Author's Note: I DO NOT own Bleach

"See you tomorrow!" Izumi called back to her friends as she left them at the gates.

At eighteen years old, she was only in her first year of university and, true to her father's wishes, studying Law and Economics.

As she boarded the quarter to six train, she was relieved to find an empty seat near the window. She pulled out her iPod and listened to that as more and more people got on and finally made its way out of the station.

At quarter past, Izumi was five minutes away from home. She got to her feet, thinking she should wait by the door, and was halfway along the aisle when a huge lurch threw her off her feet.

As she fell, she knew that she had been caught in a huge accident.

Now she'd never see her friends again.

*

Izumi struggled to sit up –for some reason, it was hard to breathe. What was more miraculous was the fact that she was actually still alive. She looked around –everywhere, dead bodies were sprawled on the ground. Why was she the only one to have survived?

She suddenly noticed the chain hanging from her chest, severed at one end.

Now she was freaked –what the hell was this?

Before she could think any more clearly, there was an awful blood-curdling roar that seemed to vibrate through every bone in her body.

For some reason, she had heard that cry before –in the school yard, only a few hours ago, it had echoed across the rooftop. The strangest thing had been that none of the others had been able to hear it. And it had filled her with fear then.

Something told her that she should run, but she couldn't. It was if she was paralyzed by her fear.

Something huge was coming. Then it leapt onto the remains of the overturned carriage and looked down at her.

It was huge, looking like a caterpillar or centipede. As it reared up, she saw that there was a hole in its chest, and she could see right through to the sky behind it. And it's face was a white skull-like mask.

Somehow, she knew that this was the thing she had heard howling.

"Finally!" the thing screeched. Izumi started –she hadn't been expecting it to be able to talk. "It looks as though I found a fresh soul! And you're a tasty-looking one as well."

One of its legs shot out like an extension and wrapped itself tightly around Izumi, who screamed as she was lifted into the air.

The thing opened its mouth, intending to swallow her whole.

A sword swung through the air in a flash of steel, severing the arm that held Izumi. As the creature screamed and Izumi fell, a man in a black kimono caught her. He put her on the ground before turning to face the monster.

"Just stay down and you'll be alright, girl," he ordered.

"Filthy Soul Reaper, how dare you interrupt my meal?" the thing screamed. "You'll pay for that one!"

"You won't harm anyone ever again, Hollow," the man said and raised his sword.

"Purify, Awaihime (1)."

The sword emitted a white light as it changed shape, into a two-pronged weapon rather than the katana it had been before. As the man swung it through the air, it sliced the monster –Hollow, the man had called it. With one last roar, the thing vanished.

The man turned to the girl he had protected. Now that the threat was eliminated, he could perform a Konso(2) on the girl and send her spirit to the Soul Society. He looked at the train wreck –what an awful way to die.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "I promise you won't have to worry about Hollows like that one ever again."

"Who are you? What was that thing? And what the hell's with this chain?" she asked, giving it another tug.

"I am a Soul Repaer, Kokichiro Takezoe, 7th Seat of Squad 10(3)," he replied. "I was assigned to watch this area and protect it from Hollows, like the one just now. Hollows are lost souls, have lost their hearts and reason, and attack both the living and the dead.

"I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but that chain means you're now in soul form, severed from your body. I'm afraid it means you're dead."

He knelt down and pulled out his sword.

"What are you going to do?" Izumi asked.

"Don't be afraid," Takezoe said. "This is called the Konso. It will allow your soul to pass onto the Soul Society. There you will know peace, and you'll never be hungry again."

With that, he lightly tapped her forehead with the hilt of his sword.

Izumi was surrounded by a circle of light and slipped through…

(1) Awaihime is supposed to mean 'princess of light.' I combined awai (Light) with hime (Princess).

(2) Also called a Soul Burial.

(3) He really is! I checked on Bleach Wiki. He's not a big player in the anime, just a couple of mentions.