Chapter 1: A Strange Rumor

So what's this I hear about a shadow that's been wandering around the Seireitei?

Rumor has it, it appears every night.

It seems that attempts have been made to capture it, but it's so quick and no one even knows what it is yet.

Hah. Whichever squad it is, they're pretty lame for not being able to catch one stupid shadow.

I mean, it's just a rumor. Who knows if this thing even really exists?

Patrol duty today, patrol duty tomorrow... The captain and lieutenant went somewhere and haven't returned... How boring. This is no fun at all.

It just means we're in a time of peace. At least it's peaceful enough for us to be able to enjoy a drink at night.

The only thing interesting right now is that rumor from the other day. There's been no progress toward finding that mystery shadow.

That's such a B-rate ghost story.

What was that?!

Hey, Yumichika... You saw something run by just now too, didn't you?

Could it be that mystery shadow?

Over there!

I see. So the rumors were true.

Now things are getting interesting! Let's go, Yumichika!

Tch. That damn thing needs to keep still!

It's over there!

All right, let's keep this up and corner it!

Stop right there!

Captain Tosen, did the shadow...?

Ikkaku and Yumichika? What are you guys doing here so late at night?

Right back at ya. Who would've expected the mystery shadow to turn out to be Squad 9?

Mystery shadow? You mean the one wandering the Seireitei? Of course it's not us. We're trying to investigate the incident.

But seeing as you two are here, I can't help but wonder if Squad 11 was behind this rumor.

What's that supposed to mean?

That's enough, Shuhei.

As he said, we're currently in the middle of an investigation. We spotted the shadow and chased it here, but instead we find you two.

We are on high alert, so I apologize if there have been any misunderstandings between us. That being said, may I ask what you two are doing here?

We happened to see the shadow too, so we thought we'd try to catch it.

It sounds like the rumors are true. This could be a tough one. After all, it got away from us, as well as your squad.

This seems to be the case.

As for the investigation, our orders were made official at the Captains' Meeting. This mission has been assigned to Squad 9. As such, if you happen to come across any further information, please let us know.

Let's go, Shuhei.

Yes, sir.

In other words, I think he was telling us not to get involved in this any further.

Tch...