That Nostalgic Summer Rain (Bleach/Kara no Kyoukai)

[Mortifer]

[X] There wasn't much purpose to it. It'd be easier to be part of the conversation while the information is being explained firsthand.

Sitting on a bench in the park, Asagami Fujino waited.

Another day had passed, and she still hadn't found any clues of where Misaya was. She had met Arisawa near the hotel that morning, and the two of them were waiting for Kurosaki to arrive with her brother.

Perhaps, for the sake of clarity in the conversation they were going to have soon, Fujino should make sure to refer to Karin by her first name. She did know her more than her brother, so of the two, it made more sense for him to be the one referred to more formally. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't find that rude, or at the very least would understand.

"It shouldn't be too much longer." Arisawa mentioned. "Asagami, are you ready?"

"I think you should be the one wondering about that." Fujino replied. "You are the one who will need to do the hardest part, between us."

"Right, right." Arisawa shrugged off the comment. "And hey, don't worry, I'll make sure not to mention any of your secrets. The plan is to just kinda not mention you in general and push the issue so Ichigo has to answer us, so even if he asks about you he won't get any answers until you enter the conversation."

"Thank you for the thought, Arisawa." Fujino answered. The way she brought it up so suddenly was odd, but considering that Fujino had made a big deal about it yesterday, it made sense that Arisawa would keep it in mind. Perhaps some of it came down to impatience.

Standing from the bench and keeping her cane close at hand, Fujino turned her head back towards Arisawa.

"Let's start walking, then." Asagami said. "If you think they'll be here soon, then we ought to start looking, right?"

"Right." Arisawa replied. "Ichigo's house is over that way, so... Follow me, Asagami, I think I know where they'll be coming from."

The sound of Arisawa's footsteps began to move around Fujino, and she spun to face the sound so she could begin walking when she heard Arisawa moving away.

The plan was simple, Asagami thought, and all she had to do was just listen for the most part. Hopefully, by the time she needed to say anything at all, Kurosaki Ichigo would have already confessed to knowing something, or made it abundantly clear that he did not. Perhaps she would have to be involved in the conversation before that point, but if she could avoid talking before she was asking Kurosaki if he knew anything about the fairies, then that would be preferable.

Arisawa's footsteps stopped ahead of Fujino slightly, and Fujino stopped as well.

"Is something the matter?" Asagami asked.

"There they are." Arisawa replied, before raising her voice. "Oi, Ichigo!"

She ran out ahead, and Asagami took a moment to start walking again. There was no point in trying to keep up, so she may as well focus on trying to listen to what was going on up ahead instead.

"Tatsuki?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Presumably, that would be Kurosaki Ichigo. "What're you-"

He was cut off by something inaudible, before Arisawa started talking again.

"Where the hell have you been?" Arisawa asked, somewhat aggressively. "You've been avoiding me ever since break started. Heck, you've been avoiding everyone. What's going on?"

"Why's it matter?" The boy responded. "It's my business-"

"Don't give me that crap." Arisawa interrupted. "You were acting weird when school was ending and then you just started disappearing all day and not telling anyone where you were going. What's up with that? What's going on?"

"Let go of me, Tatsuki, isn't your arm supposed to be-"

Kurosaki Karin interrupted her brother before he could finish his sentence. "Does this have something to do with the ghost thing, brother?"

There was a moment of silence, which Fujino took to try to piece together anything no immediately obvious to her.

Evidently, Arisawa was being more aggressive with making Ichigo talk than Fujino had initially expected. It sounded like she was being physical, to some degree? Somewhere between holding him still and manhandling him, at least.

He also hadn't seemed to notice Fujino yet, she mused, as she stopped walking some distance away from them. She faced towards the source of the noise so as to make it obvious that she was listening, but he hadn't mentioned her just yet. Presumably, Arisawa yelling in his ear was distracting.

"...What are you talking about, Karin?" Kurosaki asked, his voice seeming unconvincing. "Ghost's aren't rea-"

"She was attacked by one yesterday, Ichigo." Arisawa interrupted. "I was there. I saw it. She told me you've been able to see them since forever ago."

"What? A Hollow attacked-"

"How do you know what a Hollow is?" Arisawa interrupted again.

Kurosaki Ichigo went silent, and from her place in the distance, Asagami felt a sense of relief. He'd slipped up. At this point, he'd need to come clean, and Asagami wouldn't need to give away information to bait information out of him.

"Why don't you start being honest, Ichigo?" Arisawa asked, her voice low, somewhat threatening. "You can see ghosts. You know what Hollows are. And hey, you said something about my arm earlier? Nobody else noticed it was fixed up. So why's that different here, Ichigo?"

"...Well you've gone and learnt a lot recently." Kurosaki muttered under his breath. "How'd you learn so much, then? Did Urahara tell you?"

"You know Urahara?" Arisawa asked. "I- You know what, that's not important. You know, then? For how long?"

"Stop manhandling me and I'll talk." Kurosaki demanded.

"You'll get your freedom back when you start talking." Karin pipped up.

"I like the way she thinks." Arisawa responded.

"Karin- Was this a plan? Did you really have any issues with delinquents?"

"Nope. Don't change the subject. Talk."

Ichigo sighed, and was silent for another long time. Trying to figure out how to phrase the next few sentences? Or trying to figure out how much information to give away and how much to hide?

"Alright, let's start with the important thing." He muttered out. "I don't suppose Urahara ever mentioned something called a Mod Soul?"

"What's that got to do with-"

"Please bear with me." Ichigo sighed. "I'll take that as a no."

"Go on, then." Arisawa growled.

"Right, right." Kurosaki muttered softly. "So, ghosts. There's ghosts. There's mediums who can see ghosts. And there's some mediums who can use techniques that let them do ghost stuff. With me so far?"

"This is new stuff." Arisawa noted. "But get to the point."

"I'm getting to the point. So there's some mediums who can have their spirit leave their body. And when they do that, they need to do something to keep their bodies safe and all that. A Mod Soul is something that can help with that. Put an artificial soul in a body, let it look after the flesh while the spirit gets to work."

"Why are you telling me about this? Why aren't you talking about anything we actually asked about?" Arisawa demanded.

"...You..." Kurosaki began, his voice suddenly a lot less rough and a lot more nervous. "...Might be talking to a Mod Soul right now."

...What?

"Explain." Arisawa growled. "Now."

"Right, well, y'see..." The apparently-not-Ichigo-after-all boy began. "Let's say, theoretically, Kurosaki Ichigo got wrapped up in spiritual stuff and needed something to look after his body while he was busy. Theoretically. And then he was given my- Uh, an artificial soul to do that. And then when school break starts he needs to go for a while and I- The artificial soul, needs to cover for him for a few weeks. And the artificial soul is good at pretending to be gruff but isn't the best actor so doesn't want to be pressured like this and please stop looking at me like this it was Ichigo's idea not mine."

There was, for some time, another long moment of silence.

"Okay." Kurosaki Karin spoke up. "So you're not my brother. You're some stranger in his body living in our house eating our dinner making us all worry while Ichigo... Does what, exactly?"

"...I don't think he'd be very happy if I-"

His voice cut out with a pained cry, and Arisawa Tatsuki began speaking again.

"Explain everything. Right now."

"Yes ma'am." The fake spirit confirmed. "So, uh, it started a while ago. It started with..."

He trailed off, before speaking on another subject. "...Is the purple haired girl supposed to be watching us?"

"Hello." Asagami spoke up, at that comment. "I'm meant to be here. I'm also extremely confused. Don't mind me just yet."

"...Okay." The spirit in Kurosaki's body continued. "So, uh, I'm Kon. Short for- Well it doesn't matter, I'll get to the important thing. I was made by, uh, Shinigami. Which are basically the ghost police. They're meant to hunt Hollows and help ghosts pass on. The one assigned to this area got hurt because of Ichigo so Ichigo had to take the job for a bit, and I was meant to cover for him while he was doing that."

"He's been fighting ghosts?" Arisawa asked. "For how long?"

"I don't have the exact date." Kon explained. "Since May."

"May?" Karin asked. "That's- It's August now. How has he been doing this for so long without anyone noticing?"

"Rukia- She's the Shinigami by the way, her name's Rukia- She had a tool for clearing memories."

Well, would you look at that. Perhaps there was some kind of connection there.

Before pushing that, though, perhaps it would be wise to let Arisawa get all the answers she wanted out of him.

"Okay I'm just gonna talk faster." Kon quickly corrected. "So, uh, yeah. Ghost stuff happened. Ichigo did Shinigami duties, but it turns out that Rukia giving him her Shinigami powers was kinda technically illegal so some other Shinigami arrived to come arrest her, and they nearly killed Ichigo. Then he lost the Shinigami powers she gave him so Urahara helped him figure out his own Shinigami powers and now he's gone after them to go save Rukia."

"People nearly killed him, and now he's going back for round two?" Karin asked.

"It's not a decision I would have made but I'm not him so-"

"Wait, Tatsuki said she'd met Urahara recently, so what? Did Ichigo go to fight some death gods on his own?"

"No, no, he's got friends with him. Chad, Orihime, Ishid-"

"Orihime?" Arisawa asked, her tone significantly different from before. Before, she sounded angry, borderline hostile. But now, she seemed as if she was more confused, perhaps lost on some level. "She's involved too?"

"I don't know how long she's known about things." Kon brought up. "She knew by the time Rukia was taken, and she's gone with Ichigo to go save her."

"How did she get involved? Karin asked.

There was a moment of silence. "I dunno. I guess when Rukia was taken and they wiped the memory of her pretending to be a student, it didn't stick for her."

"...I see..." Arisawa continued. "...I'm going to go for a walk. Stay here, Asagami's gonna want to ask a few things."

The sound of footsteps echoed away from the voices, towards Fujino, as Arisawa passed her.

"Are you okay, Arisawa?" Fujino asked. She didn't seem to be taking this well. Was this Orihime a friend of hers as well?

"I'm fine." Arisawa replied. "Just... Want to think on my own for a minute. I'll be back soon, ask the faker about the stuff I guess."

She continued leaving before Asagami could respond, and Fujino took a moment to look back after her, before she heard Kon speak.

"So, uh, you're Asagami?"

Fujino looked back towards the speaker at that comment. "That is me, yes. Asagami Fujino."

"Nice to meet you." Kon greeted. "You, uh, had something you wanted to talk about?"

"There has been a bit of an incident going on, recently." Asagami explained. "I was hoping to ask Kurosaki Ichigo if he knew anything about it, if he was involved in the supernatural, but I suppose you would know as much as he does."

"I mean, I suppose I do." The boy continued. "Though, do you want to take the conversation somewhere else? If we're going to talk about this kind of stuff for much longer, it might be a good idea to go somewhere more private."

Asagami took a moment to consider the issue, before getting distracted by the memory of Arisawa's tone as she left.

She had said she wanted to be alone for a moment, but the news had upset her, apparently. Perhaps talking to her would help her feel better? Or perhaps it would be best to leave her for the moment and talk to her when she wanted to talk.

[X] Talk with Arisawa now. Making sure she wasn't too upset over the news was probably important. She could talk with Kon after that.
[X] Leave Arisawa for now. Asagami barely knew her, so intruding may seem rude. Ask Kon if he knew anything about the Fairies first.

 

[Mortifer]

[X] Leave Arisawa for now. Asagami barely knew her, so intruding may seem rude. Ask Kon if he knew anything about the Fairies first.

Internally sighing, Fujino tried to push the thought of Arisawa out of her mind, for now. Even if it looked like Arisawa was upset, there wasn't anything Fujino could do to fix this, right now. They weren't that close, all things considered. They had met only a few days ago, and Arisawa had only started helping Asagami look for Misaya because she hadn't had anything better to do, at first.

If anyone here should be going to check on Arisawa, it would have to be Kurosaki Karin. She would have known Arisawa for longer, so if she wasn't going to check on Arisawa, then Fujino certainly wasn't close enough to do so.

Focusing back towards Kon, Asagami continued that conversation, instead.

"I feel like we should keep the conversation around here, so Arisawa knows where to find us." Fujino began. "Though perhaps we should be cautious of anyone overhearing us."

"If you say so." Kon replied. "So, this incident you were-"

"Hold on, time out." Kurosaki replied. "This is weird."

"You're going to have to be more specific." Kon replied. "Everything about this is weird. What's the one you have problems with?"

"You have Ichigo's voice and his face but your speak like you're nervous and trying to avoid offending people and it's weirding me out. Is there a way you can stop using my brother's body?"

"Ah. That." Kon accepted. "Yeah, sorry, I can't really do anything about that. I mean, I can leave this body and get others, but I kinda need a body to talk, and if I leave Ichigo's body unattended and something happens to it he's not gonna be happy with me."

"...Tch, fine." Kurosaki muttered. "Go on, Asagami."

"Thank you, Kurosaki." Fujino nodded in her direction. "Kon, do you know anything about fairies?"

"Never heard of them." Kon replied. "Why? Is this incident involving them?"

"Yes." Asagami confirmed. "I believe Tsukabichi described them as hand-crafted magical beings. There's been a few of them around Karakura around recently."

"Someone made them?" Kon asked, and Fujino nodded in confirmation. "Well I'm going to guess there's a reason for that?"

"They have the power to take memories." Fujino explained.

"...Well that's, uh, not good." Kon noted.

"You said that the Shinigami would've wiped memories when that took that Rukia person?" Kurosaki spoke up. "So you'd know a bit about memory erasure already?"

"I'm not sure about how similar it is." Kon replied. "But yeah, that's a thing. Rukia's done it a few times that I know about. Like, uh... Karin-"

"Don't call me Karin." Kurosaki interrupted. "You're not my brother and it's weird."

"Sorry, my bad, not gonna do that again." Kon frantically assured her. "But, uh, yeah. Rukia might've tweaked your memories a few times. Not sure. I feel like she's why you don't remember being attacked by Grand Fisher at your mother's grave-"

"Hold on." Kurosaki interrupted. "I... Feel like I should ask about this. And also about my brother going to save someone from Shinigami. But I'm going to have time to do that later, and Asagami's here now, so let's keep on track with that."

"Thank you, Kurosaki."

"Alright, focus." Kon replied. "Yeah, I do know a little bit about memory erasure. Not enough to know how it might apply to this situation. Is there anything else?"

"I believe they were at the school I go to, out of town, not long ago." Fujino explained. "I never noticed any myself, but there's significant evidence. People not knowing why they woke up somewhere, and similar situations."

"And now they're here." Kon finished Fujino's thoughts. "Any idea why?"

"When I first came to Karakura, I came looking for someone who went missing from my school recently." Fujino explained. "Ouji Misaya. She's been involved in a few situations recently. Right after a rather noteworthy incident, a teacher she spent time with died, and she disappeared at the same time. Someone said they saw her taking the train to Karakura."

"So, what you're saying is, there's a connection?" The artificial soul replied. "They're here following her?"

