The Informant and the Girl of Mystery

Previous Story &gt; The Betrayer of Hope vs Tousui.

As usual the dank depressing and perpetually darkened sky of Kōhai Tochi, the realm of sin and vice, brought nothing but anger to the black-haired man watching the sky from his perch atop a chimney. The people below were arguing profusely about some such nonsense that involved their daughter and the son of a local thug who thought himself the ruler of the streets. Even now, hidden mostly from view by the shadows cast by the larger buildings flanking this particular roof, the figure could see the local thugs and cutthroats prowling the streets in numbers; their target a young woman walking with her boyfriend?

Walking? At night? In Kōhai Tochi of all places? The figure shook his head and contemplated leaving them to their fates just because of their bloody stupidity. After all, the last thing he needed now of all times was to be discovered by the true elite of his spiritual home. But then he found he couldn't leave them, so he dropped from the rooftop and kept to the shadows; stalking like a wraith. His clothing blended in well save for the slashes of blue at his shoulders and the white of his shirt. The couple walked past oblivious to his present, but their steps had quickened. Good. They weren't entirely stupid.

"Keep moving." He told them sharply, walking into the street. The local thugs narrowed their eyes upon seeing him. Those eyes soon turned to outright fear as the figure raised his head and flicked the strands of his fringe out of the way of his face. "You...! Y-y-your the...!" One of the younger of the trio stuttered. "Betrayer of Hope!" Another said slinking into the shadows. "What? Surprised to see me? I bet the Imawashī were claiming I was dead, right? Oh, how wrong they were!" When Shigeru turned and walked away, each of the local thugs were sprawling on the ground unconscious. "... Now its time to see 'her'." He vanished from sight then as though he hadn't been there at all...

Meanwhile...

Not so far away from the crowd of the stupid and ignorant that roamed the shadowy streets of Kōhai Tochi, a large building stood tall, overseeing the entirety of the area. The rats on the ground scurried about as a woman stood in the doorway of a dark building. The ominous wind creeped along it's edges and around the building. The woman herself was tall, her figure well built. She was blond, her hair tied into a braid that laid on her chest. She could appear kind at first yet her sly eyes and curvaceous body made her a threat. The woman was unfamiliar in the realm of Kōhai Tochi, which made her a target. The woman who was both a target and a threat stood at the doorway confident, knowing she would not be harmed even in a bleak world such as this. She had no fear.

Her sly eyes stared sharply at the woman in front of her, as she went on talking. Her eyes told of her intent. They spoke of torment and anger. Her white jacket bounced as she continued talking. From the doorway her pace led her into the room. "So if you do really know what I believe you to know. Then you would have information on the prison, south of here? Correct?" She spoke with a gentle yet knowledgeable voice. One that informed those who heard that she was here for business and would not be deterred. Suddenly, she stopped mid-sentence, noticing a figure approach the building. Changing her glare to the door she awaited the intruder.

The target of the words uttered by the blond-haired woman with the tight braid was sitting in a high-backed chair, cushion of said chair colored an eye-catching and vibrant red with yellow-golden frills running along its edges. Much like her guest, the owner of the household was fearless both in posture and gaze; her red eyes shining like blood red rubies in the dimmed light catching every subtle detail and filing it away for later. The household was rich and ornate. A complete a contrast to the rest of Kōhai Tochi, which was really nothing more than a slum with well constructed exterior housing. A chandelier hung from the rooftop made of crystal which when coupled with light from the lit candles, appeared almost yellow. On the floor before the owners office-like desk was a bear fur rug, its head opened wide towards the door, though today its usual effect was missed on the blond-haired woman before it.

