Special Delivery (DM)

Kuro exited a senkai gate in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. It was a place far from the Karakura town that he usually visited. It wasn't even in Japan. But since trails of finding Tatsuya had gone cold in Japan, and reports of him being sighted in other areas in the world had come in a couple of times, Kuro had decided to widen his search. And the country of America seemed a good place to start. Kuro exited the senkai gate, but he wasn't alone. Sumiko accompanied him, dressed in an onmitsukido outfit complete with mask to hide her identity if Kuro's actions drew attention from the wrong people. She stuck close to Kuro in this unfamiliar area, clutching a small wrapped bundle that she held under Kuro's orders.

Kuro looked around and picked out the face of a rocky canyon wall. This was a national park, and thus anything he did to it would likely be noticed by the country's media. What better way to get in touch with a person who you didn't know the location of? Kuro released his zanpakuto into its shikai and focused his power into his palm as his gauntlet compressed his energy. Holding his arm out, he fired at the cliff face and began to carve an image into the rock that would hopefully get Tatsuya's attention if he received word of it. When he was done, Kuro stepped back and admired his work. A large outline of a pasque flower, the insignia of the gotei 13's second division, was now depicted on the cliff. It wasn't the neatest work of art, but Kuro felt that he'd captured the image just fine. Now he just had to wait for people to find it.

It took a few days, but eventually a tour group noticed Kuro's picture on the rock and the news spread like wildfire from there. Members of the media showed up soon to report the defacing of the national park's cliff and inquire as to who could do such a thing. Kuro took the opportunity as they were filming his flower and stood in the air next to the cliff, allowing himself to be caught on camera unseen by the majority of viewers. But if Tatsuya were to see the video, he'd see Kuro and just maybe come to him. After the media left and the park became quiet again. Kuro and Sumiko just decided to wait it out and hope that their plan worked.

It had been quite some time since Tatsuya was "employed" by Zamoreus and he had assimilated well into the surroundings. Most of his time has been spent shadowing Zamoreus as he provided his services for protection in lieu housing. Tatsuya felt as though he had the better of the two as he was given almost complete access to the companies resources after he had received the make shift gigai he was now inhabiting. Though not up to the Gotei's standards, the gigai was passable, allowing for use of a shell, but nothing else not even kido. Luckily he could still sense spiritual pressure without difficulty, but it was tough to get out of it without soul candy. Zamoreus had even purchased an impressive array of clothing for Tatsuya, ranging from expensive suits for when he was with Zamoreus conducting business, to casual wear during off time. All Tatsuya could do was thank Zamoreus for his generosity.

Tatsuya walked into his room after having a good dinner. He had been eating far better than when he was alone, always scavenging for food. "Television, on" Tatsuya called out, activating the television by voice. It had taken a while but Tatsuya was getting used to the technology available, most of which could be voice activated. Tatsuya walked through his luxurious room while removing his clothes. He grabbed a towel and headed for the shower. The television was left on an all news channel with the volume left loud enough to hear inside the shower, maybe not clearly but Tatsuya would be able to hear bits and pieces. Tatsuya had grown fond of that channel. He was quite intrigued by the topics of the world. As he stepped into the warm shower he heard of a defacement of government property, a national park apparently.

"For those of you just tuning in, it was reported earlier today that Yellowstone National Park has been the victim of a terrible vandalism. Someone has apparently carved away at the cliff side behind us, putting up what experts are calling a picture of a pasque flower. Though what is baffling to park officials is that no one had seen who created the massive carving. Something that should have taken days to complete, was done with no eyewitnesses." Tatsuya could here bits and pieces of a male reporter giving details as he washed up.

Tatsuya only listened to the story, or at least the bits that he heard, not really thinking much. Passing it off as a simple vandalism. The story continued as he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. Tatsuya walked over to and sat down on the couch after wrapping the towel around himself. He sat there watching the television, letting the air dry what he had missed. The repor was fundamentally the same as the one while he was in the shower. Someone had defaced a national park without being caught. "Heh, that person should be in the second squad." Tatsuya commented out loud in amusement as he saw the "artwork" of the person responsible. Tatsuya got up and walked over to his dresser drawers to grab some comfortable attire, missing the brief image of a person floating in the air. After putting on some clothes he returned to the couch and picked up the television remote to look for something else to watch.

