The Knight and The Strawberry

chapter 10

The sun was beginning to set as Ichigo strode out of the dense tree line surrounding the town that was his current destination. He wore a tattered dark brown cloak, which at this point only fully covered his right side leaving his left arm and stomach visible. Under this he wore a black shihakusho with the sleeves removed. His legs were covered by black hakama and on his feet were simple leather boots. All of his gear was dirty and showed signs of wear and tear. He rubbed his face and felt the rough stubble that had begun to grow over his month of travel. He'd need to shave once he got to the inn he pondered as he started towards the gates of the small settlement.

It had been 35 days since he had left Magnolia and he had only stopped when absolutely necessary. He often slept on the road. He felt weeks of dirt and grime clinging to him. "Alright, first order of business, shower, shave, hot meal." He grumbled to himself, a habit he had picked up during his extended solitude. "Then I'll get to this portal business." He pushed his messy bangs out of his face and trudged on.

As he got closer he couldn't help but notice the lack of sound coming from the city. Sure it was getting close to sunset, but surely there would still be people out and about. Things were eerily quiet.

'Maybe there's something going on.' He thought.

By the time he was within sight of the gates, he was certain that something was off. His eyes landed on a guard sitting in a chair next to the open wooden doors. The man was slumped over slightly and appeared to be asleep. Ichigo picked up his pace and trotted over to him.

"Hey man, is this Ohdum?" Ichigo asked but received no response. He nudged the side of the man's boot with his foot. "Hey did you hear me?"

As he shifted the man's body to wake him, he was shocked when the man fell forward out of his chair and onto the ground. He lay there motionless and Ichigo dropped down to one knee next to him.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Ichigo rolled the man's body over and let out a muffled groan at what he saw. The guard's skin was pale white. His eyes were open, but there was no life in them. Ichigo placed his fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse but found none. He was dead. He cursed and looked away in a moment of silence for the dead man.

Turning back he began to search the body for any injuries or cause of death but nothing obvious popped out to him. The man had no wounds that he could see and though he was pale, he didn't look as if he had been suffering from any life threatening illnesses. What had caused him to pass away?

Ichigo peered through the gates into the empty streets. Something wasn't right. He couldn't shake the feeling. Looking back down, he stood leaving the body where it lay. Normally he would have taken the man into the town to try and find out what happened or at least notify someone, but given the situation he turned into the streets.

As he walked further into the town he began to see signs of life. Stalls had their items on display, and the various stores had their doors open for business. Occasionally he would see untouched meals sitting outside of restaurants.

Where had everyone gone so suddenly? It was like they simply vanished. He had never heard of such a thing happening.

"I've got to find someone who knows what happened." Ichigo spoke aloud. Even if this put a major hindrance on his search for answers about the portal he had to find out why an entire city's population seemed to have vanished. Closing his eyes, and opening up his mind, he let his senses spread out feeling for any energy that might belong to someone alive.

After several minutes of not picking up anything, a tiny spark brushed up against his senses. It was weak, but it was something. He opened his eyes and focused in on where he had felt the energy coming from. He raced off in the direction.