Hey all to anyone that reads this. This was an idea I had in my mind that I wanted to get out. Depending on how much attention this gets I might make more it will just be a one-shot.
The Sengoku-Jidai was one of the busiest times in history for the Soul Society's Japanese forces. With the number of deaths that would occur every week, they would find Hollows flooding places where they typically wouldn't be so prevalent. The only other conflict that exceeded a death toll as high as this was the Three Kingdoms War on the mainland, where Hollows were so rampant that all Shinigami in Southeast Asia had to be called in.
When the Shinigami arrived at this site today, they didn't expect to be so understaffed for such an endeavor. Not many of them know what goes on in the human world aside from that they kill each other a lot. Yet to a scale such as this on a small castle in the mountains, it was quite surprising.
Soldiers clad in red armor fought against their opponents wearing beige-colored plates. The red armored soldiers carried guns that sprayed fire across the battlefield, and the beige armored soldiers led massive ogres who charged into battle, killing and maiming any human that stood in their path. Fire and smoke engulfed the night sky as soldiers clashed swords and spears, and fired their guns back and forth.
In the courtyard, the shrines, the bridge, wherever they could touch solid ground they fought. Battle cries could be heard all around them. Even though the Shinigami stood in the air, looking down at the chaos, they heard a loud "Wooo!" from above them.
They looked towards a kite in the sky and watched a Shinobi in a tengu mask fly down and crash land on the tile roof. Upon impact, he knocked off other Shinobi in purple robes, as its other tengu-masked allies snuck out from corners and jumped down from above to ambush the rest.
They could all hear the shrill howl of dozens of hollows in the distance from all sides. They needed to be quick. If they wasted another second watching humans slaughter each other in the most outlandish ways they would be distracted between fighting the influx of hollows while trying to spirit away all of these souls.
"Everyone fan out! Cover as much ground as you can!"
Without a word of confirmation everyone immediately scattered across the battlefield. The one who issued the command saw the Shinigami take posts around the battlefield on standby to perform a Konsō or act as sentries for the incoming Hollows.
"Soi-Fon, you stay with-" From her left side the commander and Soi-Fon saw a man in an orange coat swing across the sky. It wasn't one of her Shinigami. She kept looking on as the man threw a grappling hook at the hooked corners of the rooftops. He performed these actions with such ease and finesse that the pair could only assume he was well-versed in the act.
Again, they watched him fly through the air after flinging himself forward and land right on top of one of the red-armored soldiers. They watched his legs wrap around the soldier's shoulders, the man throwing the soldier to the ground and shoving his blade through his neck. He was then flanked on his left and right by two more of the red soldier's comrades but vanished into a mist of raven feathers to appear above them. He landed on one of them again, this time coming down with a heavy axe swing that cracked open the skull of the soldier and burst into flames, lighting all of the soldiers around him on fire, regardless of their allegiance.
"Let's just follow him."
In all her years of experience as a Shinigami, as a seated officer, an apprentice, and now a captain, she has never seen humans fight like this before. Whenever she was sent to the human world to clean up battlefields it was only stab wounds and arrow penetration. But these people could crash land from dozens of meters in the sky, entrap beasts of legend to fight for them and perform their own little spells to aid them in battle.
"Soi-Fon, do you know how to use a Jigokuchō?" The commander asked.
"Of course!" The girl answered. "My father taught me before I was sent to your squad."
"Good," said the commander. "Summon one and send word back to the Gotei for more people. We're going to need them. I'll be following our friend in orange."
"Understood, ma'am!"
The commander left Soi-Fon to follow the orange-jacketed man across the castle battlefield. She watched him slaughter individuals left in right, his movements swift and hurried, but precise and lethal.
He felled large armored sumos who smelled of sake and cheap wine and large fat men who moved clumsily with their spiked clubs. Musketeers fired at him, having their shots deflected away and being rushed down by the Shinobi.
It made the commander wonder about him. Perhaps he was merely an unallied Shinobi who was taking advantage of the chaos to slaughter as many men as possible. Or perhaps he belonged to a third party.
The Shinobi moved on, immediately dashing towards where she believed she remembered the reservoir to be. She let him go and stayed behind to perform a Konsō on the remaining souls. By the time she finished and reached the reservoir, she saw the Shinobi sneak up on one of the soldiers and plunge his sword into his neck. He then took his prosthetic arm and jammed a small needle into his skull.