The woman was Sakae Kisaragi, a crime lord of the realm she called home and one of the major information dealers in the entire realm. There was little that occurred within its confines or even events beyond it that she did not have someone watching and recording. Her tied back black hair hung in two hair pieces at the back of her head, the holdings in question being of a bright red coloration which blended in well with the cushion at her back. Her fringe was unorganized, in stark contrast to her attire; which was that high schoolers uniform with a black-colored shirt, with several patterns of a deep red coloration complete with a red tie of the same shade. To complete her intellectual front Sakae wore a delicate set of glasses which framed her face, though in truth she didn't need them.

"I have information on the prison complex," Sakae replied to the asked question, though hardly enthusiastically. Her tone was actually quite cold. "The complex itself is broken up into four main towers, each with different designs and purposes, ran by the members of Sabishii Kunsha's faction." Sakae then took a sip of the glass on her tabletop, intending to take her time with this transaction. She did enjoy her work after all. "Never mind him," Sakae finally said after swallowing, having noticed her clients sudden tension. "He works for me, in a fashion." Only the smile betrayed this womans cruelty.

"I see." Terumi said removing her glance, and looking back at Sakae with wide eyes. Previously her talking had caused the long white jacket around her to bounce and flutter, but her silence made it still. The jacket now revealing a small name tag located on her right chest. It read, in big letters, Miss Fujita. Her jacket and name tag could easily be thought of as a doctors, but her attitude contrasting her profession. Her wide eyes wandered to the large chandelier above her. Miss Fujita stared intently at her reflection for seconds before continuing her trail of thought. Ignoring the wandering, obviously suffering people.

Her quick pace came to a halt. "Good." Her hands clinched together with the excitement. "Recently, have you acquired any blueprints or layouts of the prison? Such as the location of the prison cells?" Her questions weren't hasty nor loud. But calm and experienced, the woman obviously had knowledge of Sakae and her business. And unlike most she had spent years to make her dreams a reality, waiting wasn't an issue for her.

Sakae snapped her fingers once. Following that sound a figure clad in all-black garb, his face obscured by bandages safe for his yellow-colored eyes appeared in a kneeling position beside Sake's high-backed chair. "You called, my lady?" He said in a rough tone of voice, that strangely didn't possess a single hair of anger or frustration. In fact, he sounded altogether too happy. "Yes. Retrieve the prison papers for me, would you?" The figure disappeared as quickly as he had first appeared.

"I seriously hope you don't expect me to jump to obey when you click those bloody fingers? Because I won't." A voice said from the main doorway behind Terumi. He was obviously a man though only his body was visible because of the shadows obscuring his features. Clothed in a white shirt with blue shoulders accompanied with simple black trousers, with a long ponytail resting over his right shoulder to rest by his chest.

"Its polite to knock," Sakae said to this man.

"Is it?" He then rapped the door twice mockingly and took a position leaning against the archway just before the door, features still obscured. "Now get back to your little meeting, 'cause I imagine it'll be me who'll have to do the labor."

Sakae's face remained impassive, though she was already planning just how to punish her employee. When the man with the bandages from before returned with the requested blueprints, Sakae spread them out over the table and set small ornate ornaments carved from ivory at either corner to stop them rolling up again. The man walked forward, revealing a mop of black hair atop his head with blue-colored eyes. Bandages were visible from the V of his shirt which sported dried blood. "So, whats the mission this time, Sakae?" Her eyes narrowed at this mans use of her real name. "Our guest can answer that," Sakae said finally.

"Thank you Sakae-sama"

Terumi's eyes flew to the map, working the details out in her mind. Her eyes went left and right, furiously as she looked at the page at least a hundred times. A minute passed before she had retreated back. "This time?" Terumi questioned to herself, as she thought of just how much Sakae had done in her years in this realm. "Just by looking at this I can tell that the mission will be difficult and time consuming." Terumi paused for a moment. as she relooked at the blueprints. Her foot tapped at the ground as her anxiousness grew. "Do you have any information on the prisoners?" she asked, showing no distress.

Shigeru's face showed anger for the briefest of moments, though Sake paid little heed to her partner and simply focused her attention on answering her clients question. "There are many hundreds of prisoners," Sakae said carefully choosing her words. "Determining the identities of those inside, without a description or even a former occupation or known act to hone in one would be like looking for the classic needle in the haystack."

