A Prelude to a Fierce Battle
"OUCH!" Shinji rubbed his face where the Keiji's foot connected. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YA, FREAK!"
"That's my line, idiot!" Keiji retorted as he pointed an accusing finger at the older man. "Why the hell are you in my room, you pervert!"
"I'm supposed to watch over you and your sisters, idiot!" the other answered as he sat on the floor and continued to rub his bloody nose. "That's what Kisuke asked from me…"
"Baby-sitter…" Keiji slowly stood up as he regarded Shinji. "You're my sisters' new baby-sitter then…" he continued, enjoying the indignant look on the other's face.
"Oi! I'm a body guard… Not a baby-sitter, freak!" Shinji spouted, turning red as he remembered the same exchange with Hiyori. "Baby-sitter my ass…"
"Whatever blondie…" Keiji said, smirking as he left his room.
"Ohayou, Kei-chan!" Yuzu greeted as he walked into their kitchen. She and Karin are seated at their dining table, eating chips as they read manga. "Oh, you've met Shinji-san!" she added as she noticed the man behind Keiji.
"Kisuke-san and Yoruichi-san were here earlier… They had a sudden business trip to Tokyo and can't look after us so they asked their friend Shinji-san to stay with us instead…" Karin explained without taking her eyes off her manga.
"Whatever…" Keiji mumbled as he sat opposite her.
"Bacon and egg?" Yuzu asked, putting down the manga as she went to prepare Keiji's breakfast.
"And freshly squeezed orange juice…" Keiji added.
"Oh, let me help you, Yuzu-chan!" Shinji happily volunteered, smiling from ear to ear as he followed Yuzu around the kitchen.
"You know… It's a bad habit to wake up late everyday…" Karin said, her eyes on her manga still.
"I'm growing up, Karin-nee… I need lots of sleep…" Keiji answered as he grabbed one of his sister's manga on the table.
Minutes later, Yuzu came back followed by Shinji who was carrying Keiji's breakfast.
"Here you go, Kei-chan!" Shinji placed the tray of food on the table as Keiji put down the manga he was reading. "Enjoy your breakfast…" the blonde added, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
There was something in the way Shinji said those words that made Keiji a little edgy. "Oh, thanks…" Keiji tensed, not looking at Shinji as he began to delve on his food. But then, after minutes without any incident, he relaxed a little as he finished his breakfast.
'Maybe I'm just imaging things…' he thought as he drank his glass of orange juice.
"Hmmm… Wow! Thanks for the breakfast, Yuzu-nee!" he exclaimed as he rose to leave the table.
He immediately noticed that something was amiss. He suddenly felt tired and sleepy, which shouldn't be the case as he just woke up a while ago.
He forced his feet to walk, trembling a little from the exertion. 'Damn, blondie…' he cursed inwardly as he reached for the door. 'What did the bastard put in my breakfast…'
"Are you feeling okay, Kei-chan?" Yuzu asked, seeing her brother's pale face and sluggish movement.
Karin, who heard her sister's worried voice, slowly put down her manga and looked at Keiji.
"I'm fine…" he answered, forcing a smile on his face as he looked at his sisters. "If you ever need me… I'll be in my room…" he said, becoming unfocused.
"Oi! You don't look fine to me, Kei-chan…" Shinji exclaimed as he took his time walking towards Keiji, knowing full well what the other was going through. "Maybe it's his wound from the accident a few days ago…" he added, pretending to be worried. "Don't worry Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan… I'll help him to his room… I think he just needs to rest for a couple of days..." he grinned as he semi-dragged Keiji out of the kitchen and to his room upstairs.
"Wha-what's in… What's in my breakfast…" Keiji mumbled almost incoherently when they finally arrived in his room. He felt more terrible than before as he can't seem to focus his eyes. "Damn you…" he cursed as Shinji placed him on his bed.
"Hnnh…" Shinji merely smirked as he watched him drift off to sleep.
