Scarlet Love: Unforgettable Memories of Nobody

Days 2 and 3: Let's set sail, Captain!

Ichigo POV: 

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I uh.. Just going out in case there're any hollows tonight." It was a while later now, just before Senna's shift at Onteiku ended.

"Huh, you've never done that before," Rukia commented with hefty sarcasm.

"Look, I just want to see her home. It's a long walk."

"We have our scanners. We'll know if something's coming."

But my mind immediately jumped to things that weren't picked up by our scanners. A thug, a kidnapper, a runaway vehicle... The possibilities were endless.

"Since when do I need your permission anyway Rukia?" My temper reared its head.

In a true, mature fashion that I could only dream of, Rukia crossed her arms and shook her head. "You don't. Go. Make sure she gets home safe."

That was our job after all.

Nerves bit at my stomach while I waited on the rooftops of the apartment complex nearby. I wasn't used to being sneaky while in soul reaper form, and I imagined that getting caught like this would be unacceptable to all parties involved.

Maybe I could just say a hollow was going to show up and... Oh! There she is!

"Bye!" She pushed out into the cooled night air, wrapping her arms around herself at the sudden change in temperature. I couldn't help but smile as I trailed a few rooftops behind her on the way home. She was humming and snapping her fingers to some tune I'd never heard of. She was only a few blocks away from the bridge when I heard her sneakers scuff on the asphalt. She looked around for a moment before taking a quick left turn at the next intersection.

This wasn't the way to her house.

My heart beat faster, and then even harder when I saw the spirit of a little girl in the alley she turned down.

"How did she sense that?" I spoke quietly to myself. I hadn't even noticed; maybe I was too focused on Senna to think about much else.

"Hey little girl," Senna squatted in front of the clearly startled spirit.

"You— You can see me?" The girl's voice was suddenly hopeful.

"Of course," Senna smiled. "That's a cool sailboat you have there."

I hadn't noticed from my distance, but the girl was holding what looked to be a paper boat in her hands.

"Yea! My dad and me were going to sail our boats in the water but... Dad's gone now, and I can't find the water..."

"Lucky for you I'm going right by there. Wanna come with me? We can look for your dad on the way," Senna held out her hand.

"You're a nice person. I think Dad would be okay with me going with you," and she fit her hand right inside Senna's palm. "He says not to talk to strangers."

"That's right. Your dad must be a good person," she smiled down at the spirit.

"Yea, he's good at checking for monsters and telling me bedtime stories too," the girl cheesed. "But I don't know where he is now..."

"That's okay. We'll see if we can find him."

I wondered what exactly was going on in Senna's head right now. What did she plan to do with this spirit? How was she going to send it on?

Should I intervene? Would it be too convenient for me to show up now?

Maybe it was my head that needed to be analyzed...