aware being in Karakura Town.
* * *
Komamura Sajin was at this next meeting of course, having made a quick recovery, standing in the row along with the other Captains. Yamamoto was at the head of the two rows by his desk, along with Director Gottschalk and her four Lieutenants. The triplets were earnest and respectful this time around; no dry expressions, no obnoxious gum chewing and smoking of cigarettes, nor any wisecracks. They stood beside their higher Lieutenant in a dignified manner like they ought. They knew how to behave at times like this, they weren't complete man-children. It was one of the reasons Gottschalk liked them and chose them as her companions; they acted like they didn't know how to behave, but in reality they were as efficient and trustworthy as any Lieutenants or even Captains of the Shinigami. Some of the Shinigami Captains and Lieutenants assembled even seemed mildly surprised by their docile behavior.
Bringing Gottschalk from her thoughts, Yamamoto straightened his posture and at last began with, “This has been a blow to all of us within the Gotei Thirteen, losing friends and fellow Shinigami so easily. But it is also a testament to the threat the Traitors Four pose to us and all. If we had been ready we would have most likely subdued Leo...however, even if we were ready for all four of the traitors...they are powerful enough to deal heavy blows to us, even if we managed to subdue them eventually.” He lowered his gaze as if in thought. “We all also know they have rogue Shinigami at their disposal...and we must still keep in mind they might still work with or control Hollows to some degree.” He raised his head again to look at all of the Captains.
“We must prioritize these threats. I believe we along with the Hreinsa must target the Traitors Four before Aizen. We all know Aizen is some months away from starting his war with us, but the Traitors are ready now.” Yamamoto paused to let that sink in. Hitsugaya Tōshirō had his head bowed, the young Captain fully understanding the situation. Ukitake, Kyōraku, Unohana and Soifon were on the same page as Hitsugaya; Kuchiki's expression was unreadable as always, though they all knew he understood as well as them. Zaraki's face was serious enough, but they knew better than to trust his features. Kurotsuchi's eyes behind his mask seemed to be indifferent, of course. He hardly cared for the situation when Aizen was first discovered to be a traitor. Komamura was grim and hard, masking pain inside himself. The Captains were all giving him space; he had suffered the brunt of the blow. And despite words of encouragement from what remained of his squad, they knew he still blamed himself to a degree. The trouble was no one knew how to approach him on the delicate matter, else they would have tried to find words to console him long before.
When Yamamoto was satisfied they got the message, he carried on, “I suspect the Traitors may be in Karakura town as we speak.” Hitsugaya and Soifon raised their heads in slight surprise at the statement.
“Forgive me if I seem unconvinced by your words, Captain-Commander,” Soifon began, “But what grounds do you build these suspicions upon?”
“A mixture of intuition and discussion from both I and Director Gottschalk,” Yamamoto replied evenly, looking directly at the Special Forces Captain. “Karakura Town is the most spiritually active site on the Earth, and for skilled Hreinsa such as the Traitors Four, with time they could easily pass between dimensions to enter Soul Society from the World of the Living. They have the skills and tools necessary, but I nor the Director can see them doing so in any place other than Karakura Town; even when Albuquerque was experiencing its unusual height of spiritual activity it still was not as strong as Karakura's is.”
The Director spoke next, “We Hreinsa can only enter Soul Society from Karakura town on our own. Without permission it is difficult, but it can be done. Any other place outside of Karakura and the surrounding area is out of the question. We would need special clearance and assistance from the Shinigami to be able to enter Soul Society from any other spot on the globe.” Soifon nodded in understanding, convinced of the reason. Hitsugaya appeared satisfied as well.
“So what is our course of action?” the young silver-haired Captain queried.
“We already have a firm Hreinsa presence in Karakura at the moment,” Yamamoto explained. “However, we are going to evenly distribute a Shinigami presence to keep extra watch over the town. I require of you, Captain Hitsugaya, to head a team of four to encamp within Karakura, and make contact with Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichogo and his companions; also with Urahara Kisuke and his own, along with Sixth Division Lieutenant Abarai Renji. You may choose which three Shinigami you wish to assist you at your own preference, and I wish you to be in the World of the Living by tomorrow.” Hitsugaya nodded.
“One question, Captain-Commander,” he requested.
“You are no doubt about to ask about the three Shinigami you wish to choose when I mentioned you will be heading a team of four,” Yamamoto said for him. Hitsugaya remained silent for the Captain-Commander's further elaboration. “I have already chosen one other Shinigami to assist you beforehand, for she is the closest with Kurosaki Ichigo and has a better grasp on the workings of Karakura Town. Kuchiki Rukia is able to return active duty as a Shinigami now that her powers have returned to her.” Hitsugaya nodded once more. Of course Kuchiki; she was closer to Kurosaki than anyone else in the Gotei Thirteen...Soul Society as a whole probably. He would feel more comfortable working with them if Kuchiki was present, most likely...though Kurosaki's casual demeanor and lack of proper regard for the chain-of-command could convince Tōshirō otherwise, but he kept that opinion to himself.
“Captain Kurotsuchi,” Yamamoto said next to the queer Twelfth Division Captain, catching his apathetic attention, “I want you and your department to keep extra watch on Karakura, as to make it easier for requests from the area to be cleared, and to inform the working inhabitants of essential information on shorter notice.”
“Alright, sounds easy enough,” Kurotsuchi sighed in return, uninterested.
“To the rest of you I want your forces to be on ready guard, both to defend Seireitei from further attacks and infiltrations as well as deployment to possible missions in the near future,” Yamamoto announced to the remaining captains. “I also expect you to adhere to orders Director Gottschalk may make. As of now she has a right of command over the Gotei Thirteen and its forces, including its Captains. Do I make myself clear?”
“Hai!” All Captains and Lieutenants replied immediately. Some were reluctant of the notion, naturally, but if the Old Man trusted her than they would have to as well.
“Then this meeting is dismissed.”
The commanding bang of the cane on the hard-wood floor echoed in the chamber, conclusively.
* * *
“God dammit...” Ichigo sighed wearily as he ran his hands through his orange hair. He, along with Orihime, Chad, Almer and Uryū were all walking back to their respective homes together after the meeting at Urahara's Shop. “What the hell was Aeon going on about?” Oblivious to him, Orihime was staring sidelong at him in deep worry. She would have asked him about this, but he seemed to not know as much as anyone. Those Convex were becoming harder and harder for her to trust, despite assurances from her friends. Kurosaki, Ishida, Sado and Stavenes all seemed convinced of their word, especially with that Dolofónos and her...warrior's essence that seemed to draw them together. They were right. She was no warrior, and it was obvious Dolofónos' word was as empty to her as the word of any other normal Hollow.
“Yeah, I find it easier when people are actually honest and don't pull things out of their asses at the shittiest of times,” Almer sighed in response to Ichigo's disgruntled profanities.
“You have no idea,” Ichigo growled.
“So,” Ishida interrupted, pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose and looking at Almer. “We never heard the reason you hid the fact you were a Hreinsa from us, when you've obviously known Kurosaki is a Shinigami since you've gotten here.”
“It was a game to him,” Ichigo said, once again cutting into Almer before he had a chance to speak. “He was keeping it a secret because he thought it was funny to see us dodge around him to keep our secrets.” Ishida scowled at him.
“So you know I'm a Quincy then, I take it.”
“I assumed,” Almer replied. “I guess I should apologize for being so...obtuse about the affair.” Ishida blinked.
“Obtuse?”
“It means-”
“I know what it means,” he said impatiently. “You obviously took a moment to think of a word, why that one?”
“Well I was being dumb about it, wasn't I?” Almer replied impatiently as well. “I realize now it not only would have been more efficient to let all of you know early, but more courteous. As assclownish Ichigo is in explaining things for me,” Almer said sharply with a stony glare to Ichigo, prompting an angered, “Oi!” from him, Almer went on, “it's accurate. I was being a douche. What do you think, Ichigo? Does douche suit me better than obtuse?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Ichigo said back with a smirk.
“Good, so keep your mouth shut the next time this comes up. Hopefully it won't have to,” Almer muttered, rolling his shoulders to adjust the jacket over his form into a more comfortable position.
“You're not very good at this 'apologizing' thing are you?” Ichigo continued to taunt.
“From what I hear you're as big an ass as me,” Almer retorted icily.
“Wha- who'd you hear that from!?”
“I ain't no snitch,” Almer shot back in a sly tone. It was at this point Ichigo put him in a headlock.
“You're gonna tell me-” Ichigo yelled, but Ishida cleared his throat to catch Ichigo's attention.
