Chapter Six: Meet & Greet
"So, you think he'll actually help with this?" Apacci asked.
"He did help you with your gigai and all that, I don't see why he wouldn't help the others," Yoshiro replied. "We'll just have to ask Urahara, I don't see how it would hurt just to simply ask. The worse he can do is say "no" really and if he does do that. We'll just have to figure something else out somehow. Plus, he's also quite literally our only option for this."
It had been a couple days since the impromptu visit to Hueco Mundo and that happened there. If Yoshiro was being honest with himself, the realization of everything was still sinking in a bit. Not to mention he had this odd feeling in him ever since that day. He wasn't really sure what it was about, but he didn't really stress it. He figured it was just a result of recent events all culminating together. They had yet to return to Hueco Mundo due to not wanting to open too many Garganta's in too short of time. Doing so could very well unintentionally alert the soul reapers at some point. It was Friday and Yoshiro knew for a fact Urahara managed the sales floor himself on Fridays. He and Apacci were going to see if he could help with his mom and the others in the hollow world.
"Fair point, we'll go and talk to him then." Apacci mused. "We have something going on at the Kurosaki's today, right?"
"Yeah, Isshin called yesterday and said that Ichigo and his/my other friends were having a summer break get-together at the house. This is a perfect chance for you to meet everyone else." The blond answered as he walked with his and Apacci's helmets, handing his girlfriend hers.
"I am curious to meet them with the way you talk about them. They seem like an interesting little group."
"Oh trust me interesting doesn't even begin to describe how unique our little group is." Yoshiro mused. "We'd best head to Urahara first then off to the Kurosaki's."
With all that decided the two took off to Urahara's and arrived soon enough. Parking his bike out front the two walked inside and were greeted by the man himself.
"Well if it isn't my best and favorite customer, along with his newest friend." Urahara greeted in his usual goofy manner from behind his fan. "Here for the usual, I assume?" The shopkeeper replied as he pulled out a large bag from seemingly nowhere and placed it on the sales counter. The size of the candy bag was getting curious eyebrow raise out of Apacci.
"What? I like my Skittles and Tootsie Pops, sue me." Yoshiro replied to his girlfriend before focusing on the shopkeeper once more. "We could also use your help with another matter."
"What sort of matter by chance may I ask?" Urahara questioned.
"Matters of the otherworldly kind to put it," Yoshiro answered.
"I sense a story here."
"I'll give you a hint, this story involves an impromptu trip to Hueco Mundo." Yoshiro teased with a grin.
That last comment got a genuine look of surprise out of Urahara before his expression turned to a more inquisitive one. "Well then, considered my interest peaked. Let's head to the back and we can discuss this all." Urahara spoke heading to the back of the shop with Apacci and Yoshiro in tow. Once everyone took a seat, the human and hollow explained everything that had happened. They didn't leave out any details feeling it was the best course to go.
Kisuke Urahara had seen, heard, and done a lot of what could be considered "wild" things in his time. Both during his years back in soul society and even all his time spent in the living world. However, he had to admit what he had just been told was pretty damn high on the list all things considered. The tale could easily be considered completely made up. The thing is he was very good at reading people and picking up lies. He knew that everything he had been told was the truth.
"So let me see I understand the gist of this all." Urahara began. "You two went on a date to the beach. Came back to the house the next day and were ambushed by some of Apacci's companions. You headed off to Hueco Mundo and met with the leader of the group. Who just so happens to be your own mother, who's not just a hollow but a Vasto Lorde as well. And she's also the leader of the Apacci and her friends. Now you two are here wanting to see if I can make gigai for the three of them. Is that about it?"
"Pretty much." The blond replied.
"Goodness me, you certainly seem to have a talent for surprises Yoshiro. Though to get down to business about things. First off, congrats on the relationship, and Apacci you're going to want to start taking these just to be safe." The shopkeeper chimed with a cheeky grin as he tossed a pill bottle to her.
"What are these?" Apacci asked.
