Author's Note: This takes place a little over a year after the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, and while I do plan on bringing in some canon characters, this story will mainly focus on original characters.

Chapter One

The Splintered

The nineteen-year old with short, shaggy black hair looked over his exam. Hiroki hadn't answered every question correctly, but it was enough to pass. He grimaced as he put his exam in his bag and stood up. He began to walk toward the door when he noticed something.

He glanced over at a group of students chatting to one another. There were two girls and three guys. None of them were looking his way, but he could swear that one of them had been just a second ago. He shrugged and continued out of the room. He made his way through the hall, down some stairs and through another hall before reaching the main entrance of the university he was attending.

At the bottom left side of the stairs, there was a girl standing there. She was dressed casually and appeared to be normal except for the fact that she was slightly see-through and had a silver chain going from her chest to the ground below. As far as he could tell, Hiroki was the only one who was looking at her, and had been for the last few months. Everyone else passed by without a glance.

He had never met her when she was alive, but he knew her as Kiyoko, a girl who had jumped a few months ago. He didn't know why she did it, and he never asked. It wasn't his business, so he had no reason to ask. All he could do was talk to her and keep her company. Even if that meant other people thought he was crazy for talking to air.

He sat down on the ground next to where she was standing and placed his bag next to him. He still had an hour before having to be at his part-time convenience store job. He might as well kill time here.

"Hey," he started.

"Hey," she responded, smiling while sitting down next to him. "How was your day?"

"It was alright. Passed my exam though just barely."

"Well, as long as you did pass it, I don't really see the problem."

Hiroki sighed, "My scores are getting worse. That means I'm starting to misunderstand things more and more. I guess I need to start studying more. But enough about me. What about you?"

"You mean how was my day?" She asked to which Hiroki nodded. "It was…the same, I guess. You can't really do much when you're stuck here with no one else to talk to. I did get to see a love confession though. It was as if it was straight out of a Shoujo manga or something."

"In this day and age?" Hiroki chuckled. "So what happened?"

"She confessed, and he said yes." The girl looked at the ground with a sad look on her face.

"Ah," Hiroki responded, realizing why she was sad. "Well…maybe when you move on, wherever you go, you'll find somebody."

"And what if I never move on?"

"Then that would be a problem," a voice behind the two of them said. They both turned to look at the owner of the voice. It was a girl around Hiroki's age and a few centimeters shorter than him. She had dark brown hair up in a ponytail with a few strands framing either side of her face. Her green eyes stared at the deceased girl. Hiroki recognized the new girl as one of the people in his class, and as one of the two in the group he had seen while leaving his classroom. He believed her last name was Sakai, but he couldn't remember her first name. He had never actually talked to her. He stood up in shock.

"You can see her?"

"Of course I can see her," Sakai responded while moving one of the strands next to her face to behind her ear. "Which means I'm the same as you."

"So like…a medium?"

"A me-a medium?" She stared at Hiroki incredulously. "Wait…do you think that's what you are?"

"Well yeah, I'm talking to a spirit right now."

Sakai sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You're not a…you really don't know what you are?"

"Right now, I know I'm confused."

Sakai didn't immediately respond. Instead, she walked over to Kiyoko, "You will be able to pass on soon. There is someone coming to help you. Accept what they offer."

"Who's coming soon?" Hiroki asked.

"I'll explain later," Sakai turned to him. "Right now, we should leave before whoever they send gets here. Say goodbye quickly because this will most likely be the last time you see her."

"I…" Hiroki went to protest but stopped as he saw the intense look on Sakai's face. He nodded before turning to Kiyoko who looked just as confused as he felt. "It seems like this is it. If whoever comes allows you to move on, please take it. It was nice talking to you while I could."

The spirit of Kiyoko just nodded sadly, and Hiroki picked up his bag. He waved goodbye as he followed Sakai who was already walking a few meters in front of him. The spirit waved goodbye back while Hiroki had to run a little to catch up to his classmate.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" He asked.

