[13th Division] [Recruit Mission] Unforgivable

[Fraust]

The underground city was a haven for slavery, poverty and oppression. Emaciated beggars swathed in rags were roaming in every corner, hungry children cried with sad glistening eyes staring at the passers-by innocently, people of various age groups were chained to the walls and posts, their faces vacant and devoid of emotions. Slaves, the poor and the homeless were what constituted the majority of the population. That's what Frausty discovered when she stepped into the city of the broken...

"This is....horrible!"

I've never seen anything like this before. It's terrible.

Indeed. Stay alert, Frausty. I don't like this place.

Shien had mentioned Rukongai slaves...So that was the fate of most of the Plus souls who mysteriously disappeared in Rukongai and were never seen again. They were turned into slaves by the crimelords. Slavery was being practiced in Soul Society. She was engulfed by a wave of sadness as she watched the poor chained slaves staring at her as she passed across the streets.

"How could a place like this exist? It's just so horrible."

An old man who was walking close to her suddenly collapsed to the ground. Frausty knelt down next to him and touched the grey rag on his bony shoulder to see if he was alright. The man slowly opened his eyes and stared at her with old wet eyes.

"Help...me...young one..."

Frausty thrust her hand into the pocket of her shihakushou and took out a bundle of cookies. She helped the man sit and handed him the small bundle with a sad smile. She wished she could help the poor souls but she was only a single shinigami and they were far too many. The city wasn't going to be left unheard of though. She was definitely going to inform their taichou about the slavery in the city and hopefully the shinigami would be able to do something about the issue.

"Here, take this. Please share it if it's possible."

She stood up as the old man thanked her. Glancing at Shien, she saw him walking towards a line of buildings that looked like taverns. Striding quickly to catch up with him, she said, "Wait up, Shien-kun."

[dordoniz]

Shien walked away from the square, into a very narrow alley.
Hearing Frausty call out to him, he turned back and walked even slower for a while until she had caught up with him.

The man kept walking and turned to the left, into another narrow alley.
"These alleys are dangerous, watch your back, we can easily be trapped here by criminals."

Shien kept walking through the alleys when he heard whispering and murmuring. He stopped, signaling Frausty to be quiet. "We're being followed..." He whispered to her and walked out of the alley.

Shien arrived into a very wide road, which resembled a square, due to the open space the surrounding buildings provided in the middle.

Suddenly, loud screams could be heard, and several rugged men started jumping down the roofs of the surrounding buildings, holding knives, maces, shortswords, clubs and any other scavanged weapon one could think of.
"Scavangers..." Shien mumbled as the men surrounded him.

[Fraust]

As soon as she had caught up with him, Shien kept moving deeper towards the buildings that were sequestered away from the main street. Frausty could sense the imminent danger lurking thick in the air while he explained about the criminals that could possibly be hanging around the alleys. She curled a hand around the hilt of her katana, watching the dark alleys attentively, listening to any sounds that might signal the approach of a person.

When she heard muffled voices coming from somewhere in the alley, Frausty stopped walking just as he mentioned that they were being followed. She could sense someone watching them from the shadows. She breathed silently and darted her eyes back and forth, looking for the source of the noise.

Whoever comes to attack us must be fools. I better be careful though.

All of a sudden, a loud cry heralded the attack of a group of some gang members who jumped towards them from the roofs of the buildings surrounding the alley. They were armed with various weapons and some had their faces masked with a dark fabric. They leered, surrounding them in a circle, slowly encroaching them. Frausty gazed at the scavengers and carefully counted.

There were ten of them.

"Don't hesitate," she said to Shien amidst the jeers and the sneers from the gang.

Her eyes came to a stop at a bony man with several missing teeth visible from his malicious smile standing in front of her from a few feet, blocking their path. He flicked his machete in a rude gesture and yelled out something at them but she wasn't listening to his words. She raised her right hand and pointed a forefinger at him.

"Hadou #4 Byakurai!"

A bluish-white concentrated bolt of lightning flashed forth from her finger and hit the gangster squarely in the chest. He was swept back, pushing the other two men standing behind him so that they were all thrown back unceremoniously. They hit the dumpster next to the wall of a building and collapsed on the ground in a heap of clothes and shiny blades...

