Chapter 2: Starter
"-in" Five more minutes… "Ka-" Wasn't there something important to do today? "-ari-"… No, just school. "…" It felt like there was something important she was forgetting, "-d! Co-" … "ake-" What was it…
"GOOD MORNING CUTE DAUGHTER OF MINE!" Let's see, one nice kick to the head for dad, check.
The eleven-year old now standing on her bed shrieked, "God DAMNIT Dad, IT'S WAY TOO EARLY FOR THIS KIND OF NOISE!" Seeing her twin already awake near the door she added, "And Yuzu! You're the last person I expected to betray me!"
Her angelic sister smiled, "Well sorry Karin, but you wouldn't wake up, and breakfast is almost ready."
"Yeah, yeah, that doesn't mean you have to sic the old man on me!" Giggling the blonde spun on her heels out of their room. The brunette crossed her arms and sighed, "Y'know, sometimes Yuzu can be the scariest of us all."
"Karin, don't talk about your sister that way." The muffled voice of her father sounded, still bent over from when she'd hit him.
"I'm just saying, it's not like she's a real monster or any-" Within an instant, memories of the night before came rushing back into the girl's mind. "Monster." She whispered.
"Huh?"
"Yuzu- she- she wasn't hurt!" Isshin found his suddenly distraught daughter had a grip on the collar of his shirt. "Yuzu- and Ichigo! How's Ichigo doing!"
"Huh? What're you talking about?" This only infuriated her more.
"Don't gimme that crap! Ichigo was bleeding from the head and Yuzu-"
"Ichigo? Your brother's just fine."
"Huh?"
It didn't take long for Karin to learn that her siblings had mysteriously been healed and her family had somehow been convinced that a truck accident was responsible for the damage done to the house. Wouldn't we have woken up? She wondered while Ichigo complained about how much it would cost to repair the house.
Why is everybody okay? Not that I'm complaining, but where did that soul reaper go? He's probably the one who fixed them up, but how'd he make Yuzu and Ichigo forget the giant monsters? And why does everybody suddenly assume a truck hit the house when there plenty of-
"Karin, your breakfast is getting cold."
"Ah-coming!"
I shouldn't worry about it, but I can't shake this feeling that something's not right here.
…..
Last night
…..
"'Looks like you could use some help.' That's what you said, and while I thank you for the healing and for retrieving my gigai, you still haven't told me why you brought me here-"
"Patience, patience." Kisuke Urahara chided. "If you just calm down, I can answer all your questions."
Toshiro growled at this. "Why am I still here?" It was morning already, for gods sake! "You said you'd have somebody take care of the humans-"
"The Kurosaki's." The shopkeeper either had no sense of empathy, or he simply chose to ignore Hitsugaya's frustration. "That family is the Kurosaki family, and it's best that you remember that as long as you're tied to one of their daughters." He sighed as he leaned against the wall. "As for why you're still here, I thought I might lend you some advice." Wiley grin failed to impress icy glare.
Hitsugaya snorted, "I'm sure whatever advice you have will be useful only if I needed to buy fifty cans of Hollow repellent." Half of what goes on here would probably get him executed instantly, why even bother dealing with this man? Oh that's right, He glared at the device on the table, my phone's being jammed, and I don't have the energy to take on all four at once. Plus, who knows what extra security measures are set up here? And I still don't know why it's so hard to sense spirit energy here.
"Why, you wound me. I'm not all about business, although if you were asking I could get in a shipment-"
"If that's all you have to say, then I'm out of here." Hitsugaya stood up to leave, and for the first time that night Tessai (That's his name, right?) didn't move to stop him.
"Now wait just a minute." Shifty eyes met icy ones. "Before you go, I have to ask: What are you going to do now?"
Uncomfortable silence filled the room, the younger unwilling to admit that he hadn't planned that far. Kisuke continued, "The local soul reaper has been taken out, you're supposed to be on vacation-" How could he know about that? "-and you've just given your powers to a human. Most Earth towns could do without a soul reaper representative for a few months before things start heating up. Karakura, on the other hand-"
"Is the largest plot of spiritually enriched land where more than five hundred human souls live. I already know that. Besides which," Hitsugaya's glare narrowed, "What about you? You've clearly got enough resources to protect the town on your own, and seeing as it's your home-"
"I'm much too busy with my shop to go chasing after Wholes and Hollows."
Hitsugaya couldn't help but loose his composure for a second. "Wh- you-" Busy? How many customers did the man get, anyways? And what could be more important than saving innocents?
"Besides which, even if I did have time, what about that girl? Even if you leave her in her body, there's still a chance that when she dies she'll go straight into soul reaper form, instead of becoming a proper Whole. What then?"
"I'm not that irresponsible," the younger man growled, "I was going to wipe her memories of me and sever her soul sleep once I got my powers back."
"Mm. And what then?"
"Then I'd put her back in her body and wipe the memories of our meeting."
