I Know Your Name [Closed, Reika]

Soul Society, land of peasants, land of nobles and land of the lazy. Bureaucrats were so consumed by their administrative duties that section A consumed section B, Warriors who were more interested in showing muscle, than defending what they held dear, Scientists so consumed by curiosity that their biggest interest was found on top of their pillow. Watari hated it. The Gotei Six was a tragic gag, a joke that never quite got the punchline and as the Head of the Suzumei crossed a bridge out of the Sixth Squad’s allocated area, he couldn’t help but think it wasn’t just him that had something missing.

In the distance, he saw Bezaliel standing by a door to one of the barracks. Watari had noticed his Zanpakuto spirit manifesting for him more and more, but the truth was Watari wasn’t ready to confront what Bezaliel wanted him to. He’d explained that and for a while his spirit had been content but now? Now, with Watari’s growing unease that something was missing and the Spirit’s growing desire to just get it over and done with. Watari found himself running more and more away from just about everything.

He was fortunate that the Cherry Blossom Grove near the Sixth Squad was quiet this time of day, it was mid morning and enough academy students and Shinigami were consumed with their duties that you could usually creep away and find solace amongst the pink petals. This was where Watari, surprisingly for once wearing his Shihakusho so that his status as nobility went unawares, lost himself amongst the trees.

To be forgotten.

To be not known as Watari Suzumei.

He knew the looks you see, always the same look “noble” it was always the assumption that he was more corrupt than the most corrupt. Why couldn’t Watari just be better than that? He had nobler ideas than most nobles and what he had done was right! But it turned out, even his closest confidants were as ignorant as the one’s he’d killed. In a way. Maybe he’d ultimately failed.

Watari stood underneath a central cherry tree. A cigarette in his hand, his thumb resting in a familiar position. To smoke was better. He’d beaten the addiction sure, but now that he’d contemplated on it . . . now that he could remember all that had happened? Was Yuki Kameko really enough to just stop him from going back.

“Watari” a familiar voice rasped.

A single flame flickered on his thumb.

Three days. It’s only been three days since Reika had started her journey into the world of the Gotei. Already it had felt like a lifetime of learning had been handed to her. The people and places all seemed so different from one another, it was rather dazzling. But even with that the sparkle and glimmer she saw, there was a seething undertone on unspoken lips and hushed undertones.

Nobility, the founding members of the Soul Society. It seemed that there was growing tension between themselves and the common folk they lord themselves over. This was never evident to the young shinigami until she graduated and walked among her fellow shinigami. They all couldn’t be bad though, right? The meeting between the minor nobleman, Zenji, went wonderfully. There wasn’t an airs about him that you’d hear about the others.

It doesn’t matter.

Reika had to focus on her task at hand. Today she was going to visit the Sixth Division - she even got directions this time. This was going to be her day!

No more would she get lost. No more would she knock herself unconscious. Hurried steps padded on the walls of the Seireitei as Reika got closer to the large compound that dominated the surrounding landscape. The young shinigami leaped and bounded from building to wall, even clearing the gap where they were building a new bridge that an old classmate, Bill, called ‘thicc’. More like he’s thick in the head.

“One last jump.” She muttered to herself as she bound into the air. Things never go to plan though - Reika careened through the air, passing her soft landing point in the grass. A shrill scream of terror left the young woman as she crashed into the upper reaches of the central cherry tree, sending leaves and branches through the air as she plummeted to the ground, hitting an unknown person who stood below.

“O-ow.” Reika said meekly as she rubbed her head, pushing a small twig deeper into the mess that was her hair now. With everything that was going on, she barely noticed the poor soul that she landed on. "AH! I'm so sorry!" She said feeling ashamed of herself as she quickly moved off him and scrambled to her feet, offering her hand as rosey embarrassment showed on her face.

It was extinguished.

Quite abruptly actually as a red blur collided into him snuffing out the flame and sending him and the cigarette sprawling to the ground. What? Somebody was? Somebody was all over him? In fact if it hadn’t been so sudden Watari’s shinigami senses might have given him time to respond, but they didn’t and he was more dumbfounded by the fact somebody had practically fallen out of the tree and collided with him.

“Ah?” Watari watched her clamber off of him and practically fall over again as she got to her feet. She was just a faceless Shinigami with red hair who apparently had fallen into him? How? Watari wasn’t quite so certain, people usually weren’t this uncoordinated. Was she an academy student? No, she wore the traditional uniform. Who was she?

