Chapter 2: Explanations
"Is this the best you can do?"
"What is this voice? Where am I?" thought Akio in complete darkness that surrounded him.
"Is that the best you can do?" repeated the mysterious, rough voice.
"I heard you the first time. Please let me be." Answered Akio.
"So you want your friends death left unavenged?" asked the voice.
"There is nothing I can do. I am just a tiny human." Said Akio while his eyes were tearing up again "It's all my fault. And shouldn't I be dead?"
"Your human body might be broken, but your soul is protected for now, by my power. And I am offering that power to you, I am offering you the power to avenge your friend." Said the voice.
"Who are you anyway? Why don't you show yourself? Where am I?" kept asking Akio while trying to break through darkness with his eyes.
"So many questions, so little time. I will show myself, or at least a part of me, and my name is Diabolus!"
Suddenly bright flames appeared and the darkness vanished. Akio was looking at the giant creature hidden behind those flames. He wondered if this was hell. Is that devil himself offering him power in exchange for his soul?
"Now tell me, do you want power?" asked the creature behind the wall of flames. The voice was now softer, but still it sounded more like growling. It sounded like one of those monsters that killed Harumi, but Akio's instincts told him that this one was different.
"There is not much time, you must choose. Death and oblivion or power to avenge your friend, what will it be?" asked the creature with the voice that clearly indicated that Akio must choose now.
"I… I'll take the power, tell me what to do." Finally answered Akio. This was his chance to not only avenge Harumi, it was a chance to redeem, it was his fault after all.
"Ahahaha, wise choice, don't worry I'll guide you the first time, I've been sealed for such a long time, It's time to see if my power is still at its fullest." Answered the creature with intimidating voice.
"What's happening over there?" asked Ichigo over shoulder while dodging the attack from a green Hollow.
"I don't know, it looks like Harumi is injured and it seems there is one human casualty." Answered Rukia with frightened voice.
"Didn't we secure this area?" asked Ichigo again "No human should be able to come near this place."
"Well, no person or creature without reiryoku should have access to this place at the moment, which probably means he had some, unlucky kid." Said Rukia and then faced the green monster "Hollows did become a bit stronger, still I believe you can finish them with ease."
"Yeah, you don't wanna help?" asked Ichigo and swung his sword "Getsuga Tenshou!"
The bright wave of light materialized from his sword, pure energy cut through the hollow and the monster disappeared.
"No, I am going to see what happened over there and help Ishida." Said Rukia and turned around. She didn't make a single step towards the third monster when extreme pressure pinned her down to the ground. "What is that?" she heard Ichigo and other shinigamis. She was also wondering what was this pressure. It felt like reiatsu, but she was unfamiliar with it. Whose reiatsu was that? She looked at the third hollow and finally saw it. The boy, surrounded by faint reddish energy that was slowly disappearing into his body. He was wearing shinigamis black kimono and he had giant curved red blade with dragon carving and white line on the upper edge . The hollow was pushed back by the boys reiatsu.
Akio woke up in the hand of the hollow that crushed his bones. But he didn't feel pain now nor his bones were broken. He could move and he felt amazing. The power mysterious creature was talking about felt so good. Strangely he knew exactly what do. Was this the guidance of that creature? It doesn't matter.
"It's time for you to die!" Akio said and jumped off of the monsters hand releasing more reiatsu and pushing the monster away.
"Hahahahahaha, you got some power and you think you can beat me?" laughed the monster and tried to grab Akio again, but Akio was ready now, he swung his sword and cut off two of monsters fingers.
"How dare you? I'll kill you, you fuckin' bastard!" screamed the monster and prepared for another attack.
"Ah, you are hopeless, bye now." He answered to monsters threats "Tengoku Tatsu no Kiba!"
Read wave of energy in form of flame came out of his sword. It hit the hollow and split it in half. As monster disappeared the disbelief in its eyes was present. Akio looked at those eyes. He wanted to strike again, but the monster was finished, there is no need to keep going. Everything turned black again.
"Urahara-san, do you know who this is?" asked Ichigo while pointing into Akio's sleeping face.
"Hmmm…" Urahara was mysterious.
"Urahara-san please, Soul Society has no record of him, he was not shinigami stationed here…" started Rukia, but Urahara interrupted her.
"I honestly have no idea." He said while adjusting his hat. Although he was laughing his tone was strange. Ichigo thought it was suspicious but decided to believe him.
"I will look into it, but right now I'd say he is waking up." He continued.
And just like he said Akio was awake and he looked around. He noticed bunch of strangers staring at him and wondered where he was. Then it hit him. He remembered the monsters, people in black kimonos and Harumi…
"WHERE IS HARUMI?" he jumped off of the bed and looked at them with fear in his eyes.
No one dared to look at him. They all were silent and Akio was sure that he heard a sob.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Akio continued to yell at them.
"Please calm down. We'll explain everythi…" Ichigo tried to calm Akio down but Akio was already on him "I WILL NOT ASK AGAIN, WHERE IS HARUMI?"
"YOU LITTLE DUMBASS, YOU KNOW!" now it was Ichigo's turn to raise his voice "WE ALL KNOW, BUT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!"
Ichigo's eyes were tearing up as he answered. He didn't know Harumi that well, she only transferred last year, at the same time Akio transferred. Ichigo was sad because of her death, but even more saddening was Akio's reaction. He remembered his mother, he knew how Akio felt.
