The crossed paths

Kill 'em all

A booming scream woke up the three peaceful humans in the worst way they could've expected after a long night's sleep.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, RISE AND SHINE! THE SUN'S UP!!"

-WHAT THE HELL!?- was the group answer it received back. On one hand, Tiger fell off his bed. On the other, Julia screeched. Finally, Dragon seemed to reverberate with the loud awakening call.

Laughing at them from the doorframe of their shared room, a redhead with the same Shinigami robes as Ichigo greeted the humans with his own tough fashion.

-The sun's up, little humans! Now don't be so pathetic and get up. We've got a long day ahead of us!

Tiger and Julia stared at him with annoyance, but the unexpected came sooner than they thought. Dragon got up and ran towards the readhead, excitement evident on her eyes.

-No way! No way! You're Abarai Renji!!- she squealed. Surprised, Renji laughed and patted her head.

-That's actually the nicest reception I've received from someone up until today. Thanks for that, cool girl! You made my day.- seeing that she enjoyed his complimenting words, Renji took one more step forward. -Care to tell me your name?

She lit up again. -The name's Dragon! It's a very nice honor to meet you!

The redhead smiled as a greeting back. Then Dragon turned around, and quickly took back her collected demeanor. She crossed her arms, almost in sync with Abarai, at seeing that her two companions were unmoving from their beds.

-Why are you still there? It's an important day! Don't you remember? Ichigo told us about that yesterday. Get up and prepare yourselves for the mission! We gotta make a good first impression!- Dragon gestured wildly with her hands to emphasize her point.

-Alright, alright!- complied Tiger. Julia silently followed him, and sooner than later, the three of them were ready to go.

Renji suddenly remembered a crucial detail and waited no time in voicing it out loud.

-Matte, otoko na! [Literally, "Wait, women!", in this situation understood as "girls"]

Julia and Dragon looked at him and made their attention evident, so that their leader would continue.

-There will probably be a lot of blood... you two aren't... ya' know... scared of it, right?

-B-blood?- asked Julia with a hint of fear on her voice.

-I don't mind it- answered Dragon with a confident grin.

-Okey...- Renji said, uncertain -Julia, please be sure to watch out for yourself. If you feel like you're going to pass out, please tell me at once.-he turned around, his back facing the teenagers.- It's beter if we hurry up now.

The teenagers followed Renji through the Tree Fortress. From time to time, a shadow would pass behind them, quick and unnoticed like a breeze. The three humans knew they were probably unnatural for the others characters on the base, so they tried to seem as comfortable as they could, attempting to incite someone to come out of the shadows and at least wave at them from afar.

When they reached the gate, the Shinigami stopped dead on his tracks. With an apparently darker tone, he spoke up.

-This is a warning. After the mission, we don't know what fate awaits each one of you. We will see if you can work together. And even if you can or not, you'll go to train separately anyway, unless you all excel at teamwork... which is unlikely. After that, I don't know if... you'll meet again, as friends.

The three humans gasped. More than the warning of the unknown fate, their ears catched and worried more about the last sentence. Why wouldn't they meet again as friends? What was the reason behind that statement...?