"But what about before then? Accidents happen, you know. What if she dies before you've regained your strength?"
Toshiro didn't want to admit it, but the shopkeeper had a point. Without protection, the girl might attract more powerful monsters. Hell, she already had (Or at least something had) and it would only get worse; simply having a soul reaper's soul would increase the amount of reiatsu released.
Sighing, Urhara crossed the room and sat down at the table. As was good manners, Hitsugaya also retook his seat.
"Look, these problems all solve each other." And your sudden cheerful disposition fills me with dread. "It's simple, you've got a town that needs protecting, and you've got a kid with the power to protect them. The Kurosaki girl is going to be targeted anyways, and why bother building walls around a town when you can just teach the villagers to wield a spear?
"What I'm trying to say is: have the human you gave your powers to become the temporary protector for this town. You can't remove her powers until you get your own back, and if you try to bring in more soul reapers before then you'll just get yourself arrested. Why not kill two birds with one stone?"
At first, the boy stared at Kisuke with a blank face. Then, surprisingly, he started to- let's not say giggle, although the laughter was quiet that was more because it was repressed than due to any childish features of the young captain. It didn't take long for the laughter to dissipate, and when it did Hitsugaya's face made it clear he thought Kisuke should know better "Are you insane?"
"Sometimes, yes." Urahara admitted. "But I'm dead serious about this."
The younger soul reaper gaped at him. "I can't just recruit a human! It's bad enough one had to fight last night, but that was an emergency! I- It's against everything the Seireitei fights for-"
"Well, in situations like this, it's best to prioritize." Somehow the outlaw's calm demeanor served to make the situation seem even more outlandish. "What's more important, protecting this town, or preserving the innocence of a single human? And bear in mind," He straightened himself to stand up fully, "that 'protecting this town' includes the collective souls of all the humans who will die with unfinished business, all the humans with high levels of spirit pressure, all the Hollows who will show up in this area and all the souls they devoured before coming to town."
Hitsugaya didn't have an answer. All of this was true, yes, but it went against- went against-
The day Kusaka died, I accepted that what's right isn't what's fair or what 'should be.' I swore to protect the Soul Society, no matter the cost. But… I also swore to uphold the laws of the Seireitei and honor the decisions of Central 46. There's a reason why the Captains of two hundred years ago did what they did. They obeyed the law, even at the cost of their own morality.
I can't pick and choose which laws to obey and which ones to ignore- I've already shamed my title as Captain enough. To break the law now, when all other choices that should be available- His eyes narrowed at the shopkeeper, are no longer possibilities, isn't an option for me.
Sensing that he was loosing the mental battle, Urahara tried again. "Think about it, hasn't the Seireitei always chosen the greater good over all else?"
That… that was true. Every great shame, from the Quincy genocide to the Modsoul incident, Central 46 always put the good of the masses over the good of the individual. And Hitsygaya always followed the orders, unquestioning because he trusted the judges to balance the law, justice and the benefit of the majority.
(Not… really. Central 46 was still made up of elderly, traditional and most often upper-class nobles who'd never held a weapon in their lives. But they were still his superiors, and the Captains were still expected to uphold their orders.)
"So what's it gonna be?" It was more of a challenge than a question, but the youth paid no heed.
If he was Kuchki, if he really truly was willing to follow the law to the letter no matter the consequences, Hitsugaya would have left the shop long ago and called in back home. Consequences aside, he would have turned in the small sweet shop and all it's workers, abandoned the human to be killed or worse, and waited for the execution squad to show up.
But I'm not Kuchki. Hitsugaya decided, and I've worked too hard to die just yet. (Some small part of him acknowledged that he was also too proud to admit what he'd done, that he might not be executed but he couldn't stand the thought of demotion.)
"Thank you for your advice." There was no need to give a criminal the pleasure of knowing if his words had any impact. He probably knew anyways, as Hitsugaya was allowed to leave without compliant.
Hitsugaya began to leave, but Urahara spoke in a much darker tone.
"I have one more thing to tell you."
He considered the pros and cons of staying before deciding that he might as well listen to what the man had to say. "Yes?"
"There is… a reason why that particular girl has so much spirit energy." He waited. "I know what that reason is." Are you going to tell me or are we going to sit here all night?
"You can come in, now!" Urahara called to someone outside the shop. The door opened, and Hitsugaya twisted-
"It's been a long time." Traitor. "Can we talk?" Like hell!
"I suppose some introductions are in order." Urahara cut in, as Shiba Isshin sat down. "This is Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro of the Tenth division, and this is Kurosaki Isshin, owner of Kurosaki clinic, father of three."
Wait, Kurosaki? A broken sign flashed through his memory. "So the girl's not human, I take it?"
"Well, physically speaking-"
"Her mother was." Shi- no, Kurosaki. It's Kurosaki now. "I was in a gigai when she was conceived, so the composition of her soul is human."
