The last things he remembered before waking up had been a bright light, a loud screeching noise and unimaginable pain. Now, he felt curiously light, detached from the world. Where-ever he was, it felt pleasantly chill, reminding him of the highlands of home, and smelt of heather. With no small effort, he opened his eyes and tried to look around him, squinting in the sharp sunlight.
"Where the bleeding hell am I?" He mused to himself aloud, not truly expecting an answer.
'Do you know who I am?' He thought he could hear a low growling voice from his left, and spun around to examine the threat. Before him was a Wolf, a grey wolf that looked like it was taken straight from his memories of home.
"Erm… No? Who are you? Are you alone?" He responded, feeling a certain amount of pity for the creature. Here they were, both apparently alone on this hillside, underneath the treetops and surrounded by snow and heather. Now that he thought about it, the wolf looked thin and weak.
'You still refuse to hear my name…' He felt as though the disappointment the wolf felt was almost tangible in the air, a curious scent indeed.
'I had hoped you would be more receptive…' The wolf began to turn away, tail hanging between its legs.
"Wait." He said, unsure of why. Something about the Wolf reminded him of his family – a sense of kinship that made the feeling of letting it down almost a physical pain.
"You're a lone Wolf, where's your pack?" He asked. The Wolf stopped dead in its tracks, for some reason he got the feeling that it was smiling.
'Yes, I am a Lone Wolf…' It replied, obviously waiting for some response.
"Then that's what I'll call you, if that's Ok with you. Until I can hear your name." He said humbly. The wolf turned, eyeing him with something that could have been respect. Or amusement.
'That would be… Acceptable, Tomas Hydraxus.' The world began to melt away, piece by piece. The last thing he saw was the silhouette of the Lone Wolf, framed by the sun and snow, before his vision blanked again.
Tomas woke from his sleep with a sharp cry, almost scaring the living daylights out of the robed figure in front of him. The neon lights of Tokyo made the scene look slightly sinister – a feeling intensified by the sword his would be assailant was carrying.
"Just who the FUCK are you!" Tomas screamed as the man tried to calm him. Unfortunately, Tomas wasn't precisely fluent in Japanese, being from Scotland and the man didn't seem inclined to demonstrate any knowledge of the English language, so most of what the man said flew right over poor Tomas' head. Now that he was over his initial shock, he could see that what he had mistaken for robes was in fact a gi, something he recognised from the Karate lessons back home. And for some reason, he himself had chains attached to his chest. What was going on here? Had he been involved in some sort of ritual? What had the man done to him? Why was the man advancing on him with the sword raised? Wait… What? He threw himself backwards in a vain attempt to escape, but he seemed to move sluggishly and the hilt connected with his forehead. Just before he again blacked out ('how often was that going to happen to him?' Some dispassionate part of his mind wondered idly) he could make out a hairdo that looked disturbingly like a pine-apple and a badge with the kanji symbol for '6' on his arm.
"What was his problem, Renji?" The voice startled the aforementioned Vice-Captain from his amusement. Had the 'plus' soul not listened to a word he had said? The look on his face when he tried to back away had been priceless.
"Dunno… Almost as if he hadn't understood a word of what I had said" He broke off with a short bark of laughter.
"Did you kill the other Hollow, Ichigo?" He asked, turning to look at Kurosaki Ichigo, newly appointed Captain of the 5th division. It had been lucky that they had been so close, visiting Ishida in the vain attempt to get him to loosen up and actually go drinking with them.
Apparently, they were to go back when hell froze over.
"Of course, sheesh Renji, you act like I'm incompetent…" Ichigo grumbled with his trademark scowl on his face as he opened a Senkai gate.
"Not much else to do here then." He said as he walked through. Abarai Renji, current vice captain of the 6th and contender for the post of captain of the 9th, grunted in response as he made to follow after him. Something about that 'plus' soul really bothered him though…
Once again, Tomas woke. And once again, he found himself surrounded by trees. Ok, just what the hell was happening? He was sure he had been hit by a flying car – don't ask how – then, he had awoke to find himself in a place that reminded him of home, where there was a wolf asking him if he knew it's name, and THEN, he had been killed again by a crazy sword-wielding-pine-apple-haired-wannabe-samurai after some sort of weird ritual involving chains. And now what? Was he to be killed by a falling tree? A Sparrow? Or maybe even a hornet, or some sort of Demon Cat. Or was he about to re-encounter the wolf for more enigmatic questions about its name, or maybe even its parents now? Was that how this worked? Was this his own personal hell where if he answered the wolf wrong, he'd die in an unusual way? And just why was that wolf getting closer? Wait… What?!?!?
He spun around, hand reaching out to grab the wolf by the throat – a stupid move, he'd normally agree but by this point he was livid with the injustice of his own personal hell.
"Just what the flying fuck is going on here?" He snarled into its face. It was the same wolf from his dream; he could feel the wasted muscle under his hand. It tried an ineffectual bite at his head, but it was too weak for it. Or was it holding back? Did it not want to hurt him?
"Lone Wolf…" He said, remembering the dream in more detail. Wolves tended to be pack animals, for them to be alone meant something bad had happened.
"Will you follow me? I'm alone here too…" He muttered a trifle indistinct. His initial anger had faded fast, to be replaced by a sense of betrayal. Why was he feeling so ashamed that he had attacked Lone Wolf? It was almost as if he had attacked a trusted friend. He let go with a muted apology.
'You… You want me to go with you?' It replied, either amusement or awe colouring the air between them.
"I would willingly accept your help… And I'm sorry for attacking you…." Tomas muttered back.
'You want to be my master…?' It growled, ears back against its head as its entire posture lowered closer to the ground. For some reason, Tomas found his fists clenched and completely unsurprised by these turns of events. It was almost as if he had, on some level, been expecting them.
"Yes." He snarled back, a flash of Gold staining his otherwise blue eyes as he leapt towards the Wolf's neck.