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Chapter Text

[Soul Society]

[Rukongai District #67]

"We are nearing the area from where the patrol unit sent the call for help!" The female Shinigami with long, dark hair tied up, with strands hanging on each side of her face, informed her companion. "I can sense multiple Hollows too in that area. Too much for the patrol team to handle by themselves."

"I just hope we make it on time." Her male companion gritted his teeth, increasing his pace even more. The male Shinigami was a rather tall man with aqua green eyes and spiky, raven black hair. On his left arm, he wore a badge that signified him as the Vice-Captain of a Division. He pulled out his Zanpakuto from the sheath when they arrived at their destination, greeted with a sight he never wanted to witness.

Six Hollows were gathered around the area, with a few of them having just finished devouring the members of the patrol. Seeing the pair of Shinigami drop by, they all refocused their attention to their natural nemesis.

"I sensed seven of the Hollows, one is missing but I bet that one is nearby." The female Shinigami spoke, unsheathing her Zanpakuto and taking a ready stance. "What's strange is that the Hollows who are known to act independently are working together."

"We can leave that stuff to Division 12 for studying." The male responded with a frown. "Right now taking care of these Hollows takes priority. We need to wrap this up quickly and search for the missing Hollow. Don't hold back!"

"Roger that!"

Rushing up to the nearest humanoid-shaped Hollow, the female Shinigami performed a clean cut on its chest. The latter backed off before spreading its wings and taking flight to attempt a counterattack. The Shinigami retaliated by putting out her left palm forward and charged a red sphere of flames. "Hado #31, Shakkaho!"

"Bakudo #4, Hainawa!" Not wasting a single second, she moved on to the next Hollow, quickly binding its arms with yellow ropes made of Spiritual Power before proceeding to slash off its mask. The Hollow disintegrated after taking a single attack in the head. Finishing on her side, she spared a glance at her senior officer.

The male Shinigami finished the last of the Hollows he was facing by first disappearing from its line of attack and reappearing right behind it using Shunpo before cutting off the Hollow's arms which were attached to its wings. He then thrusted his weapon into the Hollow's mouth before performing a horizontal slash, cutting its head into two.

"Let's go look out for the last remaining Hollow." He instructed, earning a nod from his subordinate. 'If the Hollows are really acting in a group then is it the leader? With intelligence?'

Similar questions raced in the minds of both the Shinigami as they disappeared from view, in search of the seventh Hollow hiding whom they knew was somewhere close by.
_______________________________________________________
(At the same time)

"Suzaku!" The girl's horrified shriek resonated throughout the small hut she and her only brother resided in. She had long deep black hair and a pair of vibrant golden eyes which were now filled with pure horror and despair at the sight of her younger brother's lifeless form held loosely by the red fur-like tentacles that had run through his torso.

"Aren't you a little hero? Thinking you could protect your sister?" A huge, hut-sized green-colored Hollow mocked, holding the black-haired boy via his red fur that surrounded his mask.

"N-Natsumi nee-san..." Coughing up blood, the boy named Suzaku glanced at his older sister, his right eye slightly opened, sparing a glance at his sibling, before glaring back at the Hollow. Gathering whatever of the strength he had in his arms, he grabbed the tentacle that had ran through his torso and tried pulling it out. "R-Run..."

"Never! I am not leaving you to die!" She protested. Being the older sibling, it was her duty to protect her younger brother. That is what the older siblings do. But in front of this Hollow, fear took over her and she couldn't even move a muscle. Hollows are dangerous and this one being an intelligent one along with being able to communicate is going to be even more dangerous than usual Hollows.

The siblings are no Shinigami that will be able to fight against Hollows. Neither did they have proper training of a Shinigami nor do they have their Zanpakuto, specialized weapons used by the Shinigami to exterminate the Hollows. Being normal citizens of the Rukongai district, they are now at the mercy of this Hollow.

"You see, I am quite the connoisseur of rare and unusual souls. You two have got quite the peculiar Reiryoku about you." The Hollow ranted on, enjoying the horrified look on the girl's face. Given his sadistic nature, he enjoyed seeing the expression of fear and despair on the faces of his prey till the very last second. "With that said I will be devouring your souls today and I am thinking of starting with the eldest. That would be you I guess."

"It's me.." The girl admitted with a gulp, her voice barely a whisper. She needs to buy time somehow. The Shinigami would be notified about the Hollow appearance by now and should have made their move. Having seen how fast they are on their feet in a previous occasion, she believed that they might make it on time to save her brother. "L-Leave my br-brother.."

"No can do. I will be devouring both of you. But since I am a man of my word, I will start with the eldest first." The Hollow smirked deviously, slowly advancing towards the girl when he felt a stronger pair of Reiatsu approaching his direction. "Damn those accursed Shinigami!"

Knowing full well that he won't stand a chance against a Vice-Captain and a Third Seat pair of Shinigami, he believed that retreating would be in his best interests. Tossing the half-dead boy towards his sister, he made a run for his life, jumping inside a spatial distortion which appeared out of nowhere. After the Hollow jumped into it, the rift disappeared.

'Suzaku!' Feeling her strength returning to her upon the Hollow's retreat, Natsumi crawled up to her brother's unconscious body. His breathing was slow and his chest barely moved with each breath. It seemed he was stubborn enough to hang onto life, albeit barely. 'I must save him! I need to!'

She pressed her palms above the gaping hole on his torso before a dull golden glow surrounded both her palms along with the hole on her brother's body. The hole slowly begin closing in as the girl continued to pour more energy into it. 'This power really is taxing but I need to endure it. I can't let him die here like this! Not yet..'

Fueled with the determination to save her brother, her only family member at all costs, Natsumi poured more of her energy into this mysterious healing technique. The wound was soon closed up and there wasn't any sign of it anymore on Suzaku's body. Not even a scar!

Feeling dizzy and tired after spending a lot of Reiryoku on healing her half-dead brother, she fell down unconscious right next to him.

"Did you see it?" The pair of Shinigami revealed themselves from hiding, their gazes fixated on the unconscious siblings lying on the floor. By the time they had arrived the Hollow had already retreated but what stopped them here was the healing technique used by the girl.

"This level of healing rivals that of Captain Unohana." The male muttered, going inside the hut and checking up on the boy. His female companion did the same with the girl. "Either it is advanced healing or Time-related Kido."

"But, isn't that forbidden by Central 46!?" The female Shinigami remarked.

"The ban applies to only the Shinigami and the Kido corps. That holds no value to the members of the Noble Family or the countless citizens of Rukongai." The male responded with a serious gaze. "After all they cannot look into each and every citizen with their limited manpower. Plus they leave these faraway districts to their own devices."

"I see." The female nodded, contemplating the information shared by her senior. "What do we do about these kids? Leaving them here would be risky for their lives."