"Forgive me if I'm not exactly educated on the biology of hybrids." He snarled, "It wasn't exactly covered in the academy."
"Oh it's nothing to worry about!" Urahara laughed, "I checked out all the kids when they were born, I'd know if something was wrong! With that," Why are you still smiling? "What he means is that the kids were born with nothing more than an affinity for soul reaper abilities."
"An affinity?" Hitsugaya was careful to look neither curious nor confused.
"It really shouldn't have meant anything. The extra spiritual power isn't so much the result of soul reaper nature as it is the result of, well, Shiba genetics." He nodded at Shi- Kurosaki. "After death, it's pretty much guaranteed that all three will develop Zanpakto, so long as a Hollow doesn't get them. While they're alive, their 'affinity' means that- well, they won't just develop any special abilities, but if someone offers their abilities- well, I think you already know."
Hitsugaya remembered when he performed the ritual, how he'd gone into it with a clear idea of what abilities the girl needed to kill the Hollow. The loss of control, as though he wasn't strong enough-
No, he realized, eying his former commander. Kurosaki was pulling too hard. She wasn't trying to, but some part of her must have recognized my ability, and thought it was her own. Otherwise, I would have been able to control the outcome.
On the other hand, this 'affinity' was probably the reason the girl survived the ritual…
"Enough of that." Cap-Kurosaki said. "That's not what we're here to talk about."
Oh great… "Let me guess, your children know so little about the spirit world you clearly haven't told them anything. And you want me to keep your secret not only from my superiors, but from your family as well."
He expected a witty response from either man, but neither one spoke. Shi-Kuro-Shiba eventually sighed and got down to business.
"I'm going to start with a story. The story of how I met my late wife."
…..
The next day
…..
By the time school rolled around Karin had almost managed to forget all the trouble she'd been through earlier. In fact, she was in English class when she noticed something felt… off. It's as though… Nah. About half an hour passed before the door slammed open and a very exasperated boy spoke.
"Is there a Kurosaki in this class?"
Sure enough, in all his white-haired glory there was the same soul reaper from last night, now dressed in the same black polo and tan pants Karin had first met him in. FML. No, there was no way Karin could just return to her daily life and resume her eternal quest to be less uncool than her family. Weirdness just had to follow.
Not that Mrs. Kato noticed. "Why yes, are you a-"
"No, thank you, goodbye." Much to Karin's enjoyment, the door was slid shut once more. She thought the whole class could hear the next door opening and the question being repeated.
Thank god that had turned out to be one of those problems where- "YOU!" The door almost came off it's hinges, it opened so fast. The boy pointed at her and roared, "I'VE BEEN IN FIVE KID'S SCHOOLS THUS FAR, AND YOU JUST HAD TO ATTEND THIS ONE?"
Oh, that was it. How DARE he humiliate me like this? Doesn't he know I'm in CLASS? "HEY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT I'M HERE, AND WHY THE HELL WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME ANYWAYS!"
"SHUT UP!" He started walking towards her, fury in his eyes. "If that stupid shopkeeper had just told me where to find you this would have been so much easier!"
"What shopkeeper? And why are you following me, anyways!"
"Karin Kurosaki!" Mrs. Kato finally decided to speak up, "If you want to talk to your friend, you may do it after classes are over! And I will not tolerate such foul language!"
Eventually the soul reaper had agreed to wait outside until school was over before he spoke with Karin. It would have been a lot easier if he hadn't insisted on seeing her right away, but once he heard that he could enroll here (a topic that came up when one of the teachers asked the kid why he wasn't in class) he'd happily joined the principal in his office.
Karin didn't actually see him until after school let out, though. She'd just left the building when she heard him.
"Hey."
The tomboy froze, almost afraid to look behind her and confirm her fears. "Oh no." she muttered.
"My thoughts exactly." He'd responded, now walking towards her.
"Shouldn't you be back in the afterlife, or wherever it is you come from?"
He glared at her for some reason. "I can't, idiot."
"Why you-"
"Last night I transferred all my powers to you." She blinked. Well, that was unexpected.
"What are you talking about?"
"My sword, remember? You thrust it into your heart while I poured my spiritual power into it." Flashes of last night, of feeling an amazing rush of power and of decapitating- Is that what had happened?
"Oh." It certainly explained a lot. Those last few minutes Karin had thought to have been an actual dream. The soul reaper flipped open his phone and began walking away. Karin followed him, unsure of why she was doing so.
"So now my powers are yours. Likewise, so are my responsibilities, and-" Hold on.
"Wait, responsibilities? You never said any of that!"
"We didn't exactly have time." He glared at her. "You're family was in danger, I was unable to fight, and you have enough spiritual energy that I thought you might have a better chance of using my power correctly than say, your sister."