The man who should have died then followed the Shinobi in a battle against his former ally. The man himself was dead, evidenced by the chain of fate attached to his soul, yet it was still linked to his body.
"What happened to me?" He asked. He looked at his hands and over to his body, then began to move to his chain of fate.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," the commander advised the newly deceased.
He quickly looked toward her, then back at his ally when he heard metal strike metal. "Oniwa-san. I am sorry I let myself be killed so easily."
"Don't take it too seriously. Neither of you saw it coming."
"What makes it worse is that Shinobi is using my body like a puppet!" The samurai exclaimed as he fell on the ground of his own accord.
"Masaru-kun! What are you doing!" Oniwa shouted.
Masaru began to cry beneath his helmet. "I'm sorry!"
"Hey, chin up. With any luck, you'll be avenged."
The spear wielder they fought together was overwhelmed and put down within minutes, and the turned individual fell limp on the floor. The death blow was quick and painless, but the death itself was slow.
"Or not..."
The chain on Masaru was completely severed at this point, and Oniwa's spirit came out of his body soon after.
"Okay, both of you," the commander called out to the two spirits.
Oniwa looked toward the woman. "You were not there before. Who are you?"
"My name is-"
"Oh!" Masaru exclaimed in realization. "You are - a Shinigami?"
"Uh... yeah," she confirmed. "I didn't think you would figure it out so quickly. I'm here to take you to the Soul Society. It should be a quick thing and then we should be on our way."
"Soul Society?" Oniwa asked. "What about Yomi-no-Kuni? Are we being punished or rewarded?"
The commander watched as the Shinobi lept towards a hanging tree branch into the moat. Where he went a whirlwind of death followed. She couldn't lose track of him.
The shriek of hollows sounded again, this time vastly closer than last time.
"What was that noise?" Asked Masaru.
"Trouble, that's what that sound was," the Shinigami answered. "In short, Yomi is technically real but it isn't where you go immediately after death. Time to go to the Soul Society! Bye now!"
Quickly she tapped both spirits on their foreheads with the but of her sword. Shortly after her lieutenant arrived.
"Shihouin-taicho!" She called.
"Soi-Fon," She said back to the girl. "That took you longer than I thought."
"The... the Jigokuchō took a bit longer to summon than I thought."
"They aren't that hard to summon," Shihouin told her with a cheeky smile. "Anyway, we should get-"
A doorway appeared in the sky above her. From it came a flood of Shinigami into the human world. Some of them she recognized in passing when meeting other captains, and others she didn't recognize at all.
"Squad 7 newbies stick with me!" Said a man with a spiked afro. "This is gonna be a busy night and I don't want you getting lost!"
Shihouin looked to her lieutenant. "Stick with me. I saw our corpse maker jump down into the moat. You ready?"
"Always!"
...
By the time they had reached the hidden passage, they could already hear weapons clashing against each other. There wasn't any gunfire or enough consistent clashing to indicate the presence of any more than two people.
Upon reaching the other end of the tunnel the two Shinigami were met with two men fighting in a field of flowers. One of them was the Shinobi in orange, and the other was a taller man stripped of most of his armor, torso exposed and covered in black burn marks. His hair was loose and unkempt, obviously poorly maintained in the last few days.
The taller man was visibly tired and covered in cut marks, whereas the Shinobi was left entirely untouched. The only evidence of exertion on his part was a deep breath he took in as he planted his feet in place. They both stood in place, both eyeing each other down, waiting for an opening.
"For Ashina's sake..." said the man, pointing an odachi right at his neck, "I will give my life."
She already had a strange feeling about the sword the charred warrior carried in his hand. Its long black blade began to emanate a dark aura, and the warrior plunged the sword into his neck. Everyone recoiled in shock as the warrior began to cut through his own throat and an arm shot out from his neck.
"What the hell-?" Shihouin questioned, both disgusted and curious.
From the neck, another head appeared, pushing away the previous one to the point where it detached from its body. The wound began to expand as a torso appeared from the wound and began to exit the body entirely.
A man came out, chest partially exposed yet his shoulders covered in a blue garb. He picked up the black sword from the desecrated corpse of the warrior he emerged from.
