Chapter 9 Soul society and School society
It was a clear summer sky In the world of Soul Society, where Governing souls go to a better place. At the same time, Soul Reapers trained to fight hollows and fight on the soul's king's behalf.
All of this is managed within the Seireitei. A place that held beautiful housing for the Noble families of the Soul Society was also a barracks for the top elite captains. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when three captains ended up betraying the solar society, many began to prepare for war yet to come, some still training others recovering from the betrayal.
There was a meeting today, However, today was an eventful evening because this gathering of powerful captains was not a response to Aizen but to a special squad member visiting from the Soul King's Palace.
Opening theme song!
Chorus~
He's Phantom.
Keigo Phantom! Keigo Phantom! Keigo Phantom!
Rap~
YO! Keigo was just average fifteen when suddenly, discovered a very strange machine!
It was designed to view, a world unseen!
Chorus~
He gonna catch 'em all 'cause he's Keigo Phantom!
Rap~
One day he's bored and finds a lab, but Keigo has to take a look inside of it. There was a great big flash, everything just changed, His molecules got all rearranged~!
Chorus~
Phantom! Phantom!
Rap~
When he first woke up, he realized, He had snow-white hair and glowing green eyes, He could walk through walls, disappear, and fly, He was much more unique than the other guys!
And it was then that Keigo knew what had to do, he had to stop all the ghosts that were coming through, He's here to fight for me and you!
Chorus ~
He gonna, catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He gonna, catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He gonna, catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He gonna, catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, The head captain of the thirteen-court guard squad. Sat in his wooden chair. This was the man who spearheaded the creation of the soul society. He created the thirteen-court guard squad.
Yamamoto is a fair-skinned man of average height. He is an elderly man with a bald head, deep wrinkles, a hooked nose, and pronounced cheekbones. He has red eyes, long eyebrows, a long mustache, and a hip-length white beard secured by a purple band crossing down it. He has many scars on his body, with the two most prominent being a pair of long scars crossing above his right eye, one of which was left by his battle with his lieutenant.
He wore what every soul reaper would wear, a standard black shihakushō, he wore a captain's long-sleeved haori draped over his back instead of wearing it, which was his style. He held a large wooden cane. To his right and left were the other members of the court guard squad. Each one is different from the last.
All the captains in the room are silent as the person in the room has all the attention. Their guest was none other than Ichibē Hyōsube. They were standing in the center of the room.
He held a calm gaze toward the group and nodded at the situation he was told.
"So not only did three of our captains betray us, but they also stole the Hogyoku. Central forty-six has been killed, This is most unfortunate. You could at least start with some good news," Ichibē said as he stroked his bread.
"Well as bad as that is… I came here for another reason," Ichibē said. Many murmurs began to speak among the captains.
"Excuse me, then what are you doing here?" A youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair. wears the standard Shinigami captain shihakushō apart from using an obi instead of the normal sash, which hides her well-endowed bosom. Her hair is long and is always worn as a large braid down the front of her body. This was Captain Unohana of the fourth division of Soul Society. Ichibē continued to stroke his beard.
"Well I have to say, I'm not here because of Aizen," Ichibe said, making the room silent.
"So if you're not here for Azien then what is it? Also, what do you plan to do about Aizen?" Sui Feng is a relatively petite woman with gray eyes and black hair; she wears shorts with two long braids bound in white cloth, each ending in a large golden ring. She was the captain of the second division which was the stealth force.
"Yeah, I've been wanting to ask that too. It's not like your royal court guard shows up for no reason," A lax voice called out. The one who asked that question was a tall, light-skinned Shinigami with high cheekbones, gray eyes, and long wavy brown hair. His hair is tied in a long ponytail with long bangs that frame the left side of his face. He had noticeable body hair on his chest, feet, and arms. He wears a Sugegasa straw hat and a pink, floral lady's kimono, which he drapes across his shoulders and over his Shihakushō. This was Captain Shunsui, the captain of the eighth division.
"Maybe he came for a fight," a very tall, muscular Shinigami with a wild and aggressive appearance said. He has a long face with high cheekbones, enlarged canine teeth, and pronounced, hairless brow ridges. He has green eyes and stringy black hair reaching past his shoulders. He had an eye strap over his right eye. This man who was ready to fight was Kenpachi Zararki. a warrior and bloodthirsty man looking for any fight.
"Control yourself, I don't want a barbarian ruining this meeting," A high voice called out. Kenpachi glared across from himself.
"You got a problem clown," Kenpachi called out to the man who had insulted him. The Shinigami was strange, he wore face paint creating a black cross upon the center of his face covering everything but his nose and a small portion of his lower chin. His ear attachments have become shorter and rounder but wider, his chin has a long golden attachment reminiscent of an Egyptian Pharaoh beard, his teeth have become golden, and he no longer wears a hat as there is a golden frame around his face. His hair is also styled into horns that slope down from the top of his head and frame his face, which looks much like a Pharaoh's crown when viewed from the front. This was Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the head of research and development of Soul Society. Also, a person who didn't care much for human safety.
"Enough you two, this is not how we act when one of the royal court guards visits us," Captain Byakuya said. He was one of the more stylish captains wearing Byakuya, has slate gray eyes and long black hair, which he keeps up in intricate white headpieces called kenseikan, also wearing three on top of his head and another two on the right side. In addition to the standard captain shihakushō, he wears a white scarf.
"He is right enough of you two," The Captain who spoke was Sajin Komarmura, A beast man who is nine feet tall. His wolf head was born while his yellow eyes shined with a wild feeling. He wears shoulder weights over his haori and large, plated boots instead of sandals. Two other captains looked very concerned and then back to each other.
"This got out of hand fast, Well I can't blame them after Aizen," A short Captain said almost looking like a child, with turquoise eyes and short, spiked, white hair, which tends to draw attention in the Human World. He wears a standard sleeveless captain's haori with a green sash around his shoulders, held together by a round, star-like clip. The sash holds his Zanpakutō's sheath in place on his back and is tied to it at either end. He sometimes walks around in his tabi.