"Yeah but, I mean," She couldn't just drop everything to be a psychopomp-slash-demon hunter. "I'm still in elementary school, couldn't you just take your powers back?" He stayed quiet. "Or, is that where we're going? Somewhere private so you can get your powers back?" No response. I'll take that as a yes. Wishful thinking sometimes is accurate. They were behind the school by then. "I don't have that sword, so unless you took it-"
Without so much as a warning, the soul reaper spun around and all Karin saw was a flash of blue and red, maybe a flaming skull, and suddenly she wasn't holding her soccer ball anymore.
"What the hell…" Looking down, the eleven year old noticed that all her clothes were gone, and had been replaced by a black kimono like the one the soul reaper had been wearing last night. Looking behind her, she saw herself laying unmoving on the ground. "Is- is that-"
"You're fine." The boy snapped. "This is the same state you were in last night, you've temporarily left your body." Karin watched as he pulled it into a ditch between the school and the field. "It should be fine, so long as nobody disturbs it."
"Hey, what do you mean, 'fine'!" She snarled as she regained her senses, "That-that's my body! And what was that about last night-"
"Follow me."
"Are you even listening?"
"We can talk while we walk, now come on!"
…..
If Toshiro Hitsugaya hadn't long since developed serious doubts about his decision, he certainly would have developed them by now. It was only a fifteen minute walk to the park, and Kurosaki had insisted on asking countless questions.
Thus far they'd covered: "Where are we going?" "How can my body live without me in it "Why didn't that person see me?" "Wait, so why can they see you?" "I can FLY?" (this was after tripping off a stairwell he'd easily jumped over) "Are we there yet?" ?" "Why do you keep looking at your phone?" "Wait, so if that thing shows where spirits are, what are we tracking now?" "Wait, how'd you get me out of my body?" "How do you use that on yourself?" "So what you're saying is I need help leaving my body behind because it's my body and not just some fake, or because your gigi ("Gigai!") is fake and therefore easy to leave?" "Are you going to have me give you back your powers or what?"
He'd considered refusing to answer the last one, until he realized the longer he put it off the longer she'd be under the impression that being a soul reaper was just something she could just talk her way out of. He then explained calmly that no, the transfer only worked from soul reaper to human, and besides which it would probably kill her to return his power the same way. "Because think about it. You'd be a soul, outside of your body, without a chain of fate connecting you to it." The girl shuddered at that.
"I can remove my powers from your body without killing you." Well, probably. Most could survive having their Hakusui and Saketsu severed, and theoretically speaking there would be a short period of time between the loss of power and Kurosaki's reversal to a purely human soul. If her body was nearby, he could easily put her back in it before she died, and from there the child would be free to live a normal human life. "But only once my own powers have returned."
The girl hummed in response. "And how long will that take?" They were there. "Hey, why'd you stop?"
"Over there." The prodigy pointed down an alley. They had gone downtown, and when the girl walked passed the dumpster she noticed the Whole cowering behind it.
He sighed as she began talking to it, suddenly desiring small talk from some random spirit over the company of the ghost whose power she'd stolen. "You have to help him pass on." Hitsugaya snapped. God, was this girl really so stupid she'd forgotten what he'd already told her?
"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" The Whole tried to interrupt but the soul reaper only cared about the response of his substitute.
"Wait, you mean that whole psychopomp thing?" She looked at the spirit next to her. "How?"
"Take the butt of your sword and press it to the Whole's forehead." He instructed her as slowly as possible, imagining that he was explaining this to a two year old. "That should activate the konso ritual, and help the Whole pass on."
Slowly, almost unsure of herself, Kurosaki did as she was told. Despite the spirit's protests he closed his eyes and faded into the ground, where a hell butterfly arose to deliver his soul.
"Wow…" The girl sighed, completely relaxed and in awe of the miracle. A though life was that simple, and her insistence upon waiting hours to complete her duties hadn't already gotten several souls devoured by nearby Hollows.
"Ready for the next one?" For now, Hitsugaya had decided to allow her to continue with a few more konso's before he led her to the Hollow. It'd be more effective in showing her what this life is really like if the child was getting comfortable with her new job before she realized that there were more monsters to be slain.
"Huh?"
"There are more Wholes in the area, just waiting to pass on." After a moments consideration she decided to try again.
"Isn't there someone else who could-" But the captain wouldn't let the child finish.
"There were several people," He slowly deliberated, "but as of last night, most of the ones in this area are dead now," From the look in her eyes, Kurosaki seemed to realize then why he had suddenly prepared to defend her the other day. "And I gave my power to you."
It took her a minute, but eventually the child decided to accept her new job. Although he did hear murmurs of, "If I'd known you were going to make me do this last night, then-"
At that Hitsugaya felt it best to channel the rage that had been building up with every single ignorant word she spoke. Well, fine. He stopped listening, and in doing so barely managed to keep his temper under control. If she wants to play, then I'll show her 'fun and games.'
Right now, there wasn't a Hollow nearby which he could conveniently lead her towards. The prodigy used his phone to locate the nearest whole, and began heading it it's direction, leaving the substitute to either follow him or go home. He decided to keep up the konso duty for now, and once a Hollow did show up-
This is not a game, girl. You'll see that, or you'll die.
