"You really think you're gonna win a fight like this without taking any lives? Finish them off properly! That's how you show respect to the enemy who started this battle." — Ikkaku Madarame.
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[POV: With the Snake]
The Snake quietly traversed the jagged roads of Inuzuri, the 78th District of South Rukongai, as he continued his search for a person of interest. Doing a side hustle for nobles – now that wasn't what he thought he'd be doing with his life.
Admittedly he didn't have much thought for his life in the first place, not before, and not after he was drafted into the employ of his current boss.
Granted, he never thought he was one for following someone else's orders with single-mindedness, thinking he would die before he ever did so. Newsflash: he was shown something worse than death and that stifled most of his youthful arrogance.
As he was now, donning the mask of identity that reflected the name his bossman gave him, the Snake would finally agree to his silent heart that that man was the only one he truly respected. Even if he could be a silent brood at times.
Loyalty was a purchase bought with rare cost and the insufferable and grossly terrifying man told him in no clear words that he was too tightfisted (stingy was an understatement) to buy it and would prefer to batter a trade for it.
What other options did a poor terrified coldblooded, but slightly warm, snake have?
Sometimes he wondered, if he, as harmlessly hopeless and helpless as he was, was considered for all intents and deeper meanings a snake, then what would the person who gave him that moniker be called?
A chuckle almost graced the surface of his mask but he ruthlessly cut it short. Snakes didn't chuckle, they hissed with poison-edged mockery.
It didn't matter to him who or what he currently was – Gin Ichimaru or the Snake – he knew his duty and who he battered his loyalty to.
Now he just had to find an unassuming girl in one of the dead end Districts of the Rukongai. Unlike what the Captain of the 6th Division might think, given that he spread few of his Shinigami to the surrounding Districts, souls in the Rukongai never migrated, unless of course they were driven out by Hollows.
The District they woke up in would be the same one they spend the rest of their lives in, rarely ever setting foot in another District. So unless the lass has already travelled the soul stream and was now reincarnated back into the World of the Living, she was no doubt still in this same District. Probably around the same place she arrived in after her death.
The slitted eyes of Snake pricked behind his mask as he identified a few of the Kuchiki servants, which meant that Byakuya Kuchiki was somewhere around here.
His form slithered and merged with the landscape around him. Being a coldblooded reptile came with its perks, one of which was an inherent camouflage that works well in nature.
Now the question he asked himself was this: how should he go around with his mission when it was mutually tied to Byakuya Kuchiki.
'Slither around him of course,' was the answer he came up with. Hiding himself from a Captain like Byakuya shouldn't be too hard.
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[POV: With Itachi]
They might have gotten too into it, Itachi thought as they went even deeper into the Rukongai than he had initially planned.
Between an easily excitable Yachiru, an easily pressured Yumichika – Zaraki's Fifth Seat, two eager brutes in Ikkaku – the Third Seat – and Zaraki, Itachi found himself slowly being spurred on to the point where they actively started looking for Hollows to slay.
Zaraki, to Itachi's silent chagrin, appointed Itachi as their guide in their unprompted Hollow extermination, citing to Itachi's perfect memory for his valid reasoning.
Itachi's self control was already rearing its head and he was going to put an end to it after a short while but decided against it after Amaterasu's desires started getting stoked with every slaughter, since that was what it was.
It was during one of these slaughters where Itachi opted out of participating that his senses flared up like a miniature sun that screamed danger at him.
He spun around, the veil of his hat flaring in the wind as it opened up a clear peak of his face, and drew his Zanpakutō halfway out of its sheath and blocked Zaraki's wild swing.
He looked utterly unimpressed as he stared at Zaraki silently questioning him with his eyes.
Zaraki, who was the offender, looked rather pleased with himself compared to Itachi's crossed look.
"I knew it. My nose was right after all." His words caused a downward tug to Itachi's lips.
Sparks flew from where their blades were connected which seemed to reassure the mad man of something only he knew.
Itachi backed down and pushed down his blade. He was not in the mood for one of Zaraki's episodes and his demeanor spelled it out for the battle-crazed addict.
"Don't pretend, Itachi." His words confused Itachi. "I can smell the bloodlust on your sword."
The confusion Itachi was feeling doubled until he looked down at the sword hanging off his waist and realization dawned on him, which Zaraki didn't miss.
"Please don't tell me they're going to fight while we're out here killing Hollows." Yumichika whined from where he was locked in combat with a bunch of Hollows. He looked haggard and his breathing was slightly agitated. He was not having an easy time.
