---
Stray Cat Strut
Home Ground Arc
four: Punch Of The Wild Tiger
produced by
Two Greedy Losers Without A Fairy
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Damn, but it was uncomfortable.
One would think, it being a few years since he'd had to get used to it first, that it would get better with time.
One would be wrong.
Kurosaki Ichigo disliked a number of things.
Small dogs.
Large groups of little children.
Yoruichi stealing his milk.
And his school uniform.
No, it was no different than any other, really.
He still tried not to spend more time in it than he could possible avoid.
Even with Yuzu's little alterations so that the damn thing didn't rip when he tried something that required just a bit more freedom of motion than the designers of the bloody thing had allowed for, it was around the bottom of his list of things to wear.
He supposed it had something to do with the conformity the thing implied.
Or the idea thereof.
Ichigo thought himself very much a non-conformist, which only stood to reason.
He was the nail that stood out.
Worse, for the system that is. He was the nail that stood out and consistently broke their hammers.
He was no exam ace, but still managed to place in the upper quarter of the school's populace, often higher, consistently, even with all of his extracurricular activities.
And if that wasn't enough ... well, the teachers knew to leave him well enough alone by now. True, it was at the cost of having the reputation of a delinquent, but in his defense, the only people really suffering over it were the idiots that insisted they needed regular trips to the infirmary.
Still, unchallenging as it was, it was good stress relief.
Something like what he could use about now.
With Yoruichi out and up to her own devices, and likely to be back in a week at the earliest according to herself, and a lull on the working end of things, he was well and truly bored.
Or getting there.
He could only imagine how Tatsuki was feeling ... well, no. Tatsuki was taking the time to refine her origami with Yuuko For what purpose, Ichigo could suspect, so he didn't really mind.
Bored.
Bored.
So.
Damn.
Bored.
... huh?
Well, that was interesting.
Bad suits, worse lines, hints of tattoos when a sleeve lifted, and apparently cornering someone in an alley ...
Ichigo grinned.
Just what the doctor ordered.
***
It happened sometimes. Sado Yasutora got used to it, really.
He was large. Big. He towered even over grown men.
His stoic expression unnerved some, scared others and angered the hoods.
Besides, his shirts and the tattoo on his arm...
It was like an invitation to some of them, to push the guy around.
Bad hoods were no problem. Sado was tough. As tough as it got. A fist to the gut, a punch to the jaw, even. it was no problem.
They were kids. Aggressive, cocksure, but kids.
Sado was stronger than most adults.
Grown men, however, were a problem.
Grown men in badly pressed suits, tattoos denoting their line of work
and attitude to match...
Even more so.
But Sado ... didn't' fight back.
He COULD have. He KNEW that. Before Abuelo had stepped in, brawls on the streets of Mexico were his daily bread. A kid, a grown man ... Even a small mob. Didn't matter. Sado was strong. He was fast, despite his bulk. And in a fight, he was a tank.
But this was a promise.
And he didn't break those.
So he stood, stoically.
Even as the fists were thrown, even as the men raged, he stood. And took fist after fist. Blow after blow. Not uttering a sound.
And even when he went down, from a particularly vicious kick, he stood back up.
Looked at them.
And kept on standing silently.
Which enraged the Yakuza even more.
"Think yer so tough, big guy? EH?!" Sneered the rat-faced man throwing another punch at his jaw. "Think ya can just bump into US and get off with a simple 'sorry', you foreigner SHIT?!"
He wasn't a foreigner. He was half Japanese. He was born here even if he lived half of his life in Mexico. But telling them that would be a waste of time.
Soon, they'd get bored and leave. and he'd stand up and go home.
That's how it always was.
Almost always.
"Hey, guys... Look at that!"
The rat-faced yak ripped the coin from Sado's chest.
"Shiiiit... Now you've got something nice here, foreigner."
Sado's eyes widened.
It was his most precious heirloom. Aside from his guitar, it was about he only possession he really cared about.
"Hey! Look at the shithead's face!" The yak sneered. "So it means something to you, eh? Not nice, foreigner. Here you keep ignoring me an' my boys, and react to a shitty coin... FUCKER!" He kicked him and Sado went down with a pained grunt, his eyes on the coin.
"Hey, Jiro... I think we need to teach the fucker a lesson. Gimme something heavy."
The nearest Yak looked around the alley, before grabbing a crumbled piece of a brick and giving it to the rat-faced leader.
"Heh. Yeah... That'd do nicely." The man smirked, before looking at Sado. "So, this piece of shit means something to ya? More than us, huh? Well, not nice to be ignorin' nice fellows like us, shithead. Not nice at all." He put the coin on the ground, just out of the boy's reach and raised the brick. "Now, lessee how much it takes to break it, huh?"
"Wait...!" Sado tried to raise his hand, only to get a swift kick to the face.
"Stay down you piece of shit!"
"W-wa..." Sado slurred through hsi broken lips, watching as the brick rose... only to vanish form the yakuza's hand.
"Huh?" The yak blinked. "What the f-"
"Well, well, well... what do we have here."
The voice was young. Mocking.
The thugs turned, to see an orange-haired young man in what looked to be a highschool uniform, the jacket unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up.
"Badly pressed suits ... Bad suits in general. Dorky glasses. Tattoos ..." The blond rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now who the hell might you be, I wonder." He looked at them with mock surprise. "Maybe ... used car salesmen? Well, you look oily enough to be ..."
"Kid ..." The leader growled out. "Turn away, get lost and I just might let you go without breaking your fuckin' arms."
The blond looked at he man incredulously, before snickering.
Then guffawing.
Then laughing. Right in the leader's face.
"B-bre ... Break my arms?" He threw his head back. "Bwahahahaha! Fuck ...! Dude! You should be a stand up comedian! That's some straight gold material, right here!"
Isamu looked at the laughing kid with a mixture of dumbfounded wonder and surprise.
'Is he fucking mental?'
The blond wiped his eyes, still snickering a little.
"Listen ..." he said, calming down. "You're obviously new here, since you don't know me and all. But you made me laugh like hell. So... I'm gonna give you a chance." he looked at Isamu. "Give the guy his coin back. Apologize. And then scram like good little doggies back to your kennel, take a shit and go sleep this stupidity off."
The yakuza just looked at each other dumbfounded.
'This kid... He IS mental!' Isamu thought incredulously.
"Now this is generous, so..." The blond waved his hand. "Scram."
"Fuck kid... you could have gotten of lightly. Now you'd be vistin' hospital. Get 'im." He motioned to one of his men, who shook his head and cocked back his fist.
"You dug your own hole, kid." The yak said, shaking his head. "Nothin' personal..."
The blond's hand ...
... moved.
The yakuza blinked as Jiro, large, muscle bound Jiro who had trouble finding suits that fit him, went down to his knees.
"Nothing personal, big guy." The blond looked at the dazed yak. "Now this ..." His leg moved in lazy arc, sending the large man crashing into the wall and into the arms of Morpheus. " ... this was personal."
The kid sighed, looking at the dumbfounded thugs.
"Now since you're new, I'm going to give you a little 991 before I beat the living shit out of you." The blond said in a conversational tone. "I don't know where you're from or how things were there. I don't give a shit either. This is Karakura. As long as you're here, you play by different rules, or you don't play at all." He squeezed his hand and the brick crumbled to dust. "I have nothing against ya. Everybody needs to make a living. But there are some house rules here. You behave. You don't attack people because they look at your wrong. You don't beat random guys for fun. You don't peddle you shit to children. I don't give a fuck if you want to beat the shit out of rival yaks. You can kill each other for all I care. But you don't go involving civvies in your shit. Every yak here would tell you that. If they didn't that means you are really new. So I'll just break some bones. This time."
"... are you fucking mental!" Isamu said incredulously. "Rules ... What do I care about your fuckin' rules! You think you can tell us what to do you brat?!"
The blond shrugged.
"You'll learn soon enough. Now, come on." He grinned. "I've been in a bad mood since I got up. You'll be ideal for some stress relief. Hell, I won't even go shunpo on you weaklings. Just a good, old fashioned brawl. Whaddaya say?" He chuckled. "Not that you have any choice, mind you."
"They say hitting retarded guys is bad luck, but for you I'll make an exception, shithead." Growled Isamu, lunging at the blond.
"Well, at least you have guts ..."
Isamu's eyes widened as a battering ram of a fist found his stomach.
"Pity you'll be spewing them all over the alley. But karma's a bitch, ain't she?"
"Wh-wha ...." Isamu wheezed.
"Shut up and go to sleep!" The blond snapped, sending the leader into the wall with a lazy swipe.
He cracked his neck, looking at the rest of the thugs.
"Now. Who's next?" He asked with a smirk.
***
Sado looked at the slaughter, because it most certainly wasn't a fight, with wide eyes.
He knew brawls. In his younger years, he had fought in countless alleys like that one. He knew how was it supposed to go.
Only it didn't.
The blond moved like living mercury, swatting aside the thugs as if they were flies, mocking them, throwing in an insulting commentary or two along the way.
He wasn't even winded as he plowed through the larger men like a living battering ram, crushing them with almost casual ease that wouldn't be out of place in a wuxia film.
The yaks were stubborn. The yaks were fierce. The yaks were tough.
It took less than thirty seconds for the still standing thugs to decide discretion was the better part of valor.
Only the blond didn't let them.
"Guts, but no brains. Honestly, those guys weren't even entertaining." The boy grumbled, kicking the last thug into the face, knocking him out. "Aren't they supposed to carry weapons? And none of them really knew how to fight. Honestly. The thug quality is dropping like crazy these days ..."