There was a long pause. Hitsugaya briefly wondered what Kurosaki was thinking as she grumbled behind him.
…..
Could he be more overdramatic?
She'd gone with him to a few more places with spirits, eventually going to the hospital and morgue (which would henceforth be a daily trip for Karin until she managed to complete the job forced upon her). It had taken oven an hour and a half to get this far, and Karin was more than ready to call it quits and head home. The sooner this job was done, the better.
I guess soccer practice will be put on hold until this has all blown over… The tomboy mourned her lost free time. Not that there was much she could do about it; the soul reaper had saved her life, so it was only natural that she paid him back. That doesn't make it suck any less.
Meanwhile, the white-haired kid in front of her had been checking his phone. She noticed that the last alarm was different from the other ringtone that had been playing every time they got near a Whole.
"Only one stop left." About time. "Over here."
He nodded at a landfill in front of them. "What, this place? What kind of dead spirit lives here?" She started to search for the lonely spirit, but the soul reaper held her back.
"Don't let your guard down." He stared straight ahead. "You don't want to be caught off guard." What was this guy talking about? But her companion ignored her, instead watching the landfill as though he expected it to attack them.
Karin sighed and shifted her sword to her shoulder. What are we waiting for? If something doesn't happen soon-
No sooner had fate been tempted then a mound of garbage exploded a few yards away. Emerging from the wreckage was a large worm-like Hollow with tentacles. Caught by surprise, Karin screamed (not a very shrill scream, nor a girlish one. More like the noise the hero's best friend makes when they get killed off in an action movie. She hoped.) "What the hell-"
"Stay on your guard!" Wha- When did that midget move like, twenty feet behind me? "It's headed this way, be prepared to fight it when it get's here!"
"Yeah, easy for you to say, you're all the way over there!"
"In front of you!" Karin managed to dodge just in time, and the worm-Hollow crashed into the ground behind her. How the hell did that thing manage to jump ten feet up like that? It's a freaking worm!
The moment her feet touched solid ground, Karin leapt back towards the monster and with a roar managed to cleave it in half. Within seconds the beast evaporated, and the elementary student touched ground easily. The nearby boy smirked, which only served to enrage her.
She hollered, "And where THE HELL were you when I was fighting that thing?!"
"Don't be stupid, without any powers I'd only get in the way." How dare he just brush her off so nonchalantly!
"Yeah, well you still could have warned me!" Karin pointed at him "You knew that thing was coming, didn't you?"
"Of course I did."
She growled, "Then why the hell didn't you warn me?" She could have been killed!
"This one was pretty weak. I figured you didn't need a warning." That made no sense!
"Even if it's not strong, I'd still like to know it's there! You didn't even tell me what we were doing! How was I supposed to know-"
"You weren't." The expression on his face changed, and Karin was reminded of the old veterans that sometimes came to the clinic for check-ups, whenever they had to expose an old battle scar. "I expected you to kill it, but I wanted you to be caught off guard." What? "You need to understand that this job is dangerous. There are plenty of Hollows stronger than the ones that attacked your family, and although the truly powerful ones rarely show up in this world, you still need to be prepared for whatever does come to this town.
The boy explained, "I'd rather have you be scared and alive than underestimate your opponent and die. That thing's weak enough I'd step in if I have to, so you weren't in as much danger as you'd usually be in. But I want you to understand- no, you need to understand that this. Is. Dangerous. Plenty of soul reapers die at the hands of ordinary Hollows, and a number die not because they face a foe more powerful than them, but because they underestimate their opponent. So you can kill a ten foot tall monster? That's great. But it doesn't mean you should bull-rush the one that towers over your house. Besides which,"
His expression changed to one of condescension, "you keep on complaining about how you don't want to do this. And that's fine, no one should be forced to put their life on the line for anything. But unfortunately, neither you nor I can change what's happened. If you die before my powers return, or if you refuse to perform the duties of a soul reaper, then this town will become overrun with Hollows, and the souls of all who have died here will all be forfeited and devoured. If you are only willing to fight for your loved ones, or those who happen to be attacked when you're nearby, then you might as well not be fighting Hollows at all, since so few will 'just happen' to be somewhere you can easily get to. Eventually more powerful Hollows will realize that there isn't anyone guarding this area, and they'll start coming here. And those ones will know to target humans with high levels of spirit pressure. You and your family will be targets, and then you will be forced to fight, but by then it will be too late." Was… was this- this job- was it really that serious?
"Understand, Karin Kurosaki." The soul reaper glared at Karin, and somehow it made the girl feel very, very small even as he told her just how important she was. "That until I get my powers back, every day you will have to fight, and do so understanding that each battle could kill you. You have to be willing to make sacrifices, or you will wind up dead."
