Chapter three: Kurosaki Clinic.
Chapter three:
Facing the monster he had awakened, there was one single thought crossing his mind:
The beast was huge. Well over six meters in height despite the fact it was standing on four legs.
Haru smirked as the beast crouched down, flexing its limbs not unlike a cat when it is about to pounce on its target.
"Let us finish this." The moment those words left the teenager's lips, the demonic beast pounced at him, its mouth wide open while baring its razor sharp teeth at him.
The speed at which the beast traveled through the short distance that separated them was such that it covered the entire floor in mere seconds, despite its incredible size.
Haru however was not about to allow himself to be devoured, and so before the beast even had a chance to be within arms reach of him, he covered his feet in that same pale green light and vanished in a burst of speed.
The monster reached the point where the human had been standing and managed to bite down nothing but air.
Its claws took hold of the ground in the hopes of lessening its own speed, but it did little to stop itself from gliding across the room until it came crashing against a wall.
The beast looked left and right for its target, squinted orbs peeking through its mask in an attempt to locate its victim.
"Up." That single word reached the monster's ears, but it did not react to the meaning behind them, it was no longer capable of understanding language after all.
However, it did react to the sound and overall direction of the voice, and it also reacted to the feeling of some additional weight on top of itself, on the mask to be precise.
The monster opened its maw, almost as some sort of an instinctual response to food near its mouth as its feeding response triggered.
Not a fraction of a second later, a massive impact with a force behind it that no human should be able to possess landed in the form of a kick on the side of its mouth.
'That's one.' Haru counted inside his mind, his kick had been aimed on the spot where he estimated its jaws would be the most vulnerable.
The sound of something cracking made him smile, it looked like he had not misjudged the place to target.
"Graaaaah." The beast howled, but the sound was muffled by the half-closed mouth of the beast itself, its jaws broken.
'Eating me is out of the question now…' Haru thought, his gaze scanning the beast's overall anatomy in the search of his next target.
'Four legs, a shame… If it was bipedal it would have made things much simpler.' Haru lamented, but he saw his thoughts interrupted as the corrupted spirit swung one of its massive paws at him.
He reacted with a quick back step, his shoes oozing green light as he continued manipulating the souls on the ground to speed himself up.
'I'll target its spine, then.' The black haired teen jumped up in the air to dodge another swing from the beast's frontal legs.
Haru succeeded in escaping the strike, but as a result he was in mid-air with nothing to step on to grab some impulse.
"..." The teen could swear he saw the beast grin maliciously at him for a split second, the realization of the fact he had nothing to stand on reaching its mind as well.
It forced its maw open even through its broken jaw and launched itself at him with the full intention of swallowing him whole.
"Yeah, right… As if." Haru, much to the monster's dismay, took a step on thin air and rose even higher, high enough to escape the bite as it chomped down nothing but dust.
The beast would have carried its path through the air had it been left uninterrupted, but a foot came down crashing against its exposed back with monstrous force.
The kick landed right on its spine, the corrupted spirit's extended posture making it all the more simple to be precise with the hit.
The sickening sound of something cracking and shattering into pieces reached the teen's ear, a satisfied smile on his face as the monster fell motionless to the floor.
"Hm… Not too bad." Haru complimented himself, landing on top of the beast as it twitched ever so slightly. "Sorry pal, I didn't mention that, did I? I am able to step on the air as well."
'It's not regenerating…' Haru noted, so that meant this specific beast had no traces of the skill that some others he had faced in the past did. 'Shame, I wouldn't have minded to get some more of that…'
"Well then…" His emerald orbs shined even brighter than the light coming from his hands as he knelt near the beast. "I'll be taking some of that 'presence'..."
"Thanks for the meal." He grinned, his look turning predatory.
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
"I'm back." I announced, a satisfied smile plastered on me as I opened the door to the office. "Someone missed me?"
"You wish." Ikumi's response was immediate, masking the need to throw a book at me as she sat on the couch with her two year old kid on her lap. "Job is done, I assume?"
Kaoru was her kid's name, unless I am mistaken, and I don't believe I have ever felt more envious about a toddler before.
"Who do you think I am?" I asked her, not even bothering to turn back as I threw the request to the trash bin. "Of course I did."
"Hm… Well, forgive me for not being all that convinced about a job that depends on us exorcizing a ghost, of all things." Ikumi added, embracing her kid as the toddler fell asleep. "I feel like we are scamming them, to be honest."
"So what if we are?" I shot back at her, taking a seat on her chair as she glared at me from across the room. "If someone is dumb enough to fall for that, they deserve to get scammed."
"I mean… You are not wrong." She half-agreed, though I could tell there was some remorse in her thinking we had scammed them. "But still, what if…?"