"Pitiful grandchild," he spoke, staring down at the corpse of the warrior. "That is your final wish? To see Ashina return from the dead." He held the blade out towards the Shinobi, gesturing for a final duel. "Which means... Sekiro... I must destroy you."
The emerged warrior glared at the Shinobi with a somber expression. His one open eye glowed with a fervor only seen in those of Squad 11, yet his mouth was formed into a frown. He pointed the cursed sword at the Shinobi and shouted with all the excitement and fury in his heart, "Face me! Sekiro!"
"Here we go..." said the Shinobi, readying himself for the fight.
"Come... Sekiro!" Shouted the warrior.
While the two men fought they stood in wait for this Genichiro's spirit to emerge. From his desecrated body came no ghost. It just sat there, waiting for the maggots to come crawling to it.
"Shihouin-taicho, where is the dead man's spirit?" Asked Soi-Fon.
"He probably died with no regrets," she told her. Yet admittedly she felt like that wasn't at all what happened.
'Was it in the blade?' She wondered. 'Or maybe their souls swapped places?' She planned on taking that blade back with her to the Soul Society. Whatever it was its unsettling nature could be discovered by the old man.
Something alerted her about a hidden quality of the blade on the Shinobi's back as well. While she had no proof of any connection between the two the red sword gave off an ominous energy.
These swords should not ever have found themselves in human hands.
"Wherever the guy's soul is we'll find out," Shihouin told her subordinate. "In the meantime, we can sit here and watch this. I don't think we'll ever get to see humans fight like this again in our lifetimes."
"What about the dead souls and the incoming hollows?!"
"Aikawa is here so we should be fine," she told the younger girl. "Also we aren't in front of other squad mates or captains right now, feel free to be more casual around me."
"Y-yes, Yoruichi-sama."
"Come on, that's still a bit too formal don't you-"
She was immediately cut off by the sound of the Samurai stomping his foot on the ground and kicking up a whirlwind. The samurai then jumped in the air toward the Shinobi and brought down the spear with great force. The smaller of the two made an attempt to block or deflect the blow but was forced back halfway across the battlefield. Immediately the Samurai pulled out a small ornamental revolver, firing off a series of gunshots at the man in orange, and immediately ended with a slash with the accursed sword right to the Shinobi's throat when he got close enough.
The smaller of the two fell to the ground, choking on his blood, and soon stopped breathing.
"Alright, Soi-Fon, go grab his-"
Shortly after his breaths halted he began to breathe again. Sakura blossoms formed in the air around him and his body emitted a warm red glow. He stood back up, wounds fully healed and ready to fight again.
"What the hell?"
The taller samurai stood unfazed by the sight, almost as if he knew the Shinobi would rise again. He waited for the man in orange to stand back up, only so he could kill him again.
The samurai rushed down at his opponent, swinging his spear and sword wildly, yet with a greater amount of control than she expected. Shockwaves bounced across the battlefield as blows were deflected back and forth. The samurai came forward thrusting his spear at his opponent, only for it to be stomped into the ground and the handle to be cracked.
He jumped into the once again, catching lightning with his spear and ready to strike the Shinobi down again. The Shinobi climbed into the air with the man to intercept the lightning, catching it with his blade and hitting the samurai with a series of strikes before returning the lightning to the samurai, paralyzing him.
He rushed at the samurai again, gliding past him in a mist of blazing raven feathers lighting the ground beneath them on fire. An axe strike came next, crashing down on the Samurai's shoulder and leading to an explosion. He followed it with another axe swing, detaching the axe in the Samurai's back, replacing the prosthetic tool with a vented barrel drenched in oil. He wound back his arm, then pushed it outwards to expel a bright lazulite-colored flame to engulf the Samurai and pushed himself backward several feet.
The Samurai turned around, no longer locked in a state of stun from the consecutive attacks. He began to laugh joyously, dropping his spear to remove the axe that had been lodged in his back. The fires burned on, ravaging and charting his skin. Yet throughout what could only be unimaginable pain he smiled and laughed through it all, almost like he found the ordeal funny.
The Shinobi immediately went to close the distance by dashing forward with his sword outstretched to pierce his heart. The samurai began a swing of his own, ready to meet the Shinobi's sword just as it would punch through his back. And the timing would be perfect.
"Like I said," Shihouin said. "We will likely never get to see anything like this again."
