A Little Help Here [INV]

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The crack of dawn had just passed when the call came to Takumi's door. It was an urged knocking that woke him with a start, the sound of hardened knuckles clashing against hard wood with no real rhythm had broken the brown haired shinigami's slumber. He stood as his robes his the floor, his bare body exposed to the chill of the morning. He quickly picked them up and wrapped them around his frame while he lazily walked to the door of his residence.

With a slender, pale arm he slid the door open slightly as the light blinded him momentarily, Takumi doing his best to stop himself from hissing at the brightness. A familiar man stood at his door with a scroll in his calloused hands. Takumi was surprised to be called upon this early, but was even more so surprised at the color of the parchment.

It was a purple parchment adorned with a wax seal from the Yonbantai Taicho herself. This could only mean one thing. Takumi was being sent on a rescue mission to the Human World.  His heart skipped a beat as his hand shot out and grabbed the parchment, nodding to the messenger in gratitude. He slid his door shut and let his robes fall yet again, unraveling the scroll across a small, ash colored wooden table that sat to the side of his bed. He looked it over carefully and his eyes widened at the the text. It was an immediate call to action, a wounded shinigami was found in the middle of Karakura Town and he was to go immediately to assist. A hell butterfly had already been assigned to him and was waiting at the gate. He had 10 minutes to prepare. Takumi darted about his room, his robes slipping over his toned figure as he shoved several different herbs and tools he might need on the road. This was his first time going to the real world. He couldn't mess this up. 

He prepared a pain relief potion as well as a muscle relaxing ointment he had acquired during medical drills and fastened the bag to his bag tightly.  He tied his zanpakuto onto his hip and darted out the door, slamming to door shut for good measure as he shunpod out of the barracks and across the courtyard. It took him all but 3 minutes to reach the gate, since thankfully they weren't too off. The good part about being in the medical squad is you were always in the middle of things, for convenience and much to Takumi's own. 

At the gate stood another officer who would be in charge of dismissing Takumi. He was especially surprised he was being sent alone, but at the same time he understood. It was a single shinigami that needed tending to, and there were still many injured men and women being tended with all the battles and the big mess that had taken place recently. He wouldn't let that discourage or frighten him, and he only prayed that whatever it was that injured the shinigami had already been dealt with. 

He greeted the officer at the door and received his instructions. He stepped into the Senkaimon in company of his hell butterfly, and before he realized it he had reached another door. As it slid open, Takumi couldn't help but be struck with wonder. 

"So this is the human realm." He thought, bewildered by how different it all was from back home. Many buildings were very tall but didn't seem to be made of stone. Instead they seemed to be made out of metal, which struck Takumi as both odd, expensive and impractical. He looked about and saw several humans but knew full well they wouldn't be able to see him. A few yards away was a clearing adorned with several bushels and trees, and he realized that in the middle laid a figure drenched him blood. 

He snapped out of his trance and wss about to rush to the man's side when he noticed another presence. There was a man atop a statue nearby, his hair long and dark. he was slender, and not particularly unattractive, though he had a brooding sort of long. Chronic bitch face, he'd heard it called. 

Takumi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he felt his senses sharpen. Something was off about the figure. He felt as though he was a shinigami, but there was a blatant dark stain in his reiatsu. Almost.. hollow-like? Takumi couldn't really make sense of it, and he figured it was maybe that his senses were confused by what he was seeing, and the fact that the injuries done to the shinigami on the bench were by a hollow themselves.

"Perhaps the man there was the one that kept the Shinigami alive and the hollow's reiatsu clung to him." Thought Takumi, trying to make sense of the situation, yet the uneasiness wouldn't leave him. His heart raced slightly as he quickly approached the two, slipping his bag off his back as he reached them.

"I am here to help. My name is Tsukimizu Takumi, a member of the Yonbantai. We received your distress call and I've come to your aid. Takumi said, his hand trembling slightly as he tried to keep his calm. He felt his mind reel slightly but took a deep breath. First he needed to act like he wasn't scared and hurry to aid his fellow shinigami. Then he would need to plan a way to find out who this other person was, and if necessary how to escape, but that would be difficult without being able to properly gauge who this is what he is and how strong he is.

"Keikatsu." Takumi spoke softly, as he felt his own energy reserves slowly ebb to his hand and into his fellow officer's wounds. He kept a steady rhythm and controlled his breathing as to not tax himself but he knew he needed to hurry. The injured shinigami had lost plenty of blood. With his other hand, Takumi reached into his bag, which now laid on the floor, and pulled a few leaves of a special herb he had brought.

"Here, chew on this. Take deep breaths. This herb will ease the pain and allow you to relax your muscles. The wound is large, I won't lie, but it's still something I can handle. I assume this wound is from a hollow... is it gone?" He spoke calmly to reassure the man but he needed to know what the situation was. He looked up at the figure on the statue, knowing full well that the injured shinigami was not in any real state to answer questions at the moment. He had meant the question for the dark haired man.