"You wanna go on a dat-...!?" I crouched at the last second, a thick book missing me by an inch; it looked like the random date proposal made her angry enough to forget the fact Kaoru was resting on her.
"You little shit…" Ikumi gritted her teeth, standing up with care as she made sure not to wake up her son. "That's it, no free meal for you."
I watched her behind as she walked towards the door leading to her house and left the office with her child.
"No need…" I whispered, resting back on her chair as I licked my lips. "I got a nice meal on the way here."
I felt strong, fast, more than ever before. All thanks to a quick hunting session and I even got a request done for Ikumi.
Isn't working so much more useful than school? Like I said, I am quite the problem solver.
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
There's few things in this world that manage to make me as nervous as mom's glare while she is waiting for me to answer her question.
Which is part of the reason I was feeling more than a little regretful about having made the decision to skip school.
"You got something to confess?" The moment I took a single step in our living room downstairs, her voice reached me.
"I…" Oh shit, how did she know!? Wait, no. I might be jumping to conclusions, she might not know…
"I know." Mom interrupted me, crossing her arms as her glare hardened. "... 'How did she know?', that's the sort of look you have right now."
I flinched at her tone, battling demonic beasts was one thing, but facing mom after having skipped school… Yeah, I'm not prepared for that one.
"Ikumi-san told me." Mom explained, and my eyes widened in surprise at such a revelation, Ikumi was a traitor!
'That… That fucking snitch!' I thought, taking a step back in shock. Of course she was about to snitch on me, you can't trust mothers!
"I… Sorry." I realized there was probably not much I could say to escape from the verbal beatdown I was in for, so I accepted the inevitable.
"God…" I watched as mom fell back on our couch, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she massages her temples. "You hate it that much? It's just high school, Haru. It can't be that bad."
The immediate instinctive response I felt the need to verbalize was 'well, it is', but giving it some thought, was that the truth?
"Nah… It's not that bad." I confessed, rubbing the back of my head as I tried to explain how I felt about it. "It's just… I could be doing so much, more useful things."
"You are such a difficult child sometimes, Haru." Mom muttered, her tone so low I almost missed her words. "Just… Don't make it a habit, alright? That's all I am asking."
"...?" I tilted my head, confused at how understanding she was being with me. Perhaps she deemed discussing with me pointless? I was a bit of a lost cause after all.
Still, I had yet to provide her with an answer and I didn't really feel like pushing my luck any further.
"I won't." I replied.
"Good." She said in response, dropping her frown and standing up from the couch as she walked towards the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in an hour, go take a shower."
"Yes, ma'am!" I answered back, doing my absolute best not to celebrate while she still could see me. No punishment for behaving like a child? Lucky me!
"Ah, that's right." I froze on the spot, mom's voice reaching me from all across the room. "You'll be doing all the chores…"
'Dang it.' I knew it was too good to be true, but still, doing all the chores once wasn't that bad of a punishment…
"... For the rest of the month." I heard her finish, and I couldn't help but curse under my breath. Even though I could not see her, I was willing to bet she was smiling.
"Fuck my life."
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
"Man…" Haru groaned in annoyance, the sound of his alarm reminding him he had to get moving.
As the teen deactivated his last alarm, he checked his phone and saw that he still had about three or so hours before school.
Under normal circumstances, he would have spent two of them sleeping, half an hour rolling in bed and what was left of it rushing to school, but there was a little something he needed to take care of this time around.
'Jeez…' He thought, sweating at the sight of the long list of chores his mother had given to him. 'When mom said all of the chores, she really meant that.'
He walked hastily across the main hall as he looked down at the list with a frown, the more he read the list, the more tired he felt.
"Huh?" Haru came to an abrupt stop as his green orbs landed on one of the last task's on the list. "Pick up a package at the Kurosaki Clinic?"
'The hell…?' He thought, his frown deepening into a scowl as he tried to memorize the address of the clinic. 'Whatever… Let's get this over with.'
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
"Fuck me…" Haru cleaned some of the sweat off his forehead, he had spent the past hour and a half purchasing, delivering, and collecting all sort of stupid stuff across town.
'There's no chance she expected me to get it done before school…' He realized, frustrated at the fact even while using his high-speed movement technique on several occasions, it had still taken half of his morning from him.
"There's this last one…" Haru muttered to himself, crossing off the list the task he had just completed. "It shouldn't be far from here."
He refrained from casting his technique to get there in an instant, it was around that time in the morning when adults left to work so he could end up being spotted.
It took him around ten or so minutes to get there, and when he did, he found himself staring at a two story house.
'...' He deduced the house and the clinic were one and the same, he just happened to be on the side of the house right now. So he kept walking until he found the door to the clinic.
"Kurosaki Clinic." Haru found himself staring at a blue sign on top of a glass door, it looked like he had found the entrance to the clinic at last.
