Episode 12: Substitute IV

"I can see your wound has healed fast." I comment on the Shinigami Substitute's rapid healing. His stomach has miraculously healed, however there is a distinct scar remaining.

"Yeah...Can't say the same about your hand though." He notices my missing appendage.

I gaze at my missing left hand and scoff. "I won't need two hands to defeat you...By the way where's your Shinigami friends?"

A voice comes from behind me. "HADO 33...SOKATSUI!" The bastards try and ambush me however the blast of energy is ineffective and I grab her mid air.

"Oh...you're not wearing your Shinigami outfit, so you really did give away all your powers to this sap." To which I point my stump arm towards the boy. She wears a grey uniform. "Heheh...though I have to admit, I like the whole schoolgirl bit."

"You bastard!" She scorns however she gasps for air when I begin to crush her bones.

"RUKIA!" Now the substitute joins in an attempt to free the damsel in distress.

I swing towards him. "Not so fast Substitute." I wave the girl in front of him...She winces and screams in pain. "Take one more step and she'll be crushed into a million pieces."

"Tch." The substitute lowers his sword accepting the futility of the situation.

"Fi...fight..." I hear her breath words.

The substitute returns to his fighting stance and charges. "Are you mad? I can end her life in an instant..." But the fire in his eyes indicates he is now not one for negotiations. I grip harder on her to show how serious I am.

"GAAAGGHH!" She chokes.

"Damn you!" The boy slides under my legs and stabs upwards, his sword emerges through the other side of my arm.

"AAAARRRGGHH!" I scream in tremendous pain, letting go of the girl in the process. The substitute swiftly catches her in one arm like he's playing the role of Prince Charming. God how he irritates me...The hero facade ends with me. "DIE KUROSAKI!" I slam my fist down but he steps to the side, gently laying down the concubine in the process. He whispers something in her ear and brushes back the long black bang of her hair then returns to face me.

"You will pay for hurting Rukia." He charges up his spiritual energy, it has been raised enough to match my own.

"Take this!" I use my extension ability to strike Ichigo but he dodges. He gets within close proximity and slashes upwards. The sword is embedded into my stump arm and he tries to jerk it out but he can't. I use this to my advantage and bring my claws to within point blank range. Once I fire out my claws he ducks under the fingers of death and sends a roundhouse kick to my wrist. I pull back but this leaves an opening for him to strike. I bring up my knee in defence but he goes to tight. His sword is now heading for my crotch!

Adrenaline kicks in and I bring in my right knee, the armoured kneecap hits him hard in the head and he is sent hurtling across the dirt. Dust rises as he tumbles several times throughout the melee.

Each step I take must feel like an exploding shell to him now. "I must admit you have improved since last we met, however you have yet to truly claim yourself as a Shinigami."

I gather the fear in his eyes. He can't move. He must feel the same way I did when I fought Mitzuki, in a way I can sympathise with him. On the other hand, I am a hollow, therefore devoid of any form of empathy.

I fan out my five claws. "Farewell...worthy opponent..."

"Tch." The substitute grabs the dirt and awaits his finishing blow.

"~HI KUROSAKI-KUN!" An annoying chirpy voice arrives behind me.

"Orihime?" Kurosaki seems surprised to encounter his friend. Then again I'm surprised she can see him at all in his current form.

The little distraction puts me off and I step back, observing the strange, busty, chestnut-haired girl as she converses with the Shinigami Substitute.

"I like your outfit, is it Halloween already?"

Kurosaki show himself to be in distress. "Please Orihime you have to get out of here..." He quickly averts his gaze towards me. "Anyway how can you see us?"

Orihime gives a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you silly?"

"Didn't you notice the giant monster behind you!" He sounds like a mother scolding a naughty child.

"What monster? Where is he?" She spins her head in all directions.

"Right there!" He points his sword towards me. Amazingly the chestnut haired girl cannot detect my presence.

"Nope...sorry..."

Ichigo pinches the bridge of his nose. I'm hypothesizing that due to his form as a half-human, half-Shinigami has allowed himself to be visible to all mortals however I am still a ghost to her.

I feel like a bit of mischief. Whilst the two quarrel I come up with a perverted idea to test wether she really can't see me.

I admire her uniform; she'll need a replacement after today. Extending my claws, I snip away at the top of her shirt, her chest bounces out as I liberate her twins. "AGH! What are you doing Ichigo?" She desperately tries to cover her massive chest.

"I didn't do it, it was the hollow."

"You pervert, you've really gone too far this time." She pouts then storms off.

"Orihime wait!"

"HUGH!" This time I go downstairs and claw away at her skirt.

Japanese Schoolgirls look so good in panties!

"Stop it Ichigo!"

"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!"

I find screwing with Ichigo's mind is now more fun than fighting. Also I'm enjoying the view while in Rome. The final line of defence is her underwear...It is too good to resist.

"Please stop!" She pleads to an unknown prowler.

As I'm about to open the gates of heaven a giant figure snatches Orihime. She screams as she is taken high into the air.

"ORIHIME!"

I notice the long red tail of the flying demon, he has decided to be my competition but he may well prove useful for a way back to Hueco Mundo.

"I've grown bored of this fight." I yawn. "Go find your girl; I'm only concerned about the other hollow now." I leave Ichigo and Rukia in their despair.

As the sun settles I travel into the horizon searching for my key to my new home.

Where on earth did you take that girl...Acid wire?

Whilst I search the city depths I reflect on my special weapon. I feel a bit of happiness for the first time. Not just because I got to see some brilliant tits, but because I feel like I'm reviving my true character once again.