“Why?” the man could manage to ask as he too collected himself but rather than rising simply adjusted himself into a sitting position and looked up at her. Why in the Soul King’s damned name had she fallen from that tree?

“A ladder? Did you use a ladder?”

The confusion on the unknown man’s face was more than evident as he seemed to struggle to put the chain of events that suddenly happened together. It was all a rather embarrassing turn of events that had quite literally landed her here. It certainly didn’t help her when he asked if she used a ladder to get up in the tree!

Reika crouched down before the man and covered her face with her hands as she tried to think of something to say. The truth was far too embarrassing to admit, but anything else would definitely sound too far fetched to say. After all, where in the world would this magical ladder have disappeared?

Come on! Think of something!

Nothing came. She was just crouched before him, hands over her face in awkward silence as the voices of other members of the sixth division carried through the air. In her heart, Reika knew she could just be crouched there until he left and she certainly could meld into the ground.

“I jumped and landed in the tree…” She murmured through her hands in complete embarrassment.

The young woman sighed, dropping her hands onto her knees, her eyes looking away from him. “I’m so sorry… and completely embarrassed. As you can tell by my total awkwardness in this situation.” Yes, she wanted nothing more than to scream and run away from this, but couldn’t. She had to face this fear if she was going to improve herself.

“You jumped and landed in the tree?” Watari looked up at the tree and opened his mouth, then closed it again. Even for a Shinigami, that was a high jump, who casually leapt that high and landed in the tree only to mess it up so spectacularly they came tumbling down? Apparently this woman here because here she was, obviously dying from embarrassment and wanting to dig herself a very deep hole in the ground, maybe even foster a new tree.

Watari slowly stood up and offered her a hand, what else was he meant to do? The girl had just fallen out of a tree for Soul King’s sake. Surprisingly she wasn’t injured outside of the clearly severely bruised ego.This was somebody who had no idea who he was, in fact he doubted that nearby sixth squad members had any idea who he was. Maybe he could try something, maybe for once he didn’t have to hide behind his nobility and mock expectations of how he should act. Maybe, he could try actually being better?

“The name’s Bill, don’t be embarrassed, I’m sure everyone falls out of a tree once in their life” he said with a friendly smile . . .Bill? That was an old nickname he’d abandoned sometime in his teens, but he liked it. He would keep using it, who knew maybe it would stick. But there were more important questions to ask.

“So no ladders?”

Apparently this man was more than gobsmacked after her admission to completely failing at landing on her target in the grass. She could feel the heat of embarrassment on her cheeks as he repeated what she had said. It felt like someone was rubbing salt into a fresh wound. What little pride she had could never recover from this.

Hopefully, I’ll never see him again.

And of course, he had to offer her kindness by holding out his hand. Gently taking it, she rose, still not looking him in the eyes.

Yet again he had to rub it in about falling out of a tree! This, this Bill! By the Soul King, were all Bills like this? She wanted nothing more than to shove a handful of leaves into his mouth and get as far away from here as possible. “More than that…” She muttered. Wait… Reika’s eyes went wide as her own mouth had betrayed her. No. No. She didn’t say it loud enough. He couldn’t have heard.

“H-hi! I’m Reika!” She blurted out, trying to cover up what she had said. “No! No! No ladders!” Reika shook her head, waving her arms before her as if to push the mere mention of what had happened away. “Just too much oomph in my last jump.”

Reika finally looked Bill in the eyes and gave him a meek smile. “I got a little excited that I found the sixth division without getting lost. I gotta see if I can find someone to show me around.” She pointed to the tree next to them. “So like this tree, I’m gonna leaf this awkward situation!” She flashed a big grin before quickly turning to leave.

“I don’t get it, a tree has leaves but it doesn’t leaf? It just . . . you know. . .  autumns? What’s the word for leaves falling from a tree? Anyway, I’m glad you are feeling more cherry about this whole thing” Really, no ladders? What a shame. He was really looking forward to meeting a Shinigami whose kido conjured a really big ladder, maybe he should ask Hatayama? Surely he had a Kido that could reach those hard to reach places. The more he thought about it the more the idea reaffirmed in his head, Hatayama would definitely have a ladder kido in his inventory.

