Giovanni had parted ways with Kenny around district 64. something wasnt sitting well with him and luckily he knew someone who could set the record straight. well knew might not be the best term since he had only met the woman once but she made a lasting impression on him and that is what mattered at this point. He could feel her and considering she met him in the center of the town she could probably sense him too. She seemed surprised by his physical appearance but didnt say a word about it.
"why have you returned?" She asked him bluntly
"just trying to tie up a few loose ends, was hoping you could assist me?"
"Why would i help a Shinigami,"
"...you mean whats in it for you?"
"precisely" she folded her hands across her chest, slightly flexing her spiritual pressure in challenge.
""what do you want?"
"well for one i want to know how the children are."
"They all made it safe, passed the entrance exam. your little speed demon made it in to the advanced class but declined it to stay with the rest of em. anything else?"
The news seemed to calm the woman as her shoulders relaxed slightly. "yes, as a matter of fact there is. you came from the North correct? Do you recall passing a momument made of small stones?"
Giovanni nodded.
"thats where we are going?"
"we?"
"yes we."
And without much else spoken they departed, 6 districts north to 70. Amongst the wooded terrain stood a monument of stones. She explained to him that the stones represented the number of souls that would go missing in the night hours. the souls that people cared enough to look for anyway. Many suspected a Hollow was involved, some presumed it was simply other souls kidnapping and selling them. there was never any sign of a struggle, no blood, no bones no ash...nothing. and naturally the shinigami never investigated it. By this time it was dusk, so they began to prepare.
"you never did tell me your name" Gio pointed out even though he knew it was intentionally omitted.
"your absolutely right?" was her response.
"okaaay since your intent on playing ms. mystery while we are about to handle some unknown unknown hows about a hint as to what you can do." Gio suggested Carfully noting that she was unarmed.
"I can do anything you can do. we had similar training, you've guessed as much already im sure"
"squad 10?"
"how did you know?"
"the mystery comment made you smirk" Gio pointed out, noting his powers of observation.
"so why did you leave?"
"found out I could something better." She explained but was Cut short when both of them sensed something. it was a hollow, airborn and moving fast. Both of them moved beneath a tree and looked up as a black object streaked across the night sky. The Woman reached into her hair, pulling out a hair pin “whisper, towa” the hair pin, that was now clearly a zanpakuto transformed into a dagger.
Giovanni reached for and drew his sword as well, and together they waited for the beast to come back.
And when it did they Shunpo’d in front of it and would have cut its wings off if it didn’t knock them out the night sky with a sonic blast. Their landing was far from graceful, Gio crashed into the ground, the woman got mangled up in one of the trees. They barely had enough time to get up before it was back attacking them. They managed to get out the way and set up for the next attack. The pattern wasn’t too hard to figure out but it was no surprise that people went missing. This thing probably just scooped them up and kept flying at its high speed.
The hollow landed in the tree above them and screeched, the shockwave was so powerful that he carried a concussive force that slammed against both of them. The woman regained her balance before Gio and thus she attacked first. The Daggers short range meant she had to get real close to it, but since they were fighting a bat like hollow that might not have been a bad thing. if they could ground it they could take the advantage. Gio followed the woman’s lead, He kept his kido simple and quick. “hado one, Sho” the focused concussive blast was aimed at the branch the beast was perched on, it shattered, causing the hollow to spread its wings. The woman tore into its left wing with her dagger ripping the flesh used for flight causing both of them to fall to the ground. The Hollow wasted no time trying to devour her but the 3 Shakaho to the face from Giovanni was more than enough of a distraction for her to get away.
“pay very close attention kid….Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado 63 Raikoho!!" A yellow blast of energy completely obliterated the hollow. Giovanni had to admit, he was impressed. He also added that kido to his list of ‘must learns’
“so now that that’s dead and done… will you help me?” Gio asked as he sheathed his sword.
“I suppose so. “
“What can you tell me about a man known as Sayuri?”
“I can tell you a lot actually. Have you ever heard of a group called the Sect?”
“Nope never heard of it.”
“Yea I didn’t think so. Have you noticed the alarming number of shinigami that quit the gotei 13 and go AWOL?”
“that I have noticed”
“Long story short the Sect is why.” She began to explain “With the decline of the seirietei and the death of far too many captains many felt that central 46 as well as the gotei were ineffective. So they formed a group in secret, made up of members of every squad and unit. People of like minds and common causes. In the shadows their numbers grew and even reached into the academy. They still have a hold on the academy truthfully But all at once… they left. As dessenters they were branded traitors dispite never transgressing against the inhabitants of the soul society. The only place they would be safe is the outer districts where shinigami barely venture. They operate occasionally as our defenders, at least that was the way it was in the beginning. They understood the way things worked out here and made a name for themselves among the darker shadows. They weren’t thieves or bandits, they did the job they were trained to do, hunt and kill hollows and maintain balance… but naturally their sense of justice was eventually skewed, and again they were the cause of a lot of contention. Sayuri is one of the of the newer recruits, dropping out of the academy to join basically after obtaining an Asuachi. Being from the zaraki district he had already had a name for himself as a Sect prospect, and it was always his goal. But Carnage surrounded his life, not just because of his background but his personality. He was..well is a psychopathical maniac. If your looking for him its because he drew too much attention to himself. The Sect won’t get in your way of taking him out, they are sick of him anyway. He utilizes the 'authority' of membership as a means to antagonize any and everyone that wronged him in his youth. revenge for personal reasons is not something condoned by them. They have a code, he didnt follow it... his ass is on his own now and probably doesnt even know it.”
Giovanni listened patiently “well actually we got him already. Seems he had a rival growing up that was assigned to the mission alongside me. I just don’t like missions that are sending me into the dark. Only warning we got was that he was dangerous. “
“that’s because your not a high ranking officer, information about the Sect is for members of Liutenants and captain class only. “
“do the kids no about all this?”
“not explicitly but they know to steer clear of them. “
Giovanni just nodded “well thank you for your help. I get the feeling this isn’t the last I’ll be seeing you. Something is going on in the soul society and you seem to know a lot about it.” The woman simply shrugged and Shunpo’d away. leaving Giovanni alone in the dark. It was obvious that she was affiliated with this Sect but he would keep it to himself. With that he made his way back to the soul society, stopping to put his normal shihakusho back on and his sword at his side. He could only assume that Kenny made it back to the seireitei with the package. He went to the squad 7 barrack in search of him so they could report their mission together.
