"Then by all means, let us make you strong." The lines might sound a bit cringe but they were honestly perfect as far as I was concerned.
Tatsuki was spiritually stronger than her anime version, not sure why but I didn't really care about it either. This was a great opportunity for me after all.
#DING DONG#
But it seemed like that the opportunity would have to wait for a while. Though I wondered who exactly was here since I didn't think anyone knew where I lived.
"Give a moment." I said with a sigh and got up from my seat, heading towards the door.
It was probably Urahara coming here to do Urahara things. Not very likely but it was the best guess I had and I was kinda good at those.
"Oi, Cain, open the door!"
Then again I could be wrong too.
Instead of an old man with a bucket hat I was greeted by the resident Shinigami, Quincy and powerless Shinigami. Kinda better company but still not exactly welcome.
"Can I help you?" I asked as I wondered how they found me. Rukia didn't have proper powers and the day Kurosaki Ichigo could do something other than swing his sword with sometimes spamming energy slashes from it when it came to Spiritual matters would be the day I would start to check my meals for some very shady drugs.
"We want to talk about what happened… yesterday." Ishida said and there was definitely some shame in his eyes, seemed like my words from yesterday did reach his 'Quincy's Pride'.
Now, I could just tell them to get lost and continue my talk with Tatsuki, a talk that wouldn't be a barely concealed interrogation. But I had little to no doubt that Ichigo wouldn't appreciate that and simply stand on the door until I agreed to talk, he was stubborn like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he just sat down with a grumpy face and waited for me to come out till the morning.
So the choice with the less hassle was…
"Sure, come in." Inviting them in and get them some drinks like a nice and civilized host.
"TATSUKI?!?!" Oh, it seems like I forgot to add Tatsuki's presence to my calculations about the hassle of my decisions.
Bu the time I brought a can drink for them, Tatsuki and Ichigo seemed ready to tear each other's throats like wild animals. Arguing about Ichigo 'hiding' the truth about spirits and Tatsuki 'throwing herself at danger'. Guess the orange head somehow slipped about being a Shinigami in the five minutes I wasn't there. It was actually quite impressive.
"…and you can't do nothing about it!" Tatsuki yelled out and seemed ready to continue her argument with the irate Shinigami which was watched by Rukia and Ishida like a tennis match.
"Ahem." But I had no interest in their arguments and made my presence known to them. The fact that I had to do such a thing in MY house was weird though.
Seeing that I had their attention now I continued talking.
"I don't know what exactly this argument is about and honestly I don't care about it either." I said, ignoring their outraged expressions. "You can continue it when you are OUTSIDE of my house." I laid down the rule and released some spiritual pressure in order to make my point sink in.
"Now, why are you three here and more importantly, how did you three find me?" I asked to the trio who's two members immediately pointed to Ishida who pushed his glasses up like he was cool.
"It wasn't easy but you left some amount of residue after yesterday where you were walking, I tracked it while Kurosaki and Kuchiki-san followed me." He explained which didn't make much sense. I didn't leave 'residue' since it was one of the basics about controlling your power properly but the trio seemed to believe their explanation and that meant I either lost some control yesterday because I was angry or more likely someone had put a tracker on me that left that 'residue'.
Which there was only one suspect and I had to admit I was more impressed than pissed. That bucket hat old man actually managed to put something like that in a way I wouldn't realize it.
I wasn't pissed because it honestly costed me nothing. It just brought the trio to my house where I had nothing of importance anyway.
"And why are you here?" But that didn't mean that I would allow my original question to be ignored.
"Are you a Quincy?" Ishida asked before the other two could even own their mouths and his question… it held a degree of desperation in it. In the end I couldn't bring myself to lie.
"Yes, though I am something of a freak compared to a normal Quincy." I answered before opening my can and taking a sip from it.
Ishida smiled as he looked down. I had been making fun of him in my head for a while but it seemed like he was actually not very happy about being the 'last' Quincy. Not that he actually was the last since there was a literal army of them living inside Seiretei's shadows.
"I am surprised, I thought that all Quincies were killed two hundred years ago." Rukia said with a hand on her chin, looking deep in thought so she missed Ishida's irritated gaze.
"It was less killing everyone and more reducing numbers in a way that would teach the remaining ones not to fuck with them." I answered her and it was true. There had been enough Quincies left to form several families like Ishida and Kurosaki families after all.
"Ok you people ask what you wanted now leave so I can continue my business." Tatsuki's irritated voice cut into the conversation, she still didn't seem happy.
"You should stop and continue living a normal life instead of risking your life!" And Kurosaki snapped at her in a way only a idiot protagonist could, fanning the flame of their argument. Better nip that in the bud while I can.
"While your opinion is noted, it isn't actually necessary, Ichigo." I said with a bored air around me and continued before he could go on a tirade. "It's not like Tatsuki here wants to just risk her life or anything. It's more like Karate, better to know so that you can use it if you need it rather than not know it when you need it."
My words seemed to do the trick as Ichigo calmed down and he even looked like he was actually thinking.
"You are right. Sorry, Tatsuki." Ichigo said and bowed his head to his childhood friend, surprising her greatly if her dinner plate sized eyes were any indication.
"Let's go Rukia." Then he stood up and dragged the shortest person in the room from the back of her shirt much to her protest.
"Wait there are still things I want to ask!"
"None of them are urgent. You can ask them on Monday in school." Ichigo gave zero fuck about her protests and left the house with one last apology.
"I believe I should go as well." Ishida also stood up and sent to the door before stopping.
"You were right about me being an idiot yesterday. But I hope you can forgive me and help me bring honor to our lines as fellow Quincies."
"Yeah man, don't say 'bring honor to our lines' it kinda sounds racist." I burst his bubble and the bespectacled teen blushed while Tatsuki started laughing.
As he finally left the house I went to the kitchen and took a big saucer and a knife along with some water before going back to the living room where Tatsuki is and laid them on the table.
"Now, where were we?"