“Oh, I’m also in the sixth squad, that’s why I’m here! I have a sixth sense about these things you know. Comes with the whole attitude for delivering justice and seeking the truth in all things” Watari explained, did he actually want to give a tour to somebody looking at whether they wanted to join the squad or not? The sixth squad wasn’t likely to be a great place in a short while if any of his plans came to fruition, in fact it probably wouldn’t be a great place for anybody that didn’t have the name Watari Suzumei, until he became Captain of course. Maybe he could start replacing seats with his own men .  . maybe this could start with Reika.

“Just Reika? No kicker? I mean, I guess I don’t have a last name myself, but I’m really used to introductions like “Hi, I’m Connie Venientecksposition” it really makes the whole introduction process telegraphed here, you know?” it was also because his noble sensibilities were screaming at him that if she didn’t have a last name then what was he meant to formally talk to her with? Reika-san? What sort of imbecile used honorifics in that way. Exactly, the sort of person that introduced themselves as Bill.

“Anyway, welcome to the Sixth Squad Sakura Garden, I’m Bill, I probably won’t opt to be your tour guide unless you really want me to” Watari noted that building this new personality of ‘Bill’ was going to take a lot of work, particularly because he seemed like an asshole. But, wasn’t that in typical Watari fashion? Some things never changed

Now Reika is somewhat of a patient person, but when that man, Bill, just didn’t get the horrible pun that she had said before she turned to leave, it dug in deep. ‘Autumns’ and ‘cherry’, it was enough to cause her to stop in place and grind her teeth as it mentally pained her.

HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO MENTALLY DENSE!?

The young shinigami stopped in her tracks as the real kicker was spoken. This special little fellow was a member of the sixth. “Great.” Reika murmured as her head slumped over. Here was the easiest ticket to getting a tour of the place, but at the cost of her sanity if he kept talking the way he was. Was it really worth it to submit to this torture, especially after falling out of the tree on this man?

She turned around to ‘Connie’ and gave a small sigh. “Yes, Connie von Billenstein, I don’t have a surname like most people here. I was born out in the districts. I didn’t take on a surname in my patchwork family.” She gave a little shrug. “That should be a problem.” It never seemed to be one to her. What was in a name other than familial ties and social rankings in the Gotei?

“I’ll go ahead and take you up on your offer for a tour… and with any hope, you’ll get better on understanding puns along the way. Or, just don’t talk about trees and ladders.” She gave a small nod. “Yeah, I like that idea better.” She gestured forward. “Lead the way Connie.”

“Huh? No, I’m good. Just going to sit down under this tree and maybe have a nap, don’t really make a habit of giving tours to run-of-the-mill last-name-less red heads” Watari said with a shrug and sat down at the base of the tree while he looked up at her. She needed to really want him too and the Shinigami wasn’t really interested in spending his day showing her around. Not if she had the coordination to somehow jump really high and hit a tree.

“Speaking of Miss Patchwork, you really ruined my calm and tranquil meditation in the sunlight. So if you could just take a few steps to the right, I’d be able to catch it again” he raised his hand and gestured for her to move. Least she could do was give him some sunlight before he succumbed to smoking again. So rude, why couldn’t people just let other people succumb to their vices in peace? Who was she anyway to get him to tour her around the place, a lackey?

“It’s not a problem by the way, just everybody and their aunt Glenda seems to have a last name and always shoves that formality down ya throat when you least expect it” Wow, this Bill guy really needed to stop removing societal expectations, it could really make a girl uncomfortable and the guy who was pretending to be him. Did he really think that way? Well he had wanted to abolish nobledom for a while and with nobledom came formality maybe that was why ‘Bill’ was so vastly removed from Watari, he was everything the nobleman wanted to be but couldn’t because of sensibility.

“So if you could make like a leaf and be tree, that’d do me nicely miss Reika” was he developing an accent? He was, the persona was making him adopt some sort of bizarre accent. This was quite enjoyable and very far removed from Watari now, he could always go back later . . . right now he just might enjoy this new facade, Bezaliel, Nobility and Yuki Kameko be damned.

You know what makes you really uncomfortable about all this though?

The most comfortable you’ve been is as somebody else.

Now, Reika was okay with being turned down usually. There was something about this, Bill or Connie… or buttface, that truly dug into her skin. His complete attitude from one extreme to another really ate away at her. Reika’s face turned beet red as she felt the ire rise in her. Watching as the man sat under the tree was the tipping point.