"As long as the Shinigami gets to her before a Hollow does, she'll be fine."

"Shinigami? Hollow? What are you talking about?"

Sakai looked at him again with bewilderment, "Wow, you actually don't know. Do you remember your parents?"

"Barely," Hiroki responded. "I was five when they died. My grandparents took me in after they passed. I think I can remember what my mom looked like, but my dad…his image is vague."

"And I guess they never told you anything." She sighed before rustling through her bag, looking for something. She pulled out her phone, and called someone, putting the phone up to her ear while she and Hiroki continued walking. Someone answered, and while Hiroki couldn't make out what was said, he could tell it was a man's voice on the other end.

"Are you sure this is the guy, Sadao?" Sakai asked. "I mean he doesn't even know about his heritage or…yes…yes, I understand." She sighed again. "Fine, I'll bring him. But if he turns out to be useless, it's not on me." She hung up and slipped the phone back into her bag as the two of them made their way down a side alley.

"Who was that?" Hiroki asked.

"My…boss, I guess you could say. It doesn't matter though, you'll meet him soon enough."

"Actually, I have a job I need to get to. It's across town near my apartment, and if I want to make it in time, I need to-."

"You're coming with me," Sakai interrupted adamantly.

"See, I don't really know you. I've seen you in class, but we've never talked, so maybe you should tell me-."

He was interrupted again, but not by Sakai this time. Instead he felt something behind him. It was like the air condensed and pressed down on him slightly. He could still move and breathe easily, but he knew something was there. He turned to look, but he didn't see anything. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Was this what Sakai meant? He thought. Whoever was supposed to come for Kiyoko? They had turned down a few streets and were far enough away that he couldn't see Kiyoko anymore, but he grew worried. He knew this feeling of pressure wasn't normal, and all he had to go on was Sakai's word that Kiyoko would be fine.

"I know you feel it," Sakai said as if she read his thoughts. "But you can't go back. If you go back, they'll find you. It'll raise too many questions and problems that neither I nor the group I'm a part of want to deal with. I assure you, the girl will be fine. She will be allowed to pass on"

"Before I go any further, I want you to explain everything," Hiroki said, firmly.

"I won't explain everything because Sadao needs to be the one to do most of it, but I can tell you that what you're feeling is Reiatsu; specifically, a Shinigami's."

"You're telling me that Shinigami are real?"

"Yes, and one of their jobs is to help spirits pass on such as that girl."

"And why can't this so-called Shinigami find me? Would they take me as well or something?"

"No, not exactly. Like I said, Sadao will explain all of that when you meet him. Now will you please just follow me."

Hiroki thought for a second before responding, "No. I want to go check on Kiyoko." He turned to head back down the alley and toward the school when he heard Sakai sigh.

"I really didn't want to do this by force, but you leave me no choice."

Hiroki turned to face Sakai, and nearly jumped back at what he saw. Sakai was standing there in new clothes. She wore a white shitagi with a black kosode and hakama. She also had on a pair of white tabi and a pair of waraji along with a white obi tied around her waist. Placed into the obi was a sheathed katana with a black hilt and a handguard made of five equal vertical and horizontal lines. But what really shocked Hiroki was that there was another Sakai lying behind her on the ground, still in her normal clothes and unmoving.

"What in the…?" Hiroki trailed off. Sakai drew the katana which caused Hiroki to take a step back with his hands up.

"H-hey, let's talk about this," Hiroki said. Sakai grabbed the handguard of her katana using three fingers on her other hand.

"Ensnare, Ryōshi," she said before pulling at her handguard. The guard slipped out from where it was, passing through the blade as if the blade didn't exist. It then grew in size while the metal turned to hemp until Sakai held a net in her hand which was attached to the end of the sword's hilt by a rope. She then threw it over Hiroki before he could protest. The net grew over him and covered him as if it was a living thing until he found himself basically in a net-like bag. He found that while he could slip a hand through the holes in the net, that was all he could do, which is the reason why he lost his balance and fell to the ground with only his hands barely out to catch his fall. He groaned slightly as he hit the ground.