"Yes, if the Hollow is an intelligent one, it will definitely return for them once they are left unguarded." The male paused for a few seconds, thinking about their approach to this situation. "Let's take them to my house."

"Are you sure about that?" The female raised an eyebrow.

"It's a better option than handing them over to a Hollow or the members of Division 11 or 12." The male didn't waste a second to respond, picking up the unconscious boy in his arms. "At least I can guarantee their safety in my household."

"Are you really sure about that?" His subordinate inquired, picking up the girl in her arms.

"Have some faith in me will ya?" The Vice-Captain let out an annoyed grunt before using Shunpo to disappear from the view, his subordinate following right after.

'Everything should be fine as long as Kukaku and Ganju keep it under control...'
_____________________________________________________
(A Few Hours Later)

"So Hollows cooperating and coordinating with one another, showcasing a very bare minimum intelligence level." The Shinigami from the 12th Division summarized the reporting of the female Shinigami standing in front of him. The latter belonged to the 13th Division of the Gotei 13, the official name for Soul Society's military force. "To me it seems as if the Hollows were listening to orders of someone stronger than them. Anyways, anything else to report?"

"Nothing new as such." She shook her head in response. "Aside from the fact that there was an intelligent Hollow who managed to sense our presence and escape even before we could confront it."

"I will make sure to report this to Captain Urahara. Rest assured." With that, the Shinigami disappeared from the thin air, heading straight for the barracks of Division 12.

Letting out a sigh, the female used Shunpo, heading straight for her squad's barracks. She had to write the report for today's patrol and mission. Since her Vice-Captain would be busy taking care of the children they found, all the workload regarding the paperwork now rested on her shoulders.
'I should go pay them a visit once I am done with the paperwork since we still lack information on the Hollow that attacked them.'
________________________________________________________
(The next day)

"W-where am I?" Was the first question Suzaku asked himself upon feeling his consciousness return to him. He slightly opened his eyes only to snap them shut. It was difficult to adjust to bright light right after waking up from a long slumber. Slightly rubbing his eyes, he reopened them, experiencing a blurred vision.
With his blurry eyesight slowly fading away, he was welcomed with the sight of a well-painted ceiling. Pushing himself up and sitting up straight, he took a quick look around the room he was in. The room was vastly different from the hut he and his sister stayed in for almost more than half of their lives. It was well-furnished and the floors were spotlessly clean.

It felt as if the place where he resides in and the place he is in right now are completely separate worlds. "Right! Nee-san! The Hollow?!"

Yesterday's events came back rushing in his mind. Their village was attacked by the Hollows who started wreaking havoc all around. Then a small group of Shinigami did arrive to help the people evacuate from the village. They were the Patrol Unit which was tasked with scouting and patrolling different areas of the Rukongai and checking if everything was fine or not. During Hollow attacks, their priority-basis task is to evacuate the citizens around the area. The ones who don't have any fighting skills are basically tasked with this job.

The Patrol Unit was soon wiped out by the leader of the Hollows who seemed to be leading them. It was the same Hollow that made the siblings his target, since the Patrol Unit was able to evacuate a good number of villagers residing there. The remaining few had either run off on their own or hid up inside their houses, or simply became Hollow food.

Last he remembered was the Hollow trying to attack his sister, but he stepped in between to take the blow meant for her. After that the world had gone black for him.

"I remember having the Hollow's attack run through here....Huh?!" He checked his torso, only to find it perfectly fine. There was not even a scar and neither any injury marks! "How did this happen, I swear I felt the attack run through me?"

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door to his room creak open and entered a girl with long black hair and green eyes. She blinked twice on seeing Suzaku awake, the latter feeling completely awkward in this situation, with no idea on how to react about it. Before he could say anything, the girl turned around for the door and ran out.

"OJII-SAN!! ONII-SAN! FREELOADER ONE!! She yelled out, making sure the entire household heard her. “FREELOADER TWO WOKE UP!!"

Chapter Text

Suzaku hungrily wolfed down the meal laid in front of him. From his manner of eating it was clearly evident that he hadn't eaten for days despite only having not eaten for one day. He used to eat more than his sister in general, almost finishing two plates of the meal laid out in front of him. This was enough to make the girl that visited his room before to add the name "Glutton" to the existing name of "Freeloader Two", much to Suzaku's annoyance.

Despite all that, he shamelessly kept eating. Satisfying his hunger was more important.

He occasionally spared glances at his sister who was talking with the raven-haired tall man dressed in the Shinigami uniform. On his left arm he had a brown-colored badge attached with the symbol of Division 13 engraved on it. From their conversations, he learned the Shinigami's name was Kaien Shiba. The little black-haired girl was his younger sister named Kukaku Shiba and they had a younger brother he had yet to see named Ganju Shiba.

He had yet to meet the youngest of the siblings since according to the older ones, he mostly spends his time outside, loitering around with his friends or gang members as what he calls them.

"How much are you gonna eat?" Kukaku yelled, stomping towards him with a clear intent to kill. She had been made to serve him meals which annoyed her to a great degree. "If you wish to continue freeloading and eating here then you need to work!"

"Work?" Suzaku nearly coughed, staring at her with wide eyes. "You will make guests do work? You lack etiquette."

"You are going to teach me etiquette? Did I hear that right?" A menacing aura took over the second Shiba sibling which almost made the Rukongai citizen imagine her as a demon. "Would you like to try your luck?"

"Kukaku! Don't bully them." Kaien spoke in a stern tone. But that had little to no effect on Kukaku.

"Huh? Why should I not?" She complained before pointing at Suzaku. "He can't just freeload around here and eat all day. Our house rule states that everyone has to earn their keep by working and there are no exceptions!"

"We aren't staying here for long so there is no need for me to work here." The golden-eyed boy protested. "If you insist we can leave right now since I am all patched up."

"About that..." Kaien cleared his throat before continuing. "I have decided that you two will be staying with us. The reason being that the Hollow from before might return for you two. It seemed to be an intelligent one so it would definitely attack when you two are defenseless and we Shinigami cannot be present there all the time. This is simply for your own protection."

'Is he for real?' Suzaku blinked, not believing his ears. Some random Shinigami stranger is being kind enough to give them shelter in his household. Albeit he did save their lives from the Hollow but outright inviting them to stay in his house for nothing in return didn't sit well with him.

Nothing in this world is for free, he knows that very well. Living in the faraway districts of Rukongai had taught him various ways of life. Living there is anything but comfortable. One is actually thankful if they are able to have a roof above their heads to retire for the night in those districts and get to eat two times a day in those areas.

"What's your deal?" Suzaku narrowed his eyes. "Why go this far for some random strangers? I don't believe that you would do something out of pity or generosity unless you have something to gain from us."

"Suzaku! Don't be rude!" Natsumi scolded even though her brother paid no heed to that at the moment. "They are just trying to help us."