The rest of his rambling fell on deaf ears as she grabbed her sword, gripping it tightly as if to ring the life out of somebody. But when ‘Connie’ made that horrible pun, she had had enough.

“YOU BASTARD!” She yelled, drawing her blade in one fell movement, slicing through the tree as if it were paper.

Reika stood there, raging with blade drawn, right arm extended fully as the tree Bill sat beneath groaned under the new strain. The tree slides, a clear diagonal cut just above the man’s head. And with a mighty roar, fell to the ground, exposing the man to sunlight as Reika put away her blade and walked away from the man in hopes of finding someone who could actually help her out.

“It’s make like a tree and leaf, jerk.” She said in defiance.

“My my, you’re very angry Miss Reika” the tree rumbled and groaned as it slid and collapsed in a heap beside Watari. Well that was rude? Wasn’t this just established as being Bill’s favorite tree? What sort of person would just go and fell a favorite tree like that? Now how would Watari have actually reacted? Probably walked off. . . or drawn Bezaliel . . . or all matter of horrible things.

He could do it right now, she wasn’t very strong, Watari could just unsheathe his Zanpakuto and separate her head from her shoulders. He was sure the pretty little redhead of hers would have a delicious expression of shock as it stained the ground with her blood. But, that wasn’t Watari was it, this was Bill, what would Bill do in this situation?

“Arigato-gozaimasu Reika-chan, you have shown me true kindness this day” Bill said happily looking up at the sun as it’s rays warmed his face. What a nice girl she was! She thought so creatively as well. Bill himself, wouldn’t have thought about cutting the tree down to create more sun, but this Reika had.

The tip of his fingers would glow red for a moment and then he’d flick a simple Kido at her, the activation word glowing from the symbol that appeared in the air in front of him.

“Bakudō #9. Geki (撃, Strike)”

Better.

Be Better.

There was no time to react. There was nothing to be done. Reika felt the energy that Billy had released on herself. The pressure was immense, paralyzing. The red light surrounding the shinigami stopped her from moving. It was humiliating. All this because she fell a tree?

The nine hells take this man.

Reika grinned her teeth. He was far too powerful for her to escape his spiritual energy. All she could do was stand there, paralyzed by his might. So this is what it was like to face someone more powerful than yourself. Maybe he was a seated officer. It was hard to tell from her vantage point.

“You get what you deserve.” She managed to say through clenched teeth. “Now let me go and all will be forgiven.”

It was really all she had left to say to him. There was nothing more to be done - no creativity to be said as she stood before a more powerful opponent. She had better learn all she could from Zenji, or else it would all be for naught. “PLEASE!”

This was a bastard of a shinigami. She would have never imposed such a restriction on someone unless they had threatened her life. All she had done was cut down a tree because he had toyed with her in such a manner. It certainly wasn’t worth all of this.

You know, the good thing about Kido is it set up the victim for being struck down with a Zanpakuto. But Watari was really trying to do this better thing, he was trying to be a better guy! Killing people or striking them down wasn’t really what good people did, even if they looked like dominos and were ready to be pushed over.

“What do I deserve? Geez, Reika-chan, you need to make like an ice cube and chill - since you love puns so much” Bill sighed and waved his hand, the paralyzation kido broken in a moment. What was the point in keeping her there anyway? A pretty ornament in the way of his nice view?! That was all she was, something to keep the sunlight out of his eyes.

“You did say the P-word though, that would’ve taken you a lot and I appreciate that, how about we start from the beginning” Bill outstretched a hand as if to introduce himself with a handshake towards the redhead. He made sure to watch her though, that Zanpakuto sure was dangerous looking and Bill himself wouldn’t be stupid enough to be cut down by it. Geki was a fun kido however, he was sure he’d use it again as the future as Bill or Watari, he didn’t mind which.

“I mean what else am I going to do with you? Let you stand there all day until you’d learnt your lesson?”

Reika was more than cross with the man. She could feel the heat in her face as she was released from his kido and afford his hand in forgiveness for his transaction. But something in her really couldn’t forgive him.

She looked to his hand and then into his eyes. Without a word she raised her right hand and simply flicked his forehead. “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO MEAN TO ME!?” She burst. “I’M SORRY I FELL ON YOU! I’M SORRY ABOUT THE TREE! I JUST WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIVISIONS BEFORE I CHOOSE MY PLACE IN THIS DAMN SOCIETY!”