A continual knocking was coming from the wall Shigeru was leaning against, his knuckles rapping in time with the beatings of his heart. Meaning very regularly. "What's the name of the geezer your trying to break out?" He asked of Terumi, simply looking at her from beneath his shadowed corner. "We know that and Ms. Informer over there can start informing you of their whereabouts in relation to the prison towers."

"While I do not agree with my employee's tone of voice-" Sakae cut in, silencing Shigeru with a flick upon her own wrist that made the latter close-mouthed and wide-eyed in anger. "-he does have a point. Do you have a name I can use, or perhaps a profession? The prisoners are often worked quite hard, so skilled workmen are remembered." Skill was everything in Kōhai Tochi, after all. Whether it was the skill to out maneuver your competitors or the skills one needed to survive her streets; people with skills beyond the average soul lived to tell of their exploits. Prison inmates were no different.

Terumi looked over both Sakae and Shigeru with a gleeful smile. "I'm closer than I've ever been. Finding Ryouiki is my mission." She assured with her hands raised to her stomach in bars, supporting her breasts. "His name is Ryouiki. He had been taken from me several centuries ago and now I know that he is here. I must find him." Terumi spoke her resolution confidently. Changing her gaze to Shigeru she watched him intently. "I'm guessin' your going to help us fight? Well if you are please control yourself." Terumi challenged. She knew of many people who would go back on their word and decieve one to get more power. She believed that, even though he would help, Shigeru had looked of a person who would do nearly anything to get power.

"Me? Control myself?" Shigeru scoffed at the notion. He hadn't been free to make his own decisions since he left the Seireitei due to his Hollowfication. "If I was free to do as I pleased do you honestly think I'd be loitering around in the realm were almost everyone worth their salt and with any decent underground connection wants me dead? Or taking orders from her?" The last was said with a penetrating glare for Sakae herself, though it had little profound effect on the woman who now held her subordinates gaze.

But before that Sakae had been running the offered name through her mind. In addition to the plans laid out across the table she held a somewhat tattered piece of parchment paper that had obviously seen some use in its lifetime. "Ryouiki... Ryouiki..." Shigeru was forgotten about with Sakae's undivided attention going towards the paper in her hand. "Full name Unohana Ryouiki?" Sakae's eyebrow rose in a questioning manner. "If it is him it says here he was a former member of the Gotei 13, specifically the 4th Division. No mention of the reason he was imprisoned-"

"-but you'll find that's pretty normal in this shit-hole." Shigeru finished for her with a lopsided grin. Pushing off the wall he walked towards the desk and looked at the paper in Sakae's hand and the blueprints down below. He then beckoned Terumi to have a look. "Confined to the Eastern Tower?" Shigeru went silent then as he processed the information in front of him, filing everything away for use later in their actual escape.

Terumi grinned as the pieces leading to Ryouiki's escape were gradually becoming a reality. Though she was cautios about working with Shigeru, she knew that he nor Sabishii would interfere with her goal. Planning the escape in her head, Terumi though of several scenario's all at once. "How many Vices will be at the prison? Can Shigeru be trusted or will he just betray Terumi for his own gain? What if Sabishii had already been informed on the escape? What if Sakae is secretly working with the Vices?"

Though she had many worries, Terumi dismissed them as she continued her gaze at the blueprints that were scattered about. Her grin plastered on her face, as she knew that it would be difficult but would not be dettered. Nodding her head to Sakae's previous statements about Ryouiki's name and his affiliation with the Gotei 13. She turned to face Shigeru. "Yes. If this information is all up to date, then from the looks of this, Ryouiki is stationed in the Eastern Tower." Moving on to the actual planning, Terumi thought of how the prison would be guarded,. Terumi turned to face Sakae. "So what's the plan to get in--" Terumi paused, as she thought of the moment when she found Ryouiki. "--and out safely. And what do you want in return." Ending her sentence her voice became more serious.

