X
"Shinji, have you seen my—oof!" I put a hand on my stomach, my knees swaying somewhat as my meal rebelled.
"Are you okay? Let's sit down." Flash stepping to my side, he gently guided me by my elbow to the nearby table.
I sat down with an oof and covered my mouth.
"Are you gonna—"
I quickly shook my head no, trying to avoid even hearing the word.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." I took a deep breath and rested my arms on the table and the back of the chair as I faced him.
"This is happening more and more…" he observed, putting a hand on my forehead. "Maybe we should see Captain Unohana…" he murmured to himself.
"I'm fine," I insisted. "It's just a normal part of…this." I gestured to my rotund form.
He tsked at me. "Be kind to yourself," he reminded me, echoing what he had heard Shiro say multiple times. He put a hand on my stomach as if checking for injury.
"I didn't realize it'd be this…fast," I admitted, entertaining the idea of seeing the doctor.
"It's been eight months. Seems normal to me." Seeming satisfied, he brushed my loose hair past my shoulder as he watched me attentively.
"We need to decide what we're going to do." I sighed, giving in to becoming a broken record.
If anyone's going to have an accident, it's you two, Shiro quipped. I tried to ignore her.
10 years is a good record! I couldn't help but shoot back how long Shinji and I hadn't had an accident since we moved here. And this is the first!
Shinji agreed with me, rubbing my cheek gently. "Babies are in high demand," he agreed. "Kukkaku would take it," he suggested.
"Oh, in a heartbeat," I agreed. "At least give it a chance to have a normal life, though." Not like me, went unsaid.
He chuckled. "I'll keep looking," he promised me gently. "I don't think we're suitable parents." He smiled at the very thought.
"No," I smiled, laughing. "We're definitely not."
X
"Everything is normal." Shinji and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Although, I would recommend putting a pause on rigorous intimate activities until the baby is born." We were immediately up in arms from Unohana's statement.
"What?" I asked, shocked.
"Really?" Shinji echoed, dumbfounded.
"Yes. This is a delicate pregnancy." She reiterated why we were here in the first place. "Doctor's orders!" she cheerfully reminded us as she floated out of the room.
I waited for the door to close.
Click!
We exchanged a long, long look at each other.
"Rigorous," I repeated the word saucily.
Laughter spilled out of him as he helped me up from the bed.
X
Misting the plant one last time, I felt Shinji's familiar sandy reiatsu approach.
"I'm home!" he announced, landing on the deck heavily in his usual spot. The worn wood faded infinitesimally further.
I smiled at him. "How was the meeting?" I asked, resting on my sitting pillow. I had taken up quite the stationary lifestyle as I grew even larger.
"Ugh!" he complained, shrugging his white captain haori off and onto the desk by the door. "Mayuri was complaining about people 'disappearing.'" He threw fingers up around the word. "I think that they're lucky bastards, being able to get away from his lottery. Randomly choosing people from Rukongai… What's he thinking in the first place?!" He shook his head as he washed his hands of the day.
"Hollow sightings are going down too, but that's nice," he told me.
I sprayed the plant once more, forgetting I had already finished. "Maybe we're finally seeing the end of Aizen's hollows?" I guessed.
"Hard to say." Shinji bent down and wrapped his arms around me. "You sprayed that one too much again." He pointed at the small cactus.
"What? No." I picked it up to examine it. He pointed at the small wilting bud as I gasped.
He kissed my head. "I'll pick up a new one tomorrow." He looked knowingly at its now deceased siblings that sat in a darkened corner, collecting dust as I refused to throw them out.
I made a sad face and put it down, knowing very well it wouldn't survive the night.
"Oh, speaking of new things"—he nestled into my neck as he sat down, breathing me in deeply—"they finally assigned a new reaper to Karakura Town."
"Really?" I let him rub our heads together, Shiro enjoying it more than me. She purred pleasantly within.
"Mm-hmm. Don't remember the name, though. Someone from Squad 8," he told me, kissing up my neck as he shifted to hold me from behind.
The idea had my feelings shifting. A new protector for Karakura… Something clicked in me, a small worry erased. I think I'm ready now to let go of this horrible nightmare…
"Rigorous," Shinji whispered in my ear, and I busted into giggles.
…and live my new life.
X
A hell butterfly? I dropped the now deceased cactus amongst its siblings. Letting the insect alight on my finger, Shinji's message played through it and into my mind.