Even my brother was put off by my extremely obvious perverted ways. I could not pass a beautiful lady without my eyes being magnetically pulled towards them. While I'm here I should cause a bit more mischief. I mean, the humans can't see me anyway.

Three young women are strolling towards a sushi bar. It's a busy area, with lots of people.

One of them wears a blue shirt and shorts, another wears a strapless red dress, and the third wears a backless green top.

Hehe...This will be fun...

I blow lightly on their hair. The one in green shivers and wonders if her friends also felt the cold air. Once they enter amore lighted area I use one claw to cut the girl's green dress. Her panties are flashed in front of the many commuters, some of whom are appalled, whilst a few men share in my perversion and gawk at her rear.

She turns to see all the commotion however she has not even realised yet. The girl in red turns around so I place a small incision in her top as well, allowing her cleavage to breathe.

"AGH! My dress!"

The guys start hooting and hollering as I tear off the third girl's blue shirt. Blue pieces of fabric flutter in the air like a bird stripped of its feathers. She sobs and crosses her arms to cover her shame.

"YOU GUYS ARE SICK!" The one in green accuses them. "Let's go!" She ushers the other two away from the testosterone filled lads. When she twirls there is one last chorus of pleasure from the blokes as her back is revealed.

"Hehe...that was fun..." I comment to myself. However I should probably hurry now and find Acidwire.

After stomping over a few rooftops I spot a duplex apartment. There are two people inside chatting at one of those small Japanese dinner tables. When I focus my vision I see they are two young girls.

Another round of nudifying eh?

One of them has spiky black hair and seems a bit tomboyish with the cargoes and jacket. However the one with the purple top and long skirt seems familiar...

"Orihime." I gasp. I notice she seems completely happy and even laughs about something with her friend. Does she remember what happened this afternoon?

She must have changed the subject because she is using large hand gestures. She spreads her arms and waves them as if she were...flying.

Ahh so she does remember...but hr friend will never buy it.

She then pulls up her shirt to which I press against the window to get a better view. Her body is completely scarred by what look like a brownish-red burn. She turns to show her back and what looks like three projections coming from the main burn – it looks like a hand shape.

So when she was carried by Acidwire it must have left a mark on her body.

The other girl seems shocked and inspects the wound. Suddenly she jumps back and screams so loud it aches my ears (wait! Do I have ears?).

Her jaw chatters as if she's having a freak-out. I want to now what drugs she takes. Orihime tries to cal her down but she hit by a large blunt object. Her soul is now projecting from her body.

Wait a minute...the only thing that could have done that would be...

The other girl is now thrown across the room. A large creature towers her body. That creature is of course a hollow...The hollow Acidwire.

Orihime wakes up in her soul form. She is clearly confused about the situation. Looking back at her body must feel terrible, however at least her chain is still attached. She has time but it's too late for me.

"TATSUKI!" She notices her friend in trouble and rams her body into the large beast. It is enough for him to let go of Tatsuki however she has now made herself a target.

I figure that I should intervene so Acidwire can create a Garganta for me. Smashing the window, I enter the havoc. However I'm drawn to hunger and now face Tatsuki.

"You will be a good appetiser." I pick up her small frame however I did not expect her to kick me in the chin. "Ouch! So you can fight back eh? This might be fun." Extending my claws I impale her several times in the body. To her they would appear as spontaneous ruptures in the flesh, or maybe she can see me. "Are you afraid of death?" I ask her a question.

She grunts and responds with a clear. "NO!" She tries biting at my claws but she is too weak to struggle. Her life fluid drips away.

"TATSUKI!" Orihime screams however she is cut off by Acidwire.

"Don't you remember me Orihime-chan?" He kneels down to her level and she shakes her head.

"It's me...Sora..."

So he remembers his previous life as well.

Orihime gasps. "Brother...? Is that really you?"

The impact of hearing the word 'brother' is enough for me to drop my snack.

"Yes it's me...however I'm angry with you. You never pray for me anymore...why have you forgotten about me?" Orihime gulps her words. "I must...PUNISH YOU!"

The thought of siblings fighting makes me feel hollow inside, literally! Although I am a hollow I can't allow this to happen.

I tackle Acidwire (or Sora) to the ground, destroying most of the apartment.

"Get out of here!" I shout to Orihime but she is too scared to respond. "Listen to me...this person is no longer your brother! Get out of here now while you have the chance!"

"SORA!" Something ticks in her brain and she now goes for me.

"What are you doing?" I try to reason with her while she angrily beats her fists against my leg.

"If he's my brother I must help him!" She really is an irrational young girl.

"Dammit I can't hold him much longer." I curse as Acidwire fling his tail across the room destroying the walls and smashing everything inside.

"Ungh. Get out of here now!" I'm now sprayed in the face with acidic saliva. I wince as I let go of the enraged hollow.

"I won't let anyone come between us Orihime...your my sister...please love me again." He picks her up and squeezes her body however it is crushing her.

"Onii-chan...Please stop...your...hurting me..."

My vision is foggy. "Damn..."

"When I died all those years ago you would always pray for me at that shrine." He points to a small cabinet with a few pictures and candles. "However as you got older you prayed less and less...then one day you met that boy...and you stopped altogether..." His voice grows deeper with rage. "Why did you stop praying for me! WHY! WHY! WHY!"

He's about to crush her into pieces.

"Stop!" I call out but it's of no use. She will suffer in the same way I did when I lost my brother.

Thankfully someone else manages to come to the rescue and slices off his arm. When my vision clears though I find that I've crossed paths with that boy again.

"Curse you...Kurosaki..." Thank you for saving Orihime though.

Siblings reunited...How can you love a monster? How can a monster love a human? Give me review why dontcha. What do you think of the direction of my story so far? Be honest.