Chapter 7, version 2
Nearly 3 months since the arrival
Finishing up her last day of the work contract, Tanya helped clean up the latest bit of paperwork she found. Most were when a document had managed to slip through some of the cracks in her original clean up. Then she made sure the children, Yamada and Mine could do some more advanced calculations. Once she had that last task for the day wrapped up she closed and helped lock up the office for the night. She then headed for the market, wanting the pleasant atmosphere of trade going on in the background so she could think.
It was finally time to decide if she would stay in the fifties or head for Central Districts. She figured this would take some time to settle as there were points for and against both options. Staying in the fifties meant she would have a chance at being a big fish in a small pond. It might take time but she would eventually be able to accomplish her goals with proper investment strategies. Since her goal was to build a technology town that would help modernize this medieval society, she was sure she could get that investment capital. The pluses in staying were numerous and she couldn't think of a reason why to leave solely based on a negative. Well, there was one reason, that being the one at the top of an organization meant if anything went wrong it would all fall on her head. She would have no support if something went wrong and could end up a homeless beggar if someone beat her to the concept of a technology town.
Central on the other hand she could think of a few reasons not to go. The long march here meant that there was probably another couple of months' journey. she would be a small fish in a big pond with her skill possibly hidden under hundreds of other applicants... But flipping that she would have a more comfortable life with fewer problems coming her way if she did get into the reapers. As a simple agent of the reapers, she didn't believe she would have as many problems as someone at the top of a food chain would.
Sure she'd be in the military but from Matsumoto's description, it was more of a ceremonial unit with a certain amount of expeditions to deal with bandits. Her meeting with Matsumoto was very fortuitous, she now had contact in the upper rank, though just how far up she wasn't sure. When Matsumoto said their rank she originally translated it mentally as a lieutenant. However, on further thought, she realized it could also be translated as Vice-Captain. That indicated a less rigid military structure than what the empire had. It also meant Matsumoto was in a high position and a good friend to have. With a friend that high up in the ranks she could possibly achieve a safe and quiet position in whatever logistics core Reapers had.
She possibly would also get access to the modern world. They had access to the world of living according to her new connection. She doubted with access like that they would not bring in some modern technology, probably not very much right now since she believed there was a good chance she was somewhere in the 80s but in 20 years digital revolution would be in full effect. She suspected that by then computers, phones, and other technology would make their way into this world. Which could undercut her activities here when she thought about it deeper. A state-owned apple would be a competitor that would put her in a poor house faster than it took to die in her first life.
On another point, if she did go to Central she would be able to get a better understanding of the world. Oh sure she had plenty of ideas on how the world worked but up till recently, she thought the only way back to the world of the living was to die. If there was a way to travel between worlds that could mean just about anything, could there be more worlds out there? Was there a way to get back to the world of living without having to die? Was that a retirement option after a certain period of service with the Gotei 13? Questions she had no answers for but they existed waiting for her in central.
As she arrived at the market the sun setting as night began to fall. She decided that both options had their potential. The town was a long steady road that would eventually see success as long as nothing unforeseen happened. Central was a safer option and possibly faster but for all she knew, there were issues she'd get to learn that could prevent her rise to a safe position in the organization.
Potentially she could go all the way to Central and come back to the 50s if there was nothing worthwhile to stay there for. As far as she was concerned and knew there was no rule preventing her from traveling where she wanted to go. And again she had a lifespan measured in centuries. It was hard for most people to think about their life decade hence. Trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life when you had 300 potential years in you at minimum was just not an easy concept to comprehend.
Hefting her polearm on her shoulder she marched her way through the market heading for her favorite diner. She planned to get a cup to drink and some food before she had to head for her rented apartment to sleep the night away. She was about to reach the center of the market when she heard a scream. Not the sound of a kid or panicked animal or even of surprise reaction. What she heard had its home in the killing field of the Rhine front, of men or women knowing they were dead but giving out one final pleading bloody call for help.
Like a switch had been flipped the townsfolk around her began to panic running for their homes. A bell began to ring from a nearby tower. Bringing her polearm down from her shoulder she looked around confused. She saw some guards type running towered north end of the market and wondered what caused this panic. Then half of a human was thrown from the north crashing into several civilians and a cargo cart. On some empire ingrained instinct, she moved to block any more attacks from hitting the civilians, a brief worry about what her commanders would think if she did not help, overwriting her good sense as she fought her way toward the north end of town.
