I dropped to my knees and rested on my forearms, sweat dripping from my forehead.
"Ariswana, again."
"How many times do I have to remind you to call me Swana, you bushy haired bastard?" I chided from my place on the ground. I heard Renji growl above me.
"Let her rest a minute, you're not going to make this process any faster by killing her first." Hisagi said from his perch above the training ground. I stood up and regarded both of them. I'd lived in the Soul Society for a little over a month and my power was becoming incredible. I had a tremendous amount of Reiatsu naturally dwelling within me, it was more about how to control it to my advantage.
"Look, I'm not willing to spend a year getting you into the academy, and you shouldn't take it so easy either. And stop insulting me!" Renji complained. Hisagi and I laughed at him as I grabbed my knees for support.
"It wouldn't be a true friendship without some teasing. Come on, let's go again." I said.
"I think that should be enough." a voice stated from the entrance to our training grounds. We all spun around and I saw both Renji and Hisagi bow.
"Ichimaru Taicho, what are you doing here?" Renji asked.
Captain, eh?
The man called Ichimaru stepped into the room and regarded me with a calculating and curious presence.
"Who's your friend?" he asked the others.
"Sir, this is Ariswana Thompson. I met her in the human world on a mission and unfortunately again soon after she was killed. She has incredible Reiatsu and an even more incredible resolve. I wanted to help her see her young sister again, so I've extended my help." Renji explained. He looked nervous, which made me nervous.
I looked up at Captain Ichimaru and cocked my head to the side, while extending my right hand.
"Captain Ichimaru, I am not fully familiarized with all customs of the Siritei so please forgive any unintentional informalities. I am Ariswana Thompson, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I said. Kill em' with kindness, right?
He leaned down to my height and got very close to my face, which immediately made me blush. He smelled strongly of a mixture of sandalwood and a fabric softener I used to use years ago.
"Well, Ms. Ariswana, the pleasure is all mine. I can sense your Reiatsu from here and you haven't even released it. That's promising. I wish you luck." he said. I couldn't help but blush again based on our proximity; I had to hand it to him, the captain was handsome and his voice a sultry purr. He turned to leave and put a hand up before stopping. "And Renji, Hisagi, you know I'll have to report this to Byakuya and Tousen, yes?" I could see both of them grimace and mumble their acknowledgement.
"Am I going to get you guys into trouble?" I asked. They both smiled at me and shrugged.
"It's nothing we can't handle, but the unfortunate part is that it seems we're out of time my friend." Hisagi said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if our captains find out where we've been going, they'll certainly be keeping a more watchful eye over us and we won't be able to come back. It's today or never, Swana." Renji said. I looked at their serious expressions and exhaled deeply.
"What's next, then?" I asked.
"We unleash the power within you." Hisagi said.
"You need to show as much resolve as you've got in you, Ariswana." Hisagi whispered as Renji prepared.
"You can call me Swana, Shuhei. We're close now, you're in." I said with a smile and a soft blush. Hisagi grinned ear to ear and threw an arm around my shoulders.
"Alright, come here." we walked over to where Renji stood. "Ariswana, I'm going to bind all of your limbs to prevent you from moving. Then, we will throw you into this hole." I put a hand up to stop him.
"I'm sorry, but WHAT are we doing that for?"
"Well, if you die from the fall itself then you had no chance to begin with." my breath caught in my throat and I was suddenly very nervous.
"Ah, yes, well…continue." I choked out.
"From there it gets a lot worse. We will then sever your spirit chain, which would kill any normal soul without reiatsu. It's up to you then to become a shinigami before the Hollow within you takes over."
"What happens if the Hollow wins?" I asked without looking at them.
"We kill you." Hisagi said from behind my shoulder. "Ariswana, we've only seen this done successfully once before, but we know you can do it." he cooed in my ear. I felt the goosebumps rise on the back of my neck; if this man was nothing else, he was smooth. It took only a second before I turned back to them with a triumphant smile.
"We're running out of time, right? Go ahead, bind me."
Thankfully in the end, Renji only bound my hands but left my legs free. I took a deep breath and gave a nod signaling I was truly ready. I heard someone exhale behind me and suddenly, I was free falling into the hole. I was prepared for it, but I still couldn't help but scream. I hit the ground hard and groaned; this method of travel was starting to grate on me.
"Swana, you alive?" I heard Hisagi call down.
