Karakura High School:
Kon was picking up his desk in preparation for departing for home. The weekend was about to begin and he had about a million things to take care of. His first task involved getting from the school over to the city offices to pick up the wedding license. From there to the home of the priest doing the wedding and dropping off the afore mentioned license. The remainder of his errands consisted of picking up his tux and checking on the availability of their reservations at the botanical gardens for the wedding and the hall they had rented for the reception. Even though there had been no indications that there were any issues, Kon wanted to make sure that everything was set.
He closed his valise and snapped the clasp and turned in his chair to leave. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as he departed the school until he heard the roaring of a hollow, and it was close by.
"Damn it all to hell. Why now and why here? I don't have time for this crap from a hollow." He looked around and spotted the beast sauntering after the soul of a young girl. "Hey you! You want a better meal? Follow me and I'll give ya what you want." He yelled at it.
The hollow not being too bright stopped and focused on Kon for a moment. "Ohhh, Soul Candy! I like the taste of soul candy." It changed direction and started lumbering towards Kon.
Kon yelled at the girl. "Go find Shiro Kusanagi! He's the local shinigami. Tell him what's going on! He is at the address I'm dropping on the ground." He dropped a business card on the ground then leapt up over the car and started to lead the hollow away.
The girl came over and looked at the card after the hollow was out of sight chasing Kon. "I wonder what a shinigami is. Oh well I better go and get him or that nice man might get hurt. Humm, Ichigo Kurosaki, first protector? No, has to be strawberry." She took off as fast as her spirit body could go in the direction of the address on the card. Luckily she grew up in that neighborhood while she was alive.
She arrived at the house after running for fifteen minutes. Her lungs were laboring and her heart was pounding. "Damn, I thought that being dead I wouldn't have to get all sweaty anymore." She walked up to the door and banged on the door, or tried to. Her hand went through the door like it wasn't even there. "Damn, I wish I had known about that! Not having to walk around in the cold would have been nice to know." She stepped into the house and called out. "Is there anyone home?"
Kusanagi was upstairs reading the assigned homework when she called out. "Yeah, I'll be down in a second." He traipsed downstairs with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "Who do you think you are entering someone's house without knocking?" Then he saw who it was. "I'm sorry did you come here for konso?" He popped a soul pill and separated from his gigai.
"Um, no I came here to tell you that Ichigo is being chased by a monster of some kind." She said nervously.
"What?!" He pulled out his cell phone and saw that it was off. He tried to turn it on and it started but then immediately shut off. "Damn, I forgot to charge it! Which direction did they go?"
"They headed down by the river." She spit out.
"You stay here and don't go out of the house until I get back, OK?" He didn't wait for her to respond as he shot out the door and sped off in the direction of the river.
"Num num, he was sort of cute. Well I guess I should make myself comfortable since it isn't safe to go out." She drifted over to the stairs leading to the second floor. "I wonder how a shinigami lives?" She mounted the stairs and entered Kusanagi's bedroom. "Uhgg! Typical boy. This room is a mess." She tried to start cleaning up the room but her hand kept passing through the clutter. "Well then I'll just take a nap and wait for him to come home."
The gikongan inhabiting the gigai followed her up the stairs and just watched her as she tried to pick up the mess. After she laid down and fell asleep it started to mimic her actions and started picking up the room and stacking things neatly. Once the room was picked up it went back downstairs and sat quietly in the living room waiting for Kusanagi to return.
After an hour there was a knock at the door followed by it opening. Mayuki entered the house and called out. "Shiro? You home?" She stepped into the house and spotted the gigai with the gikongan sitting in the living room. "Is he out chasing something?"
The gikongan nodded quietly then resumed staring at the wall.
"Oh well I'll go up and start on the homework so that I'll be ready for all of his stupid questions." She started for the stairs.
When she got to the door she noticed that the room was picked up and there was nothing out of place… except for the girl sleeping on his bed. "That pervert!" she growled.
Mayuki went over to the bed and reached out to wake the sleeping spirit. She touched her shoulder and gave her a slight shake.
The girl mumbled slightly. "Mumm burf duf zat."
"Hey, wake up." Mayuki was getting impatient. "What are you doing in Shiro's bed?"
The girl opened her eyes. "Oh, hello. Are you the shinigami's little sister?"
Mayuki pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked down on the spirit girl. "No, I'm not his little sister."
Before she could continue the girl asked. "Then his girlfriend? You seem a little young to be his girlfriend though."
Mayuki nearly shieked. "I'm NOT that BAKA's girlfriend!"
"Humm, then do you think I have a shot?" The girl looked hopeful.
Mayuki took a few deep breaths before answering. "What's your name?"
"Tira, and yours?"
"Mayuki. Tira, you do know that you're dead, right?" Tira nodded. "Good, then let me explain a couple of things. First, you are a ghost and you have to be sent to Soul Society. Second, Shiro is a shinigami and he is the one that can send you there."
"Why do I have to go to Soul Society? Can't I just stay here and be with Shiro?"