“Kurosaki,” Ishida began, smiling in amusement as he pushed up his glasses again; Chad watching with his usual unreadable expression and Orihime slightly concerned over Ichigo's and Almer's roughhousing. “I would think you'd have realized by now that Hreinsa are much stronger than your average human.” Before Ichigo got the hint, he gave a yell as he was lifted in the air. Almer had reached over his head and grabbed Ichigo's arms and proceeded to flip the teen head over heels onto his feet in front of Almer. Almer let go and Ichigo stumbled back, wide-eyed.
“Whoa! Come on, that's not fair!” he yelled indignantly, bordering on whining.
“You asked for it,” Almer replied simply. He took a surprised step back when Ichigo suddenly pressed his Substitute Shinigami Pass to his chest and released his spirit form, his body tumbling to the ground in a heap behind him. Without a moment's hesitation, Ichigo flash-stepped behind Almer and put him in headlock once more...this one he unable to release himself from.
“Yeah, can't do any fancy moves now, can ya?” Ichigo taunted a choking Almer.
“Do you really have to be so rough with each other?” Orihime asked with a hint of weariness in her voice as he watched the struggling boys.
“Oh, sorry Inoue, this'll only take a moment,” Ichigo said to her with a sheepish smile before tightening his grip on Almer's neck. “Now who said those things about me? Huh!?”
“Your....fa...father!” Almer croaked.
“What!?” Ichigo exclaimed, at last releasing Almer. “My dad said those things!?” As Ichigo glared at Almer it appeared his choking and hacking was actually laughter as he rubbed his throat.
“Yeah, he did, Ichigo. I feel like an ass for giving it up so easily...but oh well. Yeah, Ichigo. I've met him. I like him, he's a fun guy.” Ichigo just glowered in return.
“You would like him,” he said back, apparently not a compliment or any of that sort.
“Don't give me that look like the whole fight is my fault,” Almer huffed as he began walking away, Ishida following him while Chad and Orihime still stood with Ichigo.
“You were the one that was calling me names to begin with,” Ichigo snapped, quickly returning to his physical body while Chad and Orihime went ahead to catch up with Ishida and Almer.
“Yeah, and you were the one that's jumping around in your Shinigami form just to commit assault and battery on me,” Almer called back over his shoulder.
“To be fair, you are perpetuating this yourself by answering. Just ignore him,” Ishida pointed out.
“Touche,” Almer responded with his thumb and index finger on his chin.
“Don't ignore me!” Ichigo snapped as he stared at Almer's and Ishida's receding backs. They kept walking while Chad and Orihime had stopped to wait for him to catch up.
“Ichigo, I'm tired and I wanna go home. So I recommend you quit being melodramatic and stop just standing there and staring at us like a retarded statue,” Almer said loudly, having to speak loudly as the distance between both he and Ishida was growing farther from Ichigo. The orange haired teen scowled and jogged to catch up.
“You're an even bigger pain in the ass than Ishida, which I didn't think was possible when I first met you,” Ichigo remarked rudely when he caught up with them.
“Likewise, Kurosaki,” Ishida said in a drained tone.
“Okay, I've had enough fun for one day, so I'm out, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow,” Almer told them all.
“Okay, goodbye, Stavenes,” Orihime said with a bright smile. Almer liked her especially because she didn't have the personality of a damp and mildewy dishcloth, as opposed to her three companions.
“See ya, Orihime,” he said back and promptly flash-stepped out of sight.
“I wonder how many other people are out there like Stavenes,” she murmured.
“You mean the Hreinsa Clan as a whole?” Ishida asked.
“Not just the Hreinsa, but people like him and the Quincy in general,” she replied.
“I've never heard of any other humans like the Quincy and Hreinsa,” Ishida spoke thoughtfully. “Kurosaki said that Don Kanonji had some uncanny powers. I am sure there are other humans similar to Kanonji out there in the world, outside of the Quincy and Hreinsa Clans.”
“Well,” Ichigo sighed tiredly as they came up the road to the Kurosaki Clinic, “At least we've got some help with Aizen...although I don't know how much difference it makes when we have those Traitors to deal with. Makes it seem like we're back at Square One.”
“We'll find a way to pull through,” Orihime said encouragingly. “I like Stavenes, he seems strong.”
“He was still a trainee not more than a day ago,” Ishida reminded. “I don't doubt his strength, but he has a ways to go before he matches that of Kurosaki or Abarai or even Kuchiki when she had her Shinigami powers.”
“I dunno, he seemed pretty strong when he released his first stage of his gun,” Ichigo said. “He might catch up.”
“It was the Fyrstu stage of his Varðmann, Syndara, Kurosaki. That is the proper terminology,” Ishida told him.
“Tch, whatever,” Kurosaki grunted dismissively as he made his way to his home. “I'll see you all tomorrow,” was his mundane farewell as he raised his hand over his shoulder as a goodbye wave. He was in his home with the door locked before the other three had a chance to reply.
“He can be really inconsiderate sometimes,” Ishida sighed while shaking his head, like a parent disappointed in his child's lack of manners.
* * *
The Kagome residence was in sight as Almer made his way down the street. Most teens his age would hesitate to return to their surrogate family after being missing for so long without any warning of departure nor return. But as was the Hreinsa way to disappear and reappear at random and usually without forewarning, he would probably get a somewhat surprised look when emerging from his room, a brief questioning, then carry on with a casual breakfast to start off the new day. It had been that way with his parents back in Phoenix, it wouldn't be any different than the Kagome Family.
Or so he thought.
As Almer neared the house, a hand suddenly emerged from the shadows of a narrow alleyway between the neighboring house and grabbed his hair. He gave a hiss and looked up at his assailant, surprised to see Hoshi's stern face gazing at him with firm eyes.
“Hoshi, ow, let go!” Almer ordered. She obliged and let him take a step back while rubbing his tangled short hair, trying to tame the roughed up patch.
“Where've you been, Almer?” Hoshi asked.
“Allover,” he sighed. “What's with the overbearing-ness? Not even my mother does this, pulling my hair.”
“I just need to make sure you weren't at a certain...shop.”
“How'd you know about Ur-”
“Shh!” Hoshi hushed near frantically, placing her hand over his mouth. He pulled his head back and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
“Why's Ur- erm, you-know-who taboo all of a sudden?” he demanded, getting confused. He hated being confused; it aggravated him.
“Let's just say the father in the house is my...step-father.”
“...wow...r...really?”
“Nah, not really,” she grinned, and he returned a flat look. “But Mom did have a pretty big falling-out with ol' Hat-and-Clogs. Mom hates him so much that she'd be pretty pissed at you for being affiliated with him.”
“But I didn't even know-”
“Doesn't matter. My mother is usually a reserved and sensible woman, but she can get Jersey Shore psycho at the mere notion of you having just given a hello-nod to Hat-and-Clogs while passing him on the sidewalk.”
“So I'll be a muff-cabbage then?” Hoshi couldn't help but grin.
“Exactly. Now come on, Mom and Dad are asleep anyway.” Almer followed her into the house, and as they neared his bedroom door she asked him, “So, what did happen while you were gone? You've got some serious Hollow reiatsu residue all over you.”
“I think me mentioning Hat-and-Clogs to your mother will happen inevitably. I've become aware of some serious shit tonight,” Almer told her as he went into his room. She followed him in and seated herself at the chair by his desk while he sat on the side of his bed.
“Well, give me a rundown and we'll talk about it in-depth with Mom and Dad at breakfast,” Hoshi requested.
“First of all...Seireitei was attacked by one of the Traitors Four; Barrett Leo.”
“My God...did he hurt anyone?”
“The Seventh Division suffered heavy casualties, and the Captain was defeated, but he survived.” Hoshi shook her head in almost-disbelief. He was leaving out the Convex entirely until tomorrow. He was too tired to have a long conversation with Hoshi only to repeat it with her parents tomorrow.
“I take it you got the news from Shihōin Yoruichi; we're still in contact with her.”
“Yeah. And Kurosaki and his group know about me now. He's the one that helped me and another Shinigami last night. There was an Adjuchas in the park.”
“An Adjuchas?” she asked in surprise. “And you survived. Seems like you're a full Hreinsa now. And your Varðmann?”
“His name's Syndara.”
“Good, good. Well, you look exhausted. We'll continue the discussion tomorrow. G'night,” Hoshi bade him while she left his room. When she shut the door behind herself Almer stripped down to his boxers and night shirt and laid back on his bed, shutting out the light.
Shit's real, now. Very real, he said to himself.