"Yes Captain Hitsugaya it might be tense, we could all learn to calm down a bit," Captain Ukitake said, he was a man with long white hair and was tall but he had a pale face and looked to be ill. He did have a cheery out loot to himself so it blanched out.
"QUITE ALL OF YOU!" Yamamoto shouted even flaring his spiritual energy so that they all paid attention. Most of the Captains kept their mouths shut but Ichibē remained unfazed. That this show of power didn't bother him at all.
"Hmmm what an interesting group of captains we have here," Ichibēi said. Then he paced around the room looking at the spots.
"Yes, I'm not here because of Aizen and I've already been informed about Ichigo Kurosaki. Let's ask you all a question, do you know of the legend of the Ao or heard of its other names like the Green Sea, Seventh World, and some children called it the Ghost Zone?" He asked them with a stern voice. Many of the captains and even Yamamoto were stumped on the question. Some didn't know how to answer the question, like asking someone if they believed in Santa Clauses. It was childish but came from the top command.
"You mean the same Ao from the stories, the place where wish-granting fairies live?" Shunsui asked. Ichibei glanced at him and nodded.
"Yes," He answered.
"Ao from the children's books, the same one that tells a sponge that lives under the sea," Hitsugaya said, trying to not show his confusion.
"Yes, the one who lives in a pineapple," Ichibēi said plainly. Many of the captains looked at each other trying to understand or get any confirmation on what they were told. There was a long moment of silence as every captain was speechless.
"This has to be a joke," Byakuya said, speaking on what was on the mind of the thirteen-court guard squad. Ichibei shook his head and glanced behind his shoulder.
"I honestly wish it was. Yes, many of the stories you've heard about are a little true, some exaggerated but the Ghost Zone is real," Ichibēi said. Captain Mayuri was at the edge of his feet. Hearing all of this made him happy with joy. To know there was another world out there to study was quite amazing. Yamamoto took a deep sigh and glanced at the man.
"So the Ghost Zone threatens all of reality again...to tip the balance?" Yamamoto asked.
"Yes it has, I'm sorry to add more to your plate but you need to do something," Ichibēi said. Sui Feng glared at the man, she didn't believe him. This all had to be an elaborate joke at the captain's expense.
"And how do you know this? Why should we believe you?" She asked in a harsh voice.
"Calm yourself, the second captain. This is a serious situation," He said in a gruff voice. While silencing Sui Feng from acting further. Ichibēi glanced at them all and could see they needed a bit more convincing.
"I understand your questions but the Soul King warned me of this… and the scout who's about to enter the room," Ichibēi said. Then just as he said, a messenger flashed and stepped into the room by Yamamoto's side.
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt but an urgent message from the world of the living," The man held out a scroll to Yamamoto. The head captain gladly took it in his hand, and the scout left the room as Yamamoto opened it to read the context inside.
He read it carefully and held his head in a stressed-out manner. Many of the captains were shocked to see Yamamoto lose his cool composure, this was a first for them. Ichibēi walked towards Yamamoto, the leader of the Soul Reapers gave the scroll to Ichibēi who read the context out loud to the others.
"Zennosuke Kurumadani reports a strange human souls that glow green. They don't have their chain to the living world but show no sign of hollowfication. However they are incredibly hostile, he said need an entire squad to help take down this strange soul. It showed powers that he had never seen. Please send help now. He's fearing for the safety of the living," Ichibēi read out loud, many captains winced and tensed up at the news. Kenpachi had a wide smile, while Mayuri gleefully tapped his fingers. Most of their mind thought the one thing "What was happening?"
"It appears a ghost has entered the world of the living," He said with a weary voice.
"I don't understand we are spirits, why is this referred to as a ghost?" Unohana asked.
'Because the souls in the ghost zone fall more into the real definition, They can walk through walls, disappear, and give off no spiritual energy they are in question are dead," Ichibēi said in disgust.
"Fighting things that are already dead sounds interesting," Kenpachi thought.
"My, my… sounds like we have quite the problem on your hands," Mayuri said, sounding more like he was enjoying himself.
"Yes we do," Ichibēi said.
"So… what are you going to do about it?" Sui Fung asked. Ichibēi stood tall and glanced at all of them. He then showed a cocky smile, while holding his giant paintbrush over his shoulder.
"Nothing, I protect the Soul King," Ichibēi then pointed at all of them. "The Thirteen-court guard squad. Protects the world of the living see the picture,"
"HOW DARE YOU DO NOTHING-,"
"SILENCE SECOND CAPTAIN!" Sui Fung was interrupted by Yamamoto whose voice carried such power that she halted in speech and glared at the floor. Ichibēi is still holding his brush with a blank face.
"Hm, well since you are all lacking in numbers, I want you, Yamamoto. To appoint two new captains from the emergency recruitment captain list," Ichibēi said. Many of the captains began to murmur amongst each other.
"An Emergency recruitment list?" Hitsugaya asked. Yamamoto knew what this list was and he hated it.
"Let me explain, Instead of selecting a captain through us. There is a list of individuals chosen by Central Fortify Six to be placed as captains. It was made in a situation where if most of the captains have turned traitors, too injured or died. I spoke against it but now that Central Fortify Six is still rebuilding. Ichibēi is the one holding the highest authority," Yamamoto explained as some captains found this to be terrible. So many soul reapers had worked towards this position but to know that there were people who came before their lieutenants was upsetting.
"You expect me to go against the years of tradition to just give the status of Captain to anyone," Yamamoto said. Ichibēi calmly walked in front of the head captain.
