Two Souls, One Story

Chapter 15

"Izuru and Rukia have been really close..." Momo sighed to Renji. In the far distance, the aforementioned pair were excitedly chatting away. "They keep going to the World of the Living... how does Izuru even have the free time to do that?" Says the girl with a diligent captain who does his own paperwork.

Renji nodded with a frown. His long-time crush hanging out with a good friend of his really stung a nerve. "I wonder what it is they do all the time there..." He deeply frowned with a hum.

"Oh! Maybe we should follow them! I can ask my captain for permission for us!" Momo suggested, slamming her hands on the table they were sharing. She frowned for only a moment. "We'll need disguises too. Otherwise, they'll notice."

Although he felt a little guilty at the idea, Renji let out a sigh. "Yeah, we should follow them and find out where they're going." He said, crossing his arms and nodding his head, like he was the one that came up with the plan.

"Okay, I'll go ask Captain Aizen! They go this Saturday. Don't tell them!" Momo sprung to her feet and ran off to find her beloved captain.

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Momo pouted at her disguised gigai. She looked like a middle school student, with a white top and navy skirt and collar. Her hair turned into a shoulder-length dark brown with a distinct birthmark on her arm.

She looked up at Renji who... by all intents and purposes, could pass as her dad...

Renji looked over at his reflection in a store window as they walked, his hair was short, cropped, and a dark brown, and his eyes seemed to be this hazel color. He looked nothing like his actual self, a mole under the right side of his lip. Straight brows and a prominent jawline. He didn't like it. He missed his actual reflection. He sighed and looked down at Momo who was still pouting. "You ready?" Even his voice was different. It was far deeper, sounding gruff.

"Yep!" Momo paused. Her voice barely changed at all, just a slightly higher pitch. "I think I heard Izuru say something about stationary restocking on his way to the gates!"

The pair headed off. Briefly spotting Rukia and Izuru enter both a bakery and a stationary store with fluidity like they do this every time they visit. Both leave the bakery with cream puffs in their mouths. Izuru was carrying a delicately wrapped box along with a criminally overstuffed shopping bag..

Honestly, their only stroke of luck they didn't immediately lose the pair was because Izuru towered over the average human. He was average height for the Seireitei, but in the human world, he was a giant. Not to mention he did nothing to hide his blond hair. In a sea of black and brown, yellow stuck out.

But... somehow, someway, they lost the pair at some point.

"Where could they have gone?" Renji muttered, frowning as he looked around. His usual height would have come in handy but he was barely taller than the average person in this damned gigai. It felt cramped and uncomfortable but in reality, he knew that was all in his head.

Momo wasn't faring any better. "Um, a few weeks back, Izuru said he and Rukia babysat for kids in a park. Maybe they went there?" She bounded over to a random older woman, who was more than happy to tell the cute schoolgirl where the nearest park was.

When they reached the park, they heard it: Children... screaming?

Momo ran ahead, fearing a Hollow had appeared. With Renji hot on her tail, she was about to pop a soul candy to fight when the pair hit a screeching stop.

Because the scream was coming from a little girl Izuru just threw into the air!

Renji's brain seemed to screech to a halt, trying to figure out how and why Izuru was launching a child straight into the air... and why it seemed as though the child was enjoying it.