"They're connected to her in some way, yes." Fujino clarified. "The fairies do seem to be trying to keep people from remembering seeing her. Either the person who made them has them following her for some reason, or she is the one who made them."

"You don't know?" Kon asked.

"I don't know Ouji well." Fujino admitted. "She has been going through a rough time recently, so if she's trying to hide and be alone, she might do something like that, I'm not sure."

"Wait, you don't know her well?" Kurosaki asked. "I thought you were looking for a friend."

"She's not a friend, no." Fujino confirmed. "But Misaya hasn't had it easy, in these recent times. The only person who was really her friend died as well, a few months ago. If the only people looking for her were her friends, then she wouldn't have anyone right now."

"...Well that sounds like it sucks." Kurosaki accepted. "But why did you specifically come and do it? I mean, you're... You know."

"Blind?" Kon suggested.

"Shut up." Kurosaki replied. "I was trying to be polite."

"My bad." Kon apologised.

"But yeah, that." Karin finished. "It's so much more of a hassle for you, specifically, to come trying to find someone."

This was a bit of a predicament, Fujino had to admit. Kurosaki was raising excellent points about this, and it wasn't exactly easy to prove those points wrong, not without revealing more about Fujino's past than she was comfortable admitting.

But on the other hand, could she really just brush off the issue without it seeming like she was trying to avoid the issue?

...Well, Kurosaki had already demonstrated that she didn't want to be rude once already, so perhaps Fujino could lean on that.

"Consider it a personal issue of mine." Asagami decided on. "I have my reasons for wanting to find Misaya, and I don't want to talk about it."

"...Fine, I guess." Kurosaki replied. "Still weird and all. There really wasn't any other way that didn't involve a blind woman going around alone."

"I made my choice." Asagami replied. "And there was nobody else available, regardless."

"What do you mean nobody else?" Kon asked. "I mean, if you're looking for a classmate, is there any reason nobody else at your school could've come along?"

Fujino took a moment to consider that note, before deciding that the information was harmless enough.

"I go to Reien Academy. It's holiday dates don't line up with public school holiday dates. Technically speaking, everyone else in my school is at school."

There was a moment of silence, which Fujino could only imagine was people judging her.

"I did have a valid reason to not be there." She defended herself. "They know I'm here. I'm listed as away for medical reasons. It's not as if I'm some delinquent skipping school."

"Well, I guess that explains that, then." Kon accepted. "And you looked like you were getting annoyed there for a moment, so I guess we'll drop that topic now."

"Thank you."

"And in that case, moving on." Kon continued. "Fairies. Ouji might've made them, or they might have been made by someone following her, either or and you have no idea which. And anyone who would have seen her can't confirm anything because the fairies would have taken their memories."

"That is what we have been able to piece together." Asagami confirmed. "Do you know anything that might be relevant, or anything that might help?"

"Well, my first instinct for people not me would be to go see Urahara, because he usually knows a bit, but you've done that already if I'm getting the right idea from Tatsu- Arisawa."

"He didn't seem to be aware of the fairy when the girl there first brought it to him." Fujino explained. "Tsukabichi did examine it while we were there, and that's why we know as much as we do."

"Hm." Kon mused on the subject, for a moment. "Did they say anything else about it?"

"Tsukabichi did notice that it looked like the craftsmanship was sloppy." Fujino mused. "It had started degrading after it existed for long enough, but degraded too slow to be intentional, I think?"

"That's certainly something." Kon replied. "If it's crafted poorly, then it'd make sense if whoever was making it was new to the whole supernatural thing. Or maybe that's just by Urahara's standards, which could be higher than I thought. So maybe that could say Ouji is the one making them and she learnt recently."

"Perhaps." Fujino replied. "Or perhaps the person looking for her only managed it recently. I don't have enough information to say for sure."

"Good point." Kon replied. "Still, if it's crafted, then it's got to be made of something, right?"

"Like what?" Asagami asked.

"I dunno I'm not an expert. But it's like... I'm an artificial soul. I was made. But I wasn't just made from nothing. When you're dealing with spirits and stuff, you need some sort of spiritual matter to work with to make the stuff. Sometimes you can just use your own Rei- Actually let's just say spiritual power, getting into specifics would take a lecture and I'm bad at those- Sometimes you can use your own spiritual power to make do, but if they're poorly made and fall apart quickly, I'd wager that the fairies either need something more, or the person making them would run out before too long."

"I see." Fujino mused. "I suppose that makes sense."

"So where are you going with this?" Kurosaki asked. "Could you get around that by chopping up ghosts or something?"

"Actually, maybe." Kon admitted. "They're invisible to people who can't see ghosts, so their existence is comparable, at least. It wouldn't surprise me if you could harvest a ghost's spiritual body and use it to make another spiritual body. But I was thinking more..."

He trailed off for a moment, as if deep in thought, before he continued. "I didn't really listen to too much about what Rukia told Ichigo about Shinigami duties and whatnot, but I vaguely recall her saying something about Ley Lines? Like, there's specific areas of the land where you can just get spiritual power straight out of the world, or something like that. If someone was running short on how much they had, that might work as well."

"Do you know where one would be around here?" Fujino asked.

"Uh... Maybe the abandoned hospital?" Kon suggested. "I feel like that place has a tendency of attracting Hollows and ghosts, but that might just be because people have died there a lot. Death does that to a place, even if it's been a while since anyone actually died there. Heck, graveyards attracts a lot of spirits, and that's just where the dead bodies go after dying."

Fujino took a moment to consider the conversation before she spoke again. "In other words, it might be worth investigating the abandoned hospital and graveyard, because we might be able to find some link between whoever is creating the fairies at those locations?"

"Probably." Kon replied. "And if Ouji's the one making them, maybe you'd run into her right away like that."

"Then perhaps we should go to one of those locations now." Fujino mused. "Would you be able to lead me to either of those locations?"

"I could." Kon replied. "I'd prefer not to get involved but just showing you the way shouldn't be too much of a hassle-"

"Hold on." Kurosaki interrupted. "I also don't want to get involved, don't want it to look like I'm getting involved, and don't want to push off that conversation anymore."

"...Which conversation?" Kon asked, a note of fear in his voice.

"The conversation where you tell me everything that Ichigo's been up to, and then take me to go see that Urahara guy so I can get what he knows about Ichigo, and I can figure out how much I need to yell at him for endangering himself when he gets back."

"That's fair." Asagami replied. "Arisawa should know the way to those locations anyway. I could ask her to show me the way. Unless she also wants answers from-"

There was heavy footsteps from behind Fujino, and she stopped talking, in case the approaching person wasn't supposed to hear anything.

"I'm back." Arisawa's voice came from behind Fujino, as she walked closer. She still sounded somewhat upset, but less so now, fortunately. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Asagami's heading to either the graveyard or the abandoned hospital to look for any signs of the person making the fairies." Kurosaki filled her in. "I'm grabbing the artificial soul and finding Urahara and finding out just how much danger Ichigo's in right now and how much he's been in while I didn't know."

"Have fun with that." Arisawa muttered under her breath, low enough that most people would have missed it if they hadn't been using their ears to compensate for a loss of eyesight. Then, speaking up, she continued. "Let me know if anything important comes up. I'll escort Asagami, I suppose."

"Thank you, Arisawa." The purple haired girl replied.

"Where are we going first, then?" Arisawa asked.

Fujino took a moment to consider it. If the person making the fairies really was at one of those locations, an abandoned hospital was actually a building, so it could make sense that they would set up base there. Then again, doing so inside the location that drew Hollow attention might be problematic.

It might have been more convenient to just be near the area, and under that logic, the graveyard was just as valid a pick as the hospital. If the culprit needed to enter the location to get whatever they needed, even moreso, considering a graveyard would be easier to enter than a building people weren't supposed to go into.

Weighing the options for a moment, Asagami reached her decision.

[X] The Abandoned Hospital
[x] The Graveyard

 

[Mortifer]

[X] The Abandoned Hospital

"Here we are." Arisawa declared.

The walk had been in silence, discounting when Arisawa had to give Fujino instructions. It had been a bit of a walk, but honestly, it only felt like it took a long time because neither of the girls had really talked during the walk.

Fujino didn't want to be the one to bring up the topic of Arisawa's friends not telling her about the supernatural earlier. She didn't want to look like she was being rude, and if she didn't mind her own business, she might accidentally offend Arisawa. If Arisawa wanted to talk about it, she would raise the subject, wouldn't she?

Though on the other hand, perhaps Arisawa wasn't raising the issue because she didn't want to come across as rude by bothering other people with her own problems. That was a possibility as well. If that was the case, Asagami didn't know what to do about it, but perhaps she should keep it under consideration.

But then, now was really not the time to think about that topic. They had arrived at the abandoned hospital. There was a chance that whoever was making the fairies was, or has been, here recently. If they were here, or if there was any evidence here that would held with determining what was going on, then it was important not to miss anything by having thoughts wander to irrelevant topics.

"Uh, Asagami?" Arisawa suddenly asked, her tone suddenly shifting into confusion. "You know how I could kinda see vague shimmers and stuff for ghosts and fairies?"

"Yes?" Fujino asked, prompting her to continue. She was clearly going somewhere with this, and if she wasn't panicking, then it probably wasn't urgent.

"How do I put this..." Arisawa muttered. "Is there a reason why I can suddenly see them in a lot more detail?"

Asagami paused.

"That is odd." Fujino mused. "Can you tell me what you're seeing?"

"There's a ghost over in the distance." Arisawa replied. "There's a chain attached to it. It's looking at the hospital and tugging at the chain but nothings happening."

Fujino briefly considered flicking on her clairvoyance to confirm the sight, but decided against it.

"That's strange." Fujino noted. "I don't know enough about the topic of seeing ghosts to know if it means anything, but it is strange."

"Yeah." Arisawa replied. "Well, at least now I'll be able to see if there's any fairies around, I suppose. This is weird, though."

"Let's enter then, shall we?" Fujino shifted the subject. "Where is the entrance?"

"Just walk forward until you hit the building, then turn right and walk." Arisawa advised, still sounding distracted. She was just paying attention to the ghost, wasn't she?

Tapping her cane forward as she walked until she found the wall of the abandoned hospital, Fujino took the turn and alternated tapping her cane against the wall and the ground in front of her, ensuring the ground was clear and she found the door.

"It's not sealed off is it, Arisawa?" Fujino asked.

"It's fine." Arisawa replied, not sounding like she was paying attention.

Moving onward, Fujino found the door, and pushed against it. Surprisingly, it did actually open. Fujino would have thought it would at least be locked.

"I'm going in now Arisawa."

"Right, right." Arisawa replied, and footsteps started coming towards Fujino.

Fujino walked into the hospital, and immediately, the staleness in the air tempted her to walk back out. It took a moment for her lungs to adjust to the air, and she moved further inwards, giving room for Arisawa to step in.

"So this place is meant to be magic then?" Arisawa asked. "Is there any way we would noti- Gah!"

"Arisawa?" Fujino asked, a note of panic in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Arisawa replied. "It's just, jeez, what was that? I walked in and it felt like all of my bones shook a bit. Hurt a bit, but it was only a moment of pain. Did you feel anything like that?"

"I didn't notice anything like that." Fujino replied truthfully, though she knew that Arisawa was lacking context on why she wouldn't. "That doesn't mean it was nothing. Perhaps it was some kind of magic thing, and it didn't effect me for the same reason the fairies can't take my memories?"

Or she didn't feel it because her clairvoyance wasn't on so she couldn't really feel pain from anything, but for all Fujino knew she could be telling the truth. Or perhaps it really was Arisawa noticing something strange.

Though, that said, Arisawa seemed to be in a better mood than she had been before they walked to the hospital. Had the extra time and distraction given her time to take her mind off of it, or was she just putting on more of an act now to hide it?

Hopefully the first.

Walking forward a bit more, Fujino kept checking the path in front of her. "Arisawa, are there any signs with directions around this place?"

"I don't see any." Arisawa replied. "And this is kind of a big building. Where should we look?"

"How big is the building, again?" Fujino asked. "I'm not sure if it was ever mentioned."

"It's pretty big." Arisawa confirmed. "Several floors and wings. It might take a while to search everything. Especially since I doubt there's any working elevators here..."

Perhaps it would be wise to use her clairvoyance, then. It would only take a moment to look through the entire building.

Taking a breath, Fujino closed her unseeing eyes, and opened her figurative third eye. Her vision activated and expanded, and for a fraction of a second, she felt a jolt of pain rattle down her bones. She savoured it for a moment, before looking around.

Momentarily, she looked around to ensure there were no Hollows nearby. None were in or around the building, and so Fujino focused her gaze to the building itself. Scanning through it, she looked through the empty floors and rooms. Nothing, for so long, but darkness. Some cobwebs and insects. Parts of the building near the roof looked damaged for some reason, but apart from that, the upper floors were empty.

Eventually, she saw something off, and upon focusing on it, Fujino confirmed her suspicions. A room filled with paper and tools and all sorts of other equipment. She didn't get a good look at the room, but once she knew it was there, she just needed to see the path.

"I know where it is." Fujjino declared, deactivating her clairvoyance. "First floor, near the back of the building."

"Psychic powers are really useful, huh." Arisawa noted. "Well, let's go."

The two of them walked through the building for some time, with a few detours when they took turns into dead ends and needed to backtrack, but had been able to find it eventually.

Pausing momentarily by the door, Fujino considered what she should do once she entered the room.

There wasn't anyone in there, but with the amount of stuff left in the room, it would be a necessity to look at what was actually in there. And with that in mind, it might be important that Fujino actually used her clairvoyance, so she could read what was on the paper and see what everything was.

And if she was going to be in that mindset, then it would be in her best interest to keep Arisawa out of the room.

"Arisawa?" Fujino asked. "I may need to use my abilities to examine the evidence in the room, and Urahara had mentioned it attracts Hollows. Would you mind watching the halls so you can call out if I don't feel them coming?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I could do that." Arisawa replied. "Will you be able to find anything just with your abilities?"

"I'll let you know if I need you." Asagami answered, as she stepped into the room.

The door shut behind her, and taking another breath, Fujino activated her ESP once again.

Looking through the room, Asagami searched for anything that could be relevant. Nearly immediately, she noticed something. By the back of the room, with some distance away from everything else, was a collection of jars against the wall. Each was labelled with a name, and bar one, they had a fairy stored inside, bouncing away from the glass.

That would confirm it, then. Whoever was making the fairies had set up base here, and she could find some clue as to who it was here.

Taking a moment to focus on the names, Fujino read them internally.

Three names in, and it occurred to her that the names on the jars were familiar. In fact, weren't they the same names as people in Keita's gang? The ones who had-

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The jars shattered as Fujino's power bent around them, shattering the glass and crushing the fairies within. She noted, momentarily, that they seemed more solid then the other's she had seen before, but they died all the same. Fujino smiled softly as her power tore apart the various fairies, and that simple joy was enough that she didn't even linger on how the amount of jars was exactly equal to the number of people she had killed.