I have a feeling you'll be playing quite a role in this whole ordeal, Syndara remarked. Almer glanced to his desk where the Desert Eagle was laying on the surface, but Syndara's spiritual form was standing beside the desk looking down at Almer.
More Obi-Wan Darth Yoda shit, great.
I-
Shuddup, I'm going to sleep now.
Syndara smirked before letting his spiritual manifestation disappear so he could slumber himself; until the next day.
* * *
“I wonder if your parents knew this was the kind of thing you would get into exactly,” Aiko muttered while she rubbed her forehead. Seated in front of each Kagome and before Almer were empty breakfast plates, the three of them sitting and digesting Almer's account of the other day while he waited patiently for them to think it through.
“Urahara, always getting into shit,” Aiko muttered. Almer had never heard the woman once utter even mild profanity; Hoshi was right: she obviously got disgruntled whenever the name Urahara Kisuke was brought up.
“Well, I don't doubt we'll be getting a visit from Shinigami soon,” Hayate stated as he stood and began to clear the table. “After that stunt by Leo, they'll keep extra watch on Karakura along with the town's main Hreinsa contacts: in other words, us. And you're caught in the middle, Almer,” he added as he brought the dishes to the sink.
“I'll do what I can. Surveillance, patrol, investigation and the likes,” he replied. He knew he would be expected to, by both Shinigami and Hreinsa standards.
“Not much to go on in the first place, so keep a sharp eye out,” Aiko told him. “Hoshi, I think you should start rooftop patrols in the business district. Almer, you should probably keep going to school as usual, keep up your exchange student act. You've generally been accepted into Kurosaki's group, it's only fair you tag along with them, since we're all in this fight together.”
“Of course. I better get going now,” Almer said as he extracted a golden pocket watch from his school uniform's pocket, flipping the lid and taking a gander at where the hands were at. “Keep me posted if anything big happens,” he said as he made his way for the door.
“Will do,” Aiko responded. Hoshi joined him outside and walked with him a little as he went for the school.
“I'm excited for the coming fight,” Hoshi stated. Almer smiled.
“Yeah, me too. Barbaric Hreinsa like us, all about the fight and the victory.”
“Victory in death,” Hoshi added, a common phrase used by the Hreinsa. Even if you were defeated in battle, if you had given a hard battle, you were victorious no matter what. And there was even Valhalla! Meaning Seireitei, where a former Hreinsa had a high chance of being an able Shinigami, to join in the fight of maintaining the Equilibrium. It seemed they were experiencing the calm before Ragnarok now, however. And the Hreinsa didn't have a single problem with that. It comes as no surprise the majority of deceased Hreinsa turned Shinigami typically joined the Eleventh Squad of the Gotei Thirteen.
As Almer and Hoshi came in sight of the high school, the young woman said, “Well I'm off. Give me a ring if you need help with something.”
“Sure thing, careful out there,” he replied. With that Hoshi disappeared into a blur, appearing on the roof of the school briefly before flash-stepping once more out of sight. Almer went to his classroom, seeing most of the students were already about and seated, a few still standing around and chatting. Just as he was about greet Ishida when he was passing the spectacled young man, a strong prodding in his mind nearly caused him to flinch. A Hollow, and it was strong...it was another Adjuchas, it's reiatsu was all too similar to the one he had encountered the other night.
“Fuck, again?” Almer grunted. Ishida had sensed it, even Orihime and Chad, but Ichigo obliviously asked, “What's going on?”
“Fifteen seconds, Ichigo,” Almer shot back before running out of the room, gathering some curious looks from the other students.
“It's a Hollow, Kurosaki,” Ishida huffed, adjusting his glasses. Just as Ichigo stood to leave, Ishida continued, “Leave it be, Stavenes is capable of dealing with it on his own.”
“Stop treating me like a child,” Ichigo retorted.
“I can't see a reason why I should,” Ishida returned slyly, Ichigo unable to see the small smirk on his lips from his position behind the Quincy, but he knew it was there as he glowered at him.
* * *
“Holy...fuck...” Almer said as he halted outside the front of the school. Suddenly five more Adjuchas had popped up all around the school, and their reiatsu combined were gradually taking their toll on Almer. He flash-stepped onto the school rooftop and extracted Syndara.
Time to up the ante, he said to his weapon companion.
You'll need help, Syndara replied.
The others should be here soo- he cut himself off when another person flash-stepped beside him.
“Just in time to join the party, Renji,” Almer said with a grin to the Shinigami Lieutenant as he recognized the red-haired man.
“This many Adjuchas in one place, not only a good place to have a fun time, but it'll be interesting to the higher-ups once we're done slicing them into oblivion,” the Renji replied. He drew his Zanpakutō and released his reiatsu, the crimson light flowing around his body and onto the sword.
“Hoero, Zabimaru,” he murmured, sliding his hand down the blade and morphing it into its Shikai form. Almer lifted up Syndara next and placed his hand on the slide.
“Brenna og Frysta, Syndara,” he said to it. Light as red as Renji's illuminated Almer's person and shined most brightly on Syndara, the light nearly blinding and obscuring the weapon's shape. It died down and the Desert Eagle was replaced with the Spaz-12 shotgun, platinum gleaming, and the sapphire and ruby grip and pump sparkling in the sunlight.
It was about time now that the Adjuchas appeared at the two intense reiatsu sources. Almer and Renji went back to back, both grinning the same grin, one of lust for battle and victory; either in defeat of the enemies or their own defeat. This was what they were born for, and what they would be doing when they finally bit the dust.
“Too bad for you, Renji, being dead already, when you die again you'll be reincarnated as a pussy maybe,” Almer teased over his shoulder. “I'll probably take your place as a Lieutenant if I get killed and become a Shinigami.”
“Keep talking; if you die and I live, I'll be sure to give you hell as my underling,” he returned, his wolfish smile widening. Another flash-step beside them and the two glanced at the newcomer.
“Oh, Hoshi, sup?” Almer asked the young woman, holding her double-barreled shotgun, Rikur Enda, tightly in one hand, lowered at her side casually.
“Not much, Almer,” she replied simply. “School okay?”
“Haven't started class yet. Too busy kickin' ass; like a boss.”
“Whatever you say, Emcee Duke,” she replied, bending her knees and holding Rikur Enda in both hands. At last the final party member flash-stepped with them.
“Fifteen seconds, Almer,” Ichigo said as he removed Zangetsu from his back, the cloth wrapped around the blade falling off to reveal the black and silver steel.
“Four of us and five of them,” Hoshi said as she looked at the Hollow in front of her. “I don't think you guys are in a fair fight here, you should get more buddies,” she said to one of the Hollows.
“Oh, but we are. Why do you think we were just sitting here while you chatted?” one of them asked, his tone in a subtle form of smugness. “Ah, here comes our...employer,” the same one said, looking over his shoulder at a building across from the school. They all turned to look, straining their eyes to see the figure of a man standing on the building-
They all jumped when he flash-stepped before them suddenly, raising their weapons to focus on him. He was a youngish man, dressed in a navy blue hoodie, baggy black denim jeans, and black Converse sneakers...but what caught their eyes was the Zanpakutō over his back. He smiled at each of them, his blue eyes laughing.
“Hey, kids,” he said, brushing his short brown hair to make it more untidy in appearance. “Keepin' the Trix away from that wascally wabbit?”
“You fucker, I know who you are,” Hoshi growled. Almer knew of course, and Renji appeared the most infuriated as he stared at the man with fiery eyes, his grip on Zabimaru's hilt white-knuckled. Ichigo was lost, as usual.
“Wait, who, what?” he asked.
“The name's Barrett Leo, carrot-stick,” the man responded, rewarded with a choked gasp from Ichigo.
“You murderer!” Renji spat, raising Zabimaru threateningly.
“Leo-sama,” one of the Adjuchas said to him, “you told us you would let us have some fun with them.”
“You did have some fun,” he replied. The Adjuchas looked at him angrily when he got the hint, but did not say anything back. They apparently had enough respect to not only take orders from him, but treat him as their superior in general. “Go away.” It gave a hiss and nodded to its fellows. Disappointed and agitated, they all opened doorways in the air and re-entered Hueco Mundo, leaving just Leo with the Hreinsa and Shinigami.
“What do you want?” Hoshi demanded.
“Just to fuck with ya, why else would I bring you guys here?” he replied, gripping his Zanpakutō and drawing it. The four of them readied for combat; Renji looked the least unstable, barely keeping his fury in check as his arms quaked from gripping Zabimaru so hard.