"Birth control pills of course!" Urahara exclaimed with a wave of his fan. His grin only grew as he saw the two in front of him blush red. "You see my gigai's are made to act like real human bodies in every way, including reproduction. Better to play it safe than sorry and not make an assumption and wind up with an unplanned baby. I doubt you two are looking at having kids after all."
"Not yet anyway," Apacci replied as she took a pill and then pocketed the rest.
Yoshiro for his part was genuinely caught off guard by his girlfriend's admittance. "Really? Not that I'm against the idea, just surprised is all."
"When we ever get to that point in our relationship and now that we know the possibility of it. I really wouldn't mind, though we have more than a few years ahead of us before we get to something like that." Apacci mused.
"Fair enough, though let's keeps this bit between us. Isshin considers me a son and will hound me enough as it is about 'grandchildren' and whatnot. Once he learns the two of us are dating one another. I gotta be careful about how much I hit him into a wall. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to be the one to start paying for the repairs." Yoshiro remarked.
Apacci gave a very unladylike snort of amusement at that. "It'd be worth it just to see how many times you'd have to wind up knocking him around for it."
"As amusing as it is to watch talk about all this," Urahara cut in. "I do believe we need to get back on track. I do have a store I need to get back to running after all. Now about your request for the gigai's, I'll see those get done. I'll have everything ready to go for them tomorrow."
"What do you need in return for the help?" Yoshiro wondered.
"Nothing!" Urahara stated with a smile.
Yoshiro narrowed his eyes a bit at this, not that he wanted to look a gift horse in the mouth. Something about the shopkeeper's willingness to help without wanting anything as payment felt too suspicious. "Be straight with me here Urahara, why are you really doing all this? Not that I want to complain but you have to be getting something out of this? Someone doesn't do what you do for nothing and not get some sort of benefit from it."
"A wise deduction on your part Yoshiro, I suppose I can be more straightforward for the moment," Urahara said with a serious look, all traces of his goofiness gone. "I'm doing this for the safety of you, myself, the people we care about, and Karakura as a whole. I know that your associates in Hueco Mundo will come to see you with or without gigai. Everyone having a gigai just helps keep things safe in general. A fight between soul reapers and a single Vasto Lorde would be bad enough but a fight with a small pack of them. There'd be nothing left of Karakura after such a battle. To be quite frank while you did good leading the soul reapers away last time. You also at the same time got very lucky as well, make no mistake about this simple fact Yoshiro. Compared to the things you're being surrounded by, you're pretty small in comparison." Urahara then leaked out some of his spiritual pressure and focused it on Yoshiro.
Yoshiro suddenly felt like something extremely heavy was weighing on him. His eyes widened from the shock of it, he was forced down so that he was supporting himself on his knees and forearms. He breathed deeply in and out as it suddenly became harder to breathe. Then as quickly as the pressure came it left, though he was still stuck in his position. He felt a pair of hands on his back and glanced to see it was Apacci. She looked at him with concern before her face contorted into anger and she looked to the shopkeeper.
"Was that really fucking needed?" Apacci growled threateningly.
"I do apologize for that really I do but I felt my message needed to be made very clear," Urahara explained. "He needs to understand the level of danger that the world he's fallen into truly holds. You and I both know that's he's been rather lucky to this point in time. However, luck can only carry someone so far before it runs out. He needs to understand that he has to play his cards carefully with the forces he's getting tangled up in."
Apacci didn't lay off her growling, then Yoshiro held up his hand and sat back upright. "It's alright Apacci, he's right." Yoshiro huffed. "I have gotten rather lucky to date and I probably have been a little too casual about this world I've suddenly stumbled into. I'm just a fish surrounded by sharks in a sense." Yoshiro could have sworn he heard a growl of anger coming from within his head but simply shrugged it off as him hearing things. "Anyway we'll be back tomorrow to bring the others for their gigai's"
"I'll see you all tomorrow then." Urahara chirped as he and the others made their way back to the front. He watched Yoshiro grabbed his bag off the counter as the mocha-skinned blond and Apacci headed back outside. After a minute he heard the motorcycle roar to life and the sound of it taking off. Once the bike could no longer be heard, Yoruichi made her way from the back and stood next to him.