"These aren't random people, they are hardened warriors. Besides, I know Aizen Zanpatuko, you have all been exposed to it, you need a fresh pair of eyes to have the advantage,"
"You are going to follow these orders because I'm the mouth of the Soul King. To ignore these orders, is going against society itself," Ichibēi said and no one could argue against that. He put his paintbrush on the ground and wrote two names on the floor in front of Yamamoto. In thick black kanji… Musashi Miyamoto and Fuma Kotaro.
The captains glanced at Ichibēi seeing he was leaving the room.
"Where are you going?" Yamamoto asked.
"I'll be waiting in the other room until you find them and bring them here. You can find Musashi on the north side of the social Society wilderness, he'll be more inclined to hear the offer. Fuma is on the level zero floor of the Central Great Underground Prison she might need a little convincing, that's all I have to say until you bring them here," Ichibēi said leaving the room. Yamamoto glanced at the doorway and let out a weary sign. Then, he slammed the end of his came to the floor.
"We must follow the Soul King's order, so starting now I will send two Captains each to retrieve these individuals and welcome them into our rank, do you understand,"
"Yes, head captain," All of them said.
"Then dismissed!"
"I hope that this is only a sick joke if it is true, then I fear for the reality of our entire world if the ghost zone is leaking into our world, what could save them or prevent such a tragic cataclysm from happening, who could help us now," Yamamoto thought.
Keigo let out a loud yawn while putting on his school uniform. He looked into his mirror and smirked at his reflection.
"Looking good ghost boy," he proudly, said to himself in the reflection. Then a sudden knock at the door startled him.
"Keigo you better not be inflating your ego in there!" Mizuho shouted knocking on the door. Keigo opened the door and awkwardly got out of the bathroom. Mizuho glared at her younger brother. He seemed to be more calm. Keigo rushed to his room and went downstairs
"Sorry Mizuko I'm going to head out to school early, I don't want to miss the train!" Keigo said as he ran out of his house. Mizuko had a puzzled look did her brother want to school early?
"Okay, somethings not adding up here, Is Keigo happy to go back to school?" She asked herself.
Keigo was already way down the street, He looked so happy. Every step was so lively and why wouldn't he, having ghost powers would make anyone pretty joyful.
Keigo was living a dream that he never thought was possible. He wondered now that it was cool, maybe he would be able to get a girlfriend. Then the young teen blushed thinking about one thing he could do with his powers. He stopped at a stoplight
"Maybe I could spy on some chick," Keigo thought, having a dumb expression on his face. His thoughts were interrupted when a car crashed into another. Snapping him out of his thoughts.
He was about to run into an alleyway and transform into his alleyway. However, he stopped and couldn't move. thinking about Kisuke's words.
Keigo was sitting in a calm room. surrounded by the Vizards and Kisuke was sitting in front of him.
"Keigo, we need you to be more careful about revealing our powers. Will be able to control the media outlets, but you need to be more careful," Kisuke said. Keigo nodded and held him down in an apologetic manner.
"You're right I'll be more careful next time," Keigo apologized.
"Listen what you did today was good, you stopped a force we don't even know how to handle," Shinji said with a calm smirk.
"But the world of the living doesn't need to know about the afterlife," Kisuke pointed out. Keigo felt a sense of dread, he wasn't going to get the money and appraisals, for being a hero. Mashiro could see the sadness in Keigo's eyes and thought about the perfect thing to cheer him up.
"Don't worry Keigo, I know what you need to see," Mashiro spun around and looked at the back door. "HEY KENSEI, GET YOUR LOUSY BUTT OUT OF BED!"
The sliding door opened revealing the man that Keigo thought he failed was in way better health. He was wearing his normal clothes but under his light clothing were a few scars.
"Alright I heard you, can a guy get some rest around here," Kensei stopped when he glanced at Keigo.
"Oh yeah it's you heard you took down the guy who did this to me, Thanks kid," Kensei said showing a calm voice. Keigo without hesitation bowed to the man.
"Sir I'm so sorry… I'm the reason you ended up hurt. If it wasn't for me, Striker wouldn't have been free!" Keigo said. Kensei was taken aback but looked more annoyed.
"Stop beating yourself up, I mean you're not the one who put me in the infirmary," whether or not he was saying it out of pride or just didn't want Keigo to worry didn't matter, because Keigo wouldn't just let this incident escape from his mind. No more walking away and pretending nothing happened. He would better himself off this and become stronger. Keigo then slammed his head against the mat of the floor, bowing apologetically.
"It still was my fault that you had suffered, so please let me apologize!" Keigo said, making everyone surprised at how responsible Keigo was acting. Kensei nodded finding the gesture to be honorable.
"Geez you don't take no for an answer," Kensei said. The man hardly likes to give praise to another but here you could tell the boy I've been through a lot. Mashiro appreciated her captain's action and couldn't help but think how much weight Keigo carried. Kisuke tipped his hat shading his eyes.
"Keigo you are a kind individual but please take more caution in the public eye, you wouldn't want any of your friends getting hurt because of this secret, would you?" Kisuke advice to the young who deeply thought about his words. Keigo respectfully bowed to him.
"Yeah you're right I'll try and be more careful," Keigo said. Truly he had taken the man's words to heart. He wished Yankii were here but he could instead hear the drunken steps outside the room in the apartment store area.
"Keigo I broke something, I have no money, could you pay for it? Master would truly appreciate it," Yankii's voice said from behind the wall. Keigo's head sunken in embarrassment.
Keigo was still in the alleyway thinking about what Kisuke said. Then he had a curious idea. With a happy smile, he would have to stay out of the public eye, it was a good thing I was able to turn invisible.
Keigo set his school bag down and raised his arms high.
"I'm going ghost!" He shouted.
A young man with short black hair and green eyes parted down the middle with a stray bang in his face and the tips fanning out. He looks very young and wears the Karakura High School uniform with the jacket zipped up. He was currently walking alone down the street. It was clear that he was heading to school.
However, the boy didn't really care about his surroundings as he was staring at his red cell phone texting someone. This was Mizurio Kojima. He was a calm and reasonable person. While also being known as a local playboy.