Mayuki just shook her head. She walked up to the girl and picked up the end of her chain. "This is why. When the chain is all gone then you turn into a monster known as a hollow. You have about a dozen links left. That may be enough for a week or maybe a month. After that the links disappear and a hole opens up in your chest. Your body explodes then reforms as a monster and your face is covered with that bone like mask. Then you will want nothing more than to eat other souls and shinigami, if you can kill them."
"Geez, you paint a pretty grim picture. So what's this Soul Society like?" Tira asked.
"Why don't you ask Shiro when he gets back. I've never been there so he is the best one to ask.
"Ask me what?" Shiro stood leaning in the doorway in shinigami form bleeding from half a dozen places. "Could 'a used a little back-up this afternoon." He said as he fell to the floor.
Tira gave a little shriek at the sight of him. Mayuki rushed over to him and rolled him onto his back. "You BAKA! Why did you let yourself get all torn up?" Her tears started to well up.
"Hey, why are you crying? I'm the one in pain here." He laughed softly before coughing wracked his body.
"Because, I need someone to watch out for me. That's your job you baka. Who's going to watch out for me if you're gone?" Mayuki put her hands to her earrings and concentrated. "Souten Kishun I reject!"
Her earrings shot off and circled Shiros badly mauled body before taking position at his head and feet. A soft glow emanated from the two points and enveloped the shinigami causing him to take a sharp breath of air..
Tira watched with wide eyes. "Does it hurt?"
"No." He answered. "It… It feels warm and comforting." He was looking at Mayuki with wide eyes.
"What are you looking at? Have I got something on my face?" She glared at him.
"N no, It's just that this feels so different from when your mother healed me. It's…. better." Indeed his wounds were closing at a fantastic rate. The last bit of bleeding had stopped and some of the wounds had closed already. "Mayuki? Why haven't you done this before?"
Her glare was faltering as she fought to concentrate. "This is why." She dispelled the Rikka and collapsed over him.
Kusanagi was petrified. "Wha-what just happened? Are you alright Mayuki? Mayuki! Oh no! what did you do?" He got up cradling the small girl in his arms tenderly. He laid her on his bed then put a pillow beneath her head. He held a finger at her throat to feel for a pulse and found one. It was slow and steady. He turned to Tira. Watch her, I'm going to get back into my gigai and get some cold compresses for her forehead." He shot out of the room. A few moments later he ran back in and gently laid a compress over her forehead. "I'll go and make something for her to eat and drink. Could you please keep watch over her for me until I come back?"
Tira nodded, not that Shiro even waited for a response.
A few minutes later… "Oh my aching head. I hate doing that. It takes so much out of me. Where is that moron now?"
Tira giggled softly. "That 'moron' as you call him is the one that put you on his bed, and got you a cold compress, and is now making you something to eat and drink. I think that he cares about you a lot more than he lets on."
Mayuki frowned, "Well he better because I'm his only friend here. Wait, did I say friend? I must be more worn out than I thought."
Tira giggled uncontrollably. "Shiro's got a girlfriend, Mayuki has a boyfriend." She teased.
Mayuki reached up and took the ghost by the cheek. "Keep it up girlfriend, and I'll kick your see through butt."
The first physical contact in a long time made Tira start. "You touched me! How did you do that?"
"Easy, I can manipulate spirit particles and your nothing but spirit right now. To me you are as solid as I want you to be. Where is that baka. Is he cooking up a feast?" The frown returned.
"You really like him don't you." Tira sighed
"Don't you ever tell him that." Mayuki warned her.
Tira closed her mouth and ran her fingers over it like closing a zipper anthen turned her fingers and threw away an imaginary key. "Your secret is safe with me forever."
They talked about some of what Tira had seen since she became a ghost and the fact that she was fifteen when she died. "It was because of the boy I was dating at the time. He let his pride get him involved with a street race. He was doing well but the guy he was racing knocked his car into a spin and it rolled out of control into the crowd. I was the only fatality. He fell out of the car and cried over me until the rescue squad showed up and the police took him away." Her face was so sad as she told her story. Then she perked up. "So if I let Shiro send me to Soul Society do you think that I can meet up with you guys after? You know like go and become a shinigami like he is."
"Tira, you don't want to be a shinigami like him. Anything would be better." Both girls laughed.
"Oh, good you're awake. Don't you ever scare me like that again. If something happened to you your father would turn me into a pincushion. Here, I made you some sandwiches and some ice tea. I hope they are alright." Shiro looked anxious.
"They'll be fine. Calm down and tell us what Soul Society is like. Tira needs to go there and we've been talking for a while now. I want to hear about it also." Mayuki said in a slightly tired voice as she picked up a sandwich and a cup of tea.
They listened to Shiro for a couple of hours as he described what Soul Society was like. Then when he was done he popped a soul candy and separated from his gigai. "Are you ready Tira?"
She nodded and Shiro gently touched her forehead with the butt of his Zanpaktou.
She waived as she sank into the pool of light. "I'll look for you on the other side Shiro."
Kon went quietly back downstairs and hugged Ririn from behind. "You know, he just might become a pretty good shinigami after all."