"Things just keep getting more interesting with him doesn't it?" Mused the were-cat.
"Certainly so, who would've ever thought his mother would not only become a hollow but also a Vasto Lorde. Not to mention reuniting with her and all that makes for one hell of a story." Urahara replied.
Yoruichi stood there in thought as a look of concern crossed her face. "Do you think Aizen has anything to do with all this?" She eventually asked.
Urahara hummed in thought for a moment before replying. "I don't think he has anything to do with him and Apacci meeting. I honestly believe that was just pure coincidence, as for the boy himself that's another matter. Ever since Isshin first met the boy years ago and informed us of him. I've had my suspicions of his unusually high spirit energy, though I didn't want to assume right away it was Aizen's influence in some manner. Though something was different about him today, something that was never there before."
"What do you mean exactly Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yoshiro has been coming to my shop for some years now and I've become rather familiar with how his spirit energy feels. When he walked in today, I noticed something distinctively different about it. It was very subtle, and you would have to be rather familiar with the feel of his energy beforehand to notice. I felt a distinctive hollow presence from it." Yoruichi's eyes widened slightly at that news as Urahara continued. "I know it's not any of Apacci's energy lingering on him, it felt different from hers. Not to mention I could tell it was emanating directly from him."
"But would that mean he has an inner hollow? How the hell would that even be possible?" The purple-haired woman wondered.
"That I have no idea and that by extension makes me think Aizen does have a hand involved in that aspect anyways. For what reason's exactly I don't know but whatever they are, they can't be good. That's also why I'm interested in meeting his Vasto Lorde mother. She might have some memory of her pregnancy that could give some insight into this whole thing. For now, all we can do is just simply keep monitor of the situation."
*Outside the Kurosaki Residence*
Yoshiro and Apacci had just arrived outside of the Kurosaki's home, Yoshiro still feeling a little weirded out by the little experience with Urahara. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the disguised hollow woman, as they made their way to the front door.
"You feeling ok?" Apacci asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'll be fine just a little surprised still by what happened is all. Don't worry I'll get over it soon enough." Yoshiro replied.
Apacci just nodded her head and walked along with her boyfriend. While she hated to admit it, Urahara had been right. By all accounts, Yoshiro had been very lucky so far with all his encounters with hollows and soul reapers alike. Any of his encounters could have gone very sideways if different people had been involved or things played out differently. While she didn't like him making his point by flexing his spiritual pressure on Yoshiro. She could understand it though she couldn't help but feel he had done it as something of a message to her as well. She could tell from the slight flex of his that he was powerful, captain class for sure.
What the hell was a captain class soul reaper hiding away from soul society in the living world for? There were far too many questions with no answers when it came to the shopkeeper. Sadly, it was unlikely that would ever get them. It didn't help that Urahara was the only person they could come to help them with things. Making it so they were essentially at the shopkeeper's mercy in a sense. Apacci clicked her tongue in annoyance she knew they would just have to deal with it for now. She decided to push those thoughts away for now. She was meeting the rest of Yoshiro's friends and announcing their relationship as well. Her attention was better put on that fact at the present.
Once the two opened the door and walked inside they were immediately greeted with a surprise attack by Isshin. Yoshiro didn't so much as bat an eyelash as he whipped an elbow around into the man's head. Isshin could be heard groaning as he was now firmly munching on a drywall sandwich. Yoshiro shook his head in exasperation at the man, while Apacci was trying and failing to not laugh at the sight.
"What happened now?" Ichigo asked as he walked towards the entrance of the house. "Oh, I see now." He summarized seeing his father's head planted into the nearby wall.
"Goat-face tried another one of his little attacks, well you know how that goes," Yoshiro answered.
