A big thank-you to my Beta Reader, Symphony17, who finished smoothing out my book in record time, possibly due to the fact that I stood over her shoulder the whole time, cheering her on. And, of course, a thank-you to all the readers of this novel - I do hope you enjoy it.
I glanced up at the sign with a practiced eye, and then pulled back my arm, ammunition at the ready. My senses were tingling, and I knew now was the time. I got ready, closed one eye for better accuracy, and let fly the bean bun.
It hit dead center. The 24-hour convenience store sign swung on its hinges, the bean bun sticking to the 'O'. I grinned.
"Hole in one!" I exclaimed, high-fiving my best friend, Ai, who stood beside me. She gave a wary grin.
"I don't think the store owner would appreciate you using his sign for target practice," she said hesitantly. I sighed.
"Ai, Ai, Ai," I said chidingly. "Don't you trust me? Of course I told the store manager I'd be using his sign for target practice. That's why I'm using his bean buns. It's for publicity."
"I really don't think-" Ai was cut off as a great wailing and gnashing of teeth arose from inside the 24-hour convenience store.
"I wonder how the new guy's doing?" I asked thoughtfully. "I guess he must have dropped something, by the sound of it. Listen carefully. What can you hear?"
"Um… I hear a stream of profanities," Ai replied, tapping her pointer fingers together in an embarrassed fashion.
"Yes, but, behind that," I said exasperatedly. Ai listened harder.
"The new guy?" She asked slowly.
"And what's he saying?" I prompted.
"He's apologizing. Now come on, we've got to go in, get what's on the list, and get out, or your mother will kill me." Ai tugged on my arm.
"I'm sorry; do you want to go in there right now this second?" I asked sarcastically. "Oh, yes, this is an excellent time to go in there and bother them."
"Well, I have to be home by four," Ai said hesitantly. I sighed.
"Give me the list. I'll get the stuff myself."
"Oh, I couldn't-" Ai began vehemently, shaking her head. I snatched the shopping list from her back pocket.
"It's my mom, my shopping list. You can go; I'll take care of it. What time is – OMG, IT'S 3:59!" I exclaimed as loudly and dramatically as I possibly could, pointing in obvious horror at the watch on my right hand. Ai shrieked and turned immediately, then promptly disappeared down the street.
"Too easy," I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively. I tucked the shopping list into my sleeve and headed into the shop.
The manager stood next to the boy by the cash register, who was trying to look as small as he possibly could. I glanced at his name tag curiously as I headed towards them, and read, 'Hello, my name is Hanataro.'
"—a ten-yen coin, which is not the same as a 100-yen coin!" The manager was screaming. I tried to look as cute as I possibly could as I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around.
"Excuse me, but could you please show me where you keep the produce?" I simpered.
"Over there," he said, pointing. He turned back to the poor kid behind the register.
"I looked, but I couldn't find it," I said sadly, staring down at my feet and adding a note of despair to my voice. "I'm such a failure. I couldn't even make a decent bowl of cereal this morning. Do you know what I did? I poured the milk in my cup and the orange juice in my bowl-"
"Come on," The manager said in an annoyed manner, taking my arm and leading me down an aisle. I glanced back at the boy (who was kind of cute, if you ask me. What? I'm just saying) and winked at him, then proceeded to be led down to the produce section.
"There," the manager said, having stopped in front of a large display of fruits and vegetables. He grumbled to himself as he turned and walked away. I picked through the vegetables.
"Ew," I said, picking up a stalk of broccoli and moving it aside.
"Ew," I repeated upon finding a bunch of carrots.
"Yuck." I futilely tried to figure out what kind of vegetable this one was, but to be honest, I had no idea.
I plucked out an avocado and glared at it critically.
"It's on the list," I said sweetly, dropping it into my basket. I was getting ready to move along when I noticed something on the avocado. I held it up to the light.
I screamed, dropping the accursed fruit. The inhumanly large spider (inspiderly large?) crawled off the fruit with – if it was even possible – a self-satisfied look and disappeared under a heart of lettuce. I shivered. If there was one weak point I had, it was spiders.
I heard running feet behind me.
