Journal 4 - Entry 78

The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind, and not in a good way. Growing up I'd known about ghosts, both Big Brother and Karin were even able to see them. Of course I'd always only seen faint blurry figures. It was only in the last two years that the figures had gotten clearer and clearer, and now I'm able to see them just as clearly as Karin. I decided to never bring it up. It's not really my business after all, and I figured Big Brother would get very worried if I got involved, and I didn't want to put that burden on him.

But now, things have gone so far beyond that. I always knew they were involved in something crazy, but I never saw a reason to question it. I trust them, so I just accepted it. I had seen Big Brother in that old-fashioned black kosode before, as well as a few people that he seemed friendly with, (Rukia-chan included) so there was no reason to bring it up.

I knew Karin was also aware of it, if not fully, at least to a greater degree than me. I had seen her with a boy that looked about our age with white hair, and he also wore that black kosode, with a white haori over it. I think she didn't bring it up to me for the same reason as Big Brother. I decided not to push it as I thought it might be better for me to act as something normal for them to return to, to forget about whatever craziness they were doing.

But now it's become clear that it was never going to be possible to avoid it forever. It had been almost a month since Big Brother had left for his "soccer camp". I could already tell that was likely a lie, and every day that passed only made that more and more apparent. Dad had been coming home sporadically to check on us, but he never stayed more than a day, his excuse being he was putting in long hours at the hospital helping Dr. Ishida.

Three days ago it all started. Me and Karin were walking home from school. We both had been at our clubs, so the sun was setting, and it was rare for our clubs to let out at the same time, so it was nice we were able to leave together. We had just passed by the convenience store on the corner when we noticed something odd. There was no one else around. No cars passing, no pedestrians. Then 5 people appeared out of nowhere, they seemingly rose from the shadows. They wore white uniforms, and all but one of them wore masks. The one who was not wearing one clearly was their leader. Karin stepped in front of me while pulling her soccer ball from her bag.

The leader was a woman, from the looks of it not that much older than Big Brother, and she even bore a resemblance to Inoue-san with her orange hair. The difference was in her eyes. Rather than the soft brown that both Big Brother and Inoue-san shared, this woman's were a cruel red. She introduced herself as a Sternritter, not that I understood what that meant, and said she was here to "take us to our father". She very obviously wasn't referring to Dad when she said that, and the way she spoke, with an unwavering sadistic smirk was… unsettling to say the least.

Karin took that moment and kicked her ball with so much power that it glowed, and it slammed one of the masked men back into another. The guy that it hit directly appeared to be knocked unconscious. The woman was surprised that Karin had any kind of ability. Though, if anything, that just seemed to make her think we were going to be more "fun". She signaled the other masked men to attack, and said that they could… kill… Karin as they only needed one of us.

I had always relied on Karin and Big Brother. Sure I helped at home, but this moment made me realize how helpless I was in the face of what they must have dealt with for so long.

Karin managed to punch one of the men in the stomach and knock him back, but the other somehow had a sword now. It seemed to appear out of nowhere, and it was moving straight at Karin. The world seemed to slow down. Karin wouldn't be able to move in time. I didn't even realize it, but I was moving. My body moved on its own, instinctually, I pushed myself in between Karin and the sword and waited for the pain.

But, it never came. Rather than the sound of tearing flesh that I expected, instead, there was a clang, as if the sword had hit stone. For the first time, the woman's expression changed from sadistic glee to something more akin to complete disbelief. She whispered something to herself, just loud enough for me to hear. "Burūto Vēne". I had no idea what that meant, but the moment did not last long. The man with the sword had already stepped back, and was moving to strike again. However this time, he didn't even get the chance to swing.

Some kind of… portal opened on the other side of the road, and a black and white blur flew out the gap like a rocket. I could barely comprehend it. One second the man in white was raising his sword, the next he didn't have a head. The new arrival cut down the other masked men in an instant, and the woman was just barely able to unsheathe the rapier on her hip in order to block the attack.

When they clashed I finally got a good look at him. It was the white haired boy I had seen with Karin a couple of times. Karin's face lit up and she yelled out "Shiro!" While I might not know him, he was obviously a welcome sight.

