Keichi found himself thoroughly lost in the walled maze of the Seireitei. Eventually, he made his way to a grassy hill that overlooked much of the land. This place seemed to stretch on for miles. He could see some towers taller than any skyscraper in the city. Further in the distance, a giant hill overlooked everything. Was it the one Rukia had mentioned in her story of how Ichigo saved her life?
"Gah!" Keichi rubbed his head furiously. He had tried to clear his mind, but all he kept thinking was how every bit of this place looped back to that guy.
Keichi gave up and fell back onto the ground. He stared up at the blue sky with its pristine white clouds. A gentle breeze rustled the grass and his hair. It was very peaceful here.
"Whatcha doin?"
Keichi bolted upright when a pink head came into view. A girl that looked about his age with bobbed pink hair giggled. "You're funny Keichi. Wanna play?"
"Uh…who are you?" he wondered as he dusted some grass off his bottom.
The girl began twirl around him while watching his every move. "Yachiru, yachiru, don't forget or I'll get mad at you," she sang playfully.
Keichi started to feel uncomfortable. Something about this girl felt dangerous.
Hurried footsteps announced the arrival of two shinigami. They panted heavily as they spoke.
"There you are Captain. Don't run off like tha—" the men froze in place.
Keichi looked at the girl again. Her countenance changed to terrifying. Her brown eyes looked almost red with bloodlust and Keichi felt an oppressive weight of power emanate from her core. So powerful, it forced the shinigami to their knees. Even Keichi almost succumbed to the pressure. Was this what they meant by reiatsu? It felt so…tangible.
"What did I say about calling me that?" the girl's voice was eerily neutral.
"F-forgive us V-vice Captain. W-we're morons!" the pleaded with their hands clasped over their heads.
The pressure let up and Yachiru returned to "normal". She flipped her short hair back over her ear, "Hmph. Yeah you guys are pretty dumb. Anyway, bye Kei-chi-kuuun," she giggled. "We'll have to play later, mk? I've got work to do."
She waved and ran off, leaving her squadmen behind to chase after her.
Keichi stared after the group. What had just happened? Was she a captain? Keichi thought for a moment. Suddenly he recalled seeing her in last night's meeting. But she wasn't wearing her Captain outfit this time. Instead, she had a lieutenant's badge on. Keichi wondered if that was normal. It didn't seem like it.
A cough from a nearby tree alerted Keichi of another's presence. A man with long white hair and thin features turned around the trunk. "Don't let her rattle you," he said with a little laugh. "She just really likes games…oh and candy."
"Do you guys always just pop out of nowhere?" Keichi said, folding his arms.
"Hm? Oh, ha ha. Sorry about that. My name is Jushiro Ukitake," he said. "I like to come here sometimes when I'm feeling well."
Keichi relaxed. "Are you sick?" The thought of a soul being able to get sick was interesting, if not very strange. The man wasn't wearing shinigami clothes, but a simple light blue kimono decorated with pale green bamboo leaves.
Jushiro tried to laugh, but a cough took its place, "Well *cough* you could say that."
His coughing began to rack his body. Keichi drew close to the man to give him support, "Hey old guy are you going to be ok?"
"Yes…Please…could you assist me…back to my *cough* estate?" Jushiro pointed a weak finger off toward a manor on the other side of the hill.
When they arrived, Keichi helped Jushiro sit by a carp pond. The two men were surrounded by oddly shaped bonsai plants. Whoever cut them didn't know the proper techniques to maintain bonsai trees.
"Do you like them?" Ukitake asked when he noticed Keichi looking at them.
"Ah…I don't know. They look kind of funny," he said without thinking.
Ukitake chuckled. "Thank you for your honesty. Ah, well, I think they suit me nevertheless."
"What? How so?" This strange older man had a peaceful aura around him. It was the first time Keichi had felt such a serene presence.
Ukitake paused for a moment. "Well, anyone can see that they are bonsai. Whether they look right or wrong is only a secondary thought."
Keichi thought about what the man said for a moment, but he couldn't figure it out. "I'm sorry. I still don't get it."
Ukitake simply nodded and handed Keichi a bag of bread crumbs. "Perhaps you will understand in time. But right now, you seem to have heavy thoughts on your mind. May I ask why?"
Keichi sighed and stared off into the pond. He tossed a few crumbs into the water. Fish wriggled their way to the top, puckered at the food that floated on the surface, then dashed back to the shallow depths. Though they were gone, the ripples caused by their presence remained.
"I don't know. I guess I'm not use to being dead. And now, I think I'm having one of those identity crisis," he rested his chin on his knees.
Ukitake didn't respond immediately. "You must be Keichi. I was certain I hadn't seen you before."
