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| - Itazura was certainly a… colourful man. Yes. That was the term she was looking for. He had said to them earlier that he had a job that they could all help him with. Of course there was only one problem. He hadn’t so much as uttered a single word regarding their actual purpose. He merely laughed and joked with Yori and flirted with Hoshi and herself. Naoko found him quite flattering to be sure, but couldn’t the flattery wait till later? All four of them had work to do! ‘Mr. Kori, please.’ Naoko insisted. ‘This is not the time for this. We have a job to do.’ Of course he ignored her. But he’d be back again with honeyed words later. Of that she had no doubt. What really grated on her nerves was the fact Yori of all people was beginning to emulate him! He had already been trying (and failing) to butter up Hoshi who, thankfully, was proving to be disinterested in the whole thing. She simply wanted to find something to fight. Oh, so much like her father. Ikkaku would be proud. ‘You still haven’t told us anything about this assignment. And we’ve been travelling through the Rukongai for an hour!’ Itazura stopped everything. For a few moments he rubbed his temples before letting loose a heavy sigh. ‘Naoko, I don’t have a job for you. Not at the minute at any rate.’ He forestalled her reply. ‘Just listen to me a sec. This business with Z… I mean Zenshin. To put things simply: nothing we do now is going to help. Yuri and I know Z well. Too well I’m afraid. The same works in reverse.’ ‘What are you getting at, Zura?’ Yori asked. A question Naoko would like answered as well. ‘Z will do one of three things. One: He’ll deny the whole affair. And why shouldn’t he? We have no proof except what Yuri says, and that document could have been altered by now for all we know. Two: He goes to ground. If he does that then we’ve got every reason to suspect him, but he’ll be a lot harder to find; even if we launch an organized effort. Three: He does something to Hei, thinking we know nothing.’ ‘Then Hei is in danger!’ Before she could run more than two steps Itazura had her stopped by a gentle, yet firm, grip. ‘No he isn’t. Hei is stronger than I am, and I’m stronger than Z. Hei’s also smart: enough that he gave Yuri a run throughout their studies. Trust me, Naoko. Hei will be fine.’ ‘… So why bring us out here?’ Hoshi added. ‘You three are Hei’s charges. Any enemy can use you as a way of getting to Hei, and his duty wouldn’t allow him to abandon you. So I took some precautions.’ The smile Itazura wore was truly devious. ‘Besides, Fox is watching the Senkaimon in the Seireitei. If Z tries to flee through them…’ ‘We’ll know immediately…’ ‘Hmmm… I see that your looks aren’t the only thing phenomenal about you.’ Naoko blushed beat red! ‘Ha! Knew I’d get to you eventually. Regardless, Z will likely assume that the Senkaimon will be watched, so he’ll naturally try another method of leaving the Soul Society. Putting together some recent information – plus a little we know from our time with the man – Yuri and I believe that Z will use this area of the Rukongai; which is where we are currently. He’ll be running right into our hands.’ Naoko was beginning to think quite highly of Itazura’s planning. If only she could have done the same before… Maybe things would have gone differently? ‘You need to stop beating yourself up.’ Itazura said. ‘Don’t look at me like that. I can tell just looking at you.’ He smiled at her then and was so carefree. ‘Trust me. The enemies you where facing where simply too powerful. Effective planning can only get you so far when pitted against incredible strength. Do you think I’d be able to land a hit on Kenji Hiroshi if he where to fight me seriously? No… I wouldn’t, and I’ve tried before.’ She appreciated what he was trying to do. Really she did. But things weren’t that easy. ‘… Thank you for the words, sir.’ ‘Ugh! There you go again with the “sir” nonsense. Yori and Hoshi have called me Zura since we set off, so please, call me that… or, if you prefer, I also go by the name Shin.’ ‘Wouldn’t that be confusing? I mean… your uncle is called Shin.’ ‘Shin’s also short for Shinsōzoku.’ He said and they began their walk again. ‘You know I’m quite well known in Heisekai? Oh yeah, saved a princess, diverted a civil war. You know the little things.’ He then told them the entire story from start to finish. Yori merely grinned. ‘I love that story!’ ‘And you believed it word-for-word, I bet, embellishments’ included.’ Naoko cut in. ‘Hey!’ It was good to see him taken aback. Naoko actually enjoyed his reaction. If he wanted her to be more carefree around her… well, she’d make him regret that decision. Hawke made a host of unnatural twists and turns through the air before coming to a sliding stop where he proceeded to leap backwards again to avoid having his skull opened by a gunbai! He and David had succeeded in splitting two of the men away from the others using a combination of Hawke’s Shikai and David’s Quincy powers, an action which pissed them off to no end apparently. ‘C’mon over here big guy,’ challenged Hawke. It was clear. What his opponent had in brute strength he lacked in speed. Hawke again evaded his foe by ducking beneath that big gunbai where he then twisted abruptly to the side and rained quick blows upon his enemy! The strikes ricocheted harmlessly off a wall of rib bones which appeared around the man’s body, which forced Hawke to retreat. There was no way on God’s green earth that his Fullbring blade was going to pierce that shell. Hell his Bankai probably wouldn’t even be enough! ‘How’re you coping, David!?’ On the face of things much better than he ever would have thought by the look of it. Hawke had drawn the long straw by the look of things. David had chosen the youngest looking of the four while Hawke had chosen one of the two he suspected of being in the league of Kenji Hiroshi. David’s foe sported short silver hair and a black combat uniform consisting of a sleeveless top and a simple pair of trousers with ease of movement in mind. Hawke’s enemy wore red armour and sported a head of long black hair. ‘Worry about your own hide,’ the armoured man spat. Hawke learned early in the fight that he couldn’t compete with the man’s physical strength. It was hard enough compensating for the strength of his spiritual power! So he decided to dodge again and this time he rapped his foes barrier of bones with a veil of black energy! ‘Rei Furashuu,’ he called but the wave broke upon the bone like an oceanic wave against the shore for all the good it done him. ‘Tut tut,’ he sounded a little annoyed. ‘Damned defences’! At this rate…’ David pinned the man’s sleeve with an arrow before relocating himself and Hawke some distance away. When Hawke reaffirmed his surroundings he noted the enemy Quincy to be trapped behind a Gintō spell. ‘What’s up?’ David released a rain of arrows which humbered close to one-thousand before he gave his brother an answer. ‘I’ve got all the data I need.’ ‘You proved an interesting distraction.’ The brothers turned slowly to look upon the men they had left behind. ‘Impossible…! How did you find us so quickly?’ ‘You aren’t the only one who can traverse the realms without need of the Dangai.’ The apparent leader replied. He wore neatly cut silver hair and sported a scar running through his bottom lip. ‘But I’m afraid we aren’t quite ready yet to reveal ourselves completely… Which presents a rather troublesome conundrum, wouldn’t you say?’ ‘… We’ve seen your face.’ David answered. ‘Very astute young Quincy,’ the speaker began drawing a sword from its sheath but before the action was completed a doorway opened which caused the man to stop. ‘… Well, well! I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen you myself.’ Hawke very nearly jumped for joy. ‘It has been a while… Shuhen.’ ‘Kusaka Kori…?’ Shuhen asked in bewilderment. ‘How can you be here? You were supposed to have lost your powers.’ ‘You’d just love that wouldn’t you? A man needs to take certain risks, you understand. So I’ll ask you this: do you really want to test the validity of that rumour? I’ll make you regret it.’ ‘… Very well, Slayer of Gods, I will depart. To your young friends: stay out of our way.’ With that the group vanished leaving Kusaka alone with his sons. ‘Get us back to Horiwari,’ Kusaka said simply. ‘Before they decide to return and test my bluff. I've got things to report and people to see.’ And Fujimaru Namikaze topped that list. Itazura was seriously beginning to doubt if Zenshin was going to make a showing at all. They had already been lying in wait more more than two hours. Suffice to say the kids he’d taken along where beginning to wonder just what the hell was going on. ‘Hei probably battered him black and blue,’ Hoshi remarked. ‘But Z can turn people to stone!’ Yori continued. ‘He didn’t turn Hei into a statue!’ And Naoko rapped her male companion on the forehead. Itazura couldn’t help but see a little of himself, Fox, and Yuri in them. It was just the way they acted. He and Yuri would have argued and Fox would have split it up. Then Hei would have landed with a noble gesture and Itazura would have flown off the handle, leading to one of their classic arguments. Wow! Thinking about the old times didn’t half choke him up. ‘Right, I’ve had enough of this! Z wouldn’t take this long to show up.’ He was also worried that Yuri had sent word of some kind. ‘We’re going back…’ and this time he was going to stuff protocol. Zenshin was going to answer some questions: one way or another. Next Story > Solemn Vow: Justice or Vengeance?.
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