"Goat-face?" Ichigo mused before snickering a little. "That fits him pretty well, I need to remember that." He then scowled a little to himself. "I really hope he doesn't pull that crap on me."
"Well if he does, a good kick or punch into the wall will do the trick." The blond retorted.
"Fair enough, the others are in the living room." Ichigo chimed as the three left, not a single one paying any mind to Isshin. Who was still busy chewing on the drywall as he tried to free his head from its spot.
Once they entered the living room Apacci was immediately assaulted by all of Yoshiro's other friends. None of them had seen her before they were all rather interested in her. Not surprising considering she appeared from apparently nowhere and was with Yoshiro. Who was pretty much a big brother to them all in all but blood, so curiosity was to be expected. Introductions were had as everyone gave their names and she gave hers in turn.
Yoshiro wasn't kidding when he said his friends made a very unique little group. She didn't believe at first that Chad as he was called was actually a few years younger than Yoshiro. He was almost as big as the blond was, she also noted he was polite if a bit shy and quiet. Orihime was a bit shy too, though also kind of ditzy at the same time. She also seemed like the caring type, perhaps too much for her own good but it was whatever. Chizuru was a neat little red-head with glasses, unlike the previous two she wasn't shy at all. She was also on the spunkier side of things, Apacci could admire that. Tatsuki was one though she immediately liked the most. She honestly was like a mini clone of herself all she was seemingly missing was the heterochromia.
"So Yoshiro, where did you meet such a pretty lady and, is she available?" Chizuru mused with a smirk.
Yoshiro snorted in amusement, while Apacci stood their slightly slack-jawed. Yoshiro had mentioned the red-head was a lesbian, though she hadn't honestly expected to get hit on blatantly by a thirteen-year-old.
"To answer your question Chizuru we met some time ago by chance." Yoshiro replied "We got to talking and hit it off really well and to answer your other question. I'm afraid she's seeing someone already, that being me. I'd like to announce that Apacci and I are currently dating."
That caught everyone in the room by surprise for a moment.
"You know I'm not really all that surprised." Ichigo mused.
"You two are awfully cute together," Orihime spoke.
"What Orihime said," Tatsuki interjected.
Chad just settled on giving a thumbs up.
"Figures I lay my eyes on such a pretty lady and she's already spoken for," Chizuru muttered. "Well if that ever changes look me up, That all said you're a lucky guy Yoshiro."
Yoshiro said nothing and simply had the smuggest look on his face.
"Wipe that smug-ass look off your face Yoshiro or I'll do it for you." Apacci jokingly threatened her boyfriend. "As for you," She began focusing on Chizuru. "You're a bit too young for me still come see in a few years and maybe we can deal?"
Yoshiro raised an eyebrow in curiosity at that statement.
"Don't forget Yoshiro before we hooked up, I was with three other women. Granted, it was nothing serious, but the point still stands. We could always wind up doing a whole polyamorous thing in the future."
Yoshiro thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders a bit. "I have nothing against such an idea if the opportunity presents itself."
"You see it's that opened mindedness of yours that I love so much." The deer-like Vasto Lorde in disguise chimed as she then gave the blond a kiss. One could hear Chizuru muttering to herself about still having a chance.
"I thought it was my charm and good looks?"
"That certainly helps."
"Right then," Ichigo cut in. "Now that all of that is out of the way let's get down to things a bit. We got games, movies and Chad brought a guitar."
Yoshiro perked up at that. "Really now? I need to see this."
"I just got it recently, you welcome to break it in if you like. You are a better player than I am still." Chad spoke as he pointed towards the said guitar.
Yoshiro looked and couldn't help but give out a whistle of approval. Sitting by an amp and cord was a Fender Stratocaster. Its most noticeable feature was its body being a sleek silver and black. Yoshiro strode over and picked the guitar up and inspected it.