She watched the Shinobi's sword punch through the Samurai's heart. He took it out of his chest coming back with another strike, the Samurai blocking it, only temporarily as the smaller one slid beneath the guard and slashed at his belly.
The Samurai fell to his knees and lower his head. His hands were placed on his legs, away from any weapons.
"Do it, Sekiro!" He shouted.
The Shinobi approached him, finally unsheathing his massive red blade. It glowed as red as he did when he came back to life.
"Hesitation is defeat," said the man in orange as he stopped at the warrior's side.
"Indeed..." the man in orange, Sekiro he was called, Shihouin finally acknowledging his name, raised the sword above Isshin's neck and slashed down at his neck. "Well done... Sekiro..."
"Farewell..."
As his body fell to the ground his spirit stayed in position. They could see his open eyes and watch his corpse fall to the ground.
"It's over then," he said, adjusting his position into a criss-cross pose. He looked at the two women standing on the other end of the field. "I'd like to play stupid, but I'm going to say you two are Shinigami."
"You guessed faster than the previous people who saw us," Yoruichi told him.
"I was hoping that the Buddhists were on to something. If I ever reincarnated I always hoped that I would become a moonshiner in my next life. Or perhaps even as a master of a dojo."
"They were kinda right," she told him. "You might have to wait a few hundred years, but you'll be a moonshiner eventually. Or the dojo thing."
He laughed a bit at the remark. The man then looked over at Genichiro's corpse. "Did my grandson have any words before you sent him away?"
"We didn't send him away," she told him. "When he died there wasn't any spirit to perform a Konsō on. He died without regrets."
"That is good to hear," the man said, smiling. "But before you send me off, I want to see how this resolves itself."
"I'd love to let you do that, but I can't," she said. "Too many dead souls around attracts bad spirits. And so far there are way too many."
"Alright then," he replied. "Whatever it is you have to do, go on."
"One question before I send you on your way," Shihouin said, approaching the spirit. "Did any of that hurt?"
"Of course it hurt!" He laughed. "It felt like being stung by ten thousand bees and then run over by an ox! But I hadn't had a fight like that in my life."
"Time to say goodbye now," Yoruichi said with a slight smile. She tapped the butt of her zanpakuto on his forehead and the man began to vanish. "Now Soi-Fon, grab his sword."
"Yes ma'am," Soi-Fon responded, following her orders.
"Kuro-sama!" They heard the gruff voice of Sekiro exclaim as he knelt on the ground above a small child.
"Okami," the child said back to him, barely staying conscious.
"Take this," said the older man, holding a bright pink object towards the child's mouth, letting the boy drink it.
The sun began to rise. It shone lightly on the field of flowers and all those who stood in it. They watched the Shinobi lay the boy down gently and pull out the nodachi on his back, revealing the glowing red blade attached to the handle. Once fully unsheathed he began to hold it to his neck.
"I hereby condemn the last immortal," he spoke. "May you live on and embrace what it means to be human." With a sudden slice inward, the moment the blade severed his spine's connection to his brain he fell over. A plume of sakura petals replaced the blood that should have come out from his neck.
Soon after his spirit emerged from his corpse.
"Hey," Yoruichi said, grabbing the man's attention.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I've been asked that question too many times tonight," she groaned. "Look, there are an increasing amount of hollows incoming so I barely have time to be prattling on like I am. I hope you don't mind if I skip the introductions."
The man stayed silent. He looked over to his child-lord as the Shinigami approached him.
"Do what you will," he said to her, looking back at the woman.
"Thank you for your compliance!" Yoruichi said with a smile, tapping the butt of her sword on his forehead. "Safe travels!"
It was a peaceful transition. The only regret he had was not being able to stand by Kuro's side for just a bit longer, but as he came to this world the regret he had seemed to vanish. At least here he can know that Kuro would live a life untethered from the Dragon's Heritage. That much at least made him happy.
He felt a strange weight on his left side, something he felt like he had lost a while ago. Something he could clench and flex that Genichiro had severed. He looked down at the appendage to see his left forearm reattached to his body. No longer was there a prosthetic attached to his arm. The feeling was not unpleasant, but more unfamiliar at this point.
Aside from the repairs to his psyche and body, there were other things to be observed. At the moment he found himself in the forests just at the outskirts of a village. It seemed to be the only thing nearby as even the road leading the outside of the village pointed towards the forest.
