“Find her! Don’t let the other one get away!”

A group of five shinigami ran down the street before coming to an intersection.

“You two, check that way. The others, with me. Remember the vice-garrison leader wants her alive.” the leader of the group ordered. Two of the Shinigami split off to the right, while the remaining three went left. Unseen by all of them another Shinigami peered over the side of a roof.

Seeing the coast was clear, Natsumi dropped off the roof and looked to where the Shinigami had run off.

Apparently the local forces either were being used by the person behind the lab or the group that just passed, along with the vice-leader and who knows how many others, were acting on their own to attack Natsumi and Alexandria.

Unlikely.

Something had happened to alert their enemy, but she wasn’t sure what it could be. Did they get too close to the lab? Did their cover get blown? Were they going to try eliminating her and Alexandria no matter what? Too many questions and not enough answers.

Speaking of Alexandria, Natsumi would have to find a way to rendezvous with the strange human. She had missed walking into a trap by sheer luck when she had gone to swap disguises. Another escort who looked fairly similar to her disguise had been on the way to the same changing room and Natsumi simply let her go first. When she heard the sound of gas releasing inside, Natsumi had hidden nearby and eventually saw the now unconscious girl being dragged into a side corridor.

Natsumi had contemplated following, but had pulled back to regroup with her partner. While this was a great lead to their goal, if whoever was behind the trap had made a move on Natsumi, they had certainly moved against Alexandria as well.

Instead, Natsumi had retreated back to the room they were given by the local Shinigami. She had planned to wait for Alexandria there, but a pair of guards had burst into the room, swords drawn, and attacked her.

They clearly didn’t know how powerful Natsumi truly was if they thought two town guards were enough to capture her. She quickly knocked the both of them out with a few strikes with the back of her own blade and fled the area. Now she was dodging through town trying to find a safe place to plan her next move and avoid fighting the local guards until she had a better understanding of what was going on.

Sounds up ahead made Natsumi slow down and press up against a wall. She sidled down the wall and peaked around the corner. Down the road a group of five Shinigami were locked in a heated argument. And surprisingly four of them were surrounding the remaining one, and it seemed like they were getting more aggressive.

“-telling you, I don’t know where they are!” Natsumi recognized the Shinigami being surrounded as the leader of the local garrison. “I don’t care what Yuuto thinks, but I’m not going to cut into my day off to answer a million questions about where two chicks ran off too. I’m not friends with them, I don’t know where they would have run off to. Interview over.”

He tried to push past the Shinigami in front of him, only for all four of the others to place a hand on their swords.

“Garrison Leader, you will come with us. Even if we need to use force.”

The cornered Garrison Leader -Kimura! That was his name!- scoffed at the show of force from his four mutinous subordinates. “Please, you guys think you can take me out? It would take way more than just you four!” He made a grab at his side for his own Zanpakuto. Only to realise there was nothing there. He had left his sword at his quarters since he was spending his time playing around in the pleasure district.

“Uh, so I don’t suppose you guys would wait for a minute?” Sweat started beading on Kimura’s forehead as he backed away from the other Shinigami, all of whom now had drawn their swords and started advancing on him. “C’mon guys! This isn’t fair!”

Back in an alleyway, Natsumi let out a heavy sigh. Looks like she would need to save the idiot if she wanted to know what happened to Alexandria when they split up. With a flex of her reiryoku Natsumi disappeared in s Shunpo, appearing behind the four Shinigami and knocking them out with a quick blow to the back of the neck.

Her sudden appearance shocked Kimura, making him shriek and cringe in surprise. “Ah! Who are you?!”

Natsumi simply grabbed him by the front of his uniform and started dragging him behind her into the alley so they weren’t standing in the middle of a road. “You are going to tell me exactly what is going on since I left you with Alexandria. Then you are going to help me deal with this mess.”

“Look lady, I don’t even know who you are! And like I just finished telling the other guys, I don’t know what's going on!”

Natsumi threw him to the ground. “‘What’s going on’ is that your subordinates attacked me and Alexandria is missing. Now they are running all over the town hunting for me and seem to be trying to remove you as well. So like I said, you are going to help me get to the bottom of this mess.”

Kimura jumped to his feet and quickly walked up to Natsumi, shoving a finger under her nose. “You’re that guide that took us to the Moonlit Garden! If you think I’m going to listen to anything you say, you’re insane! I’m the leader of this garrison, if anyone is going to be ordered around here, it’s you!”

“Is that right?” Natsumi said quietly. She quickly removed the last traces of her disguise and Kimura’s eyes widened with recognition. “Maybe I should properly introduce myself then.” She continued. “I am Squad Two, Third Seat Natsumi Hanakage. As a Seated Officer of the Goteijūsantai I am taking command of all loyal members of this garrison. Are there any objections?”

Kimura could only stare at her in horror, his face entirely white.

