While Itsuki was doing some - Ahem - with his girls, Ichigo and the rest were facing off against a.s.sa.s.sins sent by Gyokaku k.u.moi, the corrupt steward of the Kasumioji clan. While they faced off against the a.s.sa.s.sins, Kannogi Shu was made the clan head of the Kasumioji clan due to Rurichiyo"s absence and the fact that the opposition didn"t turn up. It didn"t take a rocket scientist to know the fate of the opposition.Back at Urahara store, Itsuki wonders exploring the wonders of the female body with Yoruichi when something flashed through his mind and only one thought remained in his head,
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"s.h.i.t."
It had completely slipped his mind that Yoruichi was supposed to save Ichigo right now. Looking down at Yoruichi"s hazy eyes and feeling her hot breath, he didn"t think about it and just shrugged his shoulders, continuing what he was doing.
With Ichigo facing off against the leader, the rest of the group took down the enemies one by one. The one who did the most was surprisingly Inoue, who had a lower amount of hesitance within her heart than before. Seeing that Rurichiyo, Enryu and Kenryu behind her, she blocked two a.s.sa.s.sins,
"Santen Kesshun!"
A triangular shield immediately appeared in front as she blocked the strike.
"Koten Zanshun!"
Another beam of light left her head piece and attacked the two, swiping them to the side. Turning back round, she told Kenryu,
"Run for it!"
Kenryu apologised before carrying Rurichiyo away. She and Rukia held back the a.s.sa.s.sins while they made a run for it. Rukia didn"t unseal her Shikai as they were relatively easy to take down, with Inoue being able to help whenever she can. Right at the end, Rukia defeated her last enemy when another "unconscious" one suddenly woke up and went for a stab. Without thinking, Inoue immediately shouted,
"Koten Zanshun!"
The beam of light didn"t knock the person out, but instead cut through the man"s body, slicing him in half. It didn"t register within Inoue"s mind that she just killed someone until a short while,
"Eh?"
Realisation hit her as her expression paled instantly, her eyes widened while her pupils narrowed, and fear was written across her face. She felt something churn within her stomach and tears started exposing themselves beneath her eyes.
Bending down, she hurled all her dinner out her mouth as she started having a shortness of breath.
Rukia was shocked by the turn of events as she dodged the last guy committing suicide via explosion. It wasn"t the first time she had seen someone die so it was nothing for her, yet she knew that it was Inoue"s first. Seeing the girl empty her stomach and roll up onto a ball, she went and put her arms around her. She tried to calm her down to no avail and when she touched her skin, it was freezing cold.
There was no end to her trembling as Rukia just whispered calmly into her ear.
"It"s okay…"
Stroking Inoue"s hair she tried to warm her down yet to no avail. Inoue was shocked into stupor. She tried closing her eyes but the face of the one she killed lingered in her head. Although it was masked, she remembered every moment of life leaving the man"s eyes. Hearing what Rukia was saying, she couldn"t find the strength to reply as on various thoughts were going through her head,
"I killed someone, I killed someone…"
"I"m disgusting…"
She could see her hands supporting her body yet, in her eyes, those frail arms were covered in blood. Rukia hugged her until she finally calmed down slowly. Looking down, she saw the blank look within Inoue"s eyes and felt helpless, Inoue had to get over this by herself. A short while later, the others arrived and were able to put together pieces seeing the bodies and Inoue"s lost look. Colour had drained off her face while she seemed to be in another world.
Back where Ichigo was fighting the leader Nukui Hanza. Hanza had light purple hair and dark green eyes. He had a notable scar between his eyes and wore a mask covering everything beneath and including his nose. He wore black a.s.sa.s.sin clothes and red armour over his left shoulder. He held a Bakkoto on his right hand that had a circular mirror on top. The Bakkoto also had tentacles growing out of it and had fused with his arm.