[dordoniz]

Shien let his sword's blade fall on the ground, holding it with his right hand, bracing himself for the fight.
He turned to Frausty when she told him not to hesitate. He nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, one of the men attacked Frausty.
Before he could even feel worried about her, his superior had already fired a kidou at her attacker, with which she coincidentallly managed to attack a couple of the comrades standing behind him as well.

Somewhat amazed by this feat, Shien stared at Frausty who had effortlessly defended herself, in amazement.

Disrupting Shien's thoughts about how powerful the helpless woman he once knew was, were the heavy footsteps he heard behind him.

Shien turned his head, apathetically. Walking towards him and signaling the others not to interfere, was an enormously tall man.
He was wearing rugged clothes and sported a messy beard. He was taller, more muscular and more fat than Shien. He was generally bigger than him.

He was carrying a club which was almost as big as Shien's word, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he played the club in his hands.
"Kill the man." He said and grinned, then his glance shifted to Frausty momentarily. "Subdue the woman....." He said as he chuckled, devilishly.

Shien yelled out to Frausty. "This one's mine." The man's glance shifted back to Shien. The shinigami had managed to provoke him.

[Fraust]

Seven of the Scavengers were left. Three of them were out. Frausty stood still, gazing at the other gang members, carefully looking at their weapons and accessing the situation at the same time. The Scavengers were underestimating them. They had probably never seen a shinigami walking in the streets of the fallen city let alone meet one. It was after all, hidden from the eyes of Seireitei.

Yare yare...they're so eager to raise their blades at the two of you.

They attack the weak and rob the passers-by. Naturally, when they saw us, they thought we were easy prey.

The Scavengers had been momentarily shocked when they saw the blue flash of Byakurai but they quickly recovered from their stupor. Just then, a stocky man appeared amongst the men. He was tall and cruel, spotting wrinkled clothing and a messy beard that looked as if it had never touched water in days. His hair was standing at different directions, like antennae of a strange device she had seen from the 12th division labs. The man spoke, sniggering diabolically as he glanced at her.

When Shien spoke, challenging him, Frausty nodded as she replied, "Alright, I'll handle the rest."

With a cry of war, three more men surged forward, heading towards her. Frausty took two steps back to give herself more space. Making intricate writing in the air with her hand, a glow of strange writings appeared in front of her.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudou #9 Geki!"

The man in the middle of the two Scavengers was hit with a red light, paralyzing him completely. He shivered in agony as the spell hit him, collapsing on the ground. Frausty glared at the men who kept running towards her, one wielding a knife and the other, a club with metal spikes at the tip. She shunpoed to the nearest, the man gasping in shock because he wasn't expecting her to appear in front of him. Without wasting time, she drew out her katana and slashed at the man's stomach from left to right, horizontally.

As the man fell to ground, clutching at his belly, the other Scavenger leapt from behind, attempting to stab her with his deadly club. His mistake was that he had yelled out a cry, unintentionally giving his position and enabling her to anticipate his attack. Frausty turned to face him just as he swung his spiky club. She blocked his attack with her katana then kicked him in the ribs. The man hesitated, his face grimacing and Frausty saw an opening. She slashed at him diagonally, from his upper right shoulder to his wounded left side of the torso.

She glanced at Shien to see how he was managing the fight with the tall man. Frausty was confident that he could handle the Scavengers' leader.

[dordoniz]

Shien nodded when Frausty told him she'd handle the rest of the thugs.
Knowing she was more powerful than him, Shien trusted Frausty completely. He knew she'd not cover his back but be one of the people who'll come on top in this fight.

Shien focused in the task in at hand. The enormous man kept grinning at him, apparently he didnt think Shien was much of a threat.
"Ahahaaaaa, you wear that armor in order to protect yourself lil' shrimp?" He said as he played with the club in his hands.

Shien let his mansized sword which was resting on his shoulder, fall to the ground.
He was grasping it very tightly. He was ready to swing in mercilessly at any moment.

Before Shien had time to respond to the thug, the giant ran towards Shien at incredible speed.
He's fast! Shien thought in amazement as the man raised the club above his head and swung it downwards, vertically on Shien's head.

Shien's amazement immediately faded when he realized the simplicity of the man's attack.
He quickly raised his left arm and brough his forearm above his head. Just as the club came down on his head, Shien moved his left arm towards the opposite direction of the club.

The huge man yelped in surprise as Shien's parrying maneuver broke his club in two effortlessly. The man's eyes quickly shifted to Shien's sword which was still on the ground.
Shien immediately swung from right to left at the man's stomach in a powerful blow, cutting the man completely in half, killing him.

