Chapter 30: Living Realm (2)

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

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AN: Thirty chapters, that's a pretty cool achievement. As always remember to comment/review if you want to see more of this story, I look forward to hearing what you have to say. (And also big thanks for helping me reach triple digits on my profile, y'all are legends)

Chapter 30: Living Realm (2)

Terumasa decided that at the very least he could see his wife to her lodgings, hoping that his small act of courtesy would at least let her know he hadn't grown negligent. Not that she needed the reassurance to begin with, she knew exactly what kind of pressure he was under. 

Thus with weighted steps he wearily carried himself back to his study, hopeful that he would be able to draw the curtains on his paperwork soon. His fingers were starting to feel like dust, and his head was about ready to implode on itself. 

"Where was I again?" Upon sitting down at his desk, he realized that a few of his documents had been scattered around various parts of the room, seemingly at random. 

"Of course even the wind has to make my life harder…" He reluctantly got up from his study and went over to pick up his papers, oblivious to the danger that lurked practically right under his nose. 

"Gotcha!" A gargantuan hand latched onto his torso out of nowhere, picking him up as if he were a child and suspending him in the air. 

"Who the fu—!" The creature tightened its grip on his frail body, pushing all the oxygen out of his lungs and forcing him to scrape and claw for every breath. 

"Quiet, I don't need you attracting unwanted attention" The beast was at the very least five-meters tall, with unnaturally overextended arms that were at least half the entire room's length. It donned a strange white mask with arbitrary markings all over it, all it had for eyes were two bright-amber slits that induced dread into his entire being. 

"M-monster!" What's more, it had a large gaping hole planted firmly in the middle of its chest. Somehow not affecting the abomination in the slightest, almost as if it were just a natural part of its anatomy. 

"I had no idea your species could be so delectable even whilst you still drew breath, don't worry— your sacrifice won't be in vain" Its maw slowly opened to reveal endless rows of razor-sharp teeth, his life began to flash before his eyes as the entity brought his head closer to its face, fully intent on eating him whole. 

Everything was happening so fast that he couldn't even bring himself to beg for mercy, a part of him was convinced that this was all just another hallucination induced by guilt. 

Surely this demonic-being was the same as the supposed "spirits" of his past comrades he had been seeing, none of this could be real. 

But even self-delusion couldn't help him now, he could feel its claws digging into his skin, the pain of having his flesh torn into was simply too genuine. Its harrowing voice contained too much malice to be just another figment of his imagination, this was reality.

"Wait! I—" It wasn't even remotely interested in anything he could offer, it just wanted to feast on his soul and evolve, that was the only thought his mind could conjure. That was his purpose, the only reason his existence held any meaning. 

All Terumasa could do was close his eyes and hope his end would be painless, perhaps he had garnered enough karma to grant him that much. 

'How could I be so foolish? Of course my past was bound to catch up with me at some point…' 

"I'm sorry…" He breathed. 

"What?" For some reason the creature's arm had stopped mid-movement, all of a sudden its vision had been obscured by some sort of object in between its eyes. 

"What the hell is this?" It reached out with its free hand, something linear was attached to its face. Or more specifically, its mask. 

Crack! 

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" It roared in agony as cracks started to appear on the surface of its mask, it was only now that it realized the object hadn't just attached itself to its face, it had pierced its way through it. 

It had to escape, if its mask were to be fully destroyed that would be it. 

"No! I know what happens to Hollows like me when we die! Please!" Terumasa held his breath as another figure appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the hilt of the embedded blade with his hands and preparing to draw it from the beast's mask. 

The man's face was covered both by his bandages and mid-length ashen hair that fell loosely over his face, the Daimyō couldn't even begin to comprehend the speeds the man had moved at, it was like looking at a blur. 

"You can talk? That's new…" He withdrew his Asauchi from the Hollow's mask as a blinding light erupted from the creature's body, Terumasa shielded his eyes whilst the cloth-wearing swordsman looked on with indifference. 

"Purple Reiryoku? That's not a hollow is it?" Two large amethyst-stained gates started to manifest from behind the Hollow, their most striking feature being the skeletons with bandages covering their heads which protruded out of the structure. 

Another man with long cinnamon hair stepped into the room, his eyes widening in mild shock as he observed the sight laid before him. 

"This is what happens when Hollow's that have sinned during their life as a human are killed—" Koda scratched his chin as he stared at the large cluster of violet flames in front of him. 

"S-stop! Help me!" Its pleadings naturally went unanswered, the chains binding the gates together quickly snapped apart, opening wide and revealing the crimson sky that dwelled within it. 