The two were currently within a sealed world as Ichigo tried to explode his reiatsu, destroying the sealed world around him. Knowing that he didn"t have time left and that cracks were showing on top of the mirror, Hanza made his move. While Ichigo was stuck and couldn"t move, Hanza struck forward,
"Accursed brat…don"t get too c.o.c.ky!!"
Ichigo had his sword in front of him while he tried his best to move,
"d.a.m.n it! Move! Move!"
More and more cracks appeared as Ichigo increased his reiatsu output and managed to heed Hanza"s advance. With one final burst, Ichigo broke through the seal with brute force, throwing Hanza off guard. With one strike, Ichigo parried Hanza"s move and created some distance. Hanza who was thrown back had an irritated look as he clicked his tongue when he suddenly felt one of his subordinate"s reiatsu vanish.
"Impossible!"
While Ichigo was heavily breathing, he saw Hanza retreat,
"Wait!"
Just as he was about to chase after him, Hanza reflected the moonlight off the mirror and tried to stall Ichigo. Knowing that the mirror will put him into a short daze like state, Ichigo shunpoed to the side dodged the right. Hanza used this chance to escape as he felt his subordinates commit suicide one by one. Thinking back to Ichigo he marvelled at the amount of Reiatsu Ichigo possessed as he returned to soul society. While Rukia took Inoue back to her house, she told everyone what had happened. Outside Inoue"s house, they all had concerned looks on their faces when they saw Rukia exiting. Ichigo was the first to speak,
"How is she?"
Rukia sighed as she shook her head,
"Not good, I just managed to make her fall asleep. The whole experience is traumatic for her…"
Nodding slightly, they all left for Rurichiyo"s house thinking that they shouldn"t disturb Inoue for now. However, reality wasn"t as simple as to how Rukia made it out to be. A short while later, Inoue started turning every now and then. Sweat poured out of her like a waterfall as tears began to show from underneath her eyelids. Then she started muttering,
"No…I"m sorry…I didn"t mean to…"
With a sudden jolt, her eyes open wide and she shot up. Her breathing was heavy as a cold feeling spread through her body. She finally noticed that she was at home and alone in the dark. She curled up into a ball and started weeping until she felt her throat dry.
Getting up, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a gla.s.s of water. Filling it up, she involuntarily looked down and envisioned her hands covered with blood. Dropping the gla.s.s, it fell into the sink as she started wiping soap on her hands and rubbing ferociously with water. Yet no matter how much she rubbed; it wouldn"t come off. Without her knowing, her hands got more and more red the more she thought about and started weeping once again.
She tried closing her eyes from this yet the look on the man"s face before he dies was etched within her. She saw blood on her hands when she opened her eyes and she saw the man she killed when she closed them. Trying to run away from this situation, she put on her shoes and left the house, not knowing where to go.
Unknowingly, she ended up in front of the Urahara store. Looking around, all the lights were off while a disappointed feeling welled up in her heart. Turning back round, she intended to return to her house when a voice called out from behind her,
"What are you doing out so late?"
With a sudden scream, Inoue jumped from her position and quickly turned around. With a wry laugh, she rubbed the back of her head,
"Hha, Itsuki-san…"
Itsuki took a puff from his kiseru as he looked at Inoue,
"I saw what happened, you okay?"
"Saw?"
As if to answer her question, Seikyu flew down and landed on Itsuki"s shoulder. She seemed to melt under the petting of Itsuki as Inoue just watched. Although Inoue kept a bright smile, Itsuki could see the sadness through her worn out eyelids and tear marks left from all the crying she had done. Itsuki moved forward and put her hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. It seemed that a dam had broken as Inoue started bawling her eyes out.
Three shadows could be seen looking at them,
"Is he picking up another girl?"
"I don"t know, is he?"
The third figure kept quiet and looked at Inoue crying. All three of them had laboured breathing as if they had just completed a strenuous exercise. The three did however look at Inoue with some concern as they couldn"t imagine what the girl must be going through after killing someone, especially a girl so innocent and kind.