Chapter 10: An Unexpected (and perhaps, rude) Meeting

The house wasn't there anymore, though she should've expected it - it had been almost sixty years since she was last here.

Kyokki pulled the hood lower down her face, trying to keep out the glare from the sun. At the edge of Karakura town, a line of shining new houses gleamed proudly in the sunlight. She used to live here, back when she was still human.

She remembered the alleys she used to run around in and the area under the bridge where she hid when something bad happened. To some extent, she was glad that she didn't have to see that house again - there were too many memories in that house she would've loved to forget, but even dying hadn't rid her of them.

The girl turned away from the new line of houses that had replaced her old neighbourhood, wondering if the old alleyways were still there. There wasn't anything here that was of use to her so there wasn't a reason to tarry any longer. Might as well go check it out.

The stench of stale water reached her nose from a block away. It seemed as if no one had been here in too long.

Kyokki stepped into the shadows of the wall, for the first time feeling unnerved by the shabbiness of her old hiding place.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she flattened herself against the wall, merging into its shadows. She could feel its reiatsu - something that wasn't human, or friendly. Soon enough, another shadow loomed into the alley.

This feeling ... cold, ferocious... there was so much emptiness, and yet, so much anger and rage. Kyokki sunk deeper into the depths of the shadow, moving through it to get closer to the monster.

Her heart cringed a little when she saw it - the Hollow resembled that of a giant with abnormally long arms. Its white mask was shaped like a twisted human expression, covering the entirety of its face. Yellow pupils peered from the slanted eye holes of its mask, staring straight at the area where Kyokki was standing. Her blood chilled. Does it see me?

Hollows were creatures of the spirit realm - born from human spirits who had been attached to the Earth by regrets or any other earthly ties while they were still alive, and left unattended for too long.

When humans die, they become plus souls; souls that are chained to their attachments (usually places). A broken chain usually entails a process of corrosion, and it is only when this corrosion is significant that a soul begins to become a Hollow. One of the main roles of a shinigami in the real world was to send Plus souls to Soul Society before this corrosion process begins.

Hollows, because of the complete corrosion of their Chain of Fate, lose their heart, becoming monsters of only instinct and desire. They feed on spirits, alive or dead, and gain power with each kill. Where their heart used to be is a giant hole. They detest all shinigami, as shinigami exterminate all Hollow on sight.

Kyokki watched as the monster lumbered into the alley, its long spiked tail trailing behind. As soon as the Hollow was completely enveloped in shadow, hands shot up from the darkness, wrapping itself around the monster. At once it tried to lift its tail in defense, but Kyokki had already pinned it down. The haunting wail of the monster caused a chill to go through the girl's body, but she wasn't going to show that.

She stepped from the darkness so it could see her fully.

It chuckled lowly. "So the fool did decide to come back."

"Fool? I don't think so."

"Oh?" It's voice was hoarse, "I think so."

The hands around its body tightened. "I didn't come to hear your opinion," she replied coldly, "Where is he?"

"Does the little girl miss her daddy? Grk." The Hollow made a strangling sound as the hands increased its grip around its neck further.

"I'm in no mood for jokes. Where is he?"

"Where is who?" A new voice entered the scene and Kyokki turned to the entrance of the alleyway.

A shinigami with spiked orange hair and a sword as tall as he was stood in the sunlight, watching. Kyokki spat at him. "Go away."

He swung the sword so it rested on his shoulder. "No."

Kyokki's eyes hardened. She turned back to the Hollow, loosening the grip her shadow had on him. Satisfaction filled the girl as he gasped for air. "I'm asking you again: where is he?"

There was a pause before the monster caught its breath, still answering in its tired voice. "You've got your hands full, child. He's looking for you. To finish what he started."

Rage bursted from Kyokki as the words reached her ears. The blood in her pounded so hard she could feel her heart pump and she felt power seep from her as it once had when it was still uncontrollable. The shadowed hands began to constrict the Hollow, crushing it mercilessly and she could do nothing but let the power flow from her. The wailing of the Hollow only strengthened her resolve and she squeezed the hands tighter, ignoring the "oy!" from the orange-haired spectator. Blood exploded from the monster, raining down on the girl below as the shadows compressed further until, with a final wail, the Hollow dissipated.

Kurosaki Ichigo could not believe what he just saw - a little girl had just killed her enemy in cold blood. There was something wrong with her. He watched as she pulled her bloodied cloak around her tighter and walked into the shadow of the wall. "Oy!"

Kyokki stopped. "What?"

"Who are you?"

The guard on her heart instantly flew upwards and she narrowed her eyes. "Leave me alone, or I'll kill you." Without another word, she disappeared into the shadows.

"You- oy!" Ichigo sighed exasperatedly, sheathing his zanpakutou. She was such a pain. Who was she to talk to him like that? He only wanted to help... his head snapped towards the road when he heard someone call his name.

"Ichigo!"

Rukia was running towards him. Took her long enough. "Rukia!"

"What happened? Did you kill the Hollow?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "A girl had it when I got here."

"A girl...?"

"Yeah. She killed it without even lifting a finger. Walked into a shadow and disappeared after telling me she'd kill me if I didn't leave her alone."

Rukia stood, shocked. Kyokki... what was she doing in the human world?

The boy turned to his friend. "You know who she is, don't you...?"

Rukia closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again. "Ah," she replied, "She's a friend of mine from Soul Society. The younger sister of Gotei 13's tenth squad captain, Hitsugaya Kyokki."

"If she's from Soul Society, what's she doing here?"

The shinigami shook her head. "I don't know. I hadn't received any orders telling me that I was getting help. She must have come here on her own accord."

"Well, if you didn't know she's here, chances are the people in Soul Society don't know she's here either," Ichigo turned back to the alley, "The hollow said that someone was looking for her to finish what he started...," What was going on? "Rukia, would you know where she would go?"

"No," the shinigami shook her head. "She is my friend, but I don't know much about her..." Rukia trailed off, looking at the ground. "Anyways, it's unwise for us to go snooping around. If Soul Society found out she snuck out here, she could get into a lot of trouble."

The teen fell silent. Perhaps it wasn't a big deal and he didn't have anything to worry about. Besides, they had no leads. If they bumped into her again though ... he sighed. "Let's go."