A Dangerous Foe; Chihiro's Investigation

It had been a day like any other, with Chihiro enjoying one of her rare days off from the Maggot's Nest, when she overheard the news. Apparently, one of the new recruits within the Second Division had found himself in the offense of a super elitist Nobleman who had decreed his death. As a result, despite the fact that the newly inaugurated Tina Almenor as Captain Commander had refused to allow her Shinigami forces to be used in such a malicious and barbaric way, had not yet been made privy, and was used to the old ways, and therefore he had ran as far as his legs would take him, all the way to the far edges of Rukongai District.

The rumors that Chihiro had heard ended there, with the apparently missing Shinigami having disappeared into Rukongai. Unfortunately, while the Zaraki District had its own infamy and rumors, the outermost district of any direction were just as bad in their own ways. Unfortunately, the Zaraki District (which happened to be to the North) was the worst of the worst, with most stories that involve the Zaraki District usually end in death or worse. It was dominated by gang territories and self-made kings who had their own established territories only truly understood by the inhabitants of the Zaraki District.

What confused Chihiro was why anyone lived there. If it was so bad, why didn't they just move out? She couldn't understand what drove people to stay in what is colloquially described as a god-awful place that no one should want to live in. It seemed to have a reputation as being horrible in every conceivable fashion, as a wretched scum of hive and villainy. Why, then, would citizens of the District stay there and not move out? While always an idle daydream of hers, she'd never truly intended to find out the answer.

Unfortunately, the Rumors about the currently missing Shinigami seemed to indicate that he had ran north. So far, she had talked with several people from each District she passed, and all the stories that she'd received seemed to corroborate. She questioned the likelihood of her situation, as if the missing Shinigami weren't a member of Second Division then this wouldn't even be her business.... but as the Lieutenant of the Second Division, even if she preferred the confinement of the Maggot's Nest, Chihiro was responsible for investigating the reports of the missing Shinigami. So far that had brought her to District 78 of Northern Rukongai, almost at the Zaraki District.

The missing Shinigami was so new to the Division and had graduated so recently that Chihiro, despite being Lieutenant, had no idea what his name was, and could only barely picture him in her mind. He looked like an average Shinigami, wearing nothing that made him stand out in a crowd like some others, and had long black hair that he wore in a samurai topknot. She did, however, distinctly remember his jarring laugh when he won at gambling, as they had attempted to celebrate a time or two. Regardless, she didn't know what his name was, and therefore didn't know what to even call out in an attempt to find him.

Eventually, she found her way to the very edges of the Zaraki District. For the very first time, she wondered if she had been right. The woman brushed her long bright blue hair out of her face and behind her ears. She sat on the ground just outside of the Zaraki District, and pondered long and hard about whether or not it was correct to not bring her Zanpakutou with her. Technically speaking, she could use the destructive power of her Zanpakutou here, because it would easily render most of the Zaraki District unconscious just by releasing the Shikai. However, doing so drained a lot of energy from Chihiro, way more than it had any right draining, and it was an incredibly unwieldy form for Chihiro. Every time it was released, the weapon's form changed and just so happened to "accidentally" be the worst possible form for the situation at hand. She'd get a spear in very tight corridors, a dagger against an armored knight, or a single pair of nunchucks when faced with a shield. No matter where she tried to use it, the weapon never seemed to provide a useful effect, so she disregarded it at a young age and focused entirely on her Hakuda.

Eventually she learned her Shikai anyway due to training, and realized how powerful it was, but due to it's extremely limited combat capabilities and how much energy it drained from Chihiro just to activate, she never put much training into it. Regardless, here she was, at the edge of the Zaraki District, no Zanpakutou in sight. She had left it in her room like usual, gathering dust; it had been several months since she'd last touched it anyway. She didn't even know what abilities her Shikai had, as activating it usually drained more energy than she even had left, or left her with so little she couldn't effectively use it in combat. Which meant that it was probably a bad idea to rely on it knocking out everyone in the Zaraki District, as it would leave her crippled and exposed as well.

