Chapter 14: Encountering a Ghost
In a dim, secluded corner of Runrinan, lantern light flickered weakly against the darkness.
"What did you say? You found the culprit?!"
Omaeda's eyes bulged so wide he looked almost frightening.
The patrol member reporting to him had a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He hurriedly repeated, in greater detail, how he had overheard Shiba Ganju talking to a subordinate during his undercover investigation.
Omaeda listened, stunned, almost unable to believe his ears.
He had been bracing himself to return empty handed and be chewed out by his Captain. Yet out of nowhere, the situation flipped in his favor.
That arrogant woman's little brother actually knew where the culprit was hiding and, unlucky for him, had let the information slip. His subordinate had coincidentally been in the right place at the right time and overheard it.
They had not caught every word, but they at least knew the general area.
And once you had that, with the Onmitsukido involved, there was no way the culprit could stay hidden.
"Hahahaha! As expected, rich folks always have good luck! How else could they stay rich?!"
"Just you wait. Once I drag the culprit in front of you, we will see if you can still act so high and mighty!"
Omaeda rubbed his palms together, thrilled.
He immediately gathered all his subordinates and rushed toward the place indicated by the intel.
He was not worried about the culprit escaping. He was simply too eager to see Kukaku's sour expression.
As he charged off, Takeru and the others followed at a steady distance.
"He runs really fast. If we did not know the exact location already, we might have lost him," Ichigo muttered in amazement.
"Footwork is the Onmitsukido's specialty. This level is normal," Kukaku said. "What is strange is that all of you can keep up."
She watched the fluid Shunpo of Takeru and the other three with genuine surprise.
Most current Spirit Arts Academy students could not move like this. To be honest, even many official Gotei 13 Shinigami would fall behind them.
"At this rate, all of you could graduate early. Have you thought about which Division you want to join?"
Hachihara said, "I have not really thought about it yet."
Rindo wrote in the air, [Anywhere is fine].
"I will go to the Fifth Division," Takeru said casually.
"Is this really the time to be talking about that?" Ichigo snapped.
"Being a Shinigami is not an easy job," Kukaku said, her tone suddenly indifferent. "If all you ever do is deal with death, it will not end well for you. If you do not find some fun of your own along the way, your life will end up pitch black."
Her words changed the mood in an instant.
The night seemed to press down heavier around them. The hazy moonlight above was swallowed by clouds and shadow, as if even the sky was holding its breath.
At that moment, the outskirts of Runrinan felt like a place where life had no place to exist.
"If that is the current state of the Shinigami," Ichigo said, "then once I become a Captain, there will be no question about what needs to change."
With that one line, the atmosphere flipped again.
Everyone except Takeru turned to look at Ichigo.
His words sounded arrogant, but the face that went with them was not.
What they saw instead was the expression of a man who knew exactly how hard the path ahead would be, yet still smiled at it.
In the darkness, his orange hair looked muted.
Kukaku had been about to tease him for overestimating himself, but something in that silhouette made her lose focus. For a heartbeat, it overlapped with a figure from her memories.
"???"
Ichigo could tolerate being scolded or mocked, but Kukaku's strange stare, like she was seeing a ghost clinging to his back, made his scalp tingle.
He quickly turned to his friend to change the subject.
"Shimiya, your brain is always weird. You must have some twisted plan in mind already. Out with it."
"No plan," Shimiya Takeru replied lightly. "I just know that with you here, things will definitely get interesting."
He did not look back, simply continued forward.
It was as if focusing on the task in front of him was enough to occupy all his attention.
It was also as if he understood exactly how Ichigo would react and therefore did not bother to respond seriously.
"Hey, you are mocking me, aren't you?"
"You are loud. Is this really the time to be talking about that?"
Hit by his own words from earlier, Ichigo was left speechless.
Takeru did not give him time to recover or think of a comeback. He suddenly raised a hand.
"Hold it. We stop here."
"What is wrong?" Kukaku asked, voicing everyone's confusion.
"Omaeda and his team have slowed down. That means they are close and getting ready to surround the target. If we keep following at this pace and just stroll into view, we will not be of much use to either side," Takeru said, eyes thoughtful.
"What are you getting at?" Kukaku took a breath and asked calmly.
"My point is this. Since we are already using Omaeda as a scout, we may as well get our money's worth and use him as bait again."
The others fell silent, but they all roughly understood his meaning.
"I see," Kukaku said, rubbing her chin as her eyes sharpened.
"If Omaeda cannot beat the enemy, someone with his temperament will run without hesitation. All we need to do is lie in wait along his escape route and catch the enemy when they come chasing after him. A surprise attack from the side, just like that."
