Chapter 7: He's a magic man
As I had done earlier, I woke up in Shinji's bed. Only this time, I wasn't alone. There was a man sitting in a chair in the corner. I saw a lot of green. Green striped hat, green samue, green pants, but he was wearing a black haori and getas so I guess he wasn't completely monochromatic. He saw me wake up and left the chair. He clicked over to the bed and knelt down. He gave me a rather goofy smile.
"So, you're the girl who's got Shinji so worked up?" He asked.
"I take it you're Urahara-san," I said.
"How'd you know?" He asked.
"I heard Shinji say your name between screams," I said.
"Indeed, I am Urahara Kisuke, but I didn't catch your name," he said.
"Takahashi Reiko," I said. "What happened to me?"
"Ah, to the point then. Your telepathy seems to have opened you up to hollowfication. Why did you do that exactly?" he said.
"It wasn't on purpose. I got into a spat with Shinji. I just wanted to know what was going on. He wouldn't tell me what they were doing in that box, so I tried to eavesdrop. Obviously, I bit off more than I could chew. Next thing I knew I was on my back screaming and foaming at the mouth," I said.
"That wasn't spit, Takahashi-san. That was your hollow mask forming," he said.
Urahara-san reached under the bed and pulled out a mask. It looked like a cat's head with the eyes lined in navy blue and black tipped ears. I looked at him. He looked very solemn, a far cry from the goofball a minute earlier.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Now, you beat your hollow or Shinji kills you himself," he said.
"Fantastic. How do I beat it?" I asked.
Urahara-san's face broke out into a goofy smile again. "Congratulations on acquiring your very own zanpakto!" He handed me a dagger.
"Hahaha. No seriously, where's my zanpakto?" I asked.
Urahara-san sweat dropped. "That's it but to be fair, that is the sealed form."
"What the hell?! Shinji!" I screamed and got out of the bed. I stomped out of the room with Urahara-san following at a distance.
I found Shinji stretched out on the couch. He saw me and went still, then his hand started creeping toward his zanpakto. Now, I knew I probably looked a little deranged, but this was ridiculous.
"If your hand gets any closer to that sword, I'm going to rip your arm off and beat you with it! Why is mine so small?!" I said and held out my zanpakto/dagger. Shinji blinked at it for a minute then fell off the couch laughing.
"Stop laughing," I said. He continued.
"I mean it, Hirako. Stop laughing." He kept on. I lost my temper.
I watched as I saw my own consciousness get pushed back. Light particle began to gather on my face. An animalistic scream tore from my throat. Shinji was off the floor and in front of me in a second. I growled at him and crouched down to pouce. I sprung and Shinji jumped to the side, catching me by the back of my shirt. He brought my back to his front and put me in a choke hold. I started pushing my way back to the front of my mind. When I was in control again, my knees gave out and Shinji sank down with me.
For a second, I wished Shinji would kill me. Then, I looked up at him. He'd been living with this for a century. Decades longer than I'd been alive. He hadn't given up. He'd survived. And if he could survive, then so could I. Granted, Shinji had been a shinigami captain, so he was battle ready. Me, not so much.
"Rei?" I looked up. Shinji had on his serious face.
"You're gonna put me to sleep again, aren't you?"
"I have to. You have to beat your hollow," he said.
"How?"
His hand appeared in front of my face. "Use your talents." And Back to black.