He turned to Sado.
"You okay?" He asked. "Nothin' broken?"
"... no ... problem ..." Sado grunted, pulling himself from the ground.
Ichigo whistled.
"Damn but you're huge." He said with surprise.
Sado nodded.
"That's yours, right?" Ichigo gave him the coin, that Sado took with gratitude. "Nice. Mexican, right? Looks like 19th century, too. Damn rare, that is."
The large boy blinked at him.
"You ... know?"
"Yeah. Sure." The blond nodded. "I've seen one of those at my friend's place. Among other stuff. She's something of a pack rat and has some oddest things from around the world. And more." He chuckled. "Kurosaki Ichigo." To Sado's surprise, he put out his hand in a western fashion.
"Sado Yasutora." The dusky skinned boy shook the blond's hand. "Thank you."
"No problem. They needed to learn the rules anyway." Ichigo shrugged. "But why didn't you fight them? I mean, more of them, sure. But you're built like a tank! I bet you could really put some of them in a world of hurt if you wanted to."
"I ... made a promise. I don't fight ... for myself." Sado said softly.
"A promise, huh?" Ichigo scratched his neck. "You're an interesting guy, Chad."
The larger teen blinked.
"It's Sado."
"Chad sounds better. Fits ya." The blond grinned, before his eyes narrowed a little. "Hmm ..." He frowned.
Sado raised an eyebrow curiously.
"I know ya ... Yeah ..." Ichigo muttered, "You go to our school, right?"
Sado looked at the familiar gray uniform on the smaller teen.
"Yes."
"Huh. Odd I never noticed ya." Muttered the blond, before raising an eyebrow. "Hmm ..."
Chad looked at the blond curiously.
"Hey, Chad... Does the word 'reiatsu' mean anything to ya?" Ichigo sad finally.
The large teen shook his head.
"Hmm..." Ichigo frowned, before shrugging. "Ah, whatever. Anyway, not fighting for yourself ... But ... that doesn't mean you're a complete pacifist, huh? Not fighting for yourself ... but fighting for others."
Sado looked at the teen in bewilderment.
They didn't know each other at all, yet the odd blond grasped the situation immediately.
"Yes."
Ichigo laughed.
"Man, I KNEW you're an interesting guy, Chad!"
"It's S-"
"Whatever. I still say Chad fits better, Chad." Ichigo waved his hand dismissively.
He pulled out a small slip of ornate paper for his pocket, giving it to Chad.
"Fools' Errands ...?" The larger boy raised an eyebrow curiously.
"It's my business. Well, OUR business. The 'little thing of ours'." Ichigo snickered briefly. "Anyway, we do all kinds of stuff, including exorcising spirits. Or stupid yaks, a things go." He smirked. "So, if you ever need an exorcist, or a trouble shooter or just a fist or two ... Give us a call, all right? You don't fight for yourself? I respect that. Hard to find people like you these days. So if you need any help... And who knows, I might just give you a call when I need a hand, so we can help out each other. Cool?"
Sado nodded slowly.
"Cool then. See ya around, Chad." Ichigo waved, made a step and ...
... vanished.
Newly christened Chad blinked owlishly, holding the ornate card with brass engraving.
***
Beating up the stupid newbie yaks was supposed to sail him through the first period.
Supposed to being the keyword here.
'Bored, bored, bored...' Ichigo slammed his head on the desk. 'I. Am. So. Damn. Bored.'
He could go to Yuuko's but...
He shuddered.
No WAY was he going to go between the Witch and Tatsuki when they were talking shop. Those two were fucking scary like that. He had no desire to end up as the guina pig again, thank you very much.
Why Tatsu-chin couldn't stick with just Kido, he would never understand.
And Yoruichi was 'out' for her little excursions too.
Geta-boshi ... no. Just no.
The man always managed to con him into working for free and it always ended with Yoruichi in a foul mood.
And embarrassment courtesy of Kisuke's more ... outlandish ideas, but that was beside the point.
Yoruichi was clear -Kisuke wanted something? Let him pay for it.
Still... even Urahara's shop was beginning to look promising the longer the day crawled.
He propped his head lazily on his hand, looking at the class for a moment until one of his classmates noticed.
The girl fidgeted nervously.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
The girl turned away so fast the blond thought she might get a whiplash.
Ichigo snorted, looking out of the window.
The reputation he and Tatsuki earned was ... less than stellar.
Or, to put it bluntly, people were scared shitless of them both.
And those few who weren't, tended to keep distance from the 'weirdness'. Like actually holding conversation with cats.
'Sheep.' Ichigo thought lazily.
he couldn't help it. It's not that he felt those people were worse than him, no. But... To walk through the world ignorant of the things around them...
It just boggled his mind.
Sure, less than one in a thousand had any shred of spiritual awareness and all, but ... hell, you didn't need any spiritual power to see some things were just too odd to be normal.
He sighed, starting to close his eyes to doze off, only to blink.
There was an origami crane floating through the window. Which wouldn't be anything out of ordinary if said crane didn't actually flap it's wings.
Ichigo snagged the crane out of the air and the origami unfurled, making the blond smirk.
'Heh. Tatsu-chin is getting better.'
His smile widened as he read the note.
'Oh HELL yeah!'
He jumped from his seat, grabbing the bookbag.
"Sensei, I feel sick. I'm going home." He said, going to the door.
The man didn't even bother to glare. After so long he was used to the fact that both Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Tatsuki tended to do what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted.
Some teachers tried to do something about that appalling lack of discipline, only to run into a wall in shape of the principal.
And it wasn't like the due had bad grades or trouble with school. Save for frequent absences.
Why principal Kurita allowed such attitude to those two particular students, Okawara would never know, but when asked the woman just smiled and waved them off.
Still, the message was clear - as long as they actually passed, the policy towards the disruptive duo was a distinctive 'hands off'.
And honestly, Okawara was happier with that. Even if the boy and the girl didn't freak out their classmates, when they stayed together too long ... odd things happened.
***
Ichigo came out of shunpo just beyond the gate.
He smirked.
'I'm getting better. Changing directions mid-movement ... Yeah. Not bad.'
It wasn't his fastest, but linking when he ran full out was still a bitch to overcome.
Which gave him a rough understanding just how ungodly fast Yoruichi must be, since she did it with downright ridiculous amount of ease.
He walked into their house, kicking the bag to the side.
"Yo, Tatsuki." He greeted the girl.
Tatsuki grunted noncommittally, busy with one of her seals.
Ichigo sighed, leaning on the wall.
His friend was notoriously unresponsive when engrossed in her work.
The best way was to simply let her finish.
A few moments later, the black haired girl tapped the seal with a satisfied smile, putting it into her back pocket.
"So. What's the word?" The blond asked curiously.
"We got a job." The brunette said fastening her gloves as she walked deeper into the odd house that served as their office.
"Yuuko's?" Ichigo asked with interest.
Those were always fun, if odd at times.
"Actually, no." Tatsuki threw him a bundle of clothes, which Ichigo grabbed with gratitude.
He HATED that school uniform.
He walked to the nearby room and dressed quickly.
"It came form a local ... Soap Land, if you believe that." Tatsuki chuckled. "I don't know the details, but it looks like some annoying spirit haunts the premises."
"Soap land?" Ichigo shook his head. "What the hell is some spirit doing hunting THAT kind of place?"
"Dunno, don't care. They're customers." Tatsuki shrugged. "It's easy money."
Ichigo stared at her flatly.
"What?" Tatsuki bristled.
"Last time you said 'easy money' we had to deal with that depressed Nue." he said dryly. "I just love playing therapist to depressed spiritual entities."
"That was a complete accident and you know it!" She said with irritation.
"Yeah. And fairies in Karakura park were ALSO an accident." He muttered. "Suuure."
"Yeah, well we handled that all right." She protested with a huff.
"At the cost of having fairies in our garden. Bloody overcurious fairies that tend to eat my Sakura-mochi, drink Yoruichi's sake and then occupy my favorite training spot. Besides, Rui SCOLDED me for 'butchering the flowers' during my last training session with Yoruichi. Do you know how annoying that is?"
"They don't bother me none." Tatsuki smirked. "Besides, I think they're cute."
"They don't bother you because you bribe them." Ichigo grumbled.
"I don't 'bribe them'." Tatsuki corrected, pulling on her vest. "I just let them take care of the garden. They're happy, we have a nice garden for free, what's not to like?"
"The fact that they tend to steal my lunch?" Ichigo said sarcastically.
"Oh, lighten up, you big grouch." Tatsuki punched his arm. "Come on. Let's earn some cash. Bills don't pay themselves, after all."
***
Ritsuko blinked.
The blond ... boy in the odd shirt raised an eyebrow.
The girl in simple pants, shirt and something that looked like a vest but had far too many pockets cocked her head.
"Is something the matter?"
"Well ... When my ... friend ... told me about you I imagined someone ... older." The woman confessed carefully.
"Yeah. We get that a lot." The blond smiled. "Don't worry, we'll do the job."
Ritsuko nodded slowly.
She was a practical woman. She would never in her entire life suspect that she'd be hiring ... exorcists, of all things.
At first she wanted the hire the Sumeragi family, but the prices were ... quite steep.
And she doubted a member of such prestigious family would work for a Soap Land.
Still, when her friend in the Yakuza vouched for these 'Fools' Errands' with his word she didn't expect children.
'Not like I have a choice ...'
