Toru Kazama walked along the quite streets of Seireitei. It was her turn to do the rounds and she couldn't wait till she was finished. Toru had promised Matsumoto, Vice-Captain of Squad 10 that they would go for a drink when she had finished her work. Toru sighed softly and continued to walk along the cobbled pathways. Toru Kazama was Vice-Captain of Squad 3. Kira Izuru was now the captain of Squad 3 and he had been for a number of years. It was no surprise that he was the captain as he had kept the squad together when the whole betrayal, that wasn't really a betrayal, with Ichimaru Gin occurred. Kira had been Vice-captain back then and his skills had kept the squad from fallen into disarray. Toru would follow Kira anywhere, even to deaths door. Most vice-captains worshipped their Captains and Toru was no exception. She had known Kira for a very long time and was happy that she knew him and was part of his squad. In her eyes there was no captain or friend better.
A bell struck somewhere, signaling a fresh hour, meaning that Toru's shift was over. She smiled and began to head to the pub she knew Matsumoto would be in. Toru was glad that her shift was over as it had been a very tiring day. As Toru walked to the pub she began to think on the past where Kira and she had met for the first time.
The air was cold and it was clear, judging by the heavy grey clouds in the sky, that it was too soon rain. Toru was about 11 years old and was walking back to where she lived with a woman called Mai Kazama and her husband Aido Kazama. They weren't her blood parents but Toru classed them as her parents. They had taken Toru in when they had found her as baby abandoned in the woods, surrounding the area they lived. This was not uncommon in Rukungai; many young women were forced to abandon their children as they had no means of looking after them properly. Toru was just lucky that it was Aido and Mai that had found her and not someone else. Since that day Toru had lived happily with them until that fateful day 15 years ago.
Toru was walking home after playing with some children from another district. She shivered as she felt it get colder. Toru looked at the sky with dismay as she took in their grey, angry swirling form in. It would be raining soon. She looked back again at the rocky, dusty trail and started to walk again. This time a little bit faster as she just wanted to get home to Aido and Mai before the weather turned stormy. She walked on for a little bit before stopping after a single cold raindrop landed on her face and ran down her cheek, giving her the appearance that she was crying. She blinked as she looked up at the sky in wonder. She smiled but the stopped when several other raindrops landed on her and splashed on the ground around her. She then began to run to the woods ahead of her. It wasn't a place she enjoyed to be but at least the trees would provide shelter from the rain.
It took her about 5 minutes to reach the beginning of the woods and she was glad that she had reached them, as she was already soaked through. She shivered again as she felt Goosebumps appear on her body. She shivered again but this time not from the rain. She looked into the gloomy woods and frowned. She had been there so many times but somehow, today they felt sinister and she didn't want to go through them, but it was the quickest way home. She walked forward and entered the gloom of the woods. The usual sound filled wood was silent and not even a bird of leave stirred. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise that had nothing to do with the cold. Toru frowned and started to run to get through the woods faster. Little did she know that danger wasn't in the wood it was actually in the safe - haven that she called home? She ran on for another couple of minutes, slightly out of breath, before she reached the edge of the woods. She sighed with relief and stepped out of the forest into the bleak surroundings. To her dismay the feeling of danger didn't go away. Toru was just glad that she was almost home. She smiled and turned the corner, revealing a small house in the distance.
It was not a pretty house. Paint was peeling from the wooden outside walls. The walls that where once white where now weathered and dirty. The front door was open but it made no difference if it was shut as it was full of holes, needing to be fixed. There were hardly any windows indicating that sunlight hardly reached the inside of the house. It contained 2 small bedrooms, a joint Kitchen and living-room and a small outhouse stood on the outside of the left of the house. It wasn't much but to Toru it was home. Next to the front door Toru spotted a paint brush and a bucket, which contained white paint. She smiled. Mai's nagging had paid off and Aido had finally got round to starting to repair the house. She couldn't wait to see the house gleaming white and all fixed up. She felt happy. Her happiness was short lived though as a terrible sound rent through the silent air. It was the cry of a hollow. Fear gripped her as she felt the hollows Reiatsu; she also could sense exactly where the hollow was. It was in her home.