"Just sleep Keiji… This is for your brother's sake…"
[Three days later…]
"ITAI!" two sets of voices shouted in unison.
"What was that for, Kei-chan!" Kisuke asked, clearly pretending to be innocent as he picked himself up from his living room floor. Not too far from him is Shinji, who collided with the wall when Keiji kicked him towards Kisuke.
"YOU TWO DESERVE THAT FOR PUTTING ME TO SLEEP FOR THREE DAMN DAYS!" Keiji shouted back.
All he remembered was Shinji placing him to bed after he consumed the food that his own sister Yuzu and the blonde prepared. He was of course certain that Yuzu has nothing to do with anything that made him sleep for three straight days. So that should only put the blondie as the suspect.
When he woke up, he immediately searched for Shinji's reiatsu, sensing him then in the Urahara shop. Masking his own reiatsu, Keiji decided to pay the shop a visit, taking his skateboard with him and not transforming into a shinigami as he did a couple of days before.
When he arrived at the place, he barged in immediately as he heard Urahara and Shinji talking.
Flashback
"The brat will wake up anytime soon..." Shinji said, his voice sounds bored. "I should have added more of that potion you gave me..." he added with a grin. "It pleases me to see him all worked up..."
"Oist! That is a mean thing to say... After all, we need to train him, too..." Urahara chuckled, fanning himself.
The two just then noticed a figure standing at the door to the living room.
"YOU TWO!" Keiji gritted his teeth in anger as he kicked Shinji in the face, sending him towards Kisuke.
End of Flashback
"But I wasn't the one who placed it on your food!" Kisuke pouted, rubbing his face where he and Shinji collided. "That was Shinji-san!" he added, weaseling his way out of the situation as he pointed at the man still lying on the floor.
"Oi! You gave me that potion with specific instruction" Shiji retorted, sitting up as he rubbed his bloody nose as well. "Add a drop or two on the brat's food and wait 'til his eyes rolled back in his head…' or something..." he added, mimicking Kisuke's tone.
"I can't remember saying those…" Kisuke said, covering the lower half of his face with his fan.
"Can't remember my ass…" Shinji muttered indignantly.
Keiji sighed, forcing his self to be more patient. He felt like he was dealing with kids who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
"Maa, maaa… Let me explain everything, Keiji-kun" Kisuke said, finally turning serious as he gestured for the two to settle down.
"These past three days, I've focused on helping your brother become shinigami…" Kisuke started, pausing as Keiji frowned, not liking where their conversation is going. "And he did become a shinigami..."
"But everything did not go well, I presume…" Keiji stated.
"Yes… Though I've predicted that such incident might come to pass. Thus, I asked Shinji-san here to use that potion on you… make you sleep for three days while your brother placed his life on danger's path to become shinigami… I've reckoned that when you sense him in grave danger, you may interfere with what we're doing… And that might've been more risky for him…" Kisuke said before he continued. "I don't know how you've become a shinigami… But I'm guessing that you had a different experience from what Ichigo had to go through… What we did was a gamble… We used an unorthodox way for him to reclaim his shinigami form back. We had no other option..."
"I understand... So what happened then?" Keiji asked as he stroked his tattoo on his left wrist.
"There was just fifty percent chance for him to become a shinigami... the other fifty was a rather risky chance to become a hollow." Kisuke answered, frowning a little as he recalled what happened. "Ichigo took some time figuring out how to reclaim his power back. By then, he was partly a hollow... and if it went any further... we had no other choice but to destroy him..." Kisuke finished.
"You do know that I'll kill you if that happens..." Keiji stated, his voice devoid of any emotion as he glared at Kisuke. His sharingan eyes flashed momentarily as if warning the other of whom or what he'll be dealing with.
"I'll accept any judgment you'll give me if it did..." Kisuke solemnly said, looking at Keiji in the eyes to prove his sincerity while Shinji frowned as he looked away from his friend.
"So, what happens now?" Keiji asked, looking away from Kisuke.
