Bleach U.S.A. (United Souls of America)
It was evening in Hilliard, Florida, a small town near the major city of Jacksonville. Except the major highway that cuts right through town, all the streets were clear of any traffic. The only sounds that were heard were the sounds of locusts. All was calm, as far as anyone could see. There was, however, a strange event occurring that evening. A young girl, looking about 17-years-old, dressed in a black samurai garb was from rooftop to treetop to street light and vise versa, headed in a specific direction. "It's close…" she said to herself as she landed on a telephone pole. "I can feel it," she stated, starting off again.
Earlier that day, about half past three, in the parking lot of Hilliard Middle-Senior High School, two boys were standing on the side walk near the road. One, a fairly tall (5' 10"), broad-shouldered young man, was Tom, an 18-year-old High School senior. The other boy was Tom's younger brother, Austin, a short stocky seventh-grader. They were both waiting on a ride from their mom… more so Austin! Their home took 30 minutes of walking to get to and from the school; however, Austin had his instrument that day and was unable to walk home, carrying it. Although, it wouldn't be different if he didn't have it, since Austin disfavored walking and would request a ride anyway. Tom preferred walking over waiting with Austin, but incidents have occurred when Austin was picked on while waiting by himself.
Austin was on the phone with their mom during the wait. "Okay, momma! Bye!" he said as he hung up the phone. "She'll be here in a few minutes!" "Kay," Tom said indifferently, "I need to get some water. Tell Mom, if she gets here, that she doesn't have to wait on me." "Okay!" Austin said as Tom walked away. About a minute passed when a kid walked up to Austin. "Hey, short-stock! Ya waiting on your mommy!?" he said as he dumped some crumpled leaves onto Austin's head. "Or what, fatty!?" he said, pushing Austin. "You think you can take me, queer!?" he said as he pushed him again. Tom walked back up from getting water to see what was happening. "Hey!!!" he shouted as he came up. "What!?" the kid responds. "That's my brother right there…" he stated "and I don't appreciate you picking on him!" "Oh yeah!?" the kid rebuttals, "What are you going to do about it!?" as he pushed Tom. Tom quickly reacted by grabbing the kid's hand and twisting it. "This!!!" he answers as he punches the kid's face with his right hand (ring hand). The kid backs away, bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose. "Yaaaaah!!!" he yelled as he charged at Tom with his fist pulled back. As the punch came at Tom, he blocked it with his forearm, grabbed the kid's wrist with the same side hand and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him into the pavement, back first. Just then, a white Durango pulls up and Tom's mom comes out. "Tom!! What happened!?" "Hang on a sec, please! I need to go get some help!" he said as he walked away.
The principal, Mr. Braddock, the vice principal, Mrs. Copps, and a few of the football coaches came to aid the kid sprawled on the ground. The coaches helped him up and lead him to the main office. "So, what happened here, Tom?" "I was defending myself against that kid, sir, shortly after he started picking on my brother." "Are you okay, Austin?" Mrs. Copps asks. "Yes, ma'am!" "Now Tom, I can appreciate you sticking up for your brother," Mr. Braddock started, "but I'm afraid we can't ignore this. You're going to have to do some time in ISS(In-School Suspension)!" "Huh!?" Tom responded, "But sir, he put his hands on me first!" "But you're not bleeding from your nose and mouth!" Mr. Braddock stated, "Letting you off the hook is out of the question!" "He was standing up for Austin, though!!" Tom's mom stated. "And the injuries Tom caused that kid are too much for us to excuse Tom for!" Mrs. Copps reiterated. "You'll need to report to the building in front of Ms. Richard's portable tomorrow when first period starts!" Mr. Braddock informed. Tom sighed heavily "Yes, sir!" Austin, Tom and their Mom all climbed into the Durango. The five-minute ride home was very quiet.
Four hours later, Tom had just finished class at Coppen's United House of Karate in Callahan, Florida, which is about a 15 minute drive away from Hilliard. Tom had attended his class for four years was a first-degree brown belt. Tom walked out of the dojo area into the waiting room. He picked up his black flip-flops from the shoe-rack, put them on and grabbed his karate bag. Just as he did the cell phone in the side pocket of the bag rang. He pulled it out, saw it was his mom and answered it. "Hello!" he said. "Tommy!!" she said frantically, "Something weird's happening!! Phillip's hurt! You need to-" the phone line then went dead. "Crap!!!" Tom said to himself. "Is everything alright, Tom" asked Nathan. He was a black belt at Coppen's and a good friend and unknowing rival of Tom's. Tom and Nathan were both at the same level at one time, but Tom's parents made him take breaks over the past two summers, and Nathan moved up in the ranks ahead of him. "Hey! I think my family's in trouble! My mom called, said that my step dad was hurt, and then the line went dead!!" Tom said. "Well, we need to call the police first!! Then I'll give you a ride, and we'll see if everyone's okay."
Fifteen minutes later they reached Tom's neighborhood! Nathan stopped the truck right before they turn on the road Tom's house is on. "Let's go!" he said as he grabbed a piece of PBC pipe from the back seat and jumped out of the truck. Tom followed right behind. They ran quietly through the neighbor's yard up to Tom's house. They did so as to not be spotted in case someone was watching the road. They crossed the driveway and walked along the side of the house until they reached the corner of the house. They then started walking up to the front door, when Nathan suddenly stopped and began shivering. "Back up!!!" he yelled as he pushed Tom down. Just then an explosion blew a chunk out of the side of the house where Nathan was at, blowing him into the front yard. "Nathan!!!" Tom yelled. He then saw a large peek out of the hole in the side of the house. The head looked like some kind of scull, pure white without lips and with eye sockets with a faint glow coming from inside. Tom then ran in front of the creature. The monster slammed its large hand down to catch Tom, but barely missed. Tom continued running past the front door to the window right beside it. Tom jumped and crashed through the window, leading him into his bed room. He then reached under his bed to his left and pulled out a Japanese katana. Tom the jumps back through the window to face the creature outside.
