Change (Bleach Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

"Be careful, Nao." 

"Yeah, yeah, Onsoku." 

Onsoku shook his head. He couldn't say he was surprised. He'd known Nao a long time, and he knew her well enough to know her pig stubborn determination would usually block out any and all sentences that contained anything that sounded like advice.

Nao watched as Izuru shifted his feet, getting into a starting stance. She winked mischieviously at him. 

"Catch me if you can, Izu-chan." 

With a giggle, she was gone. Izuru blinked. He hadn't even had time to take a breath. It stung his pride, but he knew he had no chance of catching her. He gritted his teeth. This Nao's shunpo was easily at captain's level. And her zanpakuto...

There was something strange about it. Izuru couldn't put his finger on what it was. He thought for a few seconds. It was almost as if-

"And where's our guest, Kira?" 

Izuru turned slowly. "Well, sir, she escaped." 

"Did she now? And how's that?" 

"Her shunpo." 

"What about it?" 

"Well, it's at captain's level. Her name is Nao. She claimed to be ga aru saisoku. She didn't say what her reasons for invading the seireitei were, sir."  

 Rojuro frowned thoughtfully. 

"Alright. Go and find Captain Hirako for me. Tell him what we've learned, and ask him to meet me here in five minutes." 

Izuru raised an eyebrow. Was the intruder so much of a threat that they needed to alert the other captains? It was only one girl after all. She wasn't even a shinigami, and the only advantage she seemed to have over anyone in the seireitei was speed. 

He knew better than to question his captain's instructions, however, so he just nodded and went to carry out his orders. 

Rojuro watched Izuru disappear, and turned to glance up at the night sky as a gentle breeze started to blow. He couldn't help but wonder about this girl. What were her intentions? Was she a threat? He sighed thoughtfully. 

"I guess we won't know until we catch her," he murmured. 

"Talking to yourself, Rose?" 

"Not at all, Shinji. Just asking the stars for advice." 

"Sure you were." 

Shinji appeared beside him. Rose glanced sideways at his friend. "Did Izuru fill you in?" 

"Pretty much." 

"This Nao. Do you really reckon she's faster than all of the captains?" 

"We won't know until we find her."

"True."

A few moments later, Rose stretched, stifling a yawn. 

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, then."

With that, the two captains disappeared into the night.

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"Gaki. Do you realise what you've done?" 

"I know, Onsoku, I know. Quit going on about it." 

Onsoku shook his head. "You don't seem to realise how serious this is. We have two captains-"

"I said I know!"

Nao leant back against the cool stone, taking a moment to rest. They both knew how tired she was, and how much of a problem it was going to present in this particular game of cat and mouse. 

"Alright, Onsoku. Since you seem to be a world authority on escaping capture, what do you recommend we do now that, as you've so helpfully pointed out, we have two captains out searching for us?" 

Onsoku studied her carefully for a few seconds. Nao took a few steadying breaths in an attempt to stop her knees from giving out. 

"Focus on suppressing your spiritual pressure as much as you can. If they can't sense us, it's less likely they'll run us into a corner." 

Nao was too tired to argue. "Yeah." 

"Be extremely careful. Given the circumstances, they're going to approach us with caution, and if you take into account the fact that you seem small and delicate, it's highly unlikely they'll attack unless you do something to provoke them." 

"So basically-" 

"No smartass remarks." 

"Gotcha. Wait a - what do you, I seem small and delicate?!" 

Onsoku rolled his eyes. "Exactly that." 

"What the hell are you trying to get at?!" 

"It's good to see your pride's still intact, if nothing else." 

"You're asking for it, Onsoku. Don't push me!" 

"Baka. Will you please concentrate on keeping us out of a jail cell?" 

"Whatever." 

Nao slid down the wall into a sitting position. She shivered. It was freezing out here. It had turned out that being a runaway wasn't all the fun and games it had been made out to be. Sometimes, Nao wondered if she would ever regret this decision, but she always forced herself away from those thoughts. 

It was a waste of energy wondering about what might've happened if she'd stayed at the Mochizuki household . She knew focusing on the here and now should be her priority. Now, if only she- 

Nao tensed as two spiritual pressure stopped above their heads. Moving as silently as she could into a crouch, she glanced up at Onsoku, who gave a silent nod. 

"It seems our hosts have caught up with us." 

"Yeah. Should we make a run for it?" 

"No. They don't know we're here. Only run if it's the only option left." 

"You're the boss." 

They listened silently as the two captains conversed for several moments. Nao pressed her back against the wall, trying to tuck herself into the shadows. It was difficult to remain unseen with purple hair.

After a few minutes of tense silence, the spiritual pressure moved away. Nao didn't relax. After the incident with Izuru Kira earlier, she knew they could appear out of nowhere in the blink of an eye. She sensed Onsoku tensing, and turned to him. 

"What's the matter?" 

"I want you to release my shikai." 

"W-why?" 

"Baka. I told you to be on your guard, didn't I? Just do as I say for once, Nao." 

Nao sighed. "Alright, alright. Keep your hair on, I'm doing it." 

Glancing around to make sure no-one was watching, she drew Onsoku from his sheath. Taking a deep breath, she uttered her next words as quietly as she could get away with. 

"Hoeru*, Onsoku!" 

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Heehee. Cliffie! It's a short chapter, but I'm still getting int othe swing of this one. Hope you enjoyed! 

*Hoeru - Howl

Teddy :)