6 Equivalent Exchange

After staring at Ohta for several seconds, the raven-haired girl answered, "I am Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia of the Thirteen Court Guardian Squads. Now, tell me, you're the one that appeared the other night, right? The one who took down a Hollow in a single blow?"

"And if I am?" asked Ohta, maintaining a smile as psychic energy began to exude from his body.

Seemingly oblivious to Ohta's threat, Rukia caught him a little off guard by abruptly bowing her head and responding, "Then, please, help me protect this town. Just one month will do!"

"That depends on you," replied Ohta, earning a confused, "What do you mean?" from Rukia as she raised her head.

"Well, you can't expect me to work for free, now, can you?" asked Ohta. "I may lend a hand every now and then, but I'm ultimately just a high school student. Fighting monsters seems more like the schtick of these 'Thirteen Court Guardian Squads' you mentioned."

"Ah..."

Though she was tempted to lecture Ohta about benevolence and doing the right thing, Rukia knew it would be somewhat hypocritical of her as even the members of her organization got paid. Asking him to put his life on the line without compensation wasn't exactly reasonable...

Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, seemingly in deep thought, Rukia remarked, "I don't have any money. But I can promise that, when you die, glory awaits you in the afterlife..."

"And I'm meant to trust you on that?" asked Ohta. "For all I know, you'll throw me under the bus and skip town the first moment you get."

"I would do no such thing!" responded Rukia, staring up at Ohta with a serious, ostensibly offended look on her face.

"Maybe," admitted Ohta. "But have you ever met a conman who admitted to being a deceiver? I know nothing about you other than your name and affiliation with a mysterious organization. Also, even if you wouldn't betray me, there's a chance your superiors might see things differently. What will you do if they determine your promise holds no merit?"

Unable to respond to or refute Ohta's words, Rukia hung her head and remained silent for several seconds, only offering a faint "Please..." when the former turned to leave.

Staring back at Rukia over his shoulder, Ohta found her bowing a second time. Her blue and white spaghetti string dress made the position a little compromising, but she didn't really have anything to exhibit, even if Ohta snuck a peek.

Catching Rukia off guard, Ohta teased, "You're really bad a this. Don't you know that knowledge and information are as good as currency in high-stakes situations? If you agree to tell me what I wish to know, I don't mind helping you take care of those masked monsters. What did you call them again, Hollows?"

Raising her head, Rukia adopted an assured smile as she remarked, "You would truly lend me your assistance? I knew you were a noble soul...!"

"I have my moments," replied Ohta. "Also, my name is Ohta, Yamada Ohta. I'd say it's nice to meet you, Kuchiki-san, but my intuition tells me you're going to bring me a lot of problems."

Realizing that Ohta was teasing her, Rukia playfully retorted, "You're free to run away if you get scared."

("Cheeky...") thought Ohta, adopting an amused smile as he asked, "So, what now? I'm assuming you're the reason Ichigo was at the park, hitting pepper-filled balls like a madman. Don't you need to watch over him or something?"

"That idiot..." muttered Rukia, smacking her head as she revealed, "The pepper-filled balls are duds. He's 'supposed' to be hitting the ones with faces on them..."

Exhaling a tired sigh that belied her appearance and made her seem much older, Rukia looked up at Ohta and said, "It's a complicated story, but that boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, has inherited my powers as a Shinigami. He's agreed to take on my duties until my powers have returned, but I fear he may not be cut out for such a responsibility. He complains at every opportunity he gets..."

"Well, yeah," replied Ohta, leaving Rukia at a momentary loss for words as he asserted, "You're a Shinigami of the Thirteen Court Guardian Squads, or whatever you called them. I assume it's your duty, and you've received all kinds of training to help prepare you to fight against Hollows. Ichigo and I are ultimately just High School students. Expecting him to take your job as seriously as you do is unreasonable."

"..."

"Anyways, I'm going to take off," said Ohta, turning to leave as he added, "You should probably get back to Ichigo and actually pay attention to his training. I would also complain if the person who asked me to do their job read manga while I busted my ass..."

Blinking in surprise, Rukia opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to defend her actions but couldn't find the words to say. Instead, she called out to Ohta once he was about ten meters away, shouting, "I'll come and find you once Ichigo is finished for the day!"

"Knock yourself out," replied Ohta, raising his hand without turning to look back at the self-proclaimed Shinigami. He had quite a few questions for her, but he would rather not be caught discussing the supernatural in the middle of a public sidewalk on his only day off...*

Following Ohta's departure with her eyes, Rukia softly remarked, "What a strange human. I'm not sure if he's conscientious or simply enjoys putting people in their place..."

Shaking her head, Rukia decided to save her investigation into Ohta's nature and abilities until later. Now that he had pointed it out, she felt a little guilty about leaving Ichigo to his own devices. She wouldn't ignore her subordinates in the 13th Division, so she definitely shouldn't neglect the person who had agreed to take on her duties and responsibilities...

...

..

.

Though he wasn't sure when, or even if, Rukia would come to visit, Ohta took an afternoon nap, waking up around 7 PM and taking a cold shower to ensure he was fully awake. Fortunately, his efforts weren't for naught as, in the midst of drying his hair, a soft knocking emanated from his front door.