"Stay put. Close the doors and windows. There's an infiltration. The Quincy have declared war. I'm coming."
I put a hand on my mouth, his serious tone sending a dreadful chill down my spine. Looking out through the open doors that led to our courtyard, I tossed my cobwebs out as I sensed.
There. There. And another there. And a fifth—sixth—tenth?! My eyes widened as I saw the dazzling blue flames, each marking a Quincy. And they're mostly captain level! I gasped at their strength.
I took a step and stumbled slightly. Gripping the table, I cursed.
There's none close to us. We're safe, Shiro assured me.
Covering my mouth, I forced my breathing to stay steady as I tried to reach out for Shinji.
There! I could pick out his distinct reiatsu flash stepping toward us from the Squad 11 barracks. I could feel his stress, his worries flowing through his power.
Heat descended on the Seireitei, making me waver once more. The Head Captain? I recognized the power. Beads of sweat broke out all over me, some of my plants wilting from the unfortunate change.
The Head Captain is the strongest Soul Reaper ever. Who in the world—
I stretched my powers out, trying to see who he was fighting.
An immeasurable daunting blue wall blocked me from the enemy the Head Captain faced. If I can't see him, then…
I took a step forward, calling my short blade to me from the closet. Releasing it, the shadows curled around me as I tucked my second zanpakutou, still stuck in shikai, into my kimono.
It's not the best outfit, but—
No! Shiro resisted. You're pregnant! She was flabbergasted I would even attempt to take the battlefield.
The Head Captain needs help! I stepped out onto the deck. If he falls during a war… The grim consequences played out in my mind, and Shiro quieted.
I let my powers reach out and observe Shinji one more time before I gave him a slight push in the other direction.
Tentatively, I felt his reiatsu form a question in return as we lightly connected.
I pushed slightly again. Ignoring my urging, he sped up.
We'll just meet in the middle, then, I decided with a huff. Springing somewhat awkwardly into flash step, I kept my speed low as I tried to run to Squad 1.
I paused halfway there, panting as the heat seemed to reach into my very bones. Against Shiro's worrying, I pressed on into the smoky miasma that was once the Squad 1 barracks.
The blackened ground crumpled under my heavy steps, indistinguishable for what it once was. In the distance before me stood two men. The Head Captain was looking rough, open wounds on most of his body.
"Head Captain!" I gasped, hastening toward him.
"Stay back!" he ordered me without looking.
The stranger shifted to look at me, and my eyes squinted in confusion. Darkness seemed to have somewhat swallowed the man, gripping his face and most of his upper body in long snake-like tendrils. Many eyes protruded from the darkness, none of them blinking.
A single eye stared at me, and I felt an unpleasant sensation deep in my soul.
Quietly, barely able to be heard, my zanpakutou spoke to me. "Familiar…" it whispered.
I felt something in me pulse as the stranger lifted his arm, the shadows extending into a blade around his hand that mirrored my own. "You're finished." The heavy voice of the stranger seemed to reach inside me and grip my heart.
I couldn't see the blade descend. I could only watch helplessly as the top half of the Head Captain fell uselessly to the earth.
"Head Captain…" I whispered as the intense heat left, dissipating as his life force faded.
"Now, you…" With singlemindedness, the stranger approached me. I found myself standing firm despite my condition. "You're going to fight me like that?" He laughed at my stomach.
"Burakkuhoru." My bankai grew behind me, silencing the wisps of wind and quieting the crunch of the debris under our feet.
"Not…in 10,000 years," he spoke lowly. I gasped as he appeared in front of me. His overly large hand firmly pushed on my stomach, and I was forced back.
My arms cartwheeled as I lost my balance. I felt my hand sink into the murky coldness of my bankai. "No…no!" I screamed, bringing my full spiritual pressure out as I tried to squeeze the life out of him.
He only laughed as I fell. My head passed through the black hole, and I screamed. My powers, amplified by the void, echoed around and forward onto the enemy as I watched the entrance grow smaller and smaller.
"Shinji!"
X
I held my stomach, a sharp pain gathering in intensity as I limped forward toward the Seireitei. The cool night air brushed me, the Rukongai silent in these early morning hours. The Seireitei slept peacefully before me, no signs of the Quincy attack anywhere.
"I need to warn them…" I mumbled, looking at the line that marked where Rukongai ended and the Seireitei began.
Gasping with pain, I fell to my knees as I was hit with the most intense wave so far.