Sighing softly, she patted her knee and stood up, wiping off the dirt and marching onwards, into the Zaraki District, looking for her missing Shinigami from the Second Division. It wasn't long before she was getting dirty looks, and she wasn't entirely sure she wasn't already getting them when she had been sitting down previously. All she had to go on was the missing Shinigami, and the reports and rumors that he'd continued running from the Nobleman, and had eventually found his way to the Zaraki District. Which meant that she had essentially no information in regards to what he did when he got here, or where he's been for the past week.

"Hey, you. Looking for a criminal." She spoke to a random passerby who had stopped when she went to speak to him.

"Shouldn't be hard around here." His voice was rough and imposing, intentionally trying to sound bigger than he was. Chihiro had dealt with many like him in the Maggot's Nest, most far more skilled fighters than he likely was. She had no interest in proving her strength amongst a bunch of Civilians, and was far more interested in finding the whereabouts of that Shinigami she didn't know the name of.

"Good one," she let out a hearty chuckle before continuing, "...but I'm looking for a Shinigami Criminal." She let the man process it for a moment before continuing once more. "Supposedly, around a week or so ago, a Shinigami seemed to come through this area, while being on the run for a scheduled execution as per Noble decree." She shrugged, intentionally leaving out the part where the Gotei wasn't going to actually execute him for now, as he probably hadn't shared that information either and it would be easier to get information if her story corroborated the rumors.

"Ay... that sounds familiar.... then again, maybes nots... It'll costs you." He spoke in that same intimidating tone, clearly unperturbed by Chihiro's attempts to sound official and authoritative. "50,000 Kan. Fork it over and I'll talk like I know who you are. Else I don't remember nothin' and you best move on." He crossed his arms, clearly waiting for her response.

Chihiro pulled out her wallet, genuinely unsure of how much she had left. After she pulled it all out and counted it, she realized that payday was in fact tomorrow, and she only had 35,000 left. Despite the fact that, as a Lieutenant, she was currently receiving 700,000 Kan a month, she had ran the coffers a little dry this month by paying for too many rounds of drinks and gambling poorly. She offered it to the man who stroked his chin.

"Are you even a real Shinigami?" He asked, noticing that Chihiro didn't carry a Zanpakutou, but then decided that 35,000 was enough and reached over, taking the money and counting it as he spoke. "Not my business I guess. Anyway, he called himself "Stan the Man"; he was an arrogant sonovabitch, constantly waved his authority for all to see, and used to lord the fact that he was a Shinigami over us. Rumor mill has it that Stan entered the "wrong area", and disappeared about three days ago."

Chihiro went to ask for more information, but the man shot her a glance that she understood to mean that more information would cost her more money, and she clearly didn't have any more to give. Therefore she was useless to him, and he began to walk away after having made his point. Chihiro was left with more questions than answers, standing in the middle of the street of the Zaraki District. She decided to open her senses, and see if she could find the Shinigami from here with her own spiritual sensing.

It wouldn’t take long to find a probable cause for Chihiro’s missing Shinigami, it’d be hard to miss the odd static feel of a reasonably powerful being. It was unlike the spiritual pressure most beings might be able to express, volatile and fluctuating wildly as it grew closer. Should she follow this presence, Chihiro would come across the likely suspect.

Young, for a soul at least, a tall man with a scowl etched into his features. Tattered clothes befitting the district he seemed to call home, the only thing that didn’t quite match was the missing asauchi strapped loosely across his back. He rounded the corner with a sharp glance in the encroaching shinigami’s direction. The tired look he put on betrayed the clear focus in this stranger’s gaze as he approached, taking the time to call out ahead toward the woman before him.

“Figured they’d send someone a bit bigger… Oh well. Say your piece.” He seemed to have some idea of what was going on here, and his words were a confession to whatever she was looking for.

Hayate stood in a vaguely ready stance, nothing too formal but he had never had lessons. Everything had come naturally to him living out so far from the safe inner circle of Soul Society. Unconcerned about whatever conflict may occur, the man waited for Chihiro to decide how she wanted to handle things.

It wasn't long before Chihiro's sensory abilities picked up on something. Initially she felt the barest sensation of pain, like she'd touched an outlet with a fork for a brief moment, and the oddly static feel of the reiatsu made it abundantly clear that it was all from one individual.