"Hmph. If only others would say that," Keichi said.
The former captain blinked. "You musn't concern yourself with what others think or say. If you be who you are, those who really wish to know you will eventually understand."
Keichi looked at the man as if he had just appeared. "True…I never really thought of it that way. Just be myself, huh? I always assumed I was being me…"
Keichi thought for a moment. Up until he began to hear voices, he had just been the average delinquent. He got in fights, he skipped school, and he even didn't go home some nights. No matter what others said, he trusted himself alone. But that trust was shaken when people began to question his sanity. Deep down, he began to question it as well. He became afraid of his own ability and tried to conform. Failing that, he tried to run. A coward. The idea made him grit his teeth and clench his fist. Something had told him to listen to the voice inside of him. If he had done so earlier, would he have been killed by that hollow? Would Kami have been in any danger if Keichi had never opened those warehouse doors?
"Doubting myself just causes more trouble doesn't it old man?"
Ukitake nodded again and said nothing. He took some bread from the bag in Keichi's hand and tossed it into the pond. The bread made its own small ripples. A few fish came to eat, making the ripples larger.
"Now you see? We all have a purpose in this world. Though we may not see it, like these carp do not see the hands that toss the bread, our actions affect the next. Our actions make ripples that spread out and eventually disappear. Still, in the end, the hand is the hand. The bread is the bread. And the fish are the fish."
Keichi turned to Ukitake with a blank look. "Plain language old man."
"Hm? I think you already understand Keichi. Your actions are ripple effects of another's, but your actions are still your own and will affect the next person. That is the balance of creation."
Keichi sighed. His breath didn't feel so heavy now. "Hey old man? Are you a shinigami too?"
"I was. But I retired," Ukitake admitted.
"Why? You seem to make more sense than the other shinigami I met," Keichi said.
Ukitake laughed again. "Well, I have my reasons. Besides, I'm not in the best of health. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here."
Keichi stood, "Yeah. I'd like that. I should probably head back."
"Oh?" Ukitake raised a black brow. "What are you going to do?"
Keichi smiled this time, "I'm going to become a shinigami. I'm going to get stronger."
Ukitake nodded, "Let me give you these then." He withdrew a small bag of candy from his sleeve. "If Yachiru gives you any trouble, just toss these at her and run."
Keichi accepted the gift curiously and waved goodbye. He figured he'd be able to find his way back now that he was on higher ground. When he was gone, Ukitake sat back down by the pond.
"You were right. He is a very interesting boy," he said to a shadowy figure that sat in the doorway behind him. "But, it's not polite to eavesdrop, Kyouraku-kun."
Kyouraku lay on his back on the tatami floor. His straw hat covered half his face and a piece of straw hung from the corner of his mouth. Kyouraku chuckled, "Feeling better already Jushiro?"
(several days later)
The past few days for Kami had been hectic. Hollow had been making regular appearances and it she had taken up the challenge to eliminate each one. Her father and brother said nothing of this goal. They simply reminded her not to reveal what she was and to kill any Shinigami that tried got in her way. After some thought, her father also handed his daughter an ancestral artifact. He explained that it could sense spiritual creatures that the human eyes and ears could not. The artifact much like a rosary, save for it was shorter and instead of a cross at the end, there hung a silver arrow. Kami accepted the trinket sagely and set off.
Now, she stood on a large branch in the sparse woods where Keichi and she had last encountered a hollow. This seemed to be the focal point where the small hollow came from. Surely there were also larger more powerful hollow, like the ones they had encountered, trying to squeeze through the dimensions.
Kami closed her eyes and listened carefully. Nothing. However, the air didn't feel quite right. She pulled the artifact from around her neck and let it hang loosely between her fingers. It swung back and forth slowly and gently. Suddenly, the string of beads the arrow hung from grew taught and stilled. It began to emit a strange blue aura. Then, it pointed upward as if someone had pulled it up.
Kami looked up just in time to see the leaves of the tree she stood in separate. She jumped backwards, barely missing a blow strong enough to split the branch in two. As she fell to the ground, Kami shielded her eyes from the splinters with her left arm where the arrow pointed an accusing finger at the hollow. Her right hand held her weapon. She aimed blindly in front, only the artifact acted as a guide, and shot a spirit bullet at her enemy.
After landing safely on her feet, Kami looked around. A large dog-like hollow crouched before her. Its eyes glowed a sinister red as it watched her closely. There was a crack in its demon-like mask where green blood trickled.
"I see…you are the Quincy they spoke of," it said in a calm voice. "The one who killed my brother."
Kami stood on the defensive. "And if I was? Do you seek revenge hollow?" she asked.