As he lifted the remote and pointed at the television, he was about to change it when he saw someone hovering in mid air in front of the camera. The person was hard to make out but apparently he was unseen by everyone else. With the report beginning to move on to other matters Tatsuya thought he had recognized the person. "NIAS." Tatsuya called out to Zamoreus' sentient computer. "Yes Sir" it politely responded. "Gather the footage from the Yellowstone news report and place it on the television." Tatsuya requested and waited for NIAS to do just that. Tatsuya looked carefully at the video and saw the person again. "There, freeze it." Tatsuya looked at the person hovering from the ground. The camera was focused on the reporter, blurring the hovering person who was close to the cliff. "NIAS focus in on the backround" Tatsuya waited for his request to be completed. "There, stop." Tatsuya looked at Captain Akarui hovering. "What is it you are looking for Mr. Okibi?" NIAS asked to try and help. "You can't see it, but there is someone there, and they just made an appointment with me." Tatsuya looked at the screen with determination.

"NIAS, have the jet on standby and prepare transport for me. I'm going to Yellowstone National Park." Tatsuya started to get ready for his trip, packing the appropriate attire. "Sir, the jet is currently waiting your arrival. Would you like me to arrange for lodging on your arrival?" NIAS advised as Tatsuya finished packing. "Thank you NIAS, that would be great." Tatsuya said as he began to walkout the door. A sports utility vehicle was standing by as Tatsuya stepped out of the building, apparently to accommodate his size. The ride to the private airstrip went by quickly and the jet was ready to be taxied to the runway as soon as he boarded. The plane trip couldn't be over fast enough as Tatsuya got closer to his destination. It was past midnight when the plane landed and transportation was waiting to take Tatsuya to the hotel NIAS had arranged for him to stay at. Tatsuya would have rather gone straight to the park, but he needed a place to keep his body safe first.

Checking into the hotel went by smoothly, apparently NIAS had booked the penthouse suite. Tatsuya was escorted to the private elevator by the bellhop who had also taken custody of his single suit case. The suite was just like his room, in the sense that it was big and luxurious, but Tatsuya was not here on pleasure. Tatsuya tipped the bellhop and asked that he not be disturbed for the duration of his stay unless he called down to the desk. The bellhop acknowledged and quickly left the suite. Tatsuya left his suit case by the door and went over to the bedroom where he began to get out of his gigai. Tatsuya had quite a bit of trouble doing so and fell over in the process. After getting out of the body, he tossed it on the bed and stepped out onto the balcony. Tatsuya didn't even look down as he leapt from the quite into the air. He began to jump through the air as he headed towards the park, putting a minute amount of spiritual pressure under his feet to keep from plummeting to the ground at each jump. It took a bit of time, but Tatsuya saw the cliff that the captain had defaced under the light full moon. He slowly began his decent, placing reiatsu at his feet as he jumped from "step to step" moving towards the ground. Once he reached the ground, he started to walk around the grounds looking for Captain Akarui. Though he was sure the captain had good intentions, Tatsuya drew his zanpakuto just in case someone might have followed. He didn't feel like walking into an ambush.

Kuro was getting bored. The media teams had left days before, but he was sure that the story was still being discussed on their programs. Kuro knew that he'd done all he could, but the waiting was starting to get to him. He spent a lot of the days dashing through the wilderness for training. He was tempted to train his physical fighting too, but knew better than that since it would undoubtedly cause additional harm to the land and draw attention back to him. Deciding to just bear with it, he continued his wait.

