All around him stood tall buildings erected with an even blend of both bricks and timber.
The walls were rigid, possessing a firm structure. In architecture, each resembled those of ancient England.
His eyes turned towards the ground.
Layers of carved stone travelled through it, forming roads suitable for both the walking citizens, as well as busy carriages.
However, the clamorous rustles of horse drawn wheels were submerged under the thundering shouts of merchants, desperate for sales.
"Welcome to the market district." Gami opened her arms, introducing him to the civilized nation buried in the realm of spirits and beasts.
Looking to his left, Kagero sighted a skeleton that vended sun glasses he claimed possessed the ability to see through deception.
Given the fact that the shouting skeleton had no eyes in his sockets. Not only was his— appearance ironic to his product.
But Kagero wondered if by buying the product, one would be able to see through the very scam they had purchased.
He switched his gaze to his right.
There, a ghostly pig-like animal was chopping a strange glowing substance. Its emerald eyes locked onto his craft.
"Oink, get your MYSTERY MEAT here your, MYSTERY MEAT! The finest in Shinigamigakure! Oink"
Just looking at that one made Kagero nauseous.
And these were just the tip of the iceberg, to the magnanimous levels of weirdness that roamed those streets.
"It really is— something else." Kagero scratched the side of his head, absorbing the bizarre sight before him.
He had expected the city to look even crazier than the forest. However, aside from the otherworldly creatures roaming about, everything seemed normal.
"Come on." She leaned in closer to Kagero, before grabbing his arm with a short skip ahead. "Let me show you around."
She took him for a stroll across the relatively busy streets, leaving them visible to the greedy eyes of the salesmen.
"You see, Shinigakure is all about understanding others' intentions even before they speak." She lectured, dragging him behind her.
"Gami, come get some fresh fruits will ya."
A giant-sized figure with pale skin and a single lengthy horn called out to Gami, displaying his fruit section.
"It'll keep the Saints away." The creature insisted, finally getting the lady's attention.
She tossed a silver coin towards the coercive merchant, driving him to swiftly snatch it, then throw a blood-red fruit towards her with a satisfied grin.
"Get some for your skinny friend next time will ya!"
'Skinny?'
Kagero watched his physique with disdain screaming through his eyes.
She caught it, taking a deep bite from the bizarre fruit, all the while not even making eye contact with the salesman.
'Okay, that was kinda cool—'
Kagero tried to give her her props, but his face fell on seeing the streams of the blood-like fluid that slid past her mouth.
It was almost like she was chugging down a human heart!
"Why're you staring at me that way?" Whilst walking, Gami pushed her face close to his, then slowly wiped the bloody liquid from her lips.
"Do you want some?"
"No!" Kagero exclaimed, before calming himself down. "Tha—nks for the offer but." He watched her tear through the fleshy fruit once more.
"I'm actually good."
"Besides." He thought up an excuse. "We don't have the luxury of time for sight seeing."
Kagero took cautious stares around him before whispering in her ear.
"Your jutsu might run out any time now right?"
Gami commended him for his brilliance, waving at some bystanders that greeted her as she walked.
And by some, that meant a plethora.
It was almost like she was the most popular person in those lands.
"You're right, that's why we're going to a place that'll tell us how to get to the Shinigami King."
Kagero's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"He's the Lord of this world." She let out a weary sigh.
"A bum in your human tongue." She insulted while pouting.
"And he's also the only one who can bring you back home."
Kagero's mind shuddered slightly at his new found information. His ticket back to Konoha rested on some tyrannical King of the Shinigamies.
Were they really certain that they would find him? And if so, was it a surety that he would kindly oblige?
"Ack." Kagero jolted, feeling the lady land a gentle chop on his head.
"You really do love to overthink things don't you? She questioned with an intrigued smile, before hastily following up her words.
"So where do you think we'll be heading to for this information?"
Kagero arranged his straw hat atop his head. He watched the lady with confusion, but decided to just leave that topic until after he was in the clear from wilting into dust.
"Hmmmm?" Kagero shut his eyes in thought, causing Gami to add a few hints.
"It's a place with wine as its customs, and merry making as its ordinances."
"Ohh, the tavern?" Kagero immediately answered like a student responding in class.