"I am Arisawa Tatsuki, this is my friend Kurosaki Ichigo." The blond nodded. "You said you had some trouble." the girl said looking at her. "What makes you think it is a spiritual entity?"
"Please, follow me. We shall talk in my office." She nodded at the duo.
***
"At first it was nothing. Or it seemed that way. A client slipped a little bit. Shampoo fell of the shelf. A window was open when it shouldn't." Ritsuko took a sip of her tea. "Nothing to be alarmed about. Then ... things started to get serious. The door closed on one of the client's feet. It might have been the wind but ... there was none that day. Next time the glass simply... shattered. A day after a tub, a freshly bought one, just ... fell apart." Ritsuko sighed, closing her eyes. "After that, it only started to be worse."
"Well, those are some odd accidents but ..." Ichig scratched his head. "Why would you figure it was a ghost?"
"I didn't. Not at first." Ritsuko looked at the teenager. "But as serious as some accidents were, no girls of mine were hurt. Just customers. Customers that behaved... shall we say less than fairly to the women who serviced them?" She smiled dryly. "Then, one of the customers went ... out of hand. And suddenly things started to ... fall on him. Like shelves. The girl who was present could swear that she heard screams. The screams of a woman. Only besides her and the client there was no one there."
Tatsuki's eyebrows shot up.
"She actually heard the screams?" The girl said curiously.
Ritsuko looked at he girl carefully.
"Yes. She said so and I know her well. She didn't lie."
Tatsuki and Ichigo looked at each other, before nodding.
"Ritsuko-san ... can I talk to that girl?" Tatsuki asked. "I want to ask her a few questions."
"And I'd like to see the place where she heard those screams." Ichigo said thoughtfully.
"So you are taking it?" Ritsuko said hopefully. "I can't pay much, we didn't have a lot of business lately, but ..."
"Our standard fees should be enough. It doesn't look like an extraordinary case. However, I might be wrong. We'll see." Ichigo said getting up. "Now if I might see the place ...?"
***
Ichigo took a step to the left, cocking his head.
The air was ... heavy.
Which wasn't really surprising in this case.
Tatsuki walked in, rubbing her temples.
"Anything?" He asked her absently.
"Oh I got something all right." Tatsuki grumbled. "The girl is scared. But she isn't lying. I gave her the standard tricky question game and she definitely heard something. She is mildly spiritually aware. Nothing extreme, but enough. If the spirit WAS as pissed as she seemed ... well, it is possible she heard something. What about you?"
Ichigo frowned.
"There IS something here all right. It is a little bit odd though. As if somebody died here but ... take a look." He motioned to the small tub.
Tatsuki leaned in, extending her senses, before recoiling.
"Oh yeah. I get you." She grimaced in disgust. "I hate that stench. Bonus of increased spiritual awareness, my ass." She grumbled. "But I can see what you mean. It's like somebody ... almost died but not quite. Freaky."
"Yeah. But ... it's odd. How can somebody almost die?" Ichigo scowled. "This doesn't make sense!"
Tatsuki frowned thoughtfully looking at the tub, before her eyes widened.
"... actually, that makes a LOT of sense." She said slowly.
Ichigo turned to her.
"Look. We both know that the ghosts of the deceased that have some kind of grudge or unfinished business tend to stick to the places they have strong emotional attachment to. Usually to the place they died." Tatsuki started pacing slowly.
"Well, it's pretty basic. Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "So?"
"What if ... just what if, the spirit didn't die here?" Tatsuki stopped, looking at Ichigo. "But what if she ... TRIED to die?"
Ichigo's eyes widened.
"Suicide ... a failed one, but close enough to leave the imprint ... Damn that would fit!" He snapped his fingers. "But I don't sense a spiritual presence here at all. Not ghosts anyway. If she left an imprint she SHOULD be here. But ..."
"But she isn't." Tatsuki frowned. "Which is odd. Since she IS aggressive, it means she has some kind of grudge against someone. Or something connected with this place. But if she isn't here ... means her 'grudge' ..." Tatsuki halted. "Wait. If what Ritsuko-san said was TRUE, then the actions got progressively more aggressive over time ... But why? Spirits are damn single minded if they have a 'grudge' against the living. And notoriously repetitive."
"Yeah. But the big question is where is she now and what will she do?" Ichigo said grimly.
Tatsuki froze.
"Ichigo. I think it is a time we had an honest chat with Ritsuko-san." She growled with a scowl.
***
Chad blinked.
He wasn't a person one would call easily startled, but ...
"Help me, help me HELP ME!"
A man in a torn business suit with a mad look in his eyes certainly qualified.
"Why me? Why me?! Oh kami, why ME?! I have done nothing wrong!" The panicked man grabbed Chad, screaming into his face. "Tell me, why me?!"
Chad looked at the distressed person for a moment, before snapping his head upwards.
Without thinking, he grabbed the man, pushing hism out of the way as the wooden telephone pole fell on them.
The salaryman paled.
"Oh ... god ... it's here ..." He screamed, getting up, only to fall down as the jacket of his suit grabbed onto something.
'... odd ...' Chad frowned.
For a second there it almost seemed...
"Leave me alone!" The salaryman shrieked, trying to untangle himself from the jacket.
"... for ... yourself on...en...! I wi... r lesson!"
'No! I wasn't wrong!' His eyes widened.
There was no shape, but there really WAS a voice!
Chad paled as he saw the man jump away, finally managing to untangle himself from the jacket and running straight into the path of an oncoming truck.
Without thinking Chad grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, pulling him back with all his strength, only to grunt as something hit his back for a briefest of seconds.
"... are you all right?" He looked at the crazed man.
"Can't stay, can't stay can't stay!" The man shrieked, getting up and breaking into a run. "Oh GOD I can't stay!"
"Wait ...!"
But the man was already running away.
"Youuuuuuu ...! Scum! SCUM! SCUM!"
Chad snapped his head, trying to locate the voice, but like before, there was nothing.
"You help him! You are allll the same! SCUUUM!"
"... sorry. But he needed help."
The voice stopped abruptly.
"... you can hear me?" There was a genuine surprise in, Chad noted, decidedly feminine voice.
Chad blinked.
"No problem."
***
"Her name was Mai." Ritsuko sighed. "She was ... very beautiful. Not ideal, but a very nice girl. We all liked her. She was a kind soul, always ready to help and very likable." The matron smiled sardonically. "Not the kind of girl you'd find working in Soap Land, hmm? Very 'girl next door' type. But our clients liked her. She had that vibrancy. Zest for life."
"People with zest for life don't go killing themselves." Ichigo scowled.
"It wasn't as bad at first. Or ... we didn't think it was as bad." Ritsuko looked into ehr tea sadly. "She had always that kind smile on ... and everybody had their own problems. So..."
"You never thought to ask." Tatsuki frowned. "What happened."
"The worst what can happen to a woman in here." Ritsuko smiled bitterly. "She fell in love with a client."
***
"He was handsome. But ... that didn't matter much to me." The voice was wistful. "He was... kind. Nice. The kind of man you just ... don't meet anymore. I didn't know him at first, he was just a client. But then he came again. And ..." She trailed off.
Chad nodded.
He was speaking with a spirit. with a ghost.
Surreality of the fact just left him numb.
But she was more than a ghost. She was a person who needed help.
And that kind of people his hands were for.
"I was ... naive, I guess. He talked a lot, used such nice words. I think that I heard what I wanted to hear. He was up and coming exec. Me? I was just ... no better than a whore to him." She laughed bitterly. "He used me ... he used me ... he LEFT ME!!!" The voice turned into a screech and things started to float again. "He threw me away like a rag! And then he went a d did the same to others! I won't forgive! SCUUUM!"
Chad looked at his bento for a moment.
He'd offer the ... lady, but ... how do you give something to a person you can't see?"
He raised a bento uncertainly, looking in the rough direction of the voice.
"... for me?"
Chad nodded slowly.
"My grandfather always said that that man with a full stomach is happier than man who is hungry. That things just ... look better." He looked at the bento. "When I was sad he always made a feast. Just for the two of us. A lot of food. Simple, but it always made things ... better somehow. If he were here I think ... he'd do the same for you."
"Oh ... But ..." The voice became embarrassed. "I ... can't eat."
Chad grunted.
There was a long silence.
"Sado-san ... why are you so kind?" Mai asked hesitantly. "You don't know me. My story is ... not your burden. So why?"
"It's a right thing to do." He said simply. "When somebody is in pain ... One should do what he can to help them."
Mai laughed bitterly.
"The world doesn't work that way, Sado-san. When everything goes right, everybody love you. You have friends. Colleagues. Lovers. But ... when you fall ... That's it. Suddenly you are all alone. The friends are gone. The colleagues don't know you anymore. You are like a LEPER." She sneered. "Help? Who helped ME?! Who helped when I cried myself to sleep! WHO?! WHO?! When you fall, they won't help you!"
"'When you laugh, the world laughs with you. When you cry, you cry alone.'" Chad looked at the vicinity of the voice, only to notice with surprise that there was ... something there. Like a heat haze. "Those were the words my grandfather told me. But ..." He looked at his palms, slowly clenching them. "He also told me: You are yourself. Do what YOU think is right. Helping you is the right thing to do. And if I can help ... I will."
"... I don't understand you ... I don't understand you ..." The voice muttered hysterically. "The burden of others ... why? What FOR?! They will USE you! They will RUIN you! And then ... When you have nothing left to give ... They will leave you! ALONE!"