Breaking through the fleeing crowd revealed something that broke her understanding of the world. Before her, several of the town guards with their spears were trying to force a massive beast that looked like a steroid-fueled gorilla with extra arms and a skull mask for a face. It had a clean hole going all the way through its chest but that seemed to have done nothing to damper its power. It was chewing on some poor woman who by looks of it was dead or in shock as it used another man as impromptu mace. The monster smacked a guard, sending him through the wall of a nearby building. This seemed to have been the unit's commander as the other guards seemed to waver at his loss.
Looking over her shoulder she saw more guards coming, but they were being hampered by the evacuation of civilians. Looking back she saw that one of the guards who had been holding the line that was keeping the beast from advancing was running towards her in panic. If the beast broke the spear line morale now there would be nothing between her and it. With the spin of her polearm, she smacked the stick end up and hit the running man in his guts. He went down and she spun the pointed end back to the top. "The next thing that tries to go by me on its own power gets the pointed end instead!" she said, putting on her drill sergent voice to enforce some authority on guards.
It seemed to have worked as the men stopped their wavering and the five remaining men focused on the problem in front of them poking at the beast to try and drive it off. The beast for it's part smacked one of the spear welders into a nearby cooking stand. When the guards did not run it focused on her. It's the beast's red eyes glowed in the dark empty hole of the mask as it observed her. What She saw there worried her, there was some form of intelligence to them, not the mindlessness that she would expect from the monstrous form. The beast observed her for a moment before its eye locked on to something on her side then the beast let out a horrid yell and threw the man it had been using as mace at her.
She was forced to sidestep the beaten and bleeding man as he flew by forcing her eye to be taken off the creature. The next moment she looked at where the beast had been. It had changed stance rushing through the line of spears charging her readying a massive fist to attack.
She aimed her polearm estimating the best angle to put a blade through the beast's neck. When someone else entered the fight. Matsumoto landed in front of her, slashing the beast's arm with her sword and forcing it to take a step back. She took up a defensive stance with her sword and without so much as hello Matsumoto spoke "Run Tanya, get somewhere safe, the hollow senses your spiritual pressure and is after you."
Utter hatred flashed through Tanya's mind as this information was assimilated. Was this Being X's dastardly plan? Leave her defenseless in a world while smelling like a three-course meal dinner to monsters that should not exist? A question for another time if that parasitical entity ever showed itself again. For now, she just nodded and ran for the other end of the market hoping to escape whatever the battle was about to happen.
It was not her job to fight monsters and Matsumoto must be the proper authority on the monster, heck she even named it species. Thinking back she remembered Matsumoto had mentioned hunting monsters was part of her job. At the time she assumed she was referring to bandits, but now comments she heard from her and others for the last couple of months were making more sense.
Running as fast as she could she made it in time to pass guard as they formed up into a double spear line to prevent the beast from advancing in their direction. Once there she took a moment to take a breath hearing the clash of blades on stubborn flesh then booked it for her apartment. Taking back streets to stay out of the wide-open streets where if the monster made it past Matsumoto it would have no problem jumping down on top of her.
Using the key Morinaga had given her she unlocked the door to the building he allowed his workers to stay in. then quilty closed it behind her with a sigh of relief. Quietly she walked up the steps to the second floor where her apartment was located. She was about to reach the top landing and her door when the wall at the back of the building exploded in words towards her. Thrown back downstairs by debris she used a shield spell to catch herself a foot or so before hitting the ground preventing any serious damage.
Recovering quickly she aimed her polearm towards the now gaping hole in the wall where a ridiculous creature that seemed to have snakes for arms and another white mask over its head was making an entrance. The creature slithered on a pair of tails into the building, seeming to be sniffing the air looking for her.
"Miss Degurechaff is everything okay?" A voice called from the hallway in front of her causing her eyes to look down. She saw the boy Yamada had opened the door to the kids' apartment to find out what happened.
"Get inside now," Tanya ordered, moving quickly to a position where she could block the monster. The monster, having heard the kid, shot one of its snake arms down towards the first floor looking for the child.
She slashed at the creature with no effect, her polearm bouncing off the skin and only causing it to turn to look at her. But in this case that was her goal, she could not let the monster go after the kids. They were technically still under her care till the day was out and if the creature was really after her it could be assumed that it was only here because she was here. The kids had a bright future in the workforce and she wasn't going to let them die because Being X decided to screw with her life one last time.
