That Nostalgic Summer Rain (Bleach/Kara no Kyoukai)

[X] Look closely at the map. Perhaps other important locations would be marked, which may prove useful.

There was one complication to observing the map, Fujino found. Specifically, that it was the first time she had seen a map of Karakura. It took some effort to look at the map and actually say where that location would be, in relation to the abandoned hospital.

Observing the marked locations, she tried to identify a few of them, to see if she could get any idea of where she was. There was a few locations that had been circled and crossed out, including one that was labelled as a hospital, which presumably wasn't this current abandoned location. Two of the locations marked looked like they were in residential areas, one was marked near a shipping district, and one appeared to be a hotel.

Was that the hotel Fujino had stayed at? Were those markings supposed to represent people with the supernatural? One of those locations should be around where Urahara's shop would be, so that was a possibility. But then, what about the other locations? Tatsuki and Kon had to live somewhere, so the houses could belong to them, but what about the hospital?

Then there were the faint lines on the map, leading to the corner. Down at the corner, there was something written in a language Fujino couldn't identify, what it was. Considering the book full of different languages and translations, perhaps it was something that Misaya couldn't translate, but could determine the context of?

From the looks of things, one of the lines did lead towards the abandoned hospital, so perhaps it was the Ley Line thing that Kon had mentioned. In which case, there were a few more around, but they didn't appear to be anywhere noteworthy for mundane reasons.

Apart from that, the only mark was one that didn't look intentional. There was a smudge over the graveyard, which Fujino already knew was likely important because of Kon. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but honestly, writing something off as a coincidence would be a mistake, most likely.

Looking over the map some more, Fujino tried to memorise what all the marked locations were, and where they were in relation to everything else. She didn't think she had good odds of remembering where most of those Ley Lines were, but if she did, then knowing where they were would be useful for future reference. If something went wrong here, and Fujino didn't meet Misaya here, or if she had misunderstood the situation somehow, then knowing the remaining points of supernatural relevance would matter, she decided.

There was a bang at the door, and Fujino shifted her gaze past the wall and towards Arisawa.

"Asagami?" The girl asked. "Uh... There's a fairy around here."

Fujino took a moment to search, before she found it. It was flitting around, away from Arisawa, towards the entrance of the building.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The fairy tore apart around the midsection, and it's body faded away as it's two halves fell towards the floor.

Now, were there any more?

Expanding her vision, Fujino looked for any more trace of the fairies, and shifted her vision. As her eyes passed over the entrance, she stopped. There was a girl standing in the entrance to the building.

Her hair was purple, and cut haphazardly short, as if done in a hurry. Her uniform looked unwashed and was covered in uneven patches of dirt, but was still recognisable as the same one Fujino wore.

Ouji Misaya was here.

Fujino turned her body towards the door, and deactivated her ESP. Talking to Ouji would be difficult enough as it was, so it was for the best that she took back her normal mindset.

Sensation faded away, and Fujino felt forward with her cane, finding the door and tapping against it.

"Arisawa." Fujino began. "We have a guest."

The door opened in front of Fujino, and the blind girl tested the area in front of her before walking out.

"What do you mean?" Arisawa asked. "Who's here."

"Ouji Misaya." Fujino replied. "She's here."

Arisawa didn't reply for a moment, and Fujino started heading towards the entrance.

It would, perhaps, be wise to fill Arisawa in on what she had discovered.

"By the way, Arisawa." Fujino began. "I should mention what I had deduced from that room."

"I take it you learnt something important." Arisawa noted.

"If I'm right." Fujino replied. "As far as I can tell, Ouji really is the one who created the fairies."

"...Well, it's nice to know that in advance, I suppose." Arisawa mentioned. "Should I just wait here? Not get close?"

"I want to try to talk to her." Fujino replied. "And I feel like it would be best to be blunt about that. I feel like that if you hide away and any of her familiars stumble across you, she might think you're a problem. If she doesn't want to talk with you around, she can ask you to leave, but I think it would matter, whether or not we're open about this."