She stared at the house, unsure what to do, her eyes where wide with fear. She stood there staring for a couple of moments before a woman's scream ripped through the air, compelling her to move.
"MAI!" Toru screamed loudly, She felt veins in her eyes popping as the scream rent from her throat. She coughed slightly as she felt a sharp pain from her throat. She would worry about that later as she ran into the house. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she crossed the threshold. When they did however fear took ahold of her body.
The hollow stood tall in the back of the room. She wanted to scream with horror at the grosteuqe appearance of the hollow, but fear stopped her from making a noise. It was the hollows eyes that scared her the most. It's pupils where bright red and oddly shaped. They were filled with pure evil. In one of the hollows huge mis-shaped hands, was an unconscious, limp Mai. Aido was lying in the corner furthest away from the hollow, surrounded by a pool of blood. Toru couldn't even tell if he was alive or dead. The hollow still hadn't noticed her as it was focused on Mai. The hollow raised Mai slowly towards its huge mouth, as if it was going to eat her. Toru knew that if it had the chance then it would eat Mai. Adrenalin surged through Toru at seeing Mai in danger. She looked around her for a weapon and spotted a knife lying on the kitchen table. She began to run towards the hollow and grabbed the knife as she passed, uttering a small war cry as she did. She jumped through the air towards the hollow. As she began to slightly lose altitude she started to swing the knife from above her and to the left. She swiped down on the hollow as she got close to it and yelled as she sliced the hollows arm off. Mai and the arm holding her fell to the floor and the hollow screamed out in pain.
It was a more terrible sound than its cry. The sound ripped through her body, she covered her ears and the knife dropped to the floor with a metal clang beside her as she fell to her knees. She screamed out in pain as the hollows scream caused her pain in her ears. The hollow had finally noticed her and with an angry yell started to stride towards her. The house shook with every stepped the hollow took and Toru was scared that the house would fall down on top of her. She felt something heavy swing through the hair and next thing she knew she was struck by something that felt like a ton of concrete. She screamed out in pain as she went flying through the air. With a sharp cry and a loud crash she hit the wall and slid down it to land on her back. She pushed herself up, wiping blood from her eyes as the hollow walked towards her. She groaned loudly in pain and felt tears escape from her eyes. So this was how she was going to die. After only 11 years of life she would die. It seemed unfair.
Toru wished she had done more with her life. She had had a pretty uneventful life and hadn't really achieved anything she wanted to do. However she was glad that she had spent her short life with Aido and Mai, grateful to them for looking after her. She couldn't have hoped for more kinder and caring people to care for her. She saw the hollow stop in front of her and raises its only, huge arm high above its head to deal the finishing blow. She closed her eyes and pictured herself with Aido and Mai in happier times. It was them she wanted to see last before she died, not the monstrous hollow that was about to kill her. Then through her happy image in her mind, she felt something awakening inside her. She then heard a faint voice, reaching through her mind to speak to her. The voice was unlike any she had ever heard and seemed to echo, slightly giving it a supernatural tone.
"Use Me!" it said. Toru could swear she felt the faint feeling of a Katana materializing in her small hand. She could hear the voice trying to speak to her but couldn't make out what it was saying. The feeling of the katana appearing in her hand also disappeared. She opened her eyes with a snap. She wondered what had just happened but knew that she was never going to find out as she looked up at the hollow. She closed her eyes again as she saw the hollows arms whistling through the air towards her. She braced herself, waiting for her death blow. However the blow never hit her and there was the sudden sound of metal hitting flesh. She heard the hollow scream in pain again and opened her eyes.
Standing in front of her, stopping the hollow from moving its hand any further, was a blonde haired Shinigami man. It was his zanpakuto that he used to stop the hollows blow. He threw the hollow back with a strong thrust from his Zanpakuto and brought the sword down, slicing through the air it chopped the other hollows arm off. It bellowed loudly and Toru had to cover her already bleeding ears again. The man leapt through the air slicing the hollow in its face with his Zanpakuto. He landed softly on his feet and turned around facing Toru, as he sheathed his Zanpakuto the hollow disappeared with a fountain of blood behind him. The horror was over. Toru looked up at him in wonder and looked into his kind eyes, as he smiled and held out his hand. Little did Toru know at the moment how much this man would be in her future? This was the first time ever that Toru Kazama set eyes upon Kira Izuru...