It wasn't until then that Karin truly realized, This is really happening. I hadn't thought about it before, not even while we were going around exorcizing all those ghosts, but just guiding souls to the afterlife is a huge duty. Everybody knows about it; life and death have to go in a cycle.
Fuck this.
"I want out." Okay, she wasn't even trying to sound tough. Don't care.
"Too late." The boy said. "Trust me, if there were another way-" he hesitated, but not long enough for Karin to pick up on it, "I would have taken it."
"I don't care." She said, "I'm not doing this." She stormed back to the school- or would have, but he called after her.
"Did you forget what I just said?" Ignoring you. "If you abandon your duties, then this town will fall."
That got her attention. Crap! He said something about that, didn't he? Crap, what did he say? What do I say? Crap! Spirit's aren't my- wait!
"I have this brother, Ichigo-"
"-Who is human. And who you can't transfer your powers to." The boy got closer to her until they were an arms length away.
"Why not? Look, the guy messes around with ghosts and stuff all the time, he'd be thrilled if he could actually send them to the other side instead of just being moral support."
"You don't understand," He sighed, "That ritual I performed when I gave my powers to you, it requires a level of skill and self-control that takes years, if not decades to develop. I'll regain my own abilities far quicker."
That- was a good argument. "But-" There has to be a way out of this mess!
"I know it's sudden, and I know it's scary." The boy shifted, and tried to look less intimidating. "But you're not alone. I'll be there to teach you, and you can still attend to the basics of your human life. It's crucial that you understand how much is at stake here because if you act recklessly, you'll… be in trouble."
Be dead.
"Still…" Karin began. Look, he wouldn't have dragged you into this if he had another option. "I…"
The boy put a hand on her shoulder. "We can talk on the way back."
…..
"Thanks for the warning." Karin said, much later, when they were almost at the school. She was already resigned to this mess, but at least now she understood a little bit more about just how big her new duty was. Heh, and to think there are some people who would give anything to be part of something greater than themselves.
"Good." The boy turned around and began walking away, "Then I'll expect to see you tomorrow morning at that hill where we met." Huh? "Meet me at seven o'clock, bright and early."
"W-wait a minute!"
He paused, "Is something wrong?"
"Whattya mean 'Is something wrong' I've got school tomorrow!"
"Oh?" He turned, "I thought you agreed to help?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I'm willing to give up my whole life!" She yelled, her passion now returning in full force. "Look, I understand if you need help, and if there's a Hollow in town then I'll- I don't know," How do people skip class? Stupid Ichigo for never teaching me how to be a delinquent. Not that he ever seems to skip class himself. "I'll ask to go to the nurse and then go fight it while I'm gone, but I can't just hang around all day waiting for spirits! People die all the time!"
The boy had become annoyed enough to snap back, "Well then how else are you going to perform your duties? I'm already giving you time off to be with your family, you should be thankful as it is!" Why that little-
"Okay, first of all, there's more to my life than just my home, I have to go to school or else they'll call my dad. And second, why do the spirits have to pass on right away? I can just pretend I've gone to sleep early and then leave my body in bed, sneak out, go help all the dead people pass on and then come home with no one the wiser!" Her body still breathed when she wasn't in it, right? Like a mini-coma, only she could control when it ended.
He sighed, "Well, I guess that'll work, but you still need training. There's more to fighting than just swinging your sword, and that thing was one of the weakest."
"Hey, I did alright last night. Three down in my first battle, isn't so bad, is it?"
For some reason the white-haired boy felt the need to screech, "Last night you were reacting to suddenly gaining new power! Your soul was pumped with new energy- you won't be in a state of energetic hyperactivity again!"
Energetic what now? "You lost me."
Hand, meet forehead. "Grah- Think of it like a sudden rush of adrenalin. Only three times as powerful, and if adrenalin only activates when you learn new methods of utilizing your spiritual energy. You passed out after those Hollows were killed, remember?"
She did, it was part of why the whole even had seemed so unrealistic. "Yeah, so?"
"So usually that doesn't happen, the only reason you fainted-"
"I don't faint!" Fainting is for prissy girls, or spoiled princesses who can't handle seeing spiders.
He ignored her, "-Was because you weren't in danger anymore. Your soul absorbed a ton of new abilities at a time when your life was about to end, so it reacted strongly, giving you greater focus, shutting down your pain receptors, telling your muscles to work harder." Well, that kind of made sense… "Plus, any transfer of power rushes through both the giver and the recipient, so your soul was made fully alert by the sensation of being totally-" Enough already.
"Okay, that's all well and good, but I really don't care."
"Hey, I wasn't finished-"
"What I want to know is what exactly our plan is." Hey, you if keep cutting me off, it's only natural I return the favor. "I can't just stop going to school, and I can't spend all my time on duty. I'm willing to work out with you if that's what you want, but I can't put my life on hold if it's not an emergency."