"They are not me. I am not them." Sado said simply. "Maybe. Maybe not. I am not doing it for others. I do what I think is right. For myself as much as for others. Because I promised. And because it is a right thing to do."
His eyes widened when he felt a surprisingly warm touch on his hands that traveled up his arms to rest on his cheeks.
"Sado ... Yasutora ..." Mai said wistfully. "What a shame ... what a shame I didn't know you before ... Such a kind man like you ... what a shame." Mai giggled. "I wouldn't care how young you are ... Oh my. You will make a lucky woman very happy someday."
Chad blinked.
"I'm sorry." The feeling of 'touch' vanished. "That I didn't meet you earlier."
***
"This is as far as you go."
Chad halted, looking to the side.
"Yo, Chad." Ichigo smiled. "I knew you were an interesting guy!"
Chad raised an eyebrow.
"Walking with ghosts ... that's a fool's errand right there, ne?" The blond grinned. "I know how it is. We both do."
The large boy blinked, only now noticing a black haired girl around his age in simple black pants and shirt almost identical to the one Ichigo was wearing, only with a strange vest with multitude of pockets over it.
There were simple black gloves on her palms and she twirled a slip of paper between her fingers lazily.
"Arisawa Tatsuki." She looked at him with a grin. "Damn, man. You're huge. Seems Ichi wasn't exaggerating, huh?" She looked to the side. "Sorry to interrupt like that but ... end of the road, Mai-san."
The ghost stared.
"You... you can SEE me?!" She said incredulously.
"Well, we'd be piss-poor exorcists if we COULDN'T." Ichigo shrugged.
"Don't stop me!" The woman growled. "He needs to pay!"
Tatsuki sighed.
"Listen, Mai-san ... It's not that I don't agree with you. Guy's scum. But ..." She rubbed her temple. "See ... there is a slight problem here. You've been here. After death. Which is kind of ... not right. If you stay long enough, you become a Hollow."
Mai blinked.
"Nasty kind of spirit." Tatsuki winced. "Real nasty. The kind that tends to eat souls."
"I don't care about that! HE needs to PAY!"
"Listen ... Ritsuko-san told us all about you. You're a good person that got dealt a shitty hand in life. You're angry. I get it. But ..." Ichigo looked in her eyes. "As a Hollow, you will eat souls. You will hunt down people who mattered to you. Kill them. And then feed on their souls. Men, women, children ... friends, patents ... Doesn't matter. You will kill them. That's what being a Hollow means. Do you really want that?"
Mai froze.
"I ..." She shuddered. "I ..."
"You are not a bad person. You are not somebody who needs to fear hell. You don't need to stay here, and slowly turn into a Hollow." Tatsuki insisted. "There is a place called Soul Society. A good place. We have a friend that can see to it that you are sent there. Please, Mai-san. There is no point in that."
"And let HIM do as he pleases?! Leave other women to fall prey to his lies, his false promises?!" Mai glared.
Sado looked at the faintly visible silhouette.
"No. Problem." He said simply.
***
"Listen man... I don't know what you want but I am an imp-"
A large fist cracked it's knuckles. Then another.
"Wait!" Izunota Hachiro scrambled back. "I have money! Plenty of money! I have no idea what you have against me but I can pay!"
A powerful blow struck the desk, leaving a sizable dent.
"MONEY!" Hachiro said desperately. "A lot of money!"
Chad looked at the man levelly.
"Money ... doesn't interest me." He said simply, taking another step.
"Not money ... girls! I have contacts! fame! I know ... I know Yakuza! Listen! This is stupid!" Hachiro screamed shrilly.
At first he had dismissed the young man, but now ...
Chad grabbed the businessman by his expensive shirt, hefting him up as he cocked his hand back.
"Mai-san sends her regards."
Hachiro's eyes widened.
***
Ichigo unpacked one of the sandwiches, opening his milk almost on auto pilot.
"Want one?"
Chad looked at his hands, coated in blood only to blink as a gloved hand held the bottle of mineral water and a pack of tissues.
"Here."
Chad nodded in thanks, quickly washing his hands off before taking the sandwich and taking a large bite out of it.
The trio ate in silence, looking at the setting sun.
"So. Moving fists for others, huh?" Ichigo gave Chad a sideways glance. "Pretty good, too."
Chad nodded.
"Seen her, did you?"
"In the end."
"Damn. Plenty of potential there, then. Usually it takes years." Ichigo smiled, chewing his sandwich with relish. "I knew you were an interesting guy, Chad."
"It's S-"
"Chad fits you better."
The large boy looked at the blond for a long moment, before getting back to his sandwich.
Tatsuki chuckled.
"Anyway, welcome to the big, wide world, Chad." She said, taking a sip of her canned tea. "I imagine things are going to be pretty odd for you now."
"No problem." Sado siad simply.
Tatsuki snickered.
"Oh. So YOU think." She twirled her can lazily. "Like to like, Chad. With heightened spiritual awareness ... well, forget about normal life."
"That is no problem." Chad said calmly, before taking another bite from his sandwich.
Tatsuki stared and Ichigo chuckled.
They sat in silence, munching on the fresh sandwiches.
Finally, Chad looked at Ichigo.
"Is this what you do?"
Ichigo shrugged, reaching for another sandwich.
"More or less. We exorcise spirits, we lead them home, we deal with shikigami, spiritual entities, we do some detective work , some exorcism - by force if needed be ... If it has even a dash of 'supernatural'" He made quotation marks with his fingers. "'Fools' Errands' does it. And more."
"And it is ... like that?" Chad said thoughtfully.
Tatsuki sighed.
"Sometimes. Human spirits ... When you deal with them and don't want to just smack around poor fellas ... Yeah. We run errands for them. Sometimes grand, sometimes small, sometimes silly or purely sentimental. Or ... Like that one." She pointed at Chad's fists. "You never can tell, really. Every job's unique, even if they look similar."
"Well we could simply drag them to Geta-boshi and have them sent to Soul Society without a word, but do I look like some Shinigami asshole?"
Chad blinked.
"... Shinigami?"
"Ah, right. Green." Ichigo smirked. "You willing to know more, Chad?"
Tatsuki sighed.
"And here we go again ..."
"... more?" The large boy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh sure!" Ichigo nodded. "You think it's just ghosts out there? Tatsu-chin told you, didn't she? This is the big world. Very freaking big. Huge. There are things out there that ..." He shook his head.
"I'd like to give you a choice. That is what I would like to say but ..." Tatsuki shrugged. "Your spiritual awareness just sat up and took a bow. And it'll make you stand out. Like to like, Chad." She grinned. "But it's not so bad. Trust me." she looked at Ichigo. "Come on, Ichi. Let's give him a small tour."
"Yuuko's?" The blond raised an eyebrow.
"Where else?" Tatsuki crumpled her can. "Hey, if we're lucky we might get dinner out of it!"
***
It was perhaps telling that it was not Ichihara Yuuko's 'store', or the so called 'office' of his most recent acquaintances that happened to throw Sado Yasutora the most that day.
The way things had been going, from the somewhat surreal morning to the more than out there midday and evening, they'd not been unexpected.
Mind-boggling, unusual and exotic in a way ... but not unexpected.
The general tone of things progressing that way had been set, one could say ...
... and it was an utterly compelling one.
Chad could honestly admit to himself that, throughout his life, he'd been looking for something.
Some reason, some meaning, some _purpose_ that just swinging his fists for the sake of others didn't quite fill. By the end of his introduction to the one, the only, Ichihara Yuuko, he thought he might just have found it.
While that feeling of coming closer to that meaning of life remained, he was starting to reconsider, as things were taking a decidedly odd turn when one considered the events of the morning.
The place was decidedly upscale, fitting in with the district they'd taken the train and later taxi to. After departing from Yuuko's Tatsuki had begged off and gone to take care of finalizing the arrangements for the completion of the job, telling Ichigo that he'd made his bed, so he'd damn well better sleep in it too.
The blond's comment on how 'aren't girls supposed to enjoy bad karaoke?' was puzzling, but when he'd asked Chad whether or not he was 'good for one more' the larger teen had just nodded.
Now? He wasn't quite certain, not that he'd show it.
The fact that the parking lot in front of the restaurant/club was full of sleek black cars and motorcycles, and several black-suited men were keeping an eye on whoever looked like they were wanting to go in, could have been the reason.
"This is the right place?"
Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, don't worry about it. It's a thing. Sometimes you've got to follow up on them, you know? Make sure the message gets there. Besides, it's been a while since dinner, so come on, good food, bad karaoke, possibly worse band, and on someone else's tab? What's not to like?"
It must have made for an odd picture, the two of them dressed casually and heading straight for the entrance, and it caught the notice of one of the watchers ...
"Oi, Johnny. Ossu," Ichigo raised a hand.
The suited man standing beside the entrance, much to Chad's amazement ... _bowed_, looking decidedly nervous.
"Ichigo-dono."
They went in, unharassed.
"She's usually here this time of the week, so I'll introduce you ... oh. Yeah," the blond scratched the back of his head. "Like I told the monkeys, Karakura's a 'play nice' sort of place, but there's still times when someone hasn't gotten the message, so when that happens, we drop by here and get something to eat. Less annoying than dealing with 'em directly, an' Ishii's got a level head on her shoulders for all that Oyabun hair-trigger temper of hers. Not as stuffy either."
An incredulous expression on his face, Sado Yasutora followed Kurosaki Ichigo into the 'House of Blue Leaves'.