[Fraust]

Glaring at the remaining four Scavengers, Frausty advanced towards them. One of them stepped forward and spat on the floor. He frowned at her, his face eloquent with hate and anger. He was bald, his cheeks streaked with two red parallel lines like the ones warriors paint on their faces...except he wasn't a warrior.

"You'll pay for this! Look at your friend, our boss will squash him like a tiny ant," he said, pointing at Shien and the huge man.

Frausty knew better than to turn her attention to them. He could be planning a surprise attack. The man swung his sword then began twirling it around his hand, showing off his skills as a swordsman. If his intention was to intimidate Frausty, she was far from getting uneasy.

"I'm afraid it is your boss that will be...'squashed like a tiny ant'."

Just as she had spoken the last word, Frausty shunpoed towards him, swung her katana at him, aiming for his torso. The man never saw it coming. He toppled to the ground, groaning in surprise and agony. The remaining three in their desperate moment, dashed towards her, brandishing their weapons threateningly. Frausty quickly moved towards them as well, slashing at the Scavengers. The Scavengers were no more.

When she heard a loud thud coming from behind her, she turned and noticed the arrogant leader of the Scavengers on the ground, dead. A pool of blood accumulated around him, soaking his wrinkled clothes in red. She turned away from his corpse and glanced at Shien. She knew Shien would defeat him. He was after all skilled in his sword and his huge sword was sharp and deadly.

"Are you okay, Shien? Let's leave before people hear the commotion. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves."

[dordoniz]

Shien turned around and watched as Frausty dealt with the remainning thugs.
Surprisingly, he looked incredibly calm, as if this fight didnt move him at all.

"Yes Frausty-chan, I'm alright."
He looked around once again, only to see the incapaciated pile of bodies around him. ".....seems like you're ok as well."

"We should move, no need to linger here." Shien said as he lifted the blade of his sword, and let it fall on his shoulder.
"The place should just aroud the corner."

Walking out of the square, Shien turned left.
Walking past even more wrecked shacks, homes, homeless people, scattered merchants, and beggars, he arrived in front of a very small shack.

The shack was 3x3 big, and it only had a door. "This is it." Shien confirmed the place.
He wasnt sure whether Frausty was waiting for something glorious which had now fallen, but all there was in front of them was this small shack. "Are you ready?"

[Fraust]

Frausty nodded as she flicked her katana, droplets of blood splattering on the cold ground. She sheathed the katana and looked back once more to see if there were any curious passers-by coming to see what had happened. Once satisified that no one had arrived yet, she turned back to Shien.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just lead the way, please, " she said politely.

Following him through the blocks of dilapidated buildings and a few abandoned shanties, she turned away from the homeless people and the poor, her face focusing on the path ahead. It tugged at her heart everytime she looked at them but she was on a mission and they needed to reach the tavern as fast as possible. Nevertheless, she swore that the Gotei thirteen would hear about the underground city and the oppression that had taken roots in it.

"This is the tavern? It looks old..."

In front of them, stood Clover Tavern, the once popular hangout for the rich and the wealthy merchants. The structures showed nothing of it gloriousness though. The place had been abandoned and what was left of it was a mere shack with only a way of entry.

Frausty walked to the front of the door and replied, "Hai, I'm ready."

She reached a hand to push the door open but right before her palm could touch the aged wooden surface, the door fell on its own and landed on the floor with a loud thud, its rusty hinges following suit. There was a cloud of dirt that floated in the air when the door had impacted with the floor and a huge crack had appeared on the surface of the door.

"Such a warm welcome..."

[dordoniz]

Shien stepped in the moment the door fell on the floor.
"This place might not look like much, but....."

He walked towards the center of the shack.
The clanking sound of his armored feet was being accompanied by the squeaking sound of the old hardwood floor.
After he arrived at the center he stomped on the floor, gently.
"....here it is." Shien punched through the old floor, his arm burrying up to the elbow.
After he seemingly looked for something, he suddenly drew back his arm.

As his arm resurfaced, a bigger portion of the hardwood floor broke, a result of him dragging up an iron hatch.
Throwing the hatch away, he pointed at the hole. "Down there."

Stomping the ground around the hole he just opened in order to enlargen it by breaking the already broken wood, he explained.
"There's an underground hideout here....."