"I think he needs a proper--" Kukaku wasn't the one to tolerate disrespect towards her brother and was about to jump in, if not for Kaien stopping her.

"It's okay. He is not wrong." The Vice-Captain calmly responded. 'I can very well understand where he is coming from.'

The distrust Suzaku felt towards them wasn't unnatural. He was simply being cautious about his circumstances which was a given. The districts which are further away from the Seireitei are mostly poorly managed or have no management at all.

Compared to the easy and comfortable life in the districts closer to the Seireitei, it is basically the survival of the fittest beyond District #50. Lowlifes, thugs, murderers, homeless peoples, vagabonds, those are the kinds of people that reside in there. It is even said that beyond District #59, the residents out there don't even wear sandals.

"Let's say the Hollow attacks you once again. Will you be able to protect yourself and your sister?" Kaien asked and this time his voice didn't carry his usual carefreeness. He was actually being serious this time. He even released a little bit of his pressure to make sure his point goes across this time. "You nearly lost your life this time. What if there are no Shinigami nearby the next time it happens?"

'It isn't easy to accept one's weakness right off the bat. It never is.' Kaien thought inwardly, waiting for the boy's answer. 'But this is the time where this boy needs to realize his weakness. It will be beneficial for him in the long run.'

"The problem is with me.....with me being weak right?" It took all of Suzaku's strength and willpower to keep himself from losing his balance under Kaien's pressure. It was clear from one glance that the Vice-Captain was stronger than that Hollow and there are numerous stronger Shinigami out there. "If I am not weak anymore then I can save my family. Fine then, I have decided!"

"I will become a better Shinigami than you, Kaien Shiba! That is how I will repay this debt!" He declared.

Kaien never expected this sort of reaction from him. Having observed his behavior up until this point, he had assumed that the boy would be too prideful to acknowledge his weakness and would come up with numerous excuses. He didn't come off as the type to depend on others and would have attempted something reckless.

But with his declaration and the resolve that burned through his eyes, he took the first step towards accepting himself and focused on getting stronger hereon.
"I look forward to it."
_____________________________________________________
[Later that night]
Suzaku sat on the roof of the Shiba Family manor, gazing at the starlit skies of the Soul Society. The night was silent and beautiful making him feel at ease here. It gave him ample time to think things through. He was reflecting on how his life had been up to this point and how everything is going to change from this point. He did not regret making the choice of becoming a Shinigami.

"Are you sure about your decision?" His sister's voice snapped him out from his thoughts. Walking up she sat down beside her brother and gently ruffled his hair.

"I am." Suzaku firmly responded before moving her hand from his hair. "You know that I dislike being in someone's debts and I am a sore loser. I already made up my mind to beat that Hollow next time I see him."

"But--"

"There is no changing my mind sis." The male did not even give her a chance to continue. "I am not the child anymore that you have to look after. I am really thankful for what all you have done for me which is more the reason I will become a capable Shinigami. Let me take responsibility for once."

Natsumi felt her eyes tearing up. She felt like she had been rewarded for all her efforts up to this point in raising her brother all by herself. She was able to raise her baby brother into someone she could be proud of. The decision she made that fateful night and ‘that' person's sacrifice did not go in vain.

"Just be careful and try not to get too injured." She said, pulling her brother into a hug. "I will be worrying."

"No promises." Suzaku quickly responded with a sheepish grin to lighten the mood. "You know it's a Shinigami's job to fight Hollows so we are bound to get hurt."

He had no idea what his sister went through before he was born. The hardships she went through were unknown to him and he never bothered to ask her about them. Guessing that it might be a painful memory for her, he spared her that pain by never asking about it. He was happy and content with the life the two of them had lived up until this point and he just hopes that their lives will stay the same even if he becomes a Shinigami.

"You cheeky brat." Letting go of the hug, she pulled her brother by the ear. "Did you say something? Something seems to be wrong with my hearing.”
"OW! OW! It hurts! Not the ears please!"
______________________________________________________
[Two Days Later]

"And that concludes the combined report from our side and Division 12 based on the information we were able to gather." Miyako spoke, adjusting the papers in a proper order before keeping them on the table.

Opposite to her sat a white-haired man with green eyes, wearing a long sleeved white haori over the standard Shinigami uniform, which signified him as the Captain of Division 13, based on the insignia drawn on the haori. He nodded at the information shared by his Third Seat before taking a sip of his tea.

"And what happened to the two children you mentioned?" The Captain inquired to his Vice-Captain who sat right beside Miyako.

Said Vice-Captain had taken a leave of two days without any prior reasoning and only returned to his duties starting today. Though it was evident to the Captain and Miyako that the leave he took was for the sake of those two children and helping them in getting properly treated. It also made things easier for the Shinigami as they were able to get hold of information regarding the intelligent Hollow.

It's being speculated that it was the one controlling the other less-intelligent Hollows though there isn't any definite proof about that.

"I have taken them in." Kaien responded. "Since the Hollow that targeted them was an intelligent one, leaving them unguarded would be dangerous for them. The only option was to take them in."

For the time being, the two seated officers decided to keep Natsumi's powers a secret between themselves. Kaien did not even share this to his siblings. He also made Suzaku promise not to reveal his sister's abilities. Initially the latter was shocked, having never heard about his sister having such a rare ability. He was smart enough to understand why Kaien wanted it to be kept a secret and agreed without a hassle.

"A wise decision." The white-haired Captain nodded in agreement.

"What's more. The boy declared he would be becoming a Shinigami just to repay the debt he owes me for saving them." Kaien added.

"Oh, he seems to be a man with pride." The Captain's interest piqued. "I bet you want him to be in our Division."

"We will have to wait for quite a while then." Miyako commented. "I don't think I need to remind you about the tough curriculum of the Shin'o Academy and the fact that not everyone is Kaien Shiba who would graduate in just two years."

"Hey!"
___________________________________________________
[Six Years Later]

Outside the barracks of Division 13 stood two individuals dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform, admiring the building in front of them. It was their first time seeing a division barrack with their very own eyes. This was going to be their base of operations from this point on.

One of them was a girl with light blonde hair kept in a ponytail on the top of her head and bright blue eyes. She wore a red colored headband with a white flower attached to it. 'So this is the Division I have been assigned to. I have heard about the 13th Division. The legendary graduate is in this Division too.'

Beside her stood a rather tall boy with deep black hair with very minute specks of white in them. He had golden-colored eyes which always emitted a sharp gaze. 'Finally I made it here! This will be my starting point.'

"Oh, you two are already here. That's great."

The two rookies turned around to see Miyako standing right behind them. She must have used Shunpo along with hiding her presence at the same time due to which the inexperienced rookies weren't able to detect her. Experienced Shinigami are adept at hiding their presence, something that is a necessity in their line of job.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Miyako, 3rd Seat of the 13th Division." Miyako did a polite bow before ushering the two rookies inside the building. "You two can introduce yourselves inside. Everyone's waiting."

