"No! Keep away!"
The old man ran for his afterlife, trailed by a twelve foot long monster. He turned a corner into a narrow alleyway, hoping the creature's size would prevent it from moving quickly.
He stopped running as he found the alley to be a dead end.
"Figures." He muttered. "Could never catch a break while I was alive. Why start now that I'm dead?"
He turned around. The monster was already bearing down on him. He winced as it attacked.
To his shock, the monster split in two from the head down. The pieces began to dissipate even as they hit the ground.
"Hmph. Maybe today's my lucky day after all."
"How'd it go?" Rukia asked at lunch.
"Fine." Toshiro answered. "One small hollow and a konso. Anyone notice I was gone?"
"No."
"Good." Toshiro sat down.
"Toshiro…" Rukia said awkwardly.
"What is it?"
"How do you drink this?" she asked, holding up a juice carton.
Toshiro gaped at her. "Are you serious?"
"I'm still getting used to human customs."
"Wow. Do you see the straw?"
"What's a straw?"
It took all of Toshiro's self control not to face-palm. "It's the tube thing attached to the side. Poke the opening with it."
"Oh! I was wondering what that was for?" Rukia frowned. "Now where do I poke it?"
"Just give it to me." Toshiro said exasperatedly.
"Oh, thank you!" She took a sip. "This is good!"
Rukia put down the box when she was done drinking. "I'm impressed. Humans make even their food products require a degree of coordination and thought to use."
Toshiro shook his head, unable to keep himself from smiling. "I never thought of it that way."
"Before a Shinigami can learn kido," Rukia said as she circled Toshiro, whose eyes were closed in concentration, "he must first master his reiatsu.
"Complete control. No unconscious leaking of spirit power, no sudden bout of fatigue from using too much, too quickly."
Toshiro grimaced from the effort. As Rukia continued to walk around him a circle of white, flowing paper threads surrounded him.
"Good. Control your reiatsu, and you will be able to manipulate it in ways you cannot yet imagine. And more importantly, you will no longer radiate any for a hollow to pick up on and target."
Toshiro, his eyes still closed, raised one hand and gripped one of the threads.
"You found your spirit thread. Unlike those of human souls, the threads of Shinigami are red instead of white."
Toshiro took a deep breath and let go of the thread. He opened his eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"This is going to be more difficult than I imagined."
Chad fell on his face. He could not hear the monster behind him speak.
"Stay down this time and let me eat you."
"I don't know what you are," Chad said while rising, "but I won't let you target little kids anymore."
The hollow laughed. "What are you going to do about it? You can't even see-arg!"
Chad punched the air directly above where he had previously been standing, connecting with the hollow's face. It fell backwards.
"All right." Chad said. "That hit. Finally"
"Ugh!" the hollow moaned. "You cracked my mask, you bastard! I-I'll kill you for that!"
The next thing Chad knew, a shadow had appeared in front of him. Within seconds the street had turned quiet.
'What happened?' Chad wondered.
"That silhouette, was that-?"
'No. Not this dream again.'
Toshiro stood in the icy plain, struggling against the wind. The voice was resounding louder than ever.
"Oh…my…"
Walking toward him was the largest monster he had ever seen, larger than all of the hollows he had fought. More than twenty-five feet tall, with a forty foot wingspan, it was bright blue all over except for its glowing, red eyes.
Child
"Wh-what are you? S-some sort of dragon?"
Do think you are capable of wielding me
"I don't understand!" Toshiro yelled.
My name is
The winds reached a new level in intensity, blowing Toshiro off of his feet and carrying him away.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Toshiro awoke in terror.
'Those dreams stopped after I got those powers from Rukia. Why start up again? And why was this one more intense than any of the others?' He looked at his hands.
'I can't stop shaking.'
"Huh?"
Toshiro glared at his window.
'Was there someone watching me just now?'
A man in a funny hat sat on a roof several houses away, examining his hand. It was covered in a thin layer of frost.
