It was a new dawn over Karakura Town.
The sun rose lazily, as if not wanting to exert too much energy into the day ahead. It lifted itself gently over houses, streets and shops. It passed over the river, the long bridge that connected either side. It passed the town centre, shops and streets quiet in the early light.
It passed over a figure wearing black.
It wouldn't have been ominous for anyone watching. After all, the figure dressed in black was not visible to those who were alive. He was a Shinigami, a God of Death. He cleansed the souls waiting to pass into the after life and relieved those who have turned truly evil.
And he was bored. He was very, very bored.
He wasn't exactly important. Standing in a red bandana, cropped brown hair and deep maroon eyes, the man seemed to show a certain level of uniqueness only held with characters that hold a depth in the story. But Iori Flats was not one of these men. Standing with one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other twisting in the hole of an ear, little finger searching deep like a miner searches for gold, Iori Flats watched the City, and waited.
The sun was still rising across the city. A scream echoed around the shadowed area of Karakura, a scream that no living being would be able to hear. A young, terribly scared girl ran through the alleyways in the dark side of the city. She was a soul, or a Plus, and prey to Hollow, although she didn't know it. She had been chased by monsters before, but this was worse. Dread ran free through her body… The sun was rising, she knew it, but her heart was in her mouth, thumping like a drum. Something was after her, and she really didn't want to stop and find out.
Her thin legs took her around a corner at the end of a long dark alleyway, into a long street. There she stopped, breathing heavily and eyes wide. At the end of the street stood a dark-robed figure, directly in front of the young plus. It was standing eerily still, hood casting a shadow over its face. Well, most of the face. Under that hood the girl could make out two slits, red eyes that seemed to pierce through her own. She gave a shiver and a slight scream, turning to run back the way she came.
There was a sliver, the sound of steel ripping from wood and then a light, organic sound. The girl slowed, stopping to a halt as the dark robed figure seemed to slide along side her. It stopped, holding a long thin katana by its side. Blood ran freely down the silver metal, dripping to the floor like a summer rain. The girl's eyes quivered, focusing on the katana. Her eyes ran in and out of focus.
'He…lp…'
Iori Flats glanced up. Somewhere he had felt some sort of activity. Was it a Hollow? From his Gi he removed a cell-phone, flipping it open and examining the screen. It was a map, cross-grids and with the basic area around him. In the centre was a blue dot, which was Iori himself. Any Hollow would show up as a red dot, but there wasn't any. A few green ones, but they were just Plus. No need to do any Burials today; there wasn't any in his area that were close to Hollowification.
Iori seemed satisfied, flipping the cell back and tucking it into his robes, turning to face the sunlight as he did so. The man's eyes widened. They had landed on the body of a little girl. But then he relaxed; a chain dangled from her chest, it was just a Plus. He gave a sigh, waving a hand towards her.
'Get outta here, ya little brat.'
'He…lp…'
Iori looked back up, brow creasing as he heard the words. A cold breeze flushed across the two, rustling through his robes and hair. His maroon eyes suddenly widened as the girl stood in front of her. Blood had started to run freely down her chin. Then her cheek, and then her arms, legs, forehead…
Iori could only watch as slowly, horribly, the girl seemed to fall to pieces. Blood sprayed out, covering the Shinigami in the stuff.
'What…'
There was another rush of wind, but it was faster. Something moved past Iori, stopping behind him. He lifted his head, turning it to see a black-robed figure. It wasn't a Shinigami. It wasn't… anything. Iori couldn't feel it at all…
As the figure turned, two eyes glinted from beneath a black cowl. They burnt red, like looking into the abyssal realms of hell itself. Iori turned to run, but then realised his body couldn't move. It wouldn't move. He grunted slightly, as the figure turned all the way around to face him, drawing out a long, thin katana as it did so. Iori's eyes widened as it was brought around in an arc, running through his chest.
But no blood came. Instead all the heat was drained from his body. The colour ran from the world, leaving it in shades of grey. Except the figures eyes… Slowly, two hands rose up, as white as anything. It was like looking straight into a bright light. The figure glowed. But the hand wasn't right… the fingers were long and gnarled, with long nails that seemed to be more like talons than anything else. And as the hood fell, Iori caught a glimpse of something all too familiar.
'What… the… hell…'
The figure's expression didn't change. Iori wouldn't have been able to notice if it did, in any case. The white Hollow mask only showed the eyes. The Shinigami fell back, foam rising to his lips and eyes rolling back into his head. Iori Flats fell from the building, right down to the street below.
Now the black robed figure lifted the cowl back up. He shifted, sliding the now clean katana into a black sheath by its waist. Without a word he vanished from view, leaving a plain empty sky above Karakura. Slowly, the sunlight rolled over the body of Iori Flats, lying in a pool of his own blood.