"Asagami?" Arisawa called from outside. "What was that?"

Ah. Shattering glass was loud, wasn't it?

"There were some fairies in jars in here." Fujino replied. "I was dealing with them."

"Got it." Arisawa replied. "Did you get them all?"

"I did." Fujino confirmed. "Is it still all clear outside?"

"It is." Arisawa nodded slightly outside the room as she spoke, and Fujino let out a breath.

Still, this had to have confirmed it. There was the memory-consuming fairies in jars with the names and number identical to the murders Fujino had committed. Did the one who had made the fairies know about Fujino in advance? Did they know she would come after them? Or, given that they had been in Reien Academy, was it simply that they had gathered information on Fujino and kept it on hand just in case?

It was worry, that someone else could have found out about Fujino's history so easily. What exactly had happened, though? Had the fairies eaten the memories of whatever ghosts her victims left behind?

Perhaps she was lingering on that for too long. Asagami needed to find out anything she could about the current scenario.

Refocusing her gaze, Asagami looked towards the various papers in the room, scattered across the ground. She noticed a textbook from Reien, and what looked like a map, which had circled Karakura Town on it. There was another book near it that had been left open, and the writing inside it was strange. For some reason, it looked as if several different languages had been used in the writing. German, English, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese words had been written, all in the same page. Was this some kind of code, to keep information hidden?

The Japanese phrasing mentioned Karakura Town, and Fujino took a moment to focus in on the kanji more. If she was reading it properly, and the sentences before and after it didn't change the context, it seemed to refer to Karakura town as being spiritual land, in which the barrier between life and death was fragile.

Moving over towards the page and flipping to another page with her cane, Asagami kept reading. The page was covered in languages that Asagami couldn't recognise, but after flicking through a few pages, she found a page with other various languages, with another person's handwriting making notes of translation.

It was disjointed, and several points hadn't been translated, but Fujino saw some wording. Communion with dead spirits, binding the dead, necromancy. So, whoever it was wanted to talk to somebody who had died? But then, how did Misaya play into this?

An idea came over Asagami, as she shifted her psychic gaze towards the Reien textbook. Trying to look within the pages was pointless, as there was no light within the pages, but upon walking over towards it and using her cane to shift the page, she found the name on the inside of the cover.

Tachibana Kaori. The name of Ouji's friend, the girl who had died months ago. When Misaya had disappeared, someone had noticed Tachibana's old things disappear as well. Looking around near the textbook, Fujino saw a hairbrush, a scrap of cloth that resembled the sleeve of her uniform, and a necklace. Were all of these also Tachibana's things?

It didn't matter. There was one item here which Fujino knew belonged to Tachibana. And with that in mind, it was easy to put together a guess of what happened.

Was this Misaya's doing? Was she the one who had created the fairies, after all? Had she come to Karakura seeking some way to talk to her lost friend?

But then, if that was the case, that raised further questions. Why was that book written in so many different languages, in a different handwriting? Why had Misaya disappeared the day the teacher had died, if the evidence implied she was here to find the ghost of a girl who had died months ago? If she was the one who had made the fairies, when had she learnt?

There was a lot of questions Asagami didn't have the answer to yet, and this room may have some answers to that question. All she had to do was decide where she had to look first.

Misaya clearly intended to return to this place. She had left too much behind to simply abandon this place, given how much evidence she had left behind. And if she wasn't here, she could be back at any moment. Fujino wouldn't have the chance to examine the room if Misaya arrived, so for now, she had to prioritise. What would give the most information?

[X] Look through the coded and translated book. Even if most of it was incomprehensible, some of it could be important.
[X] Look closely at the map. Perhaps other important locations would be marked, which may prove useful.

 

[Mortifer]

[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

 

[Mortifer]

[X] The Urahara Shop

As the two girls walked, the only sound was that of Arisawa muttering directions. Her voice came softer over time, with her instructions coming slower and further apart over time. Somehow, nobody noticed the two girls walking. Or, at least, if they did, they weren't acknowledging them.

On the one hand, that did mean that there wasn't any difficult questions asked. On the other, with the state Arisawa was in, difficult questions were the last of her concern.

Arisawa's weight shifted suddenly on Fujino's shoulder, and the blind girl stopped moving, waiting for the other girl to confirm she was able to move without falling over. As it was, it felt like the entirety of Arisawa's weight was leaning on Fujino's shoulder, and her attempts to push away were weak.

Did Ouji Misaya know, when she set the Hollow on them, that Arisawa would be hurt this badly? Or did she not care? It was clear from the conversation that Misaya considered the incident she had been involved with to be a regretful one, and her actions were motivated by her guilt, and that was simply from almost killing innocent people. But then, Misaya barely seemed to be in the right mind, during that conversation.

She said she hadn't eaten since coming to Karakura. Had she slept at all during that time? If she wouldn't take the time of her day to eat, would she want to waste time sleeping? She was certainly acting self destructive enough that Fujino would believe she would think that was a good idea.

It occurred to Fujino that Arisawa had stopped trying to shift her weight, and hadn't said anything in a while.

"Arisawa?" Fujino asked. "Are you okay?"

Arisawa didn't respond, nor did she move. So she'd finally lost consciousness, then.

This was a problem. Fujino was blind, and didn't think she could carry Arisawa while moving, let alone while using her cane to see. So if Arisawa couldn't help move, then Fujino was stuck.

In that case, Fujino needed to get help. Her choice, then, were to either wait for someone to notice them, and let Arisawa bleed, or to use her Clairvoyance and try to find someone who knew about the supernatural. Kon, or Karin, or Urahara or anyone like that.

Closing her eyes, Fujino let her clairvoyance activate again.

Ignoring the slight pain in her arm, likely just her muscles straining to hold Arisawa's weight, Fujino shifted her gaze to see if anyone was nearby.

Oh, that was convenient. They were only around the corner from the store where they had talked with Urahara. Looking inside, Fujino immediately noticed the two children in the front of the store. What were their names again? Hanakari and Tsumugiya, wasn't it?

She'll draw their attention first, then.

The boy, Hanakari, was holding a broom in one hand, and holding a box under her shoulder with the other. He tapped on a label on the box, as he said something to the girl, Tsumugiya. Fujino really wished that her ability would let her understand what they were saying, since the only clues she had in that regard were the way the boy shook his head and tapped the box again, whenever the girl spoke.

Well, she didn't need to know what they were saying right now. It would be nice to know so she would know if they were coming, but she needed to get their attention more than another.

Fujino looked at the broom the boy was holding, and picked the point furthest from the two children.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The end of the broom with the brush cracked, and then snapped, some wood splinters scattering across the floor as it did so. The two children looked towards it, and the boy dropped his broom suddenly, as well as the box in his other arm. When the box hit the ground, it must have made some kind of noise, judging by how the boy flinched.

Oh. Was there something fragile in there?

Well, that should get their attention, at least.

The boy looked at the broken broom and box on the ground for a second, before looking up and shouting something. The girl, meanwhile, turned away, and started walking towards what looked like another broom.

Was she just going to clean up? That wasn't what Fujino needed right now. Focusing her gaze on the other broom-

The thought was interrupted with a sudden movement, which Fujino saw, upon refocusing her vision, to be a door opening. Tsukabishi Tessai walked through the door, looking around.

Oh, good. He was smart enough to put information together, from what Fujino had seen. He should be able to tell that the reason things had been snapped were Fujino trying to get someone's attention, and then he could come and get Arisawa-

On reflection, it occurred to Fujino that Tsukabishi had no way of knowing where Fujino was, other than 'Around.' And she doesn't think she ever demonstrate her ability in front of any of the people in that room. They might not know she is responsible. This was not a well thought out plan.

It was better than just doing nothing, she supposed, but it was still troublesome. Which, Fujino mused, seemed to apply to a lot of the actions she was taking lately.

She'd just have to hope that, whatever happened, it worked out. Hopefully before Arisawa lost too much blood.

Speaking of which, the weight on Fujino's shoulder was growing uncomfortable. The sensation was one Fujino wasn't used to, and she enjoyed the fact that she could feel it, but it was distracting.

Focusing again, Fujino watched as Tsukabishi waved his hands around the room. As his hands stilled, the broken shards of the broom formed together again, and the two broken sticks fixed each other. The two kids watched, and the door behind the group opened again.

Urahara, Kurosaki and Kon stepped out. So they had managed to talk, then? That was good. Urahara said something, Tsukabishi said something, and Fujino decided she may as well stop paying attention to who's mouths were moving when she couldn't understand them anyway.

So instead, Fujino simply observed the group, up until Urahara tapped his cane on the ground. Nothing happened for a moment after that, until a shiver ran down Fujino's spine. Urahara's cane was suddenly raised and pointed in Fujino's direction, and Kon ran out of the building.

Whatever that was, it was convenient.

Once she had confirmed Kon was on his way, Fujino shut off her clairvoyance, and waited. Footsteps echoed around her as sensation faded away, and after a moment, the soul in the borrowed body arrived.

"Asag-" He began, before cutting himself off. "Tatsuki!"

"Hello, Kon." Fujino began. "I don't suppose you could carry Arisawa for me?"

"What happened?" Kon asked, his voice getting closer as he spoke, and the weight on Fujino's shoulder being removed as he concluded his question.

"It might take some time to explain." Fujino replied. "I think it would be best to take her to Urahara, first. He has some healing ability, right?"

"I- Alright." Kon replied. "Are you hurt? Do you need help getting there?"

"It's only around the corner." Fujino replied. "And I'm fine. It'll just take a minute."

"I'll see you there, then." Kon finished, before leaving. Taking a moment to feel around with her cane, Fujino set off towards where she remembered Urahara's store being.

Left to herself as she walked, Fujino had more time to think. Inevitably, her thoughts drifted once again, to what had happened.

Ouji Misaya was motivated by guilt. The feeling that what she had been doing was wrong, and she needed to do something to make up for it. She had compared herself to Asagami, and it wasn't an inaccurate comparison, either. Why had Fujino come to Karakura Town in the first place? Why was she looking for Ouji? Because it was something she could do, however inconvenient and difficult it was, and doing something to help someone like that was something Fujino felt she had to do.

Of course, the two girls weren't exactly the same. Ouji Misaya was trying to assuage the regret she felt over nearly killing a class full of students to avenge her friend. She had killed Hayama, and considering how poorly she had reacted to the name and what she had said he had done, it wouldn't surprise Fujino if Kurogiri's death was her doing as well. But Hayama's death had been an accident, and considering that Kurogiri had apparently enabled Misaya during her attempted massacre, his death may not have left her with much lingering guilt.

It was a weird thought, to think that someone who had died recently might have enabled murders. That someone who had been a teacher at the school Fujino attended would be that kind of person. But she could dwell on that later, if at all. For now, Fujino wanted to consider Ouji's circumstances some more.

As far as she could understand, it was the near-massacre of her classmates that filled Misaya with the most guilt. None of them had died, but Fujino could understand how the actual circumstances of the victim mattered less than what was going through her head while planning the killings. Looking at her own victims objectively, the vast majority of them, as well as the one who had escaped, could be said to have brought it on themselves. Fujino had been able to justify her actions until her encounter with Ryougi, after all.

The reason Fujino felt the weight of her sins, and the reason Ouji felt hers, wasn't because of the end result. Rather, it was what she wanted to do. What she had thought.

This, Fujino mused, was the one major difference between herself and Misaya. Misaya had been enabled and manipulated, from what she had said. For Fujino, her actions were her own. Her desires were her own, without any outside influence. Ouji sought to mitigate the guilt of one planned action. Asagami sought to mitigate the guilt of her own existence.

Even if Asagami could understand Ouji's point of view, she couldn't accept it. In the end, Fujino had done far worse than what Misaya had done. If Misaya had set her sights on a goal as impossible as resurrection as the one thing that could make amends for her action, then what hope would Fujino have, of ever being able to justify her life?

Well, perhaps that was a selfish way of looking at it. And perhaps Fujino's conclusion was selfish as well. But at the end of the day, she didn't think Misaya deserved to suffer. She had lost a friend, accidentally caused a death, and then someone came along to convince her to go further. That shouldn't be comparable to someone who wanted to kill because they felt happy to use their power to end a life.

Though, right now, Fujino should stay focused. Arisawa was injured, and Misaya wasn't here.

Reaching what she presumed to be the Urahara store, Fujino knocked on the door.

A moment passed, before it opened, and Kurosaki Karin spoke.

"Asagami." She began, her voice moving as she stepped aside. "What happened?"

"We found Ouji." Fujino replied. "We talked. She's responsible for the fairies, by the way."

"The girl you're looking for?" Kurosaki asked. "Why?"

"I'd rather not divulge all of her personal issues to a stranger." Asagami replied. "I promise I'll have the situation resolved soon."

"So how did this lead to Tatsuki being injured?" Kon asked, from the other side of the room.

"Ouji didn't want to come home." Asagami replied. "So, as far as I can tell, she took control of a Hollow and set it on us. She ran in the confusion and Arisawa was hurt."

"That... Doesn't seem good." Kon noted. "You're not just saying everything about her, so I presume she didn't come across as a bad guy when you were talking with her. I don't suppose you'd be able to share what her motive there is?"

"I doubt Ouji fully understood what the consequences would be." Fujino explained. "As far as I can tell, she's not in the right mind. I have my doubts she's slept since she came to Karakura, and she outright said she hadn't eaten. From what I understand, she simply wanted to leave, took the easiest path to keep us distracted, and didn't realise that someone could have been hurt."

"...Sounds rough." Karin muttered. "You better hope you're right. If she did want to hurt Tatsuki and you're giving her the benefit of the doubt, that could be you, next."

"Uh, also." Kon spoke up. "Tatsuki was leaning on you for a while, right? And she was bleeding pretty bad."

What did that have to- Oh.

"My clothes are all bloody, aren't they?" Fujino asked.

That could be a problem. Fujino would need to go back to the hotel to get more clothes, and there would be people who notice that there's blood in her clothes.

"Also your face a bit." Kon noted. "And your hair."

She couldn't let people see her covered in blood. Especially not somewhere where she'd have to come and go a few more times before she could leave Karakura and go home.

Another door opened, and a small voice spoke. Tsumugiya, Fujino remembered. "Asagami."

"Hello." Fujino replied.

"Urahara will be with you shortly." She said. "Once Arisawa has been healed a bit. Is there anything you need?"

"Is there a shower around here?" She asked. "I might need to get this blood out of my hair. If you have spare clothes that would fit me here somewhere, those would be nice."

The girl took a moment, before she replied.

"There's a shower in the basement." The girl said. "There might be stock of clothes somewhere around here. Do you have a preference?"

"Not really." Asagami replied. "Nothing too revealing or attention grabbing, but otherwise, nothing."

"Okay." The girl said. "The shower is this way."

