Chapter 2
*500 years later*
After he appeared, I visited Ashido everyone few years. But, after all these years, the Soul Reapers have either forgotten the deal or newer ones haven't even heard about the deal. Meaning it's harder for me to see him and that I can't come and go to the Soul Society as I please without Soul Reapers chasing after me. Also, Ashido told me that something 'bad' happened in the Soul Society, so now isn't a good time to visit anyway. So today, I decided to head to the World of the Living. It's been awhile since I've gone there, but I know that the best place to look for some good dead souls is in this place called Karakura Town. It seems to be the place where most souls go to now.
When I get there through the Garganta, I take my time to find some good dead souls. I still have to honor my deal with the Royal Guard even the Soul Reapers won't even look into that deal anymore. Which means I can't eat living human souls, but I wouldn't anyway. As I've said before, I don't like killing unless necessary. Anyway, as I was still looking for souls to eat, something caught my attention. It was hard to explain, but it was some kind of scent. It seemed to be coming from on direction, so I decided to go where I smelled it. After running around Karakura Town for awhile, I found where the smell was coming from. For some reason, it was coming from this small shop that had a sign on it which said 'Urahara Shop.
"Urahara? Hm, why does that name sound familiar?" I said, scratching my head.
I could've sworn that name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I began to walk towards the store which had its' door wide open. I was about to get closer, but I stopped myself when I noticed something. I backed up and looked closer at the building. Somehow I missed the giant barrier that was around the place.
"A barrier? why would a small shop like this need one." I said.
Like the child I appeared to be, I walked around the small building and looked at the barrier from all angles. It was definitely made by an expert, and it was meant to keep certain being out. I wonder who these people are, and who are they hiding from. Maybe someone will come out if I wait here for a bit.
"Hey kid. Just what are you doing here?" someone said.
I looked around, but didn't see anyone. That was when multiple people came out from inside the building. There was a guy with blonde short hair, a little girl with blonde hair tied on her head, a girl with green hair in a white jumpsuit, a muscular guy with white short hair, a big guy with pink hair and a mustache, a guy with his hair pointing out and wears sunglasses, a girl with her in a braid and wearing a school girl's outfit, and a guy with flowing blonde hair in a fancy looking outfit.
"Oh, so there are people here. Hi, I'm Zera." I said, trying to be polite.
"Seriously? You meet random strangers and you give your name first?" the girl with blonde said. She actually seems kind of rude now.
"In a bad mood again, Hiyori?" the straight haired blonde guy said. So, her name is Hiyori.
"Hey Shinji, look." the girl with green hair said, pointing at me. That guy is called Shinji, making some progress.
Anyway, what the girl was most likely pointing at what my mask. I mean, not many kids walk around wearing- Hold on a minute! My mask! They see my mask! They see me! But, how!? They just look like any regular humans to me.
"Wait, how can you people see me?" I said. But, they didn't even seem to care about my question.
"Yeah, I see it." the one called Shinji said.
He started taking steps towards me and, somehow, that was just when I noticed he and a few of them were carrying swords on them. Now that I think about it, I did sense as many spirit energies as there number of people here. Swords, seeing me, and high energy. Could they be Soul Reapers?! I do remember hearing about these things called gigais that allow Soul Reapers to take a human form. But, they're spirit energies, they resemble my own in some way. Are they Arrancars too?
"Hey, are you guys Soul Reapers or Arrancars?" I asked. But, when I asked that, Shinji suddenly lunged at me, drawing his sword and swinging it at me. I jumped back in time when he did, even though me being shocked di slow me for a few moments. I stumbled backwards before regaining my footing.
"Hey! What was that for!?" I shouted. Shinji stood tall again and put his sword on his shoulder.
"Oh please. That mask and hole in your stomach is an obvious give away that your a Hollow. And all Hollows only have on thing in mind." Shinji said.
Gah! Of course, typical! People always stereotyping Hollows. That most definitely rules out that these guys are my own kind. Before I could say anything about that, however, that girl, Hiyori, now lunged at me. She drew her sword that was on her back and tried swing it down right on top of me. This time I just stopped it by crossing my arms over my head and have the sword land on them.
"Hollow or not, you seem just like a little kid to me." Hiyori said. Ok, that ticked me off.
"'Little kid'? Have you looked in mirror lately, girly?" I said, crossing my arms. Sadly, she was slightly taller than me, so I had to look upwards.
"Girly!? Why you little brat! I should give you a proper spanking for that!" Hiyori shouted, shaking her fist at me.
"A spanking!? I'll have you know, I'm not the kid here, you brat!" I shouted back.
