Belonging

Ch.44 A Lieutenant Already?!

~~~~Emiko's P.O.V.~~~~

We hit the ground to only bounce up a few times before completely stopping. The sphere disappears and we finally touch ground. The movement I do, I get a light pounding feeling in my head.

Great...now's not the time for a headache, body.

"Ah~, I've missed this place. It's good to finally be home again." Nagi says as she stands with a smile on her face. "Emiko, welcome to the Seireitei, home of all the soul reapers- Hey, are you okay?"

I remove my hand from my head.

"Yeah, just a headache."

She's instantly by my side.

"Maybe you hit your head when we landed. I'm sorry about-"

"No, I didn't. I'm fine."

I shake it off as I stand.

"You sure?"

Nodding, I answer her question.

"We should be moving. I bet everyone here saw us enter. They'll be here in minutes if we stay."

"Right, let me look for Ichigo's spiritual energy."

She closes her eyes to concentrate.

"...I found him."

She opens her eyes and points down a random path.

"He's that way-..."

"Nagi?"

She quickly grabs my hand and uses flash step. We begin to move at extreme speed through the roads of the Seireitei.

"Nagi, what's wrong?"

"...Someone was nearing us."

We stop in a secluded spot.

"I'm sorry for the sudden grab, but someone really strong was heading our way back there. It might of been a lieutenant just by judging their spiritual pressure."

"A lieutenant is on our trail already?"

"Yes, but I don't stand a chance against them without my zanpakuto."

"Do you know where it is?"

"No, and I have no idea where that old man would've put it. It's been over a hundred years since I've last been here."

"I see... What do you want to do, Nagi?"

"Huh? I'm here to help you. You want to go to Ichigo, right? That way you can save Rukia."

"Yes, but if you felt his energy, that means he's okay, right?"

"...In a way...yeah."

"So now's not the time for me to worry about him. Can you tell how the others are?"

"...The others are fine as well. Chad is by himself, and Orihime is with Uryu currently. However, Ichigo is currently battling someone as we speak. It feels like that soul reaper from before. Not little Byakuya, but the other one."

"Renji? Ichigo is fighting him right now?"

"I guess...but he's going to win. So don't worry."

"Okay. So, should we head to Ichigo, or shall we find your zanpakuto?"

"...We should-"

"Die where you stand."

We look over to find a soul reaper blocking our path. He looked to be about the same age as us. He wore a scowl on his face as he faced us.

He had blond hair, with a blue streak, and brown eyes. He had some kind of chain choker around his neck and wore some metal piece on the finger of his right hand. Lastly, there was some weird tattoo on the same hand.

Nagi stood in front of me protectively as she narrows her eyes his way.

This must be the person Nagi felt earlier.

"Who are you?" she demands to know.

"...You... So it is you. I thought that spiritual energy felt familiar. How long has it been since we last lay eyes upon each other, Nagi?"

"...I know you?"

"That fact that you don't know me really pisses me off. Well, then again, I don't expect you would recognize me. I've became stronger after all. Way stronger than you ever were.

In fact, I've become a second lieutenant to squad one while you were off playing in the World of the Living, getting weaker."

"..."

"Still don't know? That's fine. It doesn't matter anyway. You'll be dead long before you find the answer."

Reaching into the sleeve of his shihakusho, he pulls out a zanpakuto.

"I'll kill you just like you killed him...slowly."

Placing his finger through the loop, at the end of the zanpakuto's handle, he begins to spin his sword in a perfect circle.

Nagi's eyes widen while watching him.

"Emiko, run! Get out of here!"

"Run The Clock, Sofu no Jikan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Sofu no jikan = Grandfather Time)