"That's right. Here's half a blood fruit as your prize." She pushed the taboo towards Kagero's mouth, causing him to stagger in alert.
"Hey, I said I didn't want any—"
THUD!
Kagero bumped into what felt like a brick wall. And that caused his motion to halt.
"What the." He lifted up his head to verify what he had slammed into, but when his eyes caught what stood before him.
He was completely shaken in stupefaction as a towering behemoth of a man-shaped entity stood before him.
"Heya there, watch where you're heading, you darn Shogun!"
The figure had three horns around his head, his lengthy ebony black hair only covering the back of his head, and leaving the rest bare.
Kagero could feel it, it wasn't just from the golden arm guards, nor the guy's spiky shin guards that tipped Kagero off.
It was the energy seeping through the giant.
Kagero could tell that this was no ordinary ghoul.
He was a Shinigami!
"Ahh excuse my clumsiness." Kagero placed his arms together in a bid to look as polite as he could be. Just the words coming out of his mouth made him want to puke.
"You can take your apologies to hell for all I care!" The giant howled, staring bullets at Kagero.
"You see, my name's Big Buster." His deep voice thundered through the marketplace.
"And Big Buster's got a problem with ya, little Shogun. Wanna know why?"
"WRONG!"
The Giant interrupted Kagero before he even uttered a single word of response.
"You've gone and almost stepped on Big Buster's premium Kicks! I got these off Shinigamimart!" He pointed towards the beat down wooden straps he employed as footwear.
"So how's you gonna pay Big Buster back is what I wanna hear."
'This guy— is an idiot.'
Kagero thought with a false smile, watching in pure disbelief at the condemned splinters that adorned the troublemaker's feet.
However, he couldn't afford to draw too much attention to himself, so he had to swallow his pride and make his most respectful face yet.
Just like when the boss lady was always mad at him.
After all, Kagero was a master at dealing with wild animals in the form of people. So a raging Shinigami would be no different.
Adjusting his clothes, Kagero gave Gami a reassuring thumbs up before turning his attention back to the giant.
'This is how you handle a heated situation.'
He then proceeded to twist his face in such a way that even a demon wouldn't help but feel relaxed under his gentle smile.
"Ohh, well I'm extremely sorry about tha.."
"I SAID YOU CAN TAKE YOUR SORRY AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR—"
The giant completely ignored his kindness, yelling insults at the top of his lungs before he paused, stroking his chin and observing Kagero for a few seconds.
"Come to think of it. I haven't ever seen ya around these parts."
'He completely threw my niceness in the mud!'
Kagero's mind froze in stupefaction. But after a clean mental slap, he juggled his mind back to the more pressing matter at hand.
'Darn! He's unto me already?'
Kagero immediately felt as though the world was sunk in darkness, and the giant employed the sun as a spotlight directed only towards him.
'That meat head is catching on!'
"Well.."
"He's from another district." Gami interrupted their convo, grabbing onto Kagero's arm.
"Ohh Gami." The Giant's face immediately blushed red, as though the beauty had flipped on a character switch on the crazed beast.
However, this was not some Princess fairytale.
"I didn't see ya ther.."
"We'll be going now." Gami immediately cut through his words, wrapping her arms inside Kagero's elbow to drag him away from the scene.
However before Kagero left, he made sure to have just a bit of payback.
"Hmph, fat dunce." Kagero mumbled, leaving the giant to read his lips.
Now in the distance, he then stuck his tongue out at the Shinigami, mocking Gami's disregard for him whilst she dragged him away.
"D-D-D-Damn that Shogun!" The giant rammed his fist into the pavement, unearthing layers of merged stone.
"I'm gonna make him pay." Buster's eyes instantly narrowed as though noticing a faint abnormality.
Right as Kagero and Gami were so far that they were just about blurring out of his vision, the giant noticed something within Kagero's skin.
A peachy spot that antagonized his otherwise ghostly skin tone.
And just then, Buster's face misconstrued into a wicked grin. His face revolted enough to make even a demon scream.
"Could he be a fleshy human?" The millennia old Shinigami noted the slight details with swift accuracy.
"Well then— ain't this an interesting development?"