Sakai grabbed the rope that connected her katana with the net. She pulled the net and its confines to the side before setting up the entangled Hiroki against the wall. She then did the same with the other Sakai. Hiroki continuously tried to ask what was going on, but Sakai ignored him, and pulled her phone back out of her bag. She once again dialed somebody before putting it up to her ear.

"Hello? Takeo?" She said as someone answered. "I'm going to need your help…He didn't want to cooperate…yes…yes, I know. Will you please just come here and help me? I can't carry him back to the hideout while leaving my body here…thank you." She hung up and put the phone back in her bag before turning to Hiroki who had stopped trying to get out of the net and just sat there.

"So who exactly are you?" Hiroki asked, putting on a facade of a cool demeanor.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she responded.

"Oh, I don't know," Hiroki said sarcastically. "Maybe start with the sword or the clothes, or the fact that there's two of you!" He shouted that last bit.

"There's only one of me. The body you see there is my actual body. This," she motioned to herself. "Is my Shinigami…form. I guess soul or spirit would be a better term."

"Wait, so you're also a Shinigami? Then why-." Hiroki suddenly stopped, and he gulped as Sakai's blade was now close to his throat.

"Don't you ever lump me in with them. This may be my form, but I absolutely do not and will never identify with that organization. Understood?"

Hiroki slowly nodded and Sakai pulled her sword away though she made no move to uncover the confused boy. She sighed and leaned against the wall next to her body, her arms folded while still holding her sword. She lightly kicked the wall a couple of times with the back of her foot. She did this for a few minutes before she stopped and turned to face down the alleyway.

Hiroki had to strain a little, but he managed to look past her to see what she was looking at. He noticed a man walking down the alley toward them. He had red hair cut incredibly short, and he stood two meters tall. His face appeared to be middle-aged, but even beneath the tracksuit he wore, Hiroki could tell this man had muscles. Hiroki was about to call out for help, but stopped at Sakai's next words.

"Takeo," she nodded toward the man who nodded back, but remained silent. "Thank you for coming. As you can see, I've been having a little bit of trouble with our new recruit."

"I would like to point out that I never said I'd join you," Hiroki butted in. Takeo glared past Sakai and directly at Hiroki which caused Hiroki to stop talking.

"Could you please carry him back to the hideout while I follow with my own body?" Sakai asked. Takeo nodded and walked over to Hiroki while Sakai headed over to her body.

"Why can't you just go back into your body?" Hiroki asked as Takeo reached down and picked him up before flinging him over one shoulder. "Hey, careful!"

"Because the net would disappear, and you would run off," Sakai responded while throwing her own body over her left shoulder since she had to hold her sword with her right hand. "Stay close Takeo. Don't forget that my rope has a limit to its reach." Takeo nodded and they began to walk down the alley.

They continued to cut through alleys and side streets to avoid running into people until they came to their destination. Hiroki looked up as best he could while still being over Takeo's shoulder. He was somewhat surprised when he saw a warehouse in front of him.

When they arrived, he watched Sakai fuse back into her body, and soon as she did, the net around Hiroki disappeared. She was back in her normal clothing, and her sword was also gone. And even though he was no longer entangled, he still could barely move with Takeo keeping a vice-like grip over him. He rolled his eyes, remembering Sakai's earlier comment about him trying to escape if the net was gone. As if I could, he thought. Sakai knocked three times on the warehouse entrance, paused, then two more times before the entrance opened.

The inside of the warehouse was dark, so Hiroki couldn't really see that far into it. Once the three of them were inside the warehouse, the entrance closed, shutting off the current main light source for the interior of the warehouse. There were some windows high up on the walls, but they only let in a few rays.