"Hurry, Takumi." He thought to himself, as he put all of his focus and power into his healing spell and hoped that whoever this was, he meant no harm.

"Also, I didn't catch your name. Who are you? Did you assist this shinigami in getting to safety?" He asked sternly but respectfully, wanting to avoid any real hint of being worried or thinking anything was amiss. He felt comfort in feeling his zanpakuto at his side, though he figured that since he couldn't even measure this man's strength properly, Takumi probably didn't stand a chance to begin with.

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Takumi was still wary of the man as he saw he was planning to leave. He'd only gotten a name, which aroused his suspicions further. He felt energy slowly seep past his hands and into the receding wounds of the hollow's victim. The fact that this man had been mangled to this point, and that this other  mystery being had taken it out like it was nothing caused an even greater concern in the Yonbantai member. He wasn't your typical healer, and could handle himself in a fight, but he knew he was currently outmatched. 

He needed time. To send this man back and to find a way to bring the dark haired man that saved him in for questioning. Takumi allowed himself a moment to breathe and released his healing kido, knowing that the more severe damage was taken care of the bleeding had been completely stopped. The injured shinigami's face showed discomfort still, but it was definitely more relaxed than before. He stood up and adjusted his robes before carefully approaching the young man called Hidane. 

He was probably somewhere around Takumi's own biological age, though their power levels were definitely uneven. He wasn't too tall, but he was slender and had a pretty face. In order situations, Takumi might flirt with him, but he knew better than to flirt with death. 

"Thank you so much for your kind actions, Hidane-san. I'm sorry, but I didn't hear you mention your squad and rank. I will need that for the report I will be filing on this incident. In fact, it would be better for you to accompany me so we can have your word taken down in person, and you can report back to your Captain. That would be the simplest way to handle this and I would be more comfortable treating the rest of the wounds found on this man back at our barracks."  Takumi spoke cleanly and evenly, trying to not emphasize any phrase in order to avoid making it sound like a threat or an order. 

He knew full well he would need to bring the man in, and allowed himself to place a hand on his zanpakuto and another on his hip, standing lazily but keeping his entire focus sat upon this man's figure. He couldn't afford any mistake, but he couldn't allow him to just leave. 

"Shall we go then? I can open the Senkaimon." Takumi spoke with a hint of nonchalance and threw in a soft smile to make it seem like he wasn't suspicious in the slightest. 

But there was definitely something wrong with the general feel of this man, and his word were strange. Why healing would have any adverse effect baffled Takumi enough to make him question whether this shinigami that stood before him was truly a Shinigami at all. He knew that traces of hollow reiatsu might radiate off someone after an encounter, but never this long nor this strongly. 

Something was very wrong, and it was up to takumi to find out what.

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Takumi had all but fallen for the man's bluff when his laughter broke the silence. He felt a slight hotness to his cheeks as he realized how gullible he was being, but soon felt the embarrassment turn to dread as he realized the weight of the man's words. A few reports had been made about the new captain's special condition, but he thought it wasn't possible for there to be more than the known beings in existence. Takumi felt his heart drop as he realized he was looking at a tainted soul, one touched by the impurity of a Hollow. 

It only made sense that he wouldn't return to Seireitei, given his state, but it made even more sense for Takumi to insist further. He knew he didn't stand a chance, and in fact, knew he didn't know a thing about this man's powers or their extent, but he had to try. The man added a final comment with a quite threatening flare, which only served to make Takumi's knees tremble ever so slightly. He couldn't back down from the opportunity though, and he wouldn't be able to face his own captain unless this was resolved properly. 

"That was quite the lie, Hidane-san. No matter though, I found it quite funny. Tell me something though, you mentioned that the captain in your former squad probably being okay with your return... Shouldn't we allow them to decide that? What squad did you form a part of? I really do think it best that you come back with me and talk to your Captain so we might get this resolved and filed properly." Takumi said this with as blank and passive an expression as he could. "I certainly don't think any less of you for this, I just think it's a misuderstanding we can clear up. I get that you have had tons of experiences out here, but there's a reason why the Shinigami exist and the Gotei 13 itself exist, we must learn to keep this balance. Won't you at least consider coming with me? What do you think is the worst that could happen?" Takumi kept his breathing even despite the fear and anxiety he was feeling. Any wrong move could make Hidane strike out at him, which Takumi was far too much aware would lead to his demise.He never let his dark blue eyes leave Hidane's frame, wanting to keep as close an eye on him as he could. He nonchalantly placed a hand on his sword and adjusted the strap around his hip, pretending it was just a move of comfort. 

Takumi wouldn't feel so exposed if he could keep his sword close. His body was tense, more so than usual, but he couldn't really do anything to avoid that. 

His choices were asking Hidane to come with him, trying to stop him, or going back and running a report to have back up come out looking for him. 

The first was the best, and the other two would be suicide of Hidane even suspected that Takumi would try either one. 

He didn't dare look to the injured shinigami he had stabilized moments before, but he knew he would be okay. The man would need new bandages later in the day and a lot of rest, but besides that and some good medicine, he would be fine. 

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