He decided to leave the forest for the village, curious as to what he may discover. Aside from the place being relatively poor, evidenced by the rundown shacks and lack of clothing from the villagers, it was also quite empty. The population consisted of mostly men older than himself and very few children, who at least appeared to have more gender diversity than the adult population. There was at least one woman who could be seen observing over the children.
The adults were mostly drinking and playing some strange card game he hadn't seen before. Those that weren't were laying about doing nothing.
The children stuck to their group, not straying too far from the village square. A few of the girls were playing with a temari, kicking it between themselves and a handful of the boys were chasing each other around with sticks as swords.
He encroached upon the village's center further, attracting small glances now and then. No one's eyes stayed on him for long, most people being briefly curious instead of suspicious. A man who was walking his way, not paying attention, jumped aside when he saw he was about to collide with another, and briefly apologized before continuing on his way.
He was about to continue through the village to the other side to where the exit was until someone called out to him. "How's it going, stranger!" A friendly and intoxicated voice called out to him.
"Hello," he greeted back to the man.
The drunk man's cheeks were lightly flushed, yet not so red that he looked like a cherry. His eyes were halfway closed, either close to passing out or just relaxed. The cup he had was full and there were multiple bottles of sake surrounding him. Some of the alcohol even spilled onto his black hakama.
"C'mon over and sit with me. You don't have to drink if you don't want to."
He was hesitant to go sit near the man. With how many empty bottles of sake were next to him he felt that there was a reason he was drinking alone. He also didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, but he was in a strange place and was lost. Perhaps this man could serve as a connection.
Whether or not it was against his better judgment he went and sat down with the man at his table.
"Fresh out of the living world, friend?" he asked, grabbing a spare cup and pouring a bit of sake. "For you, if you want it," he said, sitting the cup in front of his newly found acquaintance.
"Yes," the other answered. "Only moments ago."
Sitting down in front of him he could get a better look at his face. Aside from being red, it was relatively clean, which is probably why he could tell he was red before sitting down with him. His face had softer features and his messy black hair covered the top half of his face. His eyes were barely visible.
"Thought so," the man said. "I knew those white clothes meant something."
He looked down at himself, noticing his usual orange coat and black clothes were gone. They were replaced by a short sleeve white burial kimono. It was odd how he didn't notice it before when inspecting his arm. He must have been disoriented from his transportation to the afterlife.
"How are you liking the place so far?" the stranger asked, leaning back in his wooden chair.
"It's fine," he answered the man, looking around at all the people going about their day.
"You have any family here or there?" the stranger asked, trying to make small talk.
That solely depends on what was considered family. His father was adopted while both his birth parents were dead. Yet his adoptive father betrayed him in a very physically painful way, so could he really be called family anymore?
"No," he chose as an answer.
"You must not be a very talkative person. Or you just don't have a whole lot to talk about." He said, taking a small sip of his drink. "My name is Ren, by the way, it's nice to meet you."
The man stayed silent, nodding his head in response. Ren looked at him curiously. "Don't have a name?" He asked.
His name was whatever people called him when it came down to it. His whole life he had been called Okami. It was a description that his father had noted before taking him in. Okami had stuck with him since, being used by Lady Butterfly, Kuro, and Emma. It wasn't until The Tengu did that change.
"Sekiro," he muttered under his breath in remembrance, barely enough for Ren to hear.
Of course, it was another description of his appearance, noting the eyes of a starving wolf and the freshly severed arm. It was also an ode to the one who came before him, the sculptor. It was the first deviation from what many had called him until then. But could he call either a name?
"Sekiro, huh?" Ren said, apparently having heard him after all. "I can get the last part, you do have the eyes of a wolf with its pack, but ya still got both arms."
"I lost my left arm in battle back in the living world," he answered.
"So you were a fighter?" Ren asked.
"Yes," Sekiro answered, keeping vague about what he was when alive.
"I know a few guys who would like you," Ren told Sekiro. "But that's dependent on how dedicated to fighting you are."
"I neither enjoy nor distaste it," Sekiro answered. "I kill if I have to." Despite what he told Ren there was a part of him that felt as if he enjoyed it. It was a darker part of him, one that lead to Shura. To kill only for the joy of killing, forgetting why he started to kill in the first place.
"Never mind then," Ren replied, taking a drink from his cup. He looked through his bangs at Sekiro's cup to see it had gone untouched. "You not a drinker?"