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Suzaku joined the 13th Division alongside his classmate from the Shinigami Academy, Matsuri. Both had been shown the ropes around the Division by the Third Seat Miyako and had pretty much adjusted to everything within the office. Their entire week was spent in the Division barracks and they were yet to be sent out on patrols.

"Everyone, line up!" Kaien's authoritative voice got everyone's attention and within a span of a few seconds, every member present in the office lined up according to their ranks. Third Seat Miyako stood beside the Vice-Captain.

From the rookies' observation for the past week, they noted that all the duties leading to heading the Division were handled by Kaien himself. Their captain, Jushiro Ukitake is a capable captain but unfortunately stays mostly in his personal quarters due to his sickness. In this situation, every responsibility of the captain fell on the Vice-Captain's shoulders.

Kaien even joked about calling him 'Captain Kaien' if they wished to on their first day of joining.

For the 13th Division, Kaien was a blessing in the form of their Vice-Captain. His capabilities and leadership qualities make him no less than a Captain. It is thanks to Kaien and Miyako handling all the major responsibilities that Ukitake has been able to take it easy.

"We have received this week's patrolling assignment for the 13th Division and I will now be assigning you all with the areas you are required to patrol. The patrolling will be done in teams of four." With that said, he started dictating the districts assigned to the squad members and the members they will be taking along with them. "Lastly, North Rukongai, District 64 will be patrolled by Suzaku Kudo and Matsuri Seto."

"Our first patrolling assignment?" The blonde Shinigami couldn't believe her ears at first. Receiving a nod of confirmation from Miyako, she shook her partner in excitement. "Can you believe it? Our first assignment!"

"I have fully functional ears so stop shaking me!" Suzaku protested, freeing himself from Matsuri's grip. He then spared a glance at the Vice-Captain before asking. "Who is going to accompany us? It is our first time on real patrol so we lack knowledge on the basics."

"You don't need to worry about that. Me and Miyako will be accompanying you two." Kaien answered, tossing the papers aside. "We will be showing you how things are done. Plus it will help us gauge your abilities if we encounter any Hollows by chance. And if things get rough, we will take over. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Well then, all of you are dismissed!" With that said, all members assigned for patrol duties disappeared using their Shunpo.
_______________________________________________

"Feels good to be home." Matsuri said, stretching her arms and taking a deep breath, once the patrolling team arrived at the District. "Everything's the same as it always is."

"The streets and alleys of these districts never change." Suzaku commented, a wave of nostalgia hitting him on seeing the familiar streets and conditions of the districts. He took note of the residents of this district, either walking around or talking with one another. A few of them took note of the Shinigami and greeted them with a slight bow before continuing on with their day-to-day life.

"And nor do people wear slippers." Matsuri added. "I feel like letting go of mine and run around."

"You are not a child anymore nor are you a wild animal." Suzaku deadpanned. Moments like these usually made him wonder how he was able to put up with her in all those classes.

"You little shit! Take that back." Matsuri's behavior did a complete 360 as she stomped towards her partner.

'She is bipolar. That explains everything.' Suzaku gulped and would have made a run for it if not for picking up the sudden change in the atmosphere. And it wasn't just him. His partner and the two experienced Shinigami walking ahead of him also picked it up by now. "Hollows."

"At the south end. Let's make haste." Miyako notified before the four of them headed out for the said direction using Shunpo. It didn't take them much time to arrive at the designated area. The area around them appeared to be a vast wasteland with broken and abandoned houses in the area.

"Just remember your training in the academy and you will be fine." Kaien instructed the rookies, standing a considerable distance from the Hollows that had gathered around. The Hollows seemed to be of low intelligence so he believed things would be fine as long as there are no irregularities.

Then again in a battlefield, one can never be sure of anything which is why he kept himself ready and rested his left hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto, ready to jump in whenever the need would arise.

"Yes sir!"

With that said, Matsuri dashed in headfirst, performing an outward slash on the torso of one of the Hollows, followed by a finishing downward slash. The Hollow dodged it by quickly moving sideways and attempted an attack from her blind spot, only to have Suzaku appear from her right side at the last second before stabbing the Hollow's mask with his katana, destroying it in the process.

"Interesting." Miyako commented when another Hollow tried attacking from behind Suzaku, only to have the Shinigami switch places in the blink of an eye, after which the blonde girl dealt the finish blow in one strike. "It's just like their reports said. They were known for their well-coordinated fighting style."

"Their reports stated that?" Kaien inquired, his gaze fixated on the pair.

"You say as if you read the reports in the first place." Miyako rolled her eyes. "In their reports, it was specially mentioned that they were able to take down a Hollow that appeared during their visit to the Living World all by themselves before anyone else could act on the situation."

'Not surprising given Suzaku's prior encounter with a Hollow before becoming a Shinigami. What I am surprised about is this girl Matsuri. She has talent, that's for sure.' The Vice-Captain thought to himself, observing Suzaku stab another Hollow in the chest, rendering it immobile and allowing his partner to cut the head off.

Then he used Shunpo to pass through an incoming Hollow, before landing behind it. The moment his feet touched the ground, the Hollow's mask cracked before it turned into dust.

"Shunpo Tangeki?" Miyako gaped at the sight. "It is a very impressive move for a rookie."

Shunpo Tangeki was a short-distance Shunpo technique where the user attacks before it is finished unlike normal Shunpo techniques where one attacks after the duration of the Shunpo to avoid the extra body movement. Among the Shinigami, there were only a few who could perform this feat, with most of them being from the members of the Punishment Force.

"Not surprising given Suzaku's main weapon is his speed and sword techniques which covers up for the lack of his attack prowess." Kaien commented, remembering the numerous times Suzaku avoided a beatdown from Kukaku during their squabbles by easily outrunning her. "On the other hand, Matsuri seems more of a powerhouse."

The blonde female used her sword to block a thrusting claw from one of the more humanoid Hollows, the latter unable to overpower the smaller opponent in terms of strength. Suzaku then skidded in between, cutting off it's limb and leaving it defenseless for Matsuri to finish it off with a rising slash aimed at it's skull.

"Bakudo #4, Hainawa!" A rope of Spiritual Energy left Suzaku's fingertips, binding a Hollow that dashed towards his partner at high speed before flinging it towards a pair of two incoming Hollows.

"Hado #4, Byakurai!" A stream of white lightning left his fingertips, aimed at the masks of the Hollows and were quickly reduced to dust upon contact with the attack.

"Hey! Why did you steal my kill?" Matsuri stomped up to the black-haired Shinigami once all the Hollows were taken care of.

"It's not my fault you are slow when it comes to using Kido." Suzaku shrugged, sheathing his Zanpakuto. Before the blonde girl could proceed to grab his neck for stealing her kill, he made a quick getaway towards their senior officers.

