There, he saw two girls sitting on a cafe terrace.
Ninny sat with a smile, wearing casual clothes that seemed to fit her perfectly. She wore a short-sleeved white shirt underneath her blue jacket and a black miniskirt that reached down to her knees.
Next to her was the same girl he saw in London a few days ago, wearing a black jacket with a white blouse and a black skirt that reached her thighs, revealing the pale skin beneath.
Her black hair flew straight down to the small of her back, framing her face and giving off a mature aura that contrasted greatly with Ninny's lively atmosphere.
She also wore black-rimmed glasses, which further enhanced her appearance.
They were having a cup of tea as they conversed with each other. Both seemed quite relaxed.
Approaching them seemed to be like a hard task, especially with attention they received from the surrounding. Their beauty stood out so much that everyone's eyes were drawn to them.
"Did you wait long?"
But Shirou didn't care about their gaze. He didn't feel any discomfort either. Instead, he approached the table as if it belonged to him, greeting the girls with a gentle smile.
"Oh, hey! You are finally here! It's been ten minutes, you know?" Ninny exclaimed as soon as she saw him. "I thought Japanese people are punctual!"
"Huh? I thought our meeting was in 20 minutes. Wait, did you arrive an hour early or what?"
"An hour? Why would I arrive an hour earlier? Sorry but I am not stupid enough to wait that long." Ninny said as she rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. "No way am I gonna waste my time like that!"
"... So, you've been here for thirty minutes?"
"Yes."
"That's pretty early." He commented.
"I know, right!?"
She seemed proud of herself despite not doing anything worthy of being proud of. Still, seeing Ninny being cheerful like usual was refreshing for Shirou's heart after everything he had experienced in the past few days.
Shirou smiled and turned to Noel.
"Long time no see, Noel. How are you doing?"
"Good," the black-haired girl said, giving a faint nod, "Thank you for asking. I hope you are doing well yourself, Shirou?"
"I am." He nodded with a wry smile.
Saying he was stressed and exhausted was a bit too much for a greeting. After all, he wanted to have fun and enjoy his free day, not thinking about his problem.
A little escape from reality wouldn't hurt.
Even heroes needed to have a break. Not that he fully detached himself from his problem.
In fact, meeting them here was a way to deal with another problem that threatened this city.
After ordering a cup of black coffee, Shirou sat across from Ninny and Noel. They already drank and ate their cake and tea, leaving him as the last one. Shirou was in no hurry so he took his time drinking his cup, waiting for them to explain their business here.
It was Noel who first spoke.
"So... Did Ninny tell you about our purpose for being here?" She asked.
"Yeah," Shirou nodded. "She told me everything. But what exactly happened after we parted ways?"
"Nothing much. Just dealing with some dragons and some stuff, but we are used to it." Ninny replied nonchalantly, "We received a report that someone kept a dragon illegally so we are here to check. There was a report of an abnormality and we found one."
"A marchen." Noel said, her voice low.
Shirou was already aware of it, though not in full detail. But hearing the term again reminded him that he had a job to do. There were still a lot of problems that he had to solve.
Still, the appearance of marchen was pretty rare. They hadn't been seen for years or even decades.
Having them active at this time when everything went south wasn't exactly good.
"Can you tell me more about the marchen?"
"Yes." Noel nodded and put her tea cup on the table, "But first, you have to understand what marchen is. They are dragons with a high level of magic energy, and are also the strongest of the bunch."
Shirou knew about it. Dragons were dangerous and could cause massive destruction, and marchen was a group of the strongest dragons.
Those dragons had been active since ancient times.
It was believed that they had lived since before the birth of humans, but it was impossible to confirm that fact. There were records of their existence, though. They had always existed throughout history and would probably remain there until the end of time.
Noel continued, "They have two unique characteristics that distinguish them from ordinary dragons; their magic power is greater than normal dragons, and they possess strong resistance to magical spells, which means that even if their physical strength is far above ours, it is very difficult to kill one."
Dragons, in general, possessed tremendous power compared to any living creature on Earth. Their power and speed were far superior to the rest of the animals on this planet.
Apparently, from Noel's description, Marchen was more than what he imagined.
It seemed to be a very powerful creature with an overwhelming amount of power.
No wonder it could cause chaos just by being there. It was something to be cautious of. But at the same time, it made him curious. Why would such powerful creatures choose to go to Japan out of all places? It was a strange choice considering there were much better places.
When Shirou asked that, both Witches looked at each other and Ninny shrugged her shoulders.
"Not even our intel could find the reason. It's a mystery, but the important thing here is that they are here." She answered with a shrug.
Noel sighed at that, "Anyway, it is our responsibility to make sure they won't harm innocent people and keep them in line. That's why we came here."