“Bankai,” the word escaped from Leo's smirking lips, making the three gasp and cringe under the sudden reiatsu the Hreinsa evoked. His Zanpakutō glowed brightly with a pearly white light. When it shined brightest, the mass of light broke off into several pieces, floating around Leo. He raised his hands and they all formed together to just become two lights, one for each hand. When he gripped them, the light died off, revealing twelve-pointed dark gray shuriken. The most striking feature about them was that they still possessed dried brown blood, mixed with rust caused by said blood. But none of the foursome underestimated the weapons; whether they were corroded or wholesome, they were deadly looking.
Barrett smiled wider as he held the two shuriken in his hands between his thumb and index finger. Ichigo was tempted to taunt him however.
“Just two?” he asked. “Is that really your Bankai?”
“Jinsokuna Sairensā – she is my Bankai.” He moved his thumb in a small jerking motion, and like that, a fan of five other shuriken in each hand shifted out of the seemingly one shuriken, like a hand of cards. Ichigo's taunting smile fell and he raised Zangetsu.
“Better use your own Bankai, both-” Leo began, but Renji immediately screamed, “BANKAI!” The other three all jumped back away from him as his reiatsu flooded around him, shaking the school beneath his feet and terrorizing the occupants.
* * *
In the classroom, Orihime, Chad and Uryu had been tensely sitting there; now they were on their feet along with the other students as the building shook.
“We should get out of here!” one student called, while the teacher seemed to be thinking rapidly of what to do.
“Two Bankai Spiritual discharges...one by Abarai...and one by a stranger...” Ishida murmured, getting a frightened look from Orihime. “This isn't good, we need to see what's going on,” he said. She and Chad nodded and ran out of the room, following him, ignoring the teacher's calls.
* * *
“Hihiō Zabimaru,” Renji murmured while Leo watched with a pleased expression, his fans of shuriken at his side. The massive Bankai Zabimaru coiled around Renji, its white snake head raised above its master, glowing eyes as enraged and hate-filled as Renji's own eyes.
“Yeah, it seems the most popular thing with a Bankai is it being a giant something-rather,” Leo remarked. “Overrated. Fuck 'em up, Sairensā,” he said to his Zanpakutō, tossing the shuriken in the air. As they rose into the air, the fans breaking apart, even more shuriken multiplied from every of the original ten. Soon there were fifty shuriken floating around Barrett, spinning like saw blades.
“Now then,” Barrett stated. “Mousier Kurosaki? Would you kindly?” Ichigo huffed.
“I'm not giving you what you want,” he said venomously to the rogue Hreinsa.
“Ichigo, you really should reconsider,” Almer said to the orange-haired teen, gaining a surprised look from him. “If I had an Endanlega I would use it in a heartbeat.” Ichigo bit his lower lip. He assumed this Endanlega thing was a Varðmann's equivalent of a Bankai...Almer knew better about this enemy than-
“Bamp!” Barrett suddenly said, imitating a game show buzzer, “Time's up! Woosh!” They were so fast, so damn fast. How did this even happen? One second Ichigo was staring at Barrett as his shuriken hovered around him, the next he felt several sharp pains allover his body, particularly his legs. His knees had given way as he hissed in agony, blood flowing from several wounds. He could hear the buzzing drone of the shuriken all about him. He glanced at his comrades; all of them had fallen to Barrett's attack. Ichigo didn't know what was worse. Byakuya's Bankai or Leo's; Byakuya's Bankai was massive and those damn petal-blades were everywhere...and even though Leo's was miniscule in comparison to Byakuya's, these things were much faster than Byakuya's petals.
“Smell ya later, brats!” Leo said to them with a giddy tone.
“No!” Renji bellowed; despite the wounds to his legs, he managed to stand, but Leo was long gone by then. Ichigo had seen his flash-step, however.
“Holy shit...” he murmured. He hadn't even been able to track Leo's flash-step. He had known only one person with a flash-step of that speed: Shihōin Yoruichi.
“God dammit!” Renji growled, unable to help himself as he fell to his knees again, slamming his fist on the ground. Zabimaru dematerialized back into his sealed state as Renji lost his will to maintain his Bankai.
“Son of a bitch,” Almer hissed, rolling to lean back on an air duct while he studied the wounds on his legs. They had all been attacked at the legs; Hoshi had taken the same position as Almer next to him. Suddenly to the left of the group the door to the roof burst open by force. Chad had rammed into it with his shoulder as it had been locked; of course that feat had been nothing to him. Behind him Ishida and Orihime rushed out.
“Kurosaki-kun!” she cried, running to the four downed warriors with Chad and Ishida.
“Inoue...” Ichigo muttered. Thankfully the adrenaline still pumping through his system was nullifying the pain of his wounds. Normally he would have needed stitches, but Inoue quickly jumped on his wounds with her abilities; her hairpins glowing with yellow light as the two fairies detached themselves, creating their healing shield around Ichigo. Since the wounds were minor they were healed in mere moments, allowing Ichigo to get to his feet.
“Kurosaki,” Ishida said to the orange-haired teen as Orihime proceeded to treat the others. “That reiatsu...and that strange Bankai...”
“It was Barrett Leo,” Ichigo sighed, his previous anger turning into depression. He hadn't even taken a step to attack him, and he was downed like that. The bastard had been toying with them though. Running out like that.
“One of the Traitor's Four?” Ishida breathed, his eyes wide behind his glasses. His expression immediately changed from stunned to thoughtful. “Was that all he did? Incapacitate your legs?”
“Yeah, he was only taunting us. He scrammed just before you got here,” Almer answered as he got up. Renji and Hoshi were brought to their feet next and they all grouped together.
“What was the purpose of that?” Ishida asked, more to himself than anyone else, the gears in his head cranking as he tried to deduce the situation and actions of the rogue Hreinsa.
“I don't think there was a purpose, other than him being a prat,” Almer grunted. “I've seen his type before, they're all the same. He's just all-fucking-powerful.”
“We should tell Yoruichi about this,” Ishida stated.
“No need to.”
The gathered turned with surprised expressions towards the direction of where the voice had come from. Yoruichi's voice. Sure enough she stood upon an air vent looking down at them with her hard golden eyes, the breeze making her violet hair sway behind her head.
“How long have you been here?” Ichigo asked as the woman stepped off the vent and landed on the ground without so much as a jolt from the fall.
“I just got here,” she replied. “But I could tell exactly what was happening just by the reiatsu emanating from all of you. And definitely I felt a stranger's Bankai.” Her gaze became darker as she looked between everyone before her. “Was it Leo?”
“It was,” Renji growled. “I would have gotten him too if not for that damn Bankai.”
“No offense, Abarai, but you wouldn't have,” Yoruichi told him. Renji shot her an angered glare, but hesitated to say anything back; probably because in the back of his mind he knew she was right. “Even I would have trouble with him,” she admitted, turning from them to look across the cityscape of Karakura.
“So, are you going to go to Soul Society and tell everyone?” Ichigo asked the former Gotei 13 Captain.
“There's no need to, they're already sending a squad here to make contact with the Hreinsa stationed here. I'm sure you'll hear from them. However, I need to leave now to tend to important matters.”
“Like what?” Ichigo asked.
“Sorry, but I don't have time to explain. I have to leave now,” she said while gazing at the sun, probably telling the time just by looking at it. A second later and she had flash-stepped away; with the same speed as Leo had left...or...maybe it was less by just a margin...
* * *
It was now mid-afternoon as the group trekked from the high school to their respective homes. Most of the day was a bit of a hassle, what with the staff and students still shaken up by what they thought was a minor earthquake, but after a while the teachers had shrugged it off and resumed classes, if still a bit nervously. Now Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, Almer and Chad walked down the street together to return to their respective homes. All were sullen after their encounter with Leo; although Ishida seemed to be in thought as he stared down at the ground, rubbing his chin with a far-off expression. The walk had been in silence for the most part, until Ishida finally spoke, “Stavenes, how many Hreinsa possess Zanpakutō?”
Almer glanced at the raven-haired young man, thinking for a moment before replying, “None that I've ever known of...even in history. Leo having a Zanpakutō was the first time I've ever seen a Hreinsa wield one, much less be connected enough to the weapon to use its Bankai.”
“But a Varðmann is nearly identical to a Zanpakutō in most respects, yes?” Ishida continued. “It has its own entity and soul and mind, unique abilities, multiple release stages, and is connected to its wielder on an intimate level. I know Hreinsa must have used melee weapons in far history before firearms were invented, making them as close to a typical Zanpakutō as possible. Could it be that Leo was using a Varðmann katana and passing it off as a Zanpakutō to get the better of us?” Almer shook his head.