"Excellent teamwork I must say. You two did a great job." Kaien complimented, patting both their shoulders. "You two dealt with the Hollows all by yourself without requiring any help from either of us."

Miyako was about to add another compliment to her when all four of them felt a sudden spike of Spiritual Pressure. The level of pressure emitted seemed to be above the Hollows from before. Suzaku felt a chill run down his spine as the pressure felt all too familiar to him, despite the fact that a considerable amount of time had passed since the incident.

"To think you would be able to take down all of them. Impressive." The Hollow's gruff voice made itself known to the quartet, as it stood on a rocky platform. The Hollow had done well to mask it's presence up until now, which shocked the high-ranked officers. What surprised them even more was what the Hollow held in its tight grip. "You wouldn't want to see this little thing get hurt, do you?"

"Hey! Let go of me!" In its tight grip was a blonde girl who tried to punch and kick the creature to no avail. Rather than being scared, she seemed more annoyed by her current predicament. "How dare you hurt a beautiful little hostage?!"

"The Hollow's day is about to get a whole lot worse." Kaien's demeanor underwent a swift change as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto, but didn't move an inch to attack yet. Being rash at the moment would cost the life of the hostage and he cannot afford a loss of life, not on his watch.

'It seems to have intelligence. Was it the one commanding all the Hollows?' Miyako studied the Hollow's behavior before sparing a glance at Suzaku. 'Judging from his expressions, I am sure this Hollow was the one from six years ago.'

"Oh. You are that boy aren't you?" The Hollow, after taking a brief look at the Shinigami that had gathered, grew excited when it's eyes met Suzaku. "How about we have a deal? This little girl for that boy over there? If you agree, I will make sure not to harm this little girlie."
"This bastard dares to--!?"

"Vice-Captain." The Third Seat put an arm on the Shiba clan member before shaking her head. "Right now rescuing the hostage takes priority. I have a plan for it. You need to trust me and be ready for my signal."

"When have I not trusted you…" Kaien gave an affirmative nod, calming himself down. Right now it wasn't the time to lose his cool when there was a hostage situation. He fixated his gaze on the Hollow and its movements, making sure the Hollow didn't move an inch.

"Suzaku, how are you holding up? Are you scared of it?" Miyako inquired, with a seriousness evident in her voice. The rookies had never seen her speak in such a tone but right now the situation called for it. "Because right now, we need to rescue the hostage and you are the most crucial part of it."

'I am the crucial part?' Suzaku knew very well that the life of a Shinigami wasn't going to be an easy one for him. He would have to face numerous hardships if he wished to get stronger and he believed that there would come a time when he will have to face his fear. He didn't expect it to be this soon, right after him becoming a full-fledged, official Shinigami of the Gotei 13. 'If I can't let go off my trauma, I can never be strong as Kaien or the Captains.'

'It's now or never.' The black-haired Shinigami composed himself. Judging by the way Miyako put it, he might be getting only a single chance to rescue the hostage. He will have to make sure not to slip up. "Tell me what I have to do."

"I will release my Zanpakuto to make way for you. When the Hollow gets distracted, make use of your speed to rescue the hostage in the nick of time." Miyako instructed in-between unsheathing her Zanpakuto, in a low voice. "After that Vice-Captain Kaien will take care of it. Remember you need to be fast. For now, keep walking towards the Hollow, showing as if we are going with the deal."

"Alright." Keeping himself on guard, the black-haired Shinigami slowly starting making his way towards the Hollow.

"Yes. Keep coming. Just like that." The Hollow's excitement simply grew. Not only did it get its hand on another soul with some rare quality, it managed to find a prey, whom it let slip six years ago. The Hollow counted its luck on seeing the boy alive, despite the injury it had dealt to him. "Too bad, your sister isn't here with you. Then again, one shouldn't be too greedy."

"Turn Scarlet, Hizune!" The Third Seat called out, her Zanpakuto changing shape into that of a crimson shirasaya. Gripping it tightly in both her hands, she performed some empty slashes in the air, aimed towards where the Hollow stood.

"Did you just do something?" The Hollow raised a brow in question, baffled at the sight of some empty slashes being performed and yet there was no effect.
"Maybe I did, maybe I did not." Miyako responded before pointing down her Shikai and tapping the hilt with her pinky finger, producing a ting sound. A sharp gust of wind tore through out of nowhere and cut the Hollow's arms.

"What the-!?" As the surprised Hollow tried to grasp the situation, Suzaku raced in, using his Shunpo at full force, grabbed the girl who was now freed from the Hollow's grasp and raced back towards his teammates.

"Vice-Captain, now!"

"Rage through the Seas and Heavens, Nejibana!" Kaien hollered, suspending his Zanpakuto midair. The blade revolved in the air, changing its shape with a golden glow. It transformed into a trident with a crystalline appearance and a drill at the opposite end. Water flowed freely from both the ends of the weapon.

"Shit! I need to escape!" The Hollow swore, a spatial distortion appearing behind it. The tables had turned and right now its first priority was to escape with it's life.

"You are not going anywhere!" Kaien threw the trident with full force, managing to sever the Hollow's leg, making the latter fall face first into the distortion before it closed down. If he were a second earlier in throwing his weapon, he might have killed the Hollow then and there.

"Damn it!"

"It's fine." Miyako said, putting an arm on his shoulder as her Zanpakuto returned to its sealed state. "The hostage has been rescued and that is all that matters for now."

"You are right." Taking a deep breath, Kaien retrieved his weapon before sealing it back into it's normal form and sheathing it.

"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked the girl, helping her stand on her own feet after putting her down from his arms. "Do you need any help getting home?"

"My home is nearby. I will go by myself." The girl replied before taking hold of Suzaku's hand with both of hers. "...Unless you want to sleep by."

"Hey! It isn't legal at all!" Matsuri shouted, her eyes almost blank at the girl's statement.

"Go scram!" Suzaku freed his hand before lightly punching the girl on her head, maintaining a poker expression on his face. 'I have no intention of spending a week or a month in the 2nd Division jails.'

"Let's head back. We will need to write the reports as well." Kaien reminded. "Any more dilly dallying and I might push on the work on you two."

'Slacker!'

Chapter Text

The following week didn't go smoothly for the rookies or for any Shinigami for that matter, given the rise in number of Hollow sightings. The frequency of Hollow appearances wasn't the concerning part. The main concern was that the mindless creatures had suddenly started to act in a group which was strange. Normally, Hollows are creatures with low intelligence so working in groups and trying to isolate the Shinigami from their teams before dealing with them. All of the divisions had their hands full with the matter. The 12th Division was still trying to find out the cause behind it, but so far they couldn't arrive at any solid conclusion.