"I see." Shirou muttered, thinking about what they told him.
There was another reason why he decided to come with them.
To be honest, he had no intention whatsoever of getting involved with these girls or their problems. But he felt obligated to do something when they said that a dragon was running amok around here. If left alone, it might cause havoc, which would result in loss of lives and property.
Not only that, Aizen also seemed to have a goal in Karakura Town, proven by him sending force twice to the city.
The marchen, on the other hand, could have been here by coincidence, or they might have sensed something about the place. Either way, it was best to deal with it as soon as possible.
Two different dangers, and they both could threaten this town.
"I will help you." He finally said after thinking about everything. He had already prepared everything to deal with the marchen anyway.
Ninny grinned at his words and pumped her fist. "Nice! I thought you would turn down my request!"
"That would help us a lot." Noel smiled faintly. She looked relieved.
With the agreement settled, Shirou drank the rest of his coffee and put the cup down.
"Then... Do you have an estimation of when it will appear?" He asked.
Noel took out a book from her bag and flipped through pages. "There's no exact date. It will happen when the time comes. And I am not talking about hours or days, we will need months of waiting." She looked at the sky with a sigh, "And when it comes, we can't avoid the chaos."
"Months?"
"Yes." She nodded, "But it can also appear tomorrow or the next day, no one knows. We are talking about creatures who have the power to destroy the city with the flick of a finger, so we have to be cautious. Our current objective is to find where they will show up, and then..."
"We will ambush it."
Noel looked at him with an incredulous stare. "Are you crazy?" She asked bluntly, her face contorted in shock. "Marchen is not something you can defeat that easily."
Shirou shrugged at that, "But you said it yourself, no one can tell when it will show up, and the longer it stays in this town, the bigger the danger it will be. It will be much easier if we can take care of it quickly. Besides, if we could just wait until the day comes, there will be no problem at all."
There were a few weapons that he could use against the Marchen, but most of those weapons had some drawbacks or were too dangerous for use against humans. But there was no need to worry. They would have plenty of time to prepare, so he would be ready when the time came.
It would be a gamble, and he had no guarantee of winning. However, he would rather have some chance than nothing.
Ninny raised her eyebrow at him and crossed her arm. She didn't believe it, but at the same time, she didn't have a choice. She wanted to solve it quickly and get out of here.
"Shirou, you are too reckless," Noel commented with a sigh, shaking her head in disapproval.
Reckless? Perhaps, but he didn't mind. He knew what he was getting himself into, so it didn't really bother him much.
Besides, he wasn't planning to take any unnecessary risks. He would try his best to keep casualties at bay and make sure everyone survived. And he was going to make sure they did. That was what he intended to do anyway. He wasn't a superhero or a god; just a simple human being.
"I know. But it's worth trying, isn't it?" He answered with a small grin, shrugging his shoulders. He turned his head to look at the two witches, who looked confused.
"...You really don't have any fear in facing a marchen, huh?" Ninny asked after a while, a frown visible on her face.
"I don't." He answered simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I'm used to facing dangerous opponents, and I don't think I'd lose my nerve so easily."
"Huh? Is it because of that man last night?" Ninny asked, moving the spoon in her hand as she recalled last night, "You know, the one who had weird hair and wore a white uniform?"
"Yes. That guy was strong." Shirou said with a serious face.
Ninny and Noel nodded at his response, seemingly understanding.
"That guy's name was Grimmjow, right?" Ninny said. "He introduced himself as Espada or something. Is that his rank in his group?"
"It's probably similar to a rank." Shirou said. He couldn't be sure though.
After all, they didn't have an opportunity to find out further information on Grimmjow and his companions.
Although the information was lacking, it was enough to give them a clue of how powerful these people were.
"What is he?"
"An arrancar."
This time, it was Shirou's turn to explain his enemies to the Witches. Everything starting from hollow, Soul Society, and Aizen, everything that had happened up to now.
From their point of view, it would be an absurd and ridiculous story.
Still, it was necessary for them to know the danger that he faced.
"I see..." Ninny commented once Shirou finished his explanation. "That man... He seems to have a big goal in mind. And you have danger coming after you and your brother at this very moment? Wow, what a timing. It's as if fate hates you."
"I agree. You really are a magnet of trouble, Shirou." Noel agreed with Ninny, smiling a little.
He didn't reply, but his expression clearly told them he felt the same. Everywhere he went, there would always be trouble waiting for him, whether it was his fault or not. It didn't matter. He would still end up being involved anyway, regardless of whether or not he actually wanted to.
He sighed, "It's troublesome."
"But that's your charm, you know." Ninny pointed out.
"..."
He had no answer to that.