Reika fummed at the events that had happened. She fummed because of this man. She fummed because of how this society was. She fummed because she just wanted this to be simple. Ever since falling on Bill, things had been turned to eleven and she couldn’t take it anymore.

“I literally came here for a tour and since I literally fell into your lap, you’ve been nothing but trouble!” She scoffed, crossing her arms, looking away from the man. “Just make things simple before I report you to your superiors for doing such things to me."

Damn him! Damn him to the hollows!

Watari had to hold his tongue, he had to fight the urge to say “If I was being mean to you, you’d already be dead”. He squirmed where he sat, this was uncomfortable, he hadn’t done anything to her outside of stopping her in her tracks? Why was she being so emotive! Why was she so frustrated? Had Watari been wrong all this time, were people actually really just this simple to manipulate? There had to be more to it! There had to be more to her and also, why did she flick his head?

“You know, I haven’t done anything to you outside of stopping you from doing ridiculous things” Bill gestured towards the fallen tree which had been Reika’s own doing and smiled. “If I hadn’t stopped you, wouldn't I be like that tree?” if I hadn’t stopped you, you’d be like that tree. He hadn’t met somebody so easily as short-fused and emotive as Reika ever, it didn’t even feel like he’d been particularly hateful towards her

“Simply put, I’ve been honest with you from the start. I have no interest in giving people a tour of the sixth because that wouldn’t be accurate of the sixth at all. Justice is cruel. There’s your tour. Really I should be reporting you to my superiors for ruining such a fine tree” at that he patted the stump, poor thing didn’t even know what sliced it. Reika had ruined a fine tree, possibly the best in the glade and all for what? To give him sunlight. You know in the end, maybe everybody had a little bit of noble in them, even Bill.

The young shinigami wanted a tour, just like he had said. She had really, really wanted a tour. She had been nice. She had been cool, calm, and collected despite him butchering such a simple pun. Yet there he was, acting all high and mighty in his own type of smugness. Who was this man to act in such a way?

Reika took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves that were screaming to attack an opponent who was clearly stronger than her. Who was this Bill to talk to her in such a way? It was so condescending and smug, it just rubbed her the wrong way.

I dislike you wish such a passion.

Good.

A voice seemed to echo in her mind. Something eerie and forbidden that it sent a shiver down her own spine.

What was that?

Justice was cruel, yes. It didn’t play on words. It was cold and cut - black and white. It was only muddled by the emotions of those that seemed to deliver ‘justice’. But there was no justice in this man’s words. It was only cruelty. Only his view. Reika couldn’t handle his affairs much longer without doing something irrational.

“Whatever you say, ‘Bill’.” She said coldly. It was venom on her tongue.

Were there more like him in the Gotei - most likely. It was a fact of life. But he wasn’t as cold as the nobility that were whispered on tongues. There was no point in continuing this interaction. It was far past the time to leave.

“Good day to you.” She said curtly, bowing to the man, hoping to leave him be for the final time.

“You know for somebody so angry maybe you should join the fifth squad. All of your actions are driven by violence anyway” Bill noted as he extracted a flask from his pocket and unscrewed the top, giving it a small sniff and then taking a swig. Whiskey, good stuff, just the right blend of woody textures distilled in a number of barrels before it was drinkable. Bill would tilt the flask in Reika’s direction as she began to walk away.

“Sixth Squad won’t want you, you’re too impulsive. There’s the maggots nest, the standard holding cells and this here Sakura Grove. Barracks are pretty standard across the board. There, saved you a trip you could’ve probably avoided considering the falsity of justice that is the Sixth Squad anyway” Bill or was it Watari? Called after her, hard to say. The opinions were blended. Was Bill really that jaded? Yes he was. Was Watari really that bitter about the sixth squad? Also yes, but that was fine, he was eyeing up taking it over soon, just had to get a few ducks in the row first.

Be better.

“Look, I’m sorry okay? I just don’t think the Sixth Squad suits anyone least of all somebody trying to find their place in the Gotei Six” Bill reluctantly called after her, that was the truth. Why would he want to mislead her? To be fair, she was too fiery for this type of life but Watari wasn’t one to judge considering he’d previously contemplated removing her head from her shoulders moments before.

“If you really want to see something, pick” Bill tilted his face up towards the sun.

Strike.