He was currently standing at the front of the school gate and was waiting for someone. Mizurio had a befuddled look.
"Keigo is not here, that's strange he always tries to beat me here," Mizurio thought. He was about to walk in without his friend when suddenly he felt a chill.
"Hey Mizurio!" Keigo shouted who appeared right by Mizurio with no warning whatsoever.
"Geez Keigo!" Mizurio had gripped his chest, having the daylights scared out of him. He wondered how Keigo sneaked up on him. Keigo, having a relaxed smirk, tried to act cool as he threw his bag over his shoulder. Mizurio couldn't help but notice that Keigo hadn't screamed his name out in a centric manner.
"Hey Mizurio you need to pay more attention, I could've been a monster," Keigo said with a smirk. Mizurio shook his head as they walked into the school courtyard. Was it him or his imagination Keigo seemed to be a bit clammer. The way he walked appeared to be more lax.
Keigo hid his smirk knowing that out of anybody in his class. He had the best school break, out of the entire class. Even though he wouldn't tell, he was still happy, knowing about the epic fights he had and the start of his superhero story.
They walked into the school building and the green halls. Keigo couldn't help but notice that Mizurio was more into his phone today. Keigo raised an eyebrow and looked over Mizurio's shoulder to see who he was texting. The contact info said it was a person named XJ9.
Keigo was slightly puzzled and glanced back at Mizurio.
"Who's XJ9, one of your girl contacts?" Keigo asked. Though he was more jealous thinking it was one of Mizurio's many girls that he hung out with. Mizurio quickly put away his phone and acted like nothing happened. However, Keigo could see the frustration in his brow like Mizurio was mad that Keigo had said that name. The mask that Mizurio wore had a slight crack.
"Oh, it's nothing, and one more thing, It's not XJ9, her name is Jenny. She is just someone I met over break," Mizurio said with a smile. Keigo found it to be strange because to him Mizurio sounded a bit shy about the subject. Had it finally happened a girl finally caught his eye and was in love with someone. Keigo had a mischievous smirk and playfully bumped his elbow into Mizurio's arm.
"Sounds like someone is in love, Who would have known that the playboy himself would fall for the likes of an American girl!" Keigo said, making mocking kissy faces. Mizurio rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance. Usually, it would always be him getting the last laugh but the way Keigo held himself with confidence made him a little unprepared.
"Well she was new in town and I offered to show her around. She was grateful, let's leave at that," Mizurio said, then he saw his moment of freedom as standing at the end of the fall to their classroom was Ichigo walking calmly to class.
"Hey Keigo, look, it's Ichigo," Mizurio said. Keigo smiled and was about to get his running start.
"You know, you'll never get him right?" Mizurio said. Almost every school day Keigo would always try to get the jump on Ichigo, only for it to spectacularly fail every time. Keigo glanced at Mizurio with a smirk.
"This is going to be different,"
Keigo began to slur out Ichigo's name and began to raise his voice, turning into a full sprint. Keigo leaped at the teen with a cheerful expression. He felt so confident he would be able to finally get one over Ichigo.
"ICHIGO~, OOF!" Keigo was cut off by the harsh close lining done by Ichigo's arm. The teen simply walked by him like nothing happened. Keigo was awestruck at what happened. All of his training and fighting led to this. Now he was on the floor with a bloody nose and a painful expression.
"Aw man I thought, I had him that time," Keigo thought.
"Where have you been Ichigo? And where have I been," Keigo groaned out
"Hey," Ichigo plainly said.
Ichigo passed Mizurio and gave him a nod. "Hey Mizurio,"
Mizurio walked to the laid-out Keigo and smiled at him, something would never change. "Good morning Keigo,"
"I'm going to kill him~" Keigo moaned, trying to overcome the pain. Getting up to his feet Keigo felt a bit saddened but that didn't mean he would give up just yet. Keigo and Mizurio walked in the classroom door.
"Good morning Ichigo!" Orihime said with a cheer. She had orange hair and silver eyes. Chad had only given a slight wave, he was a giant teen and had tan skin. Uyru pushed up his glasses, with his well-kept black hair and snobbish look.
"Your hair looks stupid,"
Ichigo nodded at them and sat by the three. Keigo was surprised at this site, these three were hanging out. It was an odd group of friends. To Keigo, it was a beauty, the beast, and the nerd. Keigo would have been more outspoken about it but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. After all, a break from dealing with ghosts was more troublesome. Keigo glanced at Ichigo with a sad face.
"Looks like it's a tragic end to a beautiful friendship," Keigo said, sulking to himself. Ichigo rolled his eyes at his over-dramatic friend.
"Will you calm down," Ichigo said, taking his seat. Keigo took his seat and glanced at the four of them seeing such an odd group gather.
"I wonder what they all did last summer," Keigo thought. Then out of the blue, a girl with red glasses and pink hair jumped behind Orihime and grabbed her breast from behind. Keigo shakes his head thinking about Chizuru Honshō's old antics.
"Good morning Orihime!" She shouted only for her to be kicked away in the face by Tatsuki. Chizuru rolled across the floor and held her bleeding nose.
"Summer may have ended but your comedic timing is as flawless as ever," Chizuru said. Tatsuki had an annoyed face.
"There's nothing comedic about it, Hands off Orihime!" Tatsuki then slung her bag over her back and glared at Chizuru. "Summer, fall- You're always in heat,"
"Yes I am, And don't forget about spring and winter," Chizuru said with no shame. Tatsuki was annoyed but glanced at Keigo with a surprised look. Taking a deep breath she walked over to his desk. Keigo froze and didn't know what was going to happen next.
"Is she mad at me, Oh Keigo you better expect a butt whooping by the end of class," Keigo thought in panic. Only for the young girl to stop and scratch the back of her head.