Arisawa took some time to speak again. "Right, you said her friend died recently, right? So... Basically, if you're right, all of this is happening because she's not coping well and you don't want to risk spooking her?"

"That is the plan, yes." Fujino confirmed. "Of course, this is reliant on the fact that I've drawn the right conclusion, and there's enough about this situation that I don't understand that it is possible that there's something I'm missing."

"Like what?" Arisawa asked.

"Like where Misaya would have learnt any of this." Fujino replied. "There was a book in that room, which had some information on the supernatural, written in a dozen different languages, but where would Misaya have gotten it?"

"You're sure it was hers?" Arisawa asked.

"It was with a textbook with her name on it, and other stuff that would only make sense belonging to Ouji." Misaya replied. "And she's here now. If it doesn't belong to her, I have no idea what the situation is. We'll ask her about it in a moment."

"So how much further is sh-"

Arisawa stopped talking as slow footsteps echoed down the hall, and the two girls stopped walking, as the footsteps came closer. For a few seconds, Fujino just waited, as the footsteps came closer. It sounded like there was a turn in the hall ahead, and once the walker turned the corner, it'd be time to start talking.

The footsteps stopped, and Ouji Misaya spoke. "Asagami."

"Ouji." Fujino replied in kind. "It's good to talk with you again."

"Why are you here?" Misaya asked. "I know you've been looking for me, but why?"

"You disappeared suddenly and nobody knew why." Fujino explained. "People are worried."

"Have we ever talked, outside of class?" Misaya asked. "You barely know me."

"I could help." Fujino explained. "So I did."


"If I wanted people to come and find me, I would have told people where I was going." Misaya said. "I don't need help."

Arisawa coughed. "Uh, quick question. Did you always look so gaunt, or is that the stress?"

There was a moment of silence after that, as Asagami processed that comment. She didn't look at Misaya too closely while her ESP was active, but now that she thought about it, Misaya did look like she was in a bad state.

"...I'm busy." Misaya replied curtly. "I can eat and rest when I'm done."

She hasn't been eating?

"Ouji." Fujino spoke up. She needed to push this topic more, but if they were going to properly talk, she needed to make sure everything was properly understood. "The book with the translations, that map, those are yours, aren't they?"

"Yes." Misaya replied. Now that Arisawa had made a point of Misaya not looking good, and Fujino was paying attention, she noticed that the way the girl spoke sounded exhausted as well. "I know what you're trying to do, so don't waste time. I have magecraft, and I know about your ESP."

Even if she had expected it, the sudden declaration of someone knowing of Fujino's ability threw her for a loop, and it took her a moment to adapt to that. In the time she was still silent, Misaya kept talking.

"All I wanted to do was keep anyone from finding me." Misaya said. "And why wouldn't I? The two of you managed to track me down with barely anything."

"I wouldn't have come looking if you hadn't sent the fairies after everyone." Arisawa snapped. "Don't be surprised when people look into you sending memory eaters after them."

Misaya sighed.

"Arisawa, hold on for a moment." Fujino interrupted. "Misaya, I think you should come back to Reien."

"I will." Misaya replied. "Just as soon as I'm done."

"Done what?" Arisawa asked. "What are you-"

"Raising the dead?" Fujino asked.

"Wha-" Misaya sputtered out, before coughing. "How did you..."

She trailed off, so Fujino responded. "I saw the book in the room over there, Misaya. Notes on necromancy. And you came to a town where the dead linger so soon after the death of Kurogiri-"

"Not him." Snapped Misaya suddenly. "He deserved what was coming to him."

The sudden hostility in her voice caught Fujino off surprise, but the last time she let herself be thrown in this conversation, it took her a while to enter it again. This time, Fujino picked up right where she left off.

"-With several of Tachibana's possessions, after she died months ago." Fujino corrected. "Enough people have died recently for you to mourn, and considering everything else, what you're trying to do is obvious."

"...Well, good for you, Asagami." Misaya replied. "You managed to figure out my scheme. I want to see my friend again. How dastardly of me."