"So it's begun." He said, pulling the brim of his hat down. "But will he awaken in time?"
Orihime ran for her life.
"Oh, why is this happening again?"
"Such spirit power!" the monster behind her roared. "You smell so good!"
"If you're hungry," Orihime called back, "I can make you an omelet cake with mushrooms at my place! It's delicious!"
The monster actually stopped as it pictured the meal in its head.
"Ugh! Just thinking about that is disgusting! What's wrong with you, girl?"
"At least I eat food and not people!"
"Well I-"
Orihime stared as the monster began to disapate. It was only for an instant, but she was certain she saw-
"Toshiro?"
Toshiro knocked on the door of Rukia's closet.
"Hey, Rukia."
"What is it?"
"I just got this DVD. Do you want to watch it with me?"
"Very well. I'm still trying to learn more about human customs."
They sat on Toshiro's bed as he inserted the DVD into his laptop.
Two hours later, Toshiro and Rukia could barely contain their laughter.
"Oh, I don't think I've laughed so much in my entire life." Rukia said.
"Yeah. That Edna character was genius."
"Are all human movies this funny?" Rukia asked.
"No." Toshiro's expression grew serious.
"What for?" Rukia asked, confused. "You showed me the movie, not the other way around."
"I've never had a friend to watch movies with. It's a different experience from watching them by myself."
Rukia's expression also became serious. "Sure. Um, I'm getting tired. I'm gonna go to bed."
Rukia shut the closet door and lay on her back on the mat she slept on.
"So we're friends now." She said to herself.
Tatskui wiped the blood from her lip.
"Dammit. If I could only see this thing I could smash it!'
"Them's the breaks, girlie." The hollow said, lifting Tatsuki off the ground. She struggled against its grip, to no avail.
Suddenly the monster dropped her. Tatsuki, not expecting the fall, was unable to brace herself, making the landing hurt far more than it should have.
"Arg!" the hollow screamed. "What's this thing holding me!?"
Tatsuki aimed a punch at where she had judged the monster to be, but her hand struck only air.
"Where'd it go?" she wondered, looking around.
Watching from a tree branch above, Rukia smiled.
"Are you proud?" a voice behind her asked. "He casted that bakudo spell perfectly."
Rukia spun around, but there was no one there.
"Urahara." She breathed.
Toshiro drew a graph at his desk, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Rukia asked.
"Hollows haven't attacked me or my family since I started controlling my reiatsu, but four of my classmates seem to have abnormally high spirit energy as well, and three of them have come under repeated attacks."
"What about the fourth?"
"I don't know." Toshiro said. "It's strange that hollows would ignore someone with as much reiatsu as the other three.
"Orihime, especially, seems like a favorite target."
"Maybe." Rukia said sympathetically. "But you're doing fine. I don't think they'll be in much danger if you keep doing what you're doing."
"That's not the problem."
"Then what is?"
"I'm afraid."
Rukia's eyes narrowed. "Afraid of what?"
"Of someone getting hurt because I messed up."
"Most Shinigami experience that kind of fear once in a while."
"No, I mean, when you and Orihime got hurt trying to protect me, it-it reminded me of Momo."
"Momo?"
"My older sister. About two years ago, I still couldn't tell the difference between living people and ghosts. I was walking with Momo when I saw this girl who looked like she was about to jump into the river. I ran towards her to try to save her, and the next thing I knew, Momo-Momo was dead."
"Toshiro…"
"What are you going to say? Are you going to tell me that it wasn't my fault? Don't bother. I know it was. I can't let something like that happen again."
Rukia nodded, looking away.
'I keep forgetting how young he is. To be so motivated by a misplaced sense of guilt.
'He may be an exceptional child, but he still just a child nonetheless.'
"Orihime." Chad said, opening his door.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." Orihime went over to Chad's couch.
"What is it?"
"Um, I wanted to talk to you about Toshiro?"
"Toshiro…Hitsugaya?"