"Oh, dear." A startled old woman opened her door and saw me. "You look horrible. Come in, come in." She dragged me by the hand into her hut, ignoring the blood and grime on my clothes.
"My baby. My baby." I tried to convey the emergency to her with frantic hands.
The old woman immediately understood, and she called further into her hut. A young man and woman appeared, both with wide eyes. The old woman was quick to send them away with orders.
"When are you due, dear?" She tried to soothe me as she examined the intimate area.
"Two weeks," I gasped out.
The old woman was quick to get me started on a breathing rhythm. "It's going to be okay, dear. I've got you."
X
I watched, exhausted, as the young woman took the newborn.
"You're sure?" she asked, looking at me in awe. "We've been trying, but…" She held him like a precious flower, his cries a freshly bloomed dahlia in the still night.
"I'm sure," I told her, my body glowing green as I healed myself slowly. I had lost a lot of blood, and the lightheadedness was making it hard to focus.
"Thank you. Thank you!" The young man rushed to hold my hand as he thanked me profusely.
"Don't thank me yet," I chuckled, feeling deranged from the stress and my injuries.
"What do you mean?" the man asked me hesitantly, the couple looking at me with concern.
"That kid…is going to be strong. Stronger than a captain," I warned him, forcing myself up despite the old woman trying to stop me.
"Stronger than a captain?" The man looked at me with disbelief.
Ignoring him, I grabbed a nearby scroll. Accepting a brush from the old woman, I began to write.
THE QUINCY ARE COMING.
I blew on the wet ink, making it dry faster before I rolled it up.
"This is for him." I looked toward the baby. "Take care of it." I slowly stood and limped away, a small trickle of blood following me as I tried to heal still. I need…to save everyone!
Giving up, the old woman watched me go. I rounded the corner and rested briefly in the alleyway as I made my next decision.
I can control you. I can do this.
"Burakkuhoru." This time, the void slid open in front of me. I stared into it as I healed the last of my injuries. Shaking from the trauma, I dipped in my legs and my feet. As I finished sliding inside, the woman's voice floated around the corner.
"Let's name him after your father. Sosuke," she suggested, a flowery warmth to her voice.
"Yes. Sosuke is a good name," the man agreed, laughing loudly. "Nice to meet you, Sosuke Aizen!" Pride swelled in his voice.
I turned back, mouth open in shock, as the black hole closed before me. I hung there, feeling endless as I considered what had just transpired. How—what—
The very idea of the child I birthed being him…
No. Not now. I can't.
Looking at my hand, I frowned when I realized that it was being illuminated from below. Awkwardly shifting to look down, I gasped as I saw a bright portal hurtling toward me.
My hands went to cover my face as my feet slid through, and I felt my weightlessness end as gravity pummeled me down.
The soft rain touched me lightly, almost in a question. Unable to catch myself, I plummeted into the trees. What's happening? Where am I? There were many high spiritual pressures around me. Slowly, I picked out a few and then realized that I could recognize them all.
"This is—!"
A pale, long-haired man broke through the bushes as he fled, a small book in his hand.
"Tsukishima!" I gasped, still recognizing him after a decade.
His eyes widened as he froze. "You-You're from the future." He instantly knew.
Not wanting to show myself to the Soul Reapers that savagely fought around us, all I could do was nod.
He slowly relaxed. "You failed, then."
I looked at him, affronted. "Considering you're about to die, you're the one that fails," I accused him, still sitting on the ground as I shook.
"No. Against the Quincy King," he rebuked.
My eyes widened. That man…was the king?
He looked at me knowingly. "It can't be you," he told me. A noise in the distance, a bush shifting, had him looking over his shoulder in fear. "It has to be Ichigo." He tapped the cover of his book.
"What are you talking about?" I asked darkly, confused and upset he would bring my deceased brother into this.
"My ability is Book of the End," he informed me. "Ichigo is the only one that can stop him. And he needs you and me."
A closer rustle had us both looking over, tense.
An explosion of sand, and Shinji's bloodcurdling scream of my name reached through the battling powers. I froze as I felt his reiatsu turn darker and heavier than it had ever been before, tightening all of our throats.
Taking this as his cue, Tsukishima started sprinting away. "Just don't get involved!" he yelled over his shoulder. "With anything!"
I reached after him, trying to catch him, before the bush rustled again.
"Shit!" Knowing I was about to be seen, I activated my black hole once more. "Burakkuhoru."