"Damn chad this's nice, reminds me I need to head to the music shop and pick up a bass guitar for myself," Yoshiro mentioned as he fiddled with the guitar getting it set up. "Now then what I should I play? I think I know just the tune." Yoshiro began strumming as he then launched himself into song.
~Well it's the high anxiety I'm a victim of,
Society high anxiety I'm a victim of society
High anxiety it's my high anxiety getting to the
Best of me
Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna explode and
When I'm approaching total overload I know that
When I'm having a panic attack to duck and cover
'cause I can feel it coming~
Watching from the kitchen was Isshin as he had finally freed himself. He watched the scene with a genuine smile as he saw everyone getting along so well. "So they're a couple now, knew that was happening. I can say I now have a third daughter along with my second son. Now then, how long till I can get some grandchildren I wonder?" Isshin muttered to himself, then the phone rang and he quickly answered it. "Kurosaki residence, Isshin speaking."
"Hello, Isshin." That voice on the other end calmly said.
"Ryūken Ishida, this is a surprise," Isshin replied.
"I'm well aware," the Quincy retorted. "as you know my hospitals and your clinic are partnered in a few ways. Some things came up I felt you should hear about them preferably sooner than later."
The Kurosaki patriarch couldn't help but feel there was more to the call than his friend was letting on. "Is that all you're calling about?"
"As perceptive as ever I see."
"Hey now give me some credit, I was a captain for a reason." Isshin joked before turning more serious. "What are you really calling about Ryūken?"
"Straight to the point, very well then. Why are you and Urahara allowing that monster to run freely around town?" Ryūken accused coldly.
"Calling her a monster is a bit much don't you think?"
"She?"
"Yes she," Isshin cut in. "and we're not letting her run freely around town. She happens to be in a gigai just so you know."
"Don't try to avoid the question," the Quincy bit back "I understand why you can't but why hasn't Urahara seen fit to destroy the creature?"
"I can understand your concerns, really I do. The others and I had our concerns as well when she first showed up. However, she has shown no hostile aggression towards anyone. In fact, she's done nothing but live peacefully as she can while she's been here. So maybe consider you're being a little harsh?"
"While I may detest the fact Isshin, I am a Quincy." Ryūken retorted "We exist to destroy such monsters."
"Look Ryūken, I'm watching her right now from my spot in the kitchen." Isshin looked on as saw Apacci smiling and laughing with all the others as they hung out in the living room. "A monster doesn't smile as she does, laugh as she does, find happiness as she does. I think she's a nice girl who had the unfortunateness of becoming a hollow. No one asks to become a hollow after all."
The line was quiet for a few moments before Ryūken spoke up. "Fine, but if it causes any problems it's on you and Urahara and I will correct things."
"Fair enough, I suppose just another secret for us to have." Isshin mused "Kami knows we have plenty of those already when it comes to our kids. We'll have to explain a lot to them when the day comes. Speaking of which, how's your son doing?"
"Uryū is fine, though he insists on going down the path of a Quincy. As much as I dislike the course he's taken, I suppose it's still better than the other option."
"You haven't told him about his other side then?"
"No I have not," Ryūken said "Telling him that would also mean having to tell him that Kanae is not his birth mother. He's too young to handle such a revelation, though I will admit it will need to be spoken of someday."
"Right then, I talk to you later Ryūken." I need to get back to watching the kids." After that exchange, he hung up the phone and went back into the living room.
Hours passed and eventually, the day had begun to wind down. One by one the others all left the house until it was just the Kurosak's, Apacci, and Yoshiro. Isshin was sitting with the kids while watching a movie in the living room. Apacci and Yoshiro had stepped into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge. Yoshiro was sipping on a soda while leaning on the edge of the kitchen table. Apacci standing in front of him sipping on her own.
"So, what did you think about today?" Yoshiro questioned his girlfriend.
"Honestly, today was a great time." Apacci mused "You were right about them all, despite being younger. All of them are easy to get along with and fun to be around."