Another eerie chill went down Reika’s spine as that same ethereal voice spoke to her once again. Bill’s words cut deep like a sharpened blade at her ego. She wasn’t a violent person. This man, this shinigami seemed to drag it out of her, kicking and fighting the entire way. She didn’t like this person she became in a heated moment. It wasn’t in her character.

Give in.

Another chill struck deep. What was it?

No.

Yes.

Was this her zanpakuto’s spirit talking to her? No way. The reasoning was too chaotic for her. Bill had to be pushing her to her wits' end, letting the anger take over. Even as he apologized, something nagging pulled at her psyche.

Lies. He tells nothing but lies.

STOP!

Reika shook her head, trying to shake the hold on her that the voice seemed to hold on her. A battle seemed to pull herself into two different directions. What was this sudden bloodlust? The clenching of her teeth, the grip on the handle of her blade.

I’m in control.

But you want this.

“I’ll pick when I’m damn ready.” She said through clenched teeth. “People like you don’t help in situations like this. The unknown is scary. I have to know before I submit to authority.” It was true. Reika couldn’t be a part of a division that didn’t fit with her heart.

It’s illogical to lead with your heart.

I’ll lead with whatever I please.

Was this all truly black and white? Was this society cloaked in a shade of grey that view few even dared to acknowledge? Surely not. It had to be the rage that Bill brought out of her.

Open your eyes.

“Maybe you should pick a path suited for yourself, Bill. You’re a miserable lout in a place you don’t belong. Your own actions prove that in my short time with you.” Venom was on her tongue with each word. This man’s actions and words proved that what she said was true in her own eyes.

Expose him for what he truly is.

“Oooh, no, Reika, I’m quite content in the sun. You haven’t even taken a moment to let the breeze ruffle your hair or the sun warm your face. All you’ve done is mock my terrible puns, cut down my tree and ooh, start to lose control by the look on your face” You know what was scary, how close Bill and Watari were, the only difference was Watari made himself known whilst Bill? Bill just sorta let them stew in their anger until they snapped. But they were both the same person weren’t they, Yuki’s better wasn’t better morally. It was just better in the Shinigami sense, the violence sense.

What did she take from me that I care so much about this girl’s anger? The Head of the Suzumei before wouldn’t have cared - she was simply another face. But Bill? He wanted to understand why she was like this. Why was she so angry? Surely he hadn’t driven her this far into anger there must have been other reasons.

“Do you need to know? If you don’t want to submit to authority, don’t. Take your own path. Why do you need to have a Squad to define your life? A Kido user must go to third? A scientist to fourth? Bullshit, society wants you to do those things” Watari patted his Zanpakuto and watched her. Was she going to snap? Did he have to put her down like a dog? But that was Watari, Watari waited until Shinigami snapped and struck them down, what would Bill do? Was he going to be better? Maybe.

“You are right though, I’ve lost my way. I think I will find the person who did this to me and ask them about it”

STRIKE HIM DOWN!

NO! NO! NO! Get out of my head!

“I’ve been in the sun! I’ve let my hair down and have enjoyed my life. Everything was crystal clear until I came to the Gotei! You’ve all had your own morals and choices in the ranks of wolves in uniforms. Nobles and parasites seem to run amok with the normal shinigami in this rank and file order.”

Where was this all coming from suddenly? It’s only been a short time in the Gotei and yet this burning, biting feeling seemed to spew forth all because of him. Nobles and commoners, it didn’t matter. All she was trying to do was find herself in this crazy world and he was dragging her down into some self-measured depths she had never been in before.

“I’m taking my own path in this world and I sure as hell not going to let some asshat like you get in my way.” She was losing control of her own emotions as the voice that nagged at her seemed to take control. Her spiritual pressure was oozing from every pore on her body as the anger built within her.

Good. Release it.

“Now leave me the hell alone and let me make my own destiny in this damned Gotei!” Reiatsu poured over the area as she seethed at Bill. Fuck him and his fuck-all attitude. People like him made her sick. This change of attitude - this poison in her soul ate away at her with every second she stood before him. It was time to leave before she lost total control. Before everything she had worked for was lost in a moment of bitter anger.

“You’re doing it again. You're letting slip what’s in your head. You keep blaming me for getting in your way and yet all I’ve done is tell you to do what you want” Bill stood and dusted his shihakusho and took a final long deep swig of whiskey from his flask before screwing the top back onto it and stuffing it into his pocket. Alrighty then, he could get behind this. She needed purpose? He’d taught this dance before.