"Hey Keigo, Thanks for helping me back there at the crosswalk," Tatsuki said. Keigo gulped and awkwardly looked away remembering the moment.
"No big deal, I'm glad you're okay," Keigo said. Tatsuki could see again, that the way Keigo acted was off-putting. He seemed calmer than usual, not to mention he wasn't shouting at the top of his lungs. Mizurio noticed as well, Keigo would always bowseat when he got praised. Not so humble as he was now.
"Hey were you okay this break, you seemed a little stressed when I saw you," Tatsuki wanted to know what was making me so irked. Keigo calmly smiled, thinking about how it all went down last break. His body slightly froze as he remembered the pain that surged through his body. The thing that said he let the door open. Tatsuki and Mizurio could see the thousand-yard stare and began to worry.
"Keigo, Keigo. Hey Keigo!" Tatsuki snapped him out of his thoughts. Mizurio touched his friend's shoulder yet he wasn't snapped out of his trance. Ichigo glanced at Keigo and could see the look in his eyes.
"Keigo are you alright," Still he hadn't answered. Keigo snapped out of the daze and looked around not only seeing Tatsuki and Mizurio's worried gaze but the whole classroom.
"Sorry I must have spaced out their guys," Keigo said, rubbing his head. Ichigo had a worried look on his face.
"Are you sure?" He asked. Keigo needed to play this off and let out a loud fake yawn.
"Sorry, I just kind of stayed up all night is all, You don't need to worry about me," Keigo said with a goofy smile. Ichigo, Tatsukia, and Mizurio only grew suspicious, because Keigo would never be so honest he would always tell a big story, not just a simple answer. Tatuki knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. So she would do some at a later time, I mean what's the worst that Keigo could have gotten himself into?
I mean it was Keigo after all. However, he wasn't the only person acting strange this break.
Tatsuki looked at Ichigo with a curious face, more so the strange object that hung from the back of his shirt.
"Hey, you were missing in action all summer, I heard you got back from vacation early, but you were never home when I stopped by," Tatsuki asked. Then she glanced at the strange trinket at the end of his shirt again. Keigo could see it, the wooden shape of a diamond with a skull on it. He thought it looked a bit tasty.
"Hey, what is that?" Tatsuki asked.
"Huh. Oh, it's a charm," Ichigo said pointing at the badge given by his father.
"Not that. That's a joke gift from your dad right?" Tatsuki said. Ichigo was a bit surprised that she knew that.
"How'd you know that?" Ichigo asked. Tatsuki rolled her eyes in anger.
"It's obvious, who else would give you something like that? But I'm talking about the thing with the skull on it. Where'd you get it," She asked with a stern voice.
"Yeah dude, it's not like you to carry stuff like that," Keigo pointed out. Ichigo glanced at his soul reaper pass and held it.
"Oh this, I uh bought it at a shop," Ichigo said nervously, then he paused and looked at Tatsuki and Keigo.
"Wait, you guys can see it," Ichigo asked. Keigo and Tatsuki were a bit confused.
"What do you mean?" Tatsuk asked. Keigo felt uneasy in the air. Why did it seem like Ichigo was hiding something from them? Before they could even ask Ichigo about the skull charm. The teacher busted in the classroom and soon everyone was in their seats.
All of them were silent, listening to their teacher Ms. Ochi. They were getting a new student today. Yet Keigo couldn't help but glance over his shoulder looking at Ichigo. The way he looked to be so intried in it, weirded out Keigo.
"What the heck is that thing!" Keigo thought. Well, maybe Ichigo might have been acting strange.
"HOLLOW! HOLLOW!" A voice called out, Keigo jumped at the loud noise. Even Ichigo, Chad, Uyru, and Orihime reacted to the loud voice. Keigo looked around the room only to find everyone else was deep in the lesson. It was confusing how no one could hear this.
"Hey, you okay Ichigo?" Mizurio asked. Noticing how tense his friend was. Ichigo muttered something under his breath but unfortunately, Keigo heard every word.
"Phew, they couldn't hear it,"
"What does that mean?" Keigo thought. Chad whispered something to Ichigo, to which he only responded with a nod. The orange-haired delinquent ran into the hall with no warning.
"Wait where are you going?" yelled down the hall.
"BATH ROOM!" Ichigo yelled. Then Chad and Orihime followed soon after. Many of the classes just went back to their lesson because this always happened. Keigo found it to be a bit strange today. Instead of just acting like nothing occurred, Keigo was just stuck upon what had happened.
"Hollow don't soul reapers deal with those things," Keigo thought. Then he caught a strange sight out of the classroom window. It was Ichigo running in a track field wearing a strange black hakama with a strange and giant sword wrapped in bandages. Keigo's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
"What the hell was that!" Keigo thought. He tried to shake off the sight but he couldn't because Ichigo was a soul reaper.
He didn't really get anything from his classroom. Keigo was left with more questions than answers. Unknown to him, these next days were going to be strange.
The Next Day… Keigo was stinging in his seat and waited for Ichigo early that day. He wanted to ask some questions. Too bad he wasn't able to ask. The entire time he tried to talk to Ichigo other people would cut him off.
Then classes ended up starting again and he was back to being at the bottom of the social pyramid. Keigo was bummed out but their teacher did introduce a new student to the class. Keigo mused on what this person could be. Maybe it was a cute girl or to Keigo's horror another bad boy delinquent. Instead, the moment the person walked through the door, his jaw hit his desk.
Knowing who walked through the door. Mizurio, who sat next to Keigo, could also see his face.
"Hey Keigo, do you know this guy?"
Keigo stiffly turned to his friend with a surprised face. "You could say that,"
There's 'Hei' as in 'Flat-footed,'. The 'Ko from Imokoonono, That old politician. 'Shin' As in Genuine and 'Ko' As in Codroe,' ' The new student bowed his head to the class. "I'm Shinji Hirako, Nice to meet you,"
Ms. Ochi was a bit confused because Shinji had said his name backward. Shinji smirked at the teacher.