'That's weird.' He thought, walking closer to the glass squinting as he tried to spot someone through it. 'Is it closed…?'
There was no one to be found inside it and when he tried to open the glass door, he found it locked.
"Fuck." He cursed under his breath, realizing he might have arrived before the clinic was open in the first place.
'I mean… I need to get the package, that's all.' He reasoned with himself as he walked back towards the house's entrance. 'There's no harm in knocking, right?'
With that in mind, he knocked on the house's entrance and waited for an answer.
"..." So he waited, right till an entire minute passed. "Guess not, huh?"
The teen turned around intending to leave but right as he did he heard the door's handle, making him turn towards the house again.
Bright orange hair greeted him as he found himself holding the tired stare of a twelve year old kid, dressed in his school's uniform.
'Man, he looks sleepy as fuck.' Haru noted, a little bit glad he was not the only person who looked like absolute shit during mornings.
"Yes…?" The orange haired kid asked, a little irritated at the fact this complete stranger was staring at him looking amused.
"Oh, my bad." Haru apologized, shaking his head left and right as if to force himself to focus. "I'm looking for… Isshin Kurosaki? I need to pick up a package."
"Hang on." Haru watched as the kid walked back inside the house, and he just managed to make out some sounds from his spot.
He didn't need to wait for much before a man peeked through the door, much like the kid has done before.
The man was tall, muscular and with black spiky hair, with thin facial hair around his chin, dressed in a lab coat and trousers.
"Morning!" The man's serious expression was replaced by one of the goofiest smiles the teen had ever seen as he waved at him.
"Isshin Kurosaki, I take it?" Haru inquired, though the coat the man was wearing made the answer more than a little obvious.
"The one and only." Isshin replied with his smile still present on his face. "I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage here, I don't think I know you after all."
"I'm Haru." The pale teen introduced himself, waving at the man. "I'm here to pick up a package."
"A package?" Isshin asked, scratching his chin as if he was thinking about it. "Well, I do have a package but she said she would come and pick it up later this week…"
"Yeah, that might be for my mom." Haru added, scratching the back of his head, irritated at the fact his mother had sent him to pick up something that wasn't the least bit urgent.
"Your mom?" Isshin looked at the teen strangely, and he seemed to pick up on this. "You are Himari's…?"
"Adopted son." Haru completed, well aware of why the man had been doubting his answer. It seemed like this man knew his mother more than he imagined.
"Ah." Isshin replied, the friendly smile back on his face. "That makes sense, sorry about that. Please, come in."
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
"I'll get that package for you, just give me a second." Isshin said, walking inside the clinic closely followed by the teen. "I think it must have been somewhere around… Here? Guess not."
Isshin walked to the back of the clinic as Haru watched him in silence, throwing the occasional look around the place every so often.
The sound of heavy boxes and some more delicate items reached the teenager from the other side of the clinic.
"Where did I…?" Isshin kept rambling, moving and shifting around even some things that sounded like furniture. "I was so sure it was there…"
His ramblings would have carried on for a while, were it not for the fact a loud knock reached them from the main door.
"...?" Haru turned towards the entrance that connected the house with the clinic, curious at the loud noise.
"Ichigo should get that." Isshin said from the other side of the room, still moving stuff from all over the room.
"Ichigo…?" Haru asked. "That's a good name."
"Right?" Isshin agreed from the other side of the room, even without seeing him it was obvious from his voice alone, the man was pleased. "He's my son, you met him at the door."
"I see…" Haru said in response, and just when he was about to ask something else, the same loud knock reached them, this time almost desperate sounding.
"That Ichigo… Is he in the bathroom?" Isshin aaked, and just when the man was about to get the door himself, the teen interrupted him.
"You want me to go?" Haru offered, but even before the man had the chance to say 'yes', he was already headed towards the house's entrance.
Haru walked, slowly at first, but picked up his pace when he focused his senses on the two 'presences' he felt on the door.
'This… It feels familiar.' Haru thought, he realized he had felt one of those presences before, but it felt so… 'Why is it so weak?'
He reached it in a matter of seconds, and pushed the door open not a fraction of a second after.
"Hel…?" Haru paused, his mouth half open as he found himself staring at two individuals, both covered in blood.
The first one was a girl, she looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old at best, she had short orange hair and was dressed in her school uniform.
The second one was a man, carried by the small girl behind her back, he seemed somewhat familiar.
The two of them had something in common, both of their clothes were soaked in blood, so much so it was hard believe a human could have that much blood in them.
"P-Please…" The girl managed to get out, her voice as shaky as her legs as the weight of the man became too much on her. "M-My brother."
"Isshin-san…! You need to come here, right now!" Haru managed to scream, loud enough for the man to hear as he helped the girl carry the man inside the house.