Sekiro looked down at the drink. He could smell its cheap fumes from where it sat, not too far away from him but not too close. It was white, almost like milk, but had a somewhat darker shade to it.
It was odd being on the receiving end of an offer. He had never drank before. His duty to Kuro was of higher importance than whatever free time he may have been given. The only time he touched alcohol was when he was giving it to someone else. He still wondered what they all tasted like. The regular sake he imagined tasted foul, especially since it smelt the same as what sat before him currently. He knew that monkey booze burnt the throat, given Isshin's statement and the sculptor's reaction. Dragon Spring... was something that made him want to try it for himself, but there were more important things to handle at the time. Now that time is gone.
Curious and finding himself mildly bored, he picked up the sake and drank it. It felt rough going down his throat, like drinking cold lava. It burned worse than he thought it would. Regardless of its quality, he could feel himself becoming lightheaded already.
"Yeah, it's cheap," said Ren, refilling Sekiro's cup. "It's bootleg wine made by the guys here. The guys back at the barracks enjoy it because it costs next to nothing, but when we can we try and sneak at some of the boss's stuff. He catches us sometimes, but not always."
Sekiro couldn't find the time to respond amid his coughing fit. He was still coughing as a weird noise came through the tree lines, almost like the sound of a firework being let loose in the air before it explodes. Yet this noise was distorted, like the wails of a ghost who is warning people of death.
"Oh shit," Ren noted, stumbling to his feet and barely getting a handle of the sword he kept under the table. His grip was wobbly and his stance was worse. It was a miracle Ren was even able to stand. "Get inside a house and stay there. The locals won't mind, this is an emergency."
"What was that sound?" Sekiro asked.
"A h-" Ren burped before he could speak. "Hollow. I'll explain it after. Just get inside a house."
Not wanting his new life to end so early Sekiro did as instructed and ducked inside the nearest building with a handful of the adults. He watched Ren from an open window, curious as to what he was doing.
Ren began to perform heavy and deep breaths, steadying his hand and stance. Soon he was as still as could be as if he were completely sober. The shrill noise came again and Ren turned to face it. Sekiro watched Ren swipe his hair away from his eyes.
They watched as a massive masked demon in the shape of a monkey came swinging through the forest down at the village. Ren began to wave his hand in the air, shaping out Kanji and reciting a verse to some spell.
"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo No.9: Geki!"
The demon became paralyzed midair and crashed down onto the ground with great force. Engulfed in a red-colored energy it was helpless when Ren slashed across its mask with his sword. The demon began to fade away in a bright white light.
The black outfit alone was just clothing to Sekiro. After seeing his sword being used to purify a demon he knew it was another Shinigami. Like the woman who sent him to the afterlife.
"It's safe! You can all come out now!" Ren shouted, intoxication now back in his voice.
Sekiro followed the other men out of the dwelling, meeting back in the square. Before Sekiro could talk to him again one of the villagers got to him first.
"This week's batch is for free, Ren-chan," said the villager. "Thank goodness you were here today."
"I'm glad I was pressured into coming today," Ren told him. "I was supposed to come tomorrow but everyone back at the barracks was complaining. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."
The old man laughed at Ren. "You just wait here, Ren. I'll be back with you in a bit."
The crowd began to disperse and everyone went back to their previous activities, albeit a bit on edge. Children were playing samurai again, adults were playing cards again and Ren could barely stand again.
"Hey, Sekiro!" Ren answered, stumbling his way over to him. "I got a job for ya!"
"What's the job?" Sekiro asked.
Ren stopped at Sekiro and used his shoulder to help him stand. "First off, do you know how to ride a horse?"
...
It turned out he didn't necessarily need to ride a horse, but instead guide it from the wagon. Ren sat in the back with all the moonshine the villagers had made. The Shinigami was giving him directions to some fortress directly north of the village, surrounded by a large town out front.
Ren had been pretty much scared sober. His cheeks were still flush but the interaction with the demon had knocked his senses back in place. He still wasn't sober enough to guide a horse pulling a wagon, but he was getting there.
They were still in the forest, following a dirt path covered by trees. It was odd seeing how empty it was. Usui Forest, the place where he was trained when he was young, wasn't as empty as this. Usui at least had the occasional fox or chipmunk wander into his training area.
In this forest, it was rare to even see an insect on a tree.