The girl started moving away from the door, and Asagami followed.

Once she has cleaned up the blood, what should Fujino focus on during her talk with Urahara?

[X] Misaya's goal, resurrecting her dead friend. That didn't seem possible, but understanding why might help talk Misaya down.
[X] What Misaya had done when controlling the Hollow, and how to prevent people near her from being hurt by similar situations.
[X] Neither- Arisawa should be regaining consciousness soon, and Fujino would prefer to talk to her immediately when she does so.

 

[Mortifer]

[X] Misaya's goal, resurrecting her dead friend. That didn't seem possible, but understanding why might help talk Misaya down.

Freshly cleaned and wearing clothes that felt a tad too large for her, Fujino stepped back into the main room in the store, where everyone was waiting for her last she checked.

"I'm back." She stated, and waited for a reply. When none came, she frowned.

Had they all gone downstairs somewhere? Honestly, that place was large enough that Fujino would believe she missed them somewhere, the amount of space she had to pass through to reach the shower was enough to prove the basement was bigger than the store itself. Or maybe they were in the back and weren't making much noise.

Fujino waited a moment more, before she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she looked towards the source, and waited for the walker to speak.

"Ah, Asagami." Urahara drawled. "I'd ask if you paid for those, but I already know the answer to that."

Oh. "Sorry?"

"It's fine." Urahara replied. "It's been sitting around for years anyway. My store sells candy and supernatural wares, and it turns out there's not much overlap between those crowds and people looking to buy mundane clothes."

"Thank you, then." Fujino decided. "Your generosity has saved me from a difficult situation."

"I should probably record you saying that." Urahara noted, his voice shifting in a way that gave Fujino the impression he was talking to himself. "I'll give Yoruichi a laugh when she gets back."

Fujino hadn't come here just to clean the blood out of her hair, though. "Is Arisawa okay?"

"She's in one piece." Urahara replied. "Still out, but should be coming around soon. Kurosaki and the Mod Soul are down with her. What happened there, anyway?"

Had Kurosaki and Kon not told him?

"We found Misaya." Fujino began, before something occurred to her. "Ah, I hadn't mentioned her to you before, had I?"

"I'm assuming she's the person you were looking for, important enough that you were willing to put up with Hollow attacks to find her." Urahara answered.

"Yes, that's her." Fujino answered. "She's behind the fairies, by the way."

Thinking it over for a moment, Fujino decided she might need to disclose a lot to Urahara. He did know more about the supernatural, so if he knew what was going on, he'd be able to offer more advice. He had certainly been helpful so far. Still, he only needed to know the relevant matters, and not certain details.

"A friend of hers died a while back, and she hasn't quiet been okay since." Fujino continued. "Since then and now, a lot has happened, and she feels bad about it."

'A lot has happened' was, here, a phrase which meant 'Killed at least one person, possibly two, and planned the murder of several more,' but that was incriminating and didn't relate to the situation beyond explaining Ouji's guilt.

"She's got her information from a Magus in the interim." Fujino explained. "And most of her information has come from there. I saw the book myself, and she's had trouble translating it, but she thinks she can resurrect her friend here. Or at least, wants to believe it."

There was a moment of silence after that, presumably Urahara considering what Fujino had said. Eventually, Fujino decided that she would have to be the one who began the obvious next topic.

"Is that even possible?" Asagami asked. "I don't believe it is, but I'm not the person who knows about these things. I want to talk her into coming home before she hurts herself more than she already has, but she seems sure on her path, and I need to understand more if I'm going to convince her to come back."

Urahara remained silent for a moment more, and then sighed.

"The dead aren't meant to linger." He began, his tone growing sombre. "People have been trying to raise the dead for as long as people have died. It's never worked out, and it's never going to."

"I need to convince Misaya of that." Fujino said. "I don't think she's in a state where just saying it's impossible isn't going to work."

"...How did her friend die?" Urahara asked.

Fujino thought on that, for a moment, before she answered. "Self-immolation, Ouji had said."

"There you go, then." Urahara continued. "Ghosts and Hollows exist because they don't want to go. They linger because there's something they still want to do, something they miss, and it's the most important thing to them. Whatever's happened, if she's burnt herself up, I don't think she has any attachments outweighing whatever motivated her to die."

"So someone who wants to die wouldn't leave anything behind?" Fujino asked for confirmation.

"That's about it." Urahara replied. "Maybe whatever notes the girl has, she's convinced she can do something. Reach into the afterlife and grab the girl's soul before she reincarnates. But that's not going to be an option either. It takes a strong will to linger, in life or after it, and again, someone who's died of their own choice isn't going to want to cling on. Ouji's friend was beyond anyone's help the moment she decided burning herself to death was the only option."

Fujino didn't have anything to say to that.

She had come here with the expectation that raising the dead was impossible, but when put like that, it felt depressing to hear. Misaya wasn't eating and wasn't resting and was ignoring everything to bring back her friend, and she was gone long before Ouji had ever considered it a possibility.

In the end, all the suffering Ouji was going through wasn't going to mean anything.

"Well this got real dark real fast." Urahara suddenly interrupted Fujino's thought process with the sombre note in his voice disappearing as he spoke. "I hope you've gotten enough information out of that, Asagami, because I really don't want to keep talking about that."

"Understandable." Fujino replied, sounding more distant than she had intended. Even with her train of thought interrupted, she was dwelling on what Urahara had said.

"So, is there anything else you wanted to know?" Urahara asked. "Anything else that might be releva-"

There was a knock on the wall near the door the two were standing in, and Fujino turned to face the source as she waited for either Urahara or the knocker to speak.

"Ururu?" Urahara started. "What is it?"

"Arisawa's awake." The girl replied. "Tessai is confirming she's not in pain. He wanted me to let you know."

"Hm." Urahara took a moment to think. "Asagami, I'm going to assume you'll want to check on her first? Talk to her about Ouji?"

"I was hoping to do that at some point." Fujino nodded.

"She's just downstairs." Urahara confirmed. "Ururu, show her the way. I'll wait up here in case we have any customers, can't stay closed all day again."

The girl made a wordless sound of confirmation, and Fujino felt a small hand tap her arm. "Follow me."

"Thank you for your assistance, Urahara." Asagami said.

The owner of the store didn't reply, and as the small girl's footsteps signified the start of her movement, Fujino followed her. The two walked in silence, as they went down some stairs and down a hallway. As they approached the destination, Fujino could hear some murmuring of people talking, muffled through the walls. Eventually, the girl stopped walking, and Fujino stopped as well.

"Waiting room's here." Tsumugiya noted. "Kurosaki and the Mod Soul are waiting inside. Tessai will tell you when you can see Arisawa."

"I see." Asagami noted." Thank you, Tsumugiya."

The girl hummed in satisfaction, then started walking away.

Well, she probably doesn't have much investment in Arisawa, so it makes sense that'd she go to something else now, Fujino mused as she knocked on the door. With the people on the other side alerted to her presence, she opened the door, and walked in.

"Hey, Asagami." Kon noted, a little too familiar for Fujino's tastes, but well meaning enough that reprimanding him would feel rude.

"Hello, Kon." Fujino replied. "Kurosaki, you're here too, right?"

"Yep." The girl replied, some distance away. "Over here."

"What are you two doing, anyway?" Fujino asked.

"Waiting to check on Arisawa." Karin replied. "She's my brother's friend, so it's a bit concerning that she's gone and gotten herself hurt."

"That would be my bad." Fujino apologised. "If I hadn't-"

"Stop right there." Kurosaki interrupted. "Before you say you dragged her into it, it's your bad? She's the one who made the choice to get involved. You didn't force her, and you didn't drag the fairies here yourself, so it's not your fault."

Fujino frowned. "I still feel bad about it."

Kurosaki paused, at that. "Well, I don't have anything for that. Just don't apologise for something that's not your fault."

"I suppose I shouldn't." Asagami said.

There was the sound of a turn of a page, and Asagami paused.

"What was that?" She asked. "Is someone reading something?"

"I am." Kurosaki replied. "I got the hat man to give me a book on ghosts and stuff."

...Hat man?

"She means Urahara." Kon added in, obviously seeing the confusion on Asagami's face. "You know, because he wears- I suppose you wouldn't know, sorry. Shutting up now."

"Honestly, if I could, I'd just go home." Kurosaki continued. "But my brother got roped into all this ghost stuff, and even with him being an idiot and running into ghost police land, there's this fairy stuff going on, and then just the regular Hollow's. I'd have to be an idiot to just assume I'm never gonna get caught up in this stuff again."

"So you're reading a book on ghosts in case they put you in danger again, then." Asagami summed up.

"Pretty much." Kurosaki replied. "I mean, apparently, innate power tends to run in the family, and Ichigo had a bunch of potential from the start, so I should be able to punch a ghost in the face if I learnt how."

There was the sound of another door opening, before Tsukabishi Tessai spoke. "Arisawa is awake. She needs to lay down for a while, but she is awake."

Fujino took a step towards the sound of his voice, before she paused.

"Do either of you two want to talk to her?" Fujino asked. "You two have known her for longer."

"You were there when she got hurt." Kon pointed out. "And I dunno about Kar- Kurosaki, but if I was by someone who got hurt, I'd want to check if they were okay as soon as I could. You go ahead."

Karin didn't say anything, and the lack of denial was enough for Asagami to assume it was okay to go ahead. She heard Tsukabishi move out of the way as she passed through the door, and Fujino closed it behind her as she entered the room.

"Arisawa." Fujino began.

"Asagami." The girl replied. "What happened? A Hollow hit me and Misaya got away, but it's kind of a blur..."

"That's the basics of it." Asagami answered. "Misaya had controlled it with a fairy, as far as I can tell. I killed it, and then I had to take you here."

"...Well, she left her stuff behind when she ran." Arisawa pointed out. "So that's something, at least. Don't know how you could use it. Maybe go back and take the stuff, maybe go back and wait for her to turn up again, or something. Assuming she doesn't make a ghost do it, I suppose."

"That is something we could use." Fujino mused. "Somehow, anyway."

There was an awkward tension in the air, Fujino thought to herself. The conversation really wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't entirely sure what the source was, but she could tell something was amiss.

"...I really screwed up, didn't I?" Arisawa asked, eventually.

Fujino blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You were there." Arisawa explained. "You found her. You were talking to her. When she ran, you could've followed her. She only got away because I was there."

Fujino took a moment to phrase her next sentence. "Arisawa, it's okay. You've helped me a lot. I never would have found her if it wasn't for you."

"Maybe." Arisawa admitted. "But how did I help you there? I pointed out a fairy that you probably would've sensed eventually. Then I agitated the person you were trying to talk to because..."

She trailed off, and sighed.

"If I wasn't there, you probably would've had much better luck." Arisawa decided. "You've got enough information at this point, don't you? Go ahead. Forget about me, find Ouji. It'll be for the best."

Fujino looked at her for a moment, before she spoke again.

[X] ...If Arisawa insisted, then there wasn't much Fujino could do to change her mind, was there? If she didn't think she could help, Fujino shouldn't force her.
[X] This wasn't just coming out of nowhere. Fujino needed to talk to Arisawa to figure out how to change her mind. This felt like it ran deeper than just one mistake.

 

[Mortifer]

[X] This wasn't just coming out of nowhere. Fujino needed to talk to Arisawa to figure out how to change her mind. This felt like it ran deeper than just one mistake.

When Fujino next spoke, her words were slow, more deliberate. This was a matter which felt like it could be sensitive. She needed to make sure that she didn't say anything that would cause Arisawa to withdraw, and stop talking.

"Arisawa." She began. "What were you going to say there? You trailed off."

There was the sound of something ruffling as Arisawa moved suddenly, before she replied. "It's nothing. Forget about it."

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Fujino replied. "Arisawa, I haven't known you for very long, but it doesn't sound like you're doing too well, right now."

"Of course I don't." Arisawa replied. "I only just woke up from all the blood loss."

"That's not what I mean." Fujino disagreed. "Arisawa, please, just tell me what the problem is."

The girl fell into silence again.

Had she been too pushy? Fujino really didn't know Arisawa that much. Was she expecting too much, like this? It wasn't like Fujino could simply walk it back at this point, she wanted an answer and if Arisawa had been offended by how forceful Fujino was with wanting answers, then backing out wouldn't change that. Still, it weighed down on Fujino during the silence, that she may have overstepped her boundaries.

Arisawa sighed, ending the silence, and Fujino focused on her as she started talking.

"I'm feeling really stupid about this." Arisawa muttered. "It's not anything big compared to the whole Ouji thing. It feels like I'm just wasting your time."

"Don't be like that." Asagami told her. "If it's bothering you, it's important. Even if someone else is going through something worse, that doesn't mean something weighing on your mind is any less difficult for you."

Arisawa didn't reply to that, and there was a pause before she shifted the topic of conversation. "I always thought I was someone my friends could count on. Someone who'd help. Maybe I was being self-centred, but I always thought I was reliable. Then it turns out Ichigo and Orihime have gotten involved in something big and never told me, never even let me know something was happening."

The girl sighed again, and Fujino waited until she started talking again. "I didn't want to let it bother me for long, didn't want to just sulk over not being told anything. But I guess I just didn't want to be left out again, really. You noticed, right? I kept butting in on the conversation between you and Ouji talking, even though I didn't have any right to be involved. Agitated her just because I didn't want to be doing nothing."

"That's not how-" Fujino began.

"Yeah, it was." Arisawa interrupted. "I should've just shut up. You might've been able to talk with Ouji more if I didn't piss her off. Hell, who knows, maybe she wouldn't have set the Hollow on me if I didn't keep talking."

Fujino didn't reply. Arisawa would likely just interrupt her again if she spoke too suddenly, so she had to take a moment to wait for her chance to speak, and if she was waiting for her moment, she had time to think about what to say. And given the chance to think, Fujino had to admit, she didn't know if she could say for sure that Arisawa was wrong. Fujino didn't know Misaya that well, and the state Misaya was in meant that it made sense that she might act irrationally. Could Fujino really say for sure that Arisawa's interjections weren't detrimental?

Fujino couldn't honestly refute Arisawa's point there, and if she tried, she doubted she could sound convincing. So rather than logic, Fujino needed to appeal to emotion.

"It's fine." She insisted. "Misaya wasn't in the best state of mind when we met her, anyway. Even if she had stuck around and talked with me more, I could have said something that would have set her off just the same."

"You don't know that for sure." Arisawa countered.

"And I don't know otherwise for sure." Fujino insisted.

"Why are you so insistent on this?" Arisawa asked. "Why do you care?"

Fujino didn't reply for some time, as she tried to phase her reply to this.

"You felt bad about your friends not telling you about their problems." Fujino began. "So you tried to involve yourself in my problems. I hardly think you should be blamed for that."

"Why not?" Arisawa asked.