"Are you okay?" Someone exclaimed. I turned and saw the register boy, wide-eyed, staring at me. I glanced at the lettuce the spider had disappeared under. Now came the hard part… admit that it was only a spider, or make up a story that won't make me look half so lame?
"Oh, it was terrible! It had… fur… and cold, dead hands! Eight of them! And a… err… skeletal mask! I saw it with my own eyes. It's coming for me!" I exclaimed dramatically, sobbing into the potatoes. The boy's eyes widened as he went into panic mode.
"Ah!" He screamed. "A Hollow! Help, somebody, help! Contact the Seireitei; call a Soul Reaper, anything!"
"Call the what, now?" I asked, completely taken aback. The boy was running in circles, completely freaking.
"Yo, chill, dude. It was just a spider," I said matter-of-factly.
"What?" The boy asked dumbly. I waved my hands in what I hoped was a hypnotizing fashion, and stared deeply into his eyes.
"Repeat after me," I said in a monotone. The boy froze.
"It…" I said.
"It…" the boy repeated hesitantly.
"Was," I prompted.
"Was."
"Just," I added.
"Just."
"A Hollow," I finished with a satisfied grin. The boy shrieked again, then continued running in circles. I watched him with an amused look on my face. Whatever that is, I thought. Apparently he's pretty afraid of it.
"Man, are you gullible," I said, folding my arms and shaking my head. "All respect I had for you disappeared as soon as you began spouting nonsense."
"It's not nonsense! We're all done for! Quick, you have to run! Get a Soul Reaper before it devours you!" The boy wailed.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I guessed he was the type to get worked up about the slightest thing and not calm down until he was certain it was gone. "Listen," I began. "There is no-"
I paused suddenly. What was that strange sensation? It was like… thousands of little hairy legs…
I screamed, looking down with horror at my feet.
They were completely covered with humongous spiders, which were continuing to appear and climb further up my body. I fell to the floor, trying to brush them off.
They began to spread further, until they reached my waist. I screamed once more, with all the volume I could possibly muster.
Then they began to melt, almost like chocolate. It was so strange… first they were there, and then they began to stretch and melt into a different shape.
It was a hand - a giant, red and black hand that gripped my waist. There was a loud crash, and the entire side of the store was torn off, revealing the rest of the monster that gripped me. It was vaguely spider shaped, but a huge hole was cleanly cut from his chest and he wore a bone-white mask. He raised me in the air, and I was frozen with terror.
~ Meanwhile ~
"Sister!" Kon wailed, racing towards the closet and trying to peel it open. "Sister, save me!"
"Shut up," Rukia Kuchiki said irritably from inside. "I have to study."
"You won't get away," Ichigo Kurosaki growled, hopping off his bed and heading towards the cornered stuffed animal.
He paused in his pursuit of the mod soul and looked out the window with wide eyes.
"Rukia!" He exclaimed. The closet door slid open and Rukia jumped out, landing on Kon but apparently not noticing.
"I feel it," she said, nodding. "It's definitely a Hollow. And a big one, too."
"Right." Ichigo grinned, clasping something to his chest. His body fell slowly and landed on the floor, while a sort of apparition of himself appeared above him, dressed in a black kimono with a sword on his back.
"I'm ready," he said excitedly, taking the handle of the body-length sword on his back. He hopped onto the bed and jumped out the window, Rukia following. As the only one left, Kon groaned piteously from the floor.
~ Meanwhile ~
"What is this thing?" I tried to say, but it came out as a mere whisper. The creature threw back its head and laughed, revealing a pitch black mouth with three rows of teeth.
"What am I?" He roared. "What am I? I am the last thing you'll see. I am going to swallow you."
"I object, Your Honor," I was able to whisper, wetting my lips. "You see, I'm too young to die. I'm so greasy and fattening, I would really slow you down. You don't want to eat me."
The monster laughed again. Why the heck is it like no one can see it but me? I wondered.
"I am only going to eat your soul, not your body," the creature said. "No worries."
I had a sudden, desperate flash of hope.
"Look at me, I'm so tasty! You really want to eat me now, you bastard. Go ahead – I hope I give you indigestion for a month," I sneered.
"Thank you for the invitation," the monster chuckled, raising me higher. "I may just take you up on that."
He lifted me to his open mouth. I closed my eyes, preparing for the end.
