That Nostalgic Summer Rain (Bleach/Kara no Kyoukai)

[X] Ask if either of the two girls had seen Misaya. That was the important thing, more than anything.

It wasn't any of Fujino's business if there had been some strange events going on recently. Though with that logic, Misaya going missing wasn't honestly her business either, but as far as Fujino knew, the oddities that had apparently occurred recently wasn't anything as bad as several people Misaya knew dying within a short timespan.

She was only here to look for Misaya to make sure she was okay. It wouldn't exactly be polite to just investigate everything that people found weird.

And with that in mind, with the medical examination still on pause, Fujino decided to ask a few question.

"Excuse me?" Fujino asked the two girls. "Pardon me for changing the subject, but a classmate of mine went missing recently, and there's a rumour going around that someone saw her going to Karakura Town. I don't suppose either of you two would have seen anyone from out of town recently?"

The two girls took a moment to reply. Fujino didn't bother trying to guess why, this time. It was probably the sudden topic change anyway, and if it was relevant to her, it'd come up when they did respond.

"I did pass by the train station a few days ago." Yuzu answered, after a moment. "I... Might have seen them? There was people leaving as I passed by. What did your friend look like?"

...Friend wasn't exactly accurate, but that was a conversation that didn't need to be had.

"Her names Ouji Misaya." Fujino explained. The rumour was that she was still wearing her uniform. A blue dress, white around the collar and cuffs, does down to the ankles? Her hair was like mine, but a lighter shade. Does that sound familiar?"

There was silence for some time after that.

This, in itself, was not unusual. Fujino had noticed it more since she was forced to rely on her hearing. The lack of visual cues meant that these pauses were more noticeable. Baring the usual sounds of breathing, footsteps, and any other background noise, there was usually moments in conversations where people took a moment to respond.

But that didn't mean it wasn't unnoticeable when a moment of silence dragged on for longer than a moment.

"Is there a problem, Yuzu?" The other girl, Karin, asked after a moment.

"...I did pass by the train station the other day, didn't I?" Yuzu replied, creeping confusion in her voice. "I thought I did, but now I can't remember anything about it."

"What do you mean, you can't remember?" Karin asked. "You definitely passed by. Even if you don't remember anyone you saw around there, you should at least remember that you went by, right?"

"I guess I just wasn't paying attention." Yuzu decided, after a moment. "Sorry, Asagami. Looks like I can't be of any help."

"That's fine." Fujino replied. She wasn't expecting much, regardless. She needed to ask to make sure, but she would have been surprised if it had been that easy to find a lead to Misaya's whereabouts.

Maybe she should return to the train station, Fujino mused, and ask around there. Someone around there might be able to help her.

"Can't remember anything?" Karin asked. "That's... Huh."

She went quiet after that, as if thinking about something, and the three of them waited in silence for a bit longer. Before anyone could offer a topic of conversation to interrupt the silence, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the building.

"Sorry about that." Came the voice of Doctor Kurosaki, after a moment. "I hope my daughters took care of you while I was gone, Asagami."

"It's not like we needed to do anything." Karin pointed out.

"Aw, you didn't complete the examination for me?" He asked, sounding almost hurt. "You've been watching me for so long, I would have thought-"

"Even if I was qualified, I wouldn't do your job for you." Karin grumbled back.

"So mean..." Doctor Kurosaki replied, sounding like a kicked puppy. "Well, if I still have to do work, then let's get to it."

Even if she didn't have any reason to suspect something was wrong, Asagami was still somewhat relieved when the check-up reached the conclusion, and Doctor Kurosaki informed her was fine.

And with that, Fujino had sorted out her cover. If she found Misaya, she'd be able to head right back without worrying about it, and the fact that she had sorted it out now meant that she could put all of her effort into finding the missing girl.

Hopefully, this part wouldn't take too long either. Between what had been happening at Reien and the strange monster she had encountered here in Karakura, Fujino was worried for Misaya.

That was the thought that the girl kept in mind, as she returned to the train station.

It was... Bothersome, walking through the crowd. People gave her space, at least, but as she walked around the station, Fujino found herself appreciating how open Reien was, most of the time. People bumped into her more than once here, and while they apologised immediately, it was somewhat startling.

Still, as the blind girl made her way through the station, she found an employee soon enough.

"Do you need anything, miss?" They said. Their voice was even, if somewhat stressed. If she had to guess, Fujino would have to guess that it was a male speaker, but it was difficult to tell.

"I was wondering if you had seen someone pass through in the last few days." Fujino replied. "A girl in a school uniform? Hair like mine, but a shade lighter? Her name's Ouji Misaya-"

"I don't recall seeing anyone like that." The employee replied. "How long ago would she have passed by?"

"Two days ago, I believe." Fujino replied. "Some time in the evening."

"I was on shift then." They continued. "And I didn't see her."

"Are you certain?" Fujino asked. "In that case, do you know who might-"

"If I didn't see her, I doubt anyone else did." The employee interrupted.

"I don't mean to offend." Fujino continued. "But it is possible you just didn't notice, if she didn't draw attention to herself. You may have-"

"Miss." The employee growled. "You're wasting my time. Get out of here."

Ah. Had she been too forward, there?

"My apologies." Fujino bowed. "I'll leave you to your work."

Well, that was of no help. A pity. Hopefully, Fujino could find another employee that would be able to lend her a hand in this matter. If the one here had been able to give her directions, that would be easier, but now she would have to find another while-

A chill went down Fujino's spine suddenly.

What was this sudden sense of foreboding?