"No, that's not possible, this is just a joke, one of her stupid jokes." Akio cried "Harumi you can come out now, come on…"
Suddenly he fell on the ground while breathing heavily. It truly was heart wrenching scene. Rukia couldn't help herself, she started crying. She knew Harumi for a long time, she saw her last time 17 years ago when she was chosen to be one of Tokyo's protectors. Last year she was relocated to Karakura town, and now this. She got up and helped Akio do the same. Tears in his eyes disappeared as he stood up.
"I need an explanation." He said.
"And you deserve one too." Urahara said "Ask anything you want."
"I… Very well, who are you people and what are those monsters? One guy I stopped said those were hollows." Said Akio.
"And right he was, except he was no ordinary guy, that was just a soul of a dead person, a ghost you can say. We are shinigamis, actually they are, I am somewhat different, but that's a story for another time. Shinigami's job is to help those souls cross over to the next world. Hollows are creatures born from human souls that for various reason never cross over and stay in the human world for too long. They are evil and have power to devour souls of dead humans as well as the souls of live ones, although we encountered some not so evil hollows." Urahara finished with a faint smile on his face.
"Ok… I don't get the part about shinigamis." Akio said.
"Perhaps I can explain that." Said Rukia who had finally calmed down after quietly sobbing "As Urahra-san said our job is to help souls to cross over, but our job is also to exterminate hollows, there needs to be spiritual balance. Destroying hollows is usually easy, but these were so much stronger, it's so strange."
"And Harumi was a shinigami?" asked Akio.
"Yes she was." Urahara said.
Only now Akio was able to observe tall and lean-built man. His skin was light and he had two mysterious grey eyes. His messy blond hair was covered by striped white-green hat. Actually he was dressed completely in green, although a black coat resided on his lap. The girl he thought was called Rukia was short and petite and dressed in white dress with purple flowers. Guy with orange hair was tall, muscular and dressed in tight shirt with number 15 written on it and blue jeans.
"She never told me." Akio quietly said.
"May I ask you one question?" suddenly asked Urahara.
"I…Sure." Akio was surprised by this.
"This might be painful for you, but can you tell me how you met Harumi, how you two became friends?" said Urahara
"Well… It was three years ago, she transferred to my school and started talking to me for no reason. It was strange, but It was nice…" his eyes started tearing again.
"Urahara-san, are you sure we should do this now?"asked Rukia.
"I am, sorry for this Akio, please continue." Said Urahara.
"How do you…?" Akio wanted to ask Urahara how did he know his name, but he changed his mind when he saw worried look in his eyes "ok, so no one ever spoke to me, because of my scar and everybody thought I was a dork, you know I am an orphan, so I was always alone. So she just came and we became friends. Since then she never left my side."
"And when you transferred here, she did too?" continued Urahara.
"Ah… Yes, I transferred first, and after a week or so she did too, she said she did it for me." Akio answered.
"Hm… Strange…" whispered Urahara "Ichigo can you come to the kitchen for a sec?"
"Sure!" said Ichigo and got up.
"What is it?" asked Ichigo when he and Urahra entered the kitchen.
"Hm… I find it strange that Harumi became such a good friend with human. And then he transferred here and she was appointed to Karakura just a week after that." Said Urahara.
"Urahara-san, I don't understand. And I think he is not an ordinary human, he possesses great power, shinigami power." Ichigo answered to Urahra.
"Ah, that's just another piece of the puzzle, and I don't understand it either, I just find it strange and I don't think it's a coincidence. And probably the weirdest part is that he didn't know about this power." Said Urahara.
"Hm… I admit that it's kind of strange, especially since he knew exactly how to use it." Said Ichigo and grabbed a glass of water from the table.
"Yes, well I'll think about it, it might be nothing after all, since nothing really makes sense." Said Urahara and returned to the living room.
"Excuse me Urahara-san, Rukia told me the name, shouldn't I be dead?" Akio asked.
"Well, I don't really know what happened, it seems that when your body was destroyed your shinigami powers woke up, so you survived." Answered Urahra and offered plate with cookies to Rukia.
"But what is this body then?" Akio kept asking.
"That's a gigai, artificial body that shinigamis use so they can stay in this world and interact with humans, a new version." Answered Urahra who was now offering cookies to Ichigo.
"A new…" and then it hit him "Wait a minute! Did you just say I have shinigami powers?"
"Yes I did. Cookie?" he said.
"Tha…That…That's ridiculous!" Akio said, but he remembered what creature behind wall of flames said, he remembered the offer. It gave him power.
"No it's not, you are the one, as for the how did you become shinigami I have no idea." Said Urahara while eating one of the cookies "Really nobody wants one?"
Suddenly a sound of breaking wood interrupted them. A smoke came out of nowhere. Akio heard everybody coughing, but he couldn't see anything. He got up and tried to find his way out when smoke cleared up. Ichigo and Rukia were standing in their shinigami form and faced ten men dressed completely in white. Only their eyes were visible.
"You could have at least taken of your shoes, you'll get dirt all over the place" Akio heard Urahara comment.
One of the people in white looked at him and made a swift move with his hand. A plate in Urahara's hands turned to dust.
"Ah, so this is how it's gonna be." Urahara said.
"What's going on?" asked Akio while looking back and forth at people in white and then at Ichigo, Rukia and Urahara.
Man in white who stood at the middle looked at him with his completely black eyes "There he is, get him!"