"But what if the enemy does not give chase?" Hachihara asked, blinking.
"Omaeda will make sure they do," Takeru said. His tone was simple, but the implication ran deep.
…
The cave had no name and no notable features. There were countless caves like it scattered through Rukongai.
If the culprit had not been hiding inside, Omaeda would never have held his nose and stepped onto this muddy, sunless ground.
"Damn culprit, making Lord Omaeda go through all this trouble," he grumbled inwardly. "Just wait until you are thrown in a cell. Then I will really teach you a lesson."
Complaints aside, he still carried himself as a member of the Onmitsukido, moving cautiously with his subordinates, examining every step carefully.
His professionalism earned him unexpected praise from the culprit when they finally laid eyes on one another.
"I thought it was some beast, but it is a Shinigami," a voice echoed through the cave. "To find my hideout so quickly, that is no small feat. As expected of…"
By the end, the voice had dropped to a murmur.
Omaeda did not care what the thing was muttering.
His face had gone rigid.
Because standing in front of him was an alien monster.
It was nearly three meters tall and vaguely humanoid, with three dog like heads, each adorned with sharp bull horns. Its face was horrifying, like a skull mask made flesh.
As if it no longer felt any need to conceal itself, the faint, hazy aura around its body grew suddenly heavier.
It turned cold and dense, thickening like liquid metal. Spiritual pressure surged outward from within, as if a floodgate had been thrown open.
The cave, and even the air itself, vibrated and roared under the strain.
Under that suffocating pressure, it would not be strange for the entire space to shatter like glass.
Omaeda and his subordinates were drenched in cold sweat, their bodies trembling.
The only reason they did not collapse outright was not because they were particularly strong, but because they had been tempered by their Captain's occasional cold faced outbursts of spiritual pressure.
The feel of it was very similar, so they had at least some resistance.
Even so, the reality was brutal.
The one standing here was not their Captain.
It was a Hollow with Captain class spiritual pressure.
"No mistake," Omaeda thought, his face twitching. "That is a Menos Grande. And not a basic one. That is an Adjuchas class Menos."
What in the world was the Research and Development Institute doing?
An Adjuchas had invaded almost to Seireitei's doorstep, and they had failed to notice.
Of course, he knew there was probably a reason for that.
The thing likely had some ability to suppress its spiritual pressure and erase its traces.
But that only made him feel even more indignant.
He had stumbled into a once in a lifetime situation.
He had thought his luck was good earlier. Now it felt like his so called luck had only guided him to his own funeral.
"Hey, Hollow," Omaeda shouted, forcing his voice not to shake. "State your name!"
"My name is…"
"Smash him, Gegetsuburi!"
Before the Hollow could finish its proud introduction, Omaeda suddenly released his Zanpakuto.
The spiked iron ball at the end of the chain whipped out, slamming into the cavern ceiling.
Rock cracked, then collapsed.
Almost at the same time, Omaeda fired off a Bakudo.
"Bakudō #21, Sekienton!"
Scarlet smoke burst forth, mixing with the falling stone and swirling dust, obscuring all vision.
The moment his preparations were complete, he turned and bolted without hesitation, his movements smooth and practiced.
"Move, move! Everyone run!"
He did not really need to shout.
His subordinates already knew this was an enemy far beyond their pay grade.
However, just as they burst out of the cave mouth, a crimson beam of light exploded from the darkness behind them.
If Omaeda and the others had not reacted on instinct and thrown themselves flat, a few of them would have been erased on the spot by that Cero.
Boom.
The missed Cero struck in the distance, detonating in a violent blast.
The world was first dyed red, then washed in blinding white.
The faces of Omaeda and his squad were even whiter than that light.
"Agile movements, full of vigilance," the Menos rumbled, emerging from the collapsing cave.
It hovered in the air, looking down at them like a hunter admiring its prey.
"It seems you are not nobodies among the Shinigami. Meeting opponents like you does not disappoint me."
There was something off in the way it regarded them, a strange glint in its gaze that made Omaeda's skin crawl.
He could not place what was wrong in that instant.
He only knew that if he did not act quickly, more than a dozen Shinigami were about to die here tonight.
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I have a new Naruto fanfic out, guys!
The main character is Orochimaru's disciple, and I'll say this upfront: he is also a scientist and just as evil as his teacher.
So for those who don't like evil or morally dark main characters, you might want to skip this one.
The fanfic is titled Naruto: Orochimaru's Disciple.
You can search the title directly, or just click on my profile and you'll find it there.
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