Orihime nodded. "Yes. You're the only person he's been on sort-of-friendly terms with, so I thought maybe you'd be the person to talk to."
"Doubtful." Chad said. "He and I were never close."
"But…have you noticed anything strange about him lately?"
"What do you mean?"
"Since Rukia joined our class, a lot of strange things have been happening, and they seem to revolve around Toshiro."
Chad nodded. "I agree."
"And-I've been attacked by these monsters twice in the past month, and I think Toshiro saved me both times."
"I had a similar experience." Chad said thoughtfully. "I couldn't make out the monster, but I could feel it, and I saw an image that looked like Toshiro before the monster disappeared."
"I could see them pretty clearly."
Chad looked away, thinking.
"What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, you won't go to Karakura Town!?"
The smaller hollow cowered in fear.
"Didn't you hear? That place is under the protection of a serious Shinigami! It must be a lieutenant or something! Hollows are dropping like flies the-chk!"
The smaller hollow faded away, having been gutted through the head.
"Hmmm. A powerful Shinigami. Sounds tasty. I think it's time a paid another visit to Karakura town myself."
"Hey, Rukia! Toshiro!"
"What is it, Orihime?" Rukia asked.
"Would you guys like to have lunch with us? You're always eating by yourselves."
"Um," Rukia said, looking at Toshiro, who shrugged, "sure. Why not?"
"Great! You can try out my new recipe! Peanut butter with olives and anchovies cooked with-"
'Who knew school could be so much fun?' Rukia thought as she lay in her closet.
'Orihime makes good food, even if it is a little…interesting. She's actually pretty nice. All the girls who hang out with her are.'
Beep….beep…beep.
Rukia took out her cell phone, thinking that she was receiving an order about another hollow nearby.
Good job hunting hollows in area 422. The text message read. The brass is pleased with your performance. You are ordered to return to the Soul Society for debriefing and reassignment.
Toshiro pulled the door of the closet open. "Is there a hollow?"
Rukia tried to smile, but found that she could barely even pretend.
"No. Just my phone telling me I need new batteries."
"Ah. What brings the illustrious Rukia Kuchiki to my humble shop?"
"Cut the crap, Urahara." Rukia said. "Is the item I ordered in yet?"
"As it is, it just arrived yesterday!" Urahara Kisuke exclaimed happily. "Ururu!"
A little girl, at most twelve years old, appeared behind him. "Yes, manager?"
"Would you be a dear and bring up one of the items in the box downstairs marked 'new goods?'"
"Yes." She said enthusiastically and ran off.
"Is there anything else you need?" Urahara asked.
"Batteries for my phone, and something for my gigai." Rukia said. "This one's beginning to fail."
"Hm. I can provide, but that won't solve the problem." He looked at Rukia sternly. "Your powers still haven't returned, and by now your assignment must be close to its end. You can't hide yourself or him much longer."
"I know that."
"And this item you ordered," Urahara pressed. "Do you plan on having him continue after you've gone?"
Rukia looked away.
"That I don't know."
"Here." Rukia said between classes, holding up a round, green pill.
"What's this?" Toshiro asked.
"It's an artificial soul. It can allow you to turn into a Shinigami when I'm not around, and it can pretend to be you until you get back, so you don't have to worry about being missed."
"So, I'm basically letting someone else take over my body?"
"For a short time. You'd get it back. Artificial souls don't care about staying in a body for long."
"Can I at least wait until there's a hollow to try it out?"
At that very moment, Rukia's cell phone began to beep.
"Speak of the devil." Toshiro sighed and swallowed the pill.
Toshiro popped out of his body, which fell forwards.
"This is creepy." He said as he watched his body get up on its own.
"Hello." The soul inside Toshiro's body said cheerfully. "I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya, eleven years old."
"Let's go." Rukia said.
"Um, all right. But you, um, me, whatever, don't get me into any trouble, okay?"
The soul saluted. "You got it, boss!"