"If you can count this as alive, then yes."
I got to my feet as the two of them descended to face me. I spit one last bunch of dirt from my mouth and smirked. "Let's do it."
Renji approached me cautiously and cried out as he swung his sword to sever my spirit chain. The pain was excruciating and not something I could have possibly prepared for. I started screaming and desperately trying to get my hands free. My lungs were aflame and my heart was beating rapidly; this was truly what I imagined death to feel like. A bone-like substance began to flow into my mouth.
No! The Hollow is overtaking my spirit, I have to stop it!
As my skin felt that it was being pierced with thousands of tiny swords, I felt myself beginning to lose consciousness. I held on for as long as I possibly could, but eventually succumbed to the darkness.
I awoke to the sound of running water and the smell of roses. I opened my eyes and was no longer in pain. Is this true death? I sat up from my position on the ground and took in my surroundings. Renji and Hisagi were nowhere to be found. It was nighttime and the moon was so close, I felt I could touch it. Different trees surrounded me and a river the color of moonlight flowed gently beside me. Where was I?
"Hello, Ariswana. I've waited a long time to meet you." a gentle voice spoke from behind me. I spun around and saw a beautiful woman sitting in the tree closest to me. She had hair longer than my own that was stark white, and she wore a white flowing gown that exposed her legs. She smiled gently at me as she hopped down soundlessly from the tree branch.
"What is this place? And who are you?" I asked the angelic figure.
"Once you learn and can speak my name, the true power dwelling inside of you shall be awakened. But do not delay, we run out of time as we speak. Say my name!" she cried as the scene started to fade away. I was landing back in the pit; back with the pain.
I was back in my body and back to screaming again, except now I was choking on the bone fragments adhering to my face and throat.
How am I supposed to know her name?! I looked across the pit and noticed a beautiful sword sticking out of the ground; the hilt was crusted in sapphire and white stones of ice. I struggled towards it even as I felt my body turning to Hollow bone.
I finally reached the sword and with all of my remaining strength, grabbed the hilt.
OH! OH that's it!
Through the bone in my throat, I cried out, "cry to the wind, Tsuyoi Ishi!" and the world ignited into a flash.
I heard only silence as my screams had stopped. I was back to my normal self, but my vision was blocked by something.
"Renji!" I called, but the voice that came out wasn't my own. I climbed my way out of the hole with greater ease than I was expecting and looked for my friends. I found them a ways away staring at me, with their hands on their swords. Behind them were two additional men, accompanied by Captain Ichimaru.
"Renji…I can't tell what happened. Do we kill her?" I heard Hisagi whisper. I cried out but the strange voice was still coming out of me.
"Of course you do, she's lost within her own Hollow." the man with black hair beside Renji stated matter-of-factly. I began to panic, it was me! Why couldn't they see that?
I glanced down into a puddle and caught my own reflection and screamed. I had the face of a Hollow! Without thinking twice, I grabbed Tsuyoi Ishi and smashed her hilt into my face to break it apart. The mask crumbled at my feet, and while my eyes remained black momentarily, they could all see that I was in control.
"Stop, it's me! I'm whole, I am not a Hollow!" I cried with my hands up. I realized that my outfit had changed too; I was wearing something similar to the others, just in more of a Kimono style.
The others cautiously approached me as Renji grabbed my hand.
"Are you really Ariswana? How can we trust you?" he asked. I looked at all of their faces frantically and shook my head.
"I don't know how else to prove it." I lifted my sword and presented it to him. "This is my Zanpakuto, Tsuyoi Ishi." Renji and Hisagi exchanged a look and then looked to the others.
"We never told her what the Zanpakuto was called and she'd have no way of knowing. She has to be telling the truth." I let out the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.
Captain Ichimaru approached me first and got down to eye level with me.
"Well now, you're much prettier now that you're dressed appropriately, aren't you?" I blushed in response. "I'm pleasantly surprised, and a little excited." he whispered the last portion in my ear, causing an even deeper blush. "This one has some real potential, I say we let her into the academy."
The others looked down at me with looks of disgust, but I at least had three of them on my side.
"What do you say?" Ichimaru asked. I looked into his eyes that were now just open enough that I could tell they were blue-green. I inhaled his scent of sandalwood and immediately felt calmer before I looked over at Renji and Hisagi and smiled.
"I would be honored." I replied.