“...you’re...an officer?”

“That is correct.”

“...of Squad Two?”

“Yes.”

“...oh.”

-o-

Some time later the two Shinigami were standing in the shadows observing the garrison headquarters.

“It seems the rest of the garrison is following Yuuto Kiba’s orders.” Natsumi stated as they watched a group of guards halt, then inspect every person walking past. “Where is your room? I will retrieve your Zanpakuto and we can search for Alexandria.”

Kimura grimaces, “It's in the center room on the second floor. It was the best way to soundproof the room…”

Natsumi rolled her eyes. From what she had learned from the garrison leader’s personality, it was probably so he could recover from hangovers in peace. It also meant that she would have to infiltrate the heart of the building just to get a single sword and get out unnoticed. Well, it was nothing she hadn’t done before.

“Okay, let’s pull back a bit so I can get a better picture of the layout. Then I will retrieve your sword.”

“Don’t worry, I got this.”

The action was so sudden and foolish that Natsumi, to her shame, failed to react. With a simple pat on the shoulder, Kimura walked out from their concealed location and boldly walked straight at the guard building. By the time she came to her senses the imbecile was already halfway across the street, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Whatever he expected to happen, the guards sounding the alarm and rushing at him swords drawn clearly wasn’t it.

Kimura squacked as one of them swung at his head, causing him to trip over his feet when he backpedaled away and fell to the ground. Another was set to attack him on the ground, but suddenly the guards eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed. An instant later the others jerked slightly and fell over as well.

Natsumi blurred into existence as her Shunpo ended and she stared at the fallen Shinigami.

“And what the hell was that supposed to accomplish?”

Kimura sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “I thought that if I acted like everything was normal I could just walk in? I am the leader after all.” He looked at the unconscious guards all around him, clearly concerned. “But they just attacked me right away. I don’t think they even recognised they were really attacking me.”

“Clearly they did. It didn’t look like they hesitated much.”

Kimura shook his head. “No no, I mean I don’t think they were aware. Their eyes just looked so dull. It’s like they all got drugged up, but they didn’t move like it.”

Natsumi looked at the bodies pensively. Were the guards controlled somehow? It was a frightening thought, but now was not the time to consider it.

“This is turning into such a mess.” she sighed.

-o-

Retrieving Kimura’s Zanpakuto was hardly worth mentioning after the idiot blew their cover. Natsumi simply knocked out every Shinigami that she came across until she reached Kimura’s room, grabbed the sword off its stand, and strode out the way she came. From there, she grabbed Kimura and Shunpo’d away before more guards showed up.

Now the two of them were waiting in the safehouse Natsumi and Alexandria had decided on as a fallback location if they were ever separated while investigating the Moonlit Garden for some reason.

The two Shinigami sat in the dimly lit main room. Natsumi reading a report and Kimura appearing to be asleep.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

Kimura kicked out of his chair and slapped the papers out of Natsumi’s hand.

“It’s been hours since we’ve been here, and we’ve done nothing! We have no idea what’s going on with my men and I refuse to sit around with a thumb up my ass any longer!”

Natsumi looked bemusedly at the fallen papers before shifting her gaze to the irate Shinigami.

He certainly got over his fear of her being an officer quickly.

“So you plan to go against my orders then?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh…”

“You think I’ve been sitting here doing nothing?”

“...um...haven’t you?” Kimura asked in a shaking voice, sweat beading on his forehead as he realised exactly what he had just done. “I-I mean as an o-officer you of course know what you’re doing! It’s j-just...”

Natsumi smiled slightly and went to pick up the fallen papers. When she looked back Kimura was now completely white and shaking like a leaf.

“Well you would be mostly correct.”

“......hah?”

“If we ran off without waiting for my partner and she was here awaiting our arrival we would be limiting our strength for no reason. Now that she has failed to rendezvous with us we know she is either unable to join us or was captured somehow.”

“Oh, I see. So what do we do now though?”

Walking over to a plain wooden box, Natsumi opened the lid to reveal a black sword with a red hexagonal pattern on it. She gently removed the sword from its container and placed it on the table.

“What’s that? Some kind of spirit weapon?” Kimura asked.

“Something like that.” she answered. “This is a special sword that belongs to Alexandria, and it is going to lead us right to her.”

“Woah, how's it going to do that? Is it going to teleport us to her or something?”

Natsumi gave him a look. What kind of sword teleports? “No, from what she told me, this sword is part of a pair that has the ability to always return to its owner. She should have the other with her so all we need to do is let this one guide us to her.”

Kimura looked at the blade appreciatively, “Wow that sounds really useful, no more accidentally leaving my Zanpakuto at a brothel. Wish my sword could do that.” he mused, running a hand over it’s handle.

