mitsuhito
New Member
Italian Conspiracy
words:3573
words:3573
Alexia - Vincent Valen
Mitsuhito - Mitsuhito
Mitsuhito - Mitsuhito
Bounty info
The Duelist stood in a small grassy field alone, the wind lightly brushing her hair.
“I’m the Nineteenth Seat now. Its a slow climb, but it can only get higher. My captain is...unique. He’s an arrogant jerk one second, and a caring leader the next, its like there’s a switch on him somewhere,” she said, chuckling a little.
“I’ve made friends now. I wish you’d gotten to meet Adelaide, you would’ve had a laugh with her for sure. She’s the self-proclaimed ‘super-lezzie’. Her emotions are her flaws and strength at the same time. When she’s sad it hurts, but when she cares...she uplifts you. There’s a human as well, though I think we’re still in the acquaintance stage rather than friends. We’ve been in bad spots, but we pull through in the end. I don’t doubt he’s probably with that Cerberus group, but he feels different from others I’ve met. A diamond in the rough for sure.
“As for Kōri here, we’ve attained shikai at least. She’s quite beautiful, though I can’t imagine what you two did together. I can’t wait to see what the bankai release looks like.
“I can’t thank you enough for giving me this chance, this life. One day, I’ll be bringing that haori here. You’ll be proud,” she finished.
She sat down on the grass, placing her zanpakuto across her lap. Soon enough she entered the meditative state. All was silent around her and the lone gravestone that belonged to the man Alexia knew as Franklin.
A beautiful day, the birds chirped, the wind caused nearby trees to swish...
...and screams of pain were heard in the ninth district of Rukongai.
On the face of the shinigami a smile was showing, while a thin layer of ice slowly buried the entire citizens who were not able to flee and froze them to death. The other souls that managed to get away would soon share the same fate.
The whole scene was truly a massacre, and one of the more evil ones. A massacre that went on for a few hours, until even the last soul was killed by the icy attacks. The shinigami blew a green streak out of the face, before turning around and walking back to Seireitei, with a smile on the face again.
***
“Any new missions up, Sekai?” Mitsuhito said, after walking into the small mission office.
“Well, a new mission was handed in not too long ago. It’s classified as a mid-level mission though, maybe too easy for you. Still want to grab that, darling?” Sekai said to him, pushing a piece of paper over the counter.
Behind her, a few girls were whispering secretly, while Mitsu blushed and said, “Could you, please, stop saying darling while we both are at work?”
He took the piece of paper and read through it. Hmm, a female person with green hair and near the ninth district, it can’t be here, or?
“I will take care of this mission. See you this evening, or whenever I’m finished with this.” Mitsuhito said, turning around and throwing the piece of paper into the nearby firebowl.
While he moved out of the room he heard her shouting ‘darling’ after him one last time and he could only shake his head in disbelief.
***
Half a day later, Mitsuhito sat inside an Italian styled restaurant, eating some pasta. It was funny to see all those different booths and restaurants everywhere, the multitude of dead souls from all over the world did that. He was not here to enjoy his meal, however.
He waited for a specific person to arrive. Until now, there was no bigger plan involved into his ‘observation’. Whether his target would notice him, or he would be able to sit here unnoticed didn’t matter, it was up for his target to act. I hope the bounty is compromised, I really do.
When Alexia entered the restaurant, the usual happened: they looked, they stared, wolf-whistle sounds could be heard, but eventually they all went back to minding their own business. The Duelist made her way to the back of the room, a single booth that was pretty much her own now. Having been a frequent customer of the place, the staff here had taken a liking to her. Within seconds of her sitting down, a waitress was at her position.
“Afternoon, darling. The usual?” she asked.
“Yes. Thank you,” Alexia said.
As she waited, the Duelist reached into her shihakusho, pulling out her journal. The memento was nearly done, almost three-quarters of the book were full. She was going to have to pick her remaining entries much more carefully.
One person however didn’t stare. Mitsuhito found the tumult created by all the other men, very amusing. He did not know if it was because of Sekai, or because he found acting like that silly, but he just sat there and continued on his meal.
