ALL VALUES ARE HOLLOW
Rebirth
Nekoru…
Mei…
Yes, I suppose that's my name.
I am… I think… 89? Yes, I suppose so.
Nekoru Mei…nice name!
My memoriesare becoming more and more fragmentedas the time passes.
I am a…what am I…? A…a butler is it?
Yes, a butler!
I am a butler…
I remember now…I am a butler! A butler for the …Kagamori? No. Kanagori…yes, theKanagori family… Urghh. What a horrible headache… It's as though I can't remember anything!
I…used to babysit… No, I mean, I babysit the Kanagori children.
The Kanagori family is rich. A noble family and their children are the heir… And I am assigned to look after them.
Those children…they are pests. How many drawings did they shove backin my face because they were not good enough? But how could I tell my little masters off? I couldn't… so I had to learn.
The children's parents hired another butler…I am tooold…it's nice! He helps me. I think he's mute, though…he's never spokento me. Those children…they grew up! THEY are not children anymore, but I still feel obligatedto look after them.
I have to look after them…I HAVE TO LOOK AFTER THEM! I HAVE TO! HAVE TO! HAVE TO! HAVE TO! HAVE TO! I HAVE TO…!
"Enough!"
Nekoru Mei, the old butler of the Kanagori family, turned puzzled and confused, at the source of the sound.
Before him there was a tall man, possibly around six feet. He was wearing a Shihakushō, and he was wielding a katana that Nekoru estimated was around five feet in length.
"What's the matter?" Nekoru asked. "I am doing my job, sir!"
"Job?" the swordsmanasked, confused. He bent his head down and muttered something that Nekoru could not quite make out, save for two words. "...realized...yet!"
The butler was intelligent enough to comprehend what this strange man meant, even if he didn't fully understand what was going on.
"What...have I not realized yet?" he askednervously.
The man sighed. He decided that the only way to break the news to Nekoru was to simply break it to him bluntly.
"Sir, you are dead."
Nekoru stood motionless. Surely this could not be. It was a long moment before he overcame the initial shock. Finally, he came to his senses. His eye began to twitch.
"E-excuse me?" he said, bewildered by the news.
"You died a long time ago...at least two years I would say," the stranger explained.
Nekoru's eyes widened. He could not say anything...he just couldn't believe it, at least not yet, and that was the worst part. However, it made sense. Recently, the Kanagori family hadn't been talking to him.
Of course... he thought. That was why I felt livelier recently. I died, no body to hinder me.
He now noticed the chain anchored to his chest. Still, he could not believe it. He tried to punch the bearer of such grim news, who casually dodged the hit. Nekoru's arm phased through the wall. It was then that he was convinced. His worst fears were true: he was indeed dead.
"You have died, and you are becoming bound to this world – the swordsman explained with a stoic expression, not bothered by the old butler lashing out -I am a Shinigami I have come from Soul Society with orders to perform soul burials on wandering souls like you, and send them to the afterlife. Please, sir, come with me!"
Nekoru snarled as a predator looking at his new prey. He was usually one who did not get bother by others, but he was starting to hate that 'Shinigami'. He had even thought about ripping him apart with his bare hands for a second, but paid no attention at such a truculent
"NO! - He screamed as an inexplicable anger overtook him -I can't! I have a family to protect!"
"Please, sir! I have other businesses... there is a hollow which..." the other man pleaded.
"Do you want a fight?" Nekoru snarled. "Be careful, though - I'm trained to best serve the Kanagori family..."
The Shinigamisighed and put his hand inside his shihakusho. Nekoru noticed the action and thought he was drawing another weapon. Instead what the Shinigami pulled out was an innocuous mirror which he handed to the butler.
The old butler peered into it and saw his reflection. He let out a yelp of utter surprise and trepidation. The reflection that stared back at him was barely human. In fact, he could not believe it was him. His human, aged eyes had been replaced with black eyes with golden irises. His body was wrinkled, and he bared sharp teeth.
"What's...what's this...? What's this?" he gasped in horror.
"Sir, you are becoming a hollow... a monster with soon no personality," the Shinigamiexplained. "You will become a being of anger and fear...you are in an intermediate state!"
"So, have I become a monster?" the elderly butler asked, interrupting the Shinigami.
"No, not yet! But you will, and soon, if we don't do something. Your fixation on obeying your family is slowly eroding both your soul and the chain of your fate. You will become a creature who will try to kill anyone, including the ones you love," the Shinigami told him, hoping he could use this argument to win him over.
"It…it won't happen. I'll be careful!" Nekoru stuttered in a timid.
"You have not noticed you died, therefore, you won't notice when you turn into a hollow," the Shinigami said grimly.
Nekoru sighed. The Shinigami was right.
"Do it for the family you adore!" the other man pleaded.
With this, Nekoru was now completely convinced.
"For the family I adore..." he muttered bowing down his head, ready to accept his fate.
The Shinigami smiled. "Thank you for understanding. Hope to see you in Soul Society, sir. My name is Ishiro Furemuki! Remember me and...sayonara, sir..." he said as he tapped the hilt of his sword to the soul's head.