The creature's left snake arm shot out at her and she blocked it with a shield spell. The right arm came next and she managed to jam her polearm up its throat thinking that attack would cause internal damage. However, this apparently did not happen as the snake's beast head bit down on the pole and got into a tug of war with her. After it could not dislodge her by pulling the polearm from her the beast whipped the snakehead to the side and forced her into a wall. She was forced to let go or be used as a wrecking ball against the kid's apartment wall.
Stumbling away from the wall she reached for the sword on her side with her right arm planning to just slash at the thing in hopes that it would work. Unfortunately, the beast took exception to her attempt to draw the Zanpakuto. Its arm reached out and bit deeply into her right forearm pulling her up by it before then whipping her up into the roof causing a partial collapse of the weakend wood roof.
Bleeding profusely from her forearm, head spinning from an unprepared flight she tried to pull herself out of the rubble. She found most of her body was unresponsive, the pain and damage stacking up till it became hard to move. As she fought her muscle's weariness to move the creature slithered down what was left of the stairway towards her. The hydra-like monster was coming for her and at the moment this fight was going to be too close to her liking. She was already casting her most reliable spell for this situation. Although at the current rate she would not have it activated fast enough.
With numerous hissing sounds, she looked up and saw the monster reared up over ready to strike and finish her off. When she detected a buildup of magic behind the monster coming from the hole in the broken wall.
"Bakudō # 1. Sai" a female voice yelled and the monster's arms forcibly locked up behind it. Looking past the monster she had time to register a black-haired girl standing in the gaping hole in the wall before her spell completed.
One of the spells she learned to use during her time in the imperial army was meant to help her deal with pain and increase alertness. Though she often compared it to a dose of methamphetamines it had a wide range of side effects she came to know over the years. The giggle that escaped her lips as she stood back up was absolutely normal. The lack of care of the blood running down her arm onto her sword as she drew it was just not worth caring about beyond useful means to attach a mage blade. The look of madness in her blue glowing eyes as she stared down the currently defenseless Hydra was just the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Rukia Kuchiki of the 13th division had arrived at the town of Fujiwara the evening of the day before, dead tired. She had spent a week hunting for hollows that had been stalking the countryside.
The first thing she had done this morning was to meet with Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto to discuss the search for hollows and what had drawn them in. She personally had no idea what would draw them this far into soul society but Matsumoto had explained that there was a potential new soul reaper in the town with high spiritual energy that may be the reason. It would fit their hunting pattern to some extent and made more sense than if they just invaded because they could.
After putting their information together they believe there were three hollows in the area, the number and locations of the attacks lined up for no more than three. But so far they had not been able to catch them out in the open. the monster always fleeing the area when they moved against them. When they were not attacking the hollow beasts were also maintaining a low profile and only attacking places the soul reapers could not get to quickly.
Rukia and Rangiku had been discussing possible ways to lure out the beast inside a diner when the attack began. The hollow's presence were announced clearly to them by its spiritual pressure before the screaming started.
"The hell is going on," Rangiku said, sitting up from her chair quickly enough for it to tumble over.
"The hollow may have decided they were done waiting for whatever they were waiting for and are making moves against their target?" Rukia offered as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword as she stood up from her chair.
"Damn it they are after Tanya, that kid won't know how to fight Hollows, we better get out there and find them and put them down before too much damage is done to this town," Rangiku said, drawing her sword and leaving the building in a rush.
Rukia attempted to closely follow behind Rangiku. However, Rangiku was faster and jumped up onto some of the sturdier market stalls. Avoiding the mass of humanity trying to get away from the screaming. Rukia did not get herself untangled from the mess until a few moments after she heard Rangiku yell at someone to get away.
She saw a blonde girl in a military uniform jogging past a line of local guards forming a spear wall in hope of stopping the beast. She could feel some energy coming off the girl so she must have been the one Rangiku had spoken of.
Turning back to the center of the market she saw Rangiku was fighting a gorilla-like monster. Her blade finding weak points in its defense and quickly removing several of its hands in flashes of her blade. She was about to move in for a finishing blow when another monster burst through the side of a building and chomped at her. The one was more of a reptilian creature with short arms and a massive head. Rangiku managed to dodge the hollow tyrannosaurus and fell back to where Rukia was standing.
