Soul's Beginning - Prologue
Tanaka Goro, unseated Shinigami of the Gotei 13's Third Division, sat lounging on top of the tallest skyscraper in Osaka's 22nd sector, staring up at the stars with a yawn. It had been an entirely uneventful night. Goro had only just been assigned a sector in the real world to watch…he'd expected it to be a bit more exciting. So far, a week later, there had only been two Hollow attacks. Both had been finished off within minutes.
"What a bore," he said aloud to no one in particular, stretching his arms and settling back into a slouch.
The cell phone rang. Goro jumped about a foot in the air before fumbling around in his robe's pocket to fish it out. Finally – a Hollow.
"A big one!" Goro grinned. The screen on his cell showed the spirit particle analysis taken as the Hollow switched dimensions from Hueco Mundo to the real world. It was Grimm Reaper, a notorious target that had been evading Shinigami interference for many months. Two shinigami dead by his hands; evaded capture by another five. 10,000 cash bounty.
"No wonder they transferred me here…must have lost the last guy to this Hollow," Goro murmured. He stood, checking the locator on his phone. The Hollow was near the Expressway, mostly deserted at this time of night.
But there was one soul nearby.
"I'll need backup for this." Goro dialed the phone while moving toward the Expressway at top speed. If he could just avoid being seen until backup arrived…
"Yes, this is Tanaka Goro of Osaka Sector 22, requesting backup for dispatch of the Hollow 'Grimm Reaper' located just off the expressway…yes, I understand it will be a few moments until they get here…just hurry, there's a recently deceased soul nearby, and you know what Grimm does with those. Right. Yes, sir." He hung up the phone and slipped it back in his pocket, moving his grip to his soul slayer. With a Hollow this dangerous, one had to be prepared for anything.
Goro arrived at the scene of the recent death, a park just below the Expressway, just before Grimm Reaper. He scanned the area quickly for the deceased. He was there, a young adult male with blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, quizzically examining a horrific wreck of a motorcycle that had clearly launched over the edge of the Expressway above.
It was Grimm's favorite target – a soul that hadn't quite realized they were dead.
Goro moved in the direction of the soul, hoping to purify him before the Hollow arrived. No such luck; the beeping from his pocket, and the roaring noise from the other side of the park indicated that the Hollow had already come.
He was an odd Hollow, although no less terrifying; his mask was long and thin, skull-like, with a pointed chin and two curved horns at the top, grinning in a slightly off-balance way. His body, long and dark, was shaped like that of a classic ghost, and in one hand he carried a bone scythe that matched the appearance of his mask.
The blond-haired soul turned to look at the giant monster behind him.
"Wait a minute. Are you…death?" The soul sounded more amused than scared.
Goro's hand tightened over his sword. That soul was in trouble if backup didn't come soon, but to go after that particular Hollow alone would be suicide.
"I see you've figured it out," the Hollow's ringing voice sounded across the park lawn.
"So, that means I didn't make the jump after all?"
"…no," the Hollow said.
"Damn. So…what now?"
"What n…" The bemused Hollow took a moment to recover. "Now, you come with me. You died; now your soul is my property."
"Hey now, wait a minute. My soul belongs to you just because I died? Don't I have any say?"
"Don't worry, soul," the Hollow said, flowing forward slowly now, tone getting darker as he moved. "Just come to me. It won't hurt any."
"Well, in that case," said the soul, standing and taking a step toward the Hollow. "Only…"
The Hollow's giant scythe raised in the air, prepped to swing.
"…if it's not supposed to hurt, what's with the giant curved blade?" The soul's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Come to me!" the Hollow roared, swinging downward at the soul.
Just then, two shinigami reinforcements arrived on either side of Goro, in the trees.
"I think you guys are too late," Goro began, but the two shinigami weren't listening. They were staring, open-mouthed, at the Hollow and the soul in the clearing.
The Hollow had swung, but his scythe was now stopped in its tracks, blade held off one-handed by the soul below him.
"L..look at that spirit power! You can see it radiating off of him!" one of the reinforcements said with awe.
Goro just stared. Never before had he seen a normal soul, with no history of outstanding spiritual power or ability, fend off a Hollow. Let alone empty-handed.
"Nobody," said the soul, glaring upwards at the shocked Hollow, "owns my soul except for me."