"You and Tatsuki especially." The blond interjected as he took a drink but tilted the can a little too much. Some of the drink spilling out and slid down the bottom of his mouth and down his neck. He pulled the can away from him and set it on the table a bit disgruntled at what he just did.
Apacci saw this and suddenly had a devilish idea cross her mind. With a smirk adorning her face she quickly set her own drink down. Then with a quick and smooth motion before Yoshiro could even react to it. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled herself closer to him. She ran her tongue over the trail of liquid from the bottom of his neck all the way to his lips. The action was slow, deliberate, and even a bit sensual. She saw an opportunity to mess with her boyfriend a little and took for all it was worth. As she pulled away, she looked at Yoshiro with a smug expression. "Taste good," she said with a pleased tone.
The moment Yoshiro felt Apacci's tongue glide across his neck and then his lips. He could feel his face warm-up and a pleasant jolt course through his body. He looked at his girlfriend and saw the smug look on her face. An idea of his own crossed his mind, two could play at this game. In a quick motion of his own, he placed a hand on either side of Apacci's waist. He pulled her in so that the fronts of their bodies were directly against one another. He leaned his head down and gave her a firm and passionate kiss to her lips.
Instead of pulling away shortly after, he kept the action going. After a few more moments of keeping their lips locked he felt Apacci's tongue search for entrance into his own mouth. He gladly allowed it and soon they both had their tongues twirling around with one another. A moan of satisfaction escaped both their throats as they continued on.
Apacci should've realized Yoshiro wouldn't have taken her little stunt without some kind of retaliation. Suffice to say she hadn't necessarily expected this but she sure as hell wasn't complaining. While a small part of her mind knew they probably should cut it off now, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Despite the gigai, she was still a hollow, a being who thrived on her instincts. Normally she had good control over instinctual urges. However, right now her instincts were yelling at her that this was what she wanted and she couldn't find the urge to stop.
Yoshiro kept the kissing going as he slid a hand behind Apacci and gave her butt a firm squeeze. Despite their lips still being locked together, the sound of her breath hitching. And a sound of satisfaction leaving her throat didn't escape his ears. Eventually, they separated, at last, due to needing air, before he could do anything else. Apacci gave him a slight push, unprepared for the action he fell and landed back first onto the table. The back of his knees resting against the table edge as his feet dangled just above the floor. Next thing he knew he felt a weight on his waist as Apacci sat on top of him straddling him. He didn't bother trying to stop her at all as she leaned down and they locked lips once more.
While Yoshiro wouldn't deny his horniness being the hormonal sixteen-year-old that he was. He liked to think he generally had better control of himself than most guy's his age. Oddly enough though, something about this situation was different. Normally, he never would have considered going this far in the middle of a kitchen. The weird thing was he couldn't help but feel what felt like some kind of other presence in the back of his mind. A presence that was urging him to take this situation for all it was. For some odd reason, he couldn't find the effort to resist it. So he greedily returned the kiss as he and Apacci ignored everything around. Focusing purely on one another in the heat of the moment.
Yoshiro slid a hand under Apacci's shirt and gently glided a hand across her firm yet soft and smooth belly. That elicited a small yet pleasant coo from the hollow woman. Apacci leaned back and pulled her shirt up and off, revealing a lacy black bra, and tossed said shirt aside. Apacci reached down and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. Pulling up on the fabric, Yoshiro adjusting so she could pull the shirt completely off of him. Revealing the toned and smooth mocha-colored flesh that had been beneath it. Apacci leaned down and kissed once more and kept the kiss going. As she slid a hand down Yoshiro exposed skin and continued until she was reaching behind her. She never broke the contact of her lips with his as she moved her hand into the inside of Yoshiro's jeans.
"AHEM!"
That sound might as well of been glass shattering as it shocked the two back into a proper mindset. Wide-eyed the two gently tilted their heads to see who made the noise.
Standing in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed and a perverted smirk was one Isshin Kurosaki. "I was wondering what was taking you two so long. Good thing I caught you now before too many noises came out of the kitchen." Isshin chimed with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Though I will admit I would like to avoid the hassle of disinfecting the entire kitchen."