Bill untied his zanpakuto from his side sheathe and all and held it in his hand, he weighed up the girl with a personality as fiery as her hair and smiled at her. She was a child, a lamb among wolves, what a darling woman she was to run into him on this fine day where the sun warmed him just right. Bill really appreciated her.

“Tell me Reika of the no-last-name, of the fiery hair, the cherry tree feller, the girl without a ladder. Tell me. Why do you fight?” Bill asked as he began to spin his zanpakuto sheathe and all in one hand, whilst he patiently watched and waited for the girl in front of him to make her first move. She was a lot like Watari in a lot of ways, she saw the parasites and the nobles for what they were and yet in a lot of different ways she was completely blind to it all. He wondered who had set her on this patch of disillusionment, usually people weren’t this lost in the Gotei, what was even more confusing was her desire to tour the squads to make her decision.

Her spiritual pressure was deliciously angry, it betrayed her every action and every action after it. Like a canvas it told him a story and he could tell, so now he just wanted her to act. Was he really that inconspicuous that she couldn’t even stand up for herself? Maybe.

His words were getting in her head. Blaming him again - what did he mean? Bill was the reason for this, the rising of her ire. The sudden deep-seated hate that seemed to pour from every pore of her being. This was all him and the callous nature that he had him. It all started simple enough, the butchering of puns to questioning her logic. Maybe it was that nagging unknown voice that came out of nowhere. It didn’t matter. Emotion was in total control and anger was king.

What did she fight for? Was it family, was it the friends made along this path of life? Was it for some greater good or some grandiose idea?

No.

“I fight for myself.” There was no world beyond this moment. No trees. No invisible fucking ladders. Nothing. Just Bill and Reika. This man who had pushed her over the edge. This man who questioned her logic. This man who despite his logical repertoire spoke nothing but shortsighted venom.

Do it.

“And you’re in my way.” She said coldly, swinging her blade at the air before him, sending forth a spew of reiatsu, slicing through the air right toward him. This wasn’t right. Reika stood no chance against a stronger opponent. She had no right to do such a thing in this hierarchy known as the Gotei. But rage blinded all. Rage filled those cerulean eyes with nothing but hate as the voice of her zanpakuto carried through the fog of war.

Good. Give into your emotions. Prove your worth.

His eyes glinted.

KILL HER.

SLICE HER THROAT.

MAKE HER SCREAM.

But what would Bill do?
What would Watari do?

“Bezaliel, she actually has her own justice”

“I know, I’m surprised, usually the people we fight are as lost as you are”

Watari stirred from somewhere within Bill, this girl she was perfect wasn’t she? She wasn’t like Yuki Kameko who guarded her blade with her own moral compass, this girl was explosive, impulsive and the perfect warrior. She didn’t care about the society, she didn’t care about the Gotei 6! The consequences be damned, she had truly snapped. Beautiful.

The energy she unleashed from her blade was similar to the wave of force that Watari began teaching Meili and Yuki, it was a cold hard decisive purpose, her intent made manifest. A shockwave of hardened will that would snuff out any flame that got in its way. This girl wasn’t like another side of the coin, this girl was cut from the same metal as him, she understood!

Watari would’ve moved in that moment, cast Reika to the wind, her blood would run down his blade as he ran her through and watched that moment of realisation dawn on her face as she realised she’d been tricked. He would’ve savored it, those crushed hopes and dreams in those last few heartbeats of her pathetic existence.

But this wasn’t Watari.

Bill snapped his sheath from the blade and parried the wave of force with his own spiritual pressure, letting hers flow past him and tearing the ground around him. It was an impressive amount of physical force, regular Shinigami wouldn’t adjust this face to using Zanjutsu in such a way. This redhead had some kick to her after all.

“My, my Reika-chan” Bill clucked under his breath “I haven’t moved a step, you’ll have to try harder. Tell you what, I’ll give you a warning. Don’t die” Bill snapped his Zanpakuto forward and channeled his smothering spiritual pressure behind the strike generating a similar wave of force that shot forward at Reika like a bullet.

“Onibi (鬼火, Oni Fire)”

The hot fire in Reika suddenly turned cold as her attack was simply parried by Bill’s own spiritual pressure. This wasn’t right. He was far stronger than she was if he could easily deflect such an attack with his own spiritual pressure.

Don’t be a coward.

SHUT UP!