Nekoru Mei cracked a smile to Ishiro as he slowly faded away from the human world that bound him to go the Soul Society.
Nekoru Mei looked around. He was in a large world, a large village. There were many people and houses around and, most importantly, a large building at the centre. Nekoru quickly deduced that it was there where the authority (or authorities) of such a place lived. He began to roam around the strange place with no idea of where he was going or any actual other clue. His sight nearly seemed blurry. He was seeing some glimpses of this world, but barely managed to get a firm description of it.
"Ehi, you!" a different voice said.
He turned, as his sight finally cleared out and he could spot and recognize his interlocutor. This time it was a female of average height with short purple hair and dark skin. Her outfit was again black, just like the Shinigami he had met before, except she wore a white haori. Behind her was another woman, who was a relatively short and petite with gray eyes and soft looking shoulder length black hair and in black robes. She seemed quite attached to the other woman, as she was standing very close to her, a spectacle which to a butler as disciplined as Nekoru was slightly unsettling
Nekoru blinked as his stare returned to the purple-haired woman. She's very oddly colored. I heard of black skinned people, yet I have seen nothing like her before. Where on earth have I ended up? He wondered.
"Yes!" he politely responded, hinting a bow with his head.
"Are you new here, right?" she asked with her arms crossed under her chest.
Nekoru pointed at himself and she nodded.
"Uh... yes?" he said.
"Well, it explains your ruffled hair and tattered clothes!" the woman remarked with a laugh.
Nekoru blushed, but then a certain word made him blink in disbelief. He had hair? "Are you serious?" He touched his head and sure enough he could feel soft tresses.
He looked up at the woman who nodded and handed him a mirror.
He looked at the reflection amazed. "That...that is not me...that can't be me! I mean, he is...but...well, I used to be like him!" He touched his face. The wrinkles etched into his skin were gone and his cheeks felt smooth. His now young looking hand trailed and felt his now newly toned yet lanky neck and then his face, finally free from the sign of the old age, staring with insistence at his now big and bright green eyes, a bit hidden by the ruffled and unkempt hair which touched his shoulder. He was stupefied; he looked just as he did in his teenage years.
"I...can't... I was bald!" he exclaimed in utter puzzlement. He could not believe that he….. Formerly a man whose appearance had faded into a wrinkled and decaying image under the inevitable passage of time, had returned to be all of sudden his youthful self. Especially as few seconds ago he had seen … that monster as his reflection … For a second, he wondered which kind of horrifying creature could be a fully matured hollow… how that other Shinigami had called them? Oh yes…
Hollow… about these 'hollow', Nekoru had practically no clue, as he had for the first time heard about them a few minutes ago, but only the mention of the name, coupled with that image, was sending shivers down his back. And yet, he now was the youth of a former time. Only the insistent stare of the two young women had allowed him to snap back to reality so soon or otherwise he would have contemplated his new appearance until he would have become old again.
"Oh, I see... Well, apparently the purification cleaned you up during the Soul Society!" the purple haired woman replied, a bit surprised by such a rare, but not unheard, event. Newly reincarnated soul never ceased to amuse her with their antics and dissonant behavior. The younger girl, instead, had gotten slightly annoyed by Nekoru's overreaction and had started looking around, alert and ready to protect her mistress from any possible threat. The relatively long silence was finally broken by the rejuvenated soul
"You are...another Shinigami, right?" Nekoru asked, prompting the woman to nod again.
"Yoruichi Shinhoin!" she responded, introducing herself, extending a hand towards him.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am!" he replied, staring in confusion at the hand and replying with a bow.
"Aww, don't be so formal! What is your name?" she asked, drawing back the extended hand and laying her palm on her forehead at the excessive politeness of the reincarnated soul.
"Nekoru Mei. So, what do I have to do right now? I'm in a new place and..." he faltered as Yoruichi quickly replied to him.
"Well, you have been sent here in East Rukongai, at the 45th district, Zonorei, and you should find a home here. You'll soon adapt to this new lifestyle. You'll have a lot of time," she explained.
"How much?" he asked.
"Well, I am centuries old and yet I maintain this physique and you are gonna live at least as long!" Yoruichi said showing off. It was a partial lie, as the longevity strictly depended from the spiritual energy of the young boy, and at the moment she could not clearly guess how much reiatsu he was emitting, due to his current unstableness as a freshly reincarnated soul.
As Nekoru noticed that the black haired young girl, who he assumed was a Shinigami as well, was trying to hide a blush during Yoruichi's showoff, but he was still amazed by the news she had brought her.
I am … borderline immortal? He thought in disbelief, and indeed, as the Shinigamiescorted him, dismissed the thought, deciding to focus on his new house.