Ignoring that distasteful comment, Natsumi picked up Alexandria’s sword and shut her eyes. If anyone in her squad had made such a remark, she would have pitied the poor sword and the Zanpakuto spirit inside. But considering Kimura had achieved Shikai despite his treatment of the blade, it seemed his sword shared at least some of his lecherous attitude.

Brushing those thoughts aside she concentrated on her hand. Very soon, she felt a ghostly tugging sensation in her mind urging her in one direction. She and Alexandria had practiced this method before, so Natsumi recognised the feeling of the twin swords being drawn together.

“Okay, let’s go.”

-o-

“In there huh?”

In front of them was a nondescript building no different than the ones surrounding it. In fact the only reason Natsumi singled it out was the poorly concealed Shinigami watching from the windows. She also knew that this particular building had an entrance into some old smuggling tunnels that were used by criminals from some of the criminal hideouts she raided earlier. There was no reason for a guard here otherwise.

“In where? That empty building?” Kimura asked.

Apparently the guards were better hidden than she thought.

“Look at the window there. See the silhouette? That’s a guard. There is another on the floor above him. Two more cycle through the building at semi-random intervals.” Natsumi said, pointing each of them out in turn.

“Wow, I didn’t even see them. As expected of an officer!” Kimura exclaimed.

Natsumi gave him a sideways glance, curious about the comment. ’When we meet up with Alexandria, I’ll need to ask why he keeps praising my ability as an officer. I wonder if he said something to her. she mused.

Shaking her head, she moved on. “Okay, I’ll clear out the house. You go around the back and watch to make sure no one runs out when I do. When I’m done I will let you in to deal with the bodies, tie them up and meet me in the basement. Clear?”

“Clear!” Kimura said with a nod.

“Then get moving. I will give you thirty seconds to get into position.”

At the end of the countdown Natsumi vanished with a Shunpo and reappeared in the second floor window of the guarded building. With another burst of movement she entered and found herself directly in front of the previously hidden guard. A quick rabbit punch to the throat prevented him from calling out and alerting the others. Despite the sudden inability to breath the guard’s eyes showed no signs of panic or any other type of emotion, and he still attempted to attack Natsumi but was quickly knocked out with another light blow to the temple.

Natsumi caught the body before it could hit the floor and listened carefully for signs that the brief struggle was noticed by anyone else in the building. Hearing nothing, she gently placed the unconscious guard on the floor and prepared to move to the next room.

The other three guards proved little challenge to the 3rd Seat Shinigami, and Natsumi and Kimura found themselves wandering the subterranean tunnels that ran under the town. Alexandria’s sword was invaluable for navigating the labyrinth since they had no map of the twisting paths. Whenever they started moving in the wrong direction, Natsumi felt a subtle tug in the back of her mind pointing her in the right direction.

She would really need to ask Alexandria where she came across such weapons. This was tracking on the same scale as high level Bakudo spells and was infinitely easier. If the science division could recreate the ability the sword had to return it’s owner, or even just the attraction between the two blades, in a different object it could mean another way of locating Shinigami who disappeared on assignments that didn’t rely on high level Kido experts.

“A deadend?”

The two Shinigami came to a halt in front of an unassuming stone wall. They had passed several deadends on the way, but this was the first time that following the guidance of the black sword had led them to one.

“What now? Is our magic sword broken? We obviously can’t go thatta way.” Kimura said, leaning on one of the side walls and thrusting a thumb at the end of the tunnel.

“No, I’m still feeling a pull in that direction.” Natsumi replied. “We might be looking at a hidden passage. It would explain why we did not find any trace of the kidnapped souls in town.”

“Right, the secret lab that’s supposed to be hidden here.” Kimura huffed disdainfully, before straightening up at Natsumi’s glare. “I-I mean of course! This could be the lead we were looking for!”

Natsumi continued to let him sweat for a bit before rolling her eyes and inspecting the wall for any hidden mechanisms. After a few minutes, she sighed, shook her head, and retreated a few paced back down the tunnel.

“No luck finding a way in?”

“There is one more thing I can try. Though I am not very thrilled to do so.”

Kimura furrowed his eyebrows, “Why not?”

“It reminds me of something Squad Eleven would do in this situation.” Natsumi replied before extending a palm out at the rock, supporting her arm with her other hand. “Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado number 31: Shakkaho!”

An orb of crimson fire formed on her palm before slamming into the wall, causing an explosion that shook the tunnel and caused a cloud of dust to come rushing back at her.

“...please don’t do that again.” Kimura squeaked from where he had fallen on the floor. He slowly lowered his arms from covering his head and looked back where Natsumi had blown up the wall. “...so Squad Eleven throws Kido around like that?”

“No, they actually look down on using Kido at all. I just find the brute force method similar to their normal actions. Though in this case I can’t fault its usefulness.” Natsumi stated as she continued past the destroyed wall into the now polished floor of the hallway.

It appears they had found their lab.