***
END punch of the wild tiger
***
Stray Cat Strut
Home Ground Arc
four: Punch Of The Wild Tiger
produced by
Two Greedy Losers Without A Fairy
---
Damn, but it was uncomfortable.
One would think, it being a few years since he'd had to get used to it first, that it would get better with time.
One would be wrong.
Kurosaki Ichigo disliked a number of things.
Small dogs.
Large groups of little children.
Yoruichi stealing his milk.
And his school uniform.
No, it was no different than any other, really.
He still tried not to spend more time in it than he could possible avoid.
Even with Yuzu's little alterations so that the damn thing didn't rip when he tried something that required just a bit more freedom of motion than the designers of the bloody thing had allowed for, it was around the bottom of his list of things to wear.
He supposed it had something to do with the conformity the thing implied.
Or the idea thereof.
Ichigo thought himself very much a non-conformist, which only stood to reason.
He was the nail that stood out.
Worse, for the system that is. He was the nail that stood out and consistently broke their hammers.
He was no exam ace, but still managed to place in the upper quarter of the school's populace, often higher, consistently, even with all of his extracurricular activities.
And if that wasn't enough ... well, the teachers knew to leave him well enough alone by now. True, it was at the cost of having the reputation of a delinquent, but in his defense, the only people really suffering over it were the idiots that insisted they needed regular trips to the infirmary.
Still, unchallenging as it was, it was good stress relief.
Something like what he could use about now.
With Yoruichi out and up to her own devices, and likely to be back in a week at the earliest according to herself, and a lull on the working end of things, he was well and truly bored.
Or getting there.
He could only imagine how Tatsuki was feeling ... well, no. Tatsuki was taking the time to refine her origami with Yuuko For what purpose, Ichigo could suspect, so he didn't really mind.
Bored.
Bored.
So.
Damn.
Bored.
... huh?
Well, that was interesting.
Bad suits, worse lines, hints of tattoos when a sleeve lifted, and apparently cornering someone in an alley ...
Ichigo grinned.
Just what the doctor ordered.
***
It happened sometimes. Sado Yasutora got used to it, really.
He was large. Big. He towered even over grown men.
His stoic expression unnerved some, scared others and angered the hoods.
Besides, his shirts and the tattoo on his arm...
It was like an invitation to some of them, to push the guy around.
Bad hoods were no problem. Sado was tough. As tough as it got. A fist to the gut, a punch to the jaw, even. it was no problem.
They were kids. Aggressive, cocksure, but kids.
Sado was stronger than most adults.
Grown men, however, were a problem.
Grown men in badly pressed suits, tattoos denoting their line of work
and attitude to match...
Even more so.
But Sado ... didn't' fight back.
He COULD have. He KNEW that. Before Abuelo had stepped in, brawls on the streets of Mexico were his daily bread. A kid, a grown man ... Even a small mob. Didn't matter. Sado was strong. He was fast, despite his bulk. And in a fight, he was a tank.
But this was a promise.
And he didn't break those.
So he stood, stoically.
Even as the fists were thrown, even as the men raged, he stood. And took fist after fist. Blow after blow. Not uttering a sound.
And even when he went down, from a particularly vicious kick, he stood back up.
Looked at them.
And kept on standing silently.
Which enraged the Yakuza even more.
"Think yer so tough, big guy? EH?!" Sneered the rat-faced man throwing another punch at his jaw. "Think ya can just bump into US and get off with a simple 'sorry', you foreigner SHIT?!"
He wasn't a foreigner. He was half Japanese. He was born here even if he lived half of his life in Mexico. But telling them that would be a waste of time.
Soon, they'd get bored and leave. and he'd stand up and go home.
That's how it always was.
Almost always.
"Hey, guys... Look at that!"
The rat-faced yak ripped the coin from Sado's chest.
"Shiiiit... Now you've got something nice here, foreigner."
Sado's eyes widened.
It was his most precious heirloom. Aside from his guitar, it was about he only possession he really cared about.
"Hey! Look at the shithead's face!" The yak sneered. "So it means something to you, eh? Not nice, foreigner. Here you keep ignoring me an' my boys, and react to a shitty coin... FUCKER!" He kicked him and Sado went down with a pained grunt, his eyes on the coin.
"Hey, Jiro... I think we need to teach the fucker a lesson. Gimme something heavy."
The nearest Yak looked around the alley, before grabbing a crumbled piece of a brick and giving it to the rat-faced leader.
"Heh. Yeah... That'd do nicely." The man smirked, before looking at Sado. "So, this piece of shit means something to ya? More than us, huh? Well, not nice to be ignorin' nice fellows like us, shithead. Not nice at all." He put the coin on the ground, just out of the boy's reach and raised the brick. "Now, lessee how much it takes to break it, huh?"
"Wait...!" Sado tried to raise his hand, only to get a swift kick to the face.
"Stay down you piece of shit!"
"W-wa..." Sado slurred through hsi broken lips, watching as the brick rose... only to vanish form the yakuza's hand.
"Huh?" The yak blinked. "What the f-"
"Well, well, well... what do we have here."
The voice was young. Mocking.
The thugs turned, to see an orange-haired young man in what looked to be a highschool uniform, the jacket unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up.
"Badly pressed suits ... Bad suits in general. Dorky glasses. Tattoos ..." The blond rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now who the hell might you be, I wonder." He looked at them with mock surprise. "Maybe ... used car salesmen? Well, you look oily enough to be ..."
"Kid ..." The leader growled out. "Turn away, get lost and I just might let you go without breaking your fuckin' arms."
The blond looked at he man incredulously, before snickering.
Then guffawing.
Then laughing. Right in the leader's face.
"B-bre ... Break my arms?" He threw his head back. "Bwahahahaha! Fuck ...! Dude! You should be a stand up comedian! That's some straight gold material, right here!"
Isamu looked at the laughing kid with a mixture of dumbfounded wonder and surprise.
'Is he fucking mental?'
The blond wiped his eyes, still snickering a little.
"Listen ..." he said, calming down. "You're obviously new here, since you don't know me and all. But you made me laugh like hell. So... I'm gonna give you a chance." he looked at Isamu. "Give the guy his coin back. Apologize. And then scram like good little doggies back to your kennel, take a shit and go sleep this stupidity off."
The yakuza just looked at each other dumbfounded.
'This kid... He IS mental!' Isamu thought incredulously.
"Now this is generous, so..." The blond waved his hand. "Scram."
"Fuck kid... you could have gotten of lightly. Now you'd be vistin' hospital. Get 'im." He motioned to one of his men, who shook his head and cocked back his fist.
"You dug your own hole, kid." The yak said, shaking his head. "Nothin' personal..."
The blond's hand ...
... moved.
The yakuza blinked as Jiro, large, muscle bound Jiro who had trouble finding suits that fit him, went down to his knees.
"Nothing personal, big guy." The blond looked at the dazed yak. "Now this ..." His leg moved in lazy arc, sending the large man crashing into the wall and into the arms of Morpheus. " ... this was personal."
The kid sighed, looking at the dumbfounded thugs.
"Now since you're new, I'm going to give you a little 991 before I beat the living shit out of you." The blond said in a conversational tone. "I don't know where you're from or how things were there. I don't give a shit either. This is Karakura. As long as you're here, you play by different rules, or you don't play at all." He squeezed his hand and the brick crumbled to dust. "I have nothing against ya. Everybody needs to make a living. But there are some house rules here. You behave. You don't attack people because they look at your wrong. You don't beat random guys for fun. You don't peddle you shit to children. I don't give a fuck if you want to beat the shit out of rival yaks. You can kill each other for all I care. But you don't go involving civvies in your shit. Every yak here would tell you that. If they didn't that means you are really new. So I'll just break some bones. This time."
"... are you fucking mental!" Isamu said incredulously. "Rules ... What do I care about your fuckin' rules! You think you can tell us what to do you brat?!"
The blond shrugged.
"You'll learn soon enough. Now, come on." He grinned. "I've been in a bad mood since I got up. You'll be ideal for some stress relief. Hell, I won't even go shunpo on you weaklings. Just a good, old fashioned brawl. Whaddaya say?" He chuckled. "Not that you have any choice, mind you."
"They say hitting retarded guys is bad luck, but for you I'll make an exception, shithead." Growled Isamu, lunging at the blond.
"Well, at least you have guts ..."
Isamu's eyes widened as a battering ram of a fist found his stomach.
"Pity you'll be spewing them all over the alley. But karma's a bitch, ain't she?"
"Wh-wha ...." Isamu wheezed.
"Shut up and go to sleep!" The blond snapped, sending the leader into the wall with a lazy swipe.
He cracked his neck, looking at the rest of the thugs.
"Now. Who's next?" He asked with a smirk.
***
Sado looked at the slaughter, because it most certainly wasn't a fight, with wide eyes.
He knew brawls. In his younger years, he had fought in countless alleys like that one. He knew how was it supposed to go.
Only it didn't.
The blond moved like living mercury, swatting aside the thugs as if they were flies, mocking them, throwing in an insulting commentary or two along the way.
He wasn't even winded as he plowed through the larger men like a living battering ram, crushing them with almost casual ease that wouldn't be out of place in a wuxia film.
The yaks were stubborn. The yaks were fierce. The yaks were tough.
It took less than thirty seconds for the still standing thugs to decide discretion was the better part of valor.
Only the blond didn't let them.
"Guts, but no brains. Honestly, those guys weren't even entertaining." The boy grumbled, kicking the last thug into the face, knocking him out. "Aren't they supposed to carry weapons? And none of them really knew how to fight. Honestly. The thug quality is dropping like crazy these days ..."