As they walked around, Nekoru's sight broadened and was finally able to get a view of the new world he had been standing since his reincarnation (which, in his defense, happened barely ten minutes ago). The place he was walking on, especially compared from the sight of the impressive palaces he had spotted over the horizon, was rather poor. It actually looked like one of the classical poor villages he had seen when he travelled with the Kanagori family. There was a vast grass field, which he could clearly feel through his consumed sandals, and most houses were small, though they seemed well kept, most likely thanks to the dedication of the villagers. People looked also quite gentle, if not a bit fatigued by their daily work. There also seemed to be rather close to more advanced village. He could not say for sure, but he could glimpses bigger houses from another village which seemed to be not very distant and much more enhanced-looking, with a shape of buildings more modern looking compared to his own. He would have gladly taken a look later, as he had discovered something new about the reincarnation: he had left him quite angry, as a soft growl of his stomach, much to his embarrassment, revealed even to the two women. Yoruichi barely held back laughter at this, while the other woman, who at first had gone into an alert state, sweat dropped heavily when he figured out where that sound had come from
"Well, that's your new house!" Yoruichi said, stopping in front of an old traditional Japanese structure that he had not seen since his youth. It somehow reminded him of the house he lived in with his family before the Kanagori had taken him under their wings.
"Thank you. Well, let's hope to meet again!" Nekoru stated pleasantly.
"Why not?" she replied taking his hand a bit and forcefullyshaking it.
For some reason, Nekoru could feel an intimidating presence around, but could not exactly pinpoint where it was coming from. He also got a bit surprised by Yoruichi's handshake. For a second, he thought she could have easily ripped his arm off his body as if it was paper issue. Shaking his head, he laughed off this rather gory fantasy.
It must be the stress of the day,Nekoru thought to convince himself to dismiss such thoughts.
"Sayonara!" the dark-skinned woman said as she turned away. Nekoru stared at her back, until the other girl who was following Yoruichifaced him for a moment. As he instinctively backed off, he finally understood: she was the ominous presence. As so he retreated back to his home. It was actually rather small, having no more than a single room, a door and a window. While there seemed to be on the outside wall a hint of green paint, it had faded over time and the brown of the wood was pretty much visible. Overall, while small, it seemed comforting looking and, luckily, in condition only slightly worse than the other…. Maybe because it had not inhabited been for years? Nekoru could not really tell, to be truthful.
The first thing he saw was that his home had no wooden door, having only a veil of cloth to cover the entrance. It seemed on tact quite full of dirt, but to a former butler like him would have been rather easy to clean it off. The house was unkempt and untidy but overall was decent. It was clear it had not been inahbitiated for year, though, from the dirt which had accumulated in the corners. The inside was rather essential; having only the two things he needed the most: a bed and a table. They were a bit consumed by time, but considering how he was clothed right now, he could not complain at all, especially as there was a bowl of food on the table and a pair of chopstick ready to do their jobs. Tthe things he was pleased the most, though, was the good condition of the pavement: no splinter nor nails to damage him and his feet, which were currently badly protected by sandals that he really need to change.
As he walked in front of the bowl, he froze for a second and tapped his foot against the ground, nearly breaking his consumed sandal and then sighed. His life had changed so suddenly...he was reborn and was in a new world. Where did he have to go to get a new job? Would he see the Kanagori family again? So many questions he could not answer.
I'll think about it tomorrow, he thought as he began eating. I wonder if I am gonna see that Shinigami again, that Ishiro Furemuki.
Ishiro sighed as he sent the poor old man's soul to Soul Society. He had been lucky to find a Demi Hollow still willing to purify himself, but he was still left with another problem. There was a Hollow that he had been chasing for a long time. Its name was Bookworm, and because of its viciousness, it had gained a bounty of over 50,000 kens. Ishiro had finally found its location. Bookworm, a large bat-like hollow, was predictably near a Plus, but the odd part was that the Hollow wasn't attempting to eat the wandering soul, but instead was talking with him as they were reading a book together.
"DO you really think that the author may be trying to symbolize the corruption of the current society?" the plus asked.
"Well, I don't know, after all, he does have redeeming characteristics and is fond of Shakespeare just like the protagonist!" the Hollow replied.
Ishiro blinked, stunned by the Hollow's unusual behavior, but almost immediately snapped back to serious.
"You! Monster!" he said drawing his zanpakuto. He pointed at the hollow, which raised his head to look at him.
"Yes?" Bookworm politely asked.
"Prepare to your purification!" the Shinigamideclared.
The Hollow remained silent for a moment, and then replied, "Please, could you close an eye? I am doing nothing wrong...and I like my current state!"
Ishiro was surprised by the Hollow's answer back. He acts just like a human...how is this possible? Hollows exist only as masses of anger and evil. He thought. He's surely tricking me!
"Get ready, monster!" he demanded slashing away the book. It was then Bookworm went mad. With two hidden arms, which resembled bat wings, he impaled the swordsmanthrough his stomach.
Ishiro was taken by surprise by the attack, but quickly acted by sending the Plus away by performing konso.
"You'll pay for this, Shinigami!" Bookworm screamed, grabbing Ishiro with both his hands. He opened his maw and starting shoving the struggling Shinigamiinside.
I can't die like this. No way, there must be a way out! Ishiro thought as Bookworm's open mouth came closer...
TO BE CONTINUED...