AN: Blurb. I have important things I should probably be doing. But I wrote this anyway. BE GRATEFUL.

I do not Own some of the Stuff that is Mentioned Here in this Place but some of the Other Stuff I Do so No Touchie IT's MINE

The Void King

Six

In roughly a week, the temperature dropped dramatically. There was frost coating the edges of the porch in the mornings, and the trees that had clung to leaves thus far were suddenly shedding them as quickly as they were able, drifting about like red and brown snowflakes. Rukia seemed to find particular joy in chasing them around when they landed on the porch, doing her best to roll towards the brightest leaf to catch her attention and grasp at it until it blew out of her reach. For an infant, she was quite mobile when she was motivated.

Shu let Inori keep her phantom eyes on the child while he experimented with his crystals. He had come to the gradual realization that if he wanted, he could change the makeup of the crystals, making them softer or harder or more brittle at will. He was also trying his hand at actually carving his creations, using only his hands as tools, in an effort to make them more complex. It was much easier to build upon details layer by layer then try and hold them all in his head at once and have the crystals form to meet the mental image. His visualization could only provide so much before it started to blur around the edges.

So he started with a simple shape—a sphere, a cube, a pyramid—before whittling it down bit by bit, stretching his imagination to come up with patterns and pictures he could cut into the sides, obscure and interesting frameworks that he might implement. He even did his best to recall art lessons involving lighting and refraction, so even the simplest of his trinkets might employ an interesting effect on light passing through it to make it interesting.

Here I am, in the afterlife, once a King, now a supernatural sculpture. Shu thought to himself, with a wry smile. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

And that included the Apocalypse Virus—once a nigh-unstoppable force of destruction, now merely the material for an amateur artist.

'Shu.' Inori's voice called, softly. He turned sightless red eyes towards where he last noted Rukia being. Her small form was nearing the edge of the porch, her little flare of bluish reiatsu fluttering with her happiness. The halfway hollowed out prism in his hands was set onto the table before he stood, taking care not to trip over his kimono. While the haori he could deal with easily, he had still grown up wearing pants, and occasionally found himself getting a bit caught up in the more flowing garments of the medieval after life.

He padded over to Rukia and scooped her up before she could roll off the porch. The tiny child made a sound that was almost annoyed, likely from being interrupted, but was soon giggling in his arms and snuggling into his chest. Cradling her in his crystal arm, his flesh hand gently cupped her face. Her cheeks felt a little cold. The sun was still up, but it was still rather chilly.

"I think that's enough playing for you, young lady." Shu said to the baby, fluffing her tufts of dark hair. She babbled a bit in response, trying to seize his fingers to suck on.

'Her reiatsu has grown a bit.' Inori noted, idly. Shu closed the outer door and returned to his seat, switching the baby to his other arm.

'It would seem so. Might have something to do with a steady food supply.'

'It will probably grow more as she ages.'

'From what I understand, people age very slowly here. That's plenty of time to mature spiritually.' He responded. 'I wonder how long she'll be so small?'

'She has potential, Shu.' For whatever reason, Inori felt the need to point this out.

'I know.' But until she came into her own, she was a defenseless child. So Shu would do his best to protect her in the meantime.

Rukia had fallen asleep in his lap by the time Hisana returned from town. She presented him with her earnings, prompting pat on the head that made her blush, before placing the money in the designated box Shu had placed on a shelf for just that purpose. The young girl then made tea for the both of them, entirely in silence.

'Shu,' Inori drew his attention, sounding a bit concerned. 'Hisana-chan seems nervous about something.'

'Really?' He concentrated a bit more on the young soul's presence, and did indeed sense a kind of disquiet about her. 'I believe you may be right.'

'Of course.' As if her intuition could ever be wrong.

"Is something bothering you, Hisana-chan?" Shu asked, after a playful psychic poke in his love's direction that she kindly returned. The young girl, having sat across from him and begun staring morosely into her teacup, was startled by the question.

"W-well, I…" She stalled, apparently gathering her thoughts. "The stall owners were gossiping today about some recent sightings in the district…"

"Sightings?"

"…Hollows." She whispered the word, like it in itself was what attracted the creatures. Shu felt his eyebrows lift, his interest peaked. Rukia fussed in his lap, and he absently stroked her hair, brushing his own reiatsu across hers to sooth her without even thinking about it.

"I see. Do you know how close by?"

She started to nod, but then seemed to think better of it and shrugged instead. "Just that people a few miles from here have gone missing, and people have been hearing their howls."

He understood why she was concerned then. Being out here in the woods didn't offer much protection, even if the towns themselves didn't have much by way of defenses. At the very least there were other targets around to divert attention.

"Don't worry, Hisana-chan." Shu reassured the young soul. "I'm sure they won't stay long. I doubt there are many in Inuzuri the Hollows are interested in." Hollows were much like a pack of wolves, in that respect. Just following the food.

Hisana didn't seem to be very solaced, but made a sound of understanding. Shu distracted her by asking about dinner, and she set off to the kitchen diligently.

'Everything I've heard so far about these Hollows indicates them as things to be avoided,' Shu mused silently. 'And yet…'

'I wonder what kind of souls they have?' Inori picked up on his interest, feeling similarly curious. He smiled a little.

'You read my mind.'

AN:

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MB