Ichigo stood up. “That’s a great idea! Let’s go!”
“Go where?” Renji asked skeptically, leaning his elbows on his knees.
Ichigo stopped. “Um,” he said scratching his head.
Ishida pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. “There has been some strange reiatsu popping up around town for the past few minutes.” Everyone stilled. Renji reached out with his own reiatsu, and sure enough felt it a moment later. Damn, that Quincy was observant.
“Is it Hollows?” Ichigo asked.
“No, it does not feel like reiatsu of shinigami or hallows.” Renji agreed. It felt…off.
“Kurosaki, why don’t you take Abarai-kun and follow the trail to the West, and I will take Chad and go to the East?”
Ichigo visibly paled. “Why do I have to take Pineapple-head?”
Renji jabbed a finger into his chest. “You’re not taking me anywhere!”
Ishida looked at them stoically. “Because, of the four of us, Abarai-san and I can trace reiatsu the best.”
“Oh. Well, why don’t we bring the girls then?” Ichigo seemed nearly to plead.
“I think it would be best not to bother them. Or are you afraid you can’t handle this alone Kurosaki?” Ishida peered at Ichigo condescendingly over the top of his glasses.
“Of course not!” Ichigo shouted. He reached down into his boot where he had been keeping his Substitute Soul Reaper badge, and left his body. Chad pulled it back inside for him.
Ichigo didn’t wait for an invitation before bounding over rooftops in a Westerly direction. “Keep in touch,” Renji shouted at Ishida before bounding off after him.
“Wait, idiot, I’m the one who can track this stuff!” Renji shouted at the minuscule form of Ichigo in the distance.
Ichigo didn’t respond, and disappeared down between two buildings.
“Of all the stupid,” Renji mumbled. As a military officer, he acknowledged the importance of going in with plenty of backup in unknown situations. Sure, he was one of the more hot-headed members of the Soul Society, but sometimes he had nothing on Ichigo.
Renji landed lightly on the pavement between the buildings, his fingers touching the ground to balance his landing. “Ichigo!” he shouted. He glanced around the alley. It was dark, but Renji could make out the faint outlines of dumpsters and other trash. He didn’t see the outline of his companion however. “Listen, idiot, you better not be trying to pull some lame Halloween prank on me!” He stood up, making sure Zabimaru was loose in his scabbard. Then he chastised himself. He was letting a stupid holiday put him on edge.
He walked over to the dumpster to see if Ichigo was hiding in it. He angrily threw open the top, ready to yell at Ichigo. But he wasn’t in there. “Ichigo, stop being a nut job!” he shouted. “We actually have work to do!” Now he was just angry. Ichigo usually wasn’t one to delay a mission so he could do something stupid. That was the sort of thing he expected from Rangiku.
He heard a crash, like something metal falling over, and quickly spun around, heart beating wildly in his chest. His eyes immediately fell on a door that was slightly ajar. He stepped cautiously towards it, this time drawing Zabimaru. He cursed at himself for being so nervous, but the more rational, military part of his mind told him he was being prepared. Zabimaru whispered softly in his hand, eager for battle.
Renji pushed the door gently. It groaned as it slowly swung inwards. “Ichigo?” he whispered. He had no idea why he was whispering. His eyes caught movement in a far corner of the room. He could also feel the foul reiatsu emanating from that direction. Renji could hardly make out anything, so he probed cautiously with each foot before taking a full step. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out a figure crouched in the darkness.
Believing it to be a lost soul, he cautiously crept up behind it. “Time to send you on,” he whispered, turning his sword around so the blade reached over his shoulder. The figure groaned in front of him, but didn’t turn around. “C’mon, don’t be like that,” he said. Renji put his hand on its shoulder, but instantly recoiled. It had felt wet and slimy and very cold. The figure quickly turned around, snarling, and Renji fell backwards, horrified at what he saw.
It looked like a man, but from what he could tell in the dark, its eyes had been sewn shut, and its face was oozing all sorts of fluids. Its mouth pulled back into a lipless grin to reveal rows of sharp teeth, like a shark. It lunged on all fours towards the shinigami.
“Gah!” he yelled, and swung Zabimaru upwards, cutting it from navel to throat. It began spitting and hissing viciously as something that Renji didn’t think was blood began running from the cut. Renji scrambled backwards out the door. He stood up, slamming the door behind him, breathing hard. He was somewhat angry to notice he was trembling. He quickly found an old pipe and jammed it into the door handle, pushing against the frame, so the…thing…couldn’t open it.
He didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t a hollow, that was for sure. Maybe some new creature Aizen had invented. Renji had been unnerved to say the least, and angry that it had frightened him. God, he was going to kill Ichigo when he found him.
He dared not call out for the other shinigami again, for fear more of the creatures were around. Instead he backed up, Zabimaru held in front of him, keeping his eyes on the door, but it didn’t budge. He jumped a foot in the air when a hand landed on his shoulder.
He spun around with a yell poised to cut whatever it was, but a firm hand grabbed his wrist with a “Woah!” It took Renji a moment to realize it was Ichigo. “Jeez, what’s your problem? You almost stabbed me!” Getting a better look at Renji, Ichigo cocked his head. “What’s wrong with you? You’re sweating like you just ran a marathon.”
Renji wrenched his wrist free of Ichigo’s hold, turning away. “There’s nothing wrong. You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, you could be killed,” he growled. “And where have you been?” he spun back to face him, his fear momentarily forgotten as it was replaced by anger. “You never leave your teammates behind in an unknown situation!” he yelled.
A smug grin crossed Ichigo’s face. “Sure you just weren’t too slow?”
Renji punched him in the shoulder. “This isn’t funny, you idiot! What if one of us had been attacked? The other would have had no idea what happened!”
Ichigo’s expression turned serious. “Usually you’re all for going it alone. What’s going on?” He had become concerned about his friend, he rarely saw him this frazzled.
“There was…something…in there,” Renji said quietly, pointing to the door he had shoved the pipe through.
“Something? What do you mean by that?” Ichigo asked confusedly. “Like a hollow?”
“No! It wasn’t a hollow, dumbass, or I would have said that, wouldn’t I?” he yelled. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he felt more confident with Ichigo there. Which is why he was yelling instead of whispering. Renji stomped over to the door, making sure Ichigo was following him. “When I went in here, there was this…I dunno, some kinda zombie-”
