8 Rendezvous Before the Dawn

Contrasting what he had told Rukia, Ohta didn't actually need to procure her a place to stay. His past self had already negotiated with the landlady to have the rooms above and adjacent to his apartment leased, two to use as storage and the other to prevent people from living above him. Thus, in the wake of Ruki'a departure, Ohta pulled out a spare key and entered the apartment next door, relocating several duffle bags filled with money and supplies to the room on the opposite side of the building.

While it was true he worked many odd jobs, Ohta wasn't nearly as fiscally impaired as Tatsuki thought him to be. Many of the injuries she believed he sustained from fighting were from crushing local drug rings and Yakuza groups. Thus, while he lived fairly frugally, he had around ¥80,000,000 in non-sequential bills and a few hundred thousand in foreign currency and gold bullion. He also had a shipping container filled with confiscated guns down at the docks, but that was primarily because he thought it would be a waste to melt them down or toss them in the sea...

Roughly forty minutes after her departure, Rukia knocked on Ohta's door, the latter opening it to find the petite Shinigami standing outside with a pink, rabbit-themed gym bag.

"I'm starting to feel bad for Ichigo's sister..." remarked Ohta, earning a snort in response.

"Were you able to work something out with the landlady?" asked Rukia.

"Of course," replied Ohta. "When I presented her with the funds outright, she didn't even ask questions. The room next to mine also happened to be empty, so here, your key."

"Oh, that's convenient," remarked Rukia, accepting Ohta's explanation and the proferred key without question. She originally planned to use a device that could alter the memories of ordinary humans to mislead the landlady into believing she had the proper documentation, but the device only had so many uses. Six had been used to alter the memories of Ichigo's family in the wake of the previous Hollow attacks, so she was a little worried she would run out before returning to Soul Society.

Following Rukia into her apartment, Ohta asked, "Should we go shopping now, or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow? Most department stores are closed by now, but there are a few 24-hour stores we can visit."

Adopting a smile, Rukia replied, "That's very considerate of you. However, I should have everything I require for tonight and tomorrow. As such, let's postpone shopping until tomorrow afternoon."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta offered a dismissive, "If you say so," before baiting Rukia's response by attempting to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked the petite Shinigami. "Do you not still have questions for me?"

"I do," answered Ohta, subsequently musing, "But I'm honestly not fond of long discussions. I don't mind keeping you company, but it would save time if you wrote everything in a notebook. That way, I could reference it at a later date."

"I don't mind," replied Rukia, quickly clarifying, "Writing things down, that is. Relationships between Shinigami and humans are strictly prohibited by law."

"Oh? And in all your years as a Shinigami, you've never once violated these so-called laws?" asked Ohta. "For some reason, I seriously doubt that."

Furrowing her brows, Rukia wanted to protest, but her current plight was an egregious violation of several laws and statutes. If it were discovered she transferred her Shinigami powers to a human, it was conceivable that both she and Ichigo would be executed. The penalty for 'consorting' with a human was a simple ten-year ban on traveling to the Human World, so it was an infinitely lesser offense.

Crossing her arms in a closed-off posture and averting her eyes, Rukia responded with verbose silence.

Raising his hand in mock surrender, Ohta remarked, "Whoa, now. It was just a joke. Didn't mean to offend or upset you."

Shaking her head, Rukia softly assured, "You didn't...I just have a lot going on right now, and your comment reminded me of a personal matter. Still, I would appreciate it if you abstained from such remarks in the future..."

"Fair enough," replied Ohta, lowering his hands as he added, "Then I'll go ahead and leave you to your devices. If anything comes up, just pound on the wall."

Though she looked like she had more to say, Rukia didn't thwart Ohta's second attempt to leave. Instead, she waited for him to depart before sitting on her bed and exhaling a profoundly exasperated sigh. She had been doing her best to ignore it, but Ohta's teasing reminded her of how serious her predicament was. If she couldn't regain her powers before her month-long assignment concluded, Soul Society would invariably send a team to capture her, likely killing anyone that stood in their way. She could delay them using the excuse she was conducting an investigation, but, as a Lieutenant, she could only be away from her Division for so long...

Burying her face into her hands, Rukia, albeit only for a fleeting moment, regretted sending Ohta away. She knew little about him, but with a literal deadline approaching, being alone made her anxious...

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*tok tok tok tok*

Opening his eyes before the second knock could reverberate through his room, Ohta briefly gazed at his alarm clock to find it was 2:19 AM. Instead of lamenting the disruption, however, he immediately parted with his bed, making his way over to the front door and opening it to find Rukia wearing his winter coat over a pair of pajama bottoms.

Holding up her cell phone, Rukia explained, "A Hollow is scheduled to appear near the riverbank at 2:30 AM, plus or minus ten minutes. How soon can you be ready?"

"Thirty seconds," replied Ohta, retreating to the interior of his room to retrieve a hoodie, a baseball cap, and a facemask. He had the habit of sleeping fully clothed after having one of his safehouses set ablaze in the middle of winter, so it didn't even take the full thirty seconds to return, earning a surprised, "You're an extremely prepared person, aren't you?" from Rukia.

"It's better than being caught unawares," replied Ohta. "Now, how are we getting to the riverbank? Can you run in that form?"

"I can," replied Rukia. "But I'm too slow to reach the riverbank in time. I'll need you to carry me."

Raising his brows, Ohta asked, "Like...a princess carry? Or should I throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes?"