"Because my reasoning is hardly better." Fujino answered, looking down. "The supernatural element to this situation is something I don't want to be involved with. If it was up to me, I'd never have to involve myself in the supernatural ever again. I'd never let anyone know I was involved in the supernatural at all, if I had a choice in the matter."

Arisawa sounded like she was about to say something, but at the last second, cut herself off.

"I'm going to be honest." Fujino continued. This point, she was unsure about, but Misaya had already hinted at it fairly heavily with Arisawa in earshot, so it wasn't that much more being revealed. "I'm not a good person, Arisawa. I don't want to go into details on this, but after the things I've done, the fact that I am still here is an injustice."

"...Asagami?"

"At the end of the day, the reason I'm here isn't anything selfless." Fujino explained. "It's just to make me feel better. It's no less selfish than wanting to be involved because you want to be needed, Arisawa."

"...I don't know what to say." Arisawa admitted. "I don't know what's happened, but... Well, you're selling yourself short, Asagami. If your idea of feeling better about yourself is going out of your way to help someone when you'd rather stay home, then I don't know how you're so sure that you're not a good person."

"Thank you, Arisawa." Fujino replied. "But if you think someone can be a good person while pursuing a selfish goal, then you can see why I wouldn't care if you made a mistake because you were trying to pursue something important to you. I could just as easily make a mistake, all things considered."

"You haven't yet, though." Arisawa replied. "I have."

"And that doesn't mean you will again." Fujino countered.

"Might be too late." Arisawa continued. "Misaya already doesn't like me. Me turning up might agitate her more in the future."

"Perhaps." Fujino continued. "It doesn't mean you can't help without meeting her again, somehow."

Silence fell again, as Arisawa presumably took time to think of what to say, before she spoke again.

"I'm surprised you've gone so far to change my mind." Arisawa admitted.

"You've been a big help so far, Arisawa." Fujino continued. "And you said it yourself, you would rather be someone reliable. I believe it would be easier to find Misaya again if you could continue helping me, Arisawa. At the very least, having someone who can see the town and know where everything is would be helpful."

"...I still don't like this." Arisawa muttered. "But yeah. Alright. If you really want me to keep lending a hand, I will."

Fujino smiled. "Thank you, Arisawa. If you want to talk about it any more, just let me know. Maybe it will make you feel better."

"There's not any more to talk about." Arisawa replied. "I mean, we covered it all already, I think. I feel bad because people weren't filling me in on what they were doing, when they were going through hard times, and it sucks I couldn't help. Then I fucked up when I did try to help. Not really anything else to it."

"I suppose." Fujino accepted. "Still, if it bothers you, I'm here if you want to talk about anything, Arisawa."

"Hey." Arisawa interrupted. "We just had a big talk about how we feel and stuff. This isn't usually something I'd talk about with someone I'm on last name basis with. I think it's alright if you just called me Tatsuki at this point."

Fujino blinked.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." Arisawa quickly rectified. "Like, if it's something that'd make you uncomfortable, I'd get it. We've known each other for like three days, we barely know each other beyond the obvious."

"No, it's fine." Fujino assured her. "I just hadn't expected it, for some reason. It's fine. Tatsuki. You can fall me Fujino, if you want."

Tatsuki sighed again, this time sounding relieved. "That's still something, though. We really don't know each other that well, Fujino. What do you do when you're not travelling around looking for lost people? For fun, I mean."

Fujino took a moment to think on that. It'd been some time since she'd been able to do much, what with ow much she had been trying to catch up on school work while trying to learn braille, but there was a few things.

"I used to enjoy movies." Fujino mused. "I haven't gone to any recently, for obvious reasons, but I have been meaning to get around to seeing what options the cinema has for the visually impaired. Recently, I've mostly just been thinking a lot. How about you, Ar- Tatsuki?"

The girl chuckled lightly. "You know, I won't get upset or anything if you call me Arisawa. I get it, it's habit, it's hard to shift over."

"I don't want to seem rude." Fujino replied.

"Well, to answer you question..." Tatsuki took a moment to think. "Movies are good, occasionally. I spend most of my time at Karate practice, personally. Usually hang out with Orihime, or Ichigo, or whoever, but everyone's busy right now, so that's not an option. I guess thinking's pretty much all I was doing until you came along, recently."

"You haven't done anything to just relax recently?" Fujino asked. "Just to unwind?"

"Have you?" Tatsuki asked.

Fujino pondered that. "You raise a fair point. Perhaps we should try to take some time to relax. Misaya is suffering, but if we don't find her soon, I could end up burning myself out just trying to find her."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Arisawa interrupted. "You're hardly that bad."

"It's still a thought." Fujino pointed out. "People can't survive just focusing on heavy subjects and not having fun. And besides, I imagine giving Misaya time to calm down might make her less likely to attack us on sight."

"I suppose." Tatsuki stated. "So what? You want to grab a movie later? I mean, not in the cinema, but there's a place not far from here that dubs over American movies, I'd say there's good odds they have something narrated in detail there."

"How recent are the movies they have?" Fujino asked. "I hear that one of the big American horror movies got a sequel recently, and I'm interested in seeing how it is."

"...Horror?" Tatsuki asked. "I hadn't taken you as the kind of person who likes horror."

Fujino frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I dunno too much about you, but you always seemed..." Tatsuki began, before trailing off. "You were getting bothered earlier because hiding in a bush was undignified, but you watch horror?"

"I don't get it." Fujino replied. "How is that strange?"

"It..." Tatsuki trailed off again, and sighed. "Never mind."

"Well I'm going to mind now." Fujino replied. "Am I missing something? Is there something strange about me liking horror movies that I don't understand? Do people find that weird?"

"No, no, it's fine." Tatsuki assured her. "It's just... How did this conversation get here? How did we go from me asking what exactly happened when I got hit to us talking about movies?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Fujino replied. "Oh, and I forgot to mention. Kurosaki is in the room next to us, she wanted to check on you at some point. I should probably leave so she can talk to you at some point."

"Karin?" Tatsuki asked. Fujino nodded, and Tatsuki continued. "Yeah, I should probably talk to her. The big guy told me I needed to rest for a while, but when he lets me go, we'll go see if we can find a movie or something?"

"That would be nice." Fujino replied. "I'll be seeing you, then."

"What're you gonna do while I'm stuck here?" Tatsuki asked. "Just curious. Go back to the abandoned place and grab Ouji's stuff?"

Fujino took a moment to think about it. "Maybe. She might not think about going back for it for a while. It's not a priority, regardless. It's hardly needed, even if it would be convenient. But I don't have anything else to do."

"I suppose we could just leave it and go by later." Tatsuki mused. "Wait for her to realise she needs to go back for it and be there when she gets there? It's not really a plan but we could work on it, I guess."

Fujino thought on it for a moment.

[X] Go get Ouji's stuff now, and see if any of it can be useful for her to find Misaya. At the very least, the map could be useful.
[X] Leave it. It's not explicitly something needed right now, and maybe it would do Fujino some good to just wait here.

 

[Mortifer]

[X] Leave it. It's not explicitly something needed right now, and maybe it would do Fujino some good to just wait here.

Stepping out of the small room, Fujino turned her head to the direction she remembered Kurosaki sitting in.

"You wanted to see Tatsuki next, Kurosaki?" Fujino asked.

"Yeah, hold on." Kurosaki replied. The sound of her feet hitting the ground echoed slightly, and she started walking in Fujino's direction. Asagami moved away from the door, briefly looking back to wave to Tatsuki again, and let Kurosaki pass. The door shut, and Fujino started walking to where Kurosaki had been sitting.

"It's a bit of distance to go, you're fine." Kon informed her. Fujino took a few steps forward, and then paused to feel around again. The two of them repeated their actions another three times, before Fujino found the seat.

Sitting down, Fujino took a slow breath, trying to relax.

"...So..." Kon muttered, awkwardly. "First name basis, huh?"

Fujino took a moment to realise what Kon was talking about. She had just referred to Tatsuki by her first name in front of everyone, hadn't she?

"Tatsuki thought it was appropriate." Fujino replied. "Even if we don't know each other well, we talked about a lot. At this point, it'd be strange not to, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose." Kon admitted. "I should probably get out of the habit of using first names myself. I got used to calling her Tatsuki because Ichigo did it and I needed to fit in but if Karin doesn't want me referring to her with her first name, I imagine that Arisawa wouldn't want me doing it either."

Fujino hummed, not really sure how to respond.

Well, the small talk was nice, she supposed. It was a little awkward, given how she and Kon were strangers who knew some of each others secrets, but some conversation to pass the time wasn't something Fujino was going to turn down.

Now if only she knew how to continue the conversation. Kon appeared to be having similar issues, given how he wasn't talking either.

"...So, how do you think of Karakura?" Kon asked. "I mean, you probably haven't seen much beyo- Well, you probably haven't seen an- I instantly regret this, I should start again."

"I understand what you mean." Fujino replied. A topic of conversation was in there and it was best to move onto that. "Karakura is okay, from what I've experienced. It hasn't been much, admittedly, but beyond the Hollows, it seems like a nice place. I'll admit that the Hollows would be a dealbreaker usually, but I imagine it must not usually be too big an issue if people are capable of living here."

"Yeah..." Kon replied. "I mean, Karakura's a big place, and from what I understand, Hollow's attacking random people isn't a common thing. Usually, ghosts have to linger for a while before going Hollow, and a lot of the time they get eaten by another Hollow first. Or they go after someone who has a lot of spirit power and they know how to deal with the problem."

"I see..." Fujino mused. "Still, Tatsuki was attacked on my first day here, and she didn't know anything about Hollows before. So they do target normal people, sometimes."

"Oh, yes, that happens." Kon acknowledged. "As I understand it, places like Karakura usually have a Shinigami on sight to rush in to kill Hollows, save people, cover up evidence so normal people don't realise, so on. I... Don't really know what's going on with all that with all the recent stuff going on, so I dunno if there was a Shinigami in the area. Wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't, but also wouldn't surprise me if they noticed you and decided it wasn't their business."

"So most normal people are reliant on some supernatural who aren't reliably around?" Fujino asked.

"...I admit, this sounds bad." Kon admitted. "But like, Ichigo had a bunch of spiritual power and didn't run into any Hollows for most of his life. Shinigami usually have it handled. Still a bit of a higher death rate than most places, yeah, that's not great. Like, car crashes cause as many deaths in other places."

"It's not nice to think about." Fujino mused.

"I suppose not." Kon admitted.

The two of them lapsed into silence again, and Fujino took a moment to silently regret the fact that, even when trying to not think about the various issues she'd faced since coming to Karakura town, she'd still ended up talking about Hollows.

Thankfully, before either of them were required to think of something new to say, a door opened.

"I'm done." Kurosaki said, as she shut the door behind her. She took a few steps towards Fujino before stopping.

Belatedly, Fujino realised she had taken Kurosaki's chair.

"I can move if you-"

"It's fine." Karin interrupted. "There's other chairs. Just lemme grab that."

She took some more steps forward, before picking something up.

"May as well keep reading." She said, before moving a few steps away and sitting down.

There were three people in the room now, and somehow, there was still no conversation. At least Kurosaki seemed satisfied with the arrangement, she had a book to read.

"I don't suppose anyone has seen anything in braille around here?" Fujino asked.

"Nope." Kurosaki replied.

"Sorry." Kon added.

Well, so much for that idea.

There was nothing else for it, then. Resting back in her seat, Fujino simply focused on her breathing for a while. Conversation wasn't going to happen and she had nothing better to do, so that just left resting.

~~~~~​

Time passed. Kurosaki read her book. Kon didn't really do anything. Neither did Fujino. Tsukabishi popped in to check on Tatsuki a few times. Fujino wasn't keeping track, but she thinks it was the fourth check, where he finally declared that Tatsuki was fit to move about as she pleased.

Grabbing the cane that she had left resting against the wall, Fujino stood up.

What time was it, now? It must have been sometime in the afternoon now. It occurred to Fujino that she hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Tatsuki wouldn't have had the time to eat either.

"Hey, everyone." Tatsuki said, as she stepped into the room.

"Hello, Tatsuki." Fujino repeated.

"Hey, T-Arisawa." Kon mentioned. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Ich-" Tatsuki began, before cutting herself off. "Kon, I mean. Kon. Why are you here?"

"Just wanted to confirm you were okay." Kon replied. "Also because I don't know if Ka- Kurosaki's done interrogating me so I have to stay where she is."

"It's good to see you okay, Tatsuki." Karin noted. "I know I said that earlier, but it's worth repeating."

"Thanks." Tatsuki replied.

"Well, now that I know for sure, is there any reason anyone wants me to stick around?" Kurosaki asked. "Otherwise, I'm going to head home. Today's been a few revelations and I want to just go lie down and think for a while."

"Am I off the hook, then?" Kon asked.

"For now, I guess." Karin grumbled. "You still need to give me more details on the thing you mentioned earlier with the Grand Fisher thing."

"That's really Ichigo's story to tell, I think." Kon replied.

"And he's not exactly here now, is he?" Karin pointed out, as she stood up. "Anyway, see you later."

"Bye." Tatsuki said. Fujino waved her farewell, and the girl moved to leave. A moment later, Kon stood up as well.

"I should go too." He said. "I, uh, don't really have anything to do, but I imagine you don't want me around much more, Arisawa."

"Not particularly, no."

"That's fair." Kon accepted. "I'll just, uh, leave."

His footsteps rushed away and faded into the distance before too long.

"I imagine the two of you will want to leave as well?" Tsukabishi asked. "Or do you have any other business here?"

"I don't think so." Tatsuki replied, before pausing. "Or, wait. Do you know why I can suddenly see ghosts really well? Like before they were a vague outline, but earlier today, I saw one that was completely solid. Or, well, solid looking."

Tsukabishi hummed, thinking it over.

"Being able to see ghosts is a mark of spiritual power." He explained. "And the method Urahara had prescribed to prevent the familiars from consuming your memories was, essentially, flushing your body with trace amounts of spiritual energy to replicate the protective effect that people can channel naturally. Perhaps, between that energy, previous experiences with the supernatural that you forgot, and simply being around the likes of Asagami, your soul has adapted to develop that level of supernatural power naturally."

"Huh." Tatsuki replied. "I have no idea what that means, but basically taking magic pills and sticking with Fujino gave me the power to see ghosts, I guess?"

"I'd imagine that would be the cause." Tsukabishi replied.

"So are there any side effects of that?" Tatsuki asked. "If I keep eating the anti-fairy pills, will I end up making my soul explode or something?"

"No, no." Tsukabishi assured her. "They shouldn't have any effect at all. The only other effect I could imagine is that your body would adapt to having spiritual energy and allow you to actually fight Hollows to defend yourself against them."

"Well, that's neat." Tatsuki replied. "At least I'll be able to punch a ghost in the face if they try to eat me in the future. Anyway, let's go, Fujino."

The purple haired girl paused. "That seemed like a bit of an underreaction." She noted.

"I'll think about it later." Tatsuki replied. "It's like we said earlier, we should really relax, talking about punching Hollows isn't going to help with that. I can think about it after the movie."

"I see." Fujino noted. "Farewell, Tsukabishi."

"Goodbye." The man replied.

Tatsuki said her goodbyes as well, and the two girls made their way out of the store. Fujino didn't notice Urahara on the way out, or the two small children, but they presumably had things to do.

"So, movies." Tatsuki said. "You said there was an American horror movie you wanted to see the sequel to?"

"If it's there." Fujino mused. "Do you have any preferences?"

"Not really." Tatsuki replied, with a shrug. "It's just that I don't usually watch horror, so like, am I going to need to know anything from the movie before to get any idea what's going on?"

"I don't think so." Fujino replied. "Perhaps it's just the ones I'm familiar with, but don't horror movies rarely have recurring casts? Beyond the antagonists, they usually either leave the last movie's survivors away from the plot or kill them off early."

"Yeah but, is this one of those horror movies where there's some elaborate rules to the scary thing, or..."

"There's a man with a knife who won't die." Fujino summarised.

"Got it." Tatsuki replied. "Nothing complicated."

As the two went outside, Tatsuki's footsteps slowed, and she sighed.

"What is it?" Fujino asked, turning back to her.

"It's getting cloudy." Tatsuki noted. "Might rain later, or tomorrow."

"Should we go find a few umbrellas before we continue, then?" Fujino asked. The rain was hardly unpleasant, but if she got soaked before she got to the hotel, it would take time to dry herself off before going to sleep.

"Shouldn't be an issue, probably won't rain until after the sun sets, I'd guess." Tatsuki replied. "And if not, there's a bus route near the cinema, so we can get around without getting caught in the rain."

"That's alright, then." Fujino noted. Tatsuki started walking again, and as she overtook Fujino, the girl with purple hair followed her.

