Children of Izanami: Confirmation

??
"Ok, run this by me again?" Ahatake said. His wife had just finished explaining the video she saw at the library to Ahatake, Miharu, and Daiyaku. None of them could get over it.

"I had the same reaction....."

Megami wearily sat in one of the chairs, arms resting on her thighs. "I just cannot get over the glaring errors that were there. Even Aoi couldn't explain what happened, and...." She raised a hand to her face, lowering her head slightly and letting out a sigh. "....it's just so unnerving."

"Just when you think things can't get any weirder, they do." Ahatake sighed. Wounds before being shot to death, blood moving on it's own. Only person he knew who controlled blood was his sister, but he had no idea where she was.

"Shouldn't we tell Rukia about this?" Miharu asked.

"I'll make it a priority straight away...." Megami said in a glib manner, dropping her head against the armrest and leaning her head back. "Aoi handed me a copy of the video later on, so I can also hand this over to the police." She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Good Lord, I am not going to get over this for a long time...."

"I've honestly seen worse." Ahatake said, waving his hand as if shooing away an annoying fly. "It's the moving blood that disturbs me more than anything. Someone who can control blood is not something you want as your enemy, I guarantee."

Daiyaku and Miharu, who had witnessed Megami's own blood manipulation firsthand, nodded in agreement.

"The most notable thing is that in the video, the gunfire should have been able to wake up the ensuing neighbors...." Megami commented. "But I have yet to hear from anyone about the fact that there was a massacre, nor have we heard anything about the bodies."

"There are plenty of barriers to block out sound." Ahatake pointed out. "Aoi can cast them, Miharu can probably create some-" The girl nodded to confirm her father's statement. What couldn't she do? "-so these people could probably possess powers like that. I'm merely guessing however."

"And what about the gunshot's delay?"

"That..." Ahatake thought for a moment and then let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Your guess is as good as mine." He had no guess.

"It is odd..." Daiyaku murmured. "Perhaps the footage was tampered with, if they had advanced knowledge of the camera?"

"The only one who had access to the videos would be Aoi herself." Megami said dismissively, raising her head back up. "No one else can get a hold of them."

"In that case, I've got nothing." Daiyaku said, shrugging.

Ahatake sighed. "I'm getting a headache from the thinking, and it's not even 9:00 yet."

Megami shifted one leg over the other idly. "In any other case, this is definitely something above the norm. Aoi's trying to figure out the graffiti's origins and constancy." She explained. "In the meantime, I also plan on getting the tape copy over to law enforcement."

"Makes sense." Ahatake said. He frowned for a moment. These opponents definitely seemed powerful. And he needed to adjust to his new powers. He knew two people who could help him with that. Seemed like he had work to do later.

"Anything I can help with?" Miharu asked, looking at her mother.

"Honestly, at this point in time, there's not much to do." Megami answered, giving somewhat of a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "All our bases are covered as of yet, so there's no problems to take care of at this moment."

"In that case, I'm going outside." She said, stretching. Ahatake grabbed her shoulder.

"Miharu, I actually do need your help." He said. "Could you conjure something up that would lead me to Seireitou?"

Miharu looked surprised. "Yeah, I can. Why?"

"I'm about to go have a talk with him." Ahatake said simply. "I want to see if he'd consider training me."

"Back to Seireitou again....?" Megami said uncertainly, shifting her head towards the man in what seemed like confusion. "Is that really necessary....?"

"I haven't truly readjusted to my Shinigami powers Megami." Ahatake said, frowning. "Solo training doesn't seem to be working. It's probably due to the fact that this Zanpakutō wasn't originally mine." He looked at the blade he had slung at his waist. "Seireitou can probably help me there, as well as teach me some other things that could help."

Megami let out a light sigh, closing her eyes and shaking her head from side to side. This, in turn, caused her long hair to billow a little. "Well, if you insist..." She said softly. "Whatever helps is something greatly needed."

Ahatake grinned. "Thanks Megami." Miharu drew her sword. "Lead me to Seireitou Kyūmu." She swung it, creating a portal. "If you enter through this portal, it should lead you to Seireitou. Not as efficient as the method I used, but you take what you can get, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Ahatake said, frowning. He gets the inefficient method? He sighed as he stepped into the portal. "I'll see you all later then." He said, stepping into it fully and it shut closed on him.

"In the meantime...." Megami pushed herself off of the seat, brushing herself off. "I'll go search for Rukia, see if she's lurking around and tell her what we've found out." She walked over towards the coat racket, slipping on a light jacket.

"Maybe I can tell Onee-san." Miharu said, making Daiyaku get up. "She might be able to help us out."

A small smile came across Megami's face. "Yeah, maybe, if she's not too busy with Kibō." She walked towards the door, pushing it open and stepping it out. "Good luck!" She called over her shoulder with a mirthful tone before she shut the door behind her.

Peaceful Onee-san
Knock knock! At the Injiki residence, two sharp raps on the door attracted the attention of the residents inside. It hadn't taken Miharu and Daisuke long to get down there (Daisuke ran while carrying Miharu).

The door opened immediately, and there stood Kyashi, a hand on her hip and her other hand against the doorway. "Oh, hey!" She greeted with a smile, giving a nod. She stepped side. "You're here for Midoriko, right?"

Daiyaku and Miharu entered, Daiyaku putting Miharu down. Why he was still carrying her when they had reached the door, no one knew."Good morning Kyashi." Miharu said, smiling. "And yeah, we're here to see her."

Kyashi made a motioning gesture towards the stairwell. "She's just right upstairs...."

"Thanks." Miharu said as they dashed upstairs. "Tell Ryūka "hi" from me!" They got to the hall, and went to the room with the open door. Sure enough, Kibō and Midoriko were in the room. Lucky for Miharu and Daiyaku, they hadn't walked in on anything major.

"Hm....?"

On the bed, Kibō's head was resting on Midoriko's leg as she sat (and he lay) on the bed, arms folded across his chest. One eye was closed, but the other was looking directly at the two. "Oh.... it's just you two...." He muttered, raising one hand up from his chest to give a lazy wave. "What's up?"

"Just you two?" Miharu repeated, visibly annoyed. "That's no way to greet family Kibō."

Daiyaku chuckled. Seems the girl was annoyed.

Midoriko looked over at them. "Mornin' sis." She said, smiling. "What brings you over?" Her sister's words dropped her annoyance with her brother-in-law.

"We have some news, since we figure you can be of help to us."

Kibō said nothing in particular, raising up a hand and clenching the fingers to idly study his own nails for a moment.

"How familiar are you two with Road 701?" Daiyaku asked.

"We've crossed through a few times." Midoriko replied, looking puzzled. "Why?"

"Well..." Miharu launched into an explanation about the "painting" found on one of the buildings, as well as giving the additional details about the video her mother saw, and where Ahatake went.

This drew Kibō's attention right away.

Abruptly, he sat up and stared at the two with slightly widened eyes. "....you know what that sounds like....?" He commented, slghtly cocking an eyebrow and lifting a finger to point at the two. "I think that's something straight off from some fucked up horror movie. Blood that moves on its own, a clip twisted to an extreme degree? Wouldn't be surprised if there was an deranged long-haired little girl in the mix."

Everyone looked at Midoriko briefly, then back at Kibō before responding. "Well, you have a point there." Daiyaku agreed. "But it's all the fact we have, so you'll just have to deal with it."

Miharu frowned. "I just wish we could make heads or tails of this."

"You mean you don't know?" Kibō had a disbelieving look on his face, and he pushed himself off of the bed and looked over the three with a mixture of surprise and disappointment. "Gimme a break! The glaring signs are right there in our faces! Tell us again - what did the graffiti on the building look like?"

"Well, from what I remember from the description, there were "eyeball" like markings amidst other markings that seem to have no meaning." Miharu was drawing on what she could remember. "Why?"

"Because that...." Kibō pointed at Miharu. "Is the marking of Red Sun! Exactly like what you just said!"

"Red Sun?" Miharu looked very confused. Daiyaku blinked twice. "Red...Sun..." He murmured. "That sounds slightly familiar. Like I've heard it somewhere."

"What is it?" Miharu asked insistently. Midoriko was silent. She hadn't the slightest clue what Kibō was talking about, so she didn't feel the need to speak up.

"You really don't know? Shit, you guys must've been spending your life underground or something......" Kibō lowered his finger, using hand gestures in order to emphasize his words. "Red Sun is this secret, shady cultist organization that's been around for quite some time. It's massive, and its influence takes up the majority of the dimensions. Their charisma's so strong, there are thousands of cult groups in existence that are devoted to worshiping their cause. It is said that the first markings of the Red Sun are a warning that Paradise is coming."

"Oh boy..." Miharu sighed. "So, it's a malicious group devoted to making promises they can't keep?"

"Oh, no...." Kibō said, his voice taking on a slightly darker tone. "This is the real deal, something that has been prophesied for years. Red Sun is headed off by these beings known as the demi-gods, entities that are condemned to humanoid bodies in order to keep watch over the world. These same beings, when the time is right, will begin setting the stage in order for the destruction and recreation of both the realm of the living and the afterlife. It's something that's, while scary to think about, is true."

"You're not serious." Miharu said, backing up slightly. "We're up against demi-gods now?"

Daiyaku frowned. "This isn't going to be easy at all then. Demi-gods that are meant to end the world? If we go up against them, we could be defying the natural order. We'll wind up just like the other Ahatake."

"No shit...." Kibō muttered, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head in disapproval. "But then again, we're out of options here unless we want to risk our own lives waiting for this prophecy to happen."