X
I hovered once more, the ultimate peace of the voice depressing itself into me as I thought.
Aizen… Ichigo… Tsukishima… I grasped at my hurting head, jerking as I was suddenly blinded. Squinting against the bright light, I gasped as I saw blue.
VROOOOMM!
A plane hurtled past, and I twisted around in shock.
Crack!
My body smacked against the wing, snapping the bottom half of the wing off.
Spread your wings! Shiro commanded.
Drawing on my hollow powers, I felt them manifest on my back as I continued to fall. Slowly opening them, I was able to right myself and slow my descent.
"Oh, my god…" I gasped, looking at where the plane had stopped. The ground was torn up, brown earth mixing with bright green grass and hull parts. Bodies lay here and there in the grass.
I saw a familiar head of brown hair flailing in the wreckage. I remember that. I remember that! The broken glass and plastic as I crawled out of the wreckage, how it had been so hard to breath—
I can't… I can't…!
I started to panic, feeling the pressure in me mounting.
"Burakkuhoru!" I yelled, flying forward into the void as I panicked. I just… I just—!
I gasped as Shiro gripped me, forcing me into the passenger seat of my own body. Closing off her mind to mine as I panicked, I could only walk back and forth anxiously in our inner world until she released me, my second Zanpakutou echoing my footsteps as he followed me.
X
I brought the darker hollow powers to the forefront of our body as I took control. Slowly, a white bone bird mask grew over our face, and our tail materialized to help keep balance.
Leaning forward, I readied myself for the final jump. This is it. We won't be able to put our body through this again for a long time.
Gasping as we shot out, I desperately tried to keep us afloat on the air by flapping. Gliding to the nearest building top, I twisted to observe our surroundings as I hid our reiatsu. I curled our shikai around us, the shadows forming a cloak.
The human world, I recognized. But when? I couldn't feel any of the familiar powers, Inoue, Uryu, Chad, the Vizards. I hissed in displeasure.
I hope…he is still here…
X
Things were definitely not as we had left them. The difference was subtle. The cars were blockier, a few less electrical poles, some places had different names.
But time-tested and true, the Urahara Shoten still stood. The sign was a bit more faded, and the windows looked like they had only just recently been replaced.
Lightly landing in front of the shop, I considered our options. There's not much longer until the effects of our bankai kick in. We need help now before it's too late.
I took a heavy step toward the shop, beak closed and nonthreatening.
The door slid open as I approached, our wings fluffing up as we saw the blond man. I opened our beak to talk only for wisps of air to come out. Burakkuhoru's trauma to us has already started, then…
"Hello!" he greeted us, a hand on his hat and his zanpakutou flashing at his side in its cane form. "How can I help you?"
I clacked our beak together as I contemplated. Tipping my head side to side, I thought it over.
"Not a talker…huh!" He jumped forward and gave a lazy slash at us.
Hissing, I flash stepped to the nearby building. He was quick to follow, a faster strike whizzing by my mask before I flash stepped farther away.
"Hey!" he called after me playfully. "Please stop, Mr. Hollow!"
I looked back, flabbergasted at being mistaken, and hissed as I landed on an even higher rooftop.
"Oh, maybe Ms. Hollow, then?" he asked pleasantly, one hand behind his back as he held his sword out.
I noticed small wisps of reiatsu gathering behind him from the corner of our eye. Drawing on Koi's powers, I was quick to throw up a silent seki as he tossed the binding spell at me.
Hissing, I wrapped the shadows around us to hide into the shadows communing under the moon. Pressing our powers tightly together inside us, I slowly slipped away from my failure as Kisuke Urahara cast his powers about, searching for us.
Kisuke Urahara…such trouble, as always…
X
I licked my wounds in the park, hidden under the shadow of the fountain as I healed. The neurological trauma from our bankai is severe. I can't heal this alone.
Reaching inward, I gently tested my other half. She felt discombobulated, memories of Shinji, the birth, and bouncing around in time running her ragged.
Not yet, I decided. Not yet.
I looked down at where our hand shook lightly, unfeeling of the soft wind brushing against us.
We need help. We need Kisuke Urahara. I was loathe to admit that we needed help from the man who just attempted to kill us.
Sitting here and resting brought with it a heaviness that weighed down our eyes. Settling against the fountain, I dropped my hand as I gave up the fight. Tomorrow, I decided. Tomorrow, I'll…
X
Shaking my head, I forced my eyes open as I realized that I was unbalanced. I opened my mouth to question what was happening, but wisps of air huffed out instead of words.