Further down from him, with a gleeful Yachiru hanging off his shoulders, was an equally ecstatic and heavily wounded IIkkaku wildly swinging his spear with feverishly ferocity.
"Go go Baldy~" the hanger on Lieutenant sang with childish cheer.
"NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A FIGHT! THIS IS WHY WE BECAME SHINIGAMI! AIN'T THAT RIGHT, YUMICHIKA!!" The battle-drunk screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran his spear through a Hollow, only to get ruthlessly smacked to the side by another one. And still Yachiru remained unharmed.
Itachi looked at his Zanpakutō and sighed. Zaraki had indeed sniffed out the bloodlust except that it wasn't Itachi's but Amaterasu's. But explaining that to Zaraki was like expecting the moon to burn hot.
'You feel almost distracted, dear one. Taking a pound of flesh from the willing bull should help you relax more.' Amaterasu advised.
Itachi sighed but he didn't reject her offer. '… While I do agree, it can't be right now.'
As if sensing Itachi's willing hesitation, Zaraki backed off and jumped back into the fray to pummel some Hollows to death.
Except that wasn't the end of it as every now and then he would spring a spontaneous attack on Itachi while in the midst of killing off Hollows and just laughing it off every time Itachi fought him off.
"Um, Captain Uchiha? I think we've gone too far down south." Yumichika muttered softly. In the blink of an eye they had spent over a day constantly fighting Hollows. His fatigue was clear to all who saw him.
Even the hyped up Ikkaku had simmered down after he started running on fumes a few hours ago.
Yachiru who now wore Itachi's hat and looked like a bundled up gremlin from her position on Itachi's shoulders bent over to look down and covered Itachi's view in doing so, though it failed to impede his high speed travel.
"Are we going in the right direction, Tachi-tachi? We aren't running into lots of Hollows anymore."
"I could do with less Hollows," Yumichika cried, "right, Ikkaku?" His partner could only let out an unintelligible groan.
"We are." Itachi replied to Yachiru. Two pleading groans came from behind him which he paid little mind to. He had given Zaraki's subordinates supplementary healing which was why they hadn't bled out and could still move. It stabilized them a moderate amount but not to the point that they could jump back into fights with reckless charges.
His steps halted and carried him into a fluid backflip over Zaraki's blade and just as smoothly drew it out and parried the return slash while Yachiru let out merry squeals as the world spun in circles and colors.
"Argh great. The Captain finally caught up."
"Shut up, Yumichika. Your grumbling is distasteful."
"I resent that, Captain. No part of me is distasteful!"
Zaraki ignored the offended shrieks and launched himself at Itachi who sighed at the realization that he couldn't keep ignoring Zaraki forever.
"Do we have to do this right now?" He said to no one in particular but Zaraki nevertheless gave him the obvious answer.
"It's about damn time." The clang that followed blew out a huge gist of wind that swayed the trees around them. "Hop off his shoulders, Yachiru. I want to enjoy my fight."
"Aye aye Kenny."
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There were a few dozen settlements in each District of the Rukongai and the numbers only increased the deeper one went into the Rukongai.
Honestly he should be beside his ailing wife and giving her all the support and encouragement he could but she had begged him of this and he couldn't refuse it of her.
Hisana, his wife, frail and gentle, of all the years he'd known her he could count on one hand with finders to spare the number of times she'd personally asked him of something of her own desire. She once told him that his love was her greatest desire and she had no need for more.
In that moment he knew he would have given her everything and more if she so much as asked.
He loved her dearly.
The pressure he had gotten from his grandfather and father when he had married her had not been small. Even now some of the more bold vassal clans were making not-so subtle offers of marriage after they heard of his wife's rapidly declining health.
He burned them all without even breaking the seals.
His heart only knew Hisana and her soft grace. She had been the one to teach him the emotion that was unconditional love and he vowed in his heart that that emotion would be hers and only hers.
So now here he was, in the valley of the depths of the Rukongai, because his wife had asked it of him to look for her sister and help her correct her lifelong regret.
Rukia, her name was, and she shared a resemblance to Hisana. He was doubtful he'd find her soon, or even find her at all, but he was resolved to scrape through this District and the nearby ones for the girl. For his wife.
He knew finding the girl will greatly alleviate the burden on Hisana's mind and hopefully contribute to her recovery. It was a slim chance at hope and that was all Byakuya Kuchiki needed.
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