On the night Tatsuya arrived, Kuro was sitting on top of the cliff wall over the flower image. Sumiko was sleeping near the foot of the canyon, awaiting her turn to go on watch. As the moonlight streamed down and a light breeze whistled through the canyon, Kuro felt the light presence of a lowered reiatsu. Standing up, he scanned the area below and caught sight of an unmistakable large figure making its way slowly along. Kuro smiled and shunpoed down to the ground level to shake Sumiko awake. "Your boyfriend's finally here." he joked as he grinned with the satisfaction of accomplishing their goal. Sumiko slowly stirred from Kuro's efforts, but jumped up with an excited energy when she heard of Tatsuya's presence. The two of them quickly made their way towards his location and stood in plain sight in a rocky clearing. To make it even easier to find them, Kuro called out in a raised voice, "It's good to see you again Tatsuya. I hope you're doing alright here in the living world."

Tatsuya cautiously walked through the national park searching for Captain Akarui. His eyes scanning in all directions when he saw a figure appear in front of him. He stopped mid step upon seeing the figure as his heart almost skipped a beat when the figure spoke. Tatsuya let out a sigh of relief after hearing the voice, recognizing it as the captain. "I'm not sure I could be doing any better, Captain Akarui." Tatsuya quicklly and smoothly sheathed his zanpakuto. He then caught a glimpse of a lone omnitsukido member behind the captain. "And who might that be?" Tatsuya was a bit surprised that Captain Akarui had company, but he trusted him. Tatsuya watched as the omnitsukido member dropped something on the ground by the Captain and ran right towards him, removing their mask in the process.

"Sumiko!" Tatsuya ran forward a few steps and embraced her in a loving hug lifting her small form and doing a quick spin before placing her back on the ground, her small form only coming up to his abdomen. Sumiko looked up trying to fight back tears and a bit chocked up for words; both of them. Without warning Sumiko slapped Tatsuya across his face before she started crying. She wasn't sure why she did that, she was happy to see him, but at the same time she had other emotions mixing together. Perhaps it was the fact that he had unintentionally left her behind, she didn't know. Tatsuya just rubbed his cheek and after a brief moment, he smiled and reached out to Sumiko pulling her close and kissing her passionately. Sumiko was shocked at Tatsuya's action but quickly relaxed and returned his kiss, placing her hands behind his head and embracing him. After a moment of that Tatsuya reluctantly broke away knowing this wasn't just a reunion. "Now that is the kiss I should have had before my abrupt departure." Tatsuya gently rubbed the tears away from Sumiko's blushing face. "Captain. So what honor do I owe for this dangerous meeting." His attention turned back to Captain Akarui while Sumiko stayed close to him.

Kuro averted his gaze as the two had their swift reunion. He had expected such events to unfold when they found Tatsuya. It was part of the reason that he'd brought Sumiko with him. When Tatsuya returned his attention to him, Kuro's face grew more serious. He was glad to see his squad member alive and well, but had information that called for less joking and further planning. "We've come because we've managed to get a lead as to who is framing you for the murder of the elder. We don't have any hard proof, but after intercepting and interrogating a squad member who was taking orders from him, we believe the culprit to be none other than Raiden. We thought that we should let you know, though I guess with no proof the whole thing may seem incredibly pointless and risky."

Kuro allowed Tatsuya to take in the news for a moment before bending over and picking up the bundle that Sumiko had dropped beside him. He lobbed it up at Tatsuya and continued the discussion. "Raiden is powerful, and carries a large influence with the onmitsukido and the Shihoin family. We'll need to be ready when the time comes to confront him. Until then, I want you to keep out of the grasp of his forces and keep Sumiko safe with you as well. Mika and I have worked with her this far, but it draws more attention for her to be with us constantly, and I don't know when Raiden may take action against us."

Kuro was increasingly upset with the fact that they had to be sneaky like this. Raiden was right there in Soul Society, the murderer of the elder walking free and in the open while Tatsuya was running for his life. The whole thing wasn't right. He took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Like he had said, they'd be ready when the time came. "Me and Mika will keep looking for proof, but it's unlikely that Raiden left anything behind. He even went as far to kill the guard we interrogated so that we wouldn't have a witness...all under the guise of an accident of course." Kuro stopped at this point and allowed Tatsuya to say anything that he wanted to add to the conversation and plans.