"Two out of three are here, what do you think the chances are that the third one's gone after the girl I told to run." Rangiku breathed a sigh of contempt.
"Rather good they seemed to plan this attack with her as the target," Rukia affirmed.
"Then I better not make a bet against that, help take out the ape, and then I'll deal with the lizard while you go check up on her," Rangiku said, reading her sword into an attacking stance.
Rukia nodded and moved to the left of the ape while Rangiku moved to the right of the dinosaur. Rangiku moved first quickly dashing towards the dinosaur before dodging to her left and slashing a third arm off the oversized gorilla. Rukia took this moment to rush in and slashed her sword down, cutting the beast's chest cavity open and causing enough damage that it was life-ending.
With the ape dealt with she sheathed her sword and started running in the direction the girl had gone. Moving up to the rooftops to make better time and have a better point of view. Thinking she couldn't have run far she opened herself up to the spiritual area and felt for any errant energy.
She quickly felt a hollow energy flare a block over to the east and started in that direction moving swiftly. When she got a visual of the energy location, she saw that something had burst a hole through the side of a building, leaving the second-floor open access to air. She landed in the open wall figuring that was as good a possibility as any to where the hollow was and the girl. Looking down she saw a hollow moving towards the wreckage of an interior stairway in the hallway. The girls seem to be trapped under a collapsed portion of the roof and the hollow was moving in to finish her. Without much time to draw her sword, she fell back onto Kido.
"Bakudō # 1. Sai" the creature's arms were forced behind its back preventing it from moving in for the kill. On a human, such a spell would be enough and it would be disarmed, but she knew the hollow would break free any second so she started drawing her sword.
But then the laughter began. The spiritual pressure of the hollow was pushed out by new energy as the girl Rukia I thought was incapacitated at the bottom of the stairs stood up, her eyes glowing like Sapphire. The girl drew a sword from her side and jumped up trying to slash down the center of the hollow's body.
The hollow broke free and moved to block the blade, sacrificing a snake-like limb to the blade. The now free arm went flying off towards a nearby wall where it began to try and slither away.
The snake-like creature reared back and moved to attack the girl with the open mouth of the other arm. But the girl anticipated this and used her free hand to create a barrier of some kind that formed as the mouth tried to close about it. The barrier grew forcing the mouth further open and holding it in place allowing the girl to come about to its side. She slashed down, cutting that head from the hollow's remaining arm.
The hollow, realizing it was now without arms, tried to escape heading back up the stairs towards Rukia. She started to draw her blade to prepare to cleanse this beast when the girl charged up the stairs moving into the light allowing her to see the disconcerting smile that graced her face as she landed on the creature's back and again to repeatedly stab down into its spinal cord.
"Die already," the girl said after the 4th stab, her silver blade covered in the monster's gunk and her own blood.
"The best way to kill a hollow is to destroy its mask and head." Rukia offered.
The girl looked up at her still with that terrifying smile. Rukia had only ever seen one other person with a smile like that, and that was Captain of the 11th division when he got a group to fight him at the 11th exhibition matches they had started up a few years ago.
The Girl pulled her blade from its back and got up, walking up the back of the badly injured monster. She jammed the blade through the back of its head and out the front and wiggled it a bit till the mask on the other side broke.
The smile finally fading the girl pulled the blade free and walked down the stairs to retrieve a polearm as the hollows body dissolved.
Turning back around, the girls started heading up the stairs and then looking at Rukia asked "do you perhaps know a physician? I managed to tear up my arm in that fight badly." She said holding up her limb revealed some deep and nasty cuts from the fangs teeth of the monster.
"I might also need to check and make sure I haven't been poisoned." The girl continued looking at the snake-like creature.
"I... I know a few healing Kidos that should be helpful with that" Rukia offered before asking "how did you use a barrier Kido without the proper chant?"
The girl looked confused at her for a moment before she finally said "years of practice though I don't think it's as effective as it would be if I knew the actual chant. Something I'm going to have to look into." She pushed open the door to an apartment and said "I have some medical supplies in here, mind helping me put myself back together?"
Rukia nodded and the girl led her into the apartment.
"My name is Tanya von Degurechaff. I'm assuming you're a soul reaper, so you must be a colleague of Miss Matsumoto," she said, her eyes still glowing as she pulled various medical supplies out of her backpack and set them on the table in the main room.
"Yes, we work together sometimes, but she is from the 10th division and I'm from the 13th, Rukia Kuchiki."