He turned to Sado.
"You okay?" He asked. "Nothin' broken?"
"... no ... problem ..." Sado grunted, pulling himself from the ground.
Ichigo whistled.
"Damn but you're huge." He said with surprise.
Sado nodded.
"That's yours, right?" Ichigo gave him the coin, that Sado took with gratitude. "Nice. Mexican, right? Looks like 19th century, too. Damn rare, that is."
The large boy blinked at him.
"You ... know?"
"Yeah. Sure." The blond nodded. "I've seen one of those at my friend's place. Among other stuff. She's something of a pack rat and has some oddest things from around the world. And more." He chuckled. "Kurosaki Ichigo." To Sado's surprise, he put out his hand in a western fashion.
"Sado Yasutora." The dusky skinned boy shook the blond's hand. "Thank you."
"No problem. They needed to learn the rules anyway." Ichigo shrugged. "But why didn't you fight them? I mean, more of them, sure. But you're built like a tank! I bet you could really put some of them in a world of hurt if you wanted to."
"I ... made a promise. I don't fight ... for myself." Sado said softly.
"A promise, huh?" Ichigo scratched his neck. "You're an interesting guy, Chad."
The larger teen blinked.
"It's Sado."
"Chad sounds better. Fits ya." The blond grinned, before his eyes narrowed a little. "Hmm ..." He frowned.
Sado raised an eyebrow curiously.
"I know ya ... Yeah ..." Ichigo muttered, "You go to our school, right?"
Sado looked at the familiar gray uniform on the smaller teen.
"Yes."
"Huh. Odd I never noticed ya." Muttered the blond, before raising an eyebrow. "Hmm ..."
Chad looked at the blond curiously.
"Hey, Chad... Does the word 'reiatsu' mean anything to ya?" Ichigo sad finally.
The large teen shook his head.
"Hmm..." Ichigo frowned, before shrugging. "Ah, whatever. Anyway, not fighting for yourself ... But ... that doesn't mean you're a complete pacifist, huh? Not fighting for yourself ... but fighting for others."
Sado looked at the teen in bewilderment.
They didn't know each other at all, yet the odd blond grasped the situation immediately.
"Yes."
Ichigo laughed.
"Man, I KNEW you're an interesting guy, Chad!"
"It's S-"
"Whatever. I still say Chad fits better, Chad." Ichigo waved his hand dismissively.
He pulled out a small slip of ornate paper for his pocket, giving it to Chad.
"Fools' Errands ...?" The larger boy raised an eyebrow curiously.
"It's my business. Well, OUR business. The 'little thing of ours'." Ichigo snickered briefly. "Anyway, we do all kinds of stuff, including exorcising spirits. Or stupid yaks, a things go." He smirked. "So, if you ever need an exorcist, or a trouble shooter or just a fist or two ... Give us a call, all right? You don't fight for yourself? I respect that. Hard to find people like you these days. So if you need any help... And who knows, I might just give you a call when I need a hand, so we can help out each other. Cool?"
Sado nodded slowly.
"Cool then. See ya around, Chad." Ichigo waved, made a step and ...
... vanished.
Newly christened Chad blinked owlishly, holding the ornate card with brass engraving.
***
Beating up the stupid newbie yaks was supposed to sail him through the first period.
Supposed to being the keyword here.
'Bored, bored, bored...' Ichigo slammed his head on the desk. 'I. Am. So. Damn. Bored.'
He could go to Yuuko's but...
He shuddered.
No WAY was he going to go between the Witch and Tatsuki when they were talking shop. Those two were fucking scary like that. He had no desire to end up as the guina pig again, thank you very much.
Why Tatsu-chin couldn't stick with just Kido, he would never understand.
And Yoruichi was 'out' for her little excursions too.
Geta-boshi ... no. Just no.
The man always managed to con him into working for free and it always ended with Yoruichi in a foul mood.
And embarrassment courtesy of Kisuke's more ... outlandish ideas, but that was beside the point.
Yoruichi was clear -Kisuke wanted something? Let him pay for it.
Still... even Urahara's shop was beginning to look promising the longer the day crawled.
He propped his head lazily on his hand, looking at the class for a moment until one of his classmates noticed.
The girl fidgeted nervously.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
The girl turned away so fast the blond thought she might get a whiplash.
Ichigo snorted, looking out of the window.
The reputation he and Tatsuki earned was ... less than stellar.
Or, to put it bluntly, people were scared shitless of them both.
And those few who weren't, tended to keep distance from the 'weirdness'. Like actually holding conversation with cats.
'Sheep.' Ichigo thought lazily.
he couldn't help it. It's not that he felt those people were worse than him, no. But... To walk through the world ignorant of the things around them...
It just boggled his mind.
Sure, less than one in a thousand had any shred of spiritual awareness and all, but ... hell, you didn't need any spiritual power to see some things were just too odd to be normal.
He sighed, starting to close his eyes to doze off, only to blink.
There was an origami crane floating through the window. Which wouldn't be anything out of ordinary if said crane didn't actually flap it's wings.
Ichigo snagged the crane out of the air and the origami unfurled, making the blond smirk.
'Heh. Tatsu-chin is getting better.'
His smile widened as he read the note.
'Oh HELL yeah!'
He jumped from his seat, grabbing the bookbag.
"Sensei, I feel sick. I'm going home." He said, going to the door.
The man didn't even bother to glare. After so long he was used to the fact that both Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Tatsuki tended to do what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted.
Some teachers tried to do something about that appalling lack of discipline, only to run into a wall in shape of the principal.
And it wasn't like the due had bad grades or trouble with school. Save for frequent absences.
Why principal Kurita allowed such attitude to those two particular students, Okawara would never know, but when asked the woman just smiled and waved them off.
Still, the message was clear - as long as they actually passed, the policy towards the disruptive duo was a distinctive 'hands off'.
And honestly, Okawara was happier with that. Even if the boy and the girl didn't freak out their classmates, when they stayed together too long ... odd things happened.
***
Ichigo came out of shunpo just beyond the gate.
He smirked.
'I'm getting better. Changing directions mid-movement ... Yeah. Not bad.'
It wasn't his fastest, but linking when he ran full out was still a bitch to overcome.
Which gave him a rough understanding just how ungodly fast Yoruichi must be, since she did it with downright ridiculous amount of ease.
He walked into their house, kicking the bag to the side.
"Yo, Tatsuki." He greeted the girl.
Tatsuki grunted noncommittally, busy with one of her seals.
Ichigo sighed, leaning on the wall.
His friend was notoriously unresponsive when engrossed in her work.
The best way was to simply let her finish.
A few moments later, the black haired girl tapped the seal with a satisfied smile, putting it into her back pocket.
"So. What's the word?" The blond asked curiously.
"We got a job." The brunette said fastening her gloves as she walked deeper into the odd house that served as their office.
"Yuuko's?" Ichigo asked with interest.
Those were always fun, if odd at times.
"Actually, no." Tatsuki threw him a bundle of clothes, which Ichigo grabbed with gratitude.
He HATED that school uniform.
He walked to the nearby room and dressed quickly.
"It came form a local ... Soap Land, if you believe that." Tatsuki chuckled. "I don't know the details, but it looks like some annoying spirit haunts the premises."
"Soap land?" Ichigo shook his head. "What the hell is some spirit doing hunting THAT kind of place?"
"Dunno, don't care. They're customers." Tatsuki shrugged. "It's easy money."
Ichigo stared at her flatly.
"What?" Tatsuki bristled.
"Last time you said 'easy money' we had to deal with that depressed Nue." he said dryly. "I just love playing therapist to depressed spiritual entities."
"That was a complete accident and you know it!" She said with irritation.
"Yeah. And fairies in Karakura park were ALSO an accident." He muttered. "Suuure."
"Yeah, well we handled that all right." She protested with a huff.
"At the cost of having fairies in our garden. Bloody overcurious fairies that tend to eat my Sakura-mochi, drink Yoruichi's sake and then occupy my favorite training spot. Besides, Rui SCOLDED me for 'butchering the flowers' during my last training session with Yoruichi. Do you know how annoying that is?"
"They don't bother me none." Tatsuki smirked. "Besides, I think they're cute."
"They don't bother you because you bribe them." Ichigo grumbled.
"I don't 'bribe them'." Tatsuki corrected, pulling on her vest. "I just let them take care of the garden. They're happy, we have a nice garden for free, what's not to like?"
"The fact that they tend to steal my lunch?" Ichigo said sarcastically.
"Oh, lighten up, you big grouch." Tatsuki punched his arm. "Come on. Let's earn some cash. Bills don't pay themselves, after all."
***
Ritsuko blinked.
The blond ... boy in the odd shirt raised an eyebrow.
The girl in simple pants, shirt and something that looked like a vest but had far too many pockets cocked her head.
"Is something the matter?"
"Well ... When my ... friend ... told me about you I imagined someone ... older." The woman confessed carefully.
"Yeah. We get that a lot." The blond smiled. "Don't worry, we'll do the job."
Ritsuko nodded slowly.
She was a practical woman. She would never in her entire life suspect that she'd be hiring ... exorcists, of all things.
At first she wanted the hire the Sumeragi family, but the prices were ... quite steep.
And she doubted a member of such prestigious family would work for a Soap Land.
Still, when her friend in the Yakuza vouched for these 'Fools' Errands' with his word she didn't expect children.
'Not like I have a choice ...'