"I'm the brat!? Get your eyes checked, squirt!" Hiyori shouted.
"'Squirt'?" I slightly growled. She then jumped away from when I pushed her sword off of my arms.
"Look, no matter what, I won't hurt you guys. But, I'm not leaving until I get some answers either." I said.
"Then looks like we have problem." the school girl said.
After that, all of the people before me drew their swords. Before I knew it, I was dodging blades from all directions, along with the big guy using Kido, Hado, and Bakudo. I few times I had a jump high up, release some energy to break the guy's spells, or use my arms to protect myself, but no real damage was done to me. After awhile, I began feeling a little out of breath even if I haven't thrown a punch. But, at least the people I was up against were in even more tired than I appeared to be.
"Dammit! How long have we've been at this girl!?" Hiyori moaned.
"I don't know. But this girl obviously isn't any normal Hollow or Arrancar." the guy with his hair sticking out said.
"We knew that, Love. That's why we're doing this. And it looks like the way we are isn't enough." Shinji said. Really, that guy's name is Love? Sheesh. What's happened throughout the years? Hold on, 'the way we are'? What's that supposed to mean?
"What are you guys talking about?" I asked.
Most of them glared at me while they others just stared at me with different emotions in their eyes. Sorry for asking then! Then they all suddenly placed their hands over their faces. What the heck are they doing? Wait a minute, what's this energy I'm sensing? It...it feels just like...a Hollow's. Just who are these guys!? As I thought that, very small pieces of this weird white substance began forming. I already have a bad feeling about this.
"Now just hold on a sec!" someone exclaimed.
That caused all of the people surrounding me to stop doing whatever they were doing and the small amount of white substance that began covering their faces vanished. I guess we all heard whoever called out because we all looked in the same direction, which was at the store's entrance. As we all watched the opened doorway, footsteps could be heard coming towards the door. When the person who the voice belonged to, I assumed, I swear I almost fell flat on my face. It was a man with cane, clogs, and was wearing mostly green clothing, along with a weird top-hat that pretty much covered his eyes.
"Now, now. There's no need for fighting." the guy in green said, walking in my direction.
"What do you think your doing, Kisuke?" Shinji said.
Kisuke was the guy's name, huh? Wait, hold on. Urahara. , his name must be Kisuke Urahara...Kisuke Urahara...Kisuke Urahara. That name... It's familiar. Hm...That's it! Kisuke Urahara, he was the man in charge of Squad 12, and he and many others were banished from the Soul Society!
"Wait, your Kisuke Urahara? The same Kisuke Urahara that was exiled from the Soul Society?" I asked.
"Heh, seems like you found a perceptive one, Kisuke." another voice said.
This one was more feminine. After a few moments, I assumed the woman who's voiced we heard came out. She had short purple hair and dark skin. I've seen her before too, but where? Gah! I need to refresh my information in the Soul Society. Whatever, I'll pay Ashido a visit later.
"What can I say, Yoruichi. My experiments usually have a tendency of succeeding." Kisuke said.
Yoruichi!? 'Flash Master' Yoruichi!? She must've been the other one too have gotten exiled. Damn, what did these guys do? My thoughts were soon broken when I noticed Kisuke standing in front of me. I knew to careful with both of them. They were both captains after all. I saw home walk closer to me and I stayed on guard, but that instinct completely faded when he actually started patting me on the head.
"My, my. You sure are a feisty one, aren't you? Now, why don't you come in for some tea." Kisuke said.
"...Huh?" I said. Around me, all of the people who were attacking me fell face first on the ground. Looks like they didn't take it well either.
"You've got to be kidding me! Just what the hell are you planning Kisuke!?" Hiyori shouted after getting back onto her feet.
"Don't worry. It'll all be explained once inside." Kisuke said, already pushing me inside. So, I don't get a say in this?
Well, I guess I'm finally beginning to understand the situation I'm in. Apparently, Kisuke used this weird bait he created for Arrancars specifically and when he and all the other people here sensed my spirit energy, they used the bait. And the barrier around the shout was just to conceal the spirit energy of those inside, but it was experimental. Also, the people who were outside were these people called Visords. There was obviously Shinji, Hiyori, and Love. I was told the others were called Rojuro, Mashiro, Lisa, Hachigen, and Kensei.
"Oh yeah. And the one who put up the barrier is Tessai." Kisuke said, gesturing to a big man who just walked in setting cups down in the table.
"Welcome to our shop, ma'am." Tessai said, giving a small bow. I was glad he spoke to me properly, but saying 'ma'am' makes me feel old. Still, I thanked him for it and he sat down beside Kisuke.