“No, that was a Zanpakutō, I'm sure of it. While Varðmanns and Zanpakutō are very similar, there are key differences. For one, Varðmann commands are only spoken in Icelandic, no matter what type of weapon it is. Think of Hreinsa as human Shinigami: that's basically what we are. We are born with a lifespan far surpassing a typical human, usually six hundred fifty to seven hundreds years; and our reiatsu is much higher, high enough that we are born with Varðmann souls waiting to be released onto a seemingly normal weapon someday, any day.
“And Shinigami and Zanpakutō are born in Soul Society, and use only the Japanese language for commands. So I really don't know how a Hreinsa came to possess a Zanpakutō. My guess is through illegal means; possibly similar to how Ichigo received his Shinigami abilities.” Ichigo glanced up at the mention of him.
“You mean Barrett took powers from another Shinigami?” he asked.
“I don't know, but that seems the most likely,” Almer replied.
“It does,” Ishida agreed.
“Would this mean the other three would have a Zanpakutō?” Orihime asked then.
“Most likely,” Ishida answered. “But, Stavenes, Hreinsa have been known to possess more than one Varðmann.”
“Mm,” Almer confirmed with a nod. “But there's a drawback. Within each Hreinsa only one Varðmann soul develops. Their weapon forms are made with physical elements of this Earth and modified with reiatsu from both the inner Varðmann and his or her Hreinsa. Now, you can make more than one weapon the Varðmann can become integrated with, but the Varðmann can only evolve into an advanced form one at a time, in fact it can only be in one weapon at a time. Also, it takes a great amount of reiatsu to possess and transition from one weapon to the other. Only very strong and high ranking Hreinsa can have two Varðmann at once; one with the power equivalent to a Shinigami Captain. It takes allot of concentration and strength of the mind to use two. No Hreinsa has ever been able to use more than two without eventually going mad and exerting his or her limit both in reiatsu and physical form. From what I've heard, it's a nasty way to go...and it's not uncommon for those types to harm others in their madness.”
“Wow...” Ichigo remarked. “That's pretty messed up. Doesn't that guy Shunsui have two Zanpakutō? A tachi and a wakizashi?”
“Well, you see, humans have limits Shinigami don't. Kyōraku Shunsui's Zanpakutō spirit resides in both weapons, since they're both technically the same Zanpakutō. And even then, they're special, as Katen Kyōkotsu, as well as Sōgyo no Kotowari, are the only dual Zanpakutō in Soul Society.”
“If Hreinsa have more limits than Shinigami, how come Barrett so powerful?” Ichigo questioned, a bit harshly but Almer ignored that; emotions were running high after what had happened.
“For one he relies on surprise and stealth; if he was serious you probably wouldn't have seen him coming,” Almer answered. “And sometimes a Hreinsa can break those limits. It's hard and takes a few centuries, but it can be done. Director Bridgette Gottschalk is the epitome of that. She's as powerful as Captain-Commander Yamamoto. And yes, she does have two Varðmann,” he said to Ichigo when he gave Almer a look. “What troubles me though is that Leo is only in his thirties...he's always been a prodigy, but the power he exhibited...” Almer shook his head, looking disturbed.
“Well, at any rate,” Ishida spoke again, adjusting his glasses, “We need to look out for Leo and any of the other Traitors Four, and to not engage them unless engaged by them first. We have no knowledge of the extent of their power.”
“But we don't even know what the others look like,” Orihime pointed.
“I can help with that,” Almer said as he reached into his bag and removed a computer tablet, turning it on and pressing buttons on the touchscreen. “I'm sending you the last known photographs of them them to your cellphones. They might look different now, though, so you'll have to look carefully for them.” When each of their cellphones rang they flipped the devices open and looked over the pictures of each of the Traitors Four.
“Anyway, we should be expecting Shinigami assistance ASAP,” Almer assured them as he put his tablet away. “I won't be surprised if we're all summoned to a meeting at Urahara's Shop for briefing, since the guy seems to be the Kasa around here.” The four of them gave Almer a blank look.
“Kasa?” Orihime asked.
“K.A.S.A., a Hreinsa acronym for 'Know-All-See-All,' another way to say steward or overseer of a place, person or thing.”

“...”
“Hey, we're the Spiritual version of the CIA and Marine Corps, what do you expect?” With that, Almer walked on. “But my turn to home is here, so I'll see you when I see you,” he said over his shoulder to them.
“Oh, yeah, see ya around, Almer,” Ichigo replied, a tad off guard from his abruptness.
“Goodbye, Stavenes!” Orihime called cheerily.
“Bye, Inoue,” he called back with a smile before rounding another corner out of site.
* * *
Almer was being extra cautious as he made his way home, his perceptive abilities scanning all he could see, hear and even smell in the street he walked down to the Kagome Residence. But the house was right there, and he detected nothing out of the ordinary...that didn't assure him much though. He had learned of Leo's status and legacy enough to know anything and everything could be a threat.
He approached the house and came to the front door, letting out a tired sigh as he opened it up. Rubbing his eyes, he stepped over the threshold, shutting the door behind himself. He faced the coat rack and hung his denim jacket up and took off his shoes, dropping his bag on the bench one used to sit on and put on their footwear, but it was more or less used as a temporary dump-off of extra baggage when returning home. Almer turned to the kitchen with the intent of a snack, but he was stalled from the act as he finally noticed them.
Sitting around the kitchen table were, not the Kagomes, but a group of strangers he had never seen before. He tracked each person with his eyes as they stared back at him; they were all dressed casually, but still had very notable features. The first man was completely bald, his head shining in the light of the afternoon as if it had been polished; the second man hardly looked like a man, his hair was black and medium long, and he had these odd feathers attached to his right eyebrow and eyelashes. The third woman had long, thick orange hair and massive breasts; in fact, they seemed to be even larger than Orihime's! The last woman at the table was a rather petite young woman, with black hair, large eyes and a narrow face.
The bald man had an indifferent semi-scowl as he stared at Almer, the featherhead just looked at him with a rather condescending air, the orange-haired woman smiled brightly and waved at him with a small giggle, and the black-haired woman had no notable expression as she studied Almer. He then noticed the last man...or, more like a pre-teenage boy, staring out the large sliding back door's window, his back to all of them as he seemed to be in some other world. His hair was somewhat spiky but colored a light silver...it rang a bell in Almer's mind.
But right now the first thing on his mind was: “Who the fuck are you people?” he blurted out. The bald man made a contemptuous chuckle as he smirked wryly, looking away from Almer as if he couldn't even stomach the sight of him.
“Oh, why'd you have to ask like that?” the orange-haired woman asked with a frown.
“I told you, even though they're Hreinsa, they're still humans. This is how most of them react when they see a person they've never met in their house uninvited,” the black-haired woman told her. “We should have just waited outside,” she added, with a small scowling glance at baldie.
“Screw that, they were expecting us, so they should expect as much,” he retorted inconsiderately, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the table.
“I'm taking a guess you're the Shinigami contacts,” Almer cut in.
“Now he gets it,” featherhead remarked with that same condescending smile as he played with the feathers attached to his eye.
“Are you one of the Kagome family?” the boy behind the group finally asked. The others silenced immediately in the wake of him speaking. He must be...
The boy turned to look at Almer, confirming his thoughts, and jogging his memory. The other notable thing about the 10^th Division's Captain, apart from his hair color and age: the turquoise eyes of his; cold and deep as they met Almer's. He was nothing to sell short, Almer had been told. He believed that before, if he could become a Captain of the Gotei Thirteen: now he definitely believed it as he looked at the young man before him.
“No,” Almer replied to Hitsugaya Tōshirō's question. “They're just my hosts, but I'm still involved in the same business as them.” Hitsugaya didn't reply as he continued to stare at Almer for a moment, before asking once more, “Do you know where they are?”
“Not a clue, sir. But since they knew you were coming, they should be here sooner rather than later.”
“I see,” the Captain replied.
“Your names?” Almer asked.
“Matsumoto Rangiku!” the orange-haired woman replied brightly, waving her hand again.
“Teh. Madrame Ikkaku. Third Seat of the Eleventh Division,” baldie answered, acting as if he had better things to do than play twenty-questions.
“Ayasegawa Yumichika, Fifth Seat of the Eleventh Division,” featherhead responded, in the same manner as Madrame, only more pompously.
“Kuchiki Rukia of the Thirteenth Division,” the black-haired woman said to Almer.
