Captain Kyla: Chapter 4

Quiet of the night

Standing on the porch, I watch him walk away until I could no longer see him. I turn to go back inside. As I open the door, I see Jade and Toshiro asleep on the couch, her head on his shoulder and his head on hers. The TV was showing Twilight, the human movie my lieutenant is obsessed with. I turn the TV off and grab the blanket that was lying on the love seat to cover the two up, and then I turned the lights off on the sleeping duo.

I head to the kitchen for a cup of tea. Drinking my cup of tea, I think about the mission Captain Yamamoto assigned us.

Why do we have to stay for three months just to clean up Hollows? This place has been almost desolate of Hollows since the war ended. So what is the real reason the old man sent us? He knows something that he's not telling us. I wonder maybe if…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

That's my Hollow alert! Shit, where did I put that stupid thing? I thought about searching my pockets for my soul pager. It wasn't in the bedroom, not in my jacket, and not at Renji's. Suddenly I remember that I had taken it out and put it on the table by the door. Quickly I run to the table and grab the small device. I wondered why the sleeping duo's pagers didn't go off as well. Jade probably still has hers packed and if I looked inside her room I'd probably see a buzzing suitcase. How she manages to remember her name is a mystery. As for Toshiro… Refocusing my thoughts, I reach into my pocket for my soul candy and pop one in my mouth, exiting my gigai that I had been wearing all day.

"Yuki, don't wake them. I'll be back soon." I order in a whispered tone to the temporary soul. It nodded in reply and headed toward my room. Slipping quietly out the door, I head out. Using shunpo to jump along the roof tops, I searched for any trace of spiritual pressure. Unable to sense any, I keep heading toward the location on the pager. Finally, after jumping from roof to roof, I start to sense the spiritual pressure of a weak Hollow, but I'm unable to get exact lock on its location. I look at the glowing device in my hand to see how close I was, just a few blocks away. Relying on the pager to give me a definite direction, I head toward the weak spiritual pressure. One more roof over, I approach slowly, concealing my spiritual pressure as I crouch over the edge of the roof to see a blue six armed humanoid-like Hollow harassing the soul of a young boy it was about to eat.

I listen to the two, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Leave me alone!" The boy cried in a shaky voice, slowly backing away from the Hollow.

"So hungry… Must eat…" The Hollow rasped out while moving toward the boy. Its back was faced towards me and I use this to my advantage.

I pull Ayristinara out of her scabbard and leapt off the roof onto the back of the six armed Hollow, taking it by surprise. Before it had a chance to grab me with its arms, I run Ayristinara though the back of its head into its mask. Warm blood runs down the hilt of my sword, coating my hand as I pull her out of the dying Hollow. Wiping the blood on my hakama, I jump off the Hollow's head and turn to the soul, blade ready to perform a konso.

I walked toward the scared soul hiding in the corner of a nearby dumpster, realizing that he'd probably witnessed me kill the Hollow. I smile and offer him my hand. "It's alright. I'm here to help you." I say soothingly to the soul.

He looks at me with tears in his eyes, watching me for a few minutes and trying to judge if I was a threat. Suddenly, he wraps his arms around my waist. I stand there with my hands in the air unsure of what to do. I've never done many konsos except when I was in the academy, so I waited as hot tears soak my shirt and muffled sobs fill my ears. The poor soul is scared to death. Tentatively, I put a hand on his head, slowly stroking his hair. Finally he stops. Slowly he looks up at me with red and swollen eyes.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask, looking down at the soul.

"What do you mean? Go where?" The soul asks hands locked in my shirt afraid to let go.

"I'm going to help you move on to Soul Society, where you will be protected from those things." I explain, pointing to the Hollow on the ground, spirit particles still floating from it as it lay dying.

After a few moment of silent contemplation, the soul replies softly, "Okay."

Placing the hilt of Ayristinara to the soul's forehead, he slowly begins to dissolve. I stand watching as the last bits of the soul disappear into the air, traveling to Soul Society and to a new life. After the last particle is lost to my sight, I start walking towards home. I listen to the sounds of nothing and watch the stars in the open sky as I walk. Breathing in the cool night air, I enjoy the quiet peace of the night on my journey home.

Finally reaching my house, I slip inside the door, seeing Jade and Toshiro still sound asleep on the couch where I left them. I head to my room. Walking down the hall I see light coming out of the doorway that is my room. It doesn't sound like Yuki is up so why is the light on? Maybe she is up but is being quiet. Impossible Yuki is never quiet. I wonder what she's doing or has done. Guess I'll find out soon enough. Walking in, I see Yuki asleep on the bed with several suit cases on the floor empty, all my belongings laid out around the room. Well that will save me some unpacking. Walking over to the sleeping gigai, I hook a finger in its mouth and take the pill out, tossing it aside as I step back into the mock body. Rolling my shoulders to try to readjust to the fake body, I walk over to the dresser to find a pair of pajamas so I could take a shower before bed. Finding a pair of blue shorts and a pink tank top, I look around for my shower bag that had everything from my bathroom at home inside. After looking around, I see a small suitcase on a book shelf next to the desk on the far side of the room sitting next to my collection of books. I pick it up, shifting some of the books aside so they don't fall and head toward the door that leads to the bathroom, pajamas and suitcase in hand.

Stepping out of the warm water into a steam filled bathroom, I reach for a towel hanging on the rack beside the shower, wiping the water from my eyes. The large bathroom had blue and black tiled walls, a large three person shower in the southeast corner, a black sink and bathtub sitting against the west wall and a large mirror above the sink, blue painted inset shelves off to the right, and a blue toilet in the north east corner. It was a beautiful bathroom, just how I liked it. Captain Yamamoto spoils me too much, but I don't mind. He's like the father I never had ever since I graduated from Soul Academy and joined Squad 12. I still had to work hard and do my job; I didn't get appointed captain because I was the favorite.

I wonder what time it is. I need sleep and I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day. With that last thought, I wipe the mirror clean so I can brush my teeth. I don't why but I always have to be looking in a mirror to brush my teeth weird but, so do a lot of people. I contemplate while staring into the mirror subconsciously studying my reflection; Pale skin complimented by medium brown hair that falls to my waist. Big almond shaped leaf green eyes that are set into a soft oval shaped face. Small full lips smile at me, strong high cheek bones define my big eyes, and a strong feminine nose complements my small lips. Looking past my face to my body I see a small chest leading into a slender waist that flares to curvy full hips that draw into long slender legs. I don't see anything special that Renji should like the only think I see is a freak staring back at me. I think watching myself in the steamy mirror. Need to get ready for bed Ky, quit looking in the mirror. I scold myself. Slowly I shake myself from the stupor of staring in the mirror and return to getting ready. After I finish getting ready for bed, I slip under the covers, falling asleep to dreams of tomorrow.