Prologue
A heated sigh floated away on the breeze of a late January evening. The frozen dew sat heavy atop plant-life and a thick layer of frost sat on the windscreens of cars. It was, unusually, a clear night. Stars and constellations of silver light glistened brightly against the blue-black sky. Against this provident background, a crouched figure knelt. The figure's own, blue eyes glistened brighter than the stars that occupied the sky above and a relaxed, self-assured smile sat upon the contours of their face.
Despite his uncontrollable mop of spiky chocolate brown hair, his oceanic eyes managed to peer through the dark curtains. His usually healthy complexion had turned raw and red from the intensely cold winters that had occurred as of late. His thin black clothing was of little help in his fight against the cold. The white kimono that lay beneath his black kimono offered a second layer of clothing that provided some, though not much, protection from the weather. The thin black hakama offered his legs no warmth and his socks were actually surprisingly warm.
A noise rang out. Attention was diverted from the cold to the glistening light emanating from the mobile phone that sat, somehow, within a pocket. His shivering red hands ached as they brushed against the cotton hakama until his fingers clasped a warm plastic device. He frowned deeply as he was reminded that his hand would have to once again brave the cold in order for him to read the command issued to him via the mobile. His hand ached once more as it was forced to retreat from the warm pocket in order for him to flip open the mobile to read the command.
The brave light from the phone reflected in his deep blue eyes and as these eyes scanned the message, the man's eyebrows contorted into an apprehensive and worried frown. He stood up sharply. His bones and joints creaked painfully from being forced to maintain such a strict position for such an unfair length of time. He stretched silently; he had experienced pain worse than the pain he felt at that moment. He placed the miniature phone in his pocket and sighed once more before stepping in a flash to a rooftop a mile away.
His foot connected with the roof of a building known by the city's occupants as Millennium Point. He had visited it often in his five-year stay in the region. It was a modern building containing facilities used by local colleges and universities, science exhibitions and an area used for viewing films in 3D that humans called 'IMAX'. It was a strange building, though not as strange as the shopping centre affectionately called the 'Marmite Building'. It appeared to be made of glass at the front and the car park facilities were threefold the size of the building itself.
He crouched as he searched to find a position that was comfortable. The position he finally rested in was one in which his feet dangled precariously over the side of the building as he sat on its very edge. He looked down. The pavement below was many metres down but even if he had fallen from the height at which he now stood; he would have remained uninjured or less injured than a human in any case. As he stared at the floor beneath him, he observed humans exiting the building.
Some were couples, hugging each other for warmth. Some were friends, loud and boisterous; declaring to the world their love of the film they had just sat through. He watched silently. None of them could see him. None of them could if they wanted to see him. Not a single one among them had spiritual energy enough to attract attention, let alone the attention that he had been warned about. Was the information provided to him wrong?
"RAAAAR!"
He shot upwards. His hand leapt to the comforting red material that twisted around the wooden handle of his zanpak-tō. That roar was unmistakable. It was the sound that every Soul Reaper knew, that every Soul Reaper hated to hear. It was the warning of danger and the sound warning that no matter how strong you became, there was always one soul, one human at risk. It was the roar of a hollow and it was closer than he would have wished it to be.
"IT WAS AMAZING!"
The Soul Reaper frowned. He looked down sharply from his perch like an eagle protectively scanning the area surrounding its nest. A family had exited the building. A father, a mother, a daughter and a son. It was the young lady, the daughter, who had screamed out the statement at the top of her lungs. He watched her with interest. She seemed different from the other humans he had observed. She certainly seemed a lot younger than her years.
"Kitty! Don't shout!" commanded the mother who was very similar in appearance to her daughter but different in hair and eye colour and complexion. Her voice was loud and commanding. She seemed to be a woman who disliked those who broke rules and laws and seemed frighteningly familiar to a woman widely feared within the Seireitei, "It was good but it wasn't that good."
"I don't know what you were watching but I was watching what is now my favourite film." retorted the girl who had now been identified as 'Kitty'.
"You only like it because there was a unicorn in it!" stated the girl's older brother who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He was tall, taller than the father, and had a blondish-coloured hair that shimmered silver in the moonlight, "You're so fickle."
"Meh!" shouted Kitty as aggressively as she could make the word sound. It was pathetic. She sounded pathetic as she shouted out a word that the dictionary declares to mean indifference, aggressively. It made the Soul Reaper in charge of Britain smile, "Like I care what you think."
He watched as the family argued playfully. They were walking towards their family car, a large German saloon which would have meant they were rich if the car wasn't a hand-me-down that was over thirteen years old. Kitty was skipping; she seemed quite happy with herself and was on a buzz after watching a film she had clearly enjoyed. He smiled, he missed that atmosphere. It had been over five years since he had been in long-term contact with his friends and he was beginning to miss them.
"What was that?" snapped Kitty. Her face had fallen into a terrified, concerned and worried expression with her frown contorting her previously jovial complexion. Her voice had changed from happiness to utter seriousness in under a second and she had taken up a position that was defensive. Her head snapped from side to side and her long brown hair fluttered behind her as she did so. The Soul Reaper frowned, concerned, as he watched her panic.
"What was what?" asked the father, shorter than his son with black hair, "I didn't hear anything."
"Neither did I." affirmed the mother.
"Face it, Kitty," retorted the older brother, "You're hearing things. Next you'll be talking to yourself. C'mon."
"RAAAAR!"
The Soul Reaper stood up again. How could he have missed it? Had that been what the young girl had heard? He scanned the area. There. Approaching from the city centre, was a hollow. He leapt down from the roof and drew his zanpak-tō. Kitty was staring in the same direction as he. Her mouth had fallen slightly agape and her eyes had widened in recognition of something she had never seen before. The Soul Reaper frowned as he approached her, could she see it?
"Kitty! Kitty! What are you staring at?" asked the brother who, following his sister's gaze, could see nothing but the street leading into Birmingham's city centre. He frowned and turned back to his sister, "Kitty? Is it another ghost, Kitty?"
The Soul Reaper's eyes widened slightly. This girl could see ghosts? And hollows? Her family couldn't but were aware of the girl's ability to see ghosts and seemed to observe her as though waiting for her to walk off and talk to the empty space. He could see their surprise and fear as she took two steps back and nearly stumbled, all the time, her eyes fixated on that one spot. He frowned and tightened his grip on his zanpak-tō.
The hollow was tall. It stood over ten metres into the air and was one of the ugliest hollows he'd come across in a long while. Its white mask was scarred and decorated with five green spots that sat over each of the three eyes the hollow had. The hollow stood tall despite crouching over as it walked about on its arms as a gorilla does. It had a tail which flicked about powerfully and dangerously. A long and disgusting line of saliva fell limply from the creature's gaping mouth in which many white daggers sat.
"Kitty?" asked the mother concerned.
"…" the Soul Reaper stood just within Kitty's peripheral vision but the girl was clearly too terrified to notice him. He watched her. Her eyebrows twitched uncontrollably as they struggled to remain in their frowning state. Her eyes were glazed with fear and horror. Her bottom lip quivered slightly until she gained enough control over it to say, "What is that?"
"HA HA HA! YOU CAN SEE ME, GIRL?" roared the hollow whose voice rang out like a horrifying symphony of broken violins, "YOU LOOK TO BE A DELIGHTFULLY TASTY HUMAN."
Kitty whimpered slightly and took a step back. The Soul Reaper placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. She turned to face him, eyes wide with fear. Once she looked into his eyes, her eyes relaxed slightly; demanding an answer but somehow, instinctively knowing that he could be trusted with her life. He smiled at her and pushed her back slightly. Her family watched, surprised, as an invisible force pushed back their girl.
"What is that?" asked Kitty, "Who are you?"
"That is a hollow," replied the Soul Reaper, "It is the soul of a human that has turned into something that requires the souls of humans to survive. I am a Soul Reaper. I extinguish these creatures so that they may pass on or go to hell, as is required. I also protect 'wholes', good souls, and humans. You fall into the latter."
"I hadn't noticed," retorted Kitty, "And I asked who you were, not what."
The Soul Reaper hesitated. She was right but… why would she ask for his name? Surely it didn't matter? He stared at her in surprise and observed her family watching from the background. The family seemed quite ok with the fact that their Kitty was talking to thin air. He admired their respect and acceptance of their daughter's gift. He frowned as the weight of the hollow crushed a car, alerting him to its presence which seemed easy to forget.
"What is your name, Soul Reaper?" asked Kitty.
"A SOUL REAPER," interrupted the hollow, "ITS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF RIPPING APART A SOUL REAPER."
"Unfortunately, hollow, you shall not be reliving that pleasure anytime soon," replied the Soul Reaper, "Perhaps you'll have better luck in the next life."
"HA HA HA! I SEE SOUL REAPERS ARE AS ARROGANT AS EVER," responded the hollow, crushing another car as it approached the party that the Soul Reaper sought to protect, "PERHAPS I WILL KILL YOUR HUMAN FRIEND AND HER FAMILY FIRST, SO YOU MAY SUFFER."
The Soul Reaper grunted angrily and charged forwards with a high-speed flash-step. Sword raised and sharp, he swung it down over where the hollow's mask was. Roaring as he placed his weight into the blow, he was surprised to have it connect with the pavement below. The hollow had moved. He frowned, frustrated. How could it have moved so quickly, without him seeing it? He swung around on the one foot he had landed on.
The hollow had swiped its massive arm across where the family stood and knocked three of the family members into the wall of Millennium Point which was over twenty metres from where they had been standing. The girl's family members had been knocked unconscious and the girl herself had narrowly avoided the blow by jumping to the side. She had obtained a brush from the hollow's arm but that brush had still been enough to cause severe bruising to her arm.
Alerted by the hollow's speed and power, the Soul Reaper flash-stepped forward and struck a blow to the hollow's back. As his zanpak-tō connected with the flesh of the creature, he realised it was too shallow. He was quickly thrown into a lamppost as the hollow's tail flung him aside. The Soul Reaper's back connected with the lamppost and shattered the glass from which the light escaped. He groaned slightly, his vision had blurred.
"ARGH!" screamed Kitty at the top of her lungs, "What in God's name do you think you're doing?!"
"YOU ARE A FEISTY CREATURE," stated the hollow, laughing with a sick and twisted voice, "SUCH DELECTABLE SPIRITUAL ENERGY!"
The Soul Reaper groaned. He picked himself up and rubbed his head from which small streams of blood now seeped. He span his sword in his hand before grabbing it with his other hand and running at the hollow. With two hands now grasping his zanpak-tō, he swung the sword to slice through the creature's white mask. The blow never hit. He had been forced to withdraw the attack as the hollow had bought Kitty up to his head to use as a human shield. The hesitation had cost him dear; a punch threw him into the German saloon which the family owned.
"Hey!" shouted Kitty, "Don't scratch the BMW!"
"I'm more concerned about saving you at the moment, child!" retorted the Soul Reaper as he picked himself up from the ground. He used his weapon to steady himself and he glared at the hollow. This was a tricky hollow, no doubt. Clearly, he was out of practice. To allow such a pathetic creature to win one over on him was unforgivable. He swung his sword about in his hand and sighed, "Let go of the girl, hollow."
"AND MISS OUT ON SUCH A MEAL? I THINK NOT SOUL REAPER."
"Look, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement," said Kitty, "Preferably one that doesn't involve me being eaten, kimono dude being killed or my family being injured."
"YOU TALK AN AWFUL LOT FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN BE EASILY CRUSHED BY MY HAND."
"I'm a Gemini."
Then, fell a moment that rarely emerges its ugly head on the battlefield. It was a moment of silence. This was presumably caused by Kitty's inappropriate, seemingly random and downright irrelevant statement. Thankfully, this silence allowed the Soul Reaper to finally land a solid hit on the hollow whose arm was sliced clean through. The hand fell open as the bloody arm hit the ground. Kitty was thrown from the hand and she quickly picked herself up.
"ARGH!"
Unfortunately, to land this hit, the Soul Reaper had placed himself in the perfect position for the hollow to counterattack. The hollow's jaw enclosed around the Soul Reaper's rib cage before it shook its head and threw the bloody Soul Reaper to the floor beside Kitty. Kitty leapt to his aid. She immediately sat him up, resting his bloody ribcage on her knees and began trying to stop the bleeding by placing pressure on the wounds with her arms.
"What are you doing?" asked the Soul Reaper, coughing up blood.
"I'm a first aider," she replied, "I'm making sure you don't die of blood loss."
"THAT'S THE LEAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS, GIRL."
"Tell me about it." she replied, staring deep into the eyes of the approaching hollow. She frowned angrily and gritted her teeth before sighing and asking the Soul Reaper who lay bloody on her knees, "What can I do?"
Thud.
"What do you mean 'what can I do'?"
Thud.
"What can I do to save you, my family and myself?"
Thud.
"There's nothing you can do. We're doomed now. I can't move my left arm."
"I'M COMING FOR YOU, GIRL!"
"You had to be left-handed didn't you?"
Thud.
"It's not my fault!"
Thud.
"Oh whatever," snapped Kitty, "We haven't got the time. We need to do something now and frankly, I don't care what the consequences are. Right now, I need to protect you and my family so shut up and tell me what to do."
Thud.
"You wouldn't care if it meant you'd die?"
Thud.
"Not at the moment, no."
Thud.
"Sit me against that lamppost and sit in front of me," explained the Soul Reaper, "I'm about to do something very, very illegal."
Kitty did what he asked with astonishing speed. Despite this speed, it occurred to the Soul Reaper that the hollow could have easily stopped her. He figured it must be watching out of curiosity. She sat him against the lamppost, placed his zanpak-tō in his functioning right hand and knelt down before him, staring him straight in the eye with her own, fearless brown eyes. She smiled slightly, "Now what?"
The Soul Reaper raised the sword. It was now in line with Kitty's chest. She looked down at it and frowned, confused. She then looked up and smiled. He could tell that she trusted him completely. He smiled slightly and twitched his hand, the sword responding in kind. She nodded, acknowledging what must be done. He bit his lower lip, took a deep intake of breath and plunged the sword deep into her chest. As he did, he smiled and told her, "My name is Aasa Patorikku."