Takeo set Hiroki down on the ground, and Hiroki managed to stand up. He rubbed the back of his sore neck. While he wanted to run, there was nowhere to go, and while Hiroki couldn't see him, he could feel Takeo still standing behind him. He wasn't sure if Sakai was still there though.

"You are Shoda Hiroki, correct?" a calm, deep voice in front of him asked.

"I'm not going to answer any questions until I know what's going on here," Hiroki responded.

"Well, he certainly has a fire to him," another masculine voice spoke, though this one wasn't nearly as deep as the first. It came from Hiroki's right and…above?

"Be quiet, Sho. Can't you tell he's scared?" This time it was a feminine voice, but it seemed to come from the same general area as the one it was responding to.

"I wonder if he can even fight?" a seductive, feminine voice came from Hiroki's left this time.

"He better or he's completely useless to us," Hiroki was completely confused as this one belonged to a boy. It came from Hiroki's left, but like two of the others, it appeared to come from above.

"Maybe we should turn on the lights," a soft, motherly voice spoke in front of Hiroki. "So we can introduce ourselves properly. Don't you think that would be best, Sadao?"

"Of course, Akane," the deep voice that had spoken first replied. "Makoto, could you please turn on the lights?"

There was a flash of light as Makoto had flipped a switch. Hiroki, who had started to grow accustomed to the darkness of the warehouse, had to shield his eyes as the entire warehouse suddenly lit up. After blinking a few times, he managed to finally get a glimpse at everyone who had spoken.

To his right and sitting on top of some shelves along the wall were two nearly identical looking people that looked to be around his own age. One was a boy and one was a girl, but they both had the same face, and though their hairstyles were slightly different, both of their brown hair was cut short. The girl had on a long-sleeve gray shirt and jeans while the boy had on a black leather jacket over a white shirt and also wore jeans. They both wore running shoes. The girl had her feet dangling over the edge, her legs swinging and her head cocked to the side, looking at Hiroki with pure curiosity. The guy was sitting against the wall, one arm draped over a knee close to his chest while the other leg was straight out. He seemed to look at Hiroki with suspicion.

To Hiroki's left and above, on top of a different set of shelves, stood a boy who couldn't have been older than fourteen. His arms were crossed, a look of disdain evident on his face. He had a baseball cap on his head and wore a green hoodie along with tan cargo shorts and sneakers.

At the base of the shelf, on a chair facing backwards was a tanned woman that looked a few years older than Hiroki. She had dyed blonde hair that reached down to the middle of her back. She wore a gray sweater-vest over a long-sleeved white shirt and a black skirt that reached almost to her knees. She had multiple earrings in her left ear and bracelets around her wrists along with painted nails. Due to the combination of the way she was sitting, her legs straddling the chair, the length of her skirt, and the flirtatious smile she gave off, Hiroki had to turn away as he felt his face growing red.

The final two people that he hadn't really looked at yet were standing in front of him. They both appeared to be in their early thirties. One was a graceful looking woman dressed in traditional Japanese robes, her black hair was done up in a bun. While she had a kind-looking face and smile, Hiroki was still cautious since he didn't know her. Standing to her left and slightly in front of her was who Hiroki assumed was Sadao.

He had near shoulder-length sleek white hair that contrasted with his dark eyes. He wore a black business suit over a white dress shirt with a red tie and black dress shoes. In his right hand he gripped the silver handle of a black umbrella which was currently closed and pointed down, the tip of it touching the ground.

"That's probably better," he said. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Uh..yeah," Hiroki answered, his eyes glancing around the room. He was trying to keep everyone in his line of sight, but unfortunately Sakai, who he just learned had the first name of Makoto, and Takeo were standing behind him. He was now surrounded in a warehouse by a group of people he knew nothing about.

"I understand you're probably confused," Sadao continued.

"I would say that that's an understatement," Hiroki responded.