In her life, Asagami Fujino had only been witness to a handful of supernatural phenomenon. She could see kilometres away from herself, and twist anything she saw to destruction. And with that in mind, when a sudden unexplained instinct awoke in her heart to beware, the fact that she followed it without question was to be expected.

Her mind's eye opened, and Fujino observed the train station from above.

Behind her, the employee- Definitely male- Seemed lost in thought. Around her, people were moving on, parting to give her space.

Flitting around the air around their heads was a small yellow being, it's form shifting as it flew in curves through the air. It left golden glitter in it's whimsical path, from the wings that twitched rapidly. Looking at it, the word "Fairy" came to mind relatively quickly. It looked almost like something out of a fairy tale.

It parted through the crowd and reached the employee, and slipped around behind his neck. The man stumbled, suddenly, and with her all-seeing mind's eye, Fujino saw as the man's own eyes lost focus for a second. Then, they stood, and looked around, as if confused.

That didn't bode well, Fujino noted. Was the creature the same sort of being as the one that had attacked the Arisawa girl yesterday? People were not reacting to it, so they clearly could not see it, and even if it didn't appear to have done much, it did give Fujino a bad feeling with how it had disappeared behind the man's back.

The creature emerged from behind it's victims head, and sprung upwards, making a beeline for Fujino.

Ah. So it was coming for her, now. Well, that settled it. Fujino was not willing to allow some magical creature come at her while she could not see it, and she did not wish to keep her clairvoyance active for much longer. Perhaps it was the difference in mindset pushing her to this conclusion, but...

Fujino let out a short breath, and began to mutter quietly enough that nobody else could hear her. Her sight focused on the fairy-like creature, and her power came to her.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.

"Be-"

All of a sudden, a hand shot out to the side, striking at the yellow creature flitting through the air. It fell from the sky, and splattered against the ground, as if made from glass.

Her curse cut short, Fujino let her focus fade, to look at who had struck the creature.

Standing a few steps behind Fujino, looking confused at her own hand, as Arisawa Tatsuki. She seemed distracted as she looked around, as if still looking for something in the air around her.

Had she seen the being fluttering in the air? She had not seen the monster yesterday, and she seemed rather confused that she had hit anything when she had struck out, but she definitely acted against it.

Perhaps Fujino should talk to her, rather than simply standing and guessing.

Taking a moment to survey the area with her sight, ensuring that there was no more of the creature, Fujino shut her mind's eye and let the world fade to a numb darkness once again.

"Arisawa." Fujino noted, as she turned around. "How are you?"

"Hey, Asagami." The girl replied. "Did you sense anything around here? I thought I saw some kind of blur, but-"

"You got it." Fujino noted. "Perhaps we should speak away from the crowd, however..."

As it was, they probably had not said anything to give them away. Nobody would be listening in on them intentionally, and out of context, perhaps they could have been talking about a fast-moving insect. People would invent their own excuses for anything strange they heard. But as it was, talking about what had occurred risked someone putting something together, and Fujino had no intention of allowing anyone else to discover what kind of person she was.

"What are you doing around here, Arisawa?" Fujino asked, out of curiosity. "Are you taking a train?"

There was a moment of silence, after that.

"Well..." Arisawa began. "To be honest, I'm probably here for the same reason as you. I remembered you saying something about you looking for someone, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I thought I'd ask around."

Oh?

"That's very kind of you, Arisawa." Fujino noted. "I was having difficulties finding any leads for finding Ouji. Did you find anything?"

"Not really." Arisawa admitted. "Here, do you want to talk outside?"

"I'll lead the way." Fujino noted. "It'll be easier. People make space for the girl with a walking stick."

"I see..." Arisawa noted. Fujino took a moment to remember where the exit was, tapped the ground with her cane, and began walking.

It was a silent walk on the path out, but before long, the two of them were outside again, away from the crowd.

"So what was that?" Arisawa asked suddenly. "Was there actually something in the air I hit? I thought I was imagining things."

"You did strike against something." Fujino replied. "Some kind of... fairy-like creature, I think. It-"

Fujino stopped speaking suddenly, as a thought occurred to her.

Wasn't there some kind of rumour in Reien Academy, not long ago? Fujino didn't pay rumours much mind, but she could have sworn she had heard mention of fairies from her classmates. Perhaps there was truth to those rumours after all?

"What is it?" Arisawa asked, suddenly concerned.

"Nothing immediate." Fujino assured her. "I was merely remembering something. Whatever that thing was might have had some kind of connection to Misaya."

"Is that so?" The other girl asked. "Well, looks like I just involved myself in something weird... Did you find anything out in the train station?"

"Unfortunately not." Fujino replied. "The only employee I asked didn't recall seeing Misaya. The fairy thing did go after him, though. I noticed them stumble when it found their neck, and then he appeared confused as it came for me"

Arisawa let out a sigh. "Definitely something strange going on. Though, why does this feel..."

She trailed off suddenly, and a moment passed, before Fujino spoke. "Is there something wrong, Arisawa?"

"I'm not sure..." She replied. "I thought I saw something there, but I'm not sure. Might be something around here, or might not."

...Well, that didn't sound too good. Perhaps it was nothing, but Fujino had already encountered two supernatural beings in two days in this town, and given that it was starting to look like there was some kind of connection to Misaya...

Taking a breath, Fujino prepared to open her mind's eye once again-

[X] -And expanded her sight once again, to see what may lurk out of sight, invisible or otherwise.
[X] -But was interrupted by a meek voice, and the sound of someone stepping into view.