"Pretty good, Huh? One of my talents is reversing things." Shinji said proudly as he went on about himself but all that fell deaf on Keigo's ears. Then when Shinji was done rambling he walked to an empty desk. He paused when he saw Keigo staring right at him. They looked at each other with bewilderment faces.
"What are you doing here?" Keigo silently mouthed. Shinji didn't acknowledge him and sat right by Ichigo. Keigo could see that fake smile when he sat down by his friend. Shinji glanced back at Keigo and placed his index finger over his lips. Keigo gripped his desk and flared his green eyes briefly. Shinji felt a cold shiver and pulled on his school uniform collar.
"Hey Ichigo looks like we're neighbors, Hope we can be friends," Shinji said. Ichigo smiled lazily and nodded his head.
"Hey, sure,"
Keigo froze as he realized: how did Shinji know his name? Something isn't adding up here and he would get to the bottom of it. Then without warning, the skull charm on Ichigo clothing went off again.
"HOLLOW! HOLLOW!"
Then no sooner did it happen, Ichgo was already out the door.
"Sorry Ms. Ochi I have to use the bathroom," Ichigo said, sprinting down the hallway only leaving a trail of dust. Shinji was stunned but it slowly turned into a smile. Chad took a big sigh.
"Don't take it personally, That's just Ichigo," Chad said. Shinji smiled with that strange grin.
"He's exactly how I imagined," Shinji.
Keigo waited for hours until the bell rang and students. Mizurio looked at his friend, seeing he was trying to get to Shinji. The golden-haired teen immediately walked into the hallway.
"Keigo, what are you doing?" He asked puzzled at his friend trying to weave himself into the crowd of students.
"Nothing, I just was gonna say hello to the new guy!" Keigo said. Mizurio shrugged his shoulders and tried to ignore him but he wasn't doing his usual goofy comedic run. It was very stern and serious like he was on a mission.
"Is it me or is Keigo acting more strange than Ichigo?" Mizurio asked out loud. Tatsuki, who was packing her things, glanced at the hallway. should be begun to think back about that moment was she was suddenly saved by Keigo of all people. it would've been a story that he would brag to everybody, but he didn't even make a peep about it, not to mention when Tatsuki saw Keigo's face that time. He looked to be extremely stressed like he was facing a situation of life and death.
"Maybe we should've hung out with them during the summer break, he seems so serious," Tatsuki sadly expressed. Mizurio nodded and truly wanted to know what was going on with his friend.
Keigo was running in the hall, trying to find Shinji. So he ran as fast as he ever could. Just trying to find the only blonde guy in the school. He rushed even to the courtyard.
No trace, not even a good print. Keigo was so confused it was frustrating. He gripped his hands and looked.
"Dammit Shinji! What the hell are you doing?" Keigo asked himself.
It was a long walk home and not much was going through Keigos mind except wanting to know the truth. When he opened his house door he walked through his house and collapsed on his bed. Not even bothering to take off his school uniform.
So many questions were begging to pop out of nowhere. everything started to become strange and weird. He thought that maybe if he was able to have a normal day, things would just go back to what they were. It's not that he was complaining about his ghost life at the same time he wished for some ounce of normal.
"Every since I got these ghost powers, it feels like I'm looking under the curtain and seeing how the hotdogs are actually made!" Keigo said. He growled in frustration and threw his pillow across the room, hitting the wall.
He pinched the nose and slowly stood up. Right now he was so left in the dark that it was so frustrating. Not even a ghost has shown up yet. He still couldn't even figure out who that mysterious ghost was that captured Striker. Box Ghost and the tech freak we're also missing from the town.
Then Keigo felt a cold wisp, escaping his mouth. He shut the door to his room and raised his hands in the air. A ghost was close but the question was where.
"I'm going ghost!" Keigo shouted and transformed into his ghost form. He held his hands out ward ready to blast anything that phased through the wall.
Then he heard a gentle tapping on his window. Keigo spun around, seeing Yankii's head hanging upside down outside his room. Keigo would have let out a startled scream, but at this point, he knew exactly what the situation was.
"Hey Yankii," Keigo said. It was a long while since he met his ghost master. There was a reason for this, ever since he heard the truth about Yankii. Keigo didn't know how to ask the question.
"Come meet me on top of the roof, I think we need to talk," Yankii's head then snaked upward. Keigo floated upward, phasing through the red tile roof. Keigo could see Yankii watching the moon, with a couple of empty bottles.
"Hey master what's going on?" Keigo asked. Yankii calmly looked at the young man and shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess in your generation's terms I'm feeling good… but how are you doing?" Yankii asked. Keigo took a seat by his master and let out a sad sigh.
"You know, I thought my life was gonna be completely normal and fine after I defeated Striker. Now it feels like a lot. It would be easier if I was left in the dark in the first place, it feels like I'm staring at the true world and it's looking right back at me," Keigo grumbled. Yankii took a swig from a sake bottle and passed it to Keigo.
"Hey I'm underage," Keigo said. Yankii laughed and patted Keigo's back.
"Come on you need to relax, all that stress is going to make you get wrinkles," Yankii said. Keigo still wouldn't partake.
"My body is a temple," Keigo said proudly. Yankii still held out the bottle.
"Well, now it's a festival," Yankii said with a wide smile. Keigo sighed in annoyance and took one sip. The liquid immediately began burning his throat and tongue. He coughed up a storm, trying his best to not throw up.
"Yuck! You drink this garbage!" Keigo exclaimed. Yankii laughed and grabbed the bottle.
"It's an acquired taste," Yankii said through his laughing fit. Then his laughter slowly died down as they sat in silence. Keigo felt a bit awkward and didn't want to look at him.
"I know it's hard when bad things happen in your life. I know you've been avoiding me because of what Striker said,'' Yankii said, averting his gaze from his pupil. He remembered those simpler times.