"Well, thanks for the explanation. But, why are you actually having me here?" I asked. Somehow, everyone who was outside and I were sitting around this table while sitting on the floor and drinking some tea.
"You see, the reason for our meeting is that I need to study Arrancars to be able to improve the Hogyoku." Kisuke explained. The Hogyoku?
"What the heck is that?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.
"It's a special item that breaks down the barriers between Soul Reaper and Hollow powers." Kisuke said. Hearing that, I ended up spitting out all the liquid in my mouth. It ended up getting all over Shinji, who was sitting across from me, but that wasn't important right now!
"Break down the barriers?" I questioned.
"That's right. And since Arrancars and other levels of Hollows posses this quality, I need to study them. But, there aren't many of them around since the Soul Society has teams sent out to kill them as soon as they get a reading on them in the World of the Living." Kisuke said.
"You don't have to tell me that." I muttered. That was the one bad thing about how my kind and I live. If we get hungry, we would usually attack humans, so the Soul Reapers would kill us.
"Speaking of Hollows, how come these people here have some spirit energy similar to Hollow?" I asked.
"Oh, that's because after a certain, um, 'incident', these eight have become Visords. Soul Reapers that are capable of Hollowfication." Kisuke said.
"Hollowfication? Is that what they were trying to do?" I asked.
"Yes, and that's another reason why we interrupted your little fight outside. They all still need to master that power." Yoruichi said. She was pretty much scolding them like they were children. Glad I'm her good side. She could probably be terrifying if someone gets on her bad side.
"So, this Hollowfication thing. You want to be able to give more people this power?" I said.
"That's right. We're actually hoping that you would help us with our research, so we would need you to come by often, if you don't mind." Kisuke explained.
I began thinking about his offer. That would give me more things to do now that my training has pretty much reached its' peak and, from what he's saying, it sounds like Hollows and Soul Reapers could actually begin to start to get along more. I really do want to see the day when my kind aren't slaughtered for just existing. He actually seems to get that Hollows aren't just mindless monsters.
"Alright Kisuke. You've got yourself a deal." I said, extending my hand over the table. Just before Kisuke grasped my hand, someone slammed their hand on the table.
"Now just hold a second! You actually want to perfect that thing!? And what'll you do with it anyway if you perfect it, huh!?" Hiyori shouted, continuously slamming her hand on the table. I swear, that girl needs to get her temper checked.
"She may be a little harsh, but Hiyori does have a point." Shinji said. My grip started to tighten on my cup.
"Yeah, and how do you know people would want this power anyway? They are the power of Hollows." Kensei said. Alright. That ticked me off.
"And just what's so bad about Hollow powers?" I asked, slightly glaring at them as I rose to my feet. I didn't give them a chance to answer before speaking again.
"You think I don't know what you people think of Hollows? I've heard it all. But have you ever talked to one? Did you ever think all of those things people say about us is wrong? For your information, Hollows are just like any other soul that's passed on. We lose our memories, we can have families with kids, brothers, sisters, and parents, and we have friends. We're not monsters, so stop talking about us like that!" I said, yelling the final part.
As I looked at the Visords after my outburst, I could see shock and bewilderment on their faces. They probably didn't think a child like me could actually give people like the a stern talking to. Maybe they're also considering what I was saying to be true.
"I...I guess we were a little harsh on the subject of Hollows." Shinji muttered while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Y-yeah. W-we could reconsider." Hiyori said, not making eye contact. I looked at the others and, even though they appeared to be nervous, I could tell they agreed. Lisa was the first to approach me and actually patted me on the head like Kisuke did.
"Heh. For a little kid, you have some guts." Lisa said. I nervously looked down at my feet because of the way she was looking at me. It was one of the first times someone smiled proudly at me.
"Wah, she's so cute~! Hey, can I call you my little sister!? Please!" Mashiro squealed, suddenly hugging me. I nervously laughed, but agreed to her 'request'.
"Well, since everything's settled, Zera, you are free to go. But remember, please come by here every now and then." Kisuke said. Once I pried myself out of Mashrio's surprisingly tight hug, I gave a small bow, since that's what I've seen people do in respect, and began leaving.
"Hey Zera." Yoruichi called out.
I stopped just outside of the door and looked back at her. She had been so quiet that I almost forgot she was here. When I looked at her, she flashed a smile at me and gave me a two fingered salute. I stared at her for a few seconds, but I soon smiled back at her and gave her a small wave. Once I did, I opened the Garganta and returned to Hueco Mundo. When I got there, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of my new friends. Things really are changing in all of the worlds. I wonder what'll happen next.