~~~~~​

Time passed. The two girls spent some time together, and enjoyed the movie. The sequel wasn't as good as the original, which was a rather disappointing constant, but it was a good movie. Afterwards, the two girls got some lunch, and spent some time simply talking.

"You said you practice Karate, Tatsuki?" Fujino asked, as the two of them simply wandered around. "What's it like?"

"Not really much to say about it." Tatsuki replied. "Most of the time it's just going through the motions. Doing tournaments is pretty fun, though. It's pretty cool to test myself against some other people who know what they're doing. And I mean, it's a good feeling when you win."

"I suppose." Fujino mused. She wasn't much of a competitive person herself, so it wasn't something she related to that much. The closest comparison she had was that rush she got when killing someone, and that was hardly the same thing. Fujino felt like she would have heard if martial arts tournaments involved fights to the death.

"So, what about you?" Tatsuki asked. "You said you went to Reien, right? That's one of those really fancy academies, isn't it? The uniform you and Ouji have certainly looks like it."

"I don't really have anything to compare it to." Fujino replied. "But calling it fancy would be one way of putting it, I think."

"So, that whole thing where you had issues with the idea of hiding in a bush because it was undignified, was that something you picked up Reien, or were you just always like that?"

"What do you mean by that?" Fujino asked.

"Well, it's like..." Tatsuki trailed off, trying to think of how to put it into words. "If you're hiding in a bush to listen in on someone, being undignified or getting dirty, those aren't exactly things that most poeple think about. Usually they just need to listen in on something and don't care beyond that."

"But what would people think if they found out?" Fujino asked. "People would think less of you if they found out you were listening in on other people's conversations, wouldn't they?"

"Well, the idea is that people wouldn't find out." Tatsuki pointed out.

"Why take that risk, though?" Fujino asked. "Besides, if someone say dirt on your clothes, they'd think you were doing something suspicious."

"Or just tripped over or something." Tatsuki replied. "And most people wouldn't look close enough to notice, or care."

"People at Reien would." Fujino retorted.

"Ah, I see." Tatsuki concluded. "It's the difference between someone who goes to a normal high school and someone like you who goes to a fancy one."

"I suppose so." Fujino sighed.

Tatsuki didn't reply for a moment, and when she did speak, she changed the topic again.

"It's getting kinda late." Tatsuki noted. "Didn't realise how late it was when we ate. Should probably head home before it starts raining."

"Alright, then." Fujino replied. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Back to business soon." Tatsuki replied. "What's the plan for later, then? Get Ouji's stuff? Look for her somewhere?"

Fujino thought on it for a moment.

[X] "We can meet by the abandoned hospital again tomorrow, and see if Ouji's belongings are still there."
[X] "The graveyard sounds like it would be involved with the dead, so she might be there."
[X] "I might be able to find the Ley Lines Misaya knew about. They were in town, so we could meet around here tomorrow and start from here?"

​

 

[Mortifer]

[X] "I might be able to find the Ley Lines Misaya knew about. They were in town, so we could meet around here tomorrow and start from here?"

When the next day came about, Fujino was awake early. She and Tatsuki had agreed on a meeting place, a bus stop near the cinema, since it allowed Fujino to get their easily. There was a route almost directly from her hotel to that stop, after all, and Tatsuki knew her way around Karakura well enough to know exactly how to get their.

The night before, Fujino had made sure she was prepared. She had found a map and observed it through her clairvoyance, to try and recall where the Ley Lines she had seen on Misaya's map would be. She had made sure she had an umbrella at the ready. She had asked around to determine the bus schedule to figure out when she had to leave to arrive at the agreed location.

She had actually forgetten to return to Urahara's shop and find the clothes that she had been covered in blood so she could clean them and take them home, but nobody had commented on it, so Fujino didn't realise until she had seen herself through her clairvoyance later that day. She hoped that everyone just assumed she had gone clothes shopping, or had borrowed her clothes from elsewhere. Or else had not noticed. It would be embarrassing if they assumed she was in different clothing because she had done something scandalous.

That said, it had gone smoothly the day after. The bus driver had informed her of when her stop had come, and now Fujino merely needded to wait for Tatsuki to arrive.

The only issue she had encountered was that, in order to make it to the agreed place at the agreed time, with the bus schedule being what it was, Fujino had to arrive fairly early. She would have to wait for some time, before Tatsuki arrived.

It was strange, Fujino found herself thinking. She had come to Karakura Town just to find one person. She hadn't expected to do much else. And yet somehow, she had made a friend. Fujino had never been good at making friends in the best of situations, and yet somehow, at a time like this, she had ended up making one.

Thinking on that, though, perhaps it would be more accurate to think of it as Fujino being able to make friends easier at times like this. The only actual friend she had made normally was Azaka, and truthfully, that was a result of Azaka deciding that she wanted to be friends with her. Other people she would call friends would range between people Azaka was friends with, or Risu, who Fujino had started to spend time with after talking the girl out of killing herself.

So perhaps it wasn't so strange that Fujino had made another friend. She seemed to only befriend people during tense situations, after all. Perhaps it was that the exact nature of the situation, with the risk of harm dealing with Hollows and whatnot brought, that made it easier for Fujino to open up?

Deep in thought as she was, Fujino almost missed it when the faint sound of rain began hitting the pavement around her.

Looking up, Fujino felt her face growing wet. Touching a hand to her cheek, and she could feel the light raindrops touch at the back of her hand.

It wasn't heavy rain, not by a long shot. In fact, the summer rain was rather pleasantly light. Her umbrella hanging loosely at her side, Asagami Fujino looked up, and reminisced on the rain.

The last time she had been caught in the rain had been that time, hadn't it? It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, that one. Pushing against the storm's wind, the rain so heavy it was hard to see, the sound of the water hitting the ground so loud it was hard to hear. That was what it was like, when the shape of that woman had become clear. The woman Asagami Fujino had tried so hard to kill, and who tried so hard to kill Fujino in turn.

Before that, too. Mere days before, she had been caught in the rain. It was after the first time she had committed murder, the first time in years she had felt pain. That memory was more pleasant. There was fear, but there was also relief. The rain had washed away the blood, and that man had offered her shelter. The rain was lighter then, less overbearing.

Before that, once again. When she was a child. Back before she was a murderer, before she had done anything wrong, and yet was still unsure of her right to exist. It was such a minor thing, she barely even thought about it these days. She stared into the sky, at the grey clouds with tint of golden light, thinking her inability to feel was proof that the world had rejected her, when the first drop of rain landed on her cheek.

Realistically speaking, it was likely a coincidence. And yet, as a child, it had felt like a sign. Before anything else, she had been touched. It had felt like she was being told that it was okay, if she couldn't feel anything. She was here, and that was fine.

It was just superstition, but it had been comforting as a child.

It had been raining once, and Asagami Fujino felt it was okay for her to exist. It had been raining once, and Asagami Fujino had regained her sense of pain. It had been raining once, and Asagami Fujino realised she had sinned, and begun working to atone.

The most pleasant of those memories had been in the lightest of rain, but still, it made Fujino smile to be caught in the rain.

That was strange, wasn't it? Something people would think was odd, if they knew. Not to the same extent as an insensitivity to pain, or a psychic power, or a desire to kill, but the point remained. If someone saw Fujino as she was now, would they think less of her?

Perhaps she should stop reminiscing and put up her umbrella, before someone came across her.

"Fujino?"

And just as that thought crossed her mind, it was too late. Tatsuki was here.

Had it been that long already? Fujino must have lost track of time at some point. Her clothes didn't feel too heavy, so she hadn't gotten soaked in the rain while lost in thought, at least.

"What's wrong?" Tatsuki asked. "Umbrella busted?"

Oh, she had seen Fujino just standing around, then.

"No." Asagami informed her. "I was just lost in thought."

Picking up the umbrella, Fujino let her cane down for a moment so she could feel around for the latch to pull at, to open it up. It took her a moment to find it, and once she had, she held it above her head with one hand as she reached for her cane with the other.

"Well, let's go then." Tatsuki muttered curtly. Then, she stopped, and hesitated for a moment before she spoke again. "Sorry. That was ruder than I had intended. I just tend to get in a bad mood when it's raining?"

Oh?

"That's okay, Tatsuki." Fujino replied, with a smile. Still, that was curious. There was some level of irony, Fujino thought, that right after she spent time thinking of how much she enjoyed remembering her past in the rain, Tatsuki would make a comment to the opposite effect.

"How's your morning been?" Tatsuki asked, likely as an attempt to make up for her momentary rudeness. "Eat anything nice for breakfast?"

"The hotel was offering some room service, so I asked for pancakes." Fujino replied. "I thought it sounded interesting to try."

"Nice." Tatsuki replied. "I should get myself some of those sometime. I just had toast this morning."

Fujino didn't respond for a moment, unable to think of a way to continue that conversation. Instead, she refocused, and tried to recall where the map had marked the Ley Lines.

"One of the Ley Lines Misaya would be looking for should be nearby." Fujino said to Tatsuki. "And I imagine she wouldn't want to be noticed while working with it, so if she was hiding somewhere, it would be near one of the Ley Lines. Do you know if there's anywhere in town where she could be hidden?"

There was a brief lull, in which the rain was the only thing that could be heard, before Tatsuki responded.

"I think there was a section of the shopping district that was going through renovations." Tatsuki replied. "It's been like it for a while, though. Some kind of budgeting issue, I think. So there's a few buildings around town that have just been emptied."

"How many of those are nearby?" Fujino asked.

"A few." Tatsuki replied. "They're a fair distance apart, though, and they're all over the place."

"How about in that direction?" Fujino asked, pointing her cane across the street. "I might be wrong, but I think the closest Ley Line is over there."

"I think there's one of the places over." Tatsuki noted.

"We should make our way over there, then." Fujino replied. "Is there a crossing nearby?"

"Not really, but there's one down the street a bit." Tatsuki replied. "Here, this way."

She started walking, her footsteps difficult to make out over the rain, and Fujino followed.

For a time, it was quiet. The pleasant sound of the rain continued to fall around Fujino, and the two girls only talked briefly, when Fujino needed advice on where to go. Eventually, the two girls made their way to the first empty building Tatsuki could think of.

"Is there a way to look inside?" Fujino asked. "I could use my power to scan the area if I have to, but I would prefer not to. If there are any Hollows around, it would attract them."

Tatsuki hummed in consideration, and it was some time before she replied. "Doesn't look like it, sorry. I don't see any Hollows around either, though. I'll let you know if I see one coming?"

"Thank you." Fujino replied, before closing her eyes, and focusing.

The world became clear, and the first thing Asagami noticed was how cold the rain on her clothes was. She had never really focused on how the rain feels, when she could feel, Asagami mused. Twice, she had had the chance, but both times she had been distracted by other problems, other sensations, both times.

Now it was the rain that was distracting her from what was important, though. Pushing that thought out of her mind, Fujino observed the building with her clairvoyance.

There was nobody in it, from the looks of things.

"It's empty." Fujino reported to Tatsuki. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Where is the next location? I might be able to check it from here."

"You might?" Tatsuki asked. "How big is the range on your clairvoyance?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Fujino admitted.

"Well..." Tatsuki replied, and Fujino observed her looking around for a moment. "To your left, I think? Two or three blocks down."

Fujino shifted her gaze again, towards that direction.

"Are you sure?" Fujino asked, after a moment. "I don't think any of the buildings over there are closed for renovation."

"Oh right, that place actually finished up recently." Tatsuki realised. "Try..."

She went quiet for a moment. "There's one a few blocks from here. Down the end of this street, turn left, then the third right after that..."

"Hold on." Fujino interrupted her, before refocusing her vision on herself, and guiding her sight down the path Tatsuki had described. "Okay. The third right, and then?"

"Then it should be the fifth building on the left, by the alleyway." Tatsuki finished.

Fujino's all-seeing eyes focused on the building Tatsuki had described, closed and with most of the windows sealed. Strangely, one had been busted open, with a few fragments of shattered glass remaining on the windowsill.

Immediately, the cause of the broken window made itself clear.

Inside the building, under the shade of an unmoving Hollow, laid Ouji Misaya. The movement of her cheat shifted with her breath, but otherwise, she was motionless on the ground.

"There she is." Fujino noted. "I'm not sure if she's conscious. She's not moving."

"So, what's the plan then?" Tatsuki asked.

"I don't know." Fujino admitted. "There's a Hollow over her. It looks like the one that hurt you earlier, so I think it's under her control. At the very least, I think it would have attacked her if it wasn't."

"Can you kill it?" Tatsuki asked.

"Probably." Fujino answered. "But I don't know if that would be the best idea. I don't want to do anything that could set her off, and I don't know how she controls the Hollow. Perhaps killing it would have some kind of backlash on her, or alarm her enough to wake her up panicked."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Tatsuki asked.

"Perhaps we can think of a plan on the way there." Fujino replied.

"Suppose so." Tatsuki replied, as she began to walk again. Deactivating her psychic power and plunging herself back into a numb darkness, Fujino followed the sound of Tatsuki's footsteps.