"So it is true," Keigo said, then he gently looked at the ghost, who swished his bottle, looking sorrowful.
"I'm not mad at you for not telling me I never even asked. I just wanted to know why you did it. You seem like a better person now than what I've heard," Keigo said, making his point. Yankii fiddles with his fingers. Keigo never thought he was gonna see an ancient warrior from the past be nervous about discussing his personal life.
"It was a different time, war had spread across this country. People were choosing sides and at this point, killing wasn't just protection. It was a necessity. It was normal. Now looking back at my actions I could've been more merciful to some,"
Keigo listened carefully to the man's words, seeing he was just a man who knew what he did… but he was trying to do better.
"I'm hiding a ginormous secret from my friends and family. I'm half dead. I'm going through a lot right now so sorry if I was silent. I guess all we can do is try and be better. I'm no saint either. I'm a little bit of a weirdo and sometimes I can get on people's nerves. People call me so many things but I always have a smile on my face. Every day I get back up and say I'm ready," Keigo said, looking outward to the moon, not even thinking that his master would listen to him. The moment he turned to his side Yankii had taken everything he said to heart.
"Master I'm not mad at you. I was just worried, it's clear that you're not ready to talk about this but when you are, I'm here to listen," Keigo said. Yankii gently passed over a new bottle of sake. It was his way of showing thank you.
"Well, how about we get wasted, and talk about our feelings," Yankii offered. Keigo looked at the bottle and let out a disgruntled sigh.
"I'm going to get in so much trouble for this," Keigo said as he popped the top off and took a light swing. He let out a smaller cough, knowing the uncomfortableness of the last drink he took. Yankii mockingly shook his head. As he took a sip that cleared the bottle.
"Amateur," Yankii jokes. Keigo glanced at Yankii and felt the awkward tension he had one question.
"Hey Yankii, how do you make a scary face…" Keigo asked. Yankii paused and set the bottle to his side.
"You can't teach it, The scary face is a defense mechanism. I tell you Keigo it's not fun to do that. You're throwing your mind, body, and soul into a panic mood, trying to fight back the feeling that brought you to your death… Keigo I've barely mastered it, you're pushing not just your fear but everything. Love, Anger, Passion, Sadness, and Willpower onto another," Yankii let out a sad sigh and gripped his bottle tight.
"Keigo don't force yourself to do it, it would be like forcing you to emotionally feel your death again. Not to mention you don't want to lose yourself on instinct alone, that's how you end up with monsters,"
"I didn't know it was that serious master,"
Yankii patted his back, "The can be the most gentle thing but when pushed to the worst, it can destroy worlds,"
Keigo took a long pause and held out his hand. "Hand me another sip, this is heavy"
"Let's just focus on finding your signature power, All ghosts have one, and fewer even have more than one,"
The night soon turned into a bombastic one full of laughter, jokes, and friendship. Unfortunately, when Keo took his 36 swig. His mind started to get a bit foggy.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Darkness is what all Keigo could see, his head was a bit fuzzy but not in pain. Taking a deep breath his eyes were greeted by strong lights. The sounds of wind blowing and chirping birds echoed around him.
Then Keigo's eyes snapped open as he realized it was lying on his back. Looking upward into the blue sky. Keigo then slowly sat up and felt the soft grass beneath him. He covered his face with his hands, trying to remember what happened last night. feeling a flimsy piece of trash in his hand he realized he was surrounded by empty potato chip bags.
Keigo slowly began to get up and looked around at his surroundings. It was surrounded by trees and nicely cut grass. Paying attention more closely to the sound behind him was talking to people. Making his way out of the grove of trees, Keigo quickly realized where he was.
"I'm at the park? What the hell happened," Keigo thought. He then immediately checked his pocket. Finding his phone and filling it open to see fifty new unread messages, with twenty missed calls. All from his sister.
"Oh~ I messed up, dammit why did I have to start drinking with a ghost," Keigo then quickly mocked himself, "Oh a new experience oh fuck it, my life's going nowhere in the first place might as well give it a shot, Wait if I'm here where the hell is Yankii?"
Keigo looked at the clock on his phone and gawked at what time it was.
"I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!"
Yankii quickly awoke on a floor bed, he was tucked carefully under the sheets. He was still wearing his normal clothing from last night. While his sword was lying above his head.
This was a Kisuke shop and Yankii knew it. The ghost slowly sat up and rubbed his head. this was the first time he was blackout drunk and was very used to the feeling of not remembering anything that happened in the previous last moments.
"Aw, what happened?" Yankii quickly noted if he was in Kisuke's shop might as well make it known.
"HEY KISUKE! WHY THE HELL AM I ON YOUR FLOOR!" Yankii yelled. The pitter-pattering of steps marched toward the room, and the door slid open. Kisuke was holding his fan covering most of his face, but Yankii could see the extreme irritation in his eyes.
"Oh good you're awake, I was hoping maybe you could answer some questions," He moved the fan away from his face, showing it had been scribbled over with marker. There's a large black ring around his right eye and a mustache was drawn under his nose.
"You think you can explain to me why I have markers drawn all over my face? half of my potato chip stock is missing and there's a hole in my roof!" Kisuke said in a heated tone of voice. Yankii took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders.
"Sorry last night I had a couple of drinks, trying to calm down the kid, who seemed a little stressed last night, but you know I could ask you a question too… like why one of your guys was at his school yesterday?" Yankii said, narrowing his eyes at him. Kisuke even with the ridiculous drawings on his face. He put up a stern front.
"Hmm, I can't control those guys' actions whatever they're doing right now it's their business, not mine," Kisuke said, taking a seat on the floor. Yankii scratched his chin and glanced at the shopkeeper.
"So my suspicions were true, Shinji wasn't there for Keigo, do you wanna tell me what's up with that kid with the orange hair?" Yankii asked.