Tatsuya was expecting Captain Akarui's serious tone from the start, but was more than shocked when he heard that Raiden was the one behind it all. He quickly thought back to their last encounter when he could have killed him right then and there, but then remembered how easily he was defeated. He next had a million questions going through his mind. "What did he have to gain from framing me? From killing the Elder? Why would he even do something so vile? Why me?" Questions just flowed through his mind like rushing water down a waterfall. His mind focused back on the meeting when Captain Akarui tossed the bundle that Sumiko had dropped at him.

Tatsuya grabbed the package as it hit his chest, listening carefully to Captain as he unwrapped it. Inside it there were three books, none of which had a title. He had a puzzled look on his face, but rather then question the Captain about it, Tatsuya just wrapped them back up. Tatsuya looked back and forth at Sumiko and Captain Akarui in surprise when the captain advised that she would be staying with him in the Living World. Sumiko herself was just as surprised at the suggestion, thinking she would just be heading back to Soul Society after tonight. Tatsuya was satisfied to hear Captain Akarui and Mika would continue to investigate, and he wasn't surprised to hear that Raiden had murdered a guard. Why stop to think about killing someone of less importance when one has already killed one of the most important people in Soul Society.

"You don't have to tell me how strong Raiden is. He wasn't even using shikai and cracked two of my ribs all the while having one arm disabled." Tatsuya explained causing Sumiko to look up worriedly. "Tatsuya" She placed her hand on his ribs, checking to make sure they had healed properly. "I'm fine Sumiko, those ribs healed just fine." He gently grasped her hand. "Captain I want to keep Sumiko safe more than anyone else, and would love to have her with me, but I am also concerned about her standing in the Gotei." Tatsuya exclaimed about the captain wanting to keep Sumiko in the Living World. "If things don't go as planned, not that we really have a plan at the moment, her life will be in jeopardy just like mine." Tatsuya looked down at Sumiko with a worried expression.

"Tatsuya, I don't want to go back to Soul Society without you. I don't care about being in the Gotei 13. I just want to be with you." Sumiko spoke out before the captain. "Besides I am in more danger there then I am being with you." Tatsuya sighed defeat; she was right. If Raiden found out about Sumiko and what she meant to Tatsuya, it would be disastrous. "Alright...You win." Tatsuya caressed the side of her face. In truth he was happier having her nearby.

"Captain, what do we know about Raiden? Besides the obvious. Do we know anything about him, mainly his zanpakuto?" Tatsuya returned to the topic at hand.

Kuro tried to ease Tatsuya's worries about Sumiko's involvement in this mess before continuing the discussion on Raiden. "I can cover for her absence in the Seireitei by telling them that she's on a mission with one of our squad members. It should keep suspicion to a lower level for a while at least." He frowned as he returned to the Raiden subject. "I do know that Raiden comes from a higher bloodline than us commoners, and that he seems to take a pride in that. The guard we interrogated told us that Raiden thinks of us who come from the Rukongai as undeserving to serve in the Seireitei. He also said that Raiden was forming a plan to prevent any more Rukongai dwellers from rising in the ranks of the Gotei. That at least gives us an idea as to why he'd choose to frame you as the elder's murderer. Unfortunately, I have no intel on Raiden's abilities. I might be able to get some answers by sneaking into the records. He isn't a captain, but as the acting commander of the onmitsukido his zanpakuto should be recorded in their files. I'll see what I can do back in the Seireitei. I'll try and relay any information to you that I fin-..."

Kuro stopped mid-sentence as he felt the approach of multiple spiritual signatures. It seemed that their talk had to come to an end. "Sumiko, get your mask back on. Both of you start getting out of here. We're not alone. Try and evade as many of them as possible, and avoid killing if you can't escape unoticed. We don't want to give them cause to think worse of you." Kuro moved in the opposite direction that Tatsuya had come from and headed into a more forested area to hide in. He heard the sounds of rustling foilage as he made his way, but didn't see anyone yet. These were most likely onmitsukido members under Raiden's command. He continued to distance himself from the meeting spot and hoped that he could draw the onmitsukido's attention long enough for the other two to escape.

