It was all too impossible. He was a captain of the Soul Society; she, an ordinary citizen of Rukongai. The only thing that connected them was that one meeting- that meeting that changed both their lives into a complete and total chaotic mess. He, the alleged and honored captain of squad ten, could not concentrate on work or any other mean of thinking without her coming to mind. He had already ruined a week's worth of paperwork by spilling his tea from pure frustration. She, the respected and well trained student of the Junrinan Dojo, was easily losing focus and becoming lost in her mixed thoughts. She was being beaten down even by newcomers; this had never been heard of before! With all these insane actions on part of both people, it could only be fate... Right?
No. There was no such thing. Both of these people told themselves this over and over and over again, until the record player seemed to get through. It was only one meeting. There was hardly any significance in the meeting. The two would never meet again; he was from his world and she, from hers. Despite finally having convinced themselves of this, the memory of that night would not stop replaying in both their heads. It was like a lovely nightmare that neither wanted nor could live without.
The sun had yet to rise, not that it would be seen through the sheets of rain being thrown from the gray sky above. The moon had been hidden all night by the selfish clouds, giving off the impression of pure black to anyone who had looked outside their windows. The only comfort to the sleeping people was the repetitive pitter-patter of the water falling onto their roofs and then making their way down to the damp earth below. The scene was not out of the ordinary, for it rained constantly in this particular area. A sleepy village in the grip of darkness and shadows, the sound of falling rain putting their fears to rest. It was peaceful.
Another great security (other than the sound of the rain) was the guard force from the Junrinan Dojo. Each guard admitted into their ranks was trained diligently to meet and uphold the proper requirements to protect the village. There was a master, a higher order male, a higher order female, a deputy, the guards. The master was an old man who had seen many a battle and offered only his word of wisdom now. The high order male and female took care of matters that involved treachery, acceptance of guards, and supervision. The deputy was in charge of training but on par with the higher order persons.
Their main goal was just and simple: Protect this village in Junrinan. They did an exceptional job at this, driving back Hollows if not destroying them in order to keep the peace that hung in the aura of the village. (Hollows are the lost souls that had become monsters; these were the main threats to the village.) They also dealt with theft and treachery involved with the people of Junrinan, but this happened quite less often than not. The Junrinan Dojo had rightly earned the respect and trust of each citizen within the village. The people handed their lives to the dojo at night while they slept as the monsters lurked; the dojo never let any harm befall the village.
This night was no different. The dark consumed everything that tried to block it, but only sound could escape its grasp. The deputy of the Junrinan Dojo sat under the hanging roof in a crouch. Her legs had gone numb from the cold, but it mattered not: beauty lay in front of her. She squinted to make out shapes in the dark, for even as experienced as she was, the dark distorted her vision as well. But she could imagine it, nonetheless. A continuous screen of water falling onto her village, dampening and purifying all that it touched. The leaves on the bushes and trees surrounding the houses of the village would be dripping with raindrops and hanging heavy, as if bowing to the sky's mightier power. The earth would embrace the falling water with an ecstasy so grand it would soften.
Beauty.
Then, a loud crashing, an uproarious crunching, and the sound of screaming children. The deputy jumped from her crouch, nearly toppling from her numbness of the legs. The night was still black and the rain still fell, but somehow it seemed less beautiful. The peace that had settled was so hideously torn from the village, and this deterred from its overall serenity. As lights came on in many windows, the night was lit up only enough to see a few feet ahead of oneself. The deputy was already running a path she knew by heart, heading in the direction of a loud, monstrous roar. The sound was recognizable enough: the shriek of a Hollow, and a big one at that.
The reason was soon discovered: a Menos Grande. The largest type of Hollow, reckless and mindless and brutally strong. Its foot was larger than the deputy herself by around fifty times or more. She looked up with a panic in her eyes; they had never dealt with a Hollow of such a large scale. It was certainly not the strongest, but definitely the largest. The Hollow seemed to wait in anticipation; the Dojo, in fear. The rest of the guards were behind the deputy, along with the higher order male and female. There types of Hollows were usually dealt with by the Soul Reapers. Where were the Soul Reapers? The question seemed to resonate in every guard's mind, as well as the deputy's and the higher orders'. Each of them knew that they were no match for a Menos Grande.
"Ahhh!" came the loud shriek of a child who had run outside to observe the scene. The sudden noise broke through the second of silence that had hung in the air for what seemed like too long. The Menos Grande turned in that direction and made a motion to take a step toward the screaming child. The deputy reacted quickly, running as fast as her feet would take her in the direction of the little boy outside his house. Within seconds she was in front of the child, hands extended as if to shield him from the enormous foot that could easily crush them both. The fury in the deputy's eyes was one that seemed similar to that of a mother's desire to protect. Every thread of her being was devoted to this little boy, confused and crying out in utter fear.
"Calm down; I'll take care of this."
The voice was male, deep, confident. The deputy turned her head slightly to identify the owner of the voice, and found him (with a great relief) to be a Soul Reaper. Not just any Soul Reaper, either- he wore the robe of the captain and found the insignia of the tenth squad on the back. He did not look at her, but up at the giant Hollow that had suddenly stopped in its tracks. It had sensed the immense spiritual pressure resonating within the captain. A sudden relief overcame the village; everyone let out a sigh, not knowing they had been holding one in.
It was over in seconds.
Silence for no more than a few moments, and then a loud cheering came from the guards and citizens that had been watching. The deputy slowly lowered her arms, silent but in pure awe. A new respect had grown in her for the Soul Reapers; he had saved what she knew she could not. But there seemed to be something else.
The Soul Reaper captain gave an acknowledging nod to the crowd, then turned to walk away. He made eye contact with the deputy for a second, maybe it was two, but no longer. In that one second he saw in her a light that he couldn't identify, and his muscles inside clenched as if in anticipation. He felt nervous but compassionate, high but low, shaky but confident. The deputy felt like she could stare at him forever and not ever fully understand him. It was like jumping into a deep pool and sinking, sinking, sinking....
Then he was gone.