The time flew by, people came and went, but nothing changed around Alexia. One or two guys who thought to hit on her, but she rejected them right away, with a cold smile. Why was Mitsuhito able to see that? Well, he looked at a reflection of her in a nearby door.
Again, he saw the little notebook in Alexia’s hands, but he did not know where to put it. Alexia did not seem like a mass murdering person. Okay, there was this one time she went to jail, but heck, it was the god-damn Central Forty Six, who send her there.
Well, here goes nothing.
Mitsuhito stood up, left his now empty bowl behind, and walked to the chair to Alexia’s left.
“Yo, is this one still free?”
The scribbling sounds of the pen stopped, and the Duelist looked up to see Mitsuhito. It had been awhile since their lunch time discussion, a very long time. She was curious as to why the assassin was looking for her again. So Alexia gestured to the empty, essentially giving the ‘ok’ that so many men in the restaurant desired.
“So what have I done this time that brings me your company?” she asked.
Some of the guys around them looked at Mitsuhito with hatred in their eyes and he could not help but grin. All these guys wanted to flirt with Alexia, but the one who was able to get the seat next to her, could possibly be the one killing her.
While he sat down, Mitsuhito said, “Oh, not much. You are charged with killing the Soutaichou in his sleep.”
When he had finished his sentence, the waitress dropped her plate and Alexia looked at him with a cold glare.
“Wowowo, sorry, just wanted to break the ice. Well, maybe that was not the best start.”
Another two waitresses came and help the previous one to pick up all the fragments. Turning around to the first one, he told her that this was only a bad joke, before he continued to speak with Alexia.
“I just heard of this Italian restaurant and thought about trying some pasta. It’s really good.
“Nice notebook, a sort of diary?”
“You really have a way of initiating conversation,” Alexia said, watching the waitresses clean up the mess.
“I hope you know you’re paying for that one by the way. Uncomfortable jokes, ice puns, and really bad excuses, are you just not that good at talking to women?” she said.
The Duelist wasn’t entirely sure why she was giving the man a hard time, be it a warning for all the others, or simply because his behavior was damaging her reputation in the restaurant. Eventually she decided to give him a break.
“I’ve had this in life and in death. I write in it just about any time something significant happens. And no, that is not a signal for you to ask to read it,” she explained.
“Of course I plan on paying for the broken stuff. After all, it’s my fault.
“That said, waitress, could I have a second serving?”
Eyeing at the closed book, Mitsuhito thought about a way to catch a glimpse. Maybe she had written something to prove her innocence. Or, she had written something to make him believe she was innocent, but for now, he believed in her.
To be blunt, he did not know why he did so. All the facts spoke against her. Ice cold lady, already served some time in the Seventh Division because of mass murdering non spiritual humans and the culprits description matching her appearance. But something deep inside told him to investigate this further. She just did not seem like a person erasing a small town full of innocents.
“I am not a person reading in private stuff of others, as long as I don’t need to,” Mitsuhito said with a wink.
“So, how do you do? Anything cool happened recently? We haven’t met for some time now, or?”
He tried to ignore her little question about speaking with woman. He had Sekai, so there was no need to flirt with other girls, even though it could prove helpful for his job.
In response to his pun-filled question, Alexia flicked through the pages of her journal, eventually stopping at the lunch the two had had all those months ago. Then the pages moved forward.
“Let’s see...the hotel, a jail sentence, then there were the scion fights, in which I had to drop half a skyscraper onto a titanic hollow, have portions of my face melted off, and my parents were targeted,” she began.
“Dealing with my captain while he suffered from some kind of PTSD, Adelaide with her personal problems, missions with the afro shinigami. Overall I’ve been a busy girl, either helping someone get back to start, or simply ensuring that they survive until the end,” she said, closing the book again.
“You’re asking a lot about my history. If I had to piece it together, I’d say you’re going to ask about something that happened very recently. You want to know where I’ve been,” the Duelist stated.
“That sounds like your normal day for me.” Mitsuhito said, while laughing.
The waitress had finished picking up the fragments, while another one already served him his second serving.
“Ohh, you Italians sure know how to cook.” Mitsuhito said, while slurping down some noodles. “Yes, I do. So be so kind and tell me where you were and don’t show me your cold shoulder.”