Tom saw that the creature was right in front of the front porch now. Tom could see it more clearly now and could tell it was at least eight feet tall. It reached its hand out to grasp Tom. In response, Tom jumped out of the way to his right, charged in with his sword pulled back, and as he closed in slashed at the monster's side. Unfazed, the monster swings his huge arm at Tom, hitting him and sending him back into the front yard. Just then, a blonde-haired girl dressed in a black samurai outfit came through the front door from inside the house. "Finally!!!" she said, exasperatedly, as she ran to where Tom and the creature were. The monster, sensing the girl coming, lunged its fist out at her. She jumped to the side, then "Hyaa!!" slashed her sword at the creatures arm, leaving a long, horizontal gash in it. The creature screeched in pain, then back handed her. The girl blocked the strike with her sword and was sent skidding backwards a few feet. Tom stabbed his sword into the monster's back. "Huh!?" she said out loud, 'He can see it!?' she thought to herself, 'Then he can probably see and hear me,' "Hey! You need to stay back! That thing's too powerful for you to take on!!" Tom saw that his sword was doing no good against the monster, but was offering a good diversion for the girl to take advantage of as the monster tuned its head to look at Tom. "Then stop talking and take care of him while he's focused on me!!" Tom yelled. The creature then turned the rest of its body and grabbed Tom in its huge hands. "Crap!!!" she exclaimed as she drew her sword and sliced the creature's hand off, releasing Tom. The monster screeched even louder than before. The girl then jumped toward the monster's face, her sword ready to come down on it. The creature grabbed the sword with its remaining, left hand and reached its face out to bite her with its huge jaws. The girl then kicked its face at about nose level, then kicked at it again, but missed, putting her foot directly into its mouth. The creature took advantage of this moment and clamped down onto her shin with its surprisingly human-like teeth. The girl screamed in agony.
"Hey!!!" Tom yelled to the monster. He then threw his sword at the monster, hitting it right in the face. It phased it a little, forcing him to release the girl from its jaws. Tom ran over and caught her before she hit the ground. He then continued running until he got to the front door of the house. He opened it and ran straight to the back door directly across. Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head and saw his mom and step dad lying on the ground. "Oh, god!!!" he exclaimed. "They're okay," she assured him, "I healed them earlier with my kido (kee-do)." "What the heck is that thing out there!?" Tom asked, "And who are you!?" "My name's Karen. I'm a soul reaper (shinigami). I help wandering souls reach the Soul Society, a sort of heaven, if you will." "Then is that-" Tom started. "A Hollow," Karen finished, "They're corrupted souls which we purify with our zan-paku-to (zon-pok-to / cut-soul-sword), so they can reach Soul Society." 'Wait!! This sound strangely familiar!!' Tom thought to himself. "So, can you stop it?" Tom asked. "My shin is broke nearly in two!" she began, "I don't think so!" "Well, is there some way I can stop it, then!?" Tom asked. "There is one way," Karen began, "I'll have to transfer my powers to you by stabbing my zan-paku-to into your heart. It's most likely that you'll die." 'I could have sworn I've heard this before!!!' Tom thought again. They both hear the creature roaring loudly. "I'll take that chance!" Tom stated, "Let's get started!" Karen points her zan-paku-to directly at Tom's heart. "Umm… I never gave you my name, did I, Karen?" "I'm not sure now's the time to worry about formal introductions!" Karen stated. "Well, I might not live through this!! So, my name's Tom. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you," Karen said, "Ready?" Tom grabbed the blade to hold it in place. "Ready!" "Grrr!" Karen grunted, struggling to push the blade through. "Hahhh!!!" Tom yelled, preparing to feel the cold blade puncture through his chest.
During all this, the creature came through the hole in the dining room he made earlier. A blinding flash and a cloud of white smoke appeared where Karen and Tom were at. The smoke dims, revealing Tom dressed in the same samurai outfit that Karen was wearing, holding a Japanese Katana with two whole blades on one handle. Karen was still on the ground, dressed in a pure white Kimono. Tom looked down at his new zan-paku-to. "Hmm… Sweet!" he said, "Now to take care of this mess!!" as he ran in to fight the Hollow. "What the crap!!?" she exclaimed, "I only meant to give him half of my powers!! But he completely drained all of them! And his zan-paku-to is double-bladed!! What could that possibly mean!!?" As Tom ran towards the Hollow, it shot its hand straight out at Tom. Tom jumped up and forward, making the fist crash into the ground instead of him. The Hollow reaches its head out to bite Tom in much the same manner it did Karen. Tom used both his left arm and left leg to hold the Hollow's Jaws open. "That was close!! Now, eat this!!!" he yelled as he stabbed his sword into the Hollow right between the eye sockets. The Hollow shrieked in response. "Hyaa!!!" Tom yelled as he thrust his sword upward, leaving two long gashes up it's fore head, and jumped back onto the ground. The Hollow began to fade away until no trace was left of it, except for the damage it caused. 'Okay! This seems really familiar!' Tom thought to himself once more.