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
"Haru, check if the girl is hurt, I'll…" I heard Isshin shot some instructions from all over the clinic, closing the door behind him with a loud 'thud.'
I stood there, staring at the motionless girl covered in blood, blood I was certain did not belong to her.
The girl was an emotional wreck, her head buried within her legs as she refused to utter even a single word.
"I…" I was so not prepared to handle this, not at all. I didn't think Isshin was prepared to handle the situation either, he had called an ambulance the moment he saw the condition the girl's brother was in.
I am no doctor, but that amount of blood loss… It looked fatal to me.
"...?" I heard the girl sniffling, shaking on the ground and I did not need to see her face to realize it was covered in tears.
'Shit…' I knelt next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as I tried to look for something to say, but the right words refused to come out.
Well, shit; the moment I made contact with her, she flinched; so that didn't work as expected. Still, I needed to calm her down, things would take a turn for the worse if she began hyperventilating.
"Easy…" I whispered to her, she was so tense it was almost impossible to keep her from shaking and shifting around. "Breathe slow and deep… You need to calm down."
I repeated the exact same words again, this time in a more gentle manner than before. When I noticed she felt less tense than before, I decided to stick with it.
Once again, I repeated the same words, almost like a mantra, while I shifted my left hand up and down her back as slowly and gently as I was capable of.
"..."
"..."
I don't know how much time went on like that, it could have been mere seconds, minutes of nothing but me repeating the same words to her like a broken record.
Not much progress, but it was not all in vain, I did manage to notice some differences, even if slight, her breathing was no longer uneven and the shaking, although still remained, had become far more subtle.
"You are doing great…" I told her, and that was the first time I managed to get a good look at her face as she looked up at me.
Her face, part of her neck, her hands, and most of her uniform was covered in her brother's blood. Even some strands of her hair had become painted in red.
"I'll get something to clean…" I had been in the process of standing up as I released her for a second, but the moment I tried to, I felt her take a hold of my shirt.
"D-Don't…" Her voice was weak, so weak I almost missed what she said. "I… I c-can't be a-alone, n-not now."
'...' I glanced down at her hands holding my shirt, now soaked in red as well.
"I… I'll stay." I sat back down, and then and only then did I feel her release her hold on my shirt. "I'll stay." I repeated again.
"..." I did stay, but things got rather awkward soon after, neither of us was talking and the silence that ensued was far from comfortable.
"Name's Haru." That's the best thing I managed to get out, like the dumbass I am. "Kind of a stupid name if you ask me, I wasn't even born in spring… Mom adopted me in spring though, so that's why she named me that."
I felt like I was about to blush from the embarrassment, rambling about some stupid shit no one cared about just to fill the silence.
"..." I heard it, not something loud or energetic enough to be considered a laugh, not even close to it, but still. I heard a giggle.
"I… I a-am Orihime." I could tell it took her considerable effort to get that sentence out without sniffling. Still, I managed to get a name out of her.
"Orihime." I tested the name, and I had to admit I liked the sound of it. "Woven Princess… That's a beautiful name."
"Thanks…" Faint, almost non-existent, but a soft smile was offered in return to the compliment I gave her.
It was quite the sickening sight, a kind girl covered in tears and blood, it almost felt like a crime not to get her cleaned up.
"I can't believe I just remembered this." I said out loud, though I was mostly talking to myself, I remembered the list of chores I had saved inside my pocket.
"...?" Orihime glanced at me, unsure on what to make of that vague comment.
"Sorry, I was thinking out loud." I took the paper out, small as it might have been, it should still do the trick. I showed it to her and got it closer to her face. "Let's clean you up first, talking can wait."
"T-Thanks…" Orihime flinched at first, but the moment she heard what I had in mind she moved her face closer.
No surprise there, I doubt she was keen on having her brother's blood covering her most of her face.
"..."
I was as gentle as possible, but a piece of torn paper is not made to be used as a napkin so I assume it felt far from good to her.
Still, she did not complain, the girl stood there with her big brown eyes staring at me as I cleaned her face the best I could.
"Is it better?" Orihime asked after a handful of seconds, the paper having turned red almost completely.
"Better." I replied, not sure if 'better' was the right word to use here, she had less blood in her, sure, but it was still a fucking mess.
"Say, Orihime…" I froze, whatever I was about to ask her had to wait.
I searched for it, extending my consciousness throughout the entire house to find it, any trace of it.
The presence of her brother, it vanished. Not a single trace of it was left, no matter how hard I looked for it.
'It's gone.' I realized. 'He's dead.'
I turned to face her, it was such a heartbreaking sight, the slight smile on her face while she remained oblivious to the fact her brother had just died.
End of chapter three.