Normally, patrolling the Rukongai Districts was more of the Seventh Division's domain. They were the ones in charge of Seireitei/Rukongai Diplomacy, but Chihiro was only here to investigate the missing Shinigami of her own Division. She sighed softly, and decided to follow the presence, figuring that it was unlikely anyone would be able to pose a threat to her after multiple hundreds of years of guarding the Maggot's Nest.

As Chihiro wandered around the Zaraki District, she noted that most things were tattered and dirty, like the Zaraki District was likely one of the last Districts to receive any kind of help. There wasn't much she could do, though, as it was far beyond the realm of her capabilities; she was in charge of the Seireitei's prison, not the Rukongai. Maybe she'd bring it up to Captain Iwamura next time she saw him? Regardless, there was nothing she could currently do about the suffering and quality of life in the Zaraki District.

The two figures rounded their corners approximately the same time. Chihiro locked eyes with the man, noticed his scowl and barely hidden disdain for her, before glancing at the stolen Asauchi on his back. Unlike everything else in the Zaraki District, that Asauchi was still brand new and shiny, and it looked as much.

The man called out, essentially indicating he was who she was looking for, but she needed more as she got closer. He was in a loose stance, clearly not trained like a Shinigami or a Samurai, but rather Chihiro could tell that he had the experience necessary to draw that weapon and have it ready faster than she could close the gap. She inched her way closer, talking as she did so, trying to make the gap lesser so that she could disarm him before he drew the weapon.

"My name is Chihiro Senba. I hail from the Second Division of the Gotei Eight, within Soul Society's Seireitei Complex." A single bead a sweat dripped down her brow. She wasn't exactly nervous, but she did have reservations about the situation currently. Continuing to inch closer, she continued speaking, "I believe we're both aware of where that Zanpakutou came from. I'm here to retrieve both It and Him," referring to the Zanpakutou and Stan respectively.

Maybe this was close enough? Maybe she could attack him from here? She was very aware of her own limitations, but she didn't know anything about this man except from that fact that he'd stolen an Asauchi from a Shinigami. Why did he even have the Asauchi? Most Shinigami were told, very blatantly, that they would never receive a second one and to treat their Asauchi with care. Was Stan already...?

Hayate just chuckled “I think we both know -he- isn’t around anymore. You can’t be a loudmouth in Zaraki district if ya ain’t got the strength to back it up.” With those words he had openly admitted to murdering Stan the man, which really brought up more questions than it answered.

“Dead man don’t need a sword, so I think I’ll keep it.” He drew the weapon swiftly, clearly trained even with the unorthodox position of the blade. There was no attack from the outset, but he had stepped back enough to create some distance and get the blade ready between them.

Despite his lack of training, Hayate seemed to be able to utilize the weapon to some extent. The strange feeling from before manifested in arcs of electricity. “I think you should go back and report you couldn’t find anything, and recommend they forget about Sten or whatever his name was.”

Hayate let her just mull over her options. He didn’t see the big deal about it really, he’d helped get rid of a weakling for starters and it wasn’t like the Gotei would miss one sword. It wasn’t exactly a common thing to come across, particularly this far out. So, he couldn’t just hand it over, it had to be worth something. Or just give him an edge out here for once.

Immediately, various images of the ways this man could have defeated and killed Stan popped into Chihiro's head, but she attempted to wave them away and return her attention to the man in front of her. He had said that being a loudmouth without the strength to back it up was dangerous here.... and Chihiro scoffed slightly. A random member of Rukongai being able to overpower a Shinigami meant it was likely he had ambushed the Shinigami while he was resting or something; actually beating him in proper honorable combat was far too unlikely.

The man commented that dead men don't need swords, and drew it with practiced swiftness. Chihiro cursed herself; she had gotten close enough to do something, and was right about how fast he could draw the weapon, but he stepped back on instinct which put them right back where she had started. She could sense the electricity in the air once again as the man seemed to prepare for combat, hinting that Chihiro should return to where she came from and say she couldn't find anything, as a peaceful resolution to the situation.