If it was possible to die from embarrassment Yoshiro and Apacci would have done so in that instant. Instead, their bodies turned as red as humanly possible. They both quickly shot off the table and had their shirts back on. That happened in such a fast and fluid motion, one would've missed it had they blinked. The two quickly made their way back into the living room passing a grinning Isshin along the way and took their seats.
"What took you two so long?" Ichigo questioned.
"Don't worry about it!" The couple replied at the same time.
At that moment everyone could clearly hear Isshin laughing from the kitchen.
After spending the rest of time trying to live down that embarrassment as much as possible. Apacci and Yoshiro took off back home for the night both doing their best to ignore Isshin's demand for grandchildren as they did. Before long they were back at Yoshiro's house and it was well into the night once they arrived.
"Well, today was certainly something." Yoshiro mused as he took a seat on his couch.
"You can say that again and tomorrow is going to be just as full I think." Apacci mused "We have to head back to Urahara's for the gigai's for the others."
"I almost forgot about that."
"With that said," Apacci said before giving a yawn. "I'm gonna head off to bed."
"Alright, I'm gonna stay up for a bit longer." The blond replied.
Apacci gave a nod of her head and headed upstairs leaving Yoshiro by himself. The blond sat alone and thought about the day and as he did, one thing kept coming to mind. During the certain instances that had happened throughout the day, he had felt something strange. A strange presence in the back of his mind at first he had the thought it was just his mind messing with him. The problem with that was the presence appeared too frequently for that. Something had changed within his mind, but he didn't know what exactly. He thought about what he could do to help with this, and an idea entered his mind.
Meditation
He recalled hearing how meditation was an act of helping clear one's mind. While it did seem like a bit of a longshot it was at least worth attempting. So he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and focused on finding his center. Nothing seemed to happen at first but then he was caught by surprise.
"Hello, at last, my kit." He suddenly heard a female voice speak to him. Next thing he knew he felt a pull from within his mind and the world around him seemingly disappeared.
When Yoshiro came too and opened his eye's he noticed he was in some kind of dense forest. He was completely awe-struck really and confused by what had just happened. He stood in place dumbstruck before finally speaking.
"Where am I?"
"Inside your own inner world kit." Spoke the mysterious voice from before.
Yoshiro took note of how the voice sounded. It was feminine, it had an air of royalty of sorts to it, even more so than Sung-sun's high class-like tone. There was also a slight touch of an 'I am better than everyone else' like tone to it and yet there was also something of a predatory edge to it. Yoshiro looked to where the voice came from and gasped involuntarily at what he saw.
He saw a woman a few yards away from him. She was much taller than he was, she stood a little over nine-foot. She also had a perfect hourglass-like figure to go with it. She wore an elegant-looking kimono that was all white with black waves adorning it. The top of the kimono stopped at the edge of her shoulders and the front hung down a bit to show a fair amount of a rather ample bust. Her hair was pure white and styled in a short, spiky fanned-ponytail, that also went around from one side of her head to the other and hung a little in the front.
Her skin was also pure white, he also noticed the nails on her hands looked like claws of sorts and were black. Her eyes had pitch-black sclera, vertical slit pupils, eyes that were sickly gold. She also had what appeared to be whisker marks of sorts on her face. Four on the left and right sides, he noticed her teeth were pointed with prominent canines like a predator. She also had what appeared to be fox ears on the top of her head which were all white except the tips and insides that were a pitch-black color.
Finally, there was the most prominent feature to her which was saying something all things considered. She had what was unmistakably nine foxtails. Each one was a good six feet in length and stretched out in a fan-like formation behind her. They were all pure white except the last foot towards the tips were colored black. Overall, she looked just like some kind of humanoid nine-tailed fox. Yoshiro was for one of the few times in his life completely speechless.
"Welcome to your inner world kit." The fox woman spoke.