"At the moment?" Sakae replied, eyebrow raised. Her fingers were interlocked on the desk in front of her, a predatory gleam shining in those red-as-blood eyes. "Nothing. Later? Who knows. I prefer to wrack up... favors among my clients, which are called in when I have need of them." Shigeru only grunted in response to this remark from his "boss", for he had received no such contract nor offer.

"As for the entry and escape-" Shigeru pointed to the Eastern Towers location instantly, as though he knew Sakae's thoughts. His expression was disgruntled and far from pleased. He drew a line with his index finger along the outer perimeter of the tower. "-the outside perimeter is your safest route."

"You know what they call the place?" Shigeru asked without taking his eyes from the blueprints and map. "Uejini, meaning "starve to death". The cleanliness of the place is questionable at best, though because of that, we've got an entrance." He drew his finger to a small river near the towers base, marked on the map. It was merely a sewer drain in the blueprints. "Bring a change of clothes," Shigeru continued, while Sakae only smiled deviously. "Because our way in is through the old drainage ditch that never gets used anymore that connects us to the first floor."

Terumi paused for a moment as she looked at the map, observing the sewer drain that was the foundation of their plan. She looked at Excavado who would be their in case anything went awry. The blonde haired woman cracked a smile across her face, while at the same time removing her gaze from the blueprints. "So well thought out." she added as a compliment to Sakae, still slightly uneasied by Shigeru's assistance. Looking back at Sakae, she glanced at her grey eyes and down her body, noticing her young, and curvaceous body. "Another set of clothes..." she paused before lifting an invisible barrier, skintight around her person." This outta do it for now."

With the plans laid out, the route of entry and escape and with the necessary amount of manpower, Terumi thought of the Ryouiki she once knew. A lean, well built man with enough pride to tame a lion. Quickly dismissing the thought, she continued her gaze at Sakae. "I figure you don't want to be stuck on this mission forever. So we outta start soon?"

"So we can get going then?" Shigeru asked before securing his zanpakutō at an angle near the base of his back; the large blade hidden by the brown sheath which swayed with his movements. On his back he secured a harness-like piece of black leather that fitted around his shoulders and ribs, which also held a more slender and traditional katana blade that stuck out over his right shoulder. His ponytail fell between his shoulder blades, which was soon hidden by the ragged black cloak that suddenly formed about his neck as he exerted a trickle of his Hollowfied reiatsu. The garment had a little hole in the back to accommodate his additional blade.

"I will have a Senkaimon ready for you both when you return," Sakae said as she stood. "Use the streets to your advantage," She began explaining. "Hooded and cloaked, you will appear like any other young lady with her bodyguard for protection. Oh and Shigeru-"

"I get it, I get it already!" Shigeru shouted, slamming his fist onto the tabletop. "Don't get seen. This is a covert operation. If we get caught, we don't know you. Happy? Jeez, it's not as if you haven't told me before."

Fujita nodded, as she swiftly turned her attention to Shigeru. Snapping her finger she increased the barrier around her, while at the same time casting one upon Shigeru, whether he wanted it or not. The barrier not only acted for protection but also coated their spiritual signature. "Agreed. If we get caught, I don't know you." With that she walked beside Shigeru, and like him she began to mobilize for their departure. Revealing a blade from underneath her long, white coat she tossed it over her shoulder. As it landed peacefully against her body, she exerted a small amount of her own, finely tuned spirit energy.

The play is in motion and the players all in check. The timing is perfect and their execution flawless. Now, Terumi and Shigeru with the assistance of a woman shrouded in intrigue and mystery, known as Sakae, they begin their rescue attempt. An unequivacal aura entered the air as they began their assault on Kōhai Tochi's infamous prison, in search of the Shinigami, Ryouiki.

End.

Next Story > The River Converges Home