The woman backed off and said that she knows when she's out-matched, and that she was in no position to fight a captain. Then we could hear what sounded like a ticking clock, and a black shadow began to engulf her. The boy, Shiro, shouted at her and jumped forward to cut her down, but it was too late. His sword merely passed through fading black particles.

At that point, the adrenaline started to leave my system, and I just felt tired. I looked around and saw the bodies of the men in white. It was a gruesome scene, and while it certainly turned my stomach, working at the clinic had given me a bit of a resistance towards seeing blood.

The boy approached us and said he needed to get us out of "the World of the Living". I hesitated. What did that mean? Does it mean he is going to kill us? Nothing makes sense.

He said he would take us to see Big Brother and Dad, and that Dad was injured and Big Brother was not able to enter the World of the Living for some reason, and that was why he came to get us. Karin seemed to accept this and followed him, but I still wasn't sure. Karin clearly trusted him, but I don't know him, and we were just attacked and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING!

I ended up giving in and we came out of the portal in some kind of makeshift camp. Thankfully Big Brother was there. I don't think I've ever hugged him tighter. Urahara-san was also there (I have no idea how he's wrapped up in this, but at this point I've given up on thinking about stuff for now). He did something to our bodies so we could stay there, I'm not sure what it was, we just had to stand on some kind of platform for a few minutes.

We were finally taken to the tent where Dad was being treated. Inoue-san was there too. Dad was unconscious, apparently he's been severely wounded in a battle. I asked if I could stay in the tent with him and they said it was okay. So this is where I've been staying the last couple of days.

Big Brother and the boy, who I finally learned is named Tōshirō Hitsugaya, sat me and Karin down and finally explained everything to us. It took hours, but I couldn't believe it. I mean, Mom being a superhuman Quincy, Dad an over 100 year old Shinigami, Big Brother fighting gods and monsters, it sounds like something out of a manga. I can't exactly argue with what I'm seeing though. Now they're saying we may never get to see our friends in Karakura again because us being there puts the town in danger of more people like that woman attacking it.

Karin seems to be taking this better than me. She's been following around Big Brother and Hitsugaya-san non-stop asking them if they'll make her a Shinigami. Apparently she has the aptitude for it, and I won't be surprised if Big Brother eventually gives in. From everything I've seen, I think Karin would be a great Shinigami. But then where does that leave me? I was thinking I could help out with their medical needs, but they mostly use whatever that magic stuff is, and I'd be more likely to get in the way than anything else.

Big Brother says I don't need to do anything, that he'll protect me. Karin told me the same. I'm glad for that, but I don't think they realize just how frustrating that is to hear.

There is one thing that I have been too afraid to bring up, and since it all happened so fast, I don't think Karin even noticed it. That "Burūto Vēne" thing. I think it was some kind of supernatural thing, but I don't know. I don't think I can replicate it. I've tried a couple times on my own, but I did it accidentally in the heat of the moment. For now I just think it's for the best not to mention it, I don't want to cause any more trouble, especially with something that I'll probably never be able to do again.

I just don't know what to do. I'm not strong like Big Brother or Karin. I think I'm just going to go to bed now. Maybe I'll get lucky and this has all just been one long nightmare, and I'll wake up in my bed back home.

I just want to go home.

.

Yuzu Kurosaki

July 17, 2003

Author's Notes:

This is a chapter I've wanted to do for a while. Bleach is a big series with an even bigger cast, and as a result, quite a few characters that have incredible potential end up being underutilized, or straight up not utilized at all. Ichigo's sisters are at the top of that list. I mean, come on, they have the same parents as Ichigo, even if they have just a fraction of the power that Ichigo has, a fraction of HIS power is still like the top 5% of all Shinigami.

Now on this mysterious Sternritter, unlike the other new ones that have shown up just to be fodder so far, I've got just a little bit of a plan for her. Nothing major, but this isn't the only time she'll appear. We never got her Schrift after all.

Lastly, as for why I (or Yuzu) wrote Blut Vene as Burūto Vēne, is because that's the Japanese pronunciation and she's never seen it spelled. The info dump she got from Ichigo and Toshiro wasn't so specific that it included ability names. And Yuzu isn't exactly in the right state of mind right now to put together that it might have something to do with her mom being a Quincy. At least not yet ;)

As always, thanks for reading!