Edward was floating in and out of consciousness and his view was blurred. He couldn't remember much of what had just happened, if anything, and was feeling oddly exhausted. In his limited vision, he saw that woman from earlier. She looked to have been healed entirely, and was talking on a strange little phone. From what he could pick up, and that wasn't much, she was either totally insane or he was just stupid:
"Captain Hitsu-… Hollow… boy… Spiritual Pressure… incredible…" That was all Edward could pick up in his current state, and it did little to help him understand the situation. Who was that woman? What had just happened? Edward passed out indefinitely again, and woke up a few minutes later.
Edward groaned and pulled himself up slowly from the ground, rubbing his head. His head was aching a lot, and his vision was still slightly fuzzy. He had his eyes closed, as the pain of them adjusting was amplified by his headache, but slowly opened them. He looked up and saw that the strange woman was watching him. She was beautiful, with flowing orange hair and ample cleavage! She stepped over to Edward, who was having trouble averting his eyes.
"Oh, you're awake!" she said happily, putting away her phone. Edward remained silent, unsure of what to say.
"I must say, that was amazing!" she swooned, grabbing his hands and grinning.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" Edward asked awkwardly, not having remembered any of the past events.
"You mean you don't remember?" she asked in surprise. Edward shook his head slowly, and then spoke:
"Who are you? I've never seen you before, are you new in town?" The woman paused to think, as if she was deciding whether to tell him or not. She looked into his eyes, and seemed to have made her decision. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a voice behind her.
"Matsumoto." The woman turned around, and Edward looked over her shoulder. Behind them was a young boy dressed in a black kimono with a white overcoat. He was short, and had striking green eyes and white hair is a fashionable style. Matsumoto grinned and let go off Edward's hands. The boy looked at Edward, who was staring questionably.
"Is this the one you spoke of?" he asked, looking over Edward observingly. Matsumoto nodded in reply, and looked over to her left. Edward followed her gaze, and gasped in shock. In the distance was a body lying on the ground; it was Edward!
"I-is that… me?!" he asked in shock. The boy looked over to the body, and nodded.
"Yes, it is. And that just makes you more interesting…" Edward was in a panic, and in a cold sweat.
"Why?! Why am I so interesting?! I'm just a schoolboy!"
"Just a schoolboy…" he said quietly "Matsumoto, what do you think?" The woman looked slightly shocked, but gave her response professionally
"If anyone can shed some light on this, it's Soul Society. He needs to be there, we can't ignore this." The boy nodded, and lunged at Edward, knocking him out quickly.
"Matsumoto, the Senkaimon."
When Edward awoke, he was in a strange place. It looked like a contemporary Japanese home, but it felt different. The air smelt… better than it did in Karakura Town, more fulfilling. Edward looked around, and saw that he'd been lying in a makeshift bed on the floor, and that he was dressed differently. He seemed to be wearing tailored robes, of a beautiful design. He slowly got up and stepped out of the door. It led into an official looking room, with a large desk and sofa. Edward looked around, but had his attention drawn by the large doors opening. In stepped the two people from earlier, the boy and the large breasted woman. She noticed Edward's presence and grinned welcomingly
"Good morning!" she exclaimed happily "You slept like a baby!"
"Yeah, well I did have some help." Edward said, glaring at the small boy behind Matsumoto.
"We weren't sure whether you were with or against us. It was simply a precaution." The boy said calmly, taking his seat at the desk. Edward huffed, but got over it quickly.
"What… is this place?"
"This is Soul Society, home to the Soul Reapers." The boy explained "All souls that leave the World of the Living end up here, and are protected by the 13 Court Guard Squads."
"The Soul Reapers…? You mean the Shinigami? They're real?!" Edward cried in disbelief. The boy nodded, and continued his explanation
"Our job is to guide the passage of souls to Soul Society. We usually deal with Pluses, who are spirits ready for passage, but occasionally we meet Hollows like the one you fought. They are spirits who have been corrupted by feelings of regret or grief."