"I am Arisawa Tatsuki, this is my friend Kurosaki Ichigo." The blond nodded. "You said you had some trouble." the girl said looking at her. "What makes you think it is a spiritual entity?"
"Please, follow me. We shall talk in my office." She nodded at the duo.
***
"At first it was nothing. Or it seemed that way. A client slipped a little bit. Shampoo fell of the shelf. A window was open when it shouldn't." Ritsuko took a sip of her tea. "Nothing to be alarmed about. Then ... things started to get serious. The door closed on one of the client's feet. It might have been the wind but ... there was none that day. Next time the glass simply... shattered. A day after a tub, a freshly bought one, just ... fell apart." Ritsuko sighed, closing her eyes. "After that, it only started to be worse."
"Well, those are some odd accidents but ..." Ichig scratched his head. "Why would you figure it was a ghost?"
"I didn't. Not at first." Ritsuko looked at the teenager. "But as serious as some accidents were, no girls of mine were hurt. Just customers. Customers that behaved... shall we say less than fairly to the women who serviced them?" She smiled dryly. "Then, one of the customers went ... out of hand. And suddenly things started to ... fall on him. Like shelves. The girl who was present could swear that she heard screams. The screams of a woman. Only besides her and the client there was no one there."
Tatsuki's eyebrows shot up.
"She actually heard the screams?" The girl said curiously.
Ritsuko looked at he girl carefully.
"Yes. She said so and I know her well. She didn't lie."
Tatsuki and Ichigo looked at each other, before nodding.
"Ritsuko-san ... can I talk to that girl?" Tatsuki asked. "I want to ask her a few questions."
"And I'd like to see the place where she heard those screams." Ichigo said thoughtfully.
"So you are taking it?" Ritsuko said hopefully. "I can't pay much, we didn't have a lot of business lately, but ..."
"Our standard fees should be enough. It doesn't look like an extraordinary case. However, I might be wrong. We'll see." Ichigo said getting up. "Now if I might see the place ...?"
***
Ichigo took a step to the left, cocking his head.
The air was ... heavy.
Which wasn't really surprising in this case.
Tatsuki walked in, rubbing her temples.
"Anything?" He asked her absently.
"Oh I got something all right." Tatsuki grumbled. "The girl is scared. But she isn't lying. I gave her the standard tricky question game and she definitely heard something. She is mildly spiritually aware. Nothing extreme, but enough. If the spirit WAS as pissed as she seemed ... well, it is possible she heard something. What about you?"
Ichigo frowned.
"There IS something here all right. It is a little bit odd though. As if somebody died here but ... take a look." He motioned to the small tub.
Tatsuki leaned in, extending her senses, before recoiling.
"Oh yeah. I get you." She grimaced in disgust. "I hate that stench. Bonus of increased spiritual awareness, my ass." She grumbled. "But I can see what you mean. It's like somebody ... almost died but not quite. Freaky."
"Yeah. But ... it's odd. How can somebody almost die?" Ichigo scowled. "This doesn't make sense!"
Tatsuki frowned thoughtfully looking at the tub, before her eyes widened.
"... actually, that makes a LOT of sense." She said slowly.
Ichigo turned to her.
"Look. We both know that the ghosts of the deceased that have some kind of grudge or unfinished business tend to stick to the places they have strong emotional attachment to. Usually to the place they died." Tatsuki started pacing slowly.
"Well, it's pretty basic. Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "So?"
"What if ... just what if, the spirit didn't die here?" Tatsuki stopped, looking at Ichigo. "But what if she ... TRIED to die?"
Ichigo's eyes widened.
"Suicide ... a failed one, but close enough to leave the imprint ... Damn that would fit!" He snapped his fingers. "But I don't sense a spiritual presence here at all. Not ghosts anyway. If she left an imprint she SHOULD be here. But ..."
"But she isn't." Tatsuki frowned. "Which is odd. Since she IS aggressive, it means she has some kind of grudge against someone. Or something connected with this place. But if she isn't here ... means her 'grudge' ..." Tatsuki halted. "Wait. If what Ritsuko-san said was TRUE, then the actions got progressively more aggressive over time ... But why? Spirits are damn single minded if they have a 'grudge' against the living. And notoriously repetitive."
"Yeah. But the big question is where is she now and what will she do?" Ichigo said grimly.
Tatsuki froze.
"Ichigo. I think it is a time we had an honest chat with Ritsuko-san." She growled with a scowl.
***
Chad blinked.
He wasn't a person one would call easily startled, but ...
"Help me, help me HELP ME!"
A man in a torn business suit with a mad look in his eyes certainly qualified.
"Why me? Why me?! Oh kami, why ME?! I have done nothing wrong!" The panicked man grabbed Chad, screaming into his face. "Tell me, why me?!"
Chad looked at the distressed person for a moment, before snapping his head upwards.
Without thinking, he grabbed the man, pushing hism out of the way as the wooden telephone pole fell on them.
The salaryman paled.
"Oh ... god ... it's here ..." He screamed, getting up, only to fall down as the jacket of his suit grabbed onto something.
'... odd ...' Chad frowned.
For a second there it almost seemed...
"Leave me alone!" The salaryman shrieked, trying to untangle himself from the jacket.
"... for ... yourself on...en...! I wi... r lesson!"
'No! I wasn't wrong!' His eyes widened.
There was no shape, but there really WAS a voice!
Chad paled as he saw the man jump away, finally managing to untangle himself from the jacket and running straight into the path of an oncoming truck.
Without thinking Chad grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, pulling him back with all his strength, only to grunt as something hit his back for a briefest of seconds.
"... are you all right?" He looked at the crazed man.
"Can't stay, can't stay can't stay!" The man shrieked, getting up and breaking into a run. "Oh GOD I can't stay!"
"Wait ...!"
But the man was already running away.
"Youuuuuuu ...! Scum! SCUM! SCUM!"
Chad snapped his head, trying to locate the voice, but like before, there was nothing.
"You help him! You are allll the same! SCUUUM!"
"... sorry. But he needed help."
The voice stopped abruptly.
"... you can hear me?" There was a genuine surprise in, Chad noted, decidedly feminine voice.
Chad blinked.
"No problem."
***
"Her name was Mai." Ritsuko sighed. "She was ... very beautiful. Not ideal, but a very nice girl. We all liked her. She was a kind soul, always ready to help and very likable." The matron smiled sardonically. "Not the kind of girl you'd find working in Soap Land, hmm? Very 'girl next door' type. But our clients liked her. She had that vibrancy. Zest for life."
"People with zest for life don't go killing themselves." Ichigo scowled.
"It wasn't as bad at first. Or ... we didn't think it was as bad." Ritsuko looked into ehr tea sadly. "She had always that kind smile on ... and everybody had their own problems. So..."
"You never thought to ask." Tatsuki frowned. "What happened."
"The worst what can happen to a woman in here." Ritsuko smiled bitterly. "She fell in love with a client."
***
"He was handsome. But ... that didn't matter much to me." The voice was wistful. "He was... kind. Nice. The kind of man you just ... don't meet anymore. I didn't know him at first, he was just a client. But then he came again. And ..." She trailed off.
Chad nodded.
He was speaking with a spirit. with a ghost.
Surreality of the fact just left him numb.
But she was more than a ghost. She was a person who needed help.
And that kind of people his hands were for.
"I was ... naive, I guess. He talked a lot, used such nice words. I think that I heard what I wanted to hear. He was up and coming exec. Me? I was just ... no better than a whore to him." She laughed bitterly. "He used me ... he used me ... he LEFT ME!!!" The voice turned into a screech and things started to float again. "He threw me away like a rag! And then he went a d did the same to others! I won't forgive! SCUUUM!"
Chad looked at his bento for a moment.
He'd offer the ... lady, but ... how do you give something to a person you can't see?"
He raised a bento uncertainly, looking in the rough direction of the voice.
"... for me?"
Chad nodded slowly.
"My grandfather always said that that man with a full stomach is happier than man who is hungry. That things just ... look better." He looked at the bento. "When I was sad he always made a feast. Just for the two of us. A lot of food. Simple, but it always made things ... better somehow. If he were here I think ... he'd do the same for you."
"Oh ... But ..." The voice became embarrassed. "I ... can't eat."
Chad grunted.
There was a long silence.
"Sado-san ... why are you so kind?" Mai asked hesitantly. "You don't know me. My story is ... not your burden. So why?"
"It's a right thing to do." He said simply. "When somebody is in pain ... One should do what he can to help them."
Mai laughed bitterly.
"The world doesn't work that way, Sado-san. When everything goes right, everybody love you. You have friends. Colleagues. Lovers. But ... when you fall ... That's it. Suddenly you are all alone. The friends are gone. The colleagues don't know you anymore. You are like a LEPER." She sneered. "Help? Who helped ME?! Who helped when I cried myself to sleep! WHO?! WHO?! When you fall, they won't help you!"
"'When you laugh, the world laughs with you. When you cry, you cry alone.'" Chad looked at the vicinity of the voice, only to notice with surprise that there was ... something there. Like a heat haze. "Those were the words my grandfather told me. But ..." He looked at his palms, slowly clenching them. "He also told me: You are yourself. Do what YOU think is right. Helping you is the right thing to do. And if I can help ... I will."
"... I don't understand you ... I don't understand you ..." The voice muttered hysterically. "The burden of others ... why? What FOR?! They will USE you! They will RUIN you! And then ... When you have nothing left to give ... They will leave you! ALONE!"