"We can't just try to pick Ouji up while she's out, can we?" Tatsuki asked. "It'd probably be bad if she woke up and started freaking out while we were carrying her. Plus, if people saw it, they'd misinterpret it for sure."

"In that case, we'd need to wake her up, somehow." Fujino mused. "I don't think banging at the door would do any good."

"So maybe we get in and figure something out from there?"

"Perhaps." Asgami continued. "The Hollow is an issue, but it could be that it won't do anything without orders from Misaya."

"Ouji had to get in somehow." Tatsuki mused in turn. "Maybe we could get in the same way?"

"There was a broken window." Fujino noted. A wind blew through suddenly, repositioning the Umbrella that Fujino held loosely, and she took a moment to tighten her grip and point it towards the rain again. "I don't think I would be able to climb through it."

"I could, though." Tatsuki replied. "And then I could get the door open from inside, probably. Unless they've replaced the lock. And worse come to worse, it's easier to hide that a door's been busted if I force it open from the inside rather than the outside."

"Please don't talk as if we're conducting some kind of criminal activity." Fujino asked.

"...I mean, technically, we'll be trespassing. Breaking and entering somewhere we shouldn't go. It kinda is criminal, when you think about it."

Fujino didn't respond to that.

Eventually, the two girls got to the building in question.

"The broken window is in the alleyway." Fujino confirmed. "I'll monitor the Hollow. If it looks like you're in danger, I'll kill it before it hurts you."

"Thanks." Tatsuki replied. "I am not looking forward to one of those things hitting me again."

Fujino nodded, and closed her eyes. Again, the sensation of her slightly dampened clothes took her off guard, but she put it out of her mind easier this time, and looked into the building.

Misaya was exactly as she had been the last Fujino had checked, though now that she looked more closely, Fujino began to notice how poor her condition was. If she was sleeping, her dreams were restless, as her face was contorted, fearful-looking. There were marks along her cheeks, as if she had been crying. One of her hands was loosely holding her stomach, and the other, curled into a fist, was marked with blood.

"I'm going in." Tatsuki said, beside Fujino. Asagami nodded, and Arisawa made her way around the building. It didn't take her long to reach the window. She climbed through, somehow avoiding the shards of glass still in the window, and hit the ground inside the building.

The moment Tatsuki stood up, the Hollow moved.

The instant the Hollow moved, Fujino acted.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The instant Fujino spoke, the Hollow died. It's head twisted apart, and the slowly fading corpse fell forward with the momentum it had moved with.

Right towards Tatsuki.

Fujino opened her mouth to speak again, put enough force on the body to slow it's descent and give Tatsuki time to escape the falling Hollow, but the other girl acting first. Her muscles tensed as she moved forward, and grabbed the arm of the Hollow. With the Hollow's fist in her hands, Tatsuki pushed her arms to the side, shifting the momentum of the falling Hollow in the process, and stepped to the other side as she did so.

The Hollow collided with the wall, and burst apart as it did so, it's body turning to nothingness as it did so. Tatsuki looked at her hands, surprised etched in her face, and Fujino saw a fairy briefly in the Hollow's disappearing corpse, before it fell apart as well.

On the other side of the room, Misaya suddenly shot up, gasping for breath as she awoke.

Well, this was troublesome.

Inside the building, Tatsuki turned to Misaya, and put her hands up. Her lips were moving, but Fujino couldn't hear what was being discussed inside. All she could see was Misaya holding forth her fist, as if brandishing a weapon. Which, considering she had some kind of magic, would make sense even if her hand held no weapon.

Misaya muttered something, leaning against the wall as she did so, and Tatsuki backed away, towards the door.

Fujino bit her lip as she watched the two, wondering if she would need to intervene. If Misaya started trying to attack Tatsuki, would Fujino have to interfere? How would she be able to, without hurting Misaya too badly? Perhaps she could stop at just breaking a finger, but that felt like it would antagonise her, and make it harder to convince her to come home.

Tatsuki reached the door, still looking at Misaya, and stretched her hand back to search for the lock. It took her a moment to do it, but eventually, Fujino heard a click.

Stepping forward, Fujino opened her eyes, and turned off her clairvoyance. Her umbrella slipped from her hand, letting her use it to open the door.

It took a moment, for Misaya to speak.

"Asagami?" She asked, her voice sounding week. "I... Go away."

"Ouji." Fujino replied, stepping forward.

"There." Tatsuki continued. "Fujino's here, I'm not going to stay, I'm not going to get involved in your problems, Ouji. I was just lending a hand."

Oh, was that what they had talked about, before Fujino had entered the building?

"I'll be on my way out now-"

"Don't." Misaya interrupted. "Not yet. We have so much to discuss, after all."

The tone of her voice was chilling, and Fujino stepped forward. "Ouji, you-"

"You were warned, Asagami." Ouji cut in. "It's too late to care about your secret now. You kept looking for me, and you brought a friend, so now it's time to talk. Murderer."

Fujino's body tensed at the word, and around her, the world seemed to fall silent around her. Even if she had known it was coming, the directness of the declaration threw her off guard, leaving her without words. Instantly, Fujino began to regret her reaction. She should have prepared herself for it, she should have just shrugged it off, if she had done it properly she could have convinced Tatsuki that Ouji was lying, that she was just trying to confuse her. That wouldn't work now, Tatsuki had heard it, she knew.

"Not seeing what this has to do with me." Tatsuki replied, her tone flippant.

Fujino blinked.

"You don't see how this could matter?" Ouji asked. "How it's important that your new friend is a murderous beast?"

Fujino flinched slightly at the insult, but before she could talk, Tatsuki continued.

"I mean, from where I'm standing, I don't really have any reason to believe any of this." She noted. "And-"

"Four dead in one night." Ouji interrupted, her voice rambling. "Limbs torn apart, rotated until the flesh tore. Heads torn off as well. Deaths likely instant. The next night, another dead. Limbs torn off one at a time. A few days later, another victim. A driver's head was torn off. The death was ruled an accident due to collision. The next day, a bridge is destroyed. Asagami Fujino is found at the site and hospitalised. The murders stop."

Ouji stopped talking, and again, there was silence.

"...And?" Tatsuki asked.

Fujino frowned. How was Tatsuki being so blase about this? Did she not believe Ouji, even with how quiet Fujino had been, or did she just not care? Fujino didn't understand. After hearing something like that, at the very least, a normal person should be shocked, shouldn't they? At the very least, wouldn't Tatsuki be asking to hear Fujino's side of the story, before dismissing Ouji's?

It just didn't make sense.

"What do you mean, and?" Ouji suddenly snapped, shouting. "Don't you care? She's a murderer! How are you just shrugging that off?"

"Nothing to do with me." Tatsuki replied. "Nothing to do with why Fujino's here. Not important."

Misaya sputtered, wordlessly, and Fujino took the opportunity to step forward.

"Ouji." Fujino began. "You can't keep going like this. You're hurting yourself like this."

"I don't care." Ouji replied.

"I do." Fujino took another step closer. "Ouji, please. I understand what you're going through. You're hurt, and you want to make up for what happened so you don't feel as hurt. I understand that. But your'e not going to make up for anything if you keep doing this. All that's going to happen is you dying, alone, because you wouldn't look out for yourself."

"No, no, I have a plan!" Ouji replied, her voice suddenly growing frantic. "The dead, the ones in the graveyard, they know things. They hide, they watch, they remember. There's, the the monsters out there, they can do things. The dead have seen it, the dead can remember it. I just need to make a strong one, or find one to control, and I can..."

She trailed off, panting as she did so, and Fujino stepped closer.

"Listen to yourself." Fujino began. "Aren't you more composed than this? Shouldn't you be able to talk longer than this without getting exhausted? This isn't healthy, Ouji. I'll admit, I don't know much about what you're doing, but I do know that you aren't going to be able to do anything, soon."

"No." Ouji muttered, her voice so much softer since her last time speaking that it took Fujino a moment to realise it was the same person talking to her. "I... Not much longer now. One more, I have one more fairy, it's in the graveyard now. It's gathering strength, it's luring in more monsters to take their strength, it'll work. I can use it to find her spirit. I can... I can bring her back..."

Again, Fujino stepped closer.

She didn't know if she could counter Ouji's argument, not while she was like this. Misaya wasn't in the right mind, so even if Fujino could think of what to tell her to convince her to stop, she doubted it would matter. For now, she needed to focus on convincing Misaya to accept help. If she was able to rest, and recover, then perhaps she could be swayed more easily with logic, with what Fujino had learned from Urahara.

"Misaya." Fujino continued, stepping closer. "Please. Come with me. You need help. Let me help you. Get some rest, some food, look after yourself. I want you to come back to Reien, but this is more important, right now."

Ouji didn't respond, and for a moment, Fujino entertained the idea that she had succeeded. Would Misaya listen to her? If she did, what could Fujino do with Misaya? It'd be easiest if she could convince Misaya to come back to Reien immediately, but if Misaya wouldn't accept the offer if it involved Reien, then Fujino could figure something out. Perhaps she could take Misaya back to the hotel, or perhaps she could rely on Urahara again. She would prefer not to if she had the choice, since she barely knew the shop keeper, but he did seem to be willing to be of help from what Fujino had experienced.

Misaya's footsteps towards Fujino were slow, almost hesitant, and Asagami held her hand out towards the girl.

Suddenly, Misaya lunged forward. The sudden force to her stomach threw Fujino to the ground, and the sudden impact on the ground threw her cane from her hand, as Misaya's footsteps began to echo towards the door and Tatsuki shouted in alarm.

Something didn't feel right, Fujino thought, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. Pushing herself up to her feet, Asagami turned towards the entrance, where Misaya and Tatsuki were.

"Wait, don't-" Tatsuki called suddenly, before a loud impact rang out. Misaya gasped as all the breath ran out of her stomach, and then there was silence.

Stumbling across the ground as she searched for her cane, Fujino looked towards where the action had been. "Tatsuki, what happened?"

"...She was rushing me." Tatsuki admitted. "I wasn't trying to hurt her, but I was close to a wall and ended up knocking her into it. Ouji's out cold."

Fujino sighed, as she looked down. "I was hoping to do this without hurting her."

"My bad." Tatsuki replied. "Do you need a..."

She trailed off, and Fujino frowned.

"What is it?" Asagami asked.

"Why is there blood on your clothes?" Tatsuki asked.

Fujino frowned. What did Tatsuki mean by that?

Her hand reached to her stomach, where the force of Misaya's sudden charge had struck her, and it came away wet with blood.

Oh. Misaya had some kind of weapon, then.

Taking a breath, Fujino activated her ESP, and let the pain flow through her.

It hurt. It really, really hurt. It was an unfamiliar sensation that wasn't enjoyable, even if it was novel. For a moment, it was all Fujino could do, to not scream from the pain.

Strange, she thought, as the initial shock faded. This feels was very different to what she had felt when she thought she had been stabbed, back after her initial murders. How could anyone ever confuse the pain she had felt then, and the pain she felt now that she had actually been stabbed?

With that odd thought done passing her mind, Fujino looked down towards the source of the blood. There was a rip in her clothes, and beneath it, a large shard of glass was stuck into her flesh.

Reaching for the shard, Fujino put her fingers on the flat sides of the glass, and pulled.

"Wait, wai-" Tatsuki began, but a moment too late. With a short gasp of pain, Fujino pulled the glass out of her stomach.

Her gaze shifted towards Tatsuki's face, which had paled.

"Fujino." The dark-haired girl noted. "I, uh... I'm pretty sure you're meant to leave that in."

Fujino blinked. "What do you mean?"

"It's going to bleed more now." Tatsuki pointed out. "Or, at least, that's what I think the logic is."

Ah. Oops.

"Hold on, just..." Tatsuki looked around, and stepped closer to Fujino. "Try to cover the wound with your clothes and put pressure on it? Maybe lean against the wall so it's easier to deal with."

Fujino nodded, as she moved back, eventually reaching a wall and doing as Tatsuki suggested.

"What should we do now?" Fujino asked. "I should have this wound looked at, and we need to do something about Misaya. I don't think I should walk with an untreated wound, and I don't think you could carry Misaya."

Looking at the girl unconscious by the door, Tatsuki took a moment to think, before reaching for Misaya.

"She'll probably be groggy when she comes to." Tatsuki noted, as she pulled Misaya towards Fujino. "No condition to get up or do anything. So if she does wake up soon, she's not going anywhere."

"What are you thinking?" Fujino asked.

"A lot of things." Tatsuki replied. "Most I can deal with later. Right now, I'm trying to..."

She trailed off, at that.

"I suppose to Urahara's place, again." Tatsuki sighed. "I can't think of any other place to patch you up and take Misaya, at least. Unless you have any ideas?"

"Not really." Fujino admitted.

"Then Urahara it is." Tatsuki decided. "He should have some way of getting you and Ouji to his shop. A car, maybe. Worse case scenario, Tsukabishi could come here and help with the wound."

"Thank you, Tatsuki." Fujino forced herself to smile.

"Hopefully, Ouji doesn't wake up before then." Tatsuki muttered. "Uh, sorry, again. About knocking her out. She should be okay, I think, but I really didn't mean to be that harsh on her."

"It's okay, Tatsuki." Fujino replied. "You did the best."

The pain in her stomach was gnawing at the back of her mind, and so Fujino continued. "If you are going to get help, could you please hurry? This isn't a pleasant feeling."

Tatsuki's eyes widened. "Shit, yeah, shouldn't talk while you're still bleeding. Uh, remember to keep pressure on the wound, and if it starts bleeding worse, just forget about staying here and go try to find help, okay?"

"I will be fine, Tatsuki." Fujino noted. "But please. Hurry."

Tatsuki nodded, and without a word more, fled out the door.

Turning off her ESP, Fujino felt the numbness flow over her once again, and closed her eyes.

With nothing to keep her occupied but the sound of the rain, Fujino leaned against the wall, and waited for time to pass.

Eventually, Fujino heard another sound.

[X] The breathing beside her shifting irregularly, as Ouji regained consciousness.
[X] The door creaking open, as Tatsuki returned with help.

 

[Mortifer]

[X] The door creaking open, as Tatsuki returned with help.

As Fujino heard the door opening, she tilted her head upwards. It meant nothing to her, but it would show whoever was entering that she was paying attention.

Hopefully, it was Tatsuki, or whoever she had found to help. It shouldn't be anyone else, but Fujino had to entertain the possibility, at least, that someone else could have stumbled into the building.

"I'm back." Tatsuki said, confirming her identity. "You okay, Fujino?"

"I'm still conscious." Fujino replied. "Misaya's still unconscious."

"Good." Tatsuki continued. "I got the big guy from Urahara's place. He's here to help."

"Tsukabishi?" Fujino asked.

The voice of the man in question replied. "That's me, yes."

His footsteps sounded out as he crossed the room, approaching Fujino. "Arisawa told me you were stabbed."

"That is what happened." Asagami confirmed. "With a shard of glass."