Reika didn’t have time to dodge as Bill spewed his cold words. Ill-prepared, all she could do was attempt to block his attack. Kido - an ill-fated art that the young shinigami could barely hold (at least in her mind), was all that she had left to use. Her left hand went forward as she channeled her spiritual energy to it.

“Enkosen, number 39!" Reika roared as a red oval-shaped energy shield appeared before her. It caught the blast, shattering in an instant, blunting the blow. It still struck her left shoulder, sending a small spare of blood into the air, casting her backward to the ground as she cried out in pain.

Reika’s body shook in pain, a bitter reminder that she wasn’t as strong as she thought. Her thoughts were a whirl as she focused those blue eyes on Bill - the enemy. He was strong. He was smug. He was everything that Reika hated in this world of the Gotei. Whatever happened to humility? Whatever happened to the common good? This wasn’t it. He was everything that she hated in this world and it was utterly disgusting.

Say it.

What the hell are you talking about!? Reika ground her teeth as she got to her feet.

Say my name. The words entered her mind with a cold chill through her core. He meant it, her spirit, a creature she didn’t have a chance to even bond with. Now in the heat of battle, he expects her to know.

Say. My. Name. It came to her like a whisper on her ear. A forlorn thought that was forgotten long ago. She knew.

“Boreas, howl!”

Reika’s spiritual suddenly swirled around her in a whirlwind, blocking her current position in a swirl of wind before dissipating, washing over the area, casting the treetops as if a light wind washed the area. She stood before Bill with a red ninjatō, her chest heaving in exertion. She found herself with a new power - something she never thought would happen.

Reika had finally been able to release her shikai under extreme duress. Untrained and under strain, the young shinigami eyed Bill with animalistic glee. This was her fight. This was going to be her win. All of this was going to change the status quo. She looked at her new weapon, able to see the swirling wind energy around it, and smiled.

“Hell have no fury.” She scolded as she charged at the man with renewed vigor, striking at Bill’s torse as a torrent of wind energy released from her blade. Reika was enraged. She had had enough of this man. This world of the Gotei was more than she could handle at the moment and this man had brought out all the frustration she had building within her.

“Don’t die.” She mocked as she attacked. All of this had led up to this moment. Reika had put all she could in this attack. Bill was going to pay the ultimate price for everything that had happened to this point. Nothing else mattered - it was Reika’s time to shine.

Oh what was this? Reika-chan had backbone? For somebody who was so relentlessly impulsive it was impressive to see her react with a kido of all things. Where had she learnt that? Watari had no idea, but to him she came off as a Zanjutsu specialist with how she waved her sword around so wantonly, so as she was knocked off her feet and sent sprawling, the Head of the Suzumei noticed a change come over the girl.

It was like her will to fight now circumvented anything else, the way the blood dripped off her in the light sent a small chill run down Watari’s back, a chill which Bill of course had to ignore lest he get caught up in that stupid battle fervor. Bill had of course when Reika stood raised an eyebrow as if her unleashing a Shikai was so far off the list he hadn’t really considered it.

Boy was she fast, her spiritual pressure collided with his own, the small amount he had to exert lest it let off that unfortunate sensation that usually sent people crying, Bill himself wishes he could change that but the buffer for this more aggressive - hurricane esque force was probably preferable.

Wind? Soul King’s Left Toe.

The blade glinted as she seemed to harness the winds themselves in her slash sending a rippling shockwave of razor sharp air snapping at the distance between them. Bill parried, the razor sharp gale splitting but slicing at his arm pulling back his sleeve and sending blood flecks flying as he deflected the rest of the breeze into the trees beside them.

The Sixth Squad Shinigami raised an arm and looked at the thin trickles of blood that ran down it, where was his battle fury? Watari seemed completely unphased that somebody had attacked him, was he having fun? He felt no malevolence towards the girl, her attempts at fury were entirely unfounded in his eyes, she was just another student that needed to be taught a lesson.

“Soul King’s Left Toe, Reika!” Bill exclaimed as he examined the razor cuts in his forearm “I didn’t realise you were full of so much hot air!” , her Zanpakuto’s tip was held in dead centre against the flat of the sealed Bezaliel. They were both locked in mortal embrace, he could almost smell her.

He’d then push against her blade and flip backwards with Shunpo, landing a distance away.

“Hachiman, divine protector, blood from my hands stain your holy ground” Bill began to whisper.