"Who are you?" He replied cautiously.
"My name isn't important kit especially considering you are not yet ready for it." She replied.
"Fine then, just what are you then?" Yoshiro asked inquisitively.
"Is it not obvious kit? I am your inner hollow of course."
"MY WHAT!?"
"Your inner hollow kit, and please don't yell it's quite rude." She casually retorted.
"How do I have an inner hollow?" He asked trying to keep calm.
"In truth, I do not know I only awoke a short time ago. How we came to be joined together, even I do not know. Only that I have been a part of you since birth but have been dormant most of your life." She stated.
"Wait a sec." He began to think to himself. "So these strange feelings I've been having lately, those were all because of you?"
"That's correct you've noticed since your trip to Hueco Mundo that you've been feeling different. You see it was your exposure to the hollow world and its energies that awoke me. She said with a matter-of-fact tone.
"This whole situation is completely fucking mad," Yoshiro said with some uncertainty in his voice.
The hollow fox woman laughed a bit and politely retorted. "You're free to leave whenever you want kit. you should know though while our power is small at the moment but, it will grow in time with proper care."
Yoshiro raised an eyebrow at that. "No offense but I'm still not sure I can completely trust you."
"An expected feeling," The fox woman mused as she steadily approached Yoshiro until she was standing in front of him. She took a hand a gently rested it on one of his shoulders. "Know this kit, I will not mislead you, I will not hurt you, I will always aim to help you. We are tied together by your very soul, your life is also my life. Should you ever perish for good I will as well, I do not wish such a fate for the two of us."
Yoshiro looked up and locked eyes with the hollow fox as he contemplated her words. After what seemed like minutes then he gave a sigh. "You know, I'm still a kind of lost about all this. As weird as I find this, I know that you're being honest with me." His answer brought a smile to the fox woman's face and he looked around more. "So, this is my subconscious basically? Not what I would've expected but I won't complain. The whole nature vibe is rather pleasant."
His inner hollow laughed lightly at his words. "I do find it very appealing myself as well."
Yoshiro looked around some more and found something rather odd in the middle of the forest. Off in the distance was what appeared to be some sort of water well, though the lid was closed and locked with chains. "What's with that?"
"Just another aspect of your inner world kit, nothing to be concerned with for now I assure you." She said with some firmness in her voice. Yoshiro thought that to be a bit odd but decided now wasn't the time to push it.
"So what happens now?" The mocha-skinned blond wondered.
"For now kit, it would be best for you to return to the real world. You and your mate have a busy day tomorrow after all." She spoke, "You will have plenty of time to visit and talk with me later."
Before Yoshiro could get a word in the world around him blurred into black. The next thing he knew he was back on his couch. "Huh, maybe it was all just a dream?" He muttered to himself.
"Hello kit" He heard from within his mind.
"So is this going to be a regular thing, with you talking to me in my head about everything constantly?" He thought to his inner hollow.
"Only when I feel I need to speak my voice on a matter kit, don't worry I won't annoy you, well not too much anyway." She said with a giggle.
"I can deal with that I think?"
"That's a good kit."
Yoshiro just grumbled a bit and started up the stairs to bed. While he was still trying to figure things there was one thing did know for sure. Things just kept getting more interesting day by day.
A/N: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story thus far. Things with Yoshiro keep digging deeper giving answers but also more questions. Not that he's the only one with such things going on with him as you noticed with the comments surrounding Uryu. Let me explain, as this's an OC story it is by virtue of that an AU as well. So I wanted to play with things a bit more in some ways. As to what I have planned with Uryu at the moment I'm not going to say but who his real mother in this story is I think will be rather surprising to you all. Also if you wondering what the song Yoshiro started before the phone call was. It's called "High Anxiety" by The Suicide Machines.
Not much else to say, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, please leave a review as they do help keep me motivated to write. Please like and fav if you have not already and stay safe, stay healthy. I'll see you next time. I'm out!
Edit 10/10/21