"They are not me. I am not them." Sado said simply. "Maybe. Maybe not. I am not doing it for others. I do what I think is right. For myself as much as for others. Because I promised. And because it is a right thing to do."
His eyes widened when he felt a surprisingly warm touch on his hands that traveled up his arms to rest on his cheeks.
"Sado ... Yasutora ..." Mai said wistfully. "What a shame ... what a shame I didn't know you before ... Such a kind man like you ... what a shame." Mai giggled. "I wouldn't care how young you are ... Oh my. You will make a lucky woman very happy someday."
Chad blinked.
"I'm sorry." The feeling of 'touch' vanished. "That I didn't meet you earlier."
***
"This is as far as you go."
Chad halted, looking to the side.
"Yo, Chad." Ichigo smiled. "I knew you were an interesting guy!"
Chad raised an eyebrow.
"Walking with ghosts ... that's a fool's errand right there, ne?" The blond grinned. "I know how it is. We both do."
The large boy blinked, only now noticing a black haired girl around his age in simple black pants and shirt almost identical to the one Ichigo was wearing, only with a strange vest with multitude of pockets over it.
There were simple black gloves on her palms and she twirled a slip of paper between her fingers lazily.
"Arisawa Tatsuki." She looked at him with a grin. "Damn, man. You're huge. Seems Ichi wasn't exaggerating, huh?" She looked to the side. "Sorry to interrupt like that but ... end of the road, Mai-san."
The ghost stared.
"You... you can SEE me?!" She said incredulously.
"Well, we'd be piss-poor exorcists if we COULDN'T." Ichigo shrugged.
"Don't stop me!" The woman growled. "He needs to pay!"
Tatsuki sighed.
"Listen, Mai-san ... It's not that I don't agree with you. Guy's scum. But ..." She rubbed her temple. "See ... there is a slight problem here. You've been here. After death. Which is kind of ... not right. If you stay long enough, you become a Hollow."
Mai blinked.
"Nasty kind of spirit." Tatsuki winced. "Real nasty. The kind that tends to eat souls."
"I don't care about that! HE needs to PAY!"
"Listen ... Ritsuko-san told us all about you. You're a good person that got dealt a shitty hand in life. You're angry. I get it. But ..." Ichigo looked in her eyes. "As a Hollow, you will eat souls. You will hunt down people who mattered to you. Kill them. And then feed on their souls. Men, women, children ... friends, patents ... Doesn't matter. You will kill them. That's what being a Hollow means. Do you really want that?"
Mai froze.
"I ..." She shuddered. "I ..."
"You are not a bad person. You are not somebody who needs to fear hell. You don't need to stay here, and slowly turn into a Hollow." Tatsuki insisted. "There is a place called Soul Society. A good place. We have a friend that can see to it that you are sent there. Please, Mai-san. There is no point in that."
"And let HIM do as he pleases?! Leave other women to fall prey to his lies, his false promises?!" Mai glared.
Sado looked at the faintly visible silhouette.
"No. Problem." He said simply.
***
"Listen man... I don't know what you want but I am an imp-"
A large fist cracked it's knuckles. Then another.
"Wait!" Izunota Hachiro scrambled back. "I have money! Plenty of money! I have no idea what you have against me but I can pay!"
A powerful blow struck the desk, leaving a sizable dent.
"MONEY!" Hachiro said desperately. "A lot of money!"
Chad looked at the man levelly.
"Money ... doesn't interest me." He said simply, taking another step.
"Not money ... girls! I have contacts! fame! I know ... I know Yakuza! Listen! This is stupid!" Hachiro screamed shrilly.
At first he had dismissed the young man, but now ...
Chad grabbed the businessman by his expensive shirt, hefting him up as he cocked his hand back.
"Mai-san sends her regards."
Hachiro's eyes widened.
***
Ichigo unpacked one of the sandwiches, opening his milk almost on auto pilot.
"Want one?"
Chad looked at his hands, coated in blood only to blink as a gloved hand held the bottle of mineral water and a pack of tissues.
"Here."
Chad nodded in thanks, quickly washing his hands off before taking the sandwich and taking a large bite out of it.
The trio ate in silence, looking at the setting sun.
"So. Moving fists for others, huh?" Ichigo gave Chad a sideways glance. "Pretty good, too."
Chad nodded.
"Seen her, did you?"
"In the end."
"Damn. Plenty of potential there, then. Usually it takes years." Ichigo smiled, chewing his sandwich with relish. "I knew you were an interesting guy, Chad."
"It's S-"
"Chad fits you better."
The large boy looked at the blond for a long moment, before getting back to his sandwich.
Tatsuki chuckled.
"Anyway, welcome to the big, wide world, Chad." She said, taking a sip of her canned tea. "I imagine things are going to be pretty odd for you now."
"No problem." Sado siad simply.
Tatsuki snickered.
"Oh. So YOU think." She twirled her can lazily. "Like to like, Chad. With heightened spiritual awareness ... well, forget about normal life."
"That is no problem." Chad said calmly, before taking another bite from his sandwich.
Tatsuki stared and Ichigo chuckled.
They sat in silence, munching on the fresh sandwiches.
Finally, Chad looked at Ichigo.
"Is this what you do?"
Ichigo shrugged, reaching for another sandwich.
"More or less. We exorcise spirits, we lead them home, we deal with shikigami, spiritual entities, we do some detective work , some exorcism - by force if needed be ... If it has even a dash of 'supernatural'" He made quotation marks with his fingers. "'Fools' Errands' does it. And more."
"And it is ... like that?" Chad said thoughtfully.
Tatsuki sighed.
"Sometimes. Human spirits ... When you deal with them and don't want to just smack around poor fellas ... Yeah. We run errands for them. Sometimes grand, sometimes small, sometimes silly or purely sentimental. Or ... Like that one." She pointed at Chad's fists. "You never can tell, really. Every job's unique, even if they look similar."
"Well we could simply drag them to Geta-boshi and have them sent to Soul Society without a word, but do I look like some Shinigami asshole?"
Chad blinked.
"... Shinigami?"
"Ah, right. Green." Ichigo smirked. "You willing to know more, Chad?"
Tatsuki sighed.
"And here we go again ..."
"... more?" The large boy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh sure!" Ichigo nodded. "You think it's just ghosts out there? Tatsu-chin told you, didn't she? This is the big world. Very freaking big. Huge. There are things out there that ..." He shook his head.
"I'd like to give you a choice. That is what I would like to say but ..." Tatsuki shrugged. "Your spiritual awareness just sat up and took a bow. And it'll make you stand out. Like to like, Chad." She grinned. "But it's not so bad. Trust me." she looked at Ichigo. "Come on, Ichi. Let's give him a small tour."
"Yuuko's?" The blond raised an eyebrow.
"Where else?" Tatsuki crumpled her can. "Hey, if we're lucky we might get dinner out of it!"
***
It was perhaps telling that it was not Ichihara Yuuko's 'store', or the so called 'office' of his most recent acquaintances that happened to throw Sado Yasutora the most that day.
The way things had been going, from the somewhat surreal morning to the more than out there midday and evening, they'd not been unexpected.
Mind-boggling, unusual and exotic in a way ... but not unexpected.
The general tone of things progressing that way had been set, one could say ...
... and it was an utterly compelling one.
Chad could honestly admit to himself that, throughout his life, he'd been looking for something.
Some reason, some meaning, some _purpose_ that just swinging his fists for the sake of others didn't quite fill. By the end of his introduction to the one, the only, Ichihara Yuuko, he thought he might just have found it.
While that feeling of coming closer to that meaning of life remained, he was starting to reconsider, as things were taking a decidedly odd turn when one considered the events of the morning.
The place was decidedly upscale, fitting in with the district they'd taken the train and later taxi to. After departing from Yuuko's Tatsuki had begged off and gone to take care of finalizing the arrangements for the completion of the job, telling Ichigo that he'd made his bed, so he'd damn well better sleep in it too.
The blond's comment on how 'aren't girls supposed to enjoy bad karaoke?' was puzzling, but when he'd asked Chad whether or not he was 'good for one more' the larger teen had just nodded.
Now? He wasn't quite certain, not that he'd show it.
The fact that the parking lot in front of the restaurant/club was full of sleek black cars and motorcycles, and several black-suited men were keeping an eye on whoever looked like they were wanting to go in, could have been the reason.
"This is the right place?"
Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, don't worry about it. It's a thing. Sometimes you've got to follow up on them, you know? Make sure the message gets there. Besides, it's been a while since dinner, so come on, good food, bad karaoke, possibly worse band, and on someone else's tab? What's not to like?"
It must have made for an odd picture, the two of them dressed casually and heading straight for the entrance, and it caught the notice of one of the watchers ...
"Oi, Johnny. Ossu," Ichigo raised a hand.
The suited man standing beside the entrance, much to Chad's amazement ... _bowed_, looking decidedly nervous.
"Ichigo-dono."
They went in, unharassed.
"She's usually here this time of the week, so I'll introduce you ... oh. Yeah," the blond scratched the back of his head. "Like I told the monkeys, Karakura's a 'play nice' sort of place, but there's still times when someone hasn't gotten the message, so when that happens, we drop by here and get something to eat. Less annoying than dealing with 'em directly, an' Ishii's got a level head on her shoulders for all that Oyabun hair-trigger temper of hers. Not as stuffy either."
An incredulous expression on his face, Sado Yasutora followed Kurosaki Ichigo into the 'House of Blue Leaves'.
***
END punch of the wild tiger
***