Her speech seemed to do the trick, as boy gave in with a sigh. "Fine, we've covered all of the Wholes that the system can pick up on. Tomorrow, I want to see you on the hill where we first met, as soon as your school gets out."
"Fine by me."
He seemed to consider something. "Listen, before we part ways, there's some basic information you should know about Hollows."
"Eh?" She frowned, "Find, slay, go home. What else is there to know?"
"A lot of stuff I just realized you probably don't know about but should know ahead of time, before you find out the wrong way. Honestly, I'm not going to tell you anything that you don't need to know, and that you wouldn't be able to find out on your own.
"First of all- and let me explain this fully- all Hollows used to be human souls."
What!
He quickly continued, "All the Hollows you killed did pass on after you killed them. The reason why we use Zanpakto to fight Hollows is because Zanpakto have a natural 'purifying' ability, that erases all the memories the soul has of being a Hollow. More importantly, it changes a Hollow back into a regular human soul, then it fastracks both the former Hollow's soul and all the souls of the Hollow's victims to the afterlife. In shot, once you've slain a Hollow with you sword, it and all the souls it's devoured are allowed to pass on. Don't think they're not dangerous, a Hollow is born when a whole stays in the human world for too long, and eventually looses themselves to despair."
Karin swallowed, "Okay… I think I get where you're coming from."
"Are you able to go on with this information?"
She nodded, "Yes… I mean, if the soul's all get to move on, then it's not really killing them, is it? Nobody actually gets hurt, and the Hollow wouldn't even suffer from guilt in the afterlife 'cause they wouldn't even know they ever were a Hollow at all." She tried to grin, but failed miserably. "Sound's like a good deal to me."
The soul reaper nodded. "Good. There's more you should know about, but I think that's the most troubling information I'm going to give you."
"Well then, I'm all ears." Her fake enthusiasm might have fooled a toddler, but no one else would believe the girl wanted to hear more.
"To remove your powers, I'm going to have to stab you again. I'm pretty sure I know someone who can sell anesthetic, so you won't actually be in that much pain during the procedure, but you will feel something when you lose your powers."
"Well… if it gets me back to normal…"
"And another thing, this probably didn't register, so I'm going to explain it slowly: Every Whole that doesn't get a Konso performed on it will eventually become a Hollow."
"But, my brother knows lots of spirits-"
"The process takes time. Months, years, it differs. But all Wholes will eventually become Hollows."
"Oh… so you guys must put a lot of effort into helping as many spirits pass on before then as possible, right?"
From the way he cringed, Karin had a sinking suspicion that such was not the case. "That… would be the smart thing to do, yes." But you didn't say that you psychopomp guys actually do that. "Moving on, technically when you leave your body, you're dead. Even though it can survive on it's own for a long time if you left it alone, it's technically not breathing." Karin whimpered. "Your body won't decay if you leave it properly, like you've done now, but it will be in what you'd call a constant state of recently dead. So if anyone finds it, they might think it's a corpse, or at best call a doctor to try to revive you with CPR."
"Ah…" was all she could muster. This was a lot to think about, though in the long run I can see why it'd be better to learn about this stuff now rather than later. Imagine if someone called Yuzu and told her I was dead, that'd suck. At the moment, such was the only positive thought in Karin's mind. There was a lot to process, and the soul reaper hadn't softened anything for her. Eventually she meekly asked "Anything else I should know?"
"You have a lot to learn about fighting, with your current level of skill you're more likely to hurt yourself. We're going to start with the basics, and once you know enough I may consider teaching you one or two basic techniques I know."
As the two began the long trek back to the school where her body lay, Karin had one thought in mind. Man, I just know that I'm gonna regret this.
…..
…..
AN: Yay! Another chapter done!
Wow you guys, I didn't expect to get any reviews yet! Thank you! I have to warn you- I am a slow writer, and I've been writing this story for months before I posted it. I had three chapters finished (and therefore there will be less last-minute editing for these) before I published the first chapter, so I've decided to put up the first three chapters quickly. Then I'll return to my normal writing pace, which will be much longer. But thanks so much for the support!
When I started this AU, it was hard to think of all the changes that would be made with the different characters. Since during the first arc of Bleach almost everything is manipulated from behind the scenes, what I have to change is less of the events, and more how people are convinced/pressed to take certain actions. Plot-wise, there isn't a lot of room for changes early on. Karin listens when Toshiro tells her to help her family (at first), since he's already shown her that he knows what he's doing and she wants to believe him when he says he'll be alright.