The hollow laughed. "Our sentiments are not as self-destructive as that of humans. His death was likely his fault. I've come on official business," he said. "To kill the human that has been setting our plan back."
Kami raised her brow at this. "Plans? What plans odorous creature?"
The hollow's laugh was empty. "Oh, why tell you? You will die here tonight."
He leapt at her, his claws extended for a deadly blow. Kami ran forward and timed her tuck and roll to bring herself under the belly of the beast. She pressed the barrel of the gun against the stomach and fired several shots into the hollow.
The body flew backward and stumbled for a bit before regaining its footing. It laughed once again. "That attack is not so strong. If that is what killed Shi-loong, then he deserved to die."
Kami stood back. It didn't seem this battle would end as quickly as she had hoped.
"Stay back girl," a voice said next to her. Kami looked around to see a middle aged man in shinigami come forward. "I will hand this."
Kami jumped away from him and pointed her gun at the man. "You are the one I saw the other night. Don't move. I will take care of you once I finish this."
The shinigami looked at her incredulously. "Don't be a fool girl. The hollow is your enemy not me."
The hollow took the opportunity to charge cero. He let it loose on both the shinigami and the human. Then, he followed up with a close ranged attack on the shinigami.
Jun Omochi, 6th squad 11th seat shinigami and current protector of Karakura City brought his sword up to try and stop the attack. The force of the hollow threw him backward. Kami fired several shots at the hollow's back. They bounced off harmlessly.
Growling, the hollow snarled and bit down on Jun's shoulder. The shinigami let out a pained shout. "Aim for his mask girl! It's his only weak spot!"
Kami glowered. "I don't need a shinigami telling me that," she argued. But she ran around to get a better angle.
The hollow jumped off his prey. Red blood dripped from his mouth which he licked savoringly. Kami adjusted the glasses that slipped down her nose.
"I'm surprised hollow," she said calmly. "That you would not only make the mistake of attacking me alone, but also not notice the charms I set up around this area."
"Huh? What?" the hollow looked around as five trees began to glow. A pentagram appeared on the ground.
"As soon as you set foot on this land, your life was forfeit," she said.
The hollow tried to move away, but by now, the light of the symbol froze him. Kami fired several concentrated shots into his mask. The hollow's scream before it disappeared was chilling and otherworldly.
Kami turned away. The lights of her binding charm disappeared and five talismans fluttered from the trees and to her hand.
She turned to the shinigami and looked at his gapping wound. "What, are you?" Jun asked, holding his shoulder in pain.
"I am your enemy. I am a Quincy. Now stand and fight shinigami, or die there helplessly," she said as she pointed her gun at his head.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Jun stared at the girl as if she were insane. "If you're a Quincy, you should know just how dangerous things are getting."
"I do. But we have things under control. Shinigami are not, nor were they ever, needed here on earth."
Jun sighed. He could see the girl had made up her mind. "Your friend…the one I sent to Soul Society…"
Kami paused, "Go on."
"His spiritual energy was not normal. Perhaps you realized this already. Even though it is not fully matured, I'm sure he will become a Shinigami. What would you do if you encountered him on the battle field?"
Kami glared. "Quit wasting my time with your lies shinigami," she shouted. Now was the moment when her brain told her to pull the trigger. But she hesitated.
A shot rang out and a hole appeared in Jun's head. Kami whirled around with her gun ready.
"Is that what you meant to do little sister?" Takashi appeared from the shadows. His tall slender form bellied an unnatural strength. He kept his pitch-black hair short and neat and, unlike most of the Ishida family, he did not wear glasses. His clear blue eyes shined forth from the darkness. He lowered and holstered his gun.
"Takashi!" Kami gasped surprised.
"Look," he nodded to the dead shinigami as the body decomposed into spirit particles. Kami turned and watched.
"They are not human. When they die, they die like hollow. Never hesitate again Kami. It may very well be the last thing you do," he said finally looking at her.
Kami lowered her head. "Yes brother," she said. "May I ask a question?"
"Go ahead," he replied, his features softening.
"Why did you come? Did father send you?"
Takashi blinked innocently. "No…father didn't send me…"
Kami scrutinized her brother. She loved him dearly, but he could not keep a secret from her easily.
He sighed. "Father doesn't know I'm here. In fact, he'd be very cross if he discovered I followed you. So, let's just keep this incident between us, yes?"
Kami smiled and nodded. "Let's go home."
She tried to push the night's events from her mind, but the words of the hollow haunted her. What plan did he mean? Were the hollow organized enough to plan something? Who was behind it? Then there was the shinigami. He said it was likely Keichi would become a shinigami. How was that possible? Needless to say, despite her brother's words of encouragement, Kami did not sleep well that night. She decided she would ask her father at least about what the hollow had said.