"You could say that Keigo and Ichigo are in the same boat," A smooth, feminine voice called out from behind the door. Yankii raised an eyebrow seeing a dark-skinned woman with purple hair and yellow eyes. She wore an orange top and black clothing. Yankii knew firsthand what her get-up meant.
"Ninja," Yankii said, getting into a low fighting stance. The woman laughed and sat down by Kisuke's side, she couldn't help but stare at the ghost in the room. It was like she was looking at a living paranormal phenomenon.
"Apologies, my name is Yoruichi Shihouin, so you're one of these elusive ghosts I was told about. I'm sorry to be staring, but I've never seen anything like you," Yoruichi remarked. Yankii slowly settled back down. He then scratched his chin studying the person who entered the room.
"So another Soul Reaper, you guys just keep appearing everywhere and you have some pretty high spiritual pressure. I could feel it bouncing off me. It's kinda like being in the rain. The heavier the rain, the stronger the person is... so you still like avoiding my questions, don't you?" Yankii asked Kisuke. Then without warning, Yankii stretched, shoving his face in front of Kisuke. Yoruichi nearly jumped out of her seat seeing what had happened.
"Drop any act that you're putting up,"
Kisuke smirked and tipped his hat to the ghost.
"Where to begin… you have to understand that there is a very bad man named Aizen…"
Keigo went through all of the messages, and read each one. However, a lot of the messages couldn't be called friendly or worried texts. Keigo scrolls through his phone, with a lazy expression.
"Death threat, another death threat, again another death threat. She calls me a delinquent in this one," Keigo stopped when one of the messages didn't start with him being strangled.
"Keigo don't forget to get more juice when you come back home, OK that's typical Mizuho," Keigo let out an exhausted sigh. He looked up at the sky, reflecting on what time it was. School was long over and he had missed possibly a couple of lessons. Keigo couldn't handle it, it would be easy to catch up, but people would ask questions about where he was. Especially his friends however he quickly realized he would play dumb and they would ignore him.
Keigo thought back to his current predicament, then a small smirk appeared on his face. A small laugh started to escape his lips. His life had now become crazy, but looking back at it. Keigo wouldn't have changed a single thing.
"Can't live in the past, I have to look forward to the future, one step at a time," Keigo said as he glanced up at the sky and relished the day. Keigo turned his head slightly, making sure he wasn't seeing things.
Why was the sky cracking open? Then a bright light rocketed out of the dark crevice that opened up in the sky. Keigo let out a yelp at the force of the collision of the lighting hitting the ground and flinging Keigo across the grassy field. He landed on his back and groaned out in pain. Many by standards took cover behind trees or benches.
"Ow, what the hell was that? Keigo rubbed his head. He quickly got up and walked over to where the explosion came from.
"Was that a meteor?" Keigo asked.
Tatsuki was on her afternoon jog, school had recently gotten out and she was on her way to her dojo. So she was still in her karate gi. A couple of other people from our dojo were also there. Currently, their jog leads them into the park, Tatsuki could see a water fountain ahead.
She jogged over and took a sip when she looked up and wiped her face. She could see Keigo seated at a bench on the other side of the park.
"Is that Keigo? Where has he been all day, he wasn't at school and why does he look like a mess?" Tatsuki wanted to see what was up with his friend. Then the moment she took a step toward Keigo's way. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupted by Keigo and made Tatsuki roll due to the force sweeping the area.
Where the pillar of light had landed, leaving a ginormous crater, the white smoke flared up into the air. Keigo rushed through the crowd of people.
Standing in the middle of the hole were two strange beings. The first man was a giant with tan skin, a powerful build, and a ridge-lined cranium. He has brown eyes, black hair, long, bushy sideburns, and a thin ponytail reaching his upper back. Aside from this, he was bald. Had orange eyebrows, and red markings under his eyes. He wore a white Zōri, a type of white clothing. His top shirt was open showing his bare chest.
He had a wild feral grin across his face like he was excited to be here.
The other was a slender, yet fairly muscular, man of average height with a melancholic appearance. He was fairly short, with messy black hair, and pale white skin that would make Mr. Clean blush. His black upper lip, and green eyes with small slit-shaped pupils, similar to a cat's. Part of his bangs fall between his eyes, and he has distinctively thick eyebrows. He has teal lines which descend from the lower part of his eyes. He had a constant frown on his face as if he was perpetually unhappy.
Keigo was staring with gaping eyes at these two strangers.
"What the hell is this?" Keigo said as he felt their spiritual pressure, bouncing off him. The big one looked at his compatriot.
"Ulquiorra, I've been here a few times when I was still masked, the living is such a bore, the spiritual pressure is so thin you can hardly breathe," Ulquirorra looked at the big man with a hard stare.
"Stop complaining Yammy, I told you I could do this alone, you were the one who wanted to come along," Yammy said with a bit of boredom. He glances up out of the hole to see Keigo looking directly at him.
"Hey," Keigo awkwardly waved to them. "I'm so dead! these guys look so freaking scary"
Yammy looked at Ulquiorra with a confused look. "Hey, Ulquiorra is that guy on the list,"
Ulquiorra put his cold snake-like stare on Keigo and studied him carefully making his assessment. "No, this one is trash,"
Keigo felt his eyebrow twitch slightly as he took the insult to heart.
"Who are you calling trash, you emo reject!" Keigo yelled in frustration.
"What did you say you little punk!" Yammy yelled.
Notes: Hey guys I hope you liked this Chapter, Super happy to finally get to the main story don't worry will see more ghosts in the future. Not to mention we get to have some ghost vs hollow action next chapter. Anyway, the new captain has been a big plan since the start of the story. Fuma and Musashi Miyamoto were real people in Japanese history. If was going to make new captains might as well make it interesting. Also, Keigo will be getting some new ghost power soon. Honestly, I can't wait for the next Chapter to be dropped, So please leave a review, follow, favorite, and don't forget to have a good day.