In order to counter this situation and prevent any unwanted casualties, the Division Captains decided to send their division members in teams of two or more, on various districts of the Rukongai. If Hollows were to appear in the districts in the presence of Shinigami, the latter could quickly spur into action, focusing on rescue of the residents and taking care of the Hollows.

Shinigami of each division were notified of this by their Captains and Vice-Captains after this stance was approved in the Captains meeting.

"So we have West Districts 1 to 6, 60 to 64 and 75 to 79 on our tab," Suzaku read through the piece of paper handed to him before folding it neatly and tugging it into his uniform. "They really distributed at random lots."

"We can't complain about that can we?" Matsuri spoke, putting her hands behind her head.

"I am not complaining." Suzaku replied, exiting their division barracks along with all other members. "I don't see any reason to patrol around the 1st districts. Those are the safest places to live in."

"You never know when and where Hollows will pop up so quit complaining and move it." Grabbing him by the collar, Matsuri dragged the black-haired Shinigami all the way to the Seireitei Gates.
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It had been more than an hour since the duo arrived at the first district of Rukongai. They wandered around with their eyes and ears open although they weren't expecting it here of all places. Still they patrolled the district as a part of their assignment and they weren’t brave enough yet to disobey their superior's orders. The two Shinigami thought of looking out for the residents, if they required any kind of assistance or facing any problems before they would leave this district behind.

"See? Perfectly safe and--"

"Shiro-chan! Shiroooo-chan!"

Before Suzaku could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by someone yelling... "Shiro-chan!" at the top of their lungs.

"Of all things to happen, someone had to lose their pet!" The black-haired Shinigami groaned before his partner elbowed him in the torso. She then pointed to a girl with black hair tied in pigtails and brown eyes, searching around for someone with a worried expression.

"Be a little nicer." Having said that, Matsuri walked up to the girl, her partner wordlessly following her.

"Hello there little girl." The blond Shinigami greeted, getting the black-haired girl's attention. "You looked troubled. Can we help you in any manner?"

"Oh, Shinigami!" The girl in question was initially surprised but quickly composed herself. "Well I-I can't find Shiro-chan. He has been missing since early morning. I have been looking high and low for him."

"We can help you find Shiro-chan. We can cover more ground if we are in numbers." Matsuri assured her. "Can you tell me what Shiro-chan looks like?"

"He is little, has big eyes and white hair and can be a little scary at first." The girl explained before bowing to the pair of Shinigami. "Thank you for helping me out. My name is Momo Hinamori by the way."
The Shinigami duo introduced themselves before going in different directions to look out for 'Shiro-chan'. Matsuri went alongside Momo, looking around in the alleyways while Suzaku flash-stepped from one roof to another, using the higher ground as a good vantage point. There are many instances of pets climbing somewhere high up to escape from their owners.

An hour elapsed by before Suzaku stumbled upon a little boy with short spiky, white hair lying on one of the rooftops of a house. The Shinigami thought of asking him about the whereabouts of this 'Shiro-chan'. Since this boy has been on the roof, he might have an idea about where Momo's pet went off to.

"Excuse me."

The boy opened his eyes upon hearing the voice before turning to face the Shinigami. His turquoise eyes met with Suzaku's golden ones before he spoke. "Yes? How may I help you Sir Shinigami?"

"You see I am looking for someone named Shiro-chan. Probably a lost puppy or something like that." Suzaku replied before going on with the description that Momo provided him. He stopped midway on feeling a sudden chill run down his spine. He gazed down at the white-haired boy who was scowling at him with a murderous glint in his eyes. "Any problems?"

"Did you really assume me to be a puppy?" He asked, in a threatening tone. "And you said I am short?"

"When did I say any of that?" The Shinigami rebuked before it finally clicked to him. 'Shiro' means white, which is a reference to this boy's white hair. Moreover this boy here matched all descriptions provided by Momo; short, white hair, a scowling face. "So you are Shiro-chan?"

"The name is Toshiro Hitsugaya!" Said 'Shiro-chan' yelled with a popped vein on his forehead.

"I get it! I get it! Jeez." Suzaku rubbed his ears. "Your friend Momo is looking around for you. She is worried sick."

"Of course she is." Toshiro grumbled. "That's what she gets for sleeping in late."

"Dude, you are mean."

"Any problems with that?"

"None. Still we should get going now, given that we somehow got involved into this mess." Suzaku pointed out. "Also sorry for assuming that you are a puppy."

"It's okay." Toshiro replied before both jumped off the roof. The black-haired Shinigami lead the way by picking out on his partner's spiritual signature.

The two males soon arrived at the place where the Shinigami duo had stumbled upon Momo. The girls were already there, having no luck on finding 'Shiro-chan'. Momo's eyes perked up on seeing Toshiro and she ran up to him. Matsuri was about to comment on something when her eyes landed on Suzaku, who signaled to keep quiet.

"Where have you been, young man? We have been looking all over for you!" Momo spoke up.

"What?" You expect me to come running with you screaming Shiro-chan, Shiro-chan at the top of your lungs?" Toshiro deadpanned.

"But Shiro-chan...."

"Don't be that way." Matsuri tried defending the girl. "Momo has been really worried about you, Shiro....I mean.."

"My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya!"

"Sorry." Matsuri excused herself, sparing a glance at her partner who just responded with a 'deal with it' shrug. Rolling her eyes at his lack of concern or participation in this matter, she continued. "You don't know how worried Momo was. She has been searching high and low for you since early this morning."

"Early this morning, huh?" Hitsugaya purposely put emphasis on the first two words. "That's funny, coz when I saw her a little before noon, she was snoring away."

"So I slept a little late! Not a big deal!" Momo replied with a blush, looking away from the gazes directed at her.

"You seem to have forgotten that you promised to go watermelon hunting with me this morning at six." Hitsugaya added before looking at the two Shinigami. "Anything else you might want to add?"

"We are good. Have a nice day."
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"Jeez, what's with the Toshiro kid?" Matsuri fumed on their way towards the other districts they had to patrol. Stepping foot on the borders of 60th District, she continued. "Momo was such a nice girl. He could at least make an attempt to be half as nice as her."

"It's probably height issues." Suzaku answered, his eyes taking a quick scan of his surroundings. In this place too, he did not pick up any hostile Hollow signatures. Though that isn't enough reason to let one's guard down in the double-digit districts. There are tales of troublemaking people being told around every now and then.

"Height issues?"

"It's a major pain for boys. Like which boy would wanna be short." Suzaku explained. "Toshiro is short when compared to Momo and maybe that fact alone is enough to piss him off."

"Boys really are strange." Matsuri shrugged, giving up on trying to understand.

"Like you girls never worry about makeup and how your round face looks in front of others." The black-haired Shinigami quickly retorted, before his gaze fell onto something ahead on the dirt-filled road.

"Hey! We girls---Oi!" Matsuri called out after her partner, who used Shunpo to get ahead in the blink of an eye. Wondering what the matter was, she too followed after Suzaku and stopped a few feet away from him.