It did ease Tatsuya, if only a little, knowing that Sumiko would have a cover while she was with him. Tatsuya had an idea that Raiden was born a noble by the way he would interact with him, but it was confirmed when Captain Akarui brought it up. Tatsuya was angered by the fact that Raiden framed a murder for the stupid reason of being of lower class. It's because of people like him that others have difficulties trusting in the nobles. Not know of his true abilities was just as unnerving, Tatsuya needed to know what he would be up against should he ever get the chance for another battle with Raiden. But until Captain Akarui could get the information to him, he would just have to stay out of his way. That last time wasn't exactly pleasurable.

Tatsuya felt the approach of the omnitsukido just after Captain Akarui did. Sumiko did not waste a moment putting on the mask. Tatsuya felt they were still far enough away so he called out two things just loud enough for Captain Akarui to hear. "New York, Zamoreus Nebulous" He hoped that would be enough for the Captain to be able to rely future messages. Tatsuya picked up Sumiko without warning, giving her the package brought by the captain, and began running at full speed in the opposite direction of Captain Akarui. His steps were silent considering his size and the terrain as he ran. Tatsuya didn't hear any footsteps and thought they were all heading towards the captain's location. He was relieved that they were not coming after him, but at the same time worried for the captain. Sumiko silent and scared the whole time.

Kuro stopped running in a small clearing. It was funny that he always seemed to take his stand in those. The sides of the clearing slowly began to swarm with the arrival of ninja-clad soldiers, all seeming like they were waiting for something. Or looking for someone... Kuro thought to himself, grinning at the fact that his diversion seemed to have given Tatsuya the time to escape. His grin was removed as one of the onmitsukido stepped forward into the clearing and began to speak.

"Captain Akarui. We've come to back you up. Could you please tell us..." the speaker was interrupted by Kuro's sudden bursting of laughter.

"Shouldn't you replace the word "back" with "beat"? Don't try and give me the lies. I know that you think that I'm supporting Tatsuya Okibi. But the problem with that accusation is proof. Do you see Tatsuya-kun around anywhere? But then think...why would I support the man accused of murdering my friend? Is there perhaps more to this than meets the eye?"

"We're not here to indulge your word games sir." the apparent leader replied. "Commander Raiden specifically ordered us to-"

"Oh Raiden is it?" Kuro interrupted again. Raiden was really starting to get on his nerves. "Well I guess if you're following that man's instructions, then the only proper response is..." Kuro shunpoed forward and landed a punch in the speaker's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground doubled over in pain. A shocked gasp was heard echoing all around the clearing as Kuro glanced around at all of the other ninjas. "You seem to have forgotten what squad and family your loyalties lie with. You know, I've been meaning to take a look at how strong Raiden is keeping you all, and I've grown bored with my leisurely camping trip here. Ready or not my friends...here I come."

Kuro was not being like himself, but that was how limited his options were to keep attention away from Tatsuya and Sumiko while they escaped. It was also a good stress relief for the frustration that Raiden and his meddling was building in him. As Kuro attacked, the onmitsukido members regrouped and swarmed. He smirked as he turned into a blurring menace, hands and feet flying in all directions as his speed allowed him to match the entire force barehanded. When he was finished, the ground was strewn with sore bodies as the foes laid on the clearing floor in defeat. Kuro stood in the middle of them all, breathing slightly heavy as he gave them a little talk.

"I don't like what I had to do just now, but it was necessary to wake you all up. Raiden is not who you serve, it's the Shihoin clan and squad 2. The fact that you would attack a Captain with no proof to warrant such an act based solely on that man's orders is appalling. Return to the Seireitei now and think of what true loyalty is, and how it is earned."

Kuro opened a gate and watched as the others began to walk through. He offered help to those who had been less lucky with his attacks and stood by the gate after the last had gone. "Be safe Tatsuya. Raiden will pay for what he's done to you, the elder, and our squad. We'll make sure of that." Kuro stepped through the gate, leaving the world of the living behind.