"Regardless of what you 'think', I am here on official duties. State your full name and the details of what happened to Stan Feld, hand me the Asauchi, and maybe I consider letting you 'escape when my attention was stolen for a moment'." She crossed her arms, dropping her fighting stance. Through her centuries of experience at the Maggot's Nest, she was fully capable of fighting from any position, even without notice, so she wasn't concerned.

She knew that Tina Almenor, despite being new as Captain Commander, had wanted to make Stan Feld survive his situation, regardless of what that random Noble had decreed. To find that Stan had died 'anyway' would probably upset her, and Chihiro wasn't sure what to do with that information. Should she bring the man in, regardless of what information he offers up? She could always send someone else later, possibly someone better equipped to handle an obvious sword prodigy. She was uniquely in a poor circumstance regarding that fact; she hadn't brought her own, but even with it she was so lackluster it wouldn't matter. She always relied on her fists to solve her problems, which was part of why Doku had put her in charge of the Maggot's Nest to begin with. It gave her an excuse to not carry that damn sword with her, as they weren't allowed in the Nest anyway.

She kept her eyes locked on the man, preferrably eye contact. She didn't blink, she didn't back down; her current record was 97 seconds without blinking, so unless this guy was randomly some supernatural predator with invisible eyelids she figured she was find and would time her blinks with his so she didn't look like she was blinking at all. She was a bit nervous though.... he was a Rukongai Resident, after all. Untrained, not even in decent clothing; the only "shiny" thing about him was the Asauchi he was wielding right now, and yet.... why did he seem almost as strong as Chihiro was? He was already Lieutenant level, and he'd never undergone a day of actual training....? The beast he could become intrigued her, and she wanted to bring him in anyway. If he complied and gave up the information willingly, and the sword, she'd argue for his pardoning and entrance into the academy, which would result in his OWN sword! Everyone wins!

All that was left was to see how the man responded.

“Your official duties don’t matter much out here.” Hayate chuckled, idly tapping the asauchi on the ground to brief showers of electrical sparks. “If you want the sword back, you’re gonna have to kill me. Strength is the only thing that matters in Zaraki.”  He settled back into something of a fighting stance, with the blade angled her way. “So, I’ll show you what happened to Stan. If you live, I might even give you a name.” He seemed awfully confident. In fact, if Chihiro thought back he hadn’t blinked at all since they go in range. His focus entirely on this new foe. “Let’s see what you can do.”

Hayate grinned and surged forward, as if he were about to take a wild one-handed slash at the Shinigami before him. A hastily thrown together feint to hide a stray lunging punch from his left instead. From his technique it was clear he was well practiced with hand to hand as well.

Not exactly an elegant plan, but it suited his look. Hayate wasn’t afraid to get up close after all, and if he managed to connect then he could easily push the offensive. The scowl from before was gone, if only just, replaced with a grin. Hayate lived for the fight, and if these new senses he had been developing were any indication this girl should be pretty good.

Stan Feld's assassin didn't seem to take kindly to Chihiro's initial offer of forgiveness. Official duties not mattering much out here, apparently, as he tapped the sword to the ground and stated that strength is the only thing that matters in the Zaraki District. He took a fighting stance, but Chihiro wasn't threatened yet. She still wanted to try and reason with him, to see if she couldn't explain the whole situation and make him come with her for his own benefit. With a final comment however, he surged forward with pure speed.

The angle of his swing was extremely wide, which Chihiro initially acredited to his lack of training, but as she felt his fist collide firmly with her gut she realized it was a feint and that this guy wasn't a total amateur when it came to fighting. With that single blow, she could tell that Stan Feld had not been caught off guard; he had no chance whatsoever. Braced and ready for more, Chihiro took a few steps back and cracked her neck as she took her own fighting stance. She didn't want it to come to this, but apparently what she wants and what's happening aren't aligned today.

Coming in with a standard punch of her own, it too was a feint as she swapped at the last second to sweep the man off his feet, which would be followed up by an axe kick at his gut. If it failed, she'd transition back to her feet and keep pressing the offense. She wasn't afraid to use Shunpo if it was necessary; aside from Kidou, it was just about the only tool she had at her disposal right now that Hayate did not.