"Makoto tells me that you don't know who your parents were. Is that correct?"

"I mean I guess. I already told her that I barely remember them. Why are we repeating the same things I've already talked about with Sakai?"

"Because, Shoda Hiroki, you are like us. Your parents were from two different…worlds, shall we say. Two sides that have been at odds with each other for so long, yet occasionally there are outliers where two people from either side become friends…or more."

"I'm still not following."

"Did Makoto tell you about the Shinigami?"

"Yes, she told me that they help spirits pass on after they die."

"Among other things. What would you say if I told you that like everyone gathered here, one of your parents was a Shinigami?"

Hiroki was silent a moment before responding, "An hour ago, I would've said you're crazy, but I've seen Sakai's Shinigami form, or at least that's what she called it. So I guess it's not entirely unreasonable."

Sadao nodded, "Good. You're taking this better than I expected. But that only covers one of your parents."

"I assume you're not going to say that the other was just a normal person, right?"

"You catch on quick. No, not a normal human. The other side is what is commonly referred to as Quincy."

"A what?"

"Quincy," Sadao repeated. "To put it very simply, the Quincy are a special group of humans that have the ability to detect Hollows and other Souls, and can even fight them. You can also think of them as the polar opposite to Shinigami."

"What's a Hollow?"

"Former Souls that stayed too long in the real world without passing over to the Soul Society and are now corrupt. The Soul Society, before you ask, is the home of the Shinigami and the souls who manage to pass on from this world. Another of the Shinigami's jobs is to take care of Hollows."

"Wait, but if both sides fight hollows…"

"Then why wouldn't they be on the same side? When a Shinigami kills a Hollow, it's cleansed and it reverts back to its old soul before passing on to the Soul Society. When a Quincy kills a Hollow, the Hollow, along with the soul that it once was, is completely destroyed. There are other…factors, but I feel like we're wandering a little bit off from the original topic."

"Which is that I'm half-Shinigami, half-Quincy?"

"Well, I'd say more a part of each with a little human thrown in there since you were born in the world of the living. But essentially yes, that is what you are. That is what we all are," he gestured around the room. "We who have no true place amongst neither the Shinigami nor Quincy. We who have been split from them, and only wish for a place to call home. We who are known as the Splintered."

"The Splintered?"

"Yes, though let me introduce each member. You already know Sakai Makoto." he gestured behind Hiroki at Makoto who had her arms crossed and appeared a little tense. "And you've met Oshiro Takeo." Takeo was silent, and didn't even look at Hiroki, keeping his eyes forward almost like a guard on duty.

Sadao then motioned to the two look-alikes sitting above and to Hiroki's right, "They are the Miyashita twins, Maiko and Sho." Maiko, the sister, waved with a smile on her face while Sho, her brother, simply nodded yet still had that look of suspicion on his face.

"And then over here we have Kuroda Chiyo," Sadao continued. The woman sitting in the backwards chair raised one hand and waved her fingers toward Hiroki.

"And the youngest member of our group, Osada Hitoshi." The boy standing on top of the shelves to Hiroki's left continued to stare haughtily while making no attempt at greeting Hiroki.

"And finally, we come to Kondo Akane," Sadao looked behind him at the traditionally dressed woman. She smiled warmly at Sadao. Hiroki wasn't entirely sure, but he felt like there was a connection between Akane and Sadao though he wasn't about to pry.

"What about you?" Hiroki asked Sadao. "You've introduced everybody else. All I know is what I assume is your first name."

Sadao chuckled, "You are right. My name is Hata Sadao, and I consider myself not only the leader of the Splintered, but its protector as well. That is why I am offering you an opportunity to join us, and we can show you your true powers."

"What exactly is this group's goal?"

"It's quite simple, and I've already said it. Our goal is to simply have a place we can peacefully call home." He extended his hand toward Hiroki. "Do you accept our offer?"