Furrowing her brows, Rukia asserted, "I'll ride on your back. Turn around and get on your knees."

"Tempting, but no thanks," replied Ohta, surprising Rukia by placing his hand on her head. Less than a second later, a tri-colored aura that was invisible to the naked eye surrounded her body.

"What do you think you're doing!?' exclaimed Rukia, batting away Ohta's hand before taking a step back and adopting a defensive posture.

"I'm not fond of having to protect people," replied Ohta. "So I transferred some of my power to you. I won't go into the specifics, but you should be able to fly so long as you can form a proper image."

Demonstrating his point, Ohta abruptly leaped into the sky, hands in the front pocket of his hoodie as he looked down at Rukia from above. To his immense surprise, she immediately followed after him, a curious look on her face as she asked, "You can transfer your power to others? How long does it last...?"

"As long as I want it to," replied Ohta. "Though it does tend to fade after an hour if I don't willfully sustain it. Just do me a favor and stay out of the way, okay? I gave you that power to prevent you from being a liability, not so you could show off."

"Yeah, whatever..." replied Rukia, making a show of rolling her eyes before taking the initiative to speed off in the direction of the riverbank. Ohta had no trouble catching up to her, but it was clear at a glance that Rukia had a fair amount of experience with flying. Her method was different from his, involving condensing energy at the base of her feet and using it to propel herself forward like riding a platform, but it was efficient.

"Are Shinigami usually able to fly?" asked Ohta, keeping pace with Rukia despite flying backward. Curiously enough, even though there was a lot of wind whipping past them, communication wasn't affected—one of the many peculiarities of existing in a cartoon world.

Instead of immediately responding to Ohta's question, Rukia descended from the sky, touching down near the riverbank's edge. It was only when he touched down next to her that she responded, "It's a technique called Geppo(Moon Walk), typically used by high-ranking Shinigami. It involves gathering spirit particles at the base of the feet to create a platform, so it isn't true flight..."

Turning to look up at Ohta, Rukia added, "More importantly...your power is incredibly versatile. It functions similarly to Spirit Energy, but the feeling is completely different. It's a lot more responsive, requiring almost no actual control..."

"Neat," replied Ohta. "But I've had this power pretty much my entire life. I don't exactly need others to tell me how it's used."

Shaking her head, Rukia asserted, "That wasn't my intention. I was going to say that if you received proper training, you could potentially learn the movement and combat techniques of Shinigami. Your physical form would constrain you, but they could prove useful in a pinch."

Recalling how Rukia had moved faster than his eyes could follow during their first encounter, Ohta didn't hesitate to respond, "Sounds interesting. When we get some time, teach them to me."

Adopting a sly grin, Rukia teased, "You want me to teach you Shinigami techniques when you won't even explain your power to me?"

"..."

Resisting the urge to point out he could yeet her into space if he wanted to, Ohta responded, "You already agreed to tell me about Shinigami. Are their techniques not a part of what makes them special?"

"Perhaps," replied Rukia. "But there's a difference between telling you what we're capable of and teaching you our methods. Generally speaking, prospective Shinigami would need to attend the Shin'o Academy for three years before learning proper techniques."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta mused, "Then I guess I'll just have to wait until I die before learning them. That is, assuming I don't create my own. I'm pretty astute when I want to be."

Exhaling a faint chuckle, Rukia replied, "I don't doubt that. Just try not to flaunt your power in front of other Shinigami. If it's determined you pose a threat to the existing balance, you could become a target for elimination. I know you-"

Interrupting Rukia's warning, several figures crashed into the river's bank, kicking up dust clouds or creating large plumes of water. From within, several animastic Hollows emerged, but before they could even unleash their characteristic screams, their bodies converged to a point in the sky, compacting against one another as Ohta flexed his fingers and made a grasping gesture with his right hand.

"Go ahead and finish your sentence," mused Ohta. "I'm curious to hear the rest."

Seeing five Hollows being crushed to a pulp without being able to resist, Rukia found herself at a momentary loss for words. None of the five were particularly strong, but their numbers would have proven an issue for the average, unseated Shinigami. Even Ichigo might have struggled against them if he were surrounded, so seeing Ohta handle them with a wave of his hand was awe-inducing...

Instead of awaiting Rukia's response, Ohta finished the Hollows with the ease of squeezing a stress ball, casually remarking, "Well, that takes care of that. Any other Hollows scheduled to appear?"

"Uh..."

Pulling out her cell phone, Rukia quickly skimmed through her messages before responding, "Not in the area I'm meant to patrol..."

"Then we have two options," remarked Ohta. "We can head back and get some rest or patrol until sunrise. Your choice."

"You're willing to patrol even though there are no Hollows scheduled to appear?" asked Rukia.

"I never knew when they would appear in the past," contended Ohta, adding, "And I doubt your cell phone is completely accurate if you were caught off guard while stalking Ichigo and his family. Since we're already out and about, we may as well do our due diligence."

Though her brows furrowed when Ohta accused her of stalking Ichigo and his family, Rukia summarily regained her smile and replied, "Sure. I'd also like to familiarize myself with your power, so shall we circle the city a few times?"

"Try not to lag behind," teased Ohta, taking off into the sky the moment he was finished speaking. Rukia did her utmost to catch up and overtake him, but unless he allowed it, she had absolutely no chance of surpassing him using his own power...

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(A/N: I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, spleeeendid~)