In front of her, she saw the black-haired Shinigami helping a silver-haired boy stand up on his feet. It would seem he had passed out from exhaustion, mostly due to being out under the harsh sunlight.

"...H-hungry.." The boy stammered, conveying his message to the Shinigami. It was very much clear why the boy had nearly lost consciousness in the middle of the streets. Empty stomach and harsh afternoon sunlight is not the best condition for a human, and especially not for a child his age.

"Here, take my lunch." Suzaku fished out his lunchbox which his sister had packed for him. He had thoughts of eating it after patrolling these districts before moving on to the 75s section. But right now, helping out a homeless, hungry kid took priority. He can always buy something else to eat from somewhere else.

"Thank you.." The boy accepted it, his expressions showing relief at holding the lunchbox in hands. Yet for some reason he did not open it yet.

"Are you not going to eat it?" Suzaku inquired. Judging from his appearance and fatigued state, the Shinigami assumed that he was really starving and he would have gobbled down the food by now. 'Unless..'

"There is somebody waiting for me. Even more hungry than me." The boy revealed, causing the duo's eyes to widen. "Thank you for this."

"You are worried right?" Matsuri asked once the boy ran out of hearing range.

"There are two kinds of scenarios to this. Either the boy is telling the truth or someone is using him to get free food, and maybe even make him do other bad things." Suzaku admitted. "I just want to assure myself that it is not the second one."

The days he spent living around these districts were still fresh in his mind. While his sister did most of the work outside to manage a day's meal, there were times when he had to do odd jobs as well to make their ends meet. Those were the times where he had witnessed the dirty world of adults and how little children are made use of. No matter how much one tries to change things, there are a few aspects that would never change. One can only hope or try to make their own lives better and worthwhile with nothing but their own efforts.

"Then what are we waiting for?" The blonde Shinigami said. "Let's follow him to see for ourselves."
___________________________________________

"You still alive Rangiku?" The silver-haired boy entered a small, abandoned hut which had seen better days. He had his hands behind his back, looking around for the sole occupant of the resident.
"Yeah, but I think I'm going to die if I don't get any food right now." The girl named Rangiku answered, sitting on what could be called a poor excuse for a bed.

"I brought lunch. It would seem luck was on our side." The boy answered, handing over the lunchbox he received from the Shinigami.

"No way!" Rangiku's eyes glittered with stars at the sight of a nicely packed lunchbox. She opened the lid to check the contents inside and her mouth watered at the sight of it. "Where did you get such an expensive lunch, Gin?"

"Good question." Gin answered, picking up two presences closing up on their residence. "How about asking the two Shinigami who are peeking by the doorway."

"You sure got good senses kid." Suzaku didn't even bother hiding himself anymore, since they were caught by Gin already. For someone his age, he had pretty sharp senses, to be able to pick on a Shinigami's reiryoku. Upon entering the hut, followed by Matsuri, his eyes widened. "It's you!"

"It's you! The Shinigami from that day!”

Chapter Text

For Gin, things simply escalated all too quickly.

Not even a few seconds ago when he brought a well-packed lunch for Rangiku, added with the fact that he was being tailed by the pair of Shinigami, one of whom was nice even to hand over his lunch without hesitation. Though he didn't figure out why they were following him, now he has no chance of knowing that.

Not when Rangiku entered in a gossip session with the blonde Shinigami. Her partner was in a similar situation as him, staring at the two girls with a blank expression. Their eyes met for a brief while before both of them moved out of what Gin would call his home and jumped on the roof of an abandoned warehouse.

"I want to thank you on behalf of myself and Rangiku for the food." Gin was the first to break the silence between them. "She might have starved to death if not for the food."

"Don't sweat it. If you want I can bring extra lunches for you whenever I am around the area." Suzaku assured. His sister wouldn't mind cooking a little extra, especially if he adds on the fact that he is helping someone with the food. "I grew up around here so I know what kind of problems you go through on a daily basis."

"You don't need to do that." While his face mostly remained expressionless, Suzaku could guess that the silver-haired boy was taken aback by the sudden gesture of kindness offered to him.

"Like I said, it is not a big deal for me. Plus my sister wouldn't mind extra cooking." The male Shinigami said in an attempt to ease off any kind of worry on the boy's mind.

"If you say so.." Gin was still unsure about this but chose to trust the man in front of him nonetheless. It was because he could feel that he was different from rest of the bunch here in Rukongai.

What he felt from Suzaku's words was honesty and not deceit. He had always assumed and at times saw it with his own eyes that adults are always deceitful and wicked. They hide their true intentions behind their sugarcoated words, revealing their true nature at the most unexpected moment.

'Maybe there are nice and honest people out there as much as the wicked ones.' Keeping his thoughts to himself, Gin went on to fully introduce himself. "My name is Gin Ichimaru."

Though he was slightly taken aback by Gin's change in demeanor, the Shinigami appreciated the change. "Suzaku Kudo."

"Say Suzaku, I can call you Suzaku right?" Gin was a little hesitant on calling someone by their first name right off the bat. It was different when it came to him and Rangiku, given they always called one another by their first name.

A carefree nod from the black-haired male eased him off his worries before he proceeded to ask what he wished to know. "How is it being a Shinigami?"

"Are you interested in becoming one?" Suzaku responded with a question of his own.

"I don't know yet. I just got curious about Shinigami and what they do after hearing from Rangiku." Gin answered. "She told me how she was saved from the Hollow."

Judging from their reactions when they met each other a few moments ago and Rangiku's friendliness with Matsuri, Gin deduced that these Shinigami were the ones that saved her from the Hollow on that day.

"I guess our job circles around killing Hollows, purifying souls and monitoring the Rukongai every now and then." Suzaku answered with a shrug. "I have no idea what the Captains and the upper-seated officers do. I am still a rookie."

"Hm." The answer didn't pique the silver-haired boy's interest at all. It was a vague answer and fair enough, coming from Suzaku's positioning. From his words, it was clear that he recently became an official Shinigami and has a long road ahead of him.

"Still," Suzaku went on, believing that he needs to give the curious boy a satisfactory answer to his question. "I will put it as a life-changing experience for anyone. While it is a job with danger to life, it also has its own perks. Most importantly, it does provide a roof above our heads."

"I see, I will think about it." Gin replied.
___________________________________________

It was almost dusk when the Shinigami bid their goodbyes to the two kids, with Suzaku promising them that he would be bringing tastier lunch than this one for them. Matsuri added on by promising that she would try and make lunches for them too, which made Rangiku look up to the blonde's cooking while Suzaku's doubt about his classmate's cooking skills turned into concern for his own stomach.

He had no doubt that he would be used as a test subject to her cooking. An unavoidable fate.