"We'll wait... Your brother might possess not just a shinigami ability but also that of a hollow..." Kisuke answered as he glanced at Shinji briefly. "A time might come when these two powers will clash and might try to conquer the other."
"What do we have to do if that happens then?"
"Leave everything to me..." Shinji answered impassively as he gripped his zanpaktou tightly with his right hand, resting his sheathed sword on his shoulder. It was the first time for Keiji to see the man hold his own zanpaktou. And it was also the first time for him realize that the man is dangerous if he wanted to.
Keiji knows that there is something more that he ought to know about Shinji. But he knows that it is not the right time for him to be inquisitive so he chose not to ask questions.
"Your brother is in the training ground, resting for now... We'd train again in a few minutes... Would you like to join him?" Kisuke asked, noticing that Shinji has piqued the kid's interest.
"I'd like to observe first then decide what to do next..." Keiji answered, standing up as he placed his skateboard in a corner.
"Alright then... Follow me..." Kisuke said, standing up before he regarded the other man. "Shinji-san? Are you staying as well..."
"Just for a while... I just wanna see how this kid's gonna turn into a pulp..." Shinji grinned maliciously as he followed Kisuke.
"Whatever, blondie..." Keiji mumbled before he bit his thumb, drawing out a little blood that he wipe over his left wrist tattoo. He was then briefly engulfed in light and as the light dissipated, Keiji was already in his shinigami form. His zanpaktou, which is in its unreleased state, was slung on his back.
"You looked cool all of a sudden..." Shinji frowned. "It sickens me..."
"Hnn... Get used to it, blondie... 'Coz I do things that way..." Keiji said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
It has been a long frustrating hour for Keiji as he watched Ichigo trained with Urahara. It was a training so it was obvious to see Kisuke going a little easy on his brother. Ichigo though hasn't done much but dodge Kisuke's attack, attempt to deliver a strike of his own, and then hide against a boulder.
"This is so boring..." Shiji said as he settled down beside Keiji. The two of them are using a concealment kido so Ichigo won't see them. "Get me some snacks upstairs, Kei-chan... I'm getting hungry..." he added, turning to his companion.
"If I do that... I'd probably put a poison on it so that you would never, ever wake up..." Keiji stressed the last words, not taking his eyes off the other two.
Realizing that the other meant everything he said, Shinji grimaced before saying, "I'd have to remember not to eat anything that you touch in the future..."
"Hnnh..." the other smirked, realizing that he has started to feel comfortable around the weird man.
"This is going nowhere..." Shinji merely said as he turned his attention back on Kisuke and Ichigo.
Sighing, Keiji stood up, understanding what he needed to do. "I need to interfere then..."
And without so much as a warning, he removed his concealment kido, flash-stepped between Kisuke and Ichigo as the older shinigami was about to deliver a deadly strike on the latter.
"Go bury yourself somewhere Kisuke-san... I'll take this fight from here on..." Keiji stated, his zanpaktou blocked Kisuke's attack that was meant for his brother.
"Oh?" Kisuke merely stood there, slowly lowering his sword, his eyes partially shadowed by his bucket hat. "What do you intend to do, Keiji-kun?"
Not answering Kisuke, Keiji instead looked at his brother. "The way you're fighting right now will get you killed in Soul Society, right away... If you don't keep it up, I don't have any other choice but to destroy the source of your power like what that other shinigami did to you... I'd rather see you powerless and weak than dead..."
"Keiji?" Ichigo was clearly surprised to see his brother as a shinigami like him.
"Defeat me, Ichigo... My only goal is to keep you safe. Even if that would mean taking away your shinigami power..." And as if to make his point, he flash-stepped, appearing in front of Ichigo as he delivered a diagonal slash on his brother.
"Damn it... Keiji... How..." Ichigo mumbled as he fell to his knees, his own zanpaktou hitting the ground with a thud.
"Prove to me your strength and will to fight..."