That was the last one, he was sure of it. He wanted a relaxed atmosphere, but he feared if he did more of those jokes she would kill him.
“I was visiting an old friend. I hadn’t seen him in a while. Where is this line of questioning going?” she asked.
He probably could have told her some stories, but why? He did not believe in her guilt and it would only help if she cooperated. That would show her not being involved even more.
“If it’s alright with you, I don’t want to tell it to you in here. Here are just, too many listeners,” Mitsuhito said, before hastily adding, “but don’t worry, we can go to busy districts. I don’t want you to think that I’m after your life.”
Mitsuhito looked around and made sure no one but Alexia had heard the last sentence, the last thing they wanted were people reacting aggressively or other kinds of unnecessary things.
Sighing, the Duelist got up from the table, pausing to drop a small amount of kan on the table to pay the bill. After a subtle wave to the employees, she led the assassin outside, ensuring that there were no civilians that would overhear their conversation.
“Okay Mitsuhito, what is this all about?” she asked.
After Mitsuhito had paid for his lunch and the broken bowl, of course, he followed Alexia.
Checking for himself that there were no bystanders, he began to talk.
“Well, by now you know that I’m a member of the Twelfth Division,” he didn’t wait for her to answer this rather obvious sentence, “so I will tell you right away, I’m currently working.
“To be more precise, you are my target.”
He waited for any kind of hostile reaction but was relieved that she did not show any.
“Don’t worry, I primarily took this mission so that no one else would grab it. I haven’t had the time to get to know you, but I just can’t believe the accusations. That’s why I’m showing myself in the open. I want to question you about a specific date and what you did on that date, especially, where you were and if you had any witnesses.
“Is that okay with you?”
To her credit, the ice queen showed no emotion, just a slight tilt of the head. She had to resist getting angry over the idea that she was being accused of a crime...again. Sentence or not, she still believed she had done the right thing all those months ago.
“You haven’t said what I’ve allegedly done. Ask your questions, but I want to know what you read,” Alexia said.
“You are accused to be a mass murderer, killing nearly all citizens of a small town in the ninth district.
“A witness saw you leaving the crime scene not long after the calculated time of the massacre. So the charges are mass murdering approximately two hundred weak and innocent spiritual beings, not counting those confirmed to be part of a gang. Because this is the second time you did something like that, the Twelfth Division got the mission to assassinate you. The massacre happened two days ago.”
Catching some breath, he waited for this to sink in, before he continued a little nicer, “The Twelfth Division, however, started to investigate their missions before actually doing the killing blow.
“Just to be sure, though, I ripped the mission off the mission board and registered myself as the person to take care of this. So, what exactly did you do on that day? I hope you have an alibi, because I just honestly can’t believe that you are the culprit. If you really are the one, however, I need to question my knowledge of human nature.”
Mass murder. Again. This time there was no hiding how angry this made the Duelist. Simply by her stance and her hands on her hips, she looked at the assassin with a glare.
“You don’t think I try to make myself forget that incident? It is not something I ever want to repeat. As for my alibi,” she said as she drew her zanpakuto. She stabbed it into the ground and waited.
Soon enough, the temperature got lower all of a sudden as a large paladin emerged from the blade. Her dark skin and white hair standing out, Kōri no jotei towered over the assassin.
“You have a question?” she said.
For a moment, he apprehended that she would fight back and really was the culprit, but when the ambient air got colder and something that must have been her sword spirit materialized in front of him, he relaxed again.
The dark-skinned woman dressed in a blue armor, stood in front of him and awaited for him to ask his questions.
“Well, first of all,” he said, looking at Alexia with a smile, “congratulation of achieving Manifestation, at least I assume this paladin is your sword spirit?”
Not waiting for an answer, he looked at Kori again and continued to speak.
“Here lies the problem, though, while I can hear you out, I can’t only take your testimony into account. As her sword spirit, you are in a way prejudiced, but that does not mean I will utterly ignore the things you will tell me. I just wanted to make that sure before I start.
“As time is short, let’s begin. Where exactly was Alexia the day before yesterday?”
Kōri looked at the assassin, an eyebrow raised at the man’s assumptions.