"Would that even work?" Arisawa asked. "She didn't die in Karakura, so why would her ghost be arou-"

Arisawa stopped talking suddenly, as Misaya started storming forward. Fujino held out her cane at an angle which, if she was predicting their positions correctly, should have been between them. Misaya stopped walking, and continued talking instead.

"You should stop talking." Misaya's voice was low, and threatening on some level. "You don't have anything to do with any of this. Why are you even here?"

"Because you made this my problem when your fairies started coming after me." Arisawa replied.

"Don't lie to me." Misaya cut back. "My fairies were watching. You got involved with Asagami because you didn't have anything better to do. The excuses you've given me were things you found out later."

"I-"

"Ouji." Fujino interrupted Arisawa. The small conflict between the two of them was derailing this conversation, and Fujino was already struggling to think of how to convince her fellow student to come back home, without the hostility complicating things. "Tachibana's been dead for months. Why are you choosing now to run away and try to bring her back? What happened?"

Misaya took her time with the response, presumably still angry at Arisawa. "I hadn't realised the possibility until I found Kurogiri's notes. I was too distracted."

Kurogiri's notes? So he had been connected to this in some way?

"Kurogiri Satsuki was a Magus." Ouji explained. "He was the one who made the fairies originally. His, I couldn't properly control after he died, but the ones he had stored with potentially relevant memories are good templates to recreate. And they stored some interesting memories in them, too."

Misaya's voice took a turn at that comment, and Fujino's grip on her hand tightened again.

"I noticed when you destroyed them, Asagami. I presume you recognise the names." Ouji continued. "I had to do some guessworks with the notes and their translations for the full context, but the memories taken from the victim's ghosts were rather clear. Clear enough that feeding one to one of those violent souls overwrote it, at least."

Asagami's hand was shaking, and she heard Ouji chuckle softly. "What's the matter, Asagami? You've gone pale. Do you have a problem, with me seeing those memories?"

"...So you know, then." Fujino said sadly, as she lowered her cane and put it on the ground again. She pushed down hard, to hopefully make the shaking less obvious, as she turned her head in Misaya's direction. "What of it?"

"I don't know much about you, Asagami." Ouji began. "But I know what you did, and I know that you stopped. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say you regret what you did."

She wasn't saying it, Fujino noted. Was it because Arisawa was here? Was this going to end in blackmail?

Still, she wasn't wrong, and if she co-operated, perhaps Misaya would remain open enough to conversation to listen. So, reluctantly, Fujino nodded.

"In that case, I'm sure you understand." Misaya explained. "Asagami, I killed Hayama Hideo."

Fujino froze, the sudden confession catching her off guard. The teacher who had disappeared, just after Tachibana died?

"I hadn't intended to, at the time." Ouji continued. "But he's why Kaori's dead. He, the rest of them, they-"

Misaya cut herself off suddenly, before starting over, her voice sounding strained. "They did something obscene. Kaori's death was self-immolation, because of what they had forced upon her. When I had found out what happened, Hayama tried to escape, and I stopped him. I killed him, and I felt satisfied."

"You-" Fujino began, before Misaya interrupted with her own continuation.

"Once the shock wore off, and I'd realised what I'd done, I panicked." Misaya continued. "That could have been the end of it. I would have turned myself in, plead guilty to manslaughter, and this could have ended. But only one of Kaori's killers had been punished, and Kurogiri was there to cover for me, and enable me. I was going to kill them all until I was stopped."

Even without sight, Fujino was able to feel Misaya staring at her as she continued.

"You understand, don't you?" Misaya asked. "How I'd regret that?"

"This isn't about grief, is it?" Asagami asked. "Not fully, at least. It's guilt. You want to undo death and bring back Kaori so you can feel that you did something good in this situation."

"Perceptive, aren't you?" Ouji noted bitterly. "Yes, Asagami. That's it. Now leave me to it, please. It doesn't matter if I'm suffering. If you understand my guilt, then surely you can understand that."

Her words gave Asagami pause. Even if she disagreed with what Misaya was doing, the core idea behind it wasn't that different to what Asagami was doing. Her actions were driven by guilt, and a desire to make things right. Though, with Misaya, she had a specific goal in mind, some thing she thought would erase her sense of guilt. If Fujino was offered some way to prove her murderous existence was acceptable, how far would she go, to claim it?