Toru looked in front of her and to her surprise she was already at the pub that she was meeting Matsumoto at. She frowned softly. She couldn't remember the journey here or what route she took to get there. That's What I Get for Dwelling on the Past. She thought to herself. A sudden shout filled the air and grasped the hilt of her Zanpakuto in case she needed to use it. She looked around her, watching, waiting. It was a couple of moments before she realized the shout had come from the pub. She sighed releasing her grip on her Zanpakuto. Thinking upon the past and at such a horrible story had made her slightly paranoid without releasing it. She shook her head, angry at herself for thinking of the memory. Yes it had been a good thing as it had introduced her to Kira and the Shinigami life but it was also the day that her acting-father, Aido, had been killed. Get A Grip On Yourself Toru! She shook her head pushing the memory from her thoughts and raised her hand so it rested upon the pub door. She paused for a second before pushing the heavy door open.
The first thing she noticed was the stench of the pub. The smell contained Stale tobacco, Body Oder and the smell of general uncleanliness. She wrinkled her nose and crossed the threshold. She knew what booth Matsumoto would be in and she started to head to the back of the pub. She had to jump over several people as some had found the alcohol too strong to handle. As she got nearer the back she started to notice that her feet were sticking to the alcohol soaked hall. For once she was glad that the vice-captains and higher got their own booths and parlors at places like this grimy pub. She shook her head and kept walking ignoring the people who tried to say things to her. She reached the back door and slid it open slowly and with a quick glance behind her she walked in and slid the door shut.
At once she the noisy shouts of the drunks in the room next them where immediately cut off, she guessed someone must of put up a barrier. To her surprise she saw not only Matsumoto but Hitsugaya Toushiro sat sulking in the corner, furthest away from the door. She quickly hid her surprise as it was only fair that the captains should get their down time to, as well as the rest of the squad. Toru undid her lace belt, which held her Zanpakuto, and removed it from her waist. She leant it against the wall and sat down at the table.
"So what brings you here Captain Hitsugaya?" Toru looked up at him as she spoke. Captain Hitsugaya looked at her softly before speaking.
"You don't need to call me Captain, Toru. We've known each other long enough now. Matsumoto dragged me out here." He said, then he changed his voice to a bad impression of Matsumoto with a nagging tone to it. "All the other captains consider you a social recluse and to be honest you're no fun at times so you're coming out with me and getting drunk!" He sighed and the glared at Matsumoto who just stuck her tongue out at him in return. Hitsugaya ignored her then turned around to Toru, slowly raising a glass to his lips as he did so. Toru however liked the idea of getting Hitsugaya drunk. A complete change went over him when he was and he always had fun and seemed happy but he didn't get that way often. In her whole 15 years of knowing him she had only seen him drunk twice. The last time he had been drunk, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Hisagi and Toru had sneaked into the 12th squad's research lab. This had resulted in a mass hollow breakout from the lab and Hisagi being turned into a cat.
Toru giggled slightly at the memory and then looked up at Matsumoto. Matsumoto grinned and passed her three full glasses of sake.
"You need to catch up with us Toru". Matsumoto smiled at Toru. Toru grinned as she took one of the cups that Matsumoto had held out to her. She raised the glass to her lips and downed it one. She smiled at the taste. She could tell it would be a good night. It had been a while since she had seen Matsumoto and Hitsugaya and she was glad at that moment that she was with her friends. She reached for the other glass, in high spirits. She also downed that one as well but with the third glass she sipped it slower than the other drinks. By the end of drinking the third one she felt the Sake running through her body and grinned stupidly. She always was a light weight with alcohol.
The next chapter will be up shortly :D Thats when things start to get intresting :D Please leave me a review and let me know what you think so far :D