Alarmed, I opened my eyes and saw that I had my hollow mask on. Reaching up, I tried to take it off only to yank my head forward.
Stop! We need it to heal! Shiro stirred within me.
Heal?
Our bankai's curse is neurological damage. You jumped too much!
How was I supposed to know? No one told me!
We growled at each other before I mentally shook her off. Looking around, I slowly stood as I took in the park. There were a few families freely enjoying their time, but none strayed close to us. I ogled at their clothes.
Are we in the past? I questioned, feeling as if she had dragged my body around all night.
Quick on the uptake, she remarked. Here. She hesitantly briefed me on what I had missed out on.
How in the world can I salvage this? I put a hand on my throat as I tried to hum.
That's the damage, she informed me regretfully as no sound came out. As far as I can tell, we can't talk, we shake, can't feel that well sometimes, and we're not as strong now, she listed them off.
Okay. Well, what do we have? I tried to think.
Knowledge of the future…?
The future, huh… I thought back to the Quincy King, Shinji, the Head Captain. I had been stuck in a loop for at least a day from the shock of it all. We need Kisuke. I'm going to get his help. Hopefully, he'll be able to recognize me at least…
I need to get back to Shinji. I couldn't even sense him here in this time.
It was a quick flash step to the Urahara Shoten, made slightly awkward as I got re-accustomed to my wings. I had realized that I knew how to flap them, and the extra boosts sent me off balance occasionally.
Landing on the roof of the taller building across from the Shoten, I ducked down as I observed the shop. The doors were open, and Tessai swept the "yard" of dirt. Where are Jinta and Ururu? That's usually their job.
The man looked directly up at me, glasses glinting in the light to hide his expression. I hissed quietly, knowing I'd been caught. Tessai turned, and my feathers bunched up as I watched Kisuke emerge. His classic white paper fan gently swayed his hair in the humid heat.
The two looked at me, and I felt their reiatsus quietly pull in as they prepared for a fight.
I hissed but stayed. I can't fight them. Not like this. My discoordination earlier had left me with a bruised ankle. It wasn't the ankle that worried me, but rather the sudden dizziness and confusion I experienced.
And so I stayed in the standoff, beak widening as I felt frustration from my lack of ability to communicate. After several moments the two men backed down and retreated into the shop.
I don't think they recognized me… I resisted the urge to let my spiritual pressure lash out in anger.
I forced myself to slightly calm down but did smack my beak against the edge of the roof in anger at my predicament.
Looking back to the shop, I resolved myself to stay until I could think of something, anything.
X
By nightfall I was extremely agitated. I had tried talking normally, yelling, whispering. No words would come out of my mouth. As the moon reached its zenith, my plan formulated to completion.
Cautiously putting it into action, I copied the technique Shiro had used before to hide as I slowly crept closer to the shop. I eyed my target, the innocent silver sleeping under the night.
Bam! Pop! Whooooosh!
Jumping up and away, I flapped my wings loudly as I heard the shop occupants stir. Cackling with pathetic wisps of air, I landed on top of the apartment complex next to the shop.
Tessai was first out, slamming the doors open to reveal his matching pajamas. He flew around the corner of the shop only to freeze and gasp slowly when he saw the damage.
"Boss! Boss!" he exclaimed, calling Kisuke.
The bedhead himself came out next, looking like he had slept in his day clothes. "What is it?" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he came over. "What's going—" He looked up and slowed when he saw it.
Their SUV, once pristine and new, now sat in its own broken parts. The tires had been popped and mostly pulled off the rims. Both side mirrors were completely detached. The windshield had been smashed, and the top of the car dented in enough to crack the passenger and rear driver window.
"They took our registration stickers!" Tessai exclaimed as he walked to the back. "Those—those—!"
"Not those. Her."
I shivered as Kisuke's stormy eyes pierced me.
Kisuke called out to me next. "Why don't you come down so we can talk about this?"
I hissed to myself, turning away in agitation at the idea of talking.
Not gaining a meaningful reaction, Kisuke sighed. "Let's leave it for tomorrow, Tessai." He tried to corral his friend back inside.
"But, Boss, the delivery!" Tessai argued.
"I can get someone else to pick it up for us." Kisuke, apparently not wanting to engage, went back inside.
Tessai threw me one last hefty glare before he followed.
