The Gold Pirate

Chapter 18: Ashes Of The Past P4

(Night)

"Caw-caw!" Orihime sounded a bird call to signal her friends to her approach and got rapped on the head by Tatsuki.

"Remember that we're supposed to be sneaking around. We can't be making noise," Tatsuki admonished the girl.

"Hoot," Chad gave a deep hoot in response as he appeared, straight-faced as usual.

"Secret! A secret meeting!" Tatsuki growled.

"*Squeak*"

"That one isn't even a bird!" Tatsuki raised her voice.

"It's supposed to be a rabbit," Rukia smiled. "I was practicing, pretty good, huh?"

"Rabbits don't squeak," Ichigo sweat dropped.

"Well, we're all here. What's the plan, Ichigo? Where do we find this thing?" Tatsuki turned to the boy.

"Well, this is where it happened in the first place. I thought starting here and moving outward would be the best idea," Ichigo explained to them as they huddled together.

"What does it look like?" Rukia asked.

"It's got a mask for a face and a black body with no legs, like a snake," Ichigo described the beast.

"Can something like that exist?" Orihime asked worried, giving another cough.

"Technically no, Ichigo said that the Vice Admiral made them, so they shouldn't," Chad told the girl.

"All we have to do is find it," Ichigo pulled a pack from his back and handed out rope. "If anyone of us finds it, we should call the others, and then we can all gang up on it and tie it up," he said.

"How long are we going to be at this?" Orihime asked.

"We can't stay out all night or our parents will get worried in the morning," Tatsuki pointed out.

"We should have about three hours before we have to worry about the sun coming up, so we should start heading home in two and a half hours."

"You actually thought this through, I'm impressed," Tatsuki laughed.

"Just be careful, guys. This thing has brought down islands, so we have to be cautious," Ichigo ignored the jab.

"Alright, the Creature Capture Squad is ready to roll," Orihime placed her hand in the middle of the huddle expectantly, jittering excitedly as she shifted her eyes to her friends repeatedly.

"Fine, sure" Ichigo placed his hand on top of hers followed by the rest before they all raised them into the air and moving along with their mission.

The group searched high and low, never straying too far from their neighborhood as they searched for the beast. In parks, the empty streets, mom-and-pop shops, and even homes that had left their blinds open. They climbed trees and buildings for higher vantage points and kept their ears trained on any monstrous or out of the ordinary sound in the dead of night.

After two and a half hours...nothing.

"*Yawn* Absolutely nothing," Rukia rubbed her eyes as everyone met back up where they started.

"Maybe it hibernates," Orihime offered.

"I don't think those guys would have such a finicky monster," Tatsuki's head bobbed, forcing herself to stay awake.