High school is easier to get out of (if you make the right entrance- Toshiro was also too stubborn and had better control over his fear, so he got more upset with Urahara and it took longer for them to talk, and they did so on more hostile grounds, hence Urahara didn't get a chance to tell Toshiro where to find Karin), so Rukia can bring Ichigo to the Hollow attack in the park. Karin does not feel the need to defy authority as strongly as Ichigo does, and as such she doesn't correct anything in Toshiro's speech or talk back or have her own speech after his. Toshiro also convinces Karin by telling her that if she doesn't help now she'll only make her own life miserable in the long run (which also has something to do with the speech Urahara gave him earlier, about the greater good), while Rukia tells Ichigo that all lives are equal and each individual deserves to be saved. At first Toshiro tries this tactic, but Karin freaks out because of the responsibility. Toshiro thought that this was because she's so young, but actually, I think it's part of her personality to avoid going out of her way like this, and when all of this responsibility was forced on her at once she freaked out. And naturally, the biggest change so far, Toshiro recognizes Isshin- which would have happened sooner or later. Originally, Urahara told neither one the other was in town, and Isshin encountered Toshiro sleeping on his roof. It was rewritten a few times, before I realized that Urahara would rather have Toshiro (and Isshin) learn a secret that obvious and easily discovered on his own terms.
Most of the first arc will work like this: The individual events for each episode are set off at the same time and are the same, but how they are dealt with may or may not be slightly different.
Lots of text this chapter! Does anyone remember chapter/episode 2 of Bleach, where Rukia gives Ichigo this big talk about why he has to be a soul reaper? I tried to convey the same thing here, but with different people and without anyone being attacked. Which is good, because Karin doesn't have the passionate desire to protect other that Ichigo has, so she wouldn't have a good answer to a breaking speech that covered the same bases (protection, all souls being equal, can't save one without saving all, ect.) Cannon!Rukia's speech does. This is also the real reason as to why Toshiro has to search for Karin, while Rukia knew just where to find Ichigo. I wanted to avoid that situation, so I changed the time and place the big speech happened. That kid being chased by a Hollow? Well… in this universe, he'll get to the soul society eventually… once the Hollow is killed… If a Quincy doesn't get it…
Originally, the scene between Urahara and Toshiro wasn't there, but I came up with the idea later and wrote it in. What you didn't see was that Toshiro is then surprised to find out that Karakura has more than one elementary school. From there he figures he can just look at the list of students in a school, find out if Karin's there, and go home. Unfortunately, the list of students is either kept online or in the principals office, and random children aren't allowed to see either. Now sleep exhausted and very frustrated, he begins going into each classroom, checking to see if Karin's there, and leaving when she's not. Needless to say, by the time he does find Karin, he's very, very, very annoyed.
I want the big, conditional power-ups to be mostly consistent with cannon (like the Hollow's first emergance and re-gaining soul reaper powers) but the personal skills will differ (like skill in kendo). For example, Toshiro will train Karin using more conventional methods then just saying "pop only the balloons with the hands", though he'll have some of that, he's had more experience dealing with those of lower skill levels and knows more about teaching. However, cannon!Ichigo does have more stamina, experience (in street fights) and weight, so he has a bonus. As such, if Cannon!Ichigo vs Fanfic!Karin dueled at the end of the Karakura arc (right before losing their powers) it would be a tie.
A bit on the characterization: at first, the reason why Karin is willing to go along with Toshiro is because she doesn't fully understand all of the implications of her decision. Ichigo knew right off the bat that agreeing to help Rukia means fighting lots more monsters, and that he could easily get killed by one of them. If you had asked her, Karin would say that she knows she'll fight more monsters, but she wasn't thinking about it when she began doing konso's, and she hadn't really thought about getting killed by a Hollow. Even after this chapter, she's still underestimating the amount of danger a soul reaper is in, so she agrees without really knowing what she's getting into. Now she's not underestimating as much, but she still doesn't expect to die.
Just read Bleach 540. This saves a lot of time, now I don't have to think up a new Zanpakto avatar! I do have to think up a new name, though… I noticed that Engetsu and Zangetsu are similar in name, so I figured some aspect of the Zanpakto ran in the blood or something. We'll probably get more explanations later, but for now I'm just going to keep the appearance the same. If it turns out the name is also tied in with the appearance deal, I'll keep that name the same as well. For now, I think I'll just go with the whole double-meaning phases of the moon deal.
Reviews:
Ultimate Black Ace: Thanks for the warning. I haven't done much editing, since I'm trying to get these chapters up quickly, but I'll work on a way to make the flashbacks less chaotic. Also, those aren't flashbacks- they are events that are happening as the story is progressing. The ones at the beginning happened no more than a month before the story started, but chronologically the rest of them occur between or during the scenes they are sandwiched between.
forever122: Er, sorry, but the rescue arc is kinda crucial to the plot. Also, too many smart people are manipulating events for the rescue arc to not happen. I do, however, plan to have the soul reaper reactions to the execution be different (neither Momo nor Matsumoto are Renji), and like Rukia, I can tell you now that Toshiro won't die.
Guest: Part of the basis for this story is that all of Ichigo's individual powers are the result of his genetics, and therefore his sisters have the potential to access those same powers. But don't worry about Ichigo. Initially, I had planned for him to replace Karin, but I came up with a much better idea for Ichigo. It's not very original, but it will put him in a central role of the story.