Slipping on a pair of track pants, Ohta elected to answer the door without a shirt, earning a wide-eyed stare from the much shorter Rukia, dressed in a white, blue-trimmed camisole with a sunflower on the chest, blue-jean shorts, and bunny-eared slippers.

"Why do all your outfits look like you stole them from a prepubescent girl's closet?" asked Ohta.

Though it was only for a brief moment, Rukia's left eye twitched as she deflected, asking, "Why are you shirtless?"

"I just got out of the shower," replied Ohta. "Besides, this is my home, and I'm perfectly secure. Now, do you wanna keep standing out in the cold, or do you want to come inside?"

Exhaling a sigh, Rukia made her way into the interior of Ohta's apartment, surprised by how clean and spartan it was. Other than a neatly made bed, a dresser, a simple wooden desk, a wooden chair, a rug, and the diorama Ohta had completed the previous day, there was nothing of note.

"This is where you live?" asked Rukia. "It looks more like a prison cell than a proper dwelling..."

"It's just a temporary residence until I finish High School," replied Ohta. "I hate having to relocate a bunch of stuff when I move, so I'll worry about furniture and decorations once I lease a proper house."

While responding to Rukia, Ohta moved over to his dresser, retrieving a black tank top. He doubted Rukia actually minded seeing him shirtless, as he was fairly athletic and muscular, but it would make conversing easier if she weren't distracted by his abs.

Noticing that Rukia was staring at him, Ohta adopted a teasing smile and asked, "Disappointed?"

"Hardly!" replied Rukia, crossing her arms and taking another look around the room before making her way over to the bed and taking a seat. She expected Ohta to sit a respectable distance away from her, but he made things simple by pulling out the wooden chair and staddling it backward, allowing him to rest his crossed arms on the backrest.

"Hardly doesn't mean no," teased Ohta. "No need to be ashamed. I know I look good."

"You're very arrogant," remarked Rukia, adding, "Also, I didn't come here to play games. Like you, I have many questions. Chief among them being, how were you able to defeat that Hollow? I didn't sense any Spirit Energy within your attack."

"And you call me arrogant?" asked Ohta. "You haven't even answered my questions, yet you're probing me for answers. I told you that information is a form of currency, so what makes you think I would reveal the details of my power all willy-nilly? It benefits me in no way."

"I see..." replied Rukia, furrowing her brows as she admitted, "There is certainly some truth to your words. But if we're going to work together, there should at least be 'some' trust between us..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta replied, "Then feel free to tell me one of your weaknesses. Something that would ruin you if it became known to others. Because that's basically what you're asking of me when you ask for an explanation of my power."

"..."

Taking advantage of Rukia's silence, Ohta added, "All that matters is that I'm capable of killing those monsters called Hollows. That's the reason you approached me, right?"

"Right..." replied Rukia. She felt compelled to learn more about Ohta's power, but the most important thing was that he was able to get the job done. Everything else was secondary, so she sat straighter, adopted a serious expression, and questioned, "Then tell me, Yamada Ohta, what knowledge do you seek in exchange for your services?"

"Nothing major," assured Ohta. "I mainly want to know about Shinigami, Hollows, and the Thirteen Court Guardian Squads you mentioned earlier. I'll likely have more questions after, but that's a good start."

"And how do I know you'll help me after I answer your questions?" asked Rukia. "You can't seem to trust me, so why should I trust you?"

"To set the example?" replied Ohta, adding, "You're the one that needs my help, so you kind of 'have' to trust me. Then, based on your actions, I may come to trust you. That's generally the way things work when you petition someone to fight and risk their life on your behalf."

Taken aback by Ohta's words, Rukia remained silent for several seconds before asking, "Are you really a high school student? Your nature is even worse than my supplier..."

"I'll take your word for it," replied Ohta. "Now, are you going to answer my questions, or did you come all this way for nothing?"

"I'll-"

Before Rukia could answer, a high-pitched alarm began to ring, emanating from the phone in her pocket. She casually pulled it out, but when she saw what was displayed, her eyes widened as she abruptly leaped toward Ohta, shouting, "Move...!"

Though Ohta moved out of the way just as a mask-wearing monster rose up from his chair, things didn't play out as Rukia had pictured them in her mind. She expected to tackle him to safety, but Ohta dodged back at the same speed as her leap, catching her out of the air and hugging her to his chest as he evaded the creature with ease.

"You're pretty light," remarked Ohta, holding Rukia with his left hand as he extended his right toward the red-skinned monster with messy black hair, a humanoid bone mask, and a snake-like lower body. It tried to charge at him with an open mouth, revealing a second, much smaller mouth within its abyssal black maw, but it didn't get far before a tri-colored aura spread across its body, freezing it in place.

"You were curious about my power, right?" asked Ohta, releasing Rukia from his hold as he said, "Then pay close attention..."

Punctuating his statement, Ohta began closing his hand, compressing the red-skinned monstrosity into a tiny ball. This time, however, he continued the process until the Hollow had vanished completely, sparing himself the possibility of spending the evening cleaning up blood and gore...

...

..

.

(A/N: *For those who don't know, public schools in Japan, particularly High Schools, had six-day weeks until April of 2002. They have since switched to a five-day system, but most students still go to school six days a week, typically spending their Saturdays reviewing what they had learned during the week or getting ahead at cram school.)

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