"Do you have any prior cooking experience?" Suzaku finally inquired as they made their way to the next district in their tab, using Shunpo in order to cover up long distances.

"I don't but there's nothing stopping me from learning. All I need you to do is tasting." Matsuri replied, feeling quite confident in herself.

'Saw that one coming from a mile away.' Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the male let out a long sigh that he had been holding in. "What are my chances of survival?"

"Sheesh! You really have no faith in me." Matsuri complained at her partner's lack of faith and enthusiasm.

"You used to mix up Kido incantations in class!" Suzaku reminded. "How can I be sure that you won't mix up the ingredients?"

"Hey! I don't do that anymore! And the incantations sometimes are too long and tough to memorize." The blonde defended, a flustered expression on her face. "Cooking can't be that hard."

Suzaku chose not to comment on this topic anymore. Since his own expertise in the kitchen lay in just being able to boil the milk to the required temperature and making decent tea, he knew it would be better off not challenging a woman's ego when it came to cooking. Even if they don't know anything about it, they will still try it. It would be better to accept his fate with the satisfaction that he won't be meeting his death in the hands of a Hollow but due to experimental tasting.

Not the most glorious death for a Shinigami but definitely not the most painful either.

Soon enough the two Shinigami arrived at the designated district. The living conditions in this district which was widely known as 'Hanging Dog' was the complete opposite of how the District #1 was. The conditions of people here were worse than the place where Suzaku grew up or the place where Gin and Rangiku are currently residing.

At the very least, the people in the 60s districts have a roof on their heads. In the district after 70s people simply lay around on the streets or under any shaded area they found. Houses were a luxury.

"Hollows aren't the only thing we would need to look out for right now." Matsuri stated in a low voice. She had switched back to her professional persona, keeping her cooking enthusiasm at the back of her mind right now.

"Yeah, there are cases of troublemaking citizens around these parts and beyond." Suzaku responded, constantly on a lookout for any sort of trouble. "Let's just finish our patrolling and not cause anyone any trouble."

"Right." The blonde nodded in agreement.

Both of them went ahead and interrogated some of the locals about any Hollow sightings they had for the past month or not, being humble about their questioning. The locals cooperated with their investigations, aware of the job and the power held by a Shinigami. A single Shinigami could wipe out their town if they messed up so they behaved well-enough.

From the reports they gathered from the residents, there weren't any Hollow sightings around these parts for the past few months which was a good thing for the residents.

"Let's check out the borders of this district and then be on our way." Suzaku suggested to which his partner gave a confirming nod.

Before they could move any further, they heard some commotion going down the street. Upon closely looking, they noticed a pair of a black-haired girl and a red-haired boy with his hair wrapped up in a pineapple-shaped ponytail running down at full speed. The boy held a poorly stitched cloth bag in his hands.

"Come on Renji! Run faster!" The black-haired girl shouted. Following the pair was an angry pair of shopkeepers.

"I can't run any faster with this." The boy named Renji replied, already seeming out of breath from all the running around with the added weight in his arms.
"Stop there you thieves!"

"There's no choice." The girl grit her teeth before snatching the bag from Renji and tossing it away.

Before the bag could touch the ground, Suzaku flash-stepped right next to it and caught it in his arms. He could have easily caught the kids along with the bag but he purposefully let them away. Checking the contents of the bag, he easily figured out what the matter was.

Starvation and theft in order to feed the starving stomachs was another common characteristic of the districts furthest away from the Seireitei.

"Rotten little thieves sure can run fast!" The shopkeepers already seemed out of breath as they halted in front of the black-haired Shinigami. "Thank you for getting the bag of food from them."

The shopkeeper tried to get the bag out of Suzaku's hands but before he could attempt to do it, the bag was gone from his hands and was in the safety of Matsuri's hands. "Huh? What's the big idea?"

"How much does the contents inside the bag cost?"
____________________________________________________

"That was close." Exiting an empty alleyway, the black-haired girl plopped down on her knees, trying to normalize her breathing. "We almost got caught if not for sacrificing the food."

"But Rukia, what are we going to do now?" Renji worriedly asked. While they did not get caught, the matter of fact still remained that them and their friends in their hideout are still starving. "We can't go back. There's a high chance we would get caught this time."

"You don't need to do that anymore." Someone spoke from behind them. Renji turned around, only to have the cloth bag tossed at him. With a jump, he caught the bag before looking up at the one that tossed it. "It's yours isn't it?"

"Huh?" Renji was confused at first before checking out the bag and its contents. It was indeed the bag in which he and Rukia were supposed to bring food for their gang. Not a single item had been tampered with or moved away from the bag. Rather there was more than what they had stolen from various shops.

"You are Shinigami!" The girl named Rukia suddenly perked up. "Are you here to punish us?"

From the tales she had heard about Shinigami, they were depicted both as heroes who would kill the Hollows and save the residents of Rukongai, if the creatures do invade Soul Society. But they were also the punishers for the evildoers. Some people even said that the Shinigami have a special jail for criminals inside the Seireitei.

"Nothing like that." Matsuri replied in a kinder tone, trying to ease any worries arising in Rukia's mind. "We are just here to give back what you left behind."

"Why?" Rukia inquired, narrowing her eyes. There was no reason as to why some Shinigami would help them. While she was glad for their help as now they won't need to starve for the next few weeks, it was still suspicious.

"Do people need a reason for being nice and helping one another out? Just stop thinking too much and take it." Suzaku answered with a carefree shrug. He then pointed to the darkening sky and continued. "Get going or the monsters crawling at night would take your food away."

"Yikes! By monsters you mean Hollows?" Renji didn't even bother hiding the fact that he was scared.

"If it's Hollows, they won't be just taking your meal. You will be the one becoming their meal." Suzaku added, only to further scare Renji even more, much to Rukia and Matsuri's amusement. "So I would advise scramming right now."

'I was wrong to doubt them. They mean no harm.' Rukia thought to herself as a smile crept on her face. She was too quick to judge these people who were just there to help them from their current predicament. Even if it was out of habit, it was still wrong of her to do so.

"Thank you very much for your help. We will never forget this." Rukia bowed, making even her redhead friend bow down along with her. "My name is Rukia."

"Uh, oh. I am Renji Abarai." It took an extra second for Renji to process everything but he quickly played along with it. "Thanks for saving our skin!"

"I am Matsuri Seto and this one here is Suzaku Kudo." Matsuri introduced themselves. "Take good care of yourselves and your friends."

"We will!" Both the kids replied in unison before running down the streets, waving goodbyes to their newly made Shinigami friends.

"We should be going back. We will need to write the reports too." Suzaku stated, taking one last look at the sky. The sun had almost set, with the night sky slowly taking over.

Just after he said it, a grumbling noise could be heard and Suzaku's face flushed in a bright shade of red.

"...I bet you are hungry too. Let's find somewhere to eat first."