But then, guilt wasn't something so easily washed away. And more than that, what Misaya wanted to do was, as far as Asagami could tell, impossible. But how could she say that?

At the very least, she had to say something.

"Ouji." Fujino began again. "You're not going to do any good if you burn yourself out. You said you haven't been eating, or resting. Whatever you try to do, whether it's possible or not, if you don't take care of yourself, you'll die before you manage it.

"...Maybe that's for the best, then." Misaya answered.

Alarmed, Fujino stepped forward. "Ouji-"

"So you still won't stop?" Misaya asked. "Very well, then. Consider this a threat then. The next time we meet, people will start to learn, about your dirty little secret, Asagami."

"What makes you think you can just go?" Arisawa asked.

In response, Misaya snapped her fingers, and the wall was smashed open.

Alarmed at the sudden sound and the chunks of building hitting her, Asagami focused her mind's eye, and activated her ESP.

The first thing she saw was Misaya, bolting out the hole that had been formed in the wall. The second was what had left the hole.

A Hollow stood between Fujino and Misaya, with a fairy resting in the hole on it's chest. The ghost looked more monstrous than any previous Hollow Asagami had seen, it's appearance showing a distinct lack of humanity, or individuality. It was simply a beast.

No, more accurately, a weapon. Had the fairy erased the lingering will, and turned it into it's puppet?

That thought was put on hold, as Fujino processed the third thing of note in this situation. Arisawa had taken the brunt of the building wall, and the brunt of the force. She had collapsed to the ground, and was bleeding.

Worry flashed through Fujino's mind, even as the pain from the bruises forming along her body started to sting at her.

Focusing on the Hollow, Fujino's gaze narrowed.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The Hollow's neck twisted around, and popped, and blood exploded outwards as it collapsed. Fujino muttered her incantation again as she tore the fairy in it's chest apart, and the Hollow's form began to shimmer and reshape itself, before it faded away.

Blood splattered on Fujino's cheek, and she dabbed at it with her left hand, smiling. Such force, and the moment she had willed it's life to end-

No. Focus.

Misaya was still running. At the speed she was running, Asagami wouldn't be able to catch her, not easily. But she could follow, and the moment Misaya tired herself out, Fujino would have the advantage. She could see anywhere in town, and would be able to follow.

Taking a step forward, Asagami's foot touched something made of flesh, and she suddenly remembered. Arisawa.

Looking at the girl again, Fujino checked her wounds. They were fairly bad, and given how short a time the Hollow had to inflict them, Asagami was suddenly very glad she had killed it immediately. She definitely had a few broken bones, at least, and she was bleeding in several places. She was still conscious, but barely, and Fujino doubted it would last.

Arisawa needed help, and Fujino could help her find it. But in doing so, she'd be giving herself too much to do. There was no way that Fujino could keep track of Misaya and help Arisawa.

Surely, the exploding wall would have created enough noise that someone else would have heard it, and come to investigate, right? Someone else would be running in, and help Arisawa when they see her. Surely...

Even with her altered common sense through her ESP, Fujino found that explanation hard to believe. Flickering off her sight and reaching down, Fujino offered Arisawa her hand.

"Arisawa." Fujino said. "I'll help you, we'll see how far we can walk, if we can find help."

"Don't..." Arisawa wheezed. "Get-"

"You're in too poor a shape to just leave here." Asagami replied. "I'll be able to find Misaya again later. I need to help you now."

There was a second where nothing happened, before Arisawa groaned, and her hand wrapped around Asagami's. Fujino pulled her up, and repositioned her cane so Arisawa could lean on it.

"Can you walk?" She asked.

"Leg hurts." Arisawa replied. "But... Yeah."

"Let's go find help, then." Asagami continued, setting off.

The two girls began to wander, for some time. By the time Arisawa's consciousness began slipping, they were close to-

[X] The Kurosaki Clinic
[X] The Urahara Shop