"No animals," he observed, thinking aloud.
"They're around somewhere," Ren told him. "They have souls too but they're passing is less messy than it is for humans. Though Hoshi says the opposite. Most tend to go straight back into the reincarnation cycle but there are a few who stick around as spirits. The vast majority wind up here. Never seen one go Hollow. Honestly, I don't think it's possible."
"What's a Hollow?"
"The demon in the mask back at the village. That's a hollow," Ren answered. "When you die you become a whole, a good spirit waiting to pass on. But if you spend too much time in the living world without passing on you become a hollow."
"And hollows come here too?" Sekiro assumed.
Ren huffed in annoyance. "They can, but it's not their home. Just know that if you stay in the more populated areas you won't have to worry about hollows a whole lot. Those places are safer than villages out in the boonies."
"So then what are you?"
"Shinigami," Ren answered, a goofy smile appearing on his face. "We maintain balance throughout the different worlds."
Different worlds... an interesting thought. Was Yomi no Kuni real? Did Hollows live there? What about Takamagahara? Wasn't the divine realm of the Sakura Dragon technically a different world?
"How many are there?"
"Well, there's the human world, the spirit world, and the hollow world, so three." Sekiro could soon hear the noise of a bottle being uncorked. "I don't know a whole lot, but if you decide to become a Shinigami you could find out more, yourself."
"What do you mean by that? Become a Shinigami?"
"What? Did you think Shinigami just materialized out of the air?" Ren laughed.
In a way, yes he did. Everything he thought he knew about his people's religion turned out to be half-truths. Maybe a full truth here and there, but everything was becoming confusing at this point. Even though he wasn't devout about Shinto, not even having a passive interest, his father and Lady Butterfly at least taught him the essentials so as not to upset the Kannushi. He was told they can be very abrasive about Shinto.
"Shinigami aren't just born... technically. It's a bit of a half-truth. The Five Great Noble Families have their members join the Goteijūsantai, so technically they are born into being Shinigami, sort of like how your Samurai are born of noble blood."
"But you are not of these noble families?" Sekiro asked.
"Yep," Ren replied. "I was born and raised in the inner Rukongai. I lived in that village we just left for a bit before becoming a Shinigami."
"So anyone can become a Shinigami?"
"Yes, anyone," Ren drunkenly chuckled. The bottle that he heard become uncorked was finally being drunk. When it was emptied he tossed it out of the cart onto the forest floor. "Y'know, you could become one too if you want."
"No thank you," Sekiro told him.
"Why not?" Ren asked, his words becoming slightly slurred.
"I have no desire to."
"What do you have a desire to do then?" Ren further asked.
Thinking about it, he wasn't sure what his desire was at the moment. He had been fighting for so long, his death being the first interruption from the lifestyle. He wasn't tired of fighting or killing. The departure didn't bother him at all. Yet as to what he desired, he wasn't sure.
He hummed in silence at the thought. Ren was also silent as he waited for his driver to answer.
"Well if you ever change your mind you know where I frequent. I'll give you tips and advice if you need any."
"I'll think about it." This much could be true. It could also be a lie. If he did decide to potentially rethink his decision it would be far into the future, but it definitely wouldn't be soon.
It was time for him to live this new life on his own terms. Just as how he ended it.
Thanks to all that stopped by. If you're coming in from my other fics please don't ask me in DMs or reviews about chapters for the other fics, they're coming. If you are not coming from my other fics and instead have stumbled across me... Hi!
Let me know what you think. And like I said depending on the reception I might make a full story out of this, but it might just be a one-shot. Because to be completely honest with you guys beyond this one chapter I have no idea of how to even start making this a story.
Regardless, thanks for stopping by.
Notes and Trivia
- Shinto is a religion from Japan (obviously) and the religion that the word Shintoism is based on.
- A Kannushi (神主, "Divine Master (of ceremonies)", originally pronounced Kamunushi), also called shinshoku (神職, meaning "god's employee"), is a person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine (神社, jinja) as well as for leading worship of a given kami.
- Yomi no Kuni is the Japanese under world/world of the dead. It is known to be the home of the goddess Izanami after her death.
- Takamagahara is the home of the heavenly gods (amatsukami) also known as the Shinto gods. It is usually depicted as being located in the sky, and is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge named "Ame-no-ukihashi" (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven").