Terrors of a Different Kind

This article, , is a filler chapter attached to Bleach: Cataclysm, with a loose connection to the overall canon. It features Kentaro Hiroshi as the POV character, with Shūhei Hisagi as main support, with Akiye featuring.

“Wait, hold on a minute!” Akiye exclaimed in surprise. “You stabbed him in the head? And he lived!?”

“Yup.” Kentaro replied, emptying his glass.

This entire ordeal with a spiritual blood-sucker who could survive being stabbed in the head had driven him to drink. He was already three sheets to the wind and getting worse with every cup when Akiye found him, smelling of hard liquor.

“Are you drinking alone?” She asked. It was a little pathetic.

He waved to the bar.

Shuhei Hisagi, tall and lean with spiked black hair, swayed at the bar where he ordered his and Kentaro's round of drink. in addition to the three scars running down his right eye he sported two tatto's, one of which ran across the bridge of his nose, and a second on his left cheek which consisted of "69". The scars where gotten during his tenure in the Shino Academy whilst the 69 was a homage to Kensei, who had saved his life as a child. Judging by the list he'd just given the barmaid the two where here for the duration. He had left his white haori draped over the chair he had been sitting in. Tonight he wore a sleeveless black kosode, black hakama and a pair of sandals. His hair was set in its usual spikes but following the Collapse he had let it grow out at the back, which now reached his shoulders.

“Of course.” Akiye groaned. “Where's one without the other!”

Nishiendo – named after the Rukongai district where the Ryu Order was first formed – was, at this very moment, the seat of Kentaro's political and military power. It was from here his influence spread. As such it was the area of greatest structural repair throughout the so-called “Horiwari region”. Bars and eating-houses where common and this particular establishment – although small and quaint – was a secret favourite of Kentaro and Shuhei, who often came her to drink themselves stupid. That had occurred frequently following the Collapse as Kentaro tried to drown his sorrows with drink, whilst Shuhei did the same.

Speaking of Shuhei he returned from the bar with a tray balanced precariously on one hand, which just about made it safely to the tabletop.

“I'm telling you.” Shuhei remarked, picking up the thread of the conversation. “He's a Bount.”

“They're extinct.” Akiye supplied. She then got a whiff of the air. “You guys stink!”

“So we where led to believe.” Kentaro added, with a hiccup in the middle. Though whether he was talking about the smell of booze or the extinct Bount was unclear. “Sanada thinks he's a Reikon- Reikon Ky- Ah, hell. Sanada thinks he's a whatever-you-call-it. You know what I mean: those fangy bastards!” He finally stammered.

“How eloquent. You mean Reikon Kyuuban.” Akiye corrected, growing irritated.

“Right, that!” Kentaro downed his cup and looked at it stupidly, as if he where wondering why there wasn't more. “Put more stuff in the thing stuff goes in.” he asked of Akiye.

“Ugh, whatever!” She stormed off without the cup. “Sleep somewhere else tonight.”

He hung his head as if this was a common occurrence.

“Shuhei!” Kentaro exclaimed, with drunken embellishment and pitiful eyes. “I need a place to crash, buddy! She done gone and kicked me out!”

Shuhei was as drunk as Kentaro was. The ex-Lieutenant and current Commander was smiling broadly even as he leaned on the tabletop with his elbows. He downed the cup in his hand before producing a bottle of sake and two small cups from the tray.

“My house is your house!” He exclaimed. “We men need to... to... stick together!”

“Us against the world!” Kentaro cheered.

By the time they finished their indulgences for one night the two where speaking fluent nonsense, which only they could understand. When Kentaro finally came to the morning after the night before he felt like death. His mouth was dry and his throat was raspy. His head thumped like a drum during a big parade and his back was sore from sleeping on the floor.

“... Good morning...” Shuhei mumbled.

“... No, it really isn't...” Kentaro replied.

Despite how shitty he felt he rummaged around in Shuhei's kitchen until he found all he needed to make a greasy fry-up. It was a thing he'd discovered during his travels in the World of the Living. Nothing beat back a hangover like a greasy Ulster fry! He swung the frying pan, cooking fadge, pancakes, sausage, bacon and some eggs. He set Shuhei down a plate before digging into his own.

“Akiye's probably gonna kill me.” Kentaro said. “I don't remember what I did but when I end up sleeping here, it's never good.”

“You said something about a cup? I definitely remember a cup.” Shuhei remarked.

“I remember playing poker. Anything else?”

Shuhei rummaged through his pockets. Kentaro and he had learned that was usually a good place to start when you tried the next morning to figure out just how much shit you'd gotten yourself into. He produced a photo showing himself and Kentaro dancing -- half naked -- on a table before handing it over.

“Oh, great.” Kentaro remarked.

"Strip poker apparently." Shuhei said.

"Please tell me there where girls!" Kentaro cried.

"Wait! There was!" Shuhei produced a second photo of their table, which had two girls in it with blond hair. "I was worried for a second there."

"Don't scare me like that again! Oh, my head."

“You can complain about your head later.” The two turned slowly to regard Akiye who was standing in the doorway looking very unhappy. “Get a shower and then go see Sanada. He's made an interesting discovery.”

“... No rest for the weary.” Shuhei remarked.

“There never is.” Kentaro replied. “I'll see you down there.”

With that their fun had come to an abrupt end...