"Let me go! Please! I'll do anything!" The creature frantically started to kick and scream, but its efforts were nothing short of futile. Its fate had been sealed long before it had become a mindless soul-consuming monster, and now its crimes would be answered. 

"—it gets dragged into hell, where it can rot for all eternity" He continued as the gates gradually began to suck the beast into its confines and close in on itself. 

"I repent! I said I repent! Forgive—!" 

Thud!

The gates finally clamped shut, disappearing into thin air as they awaited their next deserving victim. 

"W-w-who are you people?" The two Shinigami froze, both their heads snapped towards Terumasa in utter disbelief. Their abruptness startled the Daimyō, making him wonder if he had just made a fatal error. 

"Shunsui…" Koda muttered with evident concern in his voice. 

"Yes…?" He answered in a similar manner. 

"He isn't supposed to be able to see us— right?" Shunsui met him with an approving nod, walking closer to the man in an attempt to examine him in finer detail, this was a first. He placed a finger on the man's head, confirming that he was in fact a human. 

"I had heard about people like him on paper, but to think I'd get to meet one in person. What's your name?" Koda followed suit, inching closer towards the man and pondering whether he'd be alright should he decide to plant a bit of his Reiryoku inside the human. 

"I know what you're thinking, but it's probably best not to take the risk. Though I'm pretty sure there aren't any rules explicitly concerning people like him, I'd rather you not kill him even on accident" Koda clicked his tongue in disappointment, being blind truly was quite the hassle— shocker. 

Terumasa finally snapped out his stupor, his mind had become such a mess that Shunsui's words had almost gone in through one end and come out the other. 

"Uhm, it's Ikeda, Ikeda Terumasa. Might I ask whom you two are?" He thought it best to speak to them with respect, especially seeing as one of them managed to slay the abomination with such ease. 

"Us? We're just students on a field trip" He was technically telling the truth. 

"What are the two of you still dawdling around for?" A woman with loosely-worn raven hair had joined the fray, accompanied by a man with long snow-hair that reached his waist. 

"And there's our teacher" Terumasa turned to the woman, causing her to halt in her tracks as Shunsui looked on with a coy expression. 

"That's certainly— unusual to say the least" Her astonishment was shared by Ukitake, soon all four of them were huddled around the man, as if he were a rare species being kept in a zoo. 

"Can you see this?" Ukitake unsheathed one of his Zanpakuto, waving it in front of the man as his eyes tracked the armament. 

"Of course I can?" Naturally from his perspective that was just a given, it didn't take much for them to conclude that he was completely unaware of his own circumstances. 

"He can even see my Zanpakuto…" Despite the main threat being dead, the Daimyō could feel his nerves starting to resurface. The stares of the Shinigami had started to imbue him with a sensation of claustrophobia, their avid curiosity was unnerving to him. 

"I'm sorry, have I done something wrong?" Ukitake quickly noticed his discomfort, gesturing for the group to take a few steps back and give the man some breathing room.

"Sorry about that, we didn't mean to startle you. It's just that erm, it's the first time we've seen someone like you" The man in question rose his brow, hoping that the figure would be kind enough to elaborate. 

"Long story short, you shouldn't be able to see us— but you can" His poor phrasing had given Terumasa the impression that he was in some sort of trouble, his demeanor grew apprehensive as his eyes radiated caution. 

"And that means what exactly?" 

"Nothing really, it's not as if we have any protocol for people like you" He sounded completely nonchalant, but more importantly— honest. 

The Daimyō seemed fairly convinced, allowing him to take a deep breath and compose himself as his mind raced over the events that had just taken place. 

"What was that thing?" Ukitake turned to the Captain, looking for permission to offer the man an explanation. 

"Do whatever you want, that was the last Hollow in the area so we'll be leaving shortly" He nodded appreciatively before turning back towards the Daimyō. 

Koda started to make himself comfortable, his curiosity piqued by the Shinigami-seeing human right in front of him. But a certain someone grabbed him by the collar before he could do so, staring at him with a faint smile and an expectant look in her eyes. 

"I believe you owe me something?" In exchange for getting to fight all the stronger Hollow's, he had made a certain "transaction" with the woman. 

He had agreed to give her ten minutes to do whatever she wanted to him, with a certain action as the exception of course. In hindsight he had been half-asleep when he made the deal as a result of his battle-mania getting the better of him.

But actions had consequences, whether they were intentional or not.

"Ahaha…I forgot…" The Hollow had met his fate, and now it was time for him to meet his.