There was a shout, and suddenly I felt the pressure around my waist disappear. I felt myself fall, and then someone caught me.
I looked up. It looked like a boy, about my age, wearing all black and holding a humongous sword. He had bright orange hair. Is this heaven? I wondered, albeit briefly. If so, why aren't the guys cuter?
He carefully put me down, doing his best not to impale me on his sword. I appreciated that, but still…
"And just who the hell are you?" I exclaimed.
"You can see me?" The boy asked incredulously. I snapped.
"WELL, YOU'RE NOT THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, NOW ARE YOU?" I screamed. "You guys are crazy! What is this, a Crazies Convention? Cause I sure didn't get the memo!"
"No time," the boy grunted, leaping into the air. He brought his sword down towards one of the monster's legs, but the monster pulled away and the sword hit the asphalt, sending up chunks of rock.
"AND WHERE DID YOU GET A SWORD, FOR PETE'S SAKE?" I screamed. Someone appeared next to me.
"AND WHO ARE YOU?" I roared, turning on the newcomer. It was an abnormally short black-haired girl with dark eyes, staring up at me curiously.
"Are you okay?" She asked concernedly.
"No, I bloody well am not!" I shrieked. "What is that thing? Why is a kid carrying around a sword bigger than he is?"
"You must have hit your head," the girl said unconvincingly, putting a hand to my forehead. I wrenched away.
"I want answers!" I roared, slamming my fist into a nearby wall.
Something amazing happened just then, something that would change my life even more than when I first realized that the word 'punctual' did not mean 'contains good punctuation'.
I could've sworn, in the instant before my fist made contact with the wall, that for a moment some sort of shimmering plastic shell coated my skin. As my hand slammed into the stone, it buckled under my hand and cracks spread across what was left of the wall and down into the asphalt of the parking lot.
The monster snarled, leaping back. I turned menacingly.
"You…" I snarled, raising my fist (which was smoking. Warning bells, anyone?).
"What are you-?" The girl behind me began, hand out to stop me. I felt a pulse shake my body, and without thinking I surged forward.
Another 'me' appeared beside me, except that it was… like my shape but transparent. Then the second me raced forward at a speed I was certain I could not run, and slammed into the creature full force, sending up a cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, I fell to my knees, suddenly drained of my energy.
As my vision blurred, I saw the other me land on the monster, bringing her leg down on his mask. A single crack riddled the bone-white mask, and then the other me flashed out of existence.
That was the last thing I saw.
~ Upon Waking… ~
I opened my eyes and the first thing I thought was 'damn'.
I was sure that I didn't have a ceiling like that. I was also, though significantly less sure, certain that I did not belong in this room. I was, however, an even 100 percent sure that this was, undeniably, the worst headache I had ever had.
"Where am I?" I wondered, sitting up. Dizziness overtook me, but before I could hit the floor, someone helped me gently back down onto the bed.
"Ah! There's a guy in my room!" I screeched, pulling up the covers in case whatever I was wearing was indecent. The guy above me frowned.
"I'm just helping," he said. "That was some attack."
I stared for a moment.
"Pervert," I accused. He chuckled.
"My name is Kisuke Urahara. Don't worry, you're safe here. This is my shop. A friend of mine brought you here for treatment after you were attacked by a Hollow."
"Crazy pervert," I squeaked, pointing accusingly as I pulled the covers up to my nose.
"I'm not crazy, nor am I a pervert," Urahara said, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Oh yeah? Then what are you doing in my room?" I demanded.
"I'll have you know that this is my room," Urahara said coolly. The door behind him opened.
"Please, tell me you're sane at least," I begged the newcomer, who was a young man with bright red spiky hair, eyebrows that melted into tattoos up his forehead, and was dressed completely in black with a sword hanging from his belt. He blinked.
"Don't answer that," I said, hanging my head. I was defeated, utterly crushed, past the point of no return, and left with no way out.
"How are you feeling?" asked a cheery female voice from above me. I turned. It was a woman this time, with plum-colored hair, darkly tanned skin, and a bright orange shirt.
"My name is Yoruichi," the woman said.
"I'm fine," I said warily, not quite ready to give my name. The woman nodded.
"That was some fight. I wouldn't be surprised if you still have a headache. How were you able to control your Spiritual Pressure like that?"
"Don't tell me," I said sarcastically. "You're all Soul Reapers from the Seireitei, and you came to rid the world of Hollows."
Yoruichi shared a glance with Urahara.
"Well, not all of us," she said.
"Not all of you," I repeated numbly. "Excuse me; I think I need some time to… er… faint… or throw up… or both." I lurched to my feet.
"You shouldn't stand-" Urahara began. I stopped him.
"I'm fine. The headache disappeared when biker dude stepped in," I said, jerking a thumb at the tattooed boy in the corner. "I'm completely cured. Fit as a fiddle." I took a step.
"Well, would you look at that," I said in surprise. "I actually am."
"I really don't think you should be standing. You haven't learned how to control your power yet, so you used too much," Yoruichi said firmly.
"What power? What's a Hollow? What are Soul Reapers? You guys are all-" I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at yet another newcomer. It was another boy, with dark raven-black hair that looked midnight blue and rectangular glasses, which he raised a hand to push farther up his nose.
"I assume you were going to end that sentence with 'insane,'" the boy said calmly. "You should probably listen to Yoruichi, she knows about these things."
"And you are?" I asked. The boy smiled slightly. Gosh, he was cute! I thought.
"Ishida. Uryu Ishida. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"My name-" I began, when I felt the quality in the room suddenly turn curious. I looked around.
"What?" I asked uncomfortably. Everyone tried to look busy.
"My name is…" I paused for dramatic effect. I could choose whatever name I liked, they'd think it was my real name, and I'd have a group of people calling me whatever I wanted. This didn't happen every day. "Jun," I finished.
What possessed me to say my real name in a room full of crazies?
"Bean buns," I cursed, slamming my fist into the palm of my other hand. There was a snort from the other side of the room, where Biker Dude stood.
"You think my name's funny?" I asked coldly, crossing my arms.
"No, just your choice of curse words," he said with a chuckle. "I'm Renji Abarai."
"There something wrong with my choice of curses, you son of a-" I began, feeling that same sort of exhilarating feeling I felt before when I was fighting that monster. My vision became tinged with electric green, and I could've sworn it almost looked like a targeting system out of some science fiction TV show.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I stopped mid-sentence, the feeling dying down. Only then did I realize I had been glowing.
"No need to flash your Spiritual Pressure, I get it," Renji said across from me, putting his hands up.
"I'm flashing nothing," I spat, unconsciously tugging up the front of my shirt. I folded my arms. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded.
~ Later On ~
"So, let me get this straight. You guys are… Soul Reapers from the 'Soul Society,' and you come to earth to fight ghosts-"
"Hollows. The ghosts we move to the Soul Society, whereas the Hollows we send back to the place between the Soul Society and the human world, called Hueco Mundo. Sometimes the Hollows get into the human world, and it's the Soul Reapers who have to stop the Hollows from devouring human souls," Renji explained.
"So both Soul Reapers and Hollows are invisible to humans?" I asked.
"That's correct," Yoruichi said.
"So how come I can see them?" I asked. "This is a little farfetched, if you ask me."
"People with high Spiritual Pressure, sort of like life energy, can see Soul Reapers and Hollows. Sometimes, they can also use their-" Urahara began. I cut him off.
"—Pressure for some sort of attack, I know. So what happened back there?"
"In a time of distress, or maybe when you're angry, the Spiritual Pressure will come to the surface and you can control it. Once you learn how to control it anytime, you can use that power for other things as well," said Ishida, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.
"If you guys are Soul Reapers, what am I?" I asked.
"A human with powerful Spiritual Pressure," Ishida explained. "I, however, am not a Soul Reaper. I'm a Quincy."
"Oh? What's a Quincy?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
"Like Soul Reapers, a Quincy protects humans from Hollows. Unlike Soul Reapers, the Quincy are extinct. I am the last."
"Oh. I'm sorry." I was silent for a moment. Then I nodded.
"I get it, but… I mean, this is kind of crazy. Wouldn't ghosts look pale and transparent?" I asked. "I don't think I've ever seen a ghost. Oh, I was supposed to be home by six for dinner!" I leaped towards the door and opened it. Suddenly Yoruichi blocked my path.
"If you come back tomorrow, we can teach you to control that energy," Yoruichi said calmly.
"Thanks, but I don't think I'm coming back. That Hollow thing was just a fluke. It's not like it happens every day, so I think I'll be fine," I gave a little wave and tried to step past her. She glanced over my shoulder and gave a small nod to someone behind me, then moved out of my way.
I looked back, but everyone had terribly innocent faces. I scowled, then left the shop and headed down the street, hands in my pockets. I heard footsteps behind me and glanced back.
"What do you want?" I asked the Biker Dude Soul Reaper.
"It's not safe to be walking home this late," he said. "I'll escort you."
"Yeah, like I want my mom to see you trailing behind me," I said with a sarcastic laugh.
"I'm invisible, remember?" Renji reminded me.
"Even worse. I'm going to claim you're a stalker if you don't go back right now," I said, pointing back the way I came.
"You wouldn't mind if Ishida came to escort you," Renji grumbled, crossing his arms. Ooh,he's good.
"Yeah, because he looks normal," I hissed as though it were obvious. "Go. Now."
"Sorry, I'm staying," Renji said, firmly planting his feet.
"Sorry, you're not," I said, crossing my arms and glaring.
"Yeah, I am."
"No, you're not."
"Am too."
"Are not."
"Am too."
"Are not."
"Am too."
"Listen, I just don't want you following me, okay?" I exclaimed exasperatedly. "I don't have time to argue with you, but I can't let you come along. It's already like 10:00 at night."
"Exactly. This isn't quite what I'd call a nice part of town."
"Well, no one will touch me while I'm talking to thin air," I said. "I'll be fine, believe me. You, get."
"Nope," Renji said, shaking his head. I glanced down at his sword, calculating the chance I'd have of snatching it and throwing it as hard as I could in the other direction. Renji put a hand casually on the hilt and glared right back.
"If you're going to come along, at least hide the sword," I said. "If my mom can see you, I would be grounded for a week."
"Deal," Renji said, shifting the sword so that it was invisible from facing him head on. Defeated, I sighed and headed down the street, aware of his footsteps behind me.
Why me? I wondered. Out of everyone in the world, I had to be the one to get involved with… ghosts and Soul Reapers and crazy people. My mom will kill me.
"Do you always talk to yourself?" Renji asked from behind me.
"Yes," I snapped, firmly shoving my hands deeper into my pockets and setting my jaw. I closed my eyes for a moment, then looked up at the sky. A shiver went up my spine. I wondered briefly if this was how it felt in those horror movies as they looked up at the full moon just before the ghost appears behind them and attacks.
Ghosts. They're real. All this time, they've been real. How could I have known?
"Why was he after me?" I asked aloud.
"The Hollow?" Renji asked from behind. "Souls with more Spiritual Pressure taste better to them. That's why they tend to attack more powerful people. They usually only devour the souls of the already dead, though."
"So that means there's the possibility that there could be another," I said matter-of-factly.
"Well, yes," Renji said, trying to sound as though it was a trivial matter. I sighed.
"My house is just up here," I said, pointing. Renji glanced up at the dark, spiky mansion.
"Creepy," he commented.
"Yeah. My mom's Goth and my dad passed away a year ago," I said as I reached the gate. "That'll be all, thank you," I said.
"Have a nice night," Renji said distractedly, turning and heading back the way we'd come.
"Bye," I called, waving. He looked back for a moment to wave back before disappearing around a corner.
I opened the gate and headed up the front steps to the black door, and I fumbled in my pockets until I found a key and let myself in.
The door creaked suitably. I crept slowly down the hall and then started up the stairs.
"You're late," said a low voice from the kitchen as I passed by. I jumped, turning quickly. The light turned on and my mom sat there with a cup of coffee, bags under her eyes, messy hair – the whole shebang.
"Hi, mom," I said with a sheepish smile. "I got caught up in something. Turns out, there was a murder at the store and I was held for questioning. It was quite a mess."
"You're grounded. Three days," my mom said, holding up three fingers. "Now get upstairs."
"Yes, mom," I said, defeated. I headed up the stairs and into my room, and I shut the door slowly behind me.