X
The first night alone and conscious in just over a decade hurt. The steady throbbing in my chest, separate from the occasional shoots of random pain caused by my bankai, kept me up.
I had stretched my powers as I fell into the void, and they had been amplified by it. In those precious last seconds, I had felt Shinji arrive on the battlefield.
I could feel his terror, unadulterated horror, through the bond. Then the enemy had forced me once again to step back, to fall into the past.
Aizen… The small child in her arms, looking so innocent despite my blood dripping off it messily as it was swaddled. I shivered as I struggled to connect that child with the man it would become. How? I pleaded silently to myself. How is this fair?
And so I pretended to rest, if only to gain a sliver of normalcy, one eye cracked open as his face danced in me.
X
It was day three of watching the shop. I was resolute in my opinion that Kisuke could help. If not him, then who?
The shop occupants, for the most part, went on with their regular lives. Occasionally, they would glance up at me and give me a long look, but it seemed that they came to tolerate me very quickly.
Well, maybe not completely tolerate. I eyed the new garage that Tessai had hand-built overnight. I could only wonder if someone was going to come and tow that mess away.
It was also day three of not sensing anyone familiar. It seemed as if everyone had completely left town, including the memories of the men below me.
I don't think any of them have been born yet, Shiro guessed helpfully.
I was inclined to agree.
Looking upward, I eyed the gathering clouds. The humidity hung in between my feathers, dragging them down and making flight harder. Something instinctual pulsated within me: find shelter. Nest.
Shiro and I had never attempted to use our powers for this long before. We'd never had to heal damage this severe in my brain either. I could feel the hollow powers tugging on me, gentle hands pulling me into dark waters, into the teeth-filled jaws of the sirens.
A small iron ball planted in my gut as I eyed the shop with a delicate possessiveness.
The storm slowly broke around us, and I found myself quickly soaked before I thought to put up a simple seki barrier. The water tinked off of the shield as I continued to stand watch.
Kisuke was wrestling with the shop doors, likely to close them for now. I watched as he kicked one back onto the track before sliding it closed. He paused at the second door and took a moment to look up at me.
"Ms. Hollow! You'll be soaked if you don't move!" he warned me.
I turned away, my beak giving me emphasis.
"Suit yourself." He shrugged as he closed the door.
I huffed and then sneezed. I wrapped my wings around me tighter as I used kido to warm my body.
The idea of falling into Shinji's arms, as I usually did when it rained and he was home, played on repeat in my mind.
The Shinji of the now…hates hollows… I recalled his confession that night in my bed. The night I'd finally been able to set my fears aside. The Shinji of now…hates me… I was despondent.
X
The days stretched on into a month, then two. The men seemed to have given up on pretenses, and now they rigorously ignored my shadowy form staring at them from across the way. They went about their business, stocking the sweet-smelling shelves, sweeping the lot, receiving deliveries. A notable sparse number of customers, though.
About once a day I did leave. It was usually at night, just a quick run into whichever restaurant or cafe had left their windows unlocked for the night.
Tonight when I returned to my station, belly full and licking my beak, Kisuke Urahara was standing in my usual spot, enjoying the stars. He turned as I landed and tucked in my wings, older feathers floating away with the motion.
"Good evening, Ms. Hollow," he greeted me, a hand on his hat.
I stayed perched on the edge of the roof, long feathers shifting in the open air over the edge, as I remembered what happened when we were this close last time.
"Shy, huh?" he gathered before looking at his shop. The old yellow incandescent bulbs warmed him, giving life to his usually pale skin.
His scent drifted to me innocently, my heightened senses not helping. He still smelled pungently of gunpowder, but tonight that cutting-edge scent made something in me heated.
Being alone in the World of the Living had left me quite lonely.
I let out a whoosh of breath as I crept closer, down on the ground as my hollow instincts slowly consumed me.
He curiously looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Hooo. Aizen is making them so much trickier now," he commented, hand tightening on his cane.
I hissed at the name, bearing the elongated teeth that hid under my beak at him.
He took a half step back at this, the smirk on his face falling as he realized that my agitation was serious. I watched as he produced something from his pocket and bent down, placing it on the ground.
"Happy Showa Day, Ms. Hollow." He flash stepped away to the shop. I watched as he waved at me before closing the doors.
Turning to the small brown package, I hissed at it again before prodding it with my beak. Satisfied, I took it into my hands and unwrapped it.
Sticky buns?