But as Toshiro ran off after Rukia, he smiled mischievously.
"I hope that soul we left in my body is all right." Toshiro said as he and Rukia returned.
"Don't worry." Rukia said. "Artificial souls know how to behave themselves."
As they entered the school grounds, they heard a girl's scream.
"You were saying?" Toshiro asked dryly.
"Why you little-" Tatsuki screamed, lifting a desk.
"What?" the soul in Toshiro's body asked. "It was just a kiss."
Tatsuki roared, throwing the desk at him. He dodged it easily.
"Whoa. That's dangerous."
"You-you kissed her?"
The soul turned to see Toshiro crouching in the window.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"Of course it is! Look at the body you're in!"
"What about it?"
"It's eleven years old!"
"Oh," the soul said. "Right. Yeah, that could be a problem."
"Who's he talking to?" several kids in the classroom asked. Orihime, however could not fail to notice the boy in black enter through the window.
'What's going on?' she wondered. 'Why are there two Toshiros?'
"You've caused enough trouble." Toshiro said, attempting to grab the soul. It turned to the door, to find Rukia already there.
"Give it up." She said. "There's nowhere to go."
The soul looked between them, then hit Toshiro with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying through row after row of school desks.
"Toshiro!" Rukia and Orihime screamed. The rest of the class assumed that they had reacted in terror to his knocking furniture over without touching it rather than the fact that it was him who was kicked through it.
"Ta ta!" the soul said, leaping out of the window.
Toshiro ran to the window to follow, but the soul was running away at an inhuman speed.
"Man," Toshiro said, "he's fast."
'But he shouldn't be.' Rukia thought. 'Unless he's, but he couldn't be.'
"A mod soul?"
"About a hundred years ago, the Soul society initiated an experiment to create artificial souls for the purpose of battling hollows. Each modified soul would have a special enhancement that would be useful in battle. But the project was scrapped and the mod souls ordered destroyed."
"Even though they were alive?"
"That was the ruling of the Soul Society." Rukia said. "And their laws are absolute."
"That's a load of bull." Toshiro shot at her. "It does explain what he's doing, though. This is the only freedom he's ever known."
"You're probably right. I'll have to have a word with Urahara about the quality of his products."
"Who's Urahara?"
"This is great!" the mod soul yelled, leaping through the air with his modified power, extremely strong legs.
"This power I was given, it fits the whole idea of freedom perfectly! Wahoo!" He did a summersault in midair and landed on the roof of a ten story building.
"And this stamina! I've been jumping around for almost an hour and I'm not tired at all!" He looked out over the city. "Now where should I go now?"
"Come to me, Shinigami."
The mod soul froze.
"Please tell me that's just you making a scary voice, Toshiro. I can explain."
He felt the breath on the back of his neck.
"Whoa!" he yelled spinning around. "You're not Toshiro."
"No, Shinigami. I found you."
"Um, there must be some mistake. I'm not a Shinigami!"
"Do not lie to me, little Shinigami. You have the highest reiatsu in this city. Only a Shinigami can leap as you do."
"C-crap." The mod soul muttered.
"Are you going to leave that gigai and fight me with your true power?"
"I told you, I can't! I'm not a Shinigami!"
"So be it. I will eat you as you are."
Furry tendrils seized the mod soul from all sides. He screamed and struggled, but was carried towards a set of waiting jaws.
"Figures you'd attract even more trouble."
There was a flash of light as the tendrils were severed. The mod soul was pulled away from the hollow.
"T-Toshiro!" the mod soul breathed in relief.
"That's my body you almost got eaten there." Toshiro said firmly. "You need to be a lot more careful."
"S-sure!"
"This one's a lot bigger than the others." Toshiro observed. The hollow had the form of a giant, furry rodent, except for the head, which besides for being oversized even for a hollow was human shaped. "Uglier too."
At the other side of the roof, Rukia gaped in shock.
"Hey, Rukia. What's wrong?"
"Th-that's the Grand Fisher!"