“You can take my word as it is. If Alexia had done anything unwarranted again...she’d have to take it up with me. The fact that she is standing here before you without a blemish is already proof in a sense,” Kōri stated, giving her master a glance.
“As for her whereabouts, she was tending to the grave of my previous master. He passed my blade to Alexia before he died, and she makes a habit of visiting frequently. She returned to the Seireitei soon after, and hasn’t returned to the Rukongai up until now,” the spirit explained.
That caught him with his pants down. He had no idea what had happened in Alexia’s past and where she had gained her sword from. Neither did he know that her friend was actually a dead person.
“Hmmkay, good to know.”
Somehow, he believed that sword spirit. The paladin did not seem like she would lie. Thinking about his next turn, there was only one thing left to get meaningful evidence that would stay strong in front of the people he had to convince Alexia’s innocence to.
“As I said before, I don’t think you were the culprit, but I need final evidence to prove that fact to the people I need to give account to.
“Would you kindly accompany me to the Ninth District? One of the victims barely made it out alive and is currently hidden and protected by some of my divisions mates.”
The Duelist and spirit looked at each other a brief moment. They knew this could probably go bad, but there was no other way to prove her innocence. The odds of finding the actual wasn’t good, there were no clues.
The temperature dropped again momentarily as Kōri’s body became solid ice, pieces breaking off and swirling around Alexia’s zanpakuto before disappearing.
Thanks, she said in private before picking up the blade and sheathing it.
“Lead the way then. You want to cuff me too?” the Duelist said, holding her hands out.
“No need to. If you are innocent, you wouldn’t run away, if you are guilty and run away, I have my evidence.”
Starting to lead the way, he stood cautious. Too much had happened in previous missions or in the history of his division to simply let his guard down in front of a potential target. Still, the young assassin believed in her, something told him she was the victim here.
Both of the shinigami traveled to the ninth district were Alexia could see with her own eyes what had happened.
A huge portion of the district lay in ruins and some roofs were still icicled. Mitsuhito didn’t look around though. The backer had seen the scenery already and he wanted to meet the witness to end this soon. The trip to the ninth district had been a long one and he was tired.
“Hey, Shiko, come out here”, Mitsuhito shouted out.
From a small alley, another shinigami came into view, his reiatsu completely hidden.
“Yes?” the newly arrived shinigami asked.
“Could you lead us to the place you hid our wounded friend?”
“Of course I can, just follow me.”
Both Mitsuhito and Alexia followed the unknown assassin through some alleys before they came into the hideout where the bedridden witness laid on the bed.
The boy on the bed had grown up some since she’d last seen him. He looked like he’d been wounded badly.
“Will he live?” she asked.
“He’s stabilized for now. We’re waiting on a healer to arrive from the Fourth,” Shiko replied.
The boy’s eyes flickered as he woke up. Once she was in his sight though, they immediately widened. He was scared.
“He was one of the endless heartthrobs that tried to hit on me, back when I lived in this district. There’s not much I can say to convince him. All I can do is promise to find the culprit. Because I can swear to you now, that it wasn’t me,” she said quietly, turning to look at Mitsuhito.
“If you don’t believe me, I can understand. But give me a chance to make this right,” the Duelist requested.
Shiko took the initiative before Mitsuhito was able to do so himself.
“Don’t worry pretty lady, he will.”
Mitsuhito looked at Shiko with a sharp eye, he was sure Alexia did not need another person to hit on her.
“You heard him, Alexia, the boy will be okay.” Mitsuhito told the ice lady, while guiding her out of the room again.
Once both of them were outside he turned around once more and answer her previously asked request, ”As I already told you, I believe in your innocence. You can come with me if you want to and I a sure you will have your chance to make this up to him. I already have an idea what could have been wrong.”
With that said he turned around one last time and walked off to Seireitei. Of course he had noticed the scared look in the boy’s eyes, but at the same time he had noticed that it was not the fear of getting killed, but the fear a person one loved would see oneself in such a miserable shape.
Alexia looked at the survivor once more before leaving the room. She wondered what would become of him, his whole life having been changed.
Whatever idea Mitsuhito had, she’d have to trust in him. It was his word that would exonerate or condemn her.