"That complicates things." The man replied. "If it had just been a knife, I could heal your wound for you. Since it was glass, however, there is a chance that some of it may have broken off into the wound. In that case, healing you without removing them would cause more problems."

"How hard would it be to check the wound?" Fujino asked.

"It would be possible, but it would be difficult." Tsukabishi explained. "There are supernatural abilities that allow for analysing things, and I can use that ability to search your wound for glass shards, but usage on other people complicates the process, and a false negative isn't impossible. There are alternatives, however."

Taking a moment of silence to think, Tsukabishi continued. "I could prepare a spell that would undo the wound by reversing the series of events that caused it. That would ensure the wound was clean and clean your clothing in the process. It would be painful, however, and you would be exhausted in the process. It is not a swift progress, either. If there was more than one wound, it would take to long to be an actual option."

Pain was no issue for Fujino. She wouldn't feel anything, anyway.

"How long would it take? Fujino asked.

"Perhaps an hour." Tsukabishi thought aloud. "I wouldn't need to be here for the entire process, however, so I could ensure that Ouji is taken somewhere secure while you rest here for the process."

"Then go ahead, please." Fujino asked.

"Are you entirely sure?" Tsukabishi asked. "You would feel the pain of the wound for the duration of the healing process. It won't be something you can stop once it begins, either. Are you okay with that?"

"I am." Fujino nodded.

"If you are sure, then." Tsukabishi accepted the answer. "Could you move your hand away from the wound, please?"

Fujino did so, and a moment later, briefly felt his fingertips trace the cut on her stomach. It lingered momentarily, as Tsukabishi muttered something, before he pulled away.

"It will take a moment to begin properly." Tsukabishi explained. "But the process has begun."

"Thank you." Fujino responded. "You have been of great assistance. I apologise for asking so much of you."

"It is no trouble." Tsukabishi replied. "You have been working to resolve the incident with the Ouji and her familiars. I owe you something, at least, for ensuring that she didn't harm anyone. And even if you had not come, I would have been involved in this situation eventually. A mage with access to the resources that Ouji had is not something that can be ignored, let alone when the mage in question is in such a state."

Fujino turned her head towards where Ouji was still laying against the wall, to signify her shifting attention.

"You said you were going to take her somewhere secure?" Fujino asked.

"To the store, I believe would be best." Tsukabishi replied. "I would be able to monitor her there, and you know where it is. When your wound has healed, you may come to the store to see if she has awoken, if you wish."

"Thank you." Fujino replied. "Are you sure you can keep her secure?"

"She does not seem to be in a position to be much of a threat to anyone but herself, from what Arisawa has told me." Tsukabishi replied. "It would not take much to ensure she doesn't go anywhere, or try to harm anyone."

Fujino smiled, softly.

"I should be off, then." Tsukabishi noted, as he moved towards Ouji. "Oh, Asagami, keep in mind. This healing spell is a draining one. I would recommend that, once you have healed, you find something to eat. You will still be exhausted, but it will help."

Asagami nodded. "Thank you." She repeated.

"Farewell, then." Tsukabishi noted. "Arisawa, I assume you will want to stay by Asagami's side?"

Tatsuki didn't respond, but Fujino could gather she had responded nonverbally, somehow.

"Goodbye." Fujino waved her hand slightly, in the direction of the door.

"I will see you later." Tsukabishi replied. As he finished talking, the door shut.

There was silence for some time, followed by Tatsuki's footsteps approaching Asagami.

"You alright?" Tatsuki asked. There was a brief thud, as she leaned back into the wall, and slid down to sit next to Fujino. "Cut hurting much?"

"I'm fine." Fujino replied. A true statement, though one that would make it sound like she was okay with the pain, rather than not feeling it. But then, Tatsuki had seen Fujino be stabbed and not realise it for some time. Would she be asking about that now? Fujino didn't want to say it if she didn't have to, but given what had happened, she didn't know if she could conceal it anymore if Tatsuki asked about it. How was Fujino supposed to explain not noticing when she got stabbed?

"What about what Ouji said?" Tatsuki asked. "That weighing on you at all?"

Fujjino frowned. "What do you mean?"

It was obvious where this was going, Fujino felt. There was only one thing Misaya had said that would be worth following up, and it was the other conversation Fujino didn't want to have. Perhaps if she acted like she had no idea what Tatsuki was talking about, Tatsuki would stop thinking about it.

But that was only wishful thinking, wasn't it?

"It seemed like Ouji's words were bothering you." Tatsuki replied. "The stuff about... Y'know."

Fujino didn't reply, and she heard Tatsuki shift against the wall uncomfortably after a moment. It was naive to think staying quiet would prevent Tatsuki from wondering about it, but the point remained. Asagami Fujino did not, if she had any choice in the matter, want to admit to murder.

"You did go quiet while she was talking about it." Tatsuki continued. "I dunno what actually happened or anything, and I'm not gonna trust someone who was specifically trying to make you sound as bad as possible. But, like, if there was some kind of accident she was trying to pin on you or something and it's bothering you, I don't mind listening to any details. If it'd make you feel better."

Fujino almost laughed, at that. Some kind of accident? Was Tatsuki just determined to see the best in her?

Still, at this point, Fujino didn't think she could stay silent anymore. Tatsuki knew too much at this point already, and if her denial involved giving Fujino more praise than she deserved, then Fujino wouldn't be able to accept it.

"I've told you before, Tatsuki." Fujino replied. "I'm not a good person."

Tatsuki didn't reply, not right away. For a split second, before Fujino had spoken, it had sounded like she was about to say something. Now, however, those words died on her tongue.

"Everything Ouji said was true." Fujino admitted. "I killed six people within the span of a week. I spent most of that time hunting another person, and before I was hospitalised, had done my best to murder a woman for trying to stop me. Misaya didn't need to make me sound bad, and I don't need you acting like I'm worth sympathy because of it."

Tatsuki was speechless, apparently. Whatever reactions she had beyond that were lost on the blind girl.

The longer the silence reigned, the more Fujino began to regret simply telling Tatsuki that she was a murderer. It's one thing to hear it from someone like Ouji, but it was another for Fujino to just say it.

"I am not a good person." Fujino admitted. She had already spoken, so she may as well continue now. Perhaps it would help if Tatsuki understood, a little better. "I do regret it. Within those few days, I was too focused on my hunt that I didn't stop to think. I didn't realise how much of a monster I am until I was stopped. The fact that I was allowed to live after that is an injustice."

"That's..." Tatsuki began, trailing off immediately.

"It's what?" Fujino asked. "Monstrous? Incomprehensible?"

"...You said before, didn't you?" Tatsuki asked. "That the reason you got involved in the supernatural even when you didn't want to was because you wanted to feel like it wasn't wrong for you to exist?"

Fujino frowned. That was not the reaction she had expected.

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Tatsuki decided. "You feel bad about it and you're trying to be better. No point holding it against you."

What?

"Tatsuki?" Fujino asked. "Did you hit your head, at some point?"

"I suppose it does sound kinda dumb." Tatsuki admitted. "But... Well, I like you, and even if you say you've killed people, I've only heard about it. So I want to keep liking you. Does that make any sense?"

No, it did not. Fujino could understand Risu wouldn't care, Fujino had talked that girl down from suicide. But Fujino hadn't done anything as meaningful for Tatsuki. So why would she just brush it off like that?

"I'm sure there's more to it anyway." Tatsuki continued. "That, or you're really not the same person you were. I don't see you just killing people for the sake of it."

"That's because you don't know me as well as you think you do." Fujino replied. "I enjoyed it, Tatsuki. I killed six people and hunted a seventh because I enjoyed holding power over them. I tried to kill an eighth and even when she held a knife to my throat, I was smiling. Asagami Fujino is a monster."

"So what changed, then?" Tatsuki asked. "You said you didn't realise how much of a monster you were being, right? People don't decide murder is bad just on a whim. What changed?"

Fujino bit her lip. Why was Tatsuki making this so difficult? Why was she being so understanding? Why wouldn't she just accept that Fujino was a bad person?

That thought lingered for a moment, before a question dawned on Fujino.

Why did she want Tatsuki to think she was a bad person?

It didn't feel right, that Tatsuki was listening to all of this, and acting like she didn't care. But why was Fujino so determined to reject all sympathy? Why was Tatsuki's acceptance rubbing her the wrong way?

Ah, perhaps it was obvious. Arisawa Tatsuki had learnt of Fujino's worst secrets under the worst circumstances Fujino could imagine, and Asagami Fujino was a creature so determined to keep her secrets and appear normal that once upon a time, it had seemed perfectly logical to hunt down and murder a man, and it had not even crossed her mind that her motivation was a monstrous one such as self-satisfaction.

Tatsuki's acceptance was provoking this reaction because Fujino hated that someone like her could be accepted.

Sighing, Fujino laid back against the wall, tilting her head upwards to face the roof.

"My apologies, Tatsuki." Fujino said softly. "Allow me to explain properly."

Tatsuki didn't reply right away, and Fujino took that silence as her cue to continue.

"I don't want excuses or rationalisations for what I did." Fujino explained. "But I still overreacted. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Tatsuki replied. "It's... This seems like a complicated issue. One that bothers you a lot. Me dismissing it probably was upsetting, sorry."

"Don't apologise." Fujino responded. "You're not the problem. I just don't want to try to excuse what I did."

Pushing back against the wall to force herself upward again, Fujino began her proper explanation.

"If I hadn't made excuses for myself then, I could have stopped a lot earlier than I did." Fujino explained. "I killed four people on the first night. Out of everything, that would be the one that could have been forgiven. I was almost stabbed. I thought I had been. But in the aftermath, counting the bodies and realising that there was a survivor, I made excuses. I told myself that I wasn't murderous, I simply needed to silence someone. I needed to find the one man who had survived and kill him to protect myself, I thought."

Looking towards Tatsuki, Fujino continued. "I killed another man the next night. He was a friend of the one survivor, he might have known where to find him. I killed him as painfully as I could to extract that information, and then told myself it was necessary."

A bitter laugh slipped from Fujino's lips. "The next time I killed someone, I didn't even tell myself anything. I crossed the road without looking, heard the truck coming, and then instead of running out of the way, I killed the driver. Then I moved on, and I didn't stop to think about it until after I had been stopped."

"And I didn't even stop myself." Asagami concluded. "If I hadn't been stopped, if that woman hadn't held a blade to my throat and then asked while I was smiling, I never would have realised what kind of monster I was. I would have kept killing, and then I would have found more reasons to continue."

"...I really don't know what to say." Tatsuki replied. "It's... A little unbelievable, you know? It's hard to picture you the type. But... What I said before, I think it still stands. I think you're a good person, Fujino. Even with all that, I can't stop thinking of you as a good person."

Asagami closed her eyes. It made sense, she supposed. Her story must have seemed ridiculous. It was no surprise that someone would put more weight in what they've seen of a person over what they've heard.

"I guess it's kinda dumb, trusting someone because they listened to you complain about your life once." Tatsuki continued. "But I'm going to trust you anyway. And if you don't want any excuses, I won't make any. I'll just trust the Fujino I know."

"Thank you, I suppose." Fujino smiled.

The two girls fell into silence for a moment, and Asagami mused for a moment that she wasn't sure what else to say now.

How do you follow up a conversation like that? You can't exactly go from talking about your sins to discussing the weather, could you?

Though, considering it a moment longer, the shift in the seriousness in topic would be less awkward then mere silence.

"Is it still raining, outside?" Fujino asked.

Tatsuki didn't reply right away, presumably as surprised by the shift in topic.

"...Yeah. Still raining out." Tatsuki confirmed.

"That's nice." Fujino continued, trying to think of how to turn the topic into enough of a conversation to take Tatsuki's mind off the earlier, heavier topic. "I have pleasant memories of the rain. It's comforting."

"...Huh." Tatsuki noted. "That's different, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?" Fujino asked.

"It's just the opposite for me." Tatsuki replied. "I... Well, you saw already that I don't take it well when my friends don't tell me about stuff I could help with. When I was a kid, a friend of mine lost a family member. He kinda shut down a bit after that, and I could never figure out how to cheer him up. It was raining a lot then too, so the rain just kinda reminds me of the time. Makes me feel kinda powerless, you know?"

Fujino looked away. "I see. I apologise for bringing it up, then."

"No, you didn't know." Tatsuki replied. "Though now I'm curious. Is there a reason you like the rain, or is it just a natural fondness?"


Fujino almost gave a response to that, but hesitated.

Somehow, even now, the fact that she couldn't feel pain was something she didn't really want to divulge. It was such a stupid thing, after Tatsuki had found out so much already. But that insensitivity to pain was still something strange about Asagami Fujino, and just sharing it went against every instinct and experience she had.

It felt rude, to hear Tatsuki's explanation on hating the rain, a reason tied to her past, without responding in kind. And yet, it was still in the nature of Asagami Fujino to keep secrets.

Looking away from Tatsuki, Asagami tried to ignore the sense of guilt that began to gnaw at her.

"Natural fondness, I suppose." She lied. "Maybe a half-forgotten happy memory."

Tatsuki didn't respond vocally, and Fujino joined her in silence. It was still somewhat awkward, but at the very least, the last thing they had talked about wasn't about how Asagami was a murderer. The fact that the two girls had such different opinions on the rain was a better thought to linger on, even if Tatsuki's memory of the rain was tied to something painful.

It was almost funny, Fujino thought to herself. The two of them had very little in common, and their opinion on the rain was just one difference. Arisawa Tatsuki was a girl who got involved with the supernatural with little prompting, and had wanted to involve herself more when she realised her friends had been involved without telling her. Asagami Fujino was a girl who had never wanted to be anything more than normal, but had gotten involved in the supernatural anyway to assuage her guilt at her continued existence. Arisawa Tatsuki was a straightforward person, while Asagami Fujino was secretive.

Arisawa Tatsuki thought that Asagami Fujino was a good person, which was something Fujino would never do herself.

And yet, despite all the differences, the two had managed to enjoy each other's presence. It wasn't something Fujino would expect, if it hadn't already happened.

It was nice, Fujino mused. And as upset as she had been at the moment, the fact that Tatsuki was willing to stay by Asagami even after finding out her darker secrets was nice as well.

Even if Asagami was too much of a monster to ever deserve it, the fact that someone could know so much about Fujino and still stay by her side was comforting.

Smiling to herself, Fujino leaned back against the wall, and waited for her wound to heal.

"...You know." Tatsuki said suddenly. "Something occurs to me."

"Hm?" Fujino queried.

"Didn't Ouji say she had one last fairy going around?" She asked. "In the graveyard? Maybe we should take care of that before someone walks by and gets hurt by it."

"Oh." Fujino remembered, now. Misaya had said that, hadn't she? "I suppose I should take care of that-"

[X] "-Once my wound heals."
[X] "-After seeing if Misaya is okay, in Urahara's store."