Tatsuya was getting tired as he kept running, his footsteps getting heavy as fatigue was setting in. He was sure no one was following them, but he didn't want to stop for Sumiko's safety more so then his own. That is until he felt a sudden spike in Captain Akarui's reiatsu. Tatsuya stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards Captain Akarui's direction. Tatsuya could feel all the fighters in the group, but none even held a fraction of the power and skill that the captain had. It was true, and the fact that the battle only lasted mere moments with Captain Akarui's reiatsu highly distinguishable among the rest was solid proof. Tatsuya didn't know why there was a fight between the captain and the omnitsukido, and that made him worry about the captain even more so. Tatsuya was a bit relieved and let out a sigh as he felt all the others leave and then followed by the captain. But he still wondered how the captain would justify fighting against the omnitsukido.At that moment Tatsuya knew that if he managed to get through this ordeal, he would never be able to repay Captain Akarui for his actions.

"OWWWW!" Tatsuya cried out in pain as he felt something bite him inadvertently dropping Sumiko causing her to let out a little yelp as she fell on the ground. "What was that for?!" Tatsuya had a single tear falling down his cheek as he rubbed his arm. "What do you mean 'what was that for'?" Sumiko gave Tatsuya a stern look after standing up and dusting herself off. "I...uh..." Tatsuya cleared his throat as he tried to say something. "You were crushing me and were oblivious of it. A few more seconds and you would have had Sumiko flavored pudding on your arms." Sumiko had removed her mask quickly changed her expression to her usual innocent self to show Tatsuya she was fine. "I'm sorry." Tatsuya kissed her on her forehead, though still a bit lost in thought about the captain. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Sumiko tried to comfort Tatsuya. "I hope so." Tatsuya softly replied not hiding his worry.

Tatsuya took Sumiko's hand and began to walk through the park. Tatsuya would have rather used his reiatsu to quickly run through the forest to the hotel, but thought it would be best to keep a low profile. They both talked on there way to the hotel, well mostly it was Sumiko talking about what happened after Tatsuya was thought to be dead. Tatsuya found out the it was Arawn who shot junko and himself with that weird device. Sumiko wasn't too happy about that and not too pleased to see Arawn at anytime after that. Tatsuya just laughed and asked her that she forgive him, because it was because of him that he was able to escape. She reluctantly agreed. Tatsuya made a note in his mind to punch Arawn when this was all over and then give him a big hug for inadvertently saving his big ass. The walk to the hotel went by quicker then Tatsuya thought it would.

"What are we doing here?" Sumiko looked up at Tatsuya curiously. "Oh I got a room to stay in while I came to meet with you guys." Tatsuya didn't have a chance to mention his good fortune to this situation. "Tatsuya Okibi, don't tell me you broke into one of the rooms so you could stay in." Sumiko accused him halfheartedly, unsure if he would actually do something like that so he could survive without money. "No no no. The room has already been paid for, for as long as I'm staying which wont be much longer." Tatsuya got to the express elevator to his suite and swiped the key card. he was lucky he decided to keep the card, and it was funny looking at the staff wonder at why the elevator opened by itself. Sumiko was curious as to why the elevator had no floor number buttons. when the doors opened her eyes went wide with amazement. "Tatsuya...How are you managing to stay here?" She slowly walked through the suite before turning to Tatsuya. Tatsuya began to explain his good fortune which complete surprised Sumiko. After Sumiko's initial surprise she accepted Tatsuya's explanation. "Well if it's alright with you, I'm dying for a hot bath." Sumiko began to walk towards the bathroom before waiting for an answer. "Help yourself." Tatsuya laughed and called out before the door closed.

Tatsuya took that time to call for some room service to deliver some food. Sumiko walked out into the suite wearing one of the hotel robes as she finished drying her hair. "Mmm, what smells good?" Sumiko caught a whiff of the food Tatsuya had ordered. "I got chicken cordon bleu with seasoned rice and broccoli and a new york strip steak with mashed potatoes and steamed vegatables. So which one do you want?" Tatsuya uncovered both meals, revealing that they both looked delicious. "I'll take the chicken one, it sounds yummy." Sumiko delightfully chose. The night went on with them reminiscing and catching up. They talked all through the night and didn't go to bed until late that day almost in the evening. Tatsuya was the happiest he had been in a very long time as he slept with Sumiko wraped in his arms. After waking up they both got ready and headed towards the private plane, where they began their journey back to New York City.