"Why am I here?" The boy's face darkened slightly, and he detailed his reasons:
"Last night, a Hollow was found in Karakura Town. Matsumoto was present, and went to fight it. In her fight, she was incapacitated. According to her report, your soul was ejected from its body as a result of the Hollow's abilities. We don't know how you did it, but you quickly defeated the Hollow with only a finger!" Edward looked at his feet, and thought on what he just said. Could he really do that?
"You're Spiritual Pressure was like nothing I'd ever seen before, not even from my captain!" Matsumoto said, nodding towards the boy as she spoke. Edward stared in disbelief.
"He's your captain?! He's like 10!" he cried. The boy growled in anger, but seemed to calm himself immediately.
"I am Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, and while you are in my care, you're life in in my hands. So I'd appreciate keeping the comments to a minimum. Got it?" The room seemed to get colder, as if someone had frozen it. Edward regretted his words quickly, and slunk back. "Now, we've bought you to Soul Society because of these past events. You single-handedly took down a Hollow with what looked like Shinigami powers, but you're clearly not a Soul Reaper. According to my lieutenant, you have a great amount of Spiritual Energy, but I can sense much, if any, from you now." Edward sat on the sofa and stared at Toshiro in awe. He couldn't remember anything from the night before, so was what he said really true?
"So what now?"
After Edward's situation was 'explained' to him, he was taken to a large building further into Seireitei. Toshiro called it the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, and it was headed by a strange looking Soul Reaper named Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Edward was sat in a chair and hooked up to several monitors and computers. Edward just set there tapping out a tune of his legs, whilst several scientists were working hard at their computers.
"So what's this all for?" Edward shouted out, smirking as his echo bounced around the room. Captain Kurotsuchi huffed tiredly, and responded patronisingly
"These, boy, are being used to measure your Spiritual Pressure. My equipment can find Spiritual Energy from miles away, and this is one of my most precise versions."
"The 'boy' has a name." Edward replied angrily
"I do not care for you, or your name." Mayuri sighed, tapping away on his keyboard. Edward had already taken a strong disliking to this guy; he could tell they wouldn't get along.
"Isn't there anyone else to do this?" Edward whined to Hitsugaya, who was observing. He groaned, and looked to his feet
"This department in under Captain Kurotsuchi's direction, and we must respect that; so no." he replied, sounding bored.
"Whatever" Edward said, leaning back on his chair.
An hour had passed since Kurotsuchi began his testing, and Edward had reached his wit's end. He was sleeping soundly on the chair, but was awoken by a loud shriek. Edward flinched and fell out of his chair, taking a few of the wires with him. Hitsugaya had fallen asleep too, yet somehow he accomplished this standing up. Kurotsuchi was eagerly clutching some papers and reading over several more.
"I, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, have solved this mystery!" he cried, clenching his fist victoriously. Edward pulled himself up and pulled the remaining wires off his body.
"What do you have to report, Kurotsuchi?" Hitsugaya asked officially, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Kurotsuchi bundled his papers together, and began his explanation.
"Based on my sense alone, this boy has little to no Spiritual Pressure; he's nothing but a normal human being. But according to these readings, his Spiritual Energy is off the charts." Kurotsuchi looked over to Edward, who was listening with great intent "It seems as though his true power is hidden away inside him, locked away. His battle with the Hollow seemed to draw out this power, as a defence mechanism, but it quickly hid itself away. A short stay in Soul Society should unlock his powers, if he is willing to of course."
"A short stay? How long is a short stay?" Edward asked
"About two months; one if we're lucky."
"What?! I can't stay here for two months! I have a family, they'll think I've gone missing!" Edward cried.
"This is true; we can't take the boy from the World of the Living for too long." Hitsugaya sighed
"I have a name!"
"Is there any way this procedure can be performed in the human world?" Kurotsuchi looked back at his papers, and then came up with an answer.
"Yes, but this may elongate the period unnecessarily." He replied, slightly annoyed that his orders were being ignored "He would have to remain in soul form for a long while, and have regular contact with both Soul Reapers and Hollows. The high levels of Spiritual Energy should have the same effect on him, in theory."
"So I'm going home?" Edward asked smiling
"For now, but we'll have our eyes on you, boy." Kurotsuchi said almost menacingly