"Nice to meet you Rukia and thanks for whatever you did back there if you hadn't given me that moment that fight would have been a lot more bloody," Tanya said, undoing her coat before dropping on the ground. She then took a seat in the chair by the table.
Tanya focused on suppressing the pain from her wounded arm as the soul-reaper girl worked on. Her earlier assumption about the world had to be thrown out, she knew that now. If monster attacks were something she would have to deal with due to her higher amount of spiritual energy she could not stay in the 50s. Her best chance of survival was central, there at least she would have soul reapers around to fight them off if they tried. But what were her options if she went there? She had contacts in Gotei 13 now but she disliked the idea of limiting herself to organizations that fought creatures like that on a daily basis. Matsumoto had said most of her work was paperwork though, perhaps if you got far enough up the ranks it was something you didn't worry about?
"Rukia how often do soul reapers die fighting those things?" Tanya asked, looking at the doorway where she could just barely see what was left of the beast.
"The hollows? It does happen but not often. If a reaper keeps to their training and stays focused or meets them with overwhelming power they should be able to kill a hollow before their life is threatened." The black hair girl said, finishing tightening the bandages around her arm.
So reapers were given special training and an interesting development "tell me do the reapers have anti-investment rules?" She asked, thinking through her options.
"I don't think so, the closest I heard of anything like that is that rules preventing central 46 from meddling in the affairs of noble families," Rukia said, cleaning and dressing a wound fourth down the arm.
Oh, so nobles were given more lee way to get away with things. She has to look into that for more details later, she was sure her Von would mean nothing in their rule book but who knows what could be found with a bit of research. For now, though, she had what she needed. With a grunt, she got up from her chair just as Rangiku Matsumoto appeared at the open door.
"Damn Rukia you left mess out there how hard was that last hollow to kill," she asked in a playful tone
"I didn't kill the last one, Tanya did," Rukia said, nodding towards her.
"She killed it? Damn Kid you are a natural hollow hunter" Matsumoto said sounding rather too encouraging about that matter.
"It would appear so, and since my options seemed to have been limited by fate, I will have to take you up on that academy offer when I get to central." Matsumoto seemed too happy with her saying that.
"For now, though, feel free to make use of my living area to recover from your fight. I am going to take an 8-hour nap before I begin my journey tomorrow," Tanya said before she used her polearm as a walking stick to get to the door to her sleeping area.
Sliding the door open behind her she stumbled in before closing it. Then moved over to her sleeping bag and laid down on top of it. Carefully pulled her sword off her side to check something she thought she saw during the fight. Whatever transmutation that had been happening had finished after she slipped the blade through the hollow's head. The Silver blade had remained in katana origin but the handle had changed fully into a European-style saber, not just any cavalry saber though.
The handle looked just like the ceremonial saber the Kaiser had given her for her service on the eastern front. Due to the continual use of silver and mithril in some descriptions of her exploits, the Kaiser commissioned the knuckle guard and the handle shined to the point it could be mistaken as silver. But similarities went further, the mimic went right down to a few modifications she had made for better use in mage combat. Why it had done that was a question she would need to be answered. And she would have to ask the soul reapers about these blades come morning. Till then she would need to rest and recover. Putting the blade down next to her sleeping area closed her eyes and began to dream.
Author's note SP
Okay started Saturday finished Thursday and took my time, hear hoping the quality is up from that. So what to talk about, worried about how folk will like that chapter like normal. I set up a Beta Pm group if you're interested in helping me improve the old chapter, and in hopes, I learn how to do things better thus improving the chapter in the future. hit me up with PM and I'll let you into the group if you are interested. Chapter 1 and 2 have been beta by RefugeInAbsrdity and chapter 3 just waiting on one final thing before it joins 1 and 2.
Please comment, review, and generally enjoy yourselves…
Betaed by TimEd
Author's note FF
I'm having several folks help with betaing this mess over on space battles. each chapter now has a version number related to how many people have worked on it, next to the chapter which will tell you at glace if you read it before hopefully. the folks who help fix chapters up are credited at the bottom.
Fanfic reviews
skrapsynneh: here have another.
EricFreak: here is the next chapter. Weiss probable was a missed opportunity, but when I thought about who she should meet Lehgren is who came to my brain first. who knows indeed I not come up with some idea involving Aizen, no sir re. *whistles ominously*.