“Kuchiki...” Almer repeated to himself. Younger adopted sister of Kuchiki Byakuya, the current head of his Noble Family, and Captain of the Sixth Division. He knew all of that, as a Hreinsa should. One could say that the Hreinsa knew more about Soul Society than most Shinigami in the Seireitei. “Ichigo told me about you,” he said to Kuchiki. Her expression softened by a margin as she looked to Almer.
“Ichigo...how is he?”
“Doing fine...well, as fine as we can get at the moment,” Almer muttered. Kuchiki frowned at that last statement, but before she could press Almer several knocks on the front door drew his attention.
“Yeah,” Almer sighed as he turned, stepping to the door. “We had an incident earlier today, it was pretty intense...as well as daunting,” he continued as he opened the door, looking at Kuchiki over his shoulder.
“Hey fuckface!” the person outside the door called with a playful tone.
“Wha-” Almer said in surprise as he turned his face to the door, but he was immediately assaulted by an unseen enemy that wrapped around his neck. “What the fuck!?” he choked while staggering with the weight around his neck. The five occupants of the kitchen only stared with unsure and bemused expressions as Almer struggled.
“Come on, someone jumps on your head, what do you do?” the voice of a youngish girl teased from behind his neck. He finally realized who it was that was on him, with her legs wrapped around his neck as she piggy-backed him.
“Get off me, Nikki!” he shouted.
“Heh!” the twelve-year-old girl chuckled at him, before gracefully back flipping off of his back and landing on the kitchen table. Almer spun around to face her, dressed in a green and white dress, white stockings and black dressy shoes. Her fiery red hair was loose behind her head and down her shoulders, her green eyes laughing and taunting along with her toothy grin.
“Are...are you a Kagome?” Kuchiki asked the girl as she looked up at her.
“Hm?” Nikki murmured to Kuchiki as she glanced down at the Shinigami with a plain expression, somewhat bored now. “Nah, I'm a Hreinsa.”
“...I meant are you part of the Kagome family?” Kuchiki rephrased, taken aback by the whole situation.
“Nah, I'm a Hreinsa,” she repeated with a smirk.
“...” was all Kuchiki was capable of.
“Nikki, what the fuck are you doing here!?” Almer yelled at the girl. She looked back at him with that plain expression again.
“Visiting you, chucklemunch, what do you think?”
“Oh horseshit, did you even get permission from Mom and Dad to come here?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
“Well since you're here, I should kick your ass for her,” he told her, but a grin had formed on his face.
“Wait wait...is she your sister?” Matsumoto asked Almer.
“Unfortunately, yes,” both answered simultaneously. They turned to glare at each other. “That's my line!” they both shouted at each other.
“You don't hold much of a resemblance,” Hitsugaya noted.
“That's because Almond's adopted and nobody loves him,” she teased. Ah, Almond. Damn that nickname.
“Well at least I wasn't an accident,” Almer shot back.
“Oh you little fuck!” she bellowed, parting her dress around her leg and revealing a strap and holster wrapped around her thigh.
“Aren't you a little young for such a place to put your weapon?” Matsumoto asked, surprised.
“Aren't you a little young to have a weapon?” Kuchiki added.
“Peh! You know nothing about Hreinsa,” Nikki rebuked haughtily as she drew the pistol from its holster and aimed at Almer, who stayed his ground with a focused expression. It was a very small Kel-Tec P-11 pocket pistol, black and sheen with a wood-paneled grip.
“Don't be fooled, Shinigami,” Almer told them. “She's a prodigy. She just came out of training several months ago. I came out several days ago myself. And let me guess what you're gonna show off, Nikki.” He smiled at her, with a bit of pride, and she returned the first warm expression since she came here.
“Piparsteik þær, Hunang!” Neon lime-green reiatsu flowed around Nikki, and completely engulfed her Varðmann. Her hair billowed wildly around her head, along with her dress, and her reiatsu was impressive for her age. When the pressure faded, and the Varðmann came into view, Almer could only stare at Nikki with...his expression wasn't quite easy to describe. He blinked while she smiled at her Mini-Uzi Varðmann, looking very proud for herself.
“Your Varðmann...is named...'Honey'?” he asked.
“Mhm!” she responded cheerfully.
“And its release command...'Peppersteak 'em, Honey?'”

“Pretty cool, huh?” she said smugly.
“...I'm not that surprised, actually.”
“Then why do you look surprised?” she demanded.
“I think I'm more surprised to not be surprised,” he answered, his grin returning. “It's awesome, Nikki.” His grin faded though, as did Nikki's. “You're an amazing Hreinsa, Nikki...but you're still too young to handle what's going on here. Some serious shit has hit the fan, and I'm involved with it.”
“Go to hell, Almer, I came here to see you, stay and help you out with Hollows. The most spiritually active area on Earth, Almond! I was hoping you wouldn't be a dick and not share it with me,” she growled.
“Goddammit, Nikki, I'm dealing with the Traitors Four!” Her anger subsided at that.
“The...Almer, are you serious?”
“Just ask Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō of the Gotei Thirteen,” Almer said grimly, gesturing to the aforementioned person. Nikki looked at the Captain, amazed, and he looked back at her, his face grave.
“Things are very serious, Hreinsa,” he said to her tonelessly. “You should listen to your older brother and return to your parents.” She stared at Hitsugaya, then at Almer.
“So...this is the famous Hitsugaya Tōshirō?” she questioned.
“Yeah, Nikki, just check your tablet. We've got his profile.” She looked to Hitsugaya once more with a smile now.
“Yeah, you're pretty cute, Tōshirō, I guess we can date.” Hitsugaya's eyes widened at that, his mouth slightly agape; Madrame, Ayasegawa and Kuchiki held the same expression as Hitsugaya while they stared at Nikki. Almer had buried his face in his palm while Matsumoto simply began to laugh her ass off, slamming her hand on the table with tears leaking from her eyes.
“I can't believe a Hreinsa child said she wanted to date a Shinigami Captain, blatantly in front of him...” Kuchiki murmured, flabbergasted.
“You can't possibly mean that,” Hitsugaya said back to Nikki.
“I mean what I say, Jack Frost,” she returned coolly. She gave a muffled cry as Almer suddenly clapped his hand over her mouth and put her in a headlock.
“Yeah, so, anyway: my little sister Nikki everyone! Here for a very fucking brief visit,” he snarled down at her as she struggled in his grip. “Nikki, say goodbye to everyone!”
“Mmmhmmmmuhmmhhmuhh!”
“Yep, good seeing you too. Now if you excuse me I'm going to tie her up, throw her in a duffel bag then sneak her onto a baggage flight to America. Nikki, I'm sure if your plane doesn't happen to land in Arizona, you can take a bus or train home. Who knows! You might end up on the East Coast and be able to go cross country! See America! Let's go- geh!” He hopped back when a whirlwind of her angry reiatsu whipped around her.
“I don't give two shits about you, the Traitors Four or Shinigami, Almer...except my macho Snow White over here,” she jerked her head at Hitsugaya with a seductive grin.
“Okay, I know you're too young for that,” Matsumoto commented, but began to laugh again as she looked between the Hreinsa girl and Hitsugaya.
“Matsumoto...” Hitsugaya growled dangerously, but directed his glare at Nikki. “As for you, Hreinsa: I outrank you. I am Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō of the Tenth Division of the Gotei Thirteen, and I demand the due respect and obedience of my underlings, whether they like me or not. Is that understood, Hreinsa child?”
“No dice, I don't dicker about with Shinigami or Hreinsa. I'm a mercenary.”
“You're a kid and never even held a part-time dish washing job in a restaurant, how can you expect anyone to believe you're a mercenary?” Almer said flatly.
“Mind your business, Almond,” she said to him dismissively, while still leveling a gaze with Hitsugaya. “Since I'm a mercenary, maybe you'd like to hire me, Captain.”
“No.”
“For free?”
“No. I'll say it again: listen to your older brother and go home to your parents, I'm sure they're worried sick about you.” Almer cleared his throat at that, catching Hitsugaya's attention.
“They'll probably not, actually. She's gone hunting Hollows by herself before. She was gone a whole month once in Los Angeles.” Hitsugaya stared at him blankly.
“And her mother or father didn't even once worry?”
“I called,” Nikki returned with a shrug. “Not like I don't know how to use a phone or computer. Gave them sit-rep once a week. Hreinsa are chill, Tōshirō. We take things pretty lightly.”
“You're strange is what you are,” Kuchiki said, shaking her head.
“Well, that was entertaining,” a new voice sounded from the entrance. They all turned their attention to the door Almer had forgotten to close. First Hoshi Kagome stepped into the house, followed by Hayate and Aiko.
“I see the real Kagomes have arrived,” Tōshirō said, obviously relieved that something to distract him from Almer and Nikki had arrived.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Captain Hitsugaya,” Hayate apologized, “But we were on high alert due to activity from one of the Traitors Four.” At the mention of that, all the Shinigami got tense. Almer had reverted to solemn while Nikki, still standing on the table, her Varðmann now sealed and pocketed, watched interestedly.
“Who was it?” Hitsugaya queried.
“Barrett Leo,” Hoshi answered. “He attacked Karakura High School and wounded Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo, Sixth Division Lieutenant Abarai Renji, myself, and Almer Stavenes.” Nikki gave a worried glance to Almer at the mention of him being wounded, but Matsumoto and Hitsugaya now stared at Almer with surprised expressions.
“Stavenes?” Hitsugaya replied.
“I guess you know about my biological mother,” Stavenes assumed. Hitsugaya became earnest once more.
“I heard of her ventures with Captains Kuchiki and Komamura, and the Traitors Four...what they did to her.”
“I was told as much as you probably were, but I try not to think about it allot. Live for today, not yesterday.”
“So this Leo guy is pretty strong?” Madrame asked, looking very interested in the discussion.
“Madrame, right?” Hoshi asked him, making him smile.
“So I'm famous if you know me, huh?”
“No not really, Hreinsa have profiles on all Shinigami; I just happened to look at yours once before. Eleventh Squad, the one that loves to fight. Listen, Madrame, you don't dick with Leo. None of us got a chance to attack or retaliate to him.”
“Heh, you really don't know me that well,” Madrame chuckled.
“You're right, but I don't think I need to to tell you're predictable.”
“Enough now,” Hitsugaya interrupted their subtle spat. “We only came here to confirm our partnership with your family,” he said to Hayate.
“Consider it confirmed. You need anything from us just ask.”
“Will do,” Hitsugaya said back with a nod. “For now you can contact us at Urahara's Shop. But as he cannot house all of us, we will be looking elsewhere for places to stay. We will keep you posted.”
“Oh? Who were you planning on staying with? We have room here, actually,” Aiko said to the young Captain.
“We're contacting everyone we need to before we decide to settle down. Urahara first, then Kurosaki Ichigo and his group tomorrow; we will be passing ourselves off as students at the school,” Hitsugaya explained.
“Good luck with that, though you might stand out due to your appearance; including age wise,” Hoshi remarked.
“I'll manage,” Hitsugaya returned dismissively while his subordinates got up from their seats to stand by him. “We take our leave now. Let us know if you encounter anything out of the ordinary,” he told them as he and his team members exited the house.
“No problem, have a good one,” Aiko called out the door before shutting it. Giving out a sigh she turned to Almer, then looked to Nikki...still on the table. “So I heard you're Almer's sister.”
“No, he's adopted,” she cracked again.
“You'd be lost without me in the fam,” he shot back with a snarky tone.
“That didn't sound very confident. And who's this Ichigo guy? Is he cute?”
“No, he's fuck-ugly, don't make contact with him.”
“Well I'm off in that case! See ya later, Almond!” Nikki said as she hopped off the table and jogged past Almer to the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob and turned to Aiko.
“Oh, Kagome-san, is it cool if I stay here with my brother?”
“Christ...” Almer growled under a facepalm. Aiko only smiled tenderly.
“Of course, Nikki, I wouldn't dream of not letting you stay with Almer.”
“Okay, but I'm just checking,” Nikki responded. “I'll prolly end up staying at a shady motel with access to booze and drugs. See ya!” With that, Nikki swiftly opened the door and shot out, leaving the door open in her wake. All four of them simply stared after her.
“Huh,” was Hayate's comment. “Even for a Hreinsa she's...” Hayate couldn't find the words.
“That's what makes her awesome,” Almer murmured with a smile.
* * *
“Yare yare...” Ichigo groaned as he flopped back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with his wrist resting on his forehead. All this business with Aizen has been enough...now...that Leo bastard. He gave a loud sigh as he flipped over onto his stomach and buried his head under his pillow, content to just lay there and pretend there was no world outside his walls. No Hollows, no Aizen, Hreinsa, Shinigami, responsibilities. And that little menace climbing onto his back wasn't helping him forget any.
“Ichigo!” Kon nagged, hopping up and down on his back. “Knock it off with the depression, it's contagious!”
“Your annoyance is ten times more contagious,” Ichigo's muffled voice replied from under the pillow.
“Was it Hollows popping up during class again?” Kon questioned, acting like some lousy therapist now.
“Close but not quite,” Ichigo said back dryly, taking the pillow off his head but still laying down on his stomach, his head facing the nightstand next to his bed. Kon's stuffed lion face filled his vision as the beady eyes looked on, perplexed.
“Was it...Shinigami popping up during class again?” he tried.
“That makes no sense, you're just spouting random crap now,” Ichigo huffed back.
“Well what do you want from me!?”
“A little peace and quiet?”
“Overrated. Good relationships depend on communication, and good relationships combined with communication reduce stress and other negative feelings quite well,” Kon elaborated matter-of-factly, arms folded over his chest with his nose in the air.
“Yeah, and sometimes people want to be left alone because they want to deal with their stresses on their own,” Ichigo countered with growing impatience.
“But does that help the relationship?” At that point Ichigo grabbed Kon's head and tossed him across the room, the mod soul grunting when he hit the wall across the room.
“Relationships have rough patches sometimes,” Ichigo returned simply as he turned onto his side, facing the window to look at the dusky sky. Kon finally shut his trap, giving a little relief to Ichigo and letting him digest the predicament he shared with his friends. It seemed with each new arrival into his life came new problems. A new race of people, the Hreinsa and Almer, followed by Hreinsa problems. Ichigo didn't want to blame everything on Almer...but...goddamn if there wasn't a pattern here.
“Hello!”
“Ahh!” Ichigo cried, jumping in his bed and rolling off at the sudden scare. The first thing he knew he had been staring at the dusk sky, then all of a sudden a young girl of about twelve or thirteen flash-steps in front of his window, grinning at him gaudily.
“What the hell!?” Ichigo barked, pulling himself up to look at the girl in his window.
“Ichigo, right?” she said, letting herself in through the window, hands on her hips.
“Who the hell are you!?” he demanded, flustered by the intrusion.
“I asked first,” she sneered at him.
“Well I'm not the one trespassing in your room,” he retorted, on his feet now with his fists clenched.
“And why is that stuffed lion alive and talking? Did you do some spiritual crap to it?” the girl went on, but that question took Ichigo completely off guard.
“You...you saw him talking?” Ichigo asked, lowering his arms and unclenching his fists.
“Oh no, Ichigo, she found us out!” Kon suddenly cried as he jumped into the air. He promptly landed on Ichigo's shoulder and glared at the young girl, whom watched him back curiously. “The jig is up, Ichigo, we don't have a choice: we'll have to kill her.” She raised her eyebrows in surprise at that. Ichigo grabbed Kon by the throat and yelled in his face, “Don't say things like that to a little girl, you'll scare her-” He was cut off as the girl began laughing heartily.
“Oh that is a riot!” she howled, scratching her temple as she looked between Kon and Ichigo. “You. Kill me. Ha!”
“I wasn't talking about me,” Kon snapped. “I was talking about him!” He pointed at Ichigo predictably.
“I know,” she returned curtly. “Why do you think I said what I said?”
“Dam it, who the hell are you!?” Ichigo bellowed again, slamming Kon onto the ground like a football player scoring a touchdown, still glaring at the girl.
“Nikki Styx. Styx as in the band, not a pile of wood or the Greek river,” she answered, taking a straight face now.
“...is that really your name?” Ichigo asked.
“Nikki is, Styx I just took for my own. I'm not telling you my actual last name. And it's Ichigo, right?”
“...y...yeah,” he answered, his anger lost and replaced by confusion and curiosity. “Am I supposed to know you? And how did you see Kon when you only appeared a second ago?”
“We want answers!” Kon added furiously, pointing a rigid stuffed paw at Nikki. They both ignored him.
“I was watching from the building across, with this,” she removed a very military-looking hand held telescope. On the top area where one would place their fingers while holding the object were a series of buttons; it had a dull gray shell, and it looked pretty sturdy. It must be with all the marks and scuffs that were in the plastic; the lens looked untouched.
“So you spy on people? Who are you really?” Ichigo asked once more.
“A Hreinsa.”
“Jeez, another one?” Ichigo muttered exasperatedly, sliding his palm down his cheek.
“Yeah, you know my brother, Almer.” She grinned.
“Wait, you're Almer's sister? What are you doing here?”
“Sightseeing, shopping, beach going, Hollow slaying. The usual.” Ichigo just stared at her with a bemused look.
“...a girl your age goes Hollow slaying?”
“No, actually, Cassy started at the right age at fourteen. I'm just better than him because I've been doing it since last year when I was eleven. And I got my Fyrstu form for my Varðmann last week after he left.”
“I guess I'll never get used to weird crap like this,” Ichigo muttered, hanging his head back and stretching his arms behind his back. A series of knockings captured their attention.
“Ichigo, dinner is ready,” Yuzu said, opening the door and poking her head in. She gave a surprised look to Nikki.
“Oh...I didn't know you had company over, brother,” Yuzu said, smiling at Nikki.
“Well,” Ichigo said with a forced grin, rubbing the back of his neck. “Nikki here was just lea-”
“What company, Ichigo?” a low voice asked behind his head, breath whispering down his neck.
“Yaah!” Ichigo screamed, stumbling to the ground as Isshin looked down at him with a frown.
“Whoa...” Nikki said, eyebrows raised in surprise once more.
“Dad...I didn't even see him come in...” Yuzu murmured, also taken aback at the man's sudden appearance behind Ichigo.
“Damn it, why do people keep sneaking up on me!” Ichigo yelled as he jumped to his feet, in Isshin's face.
“So,” Isshin said, completely ignoring his son as he smiled down at Nikki with his fists on his hips. “You're Ichigo's company. A little younger than the usual lot he hangs with. What's your name?”
“Nikki Styx!” she answered brightly.
“Oooh, like the band Styx?” Isshin asked as he crouched down before Nikki.
“Yeah, heehee!” Nikki giggled, and Isshin laughed as well.
“I love that band! Say, we were just about to have dinner. You wanna join us?” Ichigo made a surprised and somewhat frightened noise, and quickly cut in, “Actually, Dad, Nikki-”
“I'd love to, thanks!” Nikki replied, leaving Ichigo to give a defeated glower.
“Great! Come on downstairs, it's roasted chicken with curried rice and salad,” Isshin told her as he and Yuzu lead Nikki out of them room and down the hall.
“I love curried rice!” Nikki's voice said excitedly down the hall, Ichigo only staring after the doorway.
“I have a feeling Almer is gonna appear soon to come and get her...” he said to himself. “Whatever, it's only dinner,” he settled as he began walking out of his room as well. “She seems normal enough when around people like Dad and Yuzu anyway...”
* * *
Nikki continued to eat her nearly empty plate, but Ichigo, Yuzu, Karin and Isshin just looked at her with baffled expressions, too focused on the story she was telling to even remember they had food sitting in front of them to eat.
“So I says to the pimp,” Nikki went on, taking a bite of rice for a moment before continuing, “'I have what you want, I'm just not giving it to you. I'm saving myself for a guy who has real teeth and not those yellow corn bits in your gums,' because you know, pimps sometimes have those retarded gold teeth,” Nikki told them. She took a sip of apple juice and went off again, “So he's all: 'I don't care if you're a kid, I'm fuckin' you up, bitch!' And then I-” They all jumped when Nikki slashed the air in front of her with a switchblade; she had been so quick they had barely seen her take it out of her pocket and flick it open. It was identical to the one Almer had, Ichigo noted in the back of his mind. “So his jugular's all open and pouring out onto the pavement, and his boys are all like: 'Oh shit!' Then I-” She was interrupted by a succession of knocks sounding on the entrance door.
“I'll get it!” all four Kurosakis exclaimed as they jumped to their feet, taking Nikki off guard as she stared at them, the switchblade still in her hand. The four family members looked at each other; only Yuzu seemed to have decided to not go after all, risk getting into the middle of a spat between the other three more aggressive family members. So Karin, Ichigo and Isshin all proceeded to push and jostle each other as they all rushed to the door to get away from the dinner table.
“Well they're eager to accept more company!” Nikki remarked with a grin, and Yuzu chuckled nervously.
When all three came to the door, three hands grabbed each other on the door knob, turned it and pulled the door open. They looked to see Almer there, smiling a little sheepishly.
“Sorry to disturb you all, but I was wondering if my sister Nikki stopped by here. The minute she hears about new friends of mine she likes to bother them at their house.”
“She's in the kitchen, I'm betting you want to take her far away from us,” Ichigo said, forcing a polite grin. So forced, in fact, that one could tell it was forced by even a glance.
“Hm?” Almer asked, and the inquisitiveness on his features looked as false as Ichigo's smile. “Oh, I wouldn't just drag her out of here, I'm just checking to make sure she's okay, you know?” They only stared at him with despair. “Well, I should be off now-”
“Actually,” Ichigo said as Almer began to turn away, causing him to hesitate and glance at Ichigo, “there's still some extra food left, why don't you join us.” Now his tone and smile were sly, and his smile grew when Almer briefly made his own face of dismay. He quickly returned it to neutral/apologetic.
“Oh, I couldn't-”
“No, I insist, you're a friend now,” Ichigo cut in as he grabbed Almer's wrist and pulled him in. Both Karin and Isshin saw what Ichigo was doing and quickly jumped on the bandwagon.
“Oh yeah, any friend of Ichigo is a friend of all the Kurosaki family!” Isshin proclaimed with a big grin, giving a very hard slap to Almer's back. But Almer decided to stop feigning normal-human just then, so a slap that should have sent him stumbling only hurt Isshin's hand slightly, and Almer made no reaction whatsoever. Isshin withdrew his hand, surprised, while Karin raised her eyebrow and stared at Almer suspiciously. Ichigo glanced between his sister and father, then at Almer, whom smiled smugly. Ichigo scowled for a moment before feigning another pleased smile.
“Well, come on, Almer, join us,” he invited, leading Almer into the kitchen. When he stepped in Nikki waved her hand over her head and said loudly, “Hi, Cassy! Have some chicken, it's nice and juicy and tender! Yuzu made it good!”
“Oh, thank you, hehe,” the young girl chuckled abashedly.
“Yeah, Yuzu's a good cook,” Ichigo said, but once more speech was interrupted. Nikki's ringtone sounded, some sort of German pop, and she took it from her dress pocket and flipped it open. She glanced at Almer, smiled, then turned an apologetic look to the Kurosakis.
“Sorry everyone, but me and Almer have to go now. But thanks for the dinner, it was delicious!” Nikki announced, getting up from the plate and jogging away.
“Oh...thanks for coming...” Yuzu made an awkward farewell. Nikki grabbed Almer's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen. The family listened as they ran down the hall to the exit, opened the door and closed it behind themselves. After a moment, waiting to be sure they were gone, Karin said, “Jeez that kid has some crazy stories. But...she told it like she actually believed it herself...”
“Makes me wonder...” Ichigo muttered as he poked at his food with his fork absently, in thought. What the hell could possibly happen now that Almer's seemingly mad little sister was in town?
* * *
“I'm surprised you accepted my offer,” Almer said to Nikki as both of them ambled down the street in the twilight; the neighborhood was quiet now, the street lights on, dinners going on and TV sets lighting up living rooms. Nikki looked at her phone and deleted the text Almer had sent her when in the Kurosakis' kitchen.
“Ha!” she laughed, as if Almer had said something so audacious it was funny. “As if I'd give up a chance going Hollow slaying with my big brother,” she said to him, leaning into Almer and giving the young man a playful jab in the side abdomen with her elbow. “But this won't stop me from visiting that cutie Ichigo in the future.”
“Balls, what's with your sudden obsession with the boys, Nikki? You're not even thirteen yet.”
“Early bloomer I guess,” she said with a shrug. “And I'm no slut like that Katie back in Phoenix. I just like hangin' out with them and nothing more.”
“Heh, whatevs. So, about being Nikki Styx. Does anyone make the other connection?” Nikki gave him an inquisitive look.
“What other connection? The river Styx?” she asked.
“No, Nikki Sixx.”
“Who's he?”
“The singer for Mötley Crüe?”
“Motley Crue sucks.”
“Touche, but still. Your 'new' name is awfully close.” She began to chuckle.
“No, no one's ever mentioned him or Mötley Crüe.”
“Huh. Oh well. So, shall we begin the hunt? I feel love in the air,” Almer commented as he looked to the darkening sky, feeling the reiatsu of the Hollows, and that tick in his mind.
“That's the only thing you got that I don't; the Hollow sensing. Ah well, let's go,” Nikki grinned wolfishly, drawing Hunang before flash-stepping away. Almer quickly